4
Night
I drop the entire jar of mayonnaise on the kitchen floor at my feet. By some miracle, it doesn’t break but lands upright with a loud bang. A fat dollop of mayonnaise flies onto the floor and nearby cupboard. “You scared the shit out of me.” I blink a couple of times, looking at the white smear as it drips down the cupboard door. So this is how Bolt feels when I drop in on him unannounced.
“Sorry,” Death says. He looks paler than usual. It seems like he might have lost weight. “Our father is busy entertaining four of his wives and a she-demon…” He makes a face.
I pull in a breath.
Death shakes his head. “Don’t even ask.” He widens his eyes. “I don’t have too much time.”
“Has he made your life hell?” I reach for a cloth and start to wipe up the mess.
Death doesn’t answer. He gets a pinched look I’ve come to recognize. “You can’t talk about it.” I don’t wait for an answer because I know he can’t give me one. “I don’t need a reply, I know he has. Fucking prick,” I mutter. “Thanks again for your help with Shannon. I appreciate it.” I wash out the cloth, watching the mayonnaise swirl down the drain.
Death gives something along the lines of a smile. “I’m glad everything worked out with the two of you. How is Shannon?”
“We had our doctor’s appointment yesterday, everything is great. If you have a minute, I can show you a picture of the baby…although there isn’t much to see yet.”
“Hades can’t stop talking about becoming a grandfather.” He rolls his eyes.
I feel my hackles go up. “He’d better not—”
“It might be good for him,” Death interrupts. “It’s the first time I’ve seen him actually smile and mean it.”
“Let’s not talk about that asshole,” I growl. “Do you want a sandwich?”
“I’m good, but,” his eyes light up for a moment, “I wouldn’t mind seeing the picture of the kid…” He looks wistful. “I’m going to be an uncle.” His eyes brighten.
I give him a pat on the back. “Yes, you are. Follow me.”
“Hey, Death!” Shannon yells from the back door. She waves at him.
“Hi.” He waves back.
Fleur hides behind Shannon. She growls, and her hackles go up.
“Ignore our dog.” I chuckle. “She’s only recently stopped doing that with me. She won’t actually do anything to you.”
“As long as I keep my distance.”
“Yep…that’s true,” I admit.
“She’s very protective of Shannon,” Death remarks.
“Very!” Shannon says. “Come on, girl.” She throws the tennis ball into the back yard, and Fleur takes off running. “I’ll see you in a few,” she says to Death, who nods.
Death follows me to our bedroom. The printout is on the bedside table on Shannon’s side of the bed.
“What’s with the cactus?” he asks, frowning.
“Oh…that thing.” I smile. “Shannon should throw it out,” I say half-heartedly. For almost two years, she thought she was a murderer. She believed she killed someone in a DUI and only recently found out that her boyfriend back then, was driving. The fucker let her take the fall. Since she was so out of it at the time of the crash, she had very little memory of the event. Shannon had used various methods, even items, to punish herself. The cactus was one of them. I explain this to Death. “I guess she’ll throw it out when she’s good and ready.” I shrug. “My girl is a fucking saint. I can’t believe she was so damned hard on herself. She still insisted on giving the victim’s widow, Jacqui, a pile of cash, even though she didn’t kill her husband.”
“That’s sweet of her. Sad she had to go through all of that,” he murmurs, eyes on the shriveled remains.
“What’s fucking sad is that prick and what he did to her.” I feel myself bristle. “She kept the cactus to remind herself how good she is at killing things. I mean, come the fuck on.”
“Was he arrested?”
I nod. “Yes, and he’d better hope he goes to jail. Looks like his dickhead father is also going to be arrested for tampering with evidence. They’d better serve some time, or they’ll have to deal with me.”
“I’m not sure what I’m looking at,” Death says. He’s holding the baby scans upside down, his eyes scrunched up.
I sigh, taking the strip from him and turning it the right way around. “That’s the baby.” At this point, I’m grinning like a crazy person. “That’s his little head, and those are legs. Can you believe it?”
