30. Blaine
BLAINE
Miss Ida.
“What were you thinking, boy? Those women were always trouble. I told you that.” She came charging out of the side of the old, boarded-up brick building like a force of nature, glaring and pissed at me because that was just what she did.
“But no. You had to do your own thing because you’re special. ”
Even incorporeal and floating instead of walking, she stomped across the pine straw and sand with her arms crossed over her chest. I’d seen that same expression so many times it hit me harder than anything else that’d happened.
Swallowing past the lump in my throat, I stood straighter because the only thing she liked worse than sass was slouching, and I wasn’t going to bet against her being able to manifest a wooden spoon. “You were right. I’m sorry.”
I’d ended up a monster, so I wasn’t going to argue with her.
Even if I wasn’t sure she was right, but I wasn’t dumb enough to debate her about it.
The immediate agreement took some of the wind out of her sails, so I took the opportunity to change the subject as she finally reached the parking lot. “Miss Ida, I’d like to introduce you to my mate Kenneth. He’s human, so he can’t see you right now but I’ve told him all about you.”
Henley blinked, probably at the strangeness of it all, but just as quickly he smiled in the direction I’d been looking. “I’m sorry I’m just human and can’t properly introduce myself, but it’s a pleasure to meet you. Blaine has told me how important you are to him.”
She smiled, letting out a long sigh. “You found your mate, boy. He’s a handsome one.”
As relief rushed through me, I nodded. “He’s very smart and he’s been catching me up-to-date on technology and society in general.”
Making a tsking sound, she shot me another glare before Henley got a smile. “Tell him it’s good to meet him and thank him for taking care of my boy.”
Groaning was not what she wanted from me, so I quickly swallowed back the drama that wanted to escape and nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
Henley was doing his best not to snicker, and took the whole thing seriously as I repeated the words to him. Nodding slowly, he charmed her with a smile. “I’m doing my best, but he doesn’t make it easy.”
Brat.
Before I could figure out what to say, he turned up the charm on Miss Ida. “He’s a trouble magnet. I don’t know how you did it when he was younger.”
Ugh.
Nearly ten minutes of lectures and embarrassing stories later, I got to stop tattling on myself to my mate and shifted the conversation again.
“I don’t know what you were told but the coven has kept the house in good shape and they even kept all Mama’s pictures for me. You’d be very proud of how it looks.”
Giving me a proud nod, she gestured toward the parking lot.
“They’ve been coming over once a month to update me.
Notes and everything. Young Serena’s done a good job of handling the current coven.
There’s no more shenanigans and they’re well-behaved now.
No more running after men and making mischief. She runs a tight ship.”
High praise from a tough woman who hadn’t liked any of the local witches in her time.
But since I was starting to understand why, I just agreed with her. “I’m glad to hear that. As long as you’re comfortable with it, I’ve left Serena in charge of the finances.”
Glancing over at Henley, who was doing his best to look attentive through the whole thing, I smiled at my mate. “I’ve been promised a tour of the country and we’re going to do some traveling.”
I didn’t have to point out how many reasons we had to leave, something about her expression said she was more up-to-date on the local gossip than I could guess. “I barely left the state before, if we’re counting Myrtle Beach, but now we’re going to see the whole country before we come back.”
Did she understand how long that would be?
I didn’t want her waiting around forever.
As much as I loved Bladenboro, I wasn’t going to end up as a rug in some asshole’s living room and the memories were still too fresh for me.
“I’m proud of you and your daddy would be too.” As relief rushed through me, she charged right back in. “Make sure your mate knows you get carsick in the back and that peppermints will help.”
I managed not to groan that time but Henley must’ve known how I was feeling because he was barely holding back a grin as I repeated her instructions.
“Thank you for letting me know. Blaine’s very good at taking care of me but I want to make sure I take care of him too.
He’s kind of stubborn and doesn’t always make that easy. ”
Oh, he had her eating out of the palm of his hand.
“He’s a good one, boy.” Smiling like she’d picked out Henley herself, she sighed. “Did you ever imagine being able to take your mate out in public? They’ve got parades and a whole month of celebrations.”
Blinking back tears, I shook my head. “No, ma’am. I clearly wasn’t thinking big enough back then.”
Fate seemed to have stepped in to lend a hand on that one.
“Serena brought over her laptop for me a few times and showed me all about the changes so I’d know you’d be safe when they fixed you.
” She shook her head, probably at how long it took, but didn’t talk badly about Serena.
