Page 17 of What Haunts the Heart
7
Oakley
The next day, I drove back to Kinsley and Chester’s place in silence. My soul was heavy, weighed down with worries and doubts. It was crazy how tangled up I felt after four amazing days with Eden.
All we really did was watch movies and fool around, but damn. There was something about the sassy man that had me coming back for more. One more kiss, one more laugh, one more smile. It was something that I’d never felt with anyone else.
Only Eden. Only ever Eden.
Guilt nipped at me, though. I’d promised Claire that I wouldn’t abandon her, but that’s exactly what I’d done, wasn’t it? Since arriving in Vale Valley, I’d spent most of my time at Eden’s place, leaving Claire to fend for herself with my brother’s family. Even though she'd assured me multiple times that she was fine, I felt like a selfish asshole. I needed to make it up to her somehow. Maybe I'd take her out for lunch?
Tightening my hands around the steering wheel, I turned down the old country road that led to the farmhouse.
As I pulled into the long gravel drive, I saw Fallon and Khloe bouncing around in jackets and matching yellow rain boots. They clustered around Chester, who sat in the grass with a giant pumpkin between his legs. He was laughing at something. It must've been contagious, because everyone else started laughing too. Kinsley sat in a plastic lawn chair, bouncing Angel up and down on one knee, but where was Claire?
I parked and killed the engine, but didn't get out.
The screen door swung open hard enough to bang against the front of the house, and Lani came stalking down the porch steps. Claire was right behind her, a large tray of drinks and snacks in her hands. Fallon ran over to greet them with the energy and exuberance only a kid could harness. Claire grinned and offered him a cup of juice. Then, as if she could feel me watching her, she glanced up and waved.
Her smile never faltered.
For as long as I'd known her, Claire had always been a little clingy when it came to new people, but she seemed…freer here. Free to be herself.
It didn't surprise me, though. I knew how suppressedIfelt surrounded by my demanding pack. All it took was one glare from Father and my insides shriveled into raisins, and I was an Alpha. I could only imagine how Claire felt. There were so many expectations hanging on our shoulders, both from my family and from hers. Being away from all of that felt good.
I got out of the car and started across the grassy lawn, grinning when Fallon's goats bleated at me from behind the fencing. Poppy hopped up and planted her hooves on the thick wooden post sticking up from the ground. She wagged her little brown tail like a dog. I made a pitstop to scratch her behind the floppy ears before greeting my family.
"Uncle Oaky! We're carving pumpkins for the party," Fallon called out, gesturing to the large assortment of bright orange gourds in varying shapes and sizes. He bent down and patted the side of an exceptionally tall one. "This one's mine. Aunt Lani said she'd help me make it look like Frankenstein. We even got the metal thingies for his neck! It's gonna be so awesome."
"Uncie Oaky!" yowled Khloe, right before she collided with my legs. She held her arms up and grunted. I laughed and picked her up, settling her on a hip. "Makin' punkins. You make punkins too?"
“I—”
"Of course he is," Kinsley said, shooting me a smirk. I made a face. I'd never liked putting my hands in the pumpkin guts and my brother knew it. His grin only broadened, and then he laughed. "Oh, relax, Oak. Chester's gutting all the pumpkins. You won't have to deal with the mess, you whiny brat.”
"I'm gonna roast the pumpkin seeds," Chester piped up, beaming. "I made them last year and they were delicious. I figured with this many pumpkins, we'd get enough seeds to share at the party."
Kinsley scoffed. "Hey, I never agreed to that! Who said anything about sharing?"
Chester rolled his eyes. "You don't get them all, Kins. Nice try."
“That’s right,” Lani said. "I call dibs on some of the seeds.”
"I want seeds too," Fallon agreed, bobbing his head in a firm nod. His dark hair ruffled in the breeze. "Yum!"
Claire nibbled on her thumbnail, but a smile peeked out from around it. "I've never had roasted pumpkin seeds," she admitted, which had the whole family in an uproar.
I chuckled to myself and flopped down beside her in the grass. Stretching out my legs, I leaned back on my arms. Claire giggled when Lani began to boast that her pumpkin seeds were the best and "even the matriarch of Vale Valley agreed!"
Apparently, pumpkin seeds were a big deal.
"You’re just in time for the party, Oak," Claire said, nudging me with her elbow. She picked up a small orange-handled pumpkin carving saw. "I think I'm going to make a spooky Halloween cat."
I raised a brow and side-eyed Lani. The bobcat shifter was showing Fallon how to carefully poke holes in the pumpkin through a thin sheet of tracing paper that had a Frankenstein face on it. Her reddish-brown hair was pulled back in a familiar-looking braid, which told me that my assumptions were right on the money.
Claire and Lani? Together? I didn’t see that one coming.
"Cats, huh?" I teased.
