16. Sedrick
Sedrick
R uthie’s eyes were puffy and red when she finally crawled out of her room.
Dillon’s weren’t much better, though they were more bruised than tear-strained.
I’d cooked breakfast earlier and had it on the stove to keep warm.
I didn’t wake them as I figured it was best to let them sleep as long as possible.
It had been a rough night. Ruthie woke screaming no less than four times.
The last time, I decided not to leave their room.
Ruthie’s twin bed was far too small for my frame.
I’d sat up and leaned against the headboard, Ruthie in my arms and Dillon cuddled close to my side.
Needless to say, the kids weren’t the only ones that looked a little rough this morning.
“Sit down, and I’ll get you two breakfast.” I motioned toward the table, where Ruthie’s chair was snuggled up beside Dillon’s.
“Where’s Phil?” Dillon asked as I heard the scrape of his chair. “He should be here by now. Is he okay?” Dillon’s concern escalated quickly.
“Phil’s fine,” I answered while dishing out the sausage. “He offered to go by the home store and get us a few things this morning. He said he’ll be here by lunchtime.” I set a plate in front of Dillon and Ruthie each. Neither dug in. Dillon picked at his eggs, and Ruthie stared at hers.
Despite their lack of appetite, I sat at the table to wait it out. I’d count it as a win if they took a few bites.
“Maybe we should go pick Phil up.” Dillon pushed some eggs around on his plate. “It’s a long way to fly, and something might happen to him.” Dillon and Ruthie shared a meaningful glance. I wasn’t sure how, but Dillon spoke for his sister too.
“I think Phil will be fine.” I didn’t exactly disagree with their concern, but I didn’t want to baby Phil either. He was a grown pixie.
Dillon’s pinched lips told me he didn’t exactly agree, but he did take a bite of his eggs.
Ruthie followed her brother’s lead. It took about ten minutes, but they both eventually finished about half of their food.
I gave in and cleared the table when Dillon set his fork down.
I expected them to get up and head to the bathroom to clean up for the day. Instead, they just sat there.
I returned to the table and asked, “Something you want to talk about?” My words were aimed at Dillon, but I made eye contact with Ruthie too. She might not speak, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have concerns. In fact, I figured it was very much the opposite.
Dillon reached under the table and took Ruthie’s hand in his. Inhaling deeply, he pushed out his chest and straightened his shoulders. “Is Grandpa Arie going to get custody of us?”
I swallowed hard and took a large drink of coffee. I wanted time to think about my answer. I didn’t want to lie to the kids and said, “Not if I can help it.”
Dillon’s lips twisted, and his eyebrows scrunched in thought. “But what if you can’t?”
“Help it?” I clarified.
“Yeah.” Dillon nodded firmly. His hair was a disaster and stuck up in every conceivable direction. Dillon jutted out his chin. “Ruthie and I won’t go with him. We don’t care what a judge says. We’ll run away first.”
My eyebrows shot up. “You’ll run away, huh? Where will you go?”
“I don’t know.” Dillon dropped Ruthie’s hand and slammed his fists onto the table. “But we’ll figure it out. Maybe we’ll go live with Phil.”
I took another large swig of coffee. I needed the caffeine to deal with Dillon’s meandering mind. Children thought differently than adults. Sometimes that was good. Sometimes it was just confusing.
“I’m sure Phil would love to have you.”
Dillon’s face relaxed, and he grinned.
My next words destroyed his momentary joy. “But I’m afraid that won’t work either.”
Leaning my elbows on the table, I decided honesty, as brutal as it could be, was the best bet. Dillon and Ruthie needed to understand, and I couldn’t afford any miscommunication. I’d been trying to shield them, and all that had accomplished was allowing them to be blindsided by their grandfather.
“Why not?” Dillon half pouted and half sounded enraged.
“Because it’s the first place your grandfather will look for you. He knows about Phil. Arie knows how much you mean to him. Phil stood up for you yesterday, and it was clear that he not only cares about you but that you care about him too.”
