Kick Back by Kallyn Jones

Author:Kallyn Jones [Jones, Kallyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781737709725
Publisher: My Creative Jones Press

* * *

The next morning, Thomas rang up the house in Virginia. This wasn’t a call to make from the road. He wanted to keep his head in case he didn’t get the answer he hoped for.

“Hey, Joe, how are y’all holding up? Are we doing the holiday open house or going low key this year?” The Harrison estate was part family home and part historical landmark. He and Joe used to cater brunches for the locals during the holidays. Between his progress at the lab and with Kick, then seeing his uncle—he’d been surprised to discover he remembered it all—Thomas felt like he was walking on a cloud.

“Let’s go low key. Toni’s not ready for the hoopla. She found out she can spend Christmas Day with Ken. It lifted her mood tenfold when his caretakers passed on the news.”

Thomas shared the joy. Watching Toni deal with her husband’s battle with Alzheimer’s felt like witnessing a slow-motion crash. His heart perpetually broke for them and soared for their small victories, like this one. “Wonderful news.”

Some silence passed before he found his courage. Joe had become quite the homebody. “Hey, I called to ask what y’all would think of coming down with me for a few days after Christmas. There’s someone I’d like you to meet.”

“What kind of someone?”

Thomas didn’t blame Joe for making him spell it out. He hadn’t even introduced Vivienne to the family.

“It’s a woman, Joe. Someone I’ve grown fond of. She’s—”

“What has your precious Alaric said about her?”

Thomas’s eyes squeezed tight. This was why he’d made the call before heading out. “He said to pursue other interests and—”

“There’s no way he’ll allow this, Thomas.”

“As long as I keep my vow, it’s none of his business.” Thomas walked out onto the back deck to cool off. He watched the sunrise through barren trees. The warm, vibrant colors mixing with the foreground reminded him of Kick’s hair. He had to find a way to make his worlds exist in peace.

In a clipped, gruff voice, Joe warned, “I won’t run interference this time.”

“What are you talking about? What interference?”

“Can you honestly tell me you didn’t know they watched her the whole time? Alaric was obsessed with it.” Joe cleared his throat. Thomas sensed his emotion growing, like he wanted to yell, but reined it in. “Why do you think I left the Felidae anyway?”

“I don’t know, Joey. You won’t tell me.”

“The Felidae made orders to kill Vivienne if anyone found proof you’d broken your vow of secrecy. They protect the Society above all else.”

Thomas fell back into an Adirondack chair. Did it matter? What did they think would happen if my research was successful? He thought back to the early days in the Felidae. No one ever asked him about his personal life, and he didn’t see the need to volunteer anything. “You can’t tell me they expect me to live like a monk.” Of course not. Grand-père practically told him to go find a girlfriend.

Instead of answering his question, Joe laid it all out.

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