The fact that he was annoyed on my behalf only made me love him more. “Chocolate?” I handed him one of the pilfered bars as we got comfortable. He unwrapped the offering and bit into it without saying another word. I knew he needed to stew to get it out of his system. “It’s a nice night. I’m glad the weather cooperated. This early in the spring we might’ve got stuck inside with the giggle monsters if things went differently.”
“Yeah, but Sami was born like six months after your wedding,” Aric said, mimicking a little girl’s voice. “My mom is a whore, so I can’t help myself from being the rudest person in the world.”
I patted his knee to calm him. “Chill out, dear. Don’t let her get to you.”
“She insulted you!”
“Yes, but I’m used to dealing with the other moms, so that happens all of the time,” I pointed out. “You were the one who warned me about saying something embarrassing to those kids. Why are you getting your panties in a twist?”
“Because you’re my wife,” Aric replied. “I don’t like it when anyone talks badly about you.”
“Your mother and my mother enjoy doing it when they come to visit,” I reminded him. “They keep asking when we’re going to hire a maid.”
“That’s different,” Aric protested. “That’s kind of funny. This is … we lived together five years before we got married, for crying out loud. I don’t want them saying stuff like that to Sami.”
“Sami is impressionable, but I don’t think you ever have to worry about her thinking we don’t love each other,” I said. “We’re gross, remember? She told your mother we paw each other all of the time when we think no one is looking.”
“Yeah, I know,” Aric said, slipping his arm around my shoulders and tugging me so I could recline against him. “I still don’t like that little … barbarian.”
“I wouldn’t worry about her,” I said. “Girls like that tend to have a rude awakening when they’re outside of insulated circles and go to college. She won’t be any different. I’m hoping Sami realizes how strong she is before that happens.”
“Oh, Sami is never going to college,” Aric said. “In fact, I don’t think we should allow Sami to go to high school. There are boys there.”
I snickered. “There are boys everywhere.”
“Yes, but if you home school her then I’m the only boy who will get to see her, and I won’t have to worry about perverted teenagers,” Aric explained. “It’s really the best thing for everyone.”
“You’re so full of it,” I said, laughing. “Like you would want the two of us spending the entire day together. You’d come back to a burning shell of a house from our tempers.”
“Perhaps I shall build an ice fortress,” Aric suggested. “That won’t burn.”
“And neither will our love for each other,” I teased. “You know you don’t react well to the cold.” I gestured toward his groin for emphasis. “That’s why we don’t ski.”
“Very funny, rotten wife,” Aric said, tickling my ribs and causing me to gasp. “You’re lucky I love you or that would be grounds for divorce.”
“Okay,” I said, fighting to push him off. He was too strong, though. We both knew I had the power to throw him off, but I would never use my magic against him. He had faith in that, so it was a trust I would never betray. “Aric!”
Aric reluctantly released me as a small shape approached at a rapid pace. I knew it was Sami before she appeared in front of us, her mind briefly touching mine as anger overwhelmed her.
“Knock it off,” Sami hissed, grabbing Aric’s arm and jerking it away from me. “Everyone can hear you giggling. They think you’re … doing it.”
Aric made an exaggerated face. “Doing what? We’re eating chocolate on a swing. You don’t get more G-rated than that.”
“Mom squealed like a pig and your face is all red,” Sami argued. “That means you were … kissing.”
“We haven’t started kissing yet,” Aric argued. “We’re saving that for when you go to bed. It’s like a reward.”
“Shut it,” Sami said, extending a finger. “You’re driving me crazy.”
“Welcome to our world,” I said dryly. “You always drive me crazy.”
“I think you were born crazy,” Sami countered.
“Don’t talk to your mother that way,” Aric snapped. “I warned you about that earlier.”
“Fine.” Sami sucked in a cleansing breath. She’d been taking online yoga classes with Paris in an effort to rein in her temper. “Can’t you … I don’t know … go for a walk in the woods or something? That way if Dad hops on you, like he always does, everyone will think it’s just an animal.”