“He’s pack,” Dillon answered confidently. “We take care of pack.”
I was so damn proud of my nephew. “Yes, he is.” I didn’t try to fight the feeling or deny Phil’s place in our household. “We take care of pack. What do you think your grandfather will do if you go to Phil? Do you think he’ll let you live with a pixie any more than he’ll let you live here with me?”
Dillon’s mouth opened, then slammed shut. He smacked his fists against the table again. Ruthie whimpered, and Dillon immediately reached for her. Ruthie crawled onto his chair and leaned heavily against her brother.
After he’d calmed Ruthie, Dillon’s forlorn eyes looked to me, and he asked, “Then what do we do?”
“You,” I pointed at Dillon and Ruthie, “don’t do anything.
You’ve got good alpha instincts, Dillon, and I’m prouder of you than you’ll ever know, but I’m the adult.
I’m the alpha of our family. One day, that role will fall to you, but not yet.
Let me deal with your grandfather. Arie Belview thinks he always gets what he wants.
Well, Vosses don’t take losing lying down either.
Your grandfather knows that. Yesterday, he was just peacocking. ”
Dillon’s head twisted to the side. “He was what?”
“Peacocking.” I got up and did a ridiculous chicken movement with my arms. Ruthie’s eyes flew wide before a hesitant giggle escaped her lips.
“You know how they do. Male peacocks get all fluffed up and fan out their showy tail feathers. It’s an act, a way to show off.
That’s what your grandfather was doing yesterday. ”
Dillon didn’t look convinced. “You look pretty silly, Uncle Sed,” Dillon finally said.
I sat back down. “No sillier than your grandfather looked and sounded yesterday.”
That finally drew a smile from my nephew. “You thought he sounded silly?”
“The absolute silliest,” I insisted. Sobering, I said, “I’m going to do everything in my power to keep you and Ruthie with me.
You have my word about that. I’m not going to lie and say your Grandpa Arie isn’t a threat and that I’m not worried, but he’s not the only one in this town with money and power, and I think it’s past time Arie Belview learned that lesson. ”
* * *
“T hanks for trying, Phil.” I hadn’t expected the exterminators to fold under Phil’s and Peaches’s charms, but from the way Phil relayed the story, it sounded like the two of them had come far closer than I’d expected.
“You’re welcome. If Mr. Gladstone hadn’t come in when he did, then we—”
“Then you and Peaches might have become Mildred’s latest pets.
” I’d been supremely unhappy when Phil shared that Mildred was an ogre and how he and Peaches had foolishly flirted with her.
“And then I would have had another messy legal issue for Ray to sort out. Fairies don’t take kindly to weres ripping ogres apart anymore.
” And Phil was na?ve if he thought that’s not exactly what I would have done if she’d caged him.
“Oh.” Phil waved me off in a shower of pink pixie dust. He was at the sink, washing up the breakfast and lunch plates.
I’d offered to dry, but he said he wanted them to air dry and not to worry about it.
“I don’t think it would have come to that, though Mr. Gladstone was right, and Peaches and I shouldn’t have tried to take advantage of her the way we did.
” Phil turned from the sink, his hands still dipped into the water and suds nearly up to his elbows.
“Honestly, I had no idea our dust could be so . . . addictive. I mean, I’ve heard stories, but I’ve never experienced it firsthand.
” Phil shuddered. “Most species are annoyed by it.”
Weres were probably the most irritated by pixie dust. I was glad Phil’s was different. I still didn’t know why, but that didn’t negate my gratitude.
“Anyway,” Phil went on, “Mr. Gladstone did say he’d move you up if there was a cancellation.” Phil’s tone told me just how likely he thought that would be. “And . . . he did mention the emergency fee . . .” Phil let that hang in the air.
My grunt turned into a grumbling growl. “Did he tell you how much that fee is?”