“His?” Death lifts his brows.
“Figure of speech. He or she…I’ve taken to calling the little one Blobby, much to Shannon’s dismay. Don’t you think the baby looks like a blob at this stage?”
Death nods a few times. “Pretty much.” He gets a pained look. “I need to go.” He rolls his eyes. “I’m being summoned.”
“Our father?”
He nods once.
“He’s already done?” It’s a question that makes me feel queasy.
“Doubtful. Between bouts, I would assume.”
I’m reminded of having to witness one of my stepmothers giving my dear old dad head. I shiver, feel revulsion all over again. “He’s not very discreet, is he?”
“He’s probably balls-deep as we speak.”
“Summoning you regardless?” What the fuck?
Death’s jaw tightens, and he gets a look of disgust. There’s anger mixed in as well. I don’t blame him.
“Before you go…” I stop him.
“Needs to be quick.” He still looks pained. I know ignoring my father causes him actual physical pain. He doesn’t have to tell me, I can see it.
“I’ve asked Bolt to be my best man. I’d like you to be at my side as well.” I rub my face. “Bolt hasn’t accepted yet, but either way, I want you there…with me.” I’m not sure why I’m even asking my brother this after what Shannon said last week about wanting to wait.
His eyes light up for a moment before they cloud over. “I’ll have to ask our father.” Death growls the words. “Otherwise, I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to make it.” Then his whole stance softens. “Thank you. It means a lot. When did you ask Shannon to marry you?”
This again! “I haven’t asked her. I thought we could pick out a ring and decide on—”
“You haven’t asked her?” He looks like he wants to laugh. “Do you have a death wish or something?”
I frown. “She might have mentioned not wanting to rush things, which is fine.” I shrug. “We need to wait until after Forge and Ava have their ceremony, and then we can start planning. We’re in love. We’re having a baby together. We’re getting married…there isn’t anything more to say about it.”
“Nothing more to say about it?” He chokes out a laugh. “You’d better plan something, and it had better be good.” He crunches over his middle and grunts. “I really have to go.” Then he touches the cactus, covering it with his hand. For an instant, I’m sure I see a light burst between his fingers for a beat or two. When Death takes his hand away, the cactus is plumped up, green and very much alive. Not only that, but it also has several bright pink flowers between the thorns. “Don’t look so shocked,” Death says. “My father might be Hades, but my mother is Persephone, Goddess of vegetation, of spring, of fertility, of life. I was renamed Death when I became our father’s slave. I wasn’t born with that name. I wasn’t always like this.” His jaw tightens, and he looks down at himself.
“What is your real name?” I ask.
He gets a sad look. A look of regret. “It doesn’t matter who I was. That was a lifetime ago. Tell Shannon not to overwater the plant. All it needs is a teaspoon once a week. That will be enough.” Then he is gone. I smell ozone. I wish there was a way to free Death from our father’s clutches.
Shannon walks in a few minutes later. The scent of jasmine envelopes me. I breathe her in.
She frowns and looks around the room. “Where’s Death? Surely he hasn’t left
already? I thought he was staying for lunch.”
“Death couldn’t stay. He sent his regards. It—”
She sucks in a deep breath, sounding shocked. “Bob! What happened to Bob?” She looks at me, cocking her head. “Did you replace my cactus with a new one?” Her expression warns that my explanation had better be good. She doesn’t look happy at all.
I shake my head. “No, I wouldn’t do that. Believe it or not, it was Death. Turns out, he has green fingers.”
“That’s the cactus I killed? Is that Bob?” She shakes her head. Her eyes are wide and bright. “No, it can’t be.” She breathes out the words.
“It really is. You have a second chance with Bob. He said you mustn’t screw up this time.”
She frowns. “Death didn’t say that. He wouldn’t.” She’s not looking so sure anymore.