“I made sure they kept all your baby clothes protected and your daddy’s pipe he always hid from your mama, God rest her soul. ”
She’d always thought of everything.
“Did he blame them? The coven, I mean.” He’d never talked much about them one way or the other, so I wasn’t sure how he’d felt. “Serena said they moved in after he got sick.”
Miss Ida sighed again. “He was always stubborn but he thought that was the best way to make sure they’d take care of you. He liked the company too at the end.”
Even seeing her as a ghost, I still couldn’t really comprehend he was gone.
“Was he… Did he blame me?” If I’d studied more magic, I probably could’ve defended myself.
“No, baby.” Her image pulsed and flashed more vibrantly for a moment. “He was mad at everyone for a while, but never you. The coven made it clear your strength kept the spell from killing you to begin with, so he always held out hope.”
Swallowing hard again, I nodded. “Thank you for staying with him.”
Making a dramatic hmpf, she glared at me. “Don’t thank me for doing my job.”
I was starting to see where I might’ve gotten my love of dramatic nuts from. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Now, a few things. Your daddy wrote little things for you in his notes. That big leather book he always carried around?” When I nodded, she started ticking things off on her fingers. “That should be up in the attic when you’re ready.”
One knowing glance from her said she knew that might be a while.
She didn’t fuss at me, though. “Your mama left you some letters that you were supposed to get when you met your mate. Her family coven did that when a new baby was a year old, so they should be with her papers. Oh, and I left her recipes with Serena’s mama.
That young girl isn’t much of a cook so those might’ve gotten put in the attic too. Don’t forget those.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I felt overloaded, like there was just too much in me for one body to hold, but I shoved it all back down again. “I’ll remember and I’ll tell my mate. He’s good with details.”
“You’re going to be fine.” Something about that pleased her, and we both got smiles Henley couldn’t see. “I expect to look down from the afterlife and see you making good choices and changing the world, boy.”
She held up her hand before I could say anything. “You’ve got a good man to look out for you and you’ve got yourself back. That’s what I needed to see. I have’ta go take care of your mama now because Heaven only knows what mischief she’s gotten up to.”
Or how crazy my father was driving her.
“Thank you, Miss Ida.” Refusing to break down, I reminded myself to stand straight and focused on my manners. “Is there anything you’d like me to do before you cross over?”
Ignoring the flash of ache that sent through me, I did my best to be calm and respectful. She gave me another smile as she shook her head, but left me curious as she closed her eyes. “Let’s see if I can make this work. Serena says I’m too stubborn, but she’s just contrary.”
I was not getting in the middle of those two women.
Wait.
“Oh wow.” Henley’s eyes got wide as she fully manifested in her best blue dress and her favorite apron. “Blaine…”
My mate was finally seeing a ghost.
Miss Ida was pleased as punch as she opened her eyes. “I told that girl I could do it. Now, come give me a hug and I’ll be on my way. It’s time to go before someone looks at my cards.”
She’d been cheating again.
“You said you weren’t gonna do that anymore, Miss Ida.” For such a God-fearing woman she had to repent for that sin on a regular basis.
Her grin got a snicker from Henley. “No more about that. I gotta have my fun. Now my hug, boy.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Wrapping her surprisingly lifelike body in my arms, I gave her a hug and whispered softly. “I love you, Miss Ida.”
“No more of that, boy.” Muttering about not being buried with her handkerchief, she let me step back and reached for Henley. “One for you too. My boy’s mate.”
Henley’s eyes went cartoon-sized but he didn’t seem to think twice about stepping closer and letting her hug him tight. “Thank you, ma’am. I…”
He couldn’t seem to finish his thought but she just smiled. She’d always had a sixth sense about things and probably knew my mate didn’t have the best family life. “My good boys.”
Before I was ready, she smoothed down the front of her dress and nodded decisively. “Behave and make good choices.”
I couldn’t promise that, but in the end, I didn’t have to because she just smiled and faded as a bright light enveloped her.
She was gone.
I stood there in shock for a few moments before reaching out for Henley’s hand. My mate squeezed it tight, stepping closer. “Are you going to tell me I’m creepy if I stay quiet to give you a few minutes?”
“Probably. Because it’s creepy.” Henley talked. That was just who he was. “No pod people, please.”
Fighting off a laugh he probably thought was inappropriate, he smiled proudly. “She liked me.”
“She did.” Kissing his head, I pulled him