“Did you hear that, honey? You’re an animal.”
“I did,” Aric said, gripping the back of my neck as he studied our daughter. “We shall go for a walk. I want you to know that this tyrant attitude isn’t going to fly, though. Starting tomorrow we’re going to have a long talk about the way you’re acting.”
Sami’s eyebrows flew up her forehead, giving me another brief glimpse of my mannerisms on her face. “The way I’m acting? You two are practically doing it in front of my friends. It’s embarrassing.”
“Oh, geez.” Aric got to his feet and pulled me up beside him as he shook his head. “I can’t deal with wacky women. You’re not even a teenager yet and I already want to tape your mouth shut. We’re going for a walk. Are you happy?”
“I’ll be happy if we don’t hear any kissing noises.” Sami flounced back in the direction of her friends as Aric watched her with a scowl on his face.
“You know when I said I was fine and happy with a girl?”
I nodded.
“I lied.”
“Come on, Romeo,” I said, linking my fingers with his. “If you’re good I’ll let you get to third base in the bushes.”
Aric’s eyes lit up. “We haven’t done that since … .”
“Wednesday.”
“I knew it was a long time,” Aric said, laughing as he urged me into the thick foliage that surrounded our house.
The property was isolated, completely surrounded on every side by thick trees Aric loved to run through when he shifted during the full moon every month. I’d been waiting to see if Sami would turn into a wolf – as a hybrid we honestly had no idea what to expect – but Aric said the transformation wouldn’t come until she hit puberty. He didn’t want to admit that a twelve-year-old was the right age, so I let him live in his own little world while I watched Sami closely for signs that she was going to turn into a literal beast instead of a figurative one during a full moon.
Aric was happy to pick a slow pace, an unspoken agreement passing between us that we wouldn’t go very far in case there was an incident. We picked our way around the old invisible fence line that used to keep us safe from invaders. Aric never activated it these days, worried he was locking me in rather than keeping me safe. I couldn’t help but wonder if he would change his mind as soon as Sami reached dating age.
The night was warm for this time of year, but the temperature was beginning to dip. That meant the girls would retire for the evening relatively quickly. We walked in amiable silence until Aric lifted his nose to the air, scenting a group of trees that was thick enough to conceal something – or someone – but still close enough to have a decent view of our backyard.
“What do you smell?” I asked, the hair on the back of my neck standing on end. I’d grown to trust his instincts, as he had mine.
“I’m not sure,” Aric said, wetting his lips as he gripped my hand tighter. “Someone has been here.”
“A teenaged girl?”
“No.”
“A teenaged girl’s annoying mother?”
“No.” Aric shook his head. “It was a human, and he or she – because I can’t tell either way, which is weird – stopped in this spot for a long time.”
“How long?”
“At least a few hours,” Aric replied, glancing over his shoulder as he studied the darkness.
He could see much better in limited light than I could. “I don’t want to put a damper on the party but … I don’t like this.”
“That’s okay,” I said, squeezing his hand. “I’ll be the bad guy. It’s getting cold anyway. We’ll lock them in the house. Because we’re sleeping outside we might be able to catch whoever it is if they return.”
“It’s probably nothing,” Aric said. “These woods are full of mushroom pickers this time of year.”
“Yeah, but most of them don’t stare at our house while they’re out here,” I said. “Let’s get back. We’ll send the girls inside and get in the hot tub.”
Despite his worry, Aric’s interest was piqued. “Naked?”
A negative answer was on the tip of my tongue, but I bit it as I considered his hopeful expression. “We’ll see how it goes. Let’s just get the girls inside first and handle the second part of that when we’re alone.”
Aric didn’t respond, but he whistled a jaunty tune as we returned to our yard. He had high hopes. Dashing them would be cruel.