I chuckle. “No, he didn’t.” I put an arm around her, and we start walking towards the kitchen. I tell her what he actually said about overwatering. I’m also thinking about his advice that I should propose to Shannon. She made it sound like she wasn’t ready yet…but we’re in love. When I hinted at marriage, she seemed on board. Then all of a sudden, the other day, she was… Unsure is not the right word because we are sure of one another. We are sure of this…us. I don’t know what was going on in her head. All I know is that I love her and she loves me. We’re having a baby. Surely marriage is the next logical step? I’m uncertain it’s what she wants right now. Somehow that thought feels wrong too. Shannon does want to spend forever with me. I’m missing something. I’m not sure what. Maybe I should just talk to Shannon about it. Then I change my mind. There is one other person I can speak to first.
5
Forge
I hand the beer to Night, take a sip of my own, feeling the fizzy liquid slide down my throat.
I can see something is on his mind. He looks agitated, like his thoughts are elsewhere.
Ava sits right next to me. There was a time, not too long ago, when the smell of beer would have made her feel ill. At least she is over that stage of the pregnancy. I hated seeing her uncomfortable. She puts a hand to her belly, giving it a soft rub. My Oreo is going to make the most amazing mother. No two ways about it.
“How’s Shannon?” Ava smiles at Night as she waits for him to answer.
“Great!” He pulls out his wallet and shows us an ultrasound picture of the baby.
Pride swells inside me as I recall our recent visit. “I remember that first ultrasound,” I say. “There isn’t all that much to see, but hearing your child’s heartbeat for the first time… Man, oh, man.”
Night swallows thickly. I think I see his eyes glint. He’s definitely blinking rapidly. I never thought I would see him so emotional…so happy. It’s great. I want the same for the rest of our group.
“To think that little blob will be a fully-fledged baby in a couple of months.” He gives a goofy smile.
“Blob!” I laugh. “I thought ours looked like a bean. The little nickname stuck.” Ava gives me a dirty look. “What? Baby Bean has a certain ring to it.”
“I’ve been calling the little one Blobby. Shannon doesn’t like it either.”
We both laugh, but Night gets serious quickly. He picks at the beer’s label instead of drinking the damn thing. Something is up with him. That much is clear. If this was a real social, he would have brought Shannon with him.
“How are things at the gym?” I ask, trying to make conversation.
“All good.” He nods. “I’m proud of those kids. We’re super proud of one of the boys in particular. He picked up an award and was asked to speak at a charity dinner. They’re all good kids.”
I can see he’s still deep in thought about something else. He’s sitting up like he’s about to jump right out of his chair or something. Definitely on edge. Something’s eating at him.
“Hey, Hun,” I squeeze Ava’s leg, “would you mind getting us something to snack on?” I wink at her. I would typically fetch the food myself, but I want some privacy. I think Night wants to talk. I know he and Bolt aren’t in a good place at the moment. I suspect that’s why he’s here and not with Bolt. It’s clear that something’s wrong. Maybe this is about Bolt.
She looks at me quizzically for a few moments. I silently will her not to say anything…then she nods. “Sure.”
I wait until she’s in the kitchen, which isn’t far away, but far enough that Night and I can talk. We really need a bigger place, with the baby coming and all. I pull my head out of my ass and jump right in. “Is everything okay?” I ask. I know he said that Shannon and the baby were doing well, but who knows.
He pushes out a breath. “I don’t know,” he answers, looking me in the eyes properly for the first time. “Do I need to propose to Shannon? I’m afraid that if I don’t, she’ll be upset, but I’m also afraid that if I do…she’ll be upset. She looked annoyed the other day. She suddenly acted like we were rushing into things. It’s the first I’ve heard of it. I felt like we were already engaged and just needed the ring. Now I don’t know. I feel like I’m supposed to know what’s going on…that it’s bad that I don’t, so I can’t ask her.”
Poor shmuck. I choke out a laugh. “That’s what’s eating you?”
“Yes…big time. Did you ask Ava to marry you?”
I nod. “Oh, yes!” I widen my eyes. “I went down on one knee…the whole nine yards.”
Night squeezes the back of his neck. “You think I need to go down on one knee? I mean, I can do that, no problem. I first need to know that’s what she wants. I’m so fucking confused.”