“No.” Phil shook his head, and pink hair flowed around his waist. He still had the sides pulled up. They weren’t braided this time but twisted into something that looked artfully messy.
“Yeah, I’ll bet not.” I’d had the wind knocked out of me when I’d heard the price. I’d immediately refused the idea, but the longer this went on, the bolder the gnomes got, the more I considered paying it.
Phil’s washing hesitated. His gaze remained fixed on a bowl that already looked clean. Finally, he said, “I know you don’t like the idea of Peaches coming out.”
I fought another low grumble and barely kept it contained.
When I remained silent, Phil continued. “Peaches offered to do what he can. To be fair, I’m not sure it will be much.
He said the situation has gotten too out of control for him to do anything about the colony, but he thinks he might be able to keep them in the garden so that they don’t get closer to the house. ”
Pushing down the hot jealousy that stupidly exploded in my chest every time Phil brought up Peaches’s name, I considered the offer.
“Is that safe? For Peaches?” No matter how much the thought of Peaches irritated my wolf, neither of us wanted harm to come to him.
Neither of us wanted to cause that kind of pain for Phil.
“He says it is.” Phil sounded upbeat, maybe even a little excited.
“I made Peaches promise he wouldn’t be at risk.
He just plans on talking to the plants surrounding the garden.
Peaches thinks they can form a barrier that will contain the gnomes.
Like I said, it won’t do anything to rid the existing colony, but at least we wouldn’t have to worry about it expanding. ”
Practically, it was a kind offer. It was also the best one I’d had so far.
My finances were improving, but we’d just started harvesting the palladium vein, and it would take time to convert the mineral into cash.
The emergency fee the exterminators wanted wouldn’t be an issue.
Right now, in combination with lawyer fees, it would put a significant strain on me.
My wolf was more instinctual than me and wasn’t happy with my decision, but sometimes I had to go with the rational part of my brain. “Tell Peaches I’m grateful for the offer and would be just as grateful if he’ll come out and do what he can. Make sure he understands his safety comes first, okay?”
Phil’s grin lit up the room and did funny things to my heart.
“I’ll tell him tonight.” That grin slipped a little when he said, “I don’t think Peaches will be able to make the flight here like I can. He’s regular pixie size, and his wing muscles aren’t strong enough.”
“I could take some time off and pick him up, or you could call a rideshare. Either way is fine with me. If you do rideshare, be sure to charge it to me. That might be best, especially for the trip here. Depending on his schedule, I might be done at work, and taking him back into town would be easier than picking him up during the day.”
Phil’s head bobbed his agreement as he continued washing dishes. Humming something low and pleasant, Phil’s happiness soothed my wolf’s ruffled edges. My agreement had done that, and despite my inner jealousy, I couldn’t regret something that gave Phil so much pleasure.
“He should be able to come soon. Peaches is busy with his orchard, but I think he can still make time, considering he offered to help.”
“Sounds good.”
Phil and I talked about Dillon and Ruthie for a few more minutes.
They’d come out to greet him when he arrived, and Phil had gotten them to eat a little more for lunch than they had breakfast. Currently, they were holed back up in their room—Dillon’s this time instead of Ruthie’s.
Phil told me he’d give them an hour, maybe two, and if they didn’t come out on their own, he’d think of something for them to help him with.
We both understood their fear, but that fear couldn’t remain bottled up and left to fester.
With Phil back and the kids well in hand, I headed for the mine.
Typically, I stayed in the office, but today I felt the need to beat the shit out of something.
Shifting, I let my wolf loose and ran off some of that energy.
It wasn’t enough, and I immediately headed inside when I got to the mine.
Despite my lack of sleep last night, my body and mind were wired.
I’d be covered in dust and hopefully exhausted when evening came.
Every time I swung my hammer, I envisioned Arie’s smug face. Burt stopped by a couple of times to check on me but gave up trying to talk sense into me by the third visit. Despite what some thought, dwarves really did have an excellent sense of self-preservation.