“YOU’RE such a prude,” Aric lamented an hour later, glaring at my bathing suit as I settled next to him in the hot tub. “I can’t believe you wound me up and then left me to tick on my own.”
He waited in the hot tub while I made sure the girls were settled. “I gave it a lot of thought and didn’t like the idea of anyone sneaking outside to see you naked,” I explained. “I was thinking about you the whole time.”
“Oh, please,” Aric muttered, waving off my excuse. “You weren’t worried about me. You just didn’t want to deal with the screaming and foot stomping if Sami found out what we were doing. Admit it.”
She was loud when she wanted to be. “I’ll get naked in the trailer,” I offered. “Can’t we just spend a half hour relaxing and then get to the other stuff?”
“Yes,” Aric said, making a face. He tugged me to his lap and kissed my neck. The sound of raucous laughter filled the air and he lifted his eyes to the sliding glass doors on the balcony. It was mostly dark except for a small light in the center of the living room. “What are they doing?”
“Telling ghost stories.”
“Oh, well, great,” Aric muttered. “That means they’ll scare each other silly and no one will fall asleep. I’ll be upstairs ghost busting all night. I just know it.”
“You’re such a drama queen,” I said. “That’s where Sami gets it.”
“She gets it from you,” Aric countered, flicking the end of my nose. “She’s all you.”
“Oh, really?” There was no way I was taking credit for that child all by myself. “Two days ago she threw a chair off the deck because she stubbed her toe, and cursed a blue streak when she did it. She didn’t get that from me. I would’ve set it on fire.”
“That’s not because of me … .”
I cut him off. “Last week she called your mother crying because she wanted cupcakes and she thought she would die if she didn’t get them,” I said. “I would’ve gone to the store. You’re the one who calls your mother and manipulates her that way.”
“Okay, fine,” Aric said, wrinkling his nose. “She’s a mixture of us.”
“That only makes me feel half better.”
Aric kissed my cheek and we lapsed into silence, staring up at the clear night sky as the sounds from inside the house diminished. About twenty minutes later everything was silent, which seemed to baffle Aric.
“What do you think they’re doing up there?”
“I think they’re sleeping,” I answered. “They had a big day in the sun. They ate a bunch of food. They gossiped. Now they’re sleeping.”
“It can’t be that easy.”
“Someone might be freezing someone else’s training bra in the freezer,” I conceded.
“Ugh. You’re checking the freezer first thing in the morning,” Aric said. “If I see that I really will die.”
He was so cute sometimes it almost hurt to look at him. “I … .” Something niggled the back of my brain and I snapped my head up and turned it toward the house.
“What is it?” Aric asked, instantly alert. He could read my moods. “They’re not texting boys, are they?”
I mutely shook my head and hopped out of the hot tub, ignoring the towel Aric placed on the nearby bench even as the dropping temperature chilled me. Aric’s body clock operated several degrees hotter than mine, so the cold didn’t bother him as he followed. He was ready for action, although he had no idea what called my attention to the back door on the main floor. Truth be told, I wasn’t quite sure what drew me there either.
To my utter surprise, the door pushed open and Sami stepped outside. She was in her pajamas – cotton ankle-length pants and a T-shirt – but her feet were bare.
“Sami, is something wrong?” Aric asked.
She didn’t answer. Her eyes were glazed as she stared forward, looking at something only she could see. I glanced over my shoulder to see if something was out there, but everything appeared normal.
“Sami?”
When she didn’t answer a second time, Aric reached out to shake her. I slapped his hand away and shook my head, knitting my eyebrows together as I studied Sami’s blank face. “I think she’s sleepwalking.”
“What?” Aric was dumbfounded. “She’s never done that.”
“I know. I just … .” I waved my hand in front of Sami’s face and got no reaction. “She’s not awake.”
“What should we do?” Aric asked, rubbing his chin as he stared at her. “I read somewhere that you’re not supposed to wake sleepwalkers.”
