“Yes. Where do you need us?” Hailey asked, taking charge.
“Out on the beach.” Helen gestured out toward the water.
“I’m glad she’s doing the pictures beforehand,” Anne said as we headed to the door. “That way we can all enjoy the cocktail hour.”
“Casey, could I talk to you for a moment?” Helen’s soft voice surprised me.
I was too startled to reply at first, but eventually I choked one word out. “Sure.”
The other girls gave me encouraging looks before abandoning me. How was I supposed to have a conversation with Helen alone?
“Want to sit down for a second?” She gestured to a couch in the sitting room of Allie’s suite.
“Sure.” That seemed to be the only word I knew how to say.
“You’ve been avoiding me.” She said it as a statement and not a question.
“Yes, for obvious reasons.” I’d avoided both Helen and Robert at dinner the night before. Any other course of action would have caused a scene, and I didn’t want to do that to Allie. I’d walked off as soon as possible—and then Toby helped me forget all about it.
“You don’t need to.” She seemed so sweet, so nice. That just made me feel worse.
“I only came because Allie and Levi asked me to.”
“And I’m glad you did.” She put a gentle hand on my arm. The action surprised me, and I startled. She removed her hand, and I felt bad—again.
“You’re glad?”
“You belong here. It’s important.”
“You can’t be okay with it,” I spoke quietly. I didn’t want to say the words.
“Do you think I blame you? Do you think I hold you responsible for what happened between Robert and your mother?”
I shook my head. “No, but I’m proof that it happened.”
“Now isn’t the time to discuss what happened, but none of it’s your fault. I’m not upset with you. I only hope you can become a positive addition to Levi’s life. He could use a sister.”
“You can’t really feel that way.” I felt like I was in some sort of twilight zone. She should have been trying to find ways to get rid of me, not encouraging me to develop a good relationship with my half-brother. Once again, I searched for ulterior motives, but everything about her words and expression seemed genuine.
“You’re good at telling me how I should feel.” She smiled. “I’m a grown woman, and I’ve had plenty of time to think about all this.”
“Did you know? Before?”
“As I said, now isn’t the time.” She stood. “I just don’t want you feeling uncomfortable today. It’s a joyous occasion.”
“Uh, thanks,” I called after her as she disappeared through the door. My head spun. Did Helen really mean what she was saying? I didn’t have any time to think about it.
“Casey?” Georgina stood in front of me.
“Oh. Hi, Georgina.”
“Grandma. It’s Grandma.” She held out a hand. “You need to come with me.”
“Why? Is everything okay?” I wasn’t sure how much more I could take.
“Yes. Everything is fine. I just can’t have you missing the family photos.”
“Oh yeah, those.” I followed her out of the room and down the hall. “Aren’t the pictures outside?”
“Most of them.” She pushed open the door to another room.
I should have suspected she was up to no good, but she was my grandmother, what kind of trouble could she cause?
“And you’re not coming out until you’ve talked.” She gave me a long look.
“What?” My heart froze as she slammed the door behind me. I tried the door, but it was somehow locked from the outside. Memories of being locked in a jail cell flooded me. Those memories involved Jared and a lot of feelings I wanted to forget. What was Georgina up to?
“She means what she said. She won’t open the door until we talk.” Robert’s deep voice had me spinning around. He was wearing a navy blazer and light colored slacks. His face was cleanly shaven, and the more I looked at him, the more I realized he bore a striking resemblance to Levi. If it weren’t for a shock of gray hair, I’d have thought he were younger than the sixty or so years he had to be.
He watched me with a mixture of amusement and sadness. I struggled to come up with words.
“Hi.” Not exactly eloquent but it was better than the blubbering sounds I’d started with.
“Hello.” He took a few steps toward me, but still kept a distance. “You look different from the way I expected.”
What did that mean? Was I a disappointment or something? I looked down at my ruby red dress. Surely I looked good that day.
“I guess that came out wrong. I just mean you look older. All grown up.”
“That’s because I am.”
“I suppose so.” He shifted uncomfortably.
“Do you think this counts as talking? Will Georgina let us out yet?”
He laughed lightly. “I take it you weren’t looking forward to this meeting?”
“If you wanted to talk to me, you would have done it already.” I looked down. I couldn’t keep the eye contact anymore.
“Casey.” He said my name carefully.
I glanced up. “Yes?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for…”
“I’m just sorry. I’m sorry you had to grow up with no understanding of who you are. That you had to grow up without me.”
“I have a good dad already.” I thought about Chris. He’d always been attentive and caring. I’d have never imagined he wasn’t my birth father.
“But you’re my daughter.”
“Biologically speaking.”
He walked close enough that my body went on alert. I knew he wasn’t going to hurt me, but his size and power were hard to ignore. “Your wings, your strength, your abilities, they come from me.”
“Yes, but maybe nothing else. My mom is a big part of who I am.” I don’t know why I felt the need to throw it back at him, but I couldn’t ignore my anger and hurt.
“That’s true, but your Pteron side is dominant.” He walked over to the window. “You’re not human, Casey.”
Not human? Robert didn’t know my mom was a bear. I knew I needed to keep that to myself.
“I’ve accepted that. I have wings after all.”