14. Sedrick
Sedrick
“H ow is she?” Phil asked when I closed the door to Ruthie’s room. He was waiting for me in the hall. Most likely he’d been waiting there for the last hour. I’d stopped counting his pacing gait over thirty minutes ago.
“She’s finally asleep.” I ran a hand through my disheveled hair.
Ruthie had gone from hysterical to nearly catatonic in the span of a few hours.
It was disturbing on levels I couldn’t even contemplate.
“Dillon too. He drifted off less than five minutes after Ruthie. She wouldn’t let go of him, so they’re sharing a room for the night.
” That used to happen almost every night.
It had slacked off since Phil started coming over.
“Do pixies drink?” I asked, passing Phil in the hall. Our bodies touched as I eased by, and his warmth settled my wolf.
“Sometimes,” Phil answered, “but not often.”
“Well, I’m going to have a drink. Help yourself if you’d like to join me.
” I grabbed a bottle of whiskey off a high shelf in the pantry.
Dillon could most likely manage it if he truly wanted.
There weren’t many places where you could hide things from a determined werewolf kid.
Mom had learned that raising Will and me.
“I’ve got a long flight back tonight. I think I’ll stick with water.
” Phil filled a glass and perched on the ottoman.
It was the only seat in the house that didn’t have a back on it.
That was something I’d planned to remedy today when we’d gone into town.
Our shopping plans had gone to shit after Arie’s impromptu visit and threats.
“Shit. I should have thought of that. I could drive you, but—”
“You need to stay here with Dillon and Ruthie. Especially tonight.” Phil gave me a wan smile before lifting his water glass to his lips.
He’d ridden in the truck back to my place.
I hadn’t even asked him if he wanted to go straight home instead of coming here.
Ruthie had clung to him and wouldn’t let go, even when Dillon tried to pry her off.
It just seemed natural to bring Phil back to the house.
When he wasn’t here, the place just seemed so . . . empty.
I sighed. “Fuck, this is a disaster. Fucking Arie Belview.”
My wolf longed to come out, to challenge Arie.
I couldn’t disagree. It would be the quickest resolution to the problem.
If I’d been sure of the outcome, I wouldn’t hesitate.
The fact Arie hadn’t challenged me yet said he felt the same.
We were at a standoff. The court would decide our fates, not battle.
“I’m sorry,” Phil said suddenly.
“About what?” I couldn’t figure out a damn thing that Phil had to be sorry about.
Phil twisted his hands, and his wings fluttered nervously. “I . . . I should have grabbed Dillon and Ruthie and flown away. Arie can’t fly. It would have been the safest way to get them out of his sight and—”
I burst out laughing.
The sound startled Phil. A shower of pixie dust filled the room. Phil’s mouth dropped open, and he looked nearly as hurt as confused.
I set my glass of whiskey down before I spilled it all over the place.
Sucking in a wheezing breath, I tried to get my hysterical laughter under control.
“I’m sorry, Phil. It’s just . . .” I laughed even harder.
“Moon Goddess, when I think of the look on Arie’s face .
. . about him staring up into the sky as you took off with his grandkids .
. . Goddess, that’s priceless. I would have paid good money to see that. ”
I wasn’t sure Phil saw the same humor. A werewolf as powerful and arrogant as Arie Belview thwarted by a jumbo-sized pixie. “Could you even do that?” I managed to ask after getting my laughter under control. “Could you carry Ruthie and Dillon?” A normal-sized pixie couldn’t.
Phil appeared to truly consider the matter. Finally, he came to a decision and gave a nod. “I think so. Especially if I were truly in fear of their lives. I don’t think I could carry them very far, but I’d do everything I could to get them as far away from danger.”
Those words sobered me. “I believe you would, Phil.” I doubted I’d said truer words. I didn’t know why. Maybe it was a home-and-hearth pixie’s nature, but not only had Dillon and Ruthie taken to Phil, but vice versa.
My wolf grumbled in satisfaction. Phil was perfect, and I was starting to think that meant more than just his way around the house and children.
Those were thoughts for another day, and I drove them from my mind. Downing the rest of my whiskey, I set the glass back on the table. “Besides, it’s me that should apologize. I never should have left you alone, and I shouldn’t have told Arie your name. Not that he probably didn’t already know it.”
