“I’m here to listen when you’re ready to talk.” He kissed the top of my head.
When my tears were spent, I sucked in a deep breath and glanced up at him. “I feel like a weight’s been lifted. I got to say goodbye. I got closure.” I knew he was at peace, gone to whatever happened to us next.
Stepping out of Drew’s embrace, I turned to Wallie. He had the urn. “Keep this safe during the drive. I don’t need your father haunting me the rest of my life.”
Wallie chuckled. “We’ll do a ceremony or something at home.”
Just then, a knock sounded on the door, interrupting us. I opened it to Hailey's smiling face. I returned the smile a little shakily. “Hi! Come in.”
“Thank you.” She entered the house and looked at everyone standing around. “Are we having a sendoff party?”
I laughed and introduced her to everyone, including Luci, and tried to silently encourage her to not make eye contact with the devil. Wade excused himself and headed to the kitchen. I guessed that he was packing his cooler of bagged blood that Paige had dropped off. And probably drinking one in the process.
I handed Hailey the keys. “It’s all yours.” Sucking in a deep breath, I took one last look around and let go of the house. I’d brought my baby home to this house. But it was just a chapter closing as another began. It felt right.
Hailey took the keys. “Thanks. I’m so excited about this move and so ready to start over.” She paused and studied me for a moment, then her gaze drifted to my inner wrist. “So, uh, are you a witch?”
I choked and coughed, then laughed. Her bold question shocked me. “I am. I figured you might know about us since your BFF is Kendra.”
“Yeah.” She paused again and scanned the living room like she was looking for something. “Kendra says that houses can absorb magic.”
Ha! If only she knew. “You don’t need to worry about this one. My in-laws didn’t like that I was a witch, so I suppressed my magic while living here. At the time I wanted to live a normal human life.” No more normal for me. I was happy about that. “Now I know who and what I’m meant to be.”
I felt Hailey’s relief as if it were my own. I understood. She didn’t need to move into a house that might mess with her.
While Hailey watched, wide-eyed, I conjured a pen and a notepad, then wrote down my phone number and handed it to her. “If you need anything or have questions or even just need to talk, call me.” I considered telling her about the fanged ones across the street, but I thought it was better not to. It was possible the sale was still so new she could back out.
Besides, Jaxon had said they don’t mix with humans outside his club or the small group of trusted humans who knew about them. It was how they had gone unnoticed by the hunters for so long.
Once Hailey left, I saw my son and uncle off. They had an eight-hour drive to Shipton, which was why we were leaving just after dark rather than early in the morning. Wade would be awake and able to drive. Once the sun came up, the poor man would be out, and he’d have to go in the back of the trailer if they didn’t make it to my house first. Newbie vamps were weak in the sunlight and slept most of the day. Jax said after a hundred or so years, Wade would be able to stay up more during the day.
About ten minutes after they drove off, Luci turned to us. “I bid you farewell and safe travels.” Then he dematerialized just as our cab pulled up.
Drew, Sam, Olivia, and I were taking the train home. While it sounded fun, I was still suspicious of the gift Luci gave us.
Why had I agreed to take the darn train?
Chapter Fifteen
Holy crap on a cracker. This train was glorious. We boarded a car with a green carpet. “If I take my shoes off and sink my feet into this carpet, I’m telling you, you won’t be able to see my toes,” Olivia whispered.
“I know,” I squeaked. “This is luxury like I didn’t know even existed!” I’d thought trains were all worn-out velvet and smelled stale. But then again, I’d never been on a train, so what did I know?
As we walked down the narrow pathway, the porter showed us two rooms. “These are our two luxury suites. Please, press the button on the phone if you need anything at all.” He bowed his head and Drew held out his hand. As they shook, I caught the slightest flash of green exchange hands.
“Was that a twenty?” I asked as we all crowded into the first room.
“Yeah. We’re in their best suites and they obviously think we’re some richy-riches.” Drew chuckled. “Might as well tip extravagantly.”
We oohed and aahed over the room. It was small, but every bit of material in the room was either incredibly soft or overwhelmingly silky. The sofa and armchair were made of the highest quality and on the other side of the room, a double bed was piled high with pillows.
“Oh, skylights,” Olivia crooned. “Come on, let’s go see if the other room has skylights.” She jumped up and down a couple of times.
“If not, I call dibs on this one!” I threw my bags on the couch. I’d move them if I had to.
Both rooms were identical, so Sam and Olivia stayed in the second to get settled in while Drew and I went back to the first one.
I walked through the suite with big eyes, then hopped on the bed and tested it out. “It’s super squishy,” I called.
Drew watched me with a twinkle in his eyes. “I’m glad you like it. I still think this train has a big fat string attached to it that we haven’t seen yet.”
I grunted. “I totally agree.”
A bell dinged in the car. “What was that?” I asked.
Drew shrugged and looked around. A pamphlet sat on the little table beside the only armchair. He picked it up and rifled through it. “Oh, that’s the last bell for dinner. It says the kitchen is open until ten, so one more hour.”
“Let’s go grab a bite to eat,” I said. “I’m not starving, but I don’t want to miss out on having dinner on this fancy train.”
Drew chuckled and held open the door. “Let’s grab the lovebirds before they start doing the horizontal tango.”
I stuck my nose in the air and sashayed past Drew out the door as if I were a snobby lady who would find it perfectly normal to ride on a train like this. Once out in the hall, I walked on tiptoe toward the room next door and then when I got there, banged on it as hard as I could, hoping to startle them.
Seconds later, Olivia answered with her blonde hair disheveled. I snickered. That hadn’t taken long. “What?” she croaked. “Give a girl a break!”
“Last call for the dining car,” I said. “You coming?”
She looked back into the room, at Sam presumably, then her grin widened. “Nope. We’ll eat later.”
“Okay,” I tried to warn her, but she slammed the door shut. “But you can’t eat later,” I whispered.
Olivia jerked the door open and stuck her head out. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” she said in a sing-song voice. Then she slammed the door again as I giggled.
“There’s not much she wouldn’t do, but she’s gonna do it hungry.”
“Maybe they’re planning to live on love,” Drew said. “But I’m starving.” He held out his elbow. “Shall we?”