Page 29 of Wolves' Midlife Reunion
Debbie studied him for a long moment. “You’re not good enough?”
“You know it’s not the same,” he sighed.
“That’s right, because you refuse to explore that part of yourself,” she retorted. Debbie had never beat around the bush with him. It was both annoying and refreshing.
Dex knew she was waiting for him to justify his avoidance of magic as he always did, citing the fight with Chris. He watched her face as he gave her a completely different answer. “Actually, I used magic just a few hours ago.”
She’d been in the middle of a drink. Debbie choked on her coffee, splattering it on the table. She grabbed her napkin and put it over her face. “Damn, dude! You made it come out of my nose!”
He laughed as she hurried back over to the sink to clean herself up.
“Okay, let’s try that again.” Debbie resumed her seat and folded her hands carefully in front of her, being sure not to touch her food. “You did what, now?”
“It was while I was on a call.” He told her about Wayne, how pitiful and scared the poor old man was. “There’s only so much I can do to patch someone up, and this guy just wasn’t going to make it. The people who hurt him didn’t give a shit, and they may not have even called the accident in right away. I couldn’t let him lie there.”
Debbie still wasn’t eating, but now it was because she was listening so intently. “So you healed him?”
“No,” he quickly corrected. “As much as I’d like to, I’d never get away with that. I just sort of patched him up a little, enough to make sure he could live long enough to get proper stitches.”
“Dex!” She flung her hands in the air in frustration. “I didn’t know you could do that! And I’m your twin! What the hell?”
“It’s not something I’ve always known how to do.” He went back to his food, mostly because he knew he’d need the fuel to get through the rest of the day. “My work is what influenced me the most to try it.”
“So you’ve done this before?”
“Just a few times, when it’s a situation like this.” He finished off the last bite of eggs.
“I don’t get you. Aren’t you proud?”
He considered this. In fact, he’d considered it every time it happened, but he never quite came to a solid conclusion. “Yes, in a way, but I also feel extremely guilty. I know my magic has hurt someone, and I can tell myself that I’m making up for it by healing others. It still doesn’t feel quite right, though. It’s weird.”
Debbie bit into the top of her muffin. “I’m guessing that these lessons Sage is getting from Tina are getting you interested in magic again.”
“A little. I think I also feel guilty that I’m letting someone else teach Sage because I don’t feel like I know enough. I don’t know, Deb. It just feels like an impossible situation.” He braced his forehead on his palm, ready to get Sage off to school so he could take a shower and get to sleep.
“Welcome to parenthood. It’s the ultimate impossible situation.” Debbie reached across the table and grabbed his hand. “Hey, you’re being way too hard on yourself. You always have been, and you need to stop.”
“You don’t understand?—”
“You’re right, I don’t,” she said firmly. “You and I don’t just have the same parents. We shared the same womb. We’re as close as two people can be, yet I wasn’t born with the same gift you were. I don’t get it, but I’m incredibly jealous. I always have been.”
“Really?”
“Hell, yes. And I think you should start giving yourself some grace about the whole thing. You didn’t ask to have that power, and most of the people around you didn’t know how to help you with it. You’re doing everything for Sage to make sure she has a better chance at controlling her magic and figuring out how to use it in her life, which makes you pretty okay in my book.”
She was right. He was only stressing himself out by worrying so much, and that didn’t help anything. “Thanks, Deb.”
“No problem. Now refill my coffee, would you? Most of mine ended up on the table somehow.”
11
“How scary isit going to be?” Sage’s hand slipped into Dex’s as they waited in line.
“Well, I don’t know for sure,” he replied honestly. “Probably just a little bit scary, just enough to be fun.”
She looked uncertain. “My friend Ella said her mom went to a haunted house.”
Oh, boy. Here they went again with Ella. Dex had never realized just how much Sage would learn about life by sharing a classroom with other children who had big mouths. “Did she?”
