Chapter 2 #3
It was possible he just wasn’t used to letting anyone know what he was up to.
Now he was back, and she was sure he would want to be heavily involved in everything that was decided.
She looked up in time to see Flo shoot her son a dirty look.
There was no doubt he should have called.
Luckily, the cook had a habit of making too much food, and there was enough for all of them.
The girls were happy to see their dad, and they kept up with most of the conversation. Darren was answering questions about where he'd gone and what he'd done while the other adults were concentrating on their food. It was very exciting when Harry appeared.
“I came back to check out, I mean, check on your son,” Harry giggled.
“Darren, this is Harry,” Flo announced.
“Hello, Harry. Please don’t do magic around my girls.”
“I can block them from seeing my magic if you wish. You’re lucky magic was here at lunchtime.”
“What do you mean?” Darren asked.
“I was waiting until the girls went to bed to tell you. Two guys were hired by your ex to abduct the girls, but Harry stopped them.” Flo explained.
“Why didn’t Carlotta stop them?” Darren asked.
“Because not everyone can stop criminals before they even get inside,” Carlotta answered.
She had to admit that she was getting annoyed at him. Instead of just being happy that they had been stopped, he decided to question everything and make it sound like she hadn't been doing her job.
“She used magic? Don't you have magic, too?” Darren asked.
“All magic isn't the same kind, nor is all magic equal.” Carlotta offered.
“Thank you, Harry, for helping,” Darren said.
He didn't seem very happy about having to say it, but at least he had good enough manners to do so. The look Harry gave him told her that she agreed and didn't understand his problem with witches.
“It seems you got here just in time for supper. Harry and I would love for you to join us,” Flo explained.
“Thank you. I always love eating here,” Harry admitted.
Almost like magic, Liza brought out another place setting and more food.
It was like she just knew that there were extra guests here.
Darren fixed the girls' plates and then his own, while everyone else gets their own food.
Harry liked to pile her plate high, and Carlotta had heard that Harry could feed her magical energy with food.
It was something she wished she could do, but she couldn't. Her magic was slow to come back when she used a lot of it.
Harry carried on the conversation with the girls' help.
Since they had already started supper, they were done eating before Harry finished. Flo suggested the girls go play in the living room. That left the adults to talk.
“I’m sorry I didn’t give you a heads up about coming home early.” Darren looked at his mom.
“Thank you for that. Why didn’t you?”
“I don’t know. I slept most of the way home, and maybe I just put it off until I woke, then I was almost here.”
“Just remember your manners next time,” Flo admonished.
“Yes, Mom. I’ll do better next time.”
Carlotta hoped he would because if it happened again, Flo would be furious.
She might look younger than Darren, but she was still his mother.
Her mom didn’t look much older than she did, but it had to be odd when your mother looked younger than you did.
Darren had a lot to deal with, but at least he had family to help him.
He had one of the best possible families to give him the support he needed.
Harry had only stayed a little while after supper because she was always busy.
She flashed away, and Darren seemed relieved that she was gone.
Carlotta hoped she would be able to spend more time with Harry next time she visited.
Harry’s flashing ability was impressive to say the least. It was obvious that Flo loved Harry, and Darren hadn’t met her before now.
The son was nervous around magic even though he wasn’t a wolf.
From what she’d seen, Darren was nervous around any paranormals at all, but she suspected it was because he’d not believed in paranormals at all until recently.
“How are you feeling about your new job?” Darren had come up behind her and practically whispered in her ear.
Carlotta stood looking out of the window at the full moon. She’d realized he had moved toward her, but not how close he was. She shivered because he was so close.
“The girls are darlings.”
“Have you worked with children before?” Darren asked.
“Only a few times and only as a guard. Teaching them will be the challenging part, but your daughters seem excited to learn.”
“They are both bright and willing to work to learn. I didn’t expect you to work with them on schoolwork yet.”
“I thought it best to get a quick start in case there are days that they are unable to do schoolwork, like if they have a trip of some kind,” Carlotta said.
“That’s a good plan. I do want to take the girls on a fishing trip. My mother has a boat we can use. What do you think about going tomorrow?”
“I think they will be thrilled.”
“Do you go fishing?” Darren asked.
“I do. We can each help one of your girls learn how.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Three learners would have been hard to handle.”
She had to agree that three learners to one experienced fisherman would have been no fun at all.
One-on-one was the best way to learn. She found she was looking forward to tomorrow’s trip.
The girls went to bed first, then everyone else turned in a bit later.
Lottie woke excited in the morning. It had been at least a year since she’d gone fishing.
Breakfast was ready, and the others got there just as she did.
They ate quickly, and then they headed out.
Flo’s boat was a houseboat and decent-sized.
There was a closet full of fishing gear.
If she’d known earlier, she would have gotten stink bait or even dug worms. They would be using artificial bait, which might work alright if the fish were biting.
Once they were on the boat, they headed to a fishing spot.
“Don’t we need a fishing license?” Lottie asked.
“I got one for each of us online. Here is yours.” He handed her a card.
It was obvious he’d thought the trip out well. He knew about his mother’s boat and had asked her to borrow it and printed out both of their fishing licenses. Darren or someone had stocked the boat with drinks and snacks, too.
“I’ll take Ellis, and you take Adele,” Darren suggested.
They went to pick out fishing rods, and there were several rods for children.
Ellis picked first and took a pink rod with a princess on it, while Adele picked one with a hound dog on it.
Both still had artificial lures attached.
They were ready to go. Darren picked a rod, and so did she, and they each picked and attached lures.
Now they were ready to fish. Darren and Ellis moved to one end of the boat, and Lottie and Adele moved to the other.
The hope was that if the girls had trouble casting, no one would be close enough to get a lure in their eye or anywhere else.
Lottie showed Adele how to cast with her rod first, then let her try with her own. “That was good, Adele. Now we wait until a fish bites.”
That wasn’t long, and she showed Adele how to reel the fish in.
Before they had time to take the fish off the hook, a fish bit on the other rod, and she let Adele try to reel it in.
She couldn’t, so she helped her. Once that fish was in, she showed her how to remove it from the hook.
Now, Adele casts again while she deals with the fish on the line.
Lottie barely had time to cast her line before Adele had another bite.
That was the way things went until lunch.
Darren began to fillet some fish, which they would cook for lunch.
The girls had never seen that done before, and they shrieked.
It had been a mistake to do that in front of them.
Darren went to the other side of the boat while she stayed with the girls, and they talked about fishing and some of the things that might also live in the water.
Neither of the girls would eat fish for lunch, so they pulled up to a dock in Shell Knob and had pizza instead.