Tawny squeezed his hand. “How about you rest? We can catch up later. Besides, Mom is on her way, so you’ll need your energy.”
“Okay.”
And then he was out. Tawny quietly left. As soon as she neared her dad, her mother burst in, her eyes red and her breathing a bit ragged.
“Mom, he’ll be fine. He’s sleeping right now.”
“I have to see him.”
Her dad pulled out his keys. “I know your mom won’t want to leave for a while, and I’m sure you want to get home and clean up. Take our car. I have the cruiser. I’ll have Tess drop me off at your place to pick it up. I have a spare set of keys.”
“It’ll be closer for you if I leave it in front of your office. I’ll call Alex and Liam and ask them to drive me home.” She wanted to ask them to dinner anyway. It would be a small token of her appreciation, or so she told herself.
“Great.”
She hugged her father. “Thank you.”
“He’ll be okay. Don’t worry,” he said.
Tawny always worried. “I’ll try.”
Her uncle might only live two towns over from Wildwood, but it took her about twenty minutes to reach home. Before she dropped off her mom’s car, she wanted to take a hot shower. But before she undressed and cleaned up, she pulled out her phone and swiped Liam’s number.
“How is he?” he asked as a way of saying hello.
“He’ll be fine, thanks to you two.”
“You were the one to figure out he was in a cave,” he said.
“Maybe. Listen. I am starving and I wanted to treat you to dinner, if you haven’t already eaten.” She held her breath.
“Sure. I’d love that, assuming you want Alex to tag along.”
She should have said both were invited. “Of course. I have to clean up, but how about we meet at The Double G Bar in forty-five minutes? I know Will would want to be filled in.”
“We’ll see you there.” He then disconnected.
Tawny pressed the phone to her chest, hoping that was the right move.It was just a thank you, right?
She rushed to the bathroom and turned on the water to the hottest setting. Even though her uncle’s house had been warm, there was still a residual chill in her bones.
As soon as the shower door started to steam, she stepped into the flow and moaned. It felt so good. She might have taken her time to let her mind wander as she ran the soap over her body, wondering what it would be like to have either Liam or Alex do the honors, but she didn’t want to be late. Tawny had to force her mind onto Zach, sending healing thoughts his way. Hopefully, her twin’s wolf could heal the scar to the point where it wouldn’t be visible.
Once done, she stepped out of the shower and quickly towel dried. Going out with wet hair was asking for disaster, so she blow-dried it, not worrying about straightening out any errant curls. Since she didn’t want the men to think this was a real date, Tawny put on just enough makeup to look presentable.
Since all they’d seen her in was her work clothes or baggy winter hiking gear, she wore a nice pair of straight-leg jeans, boots with a small heel, and a pretty pink pullover sweater that she believed complemented her pink lipstick.
Wanting to chat with Will before the men arrived, she grabbed her mom’s keys and hurried out. It was dark, windy, and cold. And to think her brother had survived several days outside without shifting. It was a true miracle that he was alive.
So as not to hit a patch of ice, Tawny drove carefully. The last thing she needed was to run off the road. Had the carving on her twin’s back scared the crap out of her? Sure, but she hoped it was an isolated incident.
When the Double G came into view, Tawny breathed a sigh of relief. Fingers crossed that Will wouldn’t be the next target. His lit sign that was the same as the symbol on Zach’s back, sat prominently above the door. She shivered.
She parked in front and made sure to check her surroundings before hurrying up to the entrance. From now on, she had to be careful. Being ten minutes early, she suspected the men wouldn’t be there yet.
When she stepped inside, Will looked over at her, his expression grim. Her mom must have enacted the family phone tree. Most likely everyone was already aware that Zach had gone missing but had been found in a cave close to death.
He rushed around the end of the bar. “How’s Zach?”