After a few more moments, my mom let her go, pulling back so she could look Jayne in the face. “Your blood must be pretty amazing, because I feel stronger than I have in a long time. And I looked in the mirror. None of my moisturizers or vitamins has ever made me look this good. Maybe it’ll wear off in few days, maybe it won’t, but I don’t care. You did a wonderful thing for me.”
Jayne sniffed. “I was happy to do it.”
“I know you were,” my mom said. “Because you are the best daughter-in-law a mother could ever hope for.” She smiled brightly. “Now, I am going to eat.”
She did too. We all did. Having my mom back and in such amazing shape after everything she’d been through was the only seasoning the meal needed.
Aunt Zinnia had made enough for an army, but we went through the food on the table like locusts. At one point, she even floated the idea of making another tray of biscuits.
Jayne put an end to that by reminding everyone that there was still chocolate cherry cobbler to be had.
My father upped the ante with an announcement there was more than enough French vanilla ice cream to go with it.
So by the time dessert rolled around, we had groaning stomachs and high spirits. Laughter and merriment filled the house. Even Spider and Sugar joined us, sitting on the stools at the kitchen counter so they could be at eye level with us.
A few bits of chicken and bacon might have gotten tossed their way, too.
We all retold our stories from the rescue. How Buck held my dad and Jayne at gunpoint in the barn. How Birdie got shot saving Tony. How my dad slipped away with my mom to keep her secret safe. And how Birdie smoothed everything over by befriending the coyote-shifter police officer.
When the meal was done, Aunt Z served up the still-warm cobbler, and then my dad added a scoop of ice cream to each dish.
As we tucked in, making all the appropriate happy noises to such a delicious finish to a great meal, my mother raised her water glass. “Thank you all for what you did to help me. If I spent the rest of my life trying, I couldn’t repay you.”
“Hear! Hear!” my father said, raising his glass as well.
We all put our glasses in the air and clinked them together.
My mom took a sip, then put her glass down and smiled at my dad. “I can’t wait to get back to work tomorrow.”
His brows bent, and he smiled at her like she’d lost her mind. “Sweetheart, that is not going to happen. You need to rest.”
“Anson.” That tone was the same one that had stopped me in my tracks many times as a child. “I am doing that show with or without you tomorrow. We cannot go dark a third night in a row. You know that.”
“Lila, you need to—”
“We’re not discussing it,” my mom said. “The show is happening. End of the conversation.”
Aunt Zinnia stared over my mother’s head. “Um…why is it snowing in the living room?”
“Babe,” I said to Jayne. “What’s up with the flurries?”
She shook her head. “That’s not me.”
Spider and Sugar jumped down to chase the drifting flakes.
“Mama,” Spider said. “Snow fun.”
Sugar caught one and ate it. “Cold treats.”
Everyone looked at Jayne as the snow continued to fall.
“It’s not me,” she said. “But…” With a curious grin, she turned to look at my mom. “It might be Lila.”
Chapter Thirty-four
Jayne
“That’s close. You’ve almost got it,” I told Lila. The men were cleaning up the kitchen after dinner while Zinnia and Birdie were relaxing on the back deck, having a glass of wine.
Lila and I had retreated to the smaller sitting room because I needed to get Lila comfortable with her new skill before it went sideways.
She groaned. “I don’t feel like I’m getting it at all.”
“Think soft thoughts. I know that sounds weird. Like what’s a soft thought? But I promise, that’s how my dad taught me.”
Her expression darkened a little. “It was easier when I wasn’t thinking about it.”
I could tell she was getting frustrated with the repeated attempts to master her new winter elf magic, but she was so close, I didn’t want to call it quits just yet. Not when she was picking it up this quickly. “I understand, but that was an emotional reaction. That’s not a good way to use a skill like this. You don’t want to be out shopping, find the perfect little black dress and suddenly there’s a blizzard in the mall, right?”
She rolled her eyes, sighing. “Nope, definitely don’t want that.”
I put my hands on my hips and gave her my best encouraging look. “Don’t lose sight of the fact that you’ve just inherited these skills, and in such a short time of having them, you’re doing fantastic.”
“If you say so.”
“I do say so. And as the first winter zombie, you’re doing an incredible job.”
She was smiling now. “Okay, here goes again.”
A couple of seconds ticked by, and then small, delicate snowflakes began to fall in the sitting room. I watched as the first few reached the terracotta tiles. They touched down and vanished without a trace of dampness left behind.
I pressed my hands together in front of my chest. “You did it!”
“I did?”
I nodded. “Yes, that was perfect. Wow, you’re a fast learner. That was amazing.”
I never anticipated that my donation of blood to save Lila’s life would result in her receiving some of my shimmer powers. So far, making it snow and creating small objects from ice seemed to be the extent of it. I was glad about that. I wasn’t sure how my uncle would feel if someone outside the immediate family could do his slide.
Lila raised her hands in the air. “Yes!” She clapped, giving herself a little applause. New snow started to fall. “Thank you for your patience.” Then she glanced up. “Oh. I guess I don’t have that great a handle on it as I thought.”
“That just proves that even though you’re handling these new skills so well, you need to keep practicing. A strong burst of emotion still catches me off guard every once in a while. Promise me you’ll practice.”
“I will. Trust me, if there’s anything I understand, it’s how necessary practice is for perfecting a skill. Especially one with a magical side.”
I nodded. “I have no doubt that’s true. It’s probably that familiarity that’s helping you get the hang of this so quickly.” She still looked phenomenal. The transfusion had done wonders for her. But that was all on the outside. “How are you feeling?
“Good. The weakness is already less than it was when I first got up.”
I had one more question I had to ask. “Are you nervous about tomorrow’s show?”
She hesitated. “A little. After all, the last time I went through that tunnel, things didn’t go so well. I think I’m going to ask Anson about putting a stagehand back there. Just to make sure things run smoothly.”
“A stagehand you trust,” I said.
“Yes. One we hired. We sort of inherited Buck with the location. But there’s a man named Dex that’s worked with us for a long time. He’ll be perfect.”