By the time we were ready to leave, Wade was fairly comfortable with feeding on humans. I only had to intervene once since Honey. Jaxon said he was impressed by how well Wade had adapted in a short time.
I was sure Wade still had a long road ahead of him to adjust to his new life. I would be there with him and for him. He was my family, and I would not let him fail.
Chapter Thirteen
Mornings were never going to be my strong suit. And I didn’t want them to be. I enjoyed my evenings and sleeping late, and I wouldn't let anyone give me a hard time for that. I had just stumbled into the kitchen to start coffee when my phone dinged with an incoming text. Before I could wrap my thoughts around what was going on—because it was way too darn early to get up—a cup of warm coffee was pressed into my hand. Humming, I raised it to my nose and inhaled deeply. “Perfect,” I murmured.
Then Drew kissed me on the cheek and directed me to the table. “Morning.” I let him shuffle me along.
“Morning,” I said as I read the text from Owen.
Luci was just here looking for you. Just FYI
“Crap.” I did not want to deal with the devil today. Not even a little.
“What?” Drew asked. He was cute when he first woke up. A little piece of his black hair was sticking straight up in the back.
I turned my phone so he could see it. “Owen said Luci was looking for me.”
Just then, the doorbell rang. I sighed. Too early.
Drew and I locked gazes then looked toward the living room. Drew pointed to the table. “Enjoy your coffee. I’ll get the door.”
I muttered, “Thanks,” as I sank into the chair and sipped my coffee. Drew had made it just how I liked it. How did he know?
I heard Drew open the door and then dropped my head to the table when I heard a familiar voice that I thought I wouldn’t hear while in Philly. Dang it. Why was Lucifer here? And why had he bothered with the doorbell? Why hadn’t I known he’d be at the door? Normally he’d just come right in, or I should’ve known it was him at least.
I got up and went to the living room. When Luci saw me, he smiled and rushed right over, holding something in his hand. “I come bearing gifts.”
That was ominous.
Frowning, I looked at the envelope in his hand. I wasn’t sure I wanted gifts from Satan. Not today. “Your gifts come with conditions. No thanks.”
Luci rolled his eyes and opened the envelope. “So untrusting.” He pulled out what looked like tickets. “You’ll enjoy this, I promise.”
I stepped closer, cradling my coffee. At the same time, Olivia and Sam entered the room. Luci handed them an envelope too. “I didn’t forget my favorite deputy and the little wifey.”
Olivia pulled out two pieces of paper and scrunched up her nose. “Train tickets?”
Yes.” Luci grinned. “It’s a luxury train, fully inclusive. It’ll take you to Portland, where I’ve arranged for a car to pick you up and drive you home. The view is spectacular this time of year.”
I shook my head. “We don’t need to take the train.”
Luci pouted, sticking his bottom lip out. “I tried to think of something good for you. My intentions with this gift are strictly honorable.”
I shook my head. “No, we have to drive the truck home.” Shrugging, I tried to hand the tickets back to him, but he wouldn’t take them.
“How will you all fit in the truck?” Luci asked. “At least a few of you will need to either fly or rent a car. Why not use these tickets I’ve already purchased?”
Olivia had been busy on her phone while we talked. “They’re legit.” She stepped close and showed me her screen. “At least, mine are.”
I took her phone and typed the ticket numbers from the tickets into the website. They were registered for a luxury suite and all meals and drinks included.
“Look.” Luci walked around us and pointed to the screen. “I made them open-ended. You can pick your time and register when you want to go. I wasn’t sure what time of day you’d want to leave.”
He’d made the offer pretty attractive. It was hard to refuse. And a train ride on a romantic locomotive in a luxury suite sounded heavenly—haha a heavenly gift from the devil—after the week we’d had.
“I have one condition,” I said.
Luci’s eyebrows flew up. “What’s that?”
“You magically pack Wade’s house and load it into the trailer we’re going to send Wallie to rent. That will take a huge weight off my mind.”
Lucifer sighed and cocked his head at me. “Really? I have to bribe you to accept a gift from me?”
I just stood there with one eyebrow cocked.
The devil burst out laughing. “I guess that’s fair.”
“One more thing. Anything we don’t move into our house of Wade’s, that he doesn’t want to get rid of, you’ll store in one of your amazing rooms,” I said. “You’ve got plenty of space.”
Luci glared at me but inclined his head once. “Done. Get the trailer, and I’ll help.”
I handed our tickets to Olivia for safekeeping. “Then we’re taking the train.”
Why did I have a bad feeling I’d come to regret this decision?
I expected Luci to leave after giving us the train tickets, but he didn’t. Just my luck.
It was our last day here anyway. We needed to get Wade’s truck and the rental trailer loaded ASAP so the kids could head out right after dark. We had most of the house packed, though. And Hailey had agreed to handle the pickup of the donated stuff, so we just had to take our stuff and put out the trash and leave.
We’d covered Wade’s furniture with blankets and sheets until he decided, later on down the road, whether to stay in Shipton or come back here to Philly. His house was paid off, so it could sit until he knew his plan.
My son had yet to make an appearance, and I’d already had a cup of coffee and dealt with the devil. “Wallie!” I couldn’t believe that kid had slept through the doorbell and our conversation. Then again, he was my child. “Wallace Harper!” I yelled toward the pull-out sofa sleeper where he laid with his mouth open and a trickle of drool escaping his lips.
“Huh?” He sat up, looking around. When his gaze landed on Luci, he frowned. “What is Satan doing here?”
“He gifted us with train tickets so you, Wade, and Zoey will be driving back. Tonight. That means you have to go get a trailer so we can start packing everything inside.” I turned toward the hallway to go check on Wade, who was asleep in my walk-in closet. Jaxon said he’d sleep all day.
When I reached my room, I noticed I was being followed by my husband’s ghost and Luci. He’d lost the spell I’d done to make him corporeal and was back to being a regular ghost.
Seeing Clay reminded me that today was also the day I would say goodbye. Forever.
Clay floated around to stand in front of me. “You’re leaving today.”
I didn’t have much choice. It was time to go. “Yeah.”
“But you haven’t let go.” I didn’t want to look at his face; his voice was slightly pitiful.
I glanced at Luci, who now sat on the bed as he watched us with interest. I was so glad my struggle was so entertaining for him.