Chapter 32 32
The timer dinged and the twins flew off the stools to join us. Lisa herded everyone over to where the couch and coffee table were. Once we were settled she poured tea and coffee for anyone who wanted it. The kids never took their eyes off the cookies, waiting for some cue that they could have one. Lisa picked up a little plate that had what looked like cookies on it, but, smelled wrong. She held it out to the Dancer children. They took a cookie in each hand and ran giggling to a kids sized sofa by the TV. The twins grabbed cookies off a plate that looked and smelled like chocolate chip cookies. Connor reached for the same plate the Dancer children had gotten their cookies from. I’d be laughing for some time over the face he made when he bit into it. Lisa let out a soft chuckle.
“Thomas got those from the Dancer house. We’ve been honoring their parents’ beliefs by only feeding them vegan food.”
Connor gulped down his coffee. “If that’s what soy tastes like, I’d never make it as a vegan.”
A ripple of magic and the faint popping sound of the ward going down had us jumping up in preparation for a possible attack. Lisa grabbed a Dancer kid in each hand and ran for the kitchen while telling the twins to follow her. They hunkered down between the island and the counter closest to the family room, where they would be out of sight from all points of entry. Connor and I stood back to back with our hands raised. He faced the back door, I was covering the front. I nodded at the picture window and Tristan stood guard in front of it.
“Did you know there was a wolf out there?” He asked while pointing out the window.
“You didn’t? “ I squeezed my eyes shut when he shook his head then asked the question I was afraid already knew the answer to. “Did you notice the wolf under the SUV in the driveway when we got here?”
“Um no. There was a SUV in the driveway?”
Before I could respond, I heard the front door handle turn. I cupped a fire ball in my hand ready to fire.
“Whoa! Just us. No need to go and burn the place down.” Vera said with her hands up. “I would have thought you could hear us talking out there.”
“I heard you. But, ears and eyes can be fooled.” I closed my hand to extinguish the fire once their scent reached me. “However, it’s hard to fool the nose.”
Connor and Tristan stood down as well and went back to the couch. Lisa brought the children out of the kitchen before fussing at her guests. “You should have called and told us you were coming. Are you trying to give me a heart attack? Haven’t the little ones been through enough?” The Dancer kids did look a little green. Poor little guys. I snuck them each another cookie while Lisa was distracted. Then I had to give the twins cookies. The look they shot me clearly said they were going to tattle on me. Lisa grabbed the man behind Vera by the arm and pulled him over to where Tristan stood eyeing the cookies. If he wanted one, he was old enough to steal his own. I wasn’t getting him one. Lisa cleared her throat to get his attention. He looked up and froze when he saw who was with her.
“Tristan, this is your grandfather Jeremiah Lobo.” She turned to Jeremiah. “Jeremiah, meet your grandson Tristan.”
Jeremiah looked Tristan in the eye as they shook hands. “It’s nice to meet you Tristan. I thought maybe this would be a good time to uh” Jeremiah had to clear his throat before he could finish. “get to know each other a little bit. How’s that sound to you?”
Tristan gave a little nod and fidgeted, clearly not sure what to do with his hands now. Lisa shooed them to the upstairs den which was sound proof so they could talk in private. Vera went back outside to reset the ward and check the perimeter again. The kids settled in to watch The Little Mermaid while we remaining adults caught up on pack gossip. I was so far behind. At least six years behind since I didn’t know Thomas had gotten married let alone had kids.
When the credits rolled on the animated tale of a mix species love story, I was caught up on all the juicy stories about the pack and the kids were passed out. The Dancer children were sprawled out on the floor with the twins, who had changed to wolves, curled up with them. The little snores coming from the four of them were kinda cute.