The Trouble with Hades

Chapter 6

"Yeah, you might want to put a hold on that one for a few days."

Brad glanced at me as he slowed to turn into the driveway.

"Why?"

"Well, you're talking about going out on a date, and if you're seen talking to Natalia, someone might get a little bit confused."

"Okay, well, I guess Natalia will have to become a member of the clan so that she can be properly introduced, and at that point, it can be clearly stated that nothing is going on."

"It would be so much easier if they didn't have to hide."

"Yeah," Brad said as he sighed.

"Speaking of that, it might have to happen anyway. Karina doesn't want to be around when you and her mother are getting busy. It's not a good idea for her to be roaming the streets, so I told her to come to the caravan."

Brad nodded.

"It's not ideal to out Niko and Beatrice like that, but we might not have a choice. I'm sure Niko will agree with you."

The car was stopped, and as the door to the caravan opened, I saw Beatrice looking at us. She'd taken Natalia's form because she was exposed to anyone that was looking that way.

"That's not going to help you either. Nora walks past and sees her, she's going to think that you're hooking up with her."

"Maybe I need to have a word with grandma."

"That sounds so gross, but have fun with it. I want to be a fly on the wall when you do it."

Brad scowled at me, then turned to get out of the car.

"It would be funny, right?"

"Brad would be so embarrassed. Hey grandma, can you not look like your alter ego and stand at the door making it seem like we're boning? There's a new chick in town, and she's totally into me, and you're making this difficult."

Anzide sniggered.

Brad crossed the sunny gap with record speed. I was surprised that he actually ventured out of the house during the daylight hours, but I guess he was probably becoming accustomed to his new way of life. Maybe the vampire had fully settled into his body and was at ease with the world. He needed to be taught how to transfer the money after James created the accounts, but that didn't mean that he expected Brad to walk in the sun for it. James would have waited for the sun to set.

As we crossed the lawn, our neighbor on the left-hand side called out to us.

"Uh, hi."

"I was hoping to talk to you and your uncle. Is he free?"

Broad daylight might be fine in short periods of time, but for standing out and talking to the neighbor? Probably not. I could guarantee Brad would start turning pink or that a cloud of smoke might start. In front of Warwick was not a good idea because it would lead to questions being asked. It was the kind of attention that we did not need.

"Sure, come on over."

I turned to Anzide and raised my eyebrows.

"Can you go and tell Brad that we have company?"

Anzide nodded, quickly crossing the lawn.

"Mighty shame what happened to the house. Crazy that the pipes just exploded like that."

"Yeah. We lost almost everything, but I'm just glad that we're okay."

"Oh, absolutely."

Brad emerged from the caravan, standing under the shade that was attached to the side of it.

"Brad," the neighbor said eagerly.

"How's it going, Warwick?"

"Pretty good. I've been speaking with the missus about a few things. She's been itching to do one of those driving tours of the country. We've been looking at campervans and whatnot, scratching out a few ideas, you know."

Brad nodded, glancing at me with uncertainty.

"We were thinking about taking out a loan to purchase the van, and it's still an option, but we were sitting on the back deck this morning, and you know, we can see the yard and how you're trying to clean up. I guess you're trying to save money and make your insurance go as far as it can."

"Yeah," Brad hummed softly.

"Then this idea strikes me from out of nowhere."

Oh, I wouldn't say nowhere. There would be a source, and his name was James Harlwood.

"If you're interested, we could sell the house to you and Evie. Then, you can get out of this tin can and into a home while you rebuild this house. What do you think?"

Brad smiled at Warwick.

"I think it's a great idea. Why don't you get the real estate to do a valuation on the property, and then we can discuss the price?"

"Sounds great. I'm glad that you're able to do this. I'll come back to you with that price."

"Can't wait," Brad replied.

Warwick waved as he turned to walk back to the low chain fence. It didn't take much for him to climb over it.

"Well, I guess that's another thing to tick off the giant checklist that James set for us. Come on, let's get this urgent meeting underway."