Born in the Shadows (In the Shadows Series Book 1) by Courtney McPhail Page A
Authors: Courtney McPhail
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crown in intricate spirals. Add in her silky smooth skin and sparkling eyes thanks to being a Shadow Walker, Cordelia was actually feeling pretty good about herself.
“You know what? You’re right. I look good and I’m going to enjoy whatever attention I get. I deserve to go out and have some fun.” She turned around to face Mary. “Thank you for making me do this.”
“No need for thanks. I’m the one in the clan who always pushes people out of their comfort zone.” Mary pinned up one last curl and smiled as she smoothed a hand over her hair. “There, ready to go. Now, let me go change so we can head out before we run out of night.”
***
Gabe was in a dark place and he didn’t know if he was going to get out.
He sat on a stool pulled up to the worn bar top in some dive off the Danforth. He had started in on doubles of the cheap rye when he arrived an hour ago and he wasn’t planning to slow up any time soon.
He wanted to be nice and numb before it came time to stumble his ass home. The numbness was the only way to make sure he passed out the second his body hit the mattress. No fucking way was he going to spend another night laying there, staring up at the ceiling, unable to sleep or think about anything else but her .
It had been two weeks since Mitch had come out to the site and told the crew that she had died in a car accident. No funeral. No memorial. No idea where she would be buried. One day she was there and the next she was just gone.
It had been two weeks of walking around like a zombie, unable to focus on anything. He had tried to work but his head was too fucked up and after nearly taking off one of the guy’s legs with a jackhammer, Mitch had told him to take some time off.
So here he was, with nothing to do but drink and think about Cordelia. He hadn’t known her that long but there had been something about her that had touched him deeply.
The grief he was experiencing told him that much.
The only loss that hurt him more was when his mother had lost her battle with cancer years before. She had been his entire world, raising him by herself because his father had left before he was even born. She had worked two jobs to take care of him and he paid her back by always doing his best. He studied hard and earned himself a full ride to college and then to law school. She had been so proud of him.
It had been in his last year of law school when she had been diagnosed. She assured him that it wasn’t that bad, that she would beat it and he had believed her. She had been his rock, the one person in the world he had always been able to count on. Eventually things got bad and she could no longer hide the truth from him. She had finally confessed to him that it had become terminal and within a month, she was gone.
He dropped out of school and went on a bender that would put most hardcore alcoholics to shame. His memory of that time was a blur of bottles, dive bars, flying fists and more than a few nights in the drunk tank. It had been one of those nights sleeping it off behind bars that had him take a long look at what he was doing.
If his mother could see what he had become, she would be so ashamed. She didn’t bust her ass raising him to be smart, respectful and hardworking for him to turn out like this. He had to clean himself up, if not for his own well being, then at least to honour the sacrifices his mother had made for him.
It had taken him years to get the grief of losing his mother to a manageable level. He worked odd jobs then fell into construction and decided to make a go of it as a career. His determination to pay tribute to his mother by making a success of what life he had left was what kept him going down the right path.
Now here he was spiralling out of control again and he couldn’t work up enough energy to give a shit. It was as if the universe was conspiring against him, whether to punish him for some sin he didn’t remember committing or to test his strength. He
“You know what? You’re right. I look good and I’m going to enjoy whatever attention I get. I deserve to go out and have some fun.” She turned around to face Mary. “Thank you for making me do this.”
“No need for thanks. I’m the one in the clan who always pushes people out of their comfort zone.” Mary pinned up one last curl and smiled as she smoothed a hand over her hair. “There, ready to go. Now, let me go change so we can head out before we run out of night.”
***
Gabe was in a dark place and he didn’t know if he was going to get out.
He sat on a stool pulled up to the worn bar top in some dive off the Danforth. He had started in on doubles of the cheap rye when he arrived an hour ago and he wasn’t planning to slow up any time soon.
He wanted to be nice and numb before it came time to stumble his ass home. The numbness was the only way to make sure he passed out the second his body hit the mattress. No fucking way was he going to spend another night laying there, staring up at the ceiling, unable to sleep or think about anything else but her .
It had been two weeks since Mitch had come out to the site and told the crew that she had died in a car accident. No funeral. No memorial. No idea where she would be buried. One day she was there and the next she was just gone.
It had been two weeks of walking around like a zombie, unable to focus on anything. He had tried to work but his head was too fucked up and after nearly taking off one of the guy’s legs with a jackhammer, Mitch had told him to take some time off.
So here he was, with nothing to do but drink and think about Cordelia. He hadn’t known her that long but there had been something about her that had touched him deeply.
The grief he was experiencing told him that much.
The only loss that hurt him more was when his mother had lost her battle with cancer years before. She had been his entire world, raising him by herself because his father had left before he was even born. She had worked two jobs to take care of him and he paid her back by always doing his best. He studied hard and earned himself a full ride to college and then to law school. She had been so proud of him.
It had been in his last year of law school when she had been diagnosed. She assured him that it wasn’t that bad, that she would beat it and he had believed her. She had been his rock, the one person in the world he had always been able to count on. Eventually things got bad and she could no longer hide the truth from him. She had finally confessed to him that it had become terminal and within a month, she was gone.
He dropped out of school and went on a bender that would put most hardcore alcoholics to shame. His memory of that time was a blur of bottles, dive bars, flying fists and more than a few nights in the drunk tank. It had been one of those nights sleeping it off behind bars that had him take a long look at what he was doing.
If his mother could see what he had become, she would be so ashamed. She didn’t bust her ass raising him to be smart, respectful and hardworking for him to turn out like this. He had to clean himself up, if not for his own well being, then at least to honour the sacrifices his mother had made for him.
It had taken him years to get the grief of losing his mother to a manageable level. He worked odd jobs then fell into construction and decided to make a go of it as a career. His determination to pay tribute to his mother by making a success of what life he had left was what kept him going down the right path.
Now here he was spiralling out of control again and he couldn’t work up enough energy to give a shit. It was as if the universe was conspiring against him, whether to punish him for some sin he didn’t remember committing or to test his strength. He
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