Lillian told her about the man with the supposedly broken-down car, how she’d been sure he was about to try and come through her window at her. Then she recounted the phone call she’d gotten in the driveway.
Teri’s expression turned even more serious. “We have to talk to Cal about this, Lillian. I know it’s probably awkward right now, but he needs to know.”
Lillian remembered Cal talking about how everyone brought their problems to him. How she’d been sure he was a good leader, as much as he’d seemed afraid of the possibilities of abusing power.
It was so clear, though, that he would never do anything like that. Teri’s absolute trust in him was just another sign. Her sister had always been a good judge of character.
“All right,” Lillian said. And then, ashamed of her cowardice, “Can you call him?”
“Of course,” Teri said immediately, and pulled out her phone.
She had a quick conversation that Lillian tried not to listen in on; she couldn’t hear anything that Cal was saying, anyway, just the deep bass rumble of his voice, powerful even over the tinny cell phone speakers.
Teri hung up after only a couple of minutes. “He’s coming over,” she said. “He asked me to apologize to you, but tell you that your safety is the most important thing. Why’s he apologizing?”
“I told him I needed some time alone to think about what happened,” Lillian sighed. “Which I do. But this is more important, I agree.”
“What are you worried about, exactly?” Teri’s eyes were compassionate. Lillian wasn’t used to seeing a look so...adult, from her seven-years-younger sister. “You can tell me.”
“It’s just—all of it!” Lillian swept an arm out in a gesture that encompassed everything that had just happened. “I can’t believe I did something like that. Especially in a situation as serious as this. It was irresponsible at the very least.”
“In the safety of Cal’s home?” Teri asked skeptically. “If you were doing it out in the woods, maybe—”
“Teri!”
“Sorry, sorry,” Teri said, laughing a little. “Just kidding. I only meant—you didn’t do anything wrong! Even if it isn’t anything serious, you didn’t do anything wrong. You just had a good time—I’m assuming it was a good time?”
Teri was looking at her expectantly, eyebrows raised. Lillian pressed her lips together and refused to comment. But she could feel herself blushing.
“Okay, it looks like it was a good time. A good time with a good man. There’s no reason to be—I don’t know, embarrassed or ashamed, right?”
“I don’t do this,” Lillian insisted.
Teri sobered. “That’s why I think it might be...a shifter thing. A serious thing.”
“That’s ridiculous, though.” Lillian took a few steps away, turning to look out the window instead of at Teri’s earnest face. “There’s no reason for it to have been serious. We only met yesterday. The reason he’s helping me is my ex-husband’s debts, because of which I’m living with my impossible mother! I’m the last person anyone should be getting serious about.”
She felt a small hand on her shoulder, and turned a bit to see Teri standing beside her.
“Hey.” Teri’s voice was warm. “Don’t talk about my sister like that.”
Lillian found herself speechless. She and Teri had had a distant relationship at best for so long...hearing something like that from Teri’s mouth was overwhelming.
“You are a catch,” Teri asserted. “You’re smart, and pretty, and you work harder than anyone I know, and you have this—” She waved her hands at Lillian.
This what? Lillian didn’t ask out loud, because she wouldn’t stoop so low as to fish for compliments.
Even if she did kind of want to hear what Teri meant.
“You’re always put together, and poised, and—graceful and stuff. Anyone looking at you knows you’ve got it together.”
Lillian shook her head. “But I don’t have it together. I just explained that.”
“Yeah, you do,” Teri said seriously. “Come on. You live with Mom. And of all the people in the world, I know what that’s like. You handle it like a freaking pro—I watched you do it, while I was there. If you can manage Mom, you can manage anything.”
Lillian had never really thought about her situation in those terms. To her, it had always been a sign of failure. She had to live at home, after all.
“It’s an accomplishment,” Teri insisted.