Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 81808 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81808 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
“I know a lot of regular people who talk to ghosts. My friend Crystal is a witch, and Leroy Banyon—he’s married to Sasha, who has bees and makes different honey blends for the restaurant—he’s a shaman. He travels all over the US and Canada helping people, and I’m proud to call him my friend. He does cheat at cards, though, but so does Ondine.”
“Fine, you’re not magical.”
“I’m really not, just old.”
His eyes narrowed. “How old?”
“I’d rather not say.”
He exhaled sharply. “I need to talk to Ondine and let her know that my brother is sort of desperate to have an older sister or mother figure in his life. He never had one. I had my mom for ten years before he was born, but he never did.”
“Did Narah or any of the other pack members not mother him?”
He shook his head. “Our pack has never been a real community with how spread out we were in the city. It’s one of the reasons I was so surprised when Abel made this move.”
“Why do you think he did?”
“I don’t know.”
“Has it occurred to you that maybe he’s running from something?”
“It has now.”
I smiled at him. “Well, I’m sorry Evan wasn’t smothered and loved on hard, but there’s no way to know how Ondine will be with him. She can change like the wind, with everything, and yet she’s been a constant in my life for over six—for a very long time.”
He nodded. “Nice save. You’ll tell me one of these days.”
Sadly, I would have to.
At dinner, both Cole and Evan were stunned by my culinary talent, and afterward, as I brought out cookies and brownies I’d baked over the weekend, Ondine sat on the counter and talked to Evan while he did the dishes. She would dry only. Not wash, not put away, but the middle step, she didn’t completely hate. Washing was tedious, and placing items on shelves or in drawers bored her. She also wouldn’t clear dishes; she was not the maid.
“I don’t mind,” Evan told me when I mentioned it to him, smiling sheepishly. “She’s keeping me company, and we’re gonna watch a movie after.”
“Does she have a whole entertainment system in her room?” Cole asked me.
I squinted at him. “Of course she does.”
For whatever reason, he thought that was funny.
As Ondine was on her way upstairs, she ordered Evan to make popcorn.
“She can get really bossy, so you have to call her on it now and then.”
“No, I don’t think so,” he said with a sigh. “I’ll do whatever she wants me to do.”
“You’re not her minion. She can’t just boss you around.”
“I don’t mind. I think she’s awesome.”
I groaned, because she already had him right there in the palm of her hand. He was enthralled with her.
“Okay.” I smiled at him. “And listen, I want you to feel free to invite your friends from school here whenever you feel like it, during the week or on weekends.”
He almost stopped breathing for a moment, he went that still.
“Evan?”
“Are you sure, Merritt? Abel has a rule that only humans who plan to—”
“Humans are amazing. I’m friends with a lot of them, and you should be too. I’m sure, okay? And you go to school right there in Lewisburg, which probably seems far, but really isn’t. Especially if they drive.”
“Yeah, I’ve been saving up for a car, and Cole says he’ll pitch in next spring. He doesn’t want me driving in the snow until after I’ve practiced with him this winter. I mean, I’ve been a subway guy my whole life, you know?”
“That’s probably for the best.”
“Yeah, but being the new kid who gets dropped off and picked up by his big brother… I have no aura, man.”
I just stared at him.
He grinned back.
“English,” I ordered.
“I need a car. Not to be cool, but just so I can do more things with my friends and I don’t need to bother my chauffeur.”
“Got it.”
“I want butter on that popcorn,” Ondine called down to him.
“Yes, ma’am.” He bolted for the pantry.
A couple hours later, he conked out, so Cole went up to Ondine’s room, collected his brother, and walked him down the stairs. I caught his expression as I was finishing up in the kitchen, having made bread, then making sure it was pristine and ready for the next day.
“What?” I asked softly, not wanting to wake Evan. He was basically sleepwalking, not all the way conscious.
“How does it sound like you’re underwater up there, and now there’s moonlight coming in from the ceiling but there’s no skylight?”
I just looked at him.
“Don’t say magic.”
I pressed my lips together and tried not to smile.
“Really? That’s the answer?”
“She’s a siren,” I reminded him. “Have you ever met a siren before?”
“I have no idea,” he muttered, leaving me to walk his brother to his bedroom.