Brad emerged from the administration office as Karina, Anzide and I turned into the main corridor. I knew that he was coming here to discuss the offer with James, but I thought he would have left it a little later than this. James said he would be working until six p.m. tonight, so there was no rush.
Still, it was done, and I was grateful that I didn't have to go into the office again. It was beginning to appear as if I was a delinquent or possibly a tattletale. Either way, it wasn't a good look for the new girl to repeatedly go to the office.
Brad waited for us to approach, then gave me a look. The be polite look.
"This is my uncle Brad. Brad, this is Karina. Oh look, your mother is here too."
Karina turned to see her mother walking in the main doors. She looked like she'd just finished work. Dressed in a uniform, looking a little wrung out.
"That's well-timed," Brad said as he turned.
Yeah, I was just thinking that. Curiously convenient.
Silence soon hit him. Karina and I exchanged glances. Why? Brad could not stop looking at Nora.
"Are we about to become cousins?" she whispered.
"Maybe." I returned.
I don't think that I could have said a better thing to Karina. She excitedly clapped while remaining subdued enough to not draw attention to herself. Even I found myself smiling. It was from Karina's quiet outburst of happiness, but it was a smile nonetheless.
"Hello, Evie."
"Uh, hi, Nora. This is my uncle Brad. Brad, this is Nora, Karina's mother."
As they began to talk and walk to the main doors, I turned back to see James watching through the glass panel. I tilted my head with raised eyebrows. He smiled with a shrug, then walked away.
"He totally planned this," I muttered to Anzide.
"Yep. Demons will do that. They like to live in a perfect world or as perfect as they can get it. He's got the vampire leader in his pocket, and he's doing everything he can to ensure that she stays there."
He could see the concern on my face.
"It's fine. James is not an issue."
"You know it's really weird to see you talking to no one, right?" Karina asked.
I nodded. "It's weird knowing that no one else will see him. I have to remember not to do a lot of things. Sometimes, he moves through walls, but there are times when he doesn't."
"Physical limitations," Anzide offered. "Coupled with how tired I am, how much energy I have exerted."
"Well, there you go."
Karina giggled, glancing at the void of nothing where Anzide's voice came from.
We began to follow Brad and Nora out of the building. I didn't want to catch up to them. The risk of hearing Brad put his moves out into the world was too much for me.
"You know, if they get together, you guys might move in. There's plenty of room,"
"We can't, unfortunately," I interrupted. "Well, I can't because I have to stay at the coven property, but Brad could. Although, I doubt he would."
"If it means getting laid, he might." Anzide offered.
"Yeah, but where does that leave me?" Karina muttered petulantly. "They're hooking up. You two need privacy, and little old me will be sitting on the front step trying to get my homework done."
"You can always visit,"
Even though it would mean that a certain vampire would no longer be able to hide.
"I wouldn't want to intrude."
"Trust me, you won't be."
Karina frowned, looking confused.
"I know it sounds crazy, but trust me, it's fine."
We stopped and looked at Brad and Nora. She was smiling, and Brad was saying something. My lips pressed tight as my eyes narrowed. Clearly, we weren't leaving anytime soon.
"Maybe we should wander down Main Street and leave the lovebirds to do their thing."
Anzide moved in front of me and stopped. I could see the anxiety growing.
"What's wrong?"
"We are supposed to go straight home. I didn't expect Nora to appear like this. Now he's making gooey faces at the woman. You need to tell Brad that we're having a family-only meeting this afternoon."
"We are?"
Anzide nodded. I quickly caught up to Brad.
"Sorry to interrupt, but I thought that you might forget that we've got a family meeting this afternoon."
Brad was silent as he stared at me. With a forced grin, he nodded.
"Of course, I forgot. Maybe we could catch up a little later on?"
"I'd like that. Perhaps a little walk around town to search for a nice place to have a meal."
"Great." Brad gushed.
I wanted to roll my eyes and stick my finger in my mouth to show how sickly this was.
Brad flicked the fob, unlocking the car as he said goodbye to Nora. I waved at Karina, agreeing to meet up at the lockers tomorrow.
Brad huffed as he got into the car.
"If I lose out because of whatever nonsense you two are cooking up, I am going to be extremely cross."
"We all want you to get your end in, Brad, but be serious for a moment."
"Gross," I said, frowning at Anzide. "But it's completely true. She's not going to refuse you because it was extremely obvious that she was into you."
"Good." he grumbled. "What's going on?"
"We need to return to the caravan, and we need a family meeting."
With a sigh, Brad turned over the engine and pulled out of the car space. I knew what was going through his mind, and despite my reassurance, he thought that he wasn't going to get another chance with Nora. He was wrong. She looked at him with hope in her eyes. The second in charge of a coven was a grand position, and to form a relationship with one was just as good. She wasn't going to let this little fish escape.
"Did you discuss everything with James that Niko wanted?"
"Yes. Niko certainly doesn't like being kept out of things."
"You think that he wants the war over so that he can get on with his life now that Beatrice is back?"
"I think he wants to get out of the tin can. It's tiny and hot during the day. We're both in there, but only I can go out under the shade. It would be driving him crazy."
Well, that made me feel a whole lot better.
"But James said that he can find us extra helpers to assist Henry with the build. The accounts are set up, the spell has been cast, and I've already done the first transfer. At midnight, it will reset, and tomorrow, I will do it all again. Beatrice is going to shift back into Natalia and take on the daytime duties like going to see Henry about the plans."
"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."