It didn’t take much for Ollie to pick up on Jeff’s mood. He’d had plenty of practice on that, but reading whether his comment was connected to it or not still took some actual communication between them, no matter how much better they were at it these days.
“I think she’s setting herself up for heart break,” he replied as he circled one or two locations he thought might have something of use.
It didn’t matter how much the kid had helped him with information, he still didn’t see him being that level of comfortable with a shifter. Of course, time could prove him wrong, but for now he was worried about his only daughter.
“I think Gwen’s got a crush on that hunter kid,” Jeff sighed, trying to sound unbothered as he flipped through the notes he had. They were possible leads on more kids, but most of them wouldn’t pan out and he needed a distraction from that fact.
He nodded. “Yeah. More or less.” He was still trying to wrap his head around the whole thing, but she was still mostly Aislynn. Just… a little different. “Granddaughter? Shit, I’ve missed out on a lot.”
She opened the door a little further, a silent permission to enter. Chance had said he was safe to come and go as he pleased and she trusted that. “She has three grandchildren. Her son rescued them as children.”
“He didn’t really have a choice in hunting. Just like I didn’t really have a choice in being born a dingo. It would be really unfair of me to hold what wasn’t his choice against him, you know? The part that bothers me is that he was forced to hurt others from the time he was a kid. Plus, the two younger ones he has with him seem to be really well taken care of so I don’t think he’d willingly hurt me just because I’m not human.”
“How is Parker?” Isaac asked, glad the conversation had taken an easy turn that would distract her, though the subject matter was still connected to her earlier concerns since Parker was their nephew and both of his parents had been lost at the hands of the hunters Isaac was trying to gather information on.
The humor drained from her face as she shrugged in response to his question. “As well as can be, I suppose. He’s curled up asleep in my bed with some of his parents’ clothes.” He was eating, but barely and she was doing everything she could to keep him going. “He needs you too though.”
“Not all of them,” she argued, though she knew it was generally the case. “Don’t you have a cousin or someone who could teach you how to control it better? Because hanging out alone all the time sounds like a slow path to insanity.”
“I have an auntie that probably could. She got Epiales’s shit under control, but eh. I like being a recluse. I like not being around people. Besides, modern technology is a beautiful invention.” He cast her a sidelong glance. “Be lucky I let you in the house.”
“I’m big enough and ugly enough to take care myself now, Anya. Don’t let me be the reason you pass up a chance at your own happiness, okay?”
There was still some humour to his words, but also an affectionate sincerity. The sibling were close, and for all the teasing and occasional scraps, they only wanted the best for each other.
She grabbed his jaw playfully, eyes rolling as she did so. “You’re not that ugly and you’ll always be a priority for me. Besides, I also have a sad pup at home to occupy my time,” she reminded him.
If ever anyone did come along that she felt connected to, she would try not to fight it, but so far, that hadn’t been an issue.
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