Hidden Talents

since.”
    Caleb frowned. “They're finally getting married after being together for fifteen years?”
    Serenity shrugged. “Bethanne said it was time.”
    “Don't you think that's a little odd?”
    “Not in Witt's End,” Serenity retorted. “How long did your father and mother know each other before they got married?”
    “They didn't,” Caleb said in a strangely neutral tone. “Get married, that is.”
    Serenity blinked. “Your parents never married? Neither did mine.”
    “But you just said that your father finally married this Bethanne person.” Caleb paused. “Who arrived in town fifteen years ago. I see what you mean. Bethanne isn't your mother.”
    “And Julius isn't my father. His name just happens to be on my birth certificate. I think of him more as an uncle. The same way I think of Montrose and Quinton and Blade.”
    Caleb gave her an unreadable look. “You've got a lot of uncles.”
    “I've got several aunts, too,” Serenity said. “My biological parents are both dead. They died before they could get married. My father died when my mother was still pregnant. He was killed in a military training accident when he was in boot camp. My mother died the day I was born.” She touched the little metal griffin at her throat.
    “You're adopted?”
    “By the town of Witt's End,” she said, trying to clarify things for him.
    “No offense, but that doesn't sound entirely legal.”
    “Who cares about details like that? I've got a family, and that's all that matters, isn't it?”
    “It depends on your point of view,” Caleb said slowly. “I guess we've got something in common. My parents both died when I was three months old. Before they could get married. I was raised in my grandfather's house.”
    The words hovered in the air between them. Serenity didn't want them to reach out and touch her, but they did. Everything about this man seemed to touch her in one way or another. “I'm sorry. It's strange, isn't it?”
    “What's strange?”
    “Never having known them. I don't even know what my parents looked like. I don't have any photos of them. Do you have pictures of your parents?”
    “Yes.” Caleb's eyes were bleak. “I do.”
    “You're lucky, then.”
    “Do you really think so?”
    Serenity realized she had trodden onto some very dangerous ground. She sought for a way to retreat from whatever it was that had turned Caleb's gaze so cold. “Come on, let's go. Julius's place isn't far from here. We can walk.”
    She took her jacket down off the hook, slipped into it and opened the front door. The gray fog formed a seemingly impenetrable wall in front of her.
    “Got a flashlight handy?” Caleb asked politely. “Night comes early up here in the mountains.”
    “Of course.” She opened a cupboard and rummaged around inside until she found the flashlight. She pulled it out, flicked it on, and started determinedly down the steps into the fog.
    “What happens if we get lost?” Caleb fastened his own jacket and pulled the shearling-lined collar up around his neck.
    “We'll wander around for a few hours and then we'll succumb to hypothermia,” Serenity said blandly. “The good news is that if that happens, we'll miss the invasion.”
    “What invasion?”
    “The one Blade thinks is due any day now.”
    “Thanks for the early warning.”
    “Any time.” Serenity realized she couldn't even see the vehicles parked in her own driveway. Nevertheless, she strode boldly forward. She was committed to getting Caleb out of her cottage.
    “I don't think this is such a good idea,” Caleb said behind her. “Maybe we should wait for a while and see if this stuff lifts a little.”
    “I know my way around Witt's End like the back of my hand.” Serenity took another stride forward and collided with the unyielding metal fender of her Jeep. “Oooph.”
    “How about the way around your own drive?” Caleb came up beside her and took the flashlight from her fingers. “Are you all right?”
    She winced. Her knee had taken most of the brunt of the collision. “Yeah, I'm okay, I'm okay.”
    “I'm glad to hear that. This is as far as we're going for now, however. You may enjoy stumbling around out here in the fog, but I don't intend to maim myself trying to find this other cabin.” Caleb took hold of Serenity's arm, turned her around and started back through the mists toward the cottage.
    Serenity was ill-tempered in defeat. “I suppose we could eat dinner first and then walk over to Julius's