“I heard that somewhere, too,” I said, rubbing my forehead as I decided what to do. “Maybe I can direct her back inside with my head.”
“You can’t headbutt her,” Aric argued. “You could knock her out.”
“Not that.” I pinched his flank for emphasis. “I mean I’ll go into her dream and get her to go back into the house and get into her sleeping bag.”
“Do you really think you can do that?”
“There’s only one way to find out.” I pooled my energy and directed it into Sami’s head, which happened to be a cluttered place with all of the boy band posters and shoes scattered everywhere. I found her sitting in the middle of her bedroom and staring at a book. “What are you doing?”
“Reading.” Sami sounded normal in her dream.
“You’re outside,” I said. “You need to go inside and go back to sleep.”
“Okay.” Sami didn’t argue – which was completely unheard of during daylight hours – and Aric and I followed her to the living room and watched as she wriggled back into her sleeping bag. The moment her head hit the pillow she seemed to resume a normal sleeping pattern and the Sami in her head disappeared.
I took a moment to scan the room. The rest of the girls were out, oblivious to what had occurred.
“What do you think?” Aric whispered.
“I don’t know. It’s probably nothing.” I said the words, but my heart didn’t believe them. “Let’s go to bed. There’s nothing we can do about it tonight.”
Aric nodded. “Should we take turns watching her?”
“I’m going to link her to both of us when we get out to the camper,” I replied. “She’ll be okay.”
“That’s going to make the sex pretty limited,” Aric complained.
“Well, I figured I would do the linking after that,” I said, slipping my hand into his. “I have priorities, after all.”
“And that’s why I love you.”
Four
“Don’t stare at her.”
“I’m not the one staring. That would be you.”
“The only way you would know I was staring is if you were doing it, too.”
I shot Aric an annoyed look and reluctantly dragged my gaze from Sami. She was still in her pajamas, although she’d brushed her hair and teeth, and was at the door saying goodbye to her friends. Katie Dolloway was one of the few remaining partygoers. Aric was sorely tempted to have a discussion with he
r mother when she arrived, but I was trying to distract him. “Let it go,” I murmured. “We already know the kid and her mother are trolls. There’s no reason to get all worked up over it.”
“I’m not worked up,” Aric argued. “I don’t like anyone telling my kid bad things about her mother, though.”
“It’s not as though we didn’t do the same thing with Katie last night,” I pointed out.
“That’s different.”
“How?”
“That’s us, and you’re inherently mean so you can’t help yourself,” Aric said, shooting me a cheeky grin as he moved out of my reach as I tried to slap his arm. His expression shifted from amused to thoughtful as his gaze drifted to Sami. We hadn’t spoken about her sleepwalking out of fear it would embarrass her in front of her friends, but that discussion was imminent. “How do you want to handle this?”
“Let me do the talking.”
“No, really?”
I scorched him with a scowl before plastering a bright smile on my face as Sami shuffled into the kitchen. She pulled up short when she looked at me, her gaze bouncing from mother to father, and then shook her head. “Oh, great,” Sami muttered. “Are you guys going to yell at me now or something?”
I risked a glance at Aric and found he looked like a deranged carnie instead of her handsome dad. “No,” I said. “Is there a reason we should yell?”
“Last night you said we were going to have a long talk about my attitude.” Much like me, Sami wasn’t one to avoid confrontation. But I never would’ve reminded my parents of a talk that carried potential punishment. She still had a few lessons to learn.
“Oh, that,” Aric said, rolling his neck until it cracked. “Treat your mother with more respect.”
“Because if you don’t I’m going to dress up like a scarecrow and do a dance on the front lawn of your school,” I added, earning a horrified look from my almost-teenager.
“You wouldn’t dare.” Sami’s voice was barely a whisper as she considered the ramifications.
“I would dare,” I countered. “I’d even learn one of those rap songs you listen to and perform it while dancing.”
Dying Covenant: The Complete Series Page 4
