Chapter 18 #2
He parked in his driveway, and I went inside with him so he could put on more clothes before walking me home. After a quick promise that he would see me in the morning, we said goodnight.
Mom was still up.
“You’re home early,” she said. “The game’s not even over.”
The game was on the television, streaming from the school’s website.
“Were you watching it?” I went to sit next to her and saw Len on the field.
“I went to all my high school games,” she said. “Loved watching. Mostly to flirt, though.”
“Yeah, maybe that’s why I wasn’t that into it. It was nice hanging out with Jene and Mirae, though. Mirae’s dad brought them and stayed to watch, too.”
“Did you make any plans for tomorrow?”
“Not with them. Sam mentioned stopping over in the morning, but he didn’t say what for.”
“Probably just to be with you.” Amusement danced in her eyes.
I said goodnight and went to bed, thinking about Sam.
He didn’t leave me waiting long for his morning visit. I’d just finished my chores when he knocked.
Mom laughed as I sprinted to get it. Sam didn’t seem surprised by the way the door suddenly opened or when I launched myself at him.
I loved the way he hugged me firmly and softly said, “Good morning,” close to my ear.
“What do you two have planned today?” Mom asked as Sam stepped inside with me still dangling from him.
“I was hoping Clarity would be willing to meet my family today.”
The arms around my waist didn’t let me detach like I wanted. So I settled for a panicked face grab.
“Why?”
Mom snorted. “Maybe because you’re Sam’s mate and they’d like to get to know you?”
Sam’s amusement helped assure me it wasn’t because of yesterday’s meeting with Ever, and I relaxed a little. That didn’t mean I was ready, though.
“Why today?”
“Clarity Marie Carstein,” Mom said, letting her exasperation show. “It’s normal to meet the family of the boy you’re dating. Please be normal.”
Suppressing his laughter, Sam released me so I could scowl at my mom.
“Remember my role model.”
She crossed her arms. I huffed in defeat and looked at Sam.
“Give me ten minutes to change.”
“Take your time,” he said.
I left my bedroom door open so I could listen to their conversation as I picked what to wear.
“How big is your family?” Mom asked.
“Pretty big. I have six uncles, four aunts, eleven cousins, and a grandma and grandpa.”
“She might get overwhelmed.”
Her soft warning made me wrinkle my nose because she wasn’t wrong.
“It’s only ever been the two of us.”
“I know,” Sam said. “I promised to keep an eye on her. If she’s uncomfortable, we’ll leave.”
“No, we won’t,” I called. “I’ve been uncomfortable most of my life, and that never got me out of anything before. Why should it now?”
I finished tugging on my cutest sweater and reemerged with slightly frizzy hair. It happened often when it got cold out.
Sam smoothed his hands down it and kissed my forehead.
“If you’re uncomfortable, we’ll find a quiet spot for a few minutes, then come back.”
“Deal,” I said. “What time will I be home?”
He looked at Mom. “Does before dinner work for you?”
“It does.” Her gaze shifted to me, and I saw her love for me there. “Have fun.”
“I will.”
We walked to his house, holding hands. The curtain of Mr. Denkle’s house across the street moved. I glanced his way and gave a little wave. He continued to blatantly watch us.
“Friendly,” Sam said softly.
My smile grew. Mr. Denkle dropped the curtain back into place.
“He takes some getting used to. So, how many of your relatives am I meeting today? I think you said that some of them aren’t here.”
“Today it’s just my mom, Dad, Uncle Luke, Aunt Bethi, and three of my cousins. You already met one of them.”
I recalled the caramel apple boy as Sam opened the door for me.
“He’s the youngest and keeps my aunt and uncle on their toes.”
On the way to the farm, Sam talked about his family so that, when I finally met them, they didn’t feel like complete strangers.
I said hello like a normal person—Mom would be so proud—when Sam introduced me to everyone as his mate.
His dad didn’t say much and wasn’t easy to read with his full beard.
His mom was the opposite, all smiles and welcome.
His Uncle Luke, the guy with the British accent, apologized if they came off as creepy the last time we met.
“You didn’t,” I assured him. “Honestly, I was so surprised you’d pulled up next to me, I didn’t give too much thought to it. I thought you might be the police.”
He laughed. His wife snorted. She was like Sam’s dad…
a little harder to read. Not because I couldn’t see her face.
It was her eyes. She’d smiled and laughed, but there seemed to be a hint of something in them that reminded me a little of Mr. Denkle.
Grief, maybe? She seemed too young for that, though.
“You’re at the bottom of the list of people I would call authoritative,” she said. “No way you’d ever make it as law enforcement.”
Rather than being offended, he winked at her. Her expression shifted, filling with love and warmth.
Sam’s cousins were fun, pulling us all into a card game. It was loud and chaotic, but not overwhelming. Just different from anything I’d ever known. I could see Sam was used to it, though. He teased his cousins and helped the youngest try to win.
When Sam’s mom and aunt excused themselves to make lunch, I offered to help.
“The more, the better. This crowd can eat,” his aunt said, leading the way to the kitchen.
“Not as much without Jim here, though,” his mom added with amusement. “Wait until you meet him.”
I recognized the name. “He’s Sam’s uncle. The Elder, right?”
“Yep,” his aunt said. “Keep an eye on your food when he’s around. He’ll steal from anyone’s plate without remorse.”
Grinning, I accepted the jar of homemade mayonnaise and started slathering the bread slices his aunt was laying out while his mom followed with sliced chicken.
“He sounds fun. I can’t wait to meet him.”
“You’ll be taking that back about fifteen minutes after you meet him,” his aunt said.
His mom laughed. “Don’t let Bethi scare you. Jim’s great. They all are.” She grew a little serious. “You seem to be handling all of this very well. How are you really doing? Scared?”
I thought about what happened earlier in the week and last night at the game.
“A little,” I admitted. “If it weren’t for Sam, I would have probably already agreed with my mom and moved to my grandma’s. I’m glad I didn’t, though.”
“I think we’re talking about two different things,” his mom said. “I meant being bitten by a werewolf and learning you’re his mate.”
“Oh. That part’s easy. Sam’s perfect. I thought you were talking about the thing that kills people and wears their skin.”
“Well, now that you brought it up,” his aunt said, “can we talk about that and the Urbat girl you met last night?”
My stomach tripped over itself with a growing sense of dread.
“Are you sure we can’t keep talking about Sam?”