Atoning Read Free Page A

Maya while our parents were away, so my stuff was at her place, too.
    When we saw the door to Maya’s animal rehab shed open, we headed that way. Kenjii walked to the house porch instead, knowing he wasn’t allowed in the shed. We went in and found Ash sitting on a crate, staring at a hutch of young rabbits.
    “If you’re hungry, Mom and Dad left a house full of food,” Maya said.
    He flipped her the finger and stood, shoving the crate away with his foot. This was Ash. Actually, Ashton, but the only person who calls him that is Tori and just to piss him off. He’s Maya’s twin brother. They’d been separated as babies and reunited a year ago.
    Anyone who thinks Derek is antisocial has never met Ash. The only thing the twins have in common is a quick tongue. With Ash, though, that tongue can be vicious. Which might explain why Tori is kind of crazy about him.
    Ash saw me and nodded. For him, that was a friendly greeting, far better than the snarl or cold shoulder that most people got.
    “You need to pack,” Maya said. “We’re leaving ASAP. Sean’s coming in Monday.”
    “Not going.”
    “What?”
    He shrugged. “Changed my mind.”
    “But—You… The plan… It was for you. Rent ATVs, do some rock climbing, camp overnight on the escarpment, work on your shifting… It was for you, Ash.”
    “Changed my mind,” he repeated.
    No one is more patient with Ash than Maya. He hasn’t had an easy life. He spent three years on the streets. He has a reason to be prickly. But as she stared at him, I could feel her patience fraying. When she finally said, “All right then,” the words came out brittle.
    She turned to walk out. He caught her arm, leaned over and murmured, “Next time, okay? I just…I have stuff to do.”
    “What could you—?” She cut herself short and shook her head. “Never mind. I’ll talk to Antone.”
    “Nah, I’ll do it. You go and get ready. Have a good weekend.”
    “I’d have a better weekend if—” Again, she stopped herself. “Fine. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
    We got about ten feet from the shed when I said, “Oh, I forgot to check on the owl.” The injured young eastern screech owl was my first solo patient. Maya nodded, distracted, and headed for the house.
    Ash was still in the shed, now crouched and checking the hinges on the rabbit hutch. He handled construction for Maya’s shed, and he was forever fussing with it, worrying it wasn’t quite good enough.
    “She’s pissed, isn’t she?” he said as I walked in.
    “She put a lot of work into planning this weekend. You agreed to come, and she didn’t want you feeling like a fifth wheel, so she and Daniel dreamed up this whole aganda to suit you.”
    “Fuck.” He exhaled and straightened to face me. “I didn’t know…” He shook his head and shoved back his hair. “Fuck.”
    “Can you just come? Please. It would mean a lot to her.”
    “I know, but I can’t. I’ve…got stuff.” He lifted his hands. “And, no, I’m not just saying that to skip out. I’m working on something. For Maya. For next week.”
    “Her birthday. Well, your birthday, I mean. Both of you.”
    “I want to get it done while she’s gone. I figured you guys would be okay with me staying back, maybe even be happy not to have me tagging along.”
    I gave him a look.
    “Yeah, I know. You’d be okay with me coming. I just thought it wouldn’t be a big deal if I bailed. Now it is, and I really want to do this, and Maya’s pissed.”
    “I’ll talk to her.”
    “Thanks.”

Four

 
    Maya’s place is tucked into the forest, but it is still close enough to see another house—an empty house, built for Rae and her mother. Sean had tracked them down and convinced them to come to Badger Lake. I’d gone with him to meet her months ago, but they hadn’t shown up.
    Sean had worried something had happened, but his spies had caught sight of them a few weeks later. As soon as Sean tried to make contact, Rae and her mother took off