Lynx Northern Shifters 3

clasped him in a bear hug. “Quinn taught me how to be in love. So did you.” Jonah mouthed Trey’s neck, working his way down to Trey’s chest. “I’m jealous of Quinn,” he
admitted.
“Oh, babe, Quinn would have loved you.”
Jonah lifted his head, frowning. “He loved you , you idiot. And I’m glad. Just a little jealous. I know
it’s not reasonable.”
Here, Trey laughed. “You are the most reasonable person I’ve ever met. I don’t know how you put up
with me.” Jonah stopped, staring, tilting his head until Trey said, “What?”
For whatever reason, Trey had not had enough people in his life to love him. Neither had Jonah,
perhaps, but his early years had been formed by strong ties with his brother and mother. These had been
absent from Trey’s world, as far as Jonah could tell. And yet, Jonah remained stingy with certain words,
perhaps a kind of leftover punishment for Trey’s leaving.
“ What? ” demanded Trey again, and as Jonah was about to say the words he loved to hear from Trey, I
love you , Trey’s sat phone rang.
They gazed at each other. It would only be an emergency, Trey had told him, if that phone rang.
Jonah’s heart rate sped up and he feared for his lover, for what Trey was about to learn. Slowly, eyes on
Jonah, Trey reached for the black rectangle, pushed a button.
“Hello. Trey Walters speaking.” He paused. “Who is this?”
Then Jonah watched as Trey’s face changed, settled into the expression he got when he was going
away. He stared at Jonah as he said, “Hello, Ethan. You’ve been gone for a very long time.” Ethan. Jonah didn’t know that name. But Jonah did know about very long times, and now one was
coming. Trey and he were about to be separated.

Chapter Twenty
    That summer Jonah gave up on waiting. Too many months had passed. But this time, the anger wasn’t there, either because of his own maturity or because he better understood Trey.
When Trey had left the first time, Jonah hadn’t really understood or believed in Trey’s reluctance to do so. How could he, given the manner of Trey’s departure—Jonah sleeping—and the brief time they had known each other.
But this last leave-taking, Jonah had demanded two things—that Trey not slip away and that Trey leave him a contact number Jonah could use if weeks turned to months turned to seasons.
And the season had turned.
So Jonah slipped into the town where he usually bought his supplies and he searched out a payphone. Years ago, his mother had taught him how to use one and while the payphone looked like an updated version of what he’d practiced on, the principles remained the same.
Staring through the plexiglass, he pulled in a long breath, trying to steady his nerves. This situation was too reminiscent of those painful years when he’d believed Trey was dead. But then, unlike now, he hadn’t had a number to dial. He stepped up to the payphone and punched in the number.
The third ring cut off as someone picked up, and his hopes rose, like a lifeline was stretching out before him.
“Hello?” came a female voice, clear in his ear.
Not Trey, not even male. Disoriented, Jonah gripped the phone more tightly, trying to think through this unexpected development but unable to form a coherent reply. “Hello?” she repeated, tone a little more demanding this time.
“Hello,” he echoed, figuring he couldn’t go wrong with the one word, wondering if he had to be careful not to give something away to this woman who’d answered Trey’s number. At the same time a part of Jonah was thinking, If Trey gave me just any shit number, I am going to kill him.
“Can I help you?” she said into the silence.
Jonah made himself loosen his grip on the phone before he broke it, and cleared his throat. “Yes, please. Uh…” Christ . “Who’s speaking, please?”
“You called here, remember?” The tone wasn’t annoyed so much as chiding, a little confused. “Who are you?”
He paused, debating the pros and cons of offering his name to her. In the end, he refused to hang up, refused to let go of his only connection to Trey. “I’m Jonah.”
“ Jonah .” She sounded suddenly intent, as if his name meant something to her. “I’ve been hoping you would call.”
“You have?” he asked, hoping this meant she had good news for him. “I mean, who is this?” Do you know Trey? But Jonah didn’t want to give Trey’s name away, not when Trey had been so worried about Kingley’s ability to find