Midnight Whispers - Paranormal Romance by Catherine Bullard Page A

house—her aunt lagged,
and they had to stop and rest often. Kyra noticed that some of the paleness in
her aunt’s face wasn’t simply from the shock of recent death, but from fatigue
as well, and she worried. Her aunt was not a young woman; perhaps they should
have taken one of the horses, but it was not a very long walk, and since her
aunt hadn’t made the suggestion Kyra hadn’t thought of it.
    When they
reached the Bennet house, Kent Bennet opened the door, looking scruffy, his
eyes red-rimmed. His voice was gruff as he greeted them and invited them into
the house, where Judy sat at the kitchen table, her face pasty pale, her eyes
puffy red clouds. Kyra stopped short as she saw Jake sitting there next to her,
solemn and sturdy as he offered Judy encouragement.
    “Oh Judy,”
Sylvia cried, rushing to take her friend in her arms. “I’m so sorry to hear
about your boys.”
    As the two
women grieved, Kyra turned to Jake, puzzled. “What are you doing here?”
    “Chris and
Taylor were good friends of mine,” Jake said softly, his blue eyes clouded with
sadness. “And I was the one who found them.”
    “I’m so sorry
to hear that,” Kyra said, dropping into the chair next to him. “What happened?”
    Jake shook
his head. “I didn’t see what went on, but when I was walking in the woods this
morning I came upon their bodies. I don’t know what got ‘em—they’re heads
were smashed up real good, and they had some claw marks on ‘em, like a wild
animal had gone after them. Maybe a bear.” He sighed. “A terrible way for them
to go.”
    The two women
rejoined them at the table once Judy had stopped crying. “What can we do for
you, Judy?” Sylvia asked. “If there is any way I can help you to get through
this—”
    Judy shook
her head.  “It’s very kind of you to offer, but I know you have enough
going on yourself, Sylvia. Jake and his brothers have already agreed to help me
with the harvest, and my husband and his friends are taking care of the
funeral.”
    Sylvia turned
to Jake. “That’s a very fine thing for you to do, Jake.”
    He shook his
head. “It’s the least I can do, especially since…” he shook his head.
    “Since what?”
Kyra asked, frowning.
    “Never mind.”
Jake flashed a shadow of his trademark grin. “Just rambling, I suppose. But
it’s no big thing.”
    “Even so,
I’ll be coming by to check on you, Jue,” Sylvia said, patting her arm.
    “I appreciate
that.” Judy sniffed. “It’s only been a few hours since I learned, and it’s
already difficult.”
    “I know,
honey. Losing loved ones is never easy.”
     
    ****
    Sylvia
insisted on staying to help with the funeral arrangements, and so Kyra walked
home alone to finish up the chores. There wasn’t very much to do, so afterward
she made her way to the forest and back through the maze, her thoughts pensive
as she dwelled on matters of life and death. Judy’s grief had hit far too close
to her own, resurfacing a pain she now felt guilty about not thinking about
these past few days. Ever since Bryce and this whole mating thing had come into
her life she’d hardly given a though to her deceased parents, and she was
ashamed. Did life move so quickly that the dead were this easily forgotten?
When she died, would her memory pass with such swiftness from the hearts of her
loved ones?
    No ,
she told herself with a shake of her head. That wasn’t fair to say. She hadn’t
forgotten about her parents completely. She had been distracted; too
preoccupied by the people in her life to dwell on the hole in her heart left by
their deaths, but it was still there. It throbbed now, aching for something,
anything to fill it.
    When she
exited the maze, it was to find the entire village cloaked in an air of grief
and melancholy that only sharpened the edges of her own grief. The villagers
were solemn, and while a few flashed glances of hatred her way, most seemed to
be in another place. They were all dressed in black, which told