I can’t help laughing again. “I think Shannon wants you to ask her. I think she was a little upset that you assumed it was a done deal.”
“It is a done deal as far as I’m concerned. I love her. I know she loves me.”
I feel my mouth twitch. “Women like to be offered a choice. They don’t like assumptions when it comes to things like this. Most importantly, she wants to feel special.”
“Shannon is everything to me. Of course she’s special. How can she think otherwise?”
“Shannon wants you to ask her,” I reiterate.
“She said she doesn’t want to rush things.” He rakes a hand through his hair.
“Trust me, she wants you to ask her. Don’t overthink it. Do something special for her. Something memorable. I don’t think she wants to wait, I just think she was ticked off at how you handled things.”
“That’s just it.” He lifts his eyes in thought. “I Googled how to propose to a woman…and the weird and wacky ways in which guys do it.” He pushes out a solid breath, sitting back in his chair. “Again, don’t misunderstand me… I would do anything for Shannon. Fucking anything, but I don’t think she would want me to take her to a fancy dinner and have the waiter put her ring in the dessert…or in the champagne glass.” He makes a face. “I could hire an airplane to write, ‘Will you marry me, Shannon?’ in the sky and take her for a picnic somewhere so that she sees it, but I don’t think she would want something like that either. Shannon isn’t into bullshit.”
I nod a few times and take another sip of my beer.
“I mean…I wanted to take her to dinner in Paris when she didn’t have long to live. There’s this great restaurant…” He waves a hand. “It doesn’t matter, because she wasn’t interested. My girl isn’t swayed by all that nonsense.”
“What is she swayed by?”
I can see him thinking it over. He takes a sip of his beer. It looks like he’s relaxing.
“It doesn’t have to be some big bullshit gesture that doesn’t resonate with either of you,” I go on. “What makes her tick? What would make her happy? Ask yourself those questions and then do that. I guarantee you, even if she says she doesn’t want an official engagement…she doesn’t mean it. She’ll be upset, and it will come out at some point. You have to ask her. Get a ring…get down on one knee… They all want you to get down. That part is not negotiable.”
“My brother said some
thing along those lines as well. Okay.” He nods. “One knee…I got it. About the ring...” He hangs his head. “What the fuck do I know about rings? I was going to take Shannon shopping and let her pick something out.”
I shake my head. “You need a ring. You can’t ask a woman to marry you without one.”
“I have no idea what she would like.” He rubs his face then drops his arm at his side. “This is a big deal. Making her happy is a huge deal to me.”
“I know. You got this!” I reassure him. “You’ll be surprised at how in-tune you are with her. You’ll pick something amazing. If by some small chance she hates the ring,” I shrug, “take it back, and she can choose something else. Not ideal but not a train wreck either. They want to know that you tried. Of course, getting it right is first prize.”
“I have no idea what kind of ring she would want. She and the douchebag ex shopped together. She picked out a diamond. Maybe that’s what she wants…. a big-ass diamond.”
I make a sound of disagreement. “He also turned out to be a dickhead who framed her for murder. I wouldn’t look too much into what happened between them. What does your gut say?”
“That she’s not into big-ass diamonds.” He doesn’t sound too sure. “Then again, diamonds are a girl’s best friend. Maybe I should get her a ring with three diamonds.”
I chuckle. “You’re overthinking it again. Shannon loves you…you love her. That’s what’s ultimately most important.”
Night nods. Then he grins before taking a big swig of his beer. “You know what? You are absolutely right. I’ll give it some serious thought and—”
“Oh, my god!” Ava yells. She is halfway between the living room and the kitchen. Her eyes are wide, she has a plate of food in one hand, and is clutching her small belly with the other.
I didn’t realize I was capable of moving so quickly because one second, I am sitting, and the next, she is in my arms. “What’s wrong?” I shout. “What can I do? Should I call an ambulance?” My heart is beating out of my chest.
Little Lords (The Dragon Demigods Book 3) Page 4
