I didn’t realize we had arrived, though, when I saw the gym, I wasn’t sure we actually had. Killian parked behind the building and climbed out, coming around for me. Cooper and Max jumped out of the car, and we all walked to the back door. Before we knocked, the door was opened, and I thought Killian was imposing. The man was a few inches shy of seven foot. Big, muscled with pale green eyes. Like Killian, he had that silent intensity, but a little warmth entered his eyes when they landed on me.
“Cedar, this is Damian Tate.”
He nodded his head before his focus shifted to Killian. “We’re assembled upstairs.”
Damian took lead, Killian took the rear. Cooper and Max were already up the stairs waiting. He opened the door, two shepherds were waiting, and beyond them, the huge open spaced apartment was packed with people, clusters of them, men, women and children, but as soon as Killian and I stepped into the space, all heads turned to us.
A woman hurried over, and the first thing I noticed was her hair. Someone who understood my pain because her hair was as crazy with curls as mine. Her eyes were blue, but we looked like we could be sisters. Damian pulled her close when she reached us and I realized that was the cause of the warmth I saw downstairs. I reminded him of his wife.
“I’m Thea, welcome to the madness,” she said, glancing up at her husband, before she reached for me. “I’ll introduce you around.”
Another knock at the door, Killian pushed me behind him. Damian opened it and seeing who it was, I looked up at Killian. He released me.
“Not a kid anymore,” he muttered.
“No, I’m not a kid anymore. How are you here?”
He glanced across the room before he said, “I heard what was going down, wanted to help if I could.” He pulled me close. “Good to see you, Cedar.”
I hugged him hard. “You too, Alton.”
We parted, Donnelly asked, “What’d I miss.”
Thea led me away. I glanced back at Killian to see that look I loved so much, before she was pulling my attention elsewhere. She reminded me of Killian’s mom, a bit of a tornado, but she knew what she was doing, keeping me busy, so I couldn’t focus on what was really happening here. I appreciated it, more than I could say, because I was terrified. “Uncle Guy called him,” she shared. “We’re a cop family,” she said, but there was a note of sadness in her tone. Before I could ask her about it, she said, “This is Piper, she’s Anton’s wife.” Thea looked around. “He’s here somewhere.”
“Hi, Cedar.”
They knew my name? “Hi.”
“That’s Kimber, one of my best friends, and her husband, Derrick. And the lady walking in carrying that tray of yumminess is Ryder, my other best friend. She owns a bakery and is responsible for my ass being the size it is.”
She stopped and looked at the sea of men. “The men, there are just too many of them.”
A little girl wearing a tutu hurried over. “Mama.”
“Hey, Sweetie,” Thea said, lifting the girl, who looked just like her, into her arms. “This is Edie, my oldest.” She looked around then smiled. “And the little one over there with Uncle Guy is Annabeth.”
“Hello, Edie.”
She reached for my hair. “Looks like Mama’s.”
I touched her hair. “Looks like yours, too.”
She touched her hair, looking down at it, her eyes crossing to see it before a big smile covered her face. “It does.” That fast she moved on when she said, “Piper and me are going to dance.”
“There’s not really a lot of room for that.”
“Oh, pleasssee…”
My attention turned to Piper, and my jaw dropped. “Is she that Piper, the prima ballerina for the New York ballet company?”
“Yeah, she’s teaching Edie.”
“I saw her in Swan Lake last year. I cried.”
“When she dances, you can’t help but fall in love, which pisses Anton off. All the suitors that send her flowers until they realize who she’s married to.”
I didn’t know who Anton was, but I didn’t ask.