Arie Belview had ways of finding things out; it wasn’t like Phil was a secret. It wasn’t hard to find out I hired a pixie, and it would be even easier to find out who that pixie was.
“It’s not like you knew he was there.” Phil sounded positive, not a doubt to be found.
“No, I didn’t. If I had, I would have gotten the kids out of there and had it out with Arie without them in hearing range.
They did not need to hear Arie say he’s taking them away from me.
I think it says all anyone would need to know that Dillon and Ruthie would rather stay in this house and out in the boonies than live with their rich grandfather.
Dillon and Ruthie could have done a lot better than me. ”
“They could have done a lot worse too.” Phil scooted forward. He wasn’t close enough to touch, but I thought I could feel his warmth a little more. “You’re a good uncle. You’re trying your best and keeping them as safe as possible. You’re—shit!”
A thump sounded on the glass behind me, and I turned on the couch just in time to see a gnome’s face scrunched up against the window. Its twisted nose looked bulbous, and breathy fog hid the rows of needle-sharp teeth lining its maw.
“Son of a—” I jumped off the couch and ran to the window. I was barely halfway across the room when the gnome dropped from the windowsill and dashed back into the overgrown weeds that had taken over the garden.
“That’s the second one,” Phil’s soft voice whispered across my neck. “They’re either getting bolder or more desperate for territory.”
“We need that fucking exterminator.” And after Arie’s little visit, I hadn’t been able to go to their office the way I’d wanted. “I was going to stop by today,” I said needlessly. Phil already knew that.
“I can speak with them,” Phil said hesitantly.
“I doubt they’ll be in any more of a hurry for me than you, but I can see.
Maybe . . . I could take Peaches with me.
He can be more convincing than me, plus he’s a garden pixie, and they might take him more seriously since he has experience with gnomes.
I, uh . . . I know you don’t like Peaches much, but—”
“I like Peaches just fine,” I growled, then realized that wasn’t a ringing endorsement.
Calming my irritated wolf, I said, “I’m sorry, Phil.
I don’t know Peaches, but if you think he might be able to help where the exterminators are concerned, I’d appreciate it.
” If Arie got ahold of this kind of information—that I not only had a gnome infestation but also that those gnomes were coming up to the house—his lawyer would see it as the gift it was.
“I’ll see what I can do. I’m not making any promises.”
“As I said, I’ll be grateful for whatever you can do.
” I felt exhausted down to the tip of my toes.
Today was supposed to be a fun, nice day for me and the kids.
Phil too. A trip into town to do some shopping and a meal.
It was a chance for me to get away from the mine, for the kids to get out of the house, and for Phil not to have to travel out to the house.
It sounded perfect until Arie Belview was thrown into that mix.
I moved into the kitchen to pour myself another whiskey. Werewolves had a high alcoholic tolerance, and another glass would barely take the edge off. I couldn’t afford to get rip-roaring drunk, not with the kids in the house and especially with their mental state.
I’d just started to pour when Phil hesitantly asked, “What do you think he meant?”
I finished filling my glass, recapped the bottle, and set it back in the pantry. “I’m gonna take a wild stab and say you’re asking about Arie, but you’ll need to be a little more specific about what piece of bullshit in particular you’re interested in.”
Phil gave me a placating smile before that smile slipped from his lips. “Kelsie and Will. Arie said something about how they’d learned their lesson ‘the hard way.’ What do you think he meant by that?”
I threw the whiskey back in one burning gulp. “No idea.” I slammed the glass down on the counter. “Probably that he cut Kelsie off from all financial help. He basically disowned her. I think Arie thought Kelsie saw that as punishment.”
“She didn’t?” Phil sounded skeptical.
“No. She saw it as freedom. Hell, I think she would have sent her dad a thank-you card, but she was afraid it would rile him up into some other type of action. From what Will said, Kelsie thought they got off easy. It always made Will a little uneasy. He was always waiting for the other shoe to drop, especially after the kids were born and Dillon presented as an alpha. I’m not sure about all the particulars.
Only that Will told me once that alphas were in short supply where the Belview lineage is concerned. ”
“It sounds like Kelsie was one of the good ones.” Phil’s expression was soft. “I wish I could have met her.”