“I know you can’t talk about it, but if you ever feel like you have to, you know where I am,” he said.

“You, too,” I said, because I figured with a girlfriend like Jannalynn, Sam might be in almost as bad a position as I was.

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The phone rang while I was in the shower Friday morning. Since I had an answering machine, I ignored it. As I was reaching out for my towel with my eyes shut, I felt it being thrust into my hand. With a gasp, I opened my eyes to see Claude standing there in his altogether.

“Phone’s for you,” he said, handing me the portable phone from the kitchen. He left.

I put it to my ear automatically. “Hello?” I said weakly. I didn’t know what to think about first: me seeing Claude naked, Claude seeing me naked, or the whole fact that we were related and naked in the same room.

“Sookie? You sound funny,” said a faintly familiar male voice.

“Oh, I just got a surprise,” I said. “I’m so sorry. . . . Who is this?”

He laughed, and it was a warm and friendly sound. “This is Remy Savoy, Hunter’s dad,” he said.

Remy had been married to my cousin Hadley, who was now dead. Their son, Hunter, and I had a connection, a connection that we needed to explore. I’d been meaning to call Remy to set up a playdate for me and Hunter, and I chided myself now for putting it off. “I hope you’re calling to tell me that I can see Hunter this weekend?” I said. “I’ve got to work Sunday afternoon, but I have Saturday off. Tomorrow, that is.”

“That’s great! I was going to ask if I could bring him over this evening, and maybe he could spend the night.”

That was a lot of time to spend with a kid I didn’t know; more important, a kid who didn’t know me. “Remy, do you have special plans or something?”

“Yeah. My dad’s sister died yesterday, and they’ve set the funeral for tomorrow morning at ten. But the visitation is tonight. I hate to take Hunter to the visitation and the funeral . . . especially considering, you know, his . . . problem. It might be pretty hard on him. You know how it is. . . . I can’t ever be sure what he’ll say.”

“I understand.” And I did. A preschool telepath is tough to be around. My parents would have appreciated Remy’s predicament. “How old is Hunter now?”

“Five, just had a birthday. I was worried about the party, but we got through that okay.”

I took a deep breath. I’d told him I’d help out with Hunter’s problem. “Okay, I can keep him overnight.”

“Thanks. I mean, really thanks. I’ll bring him over when I get off work today. That okay? We’ll be there about five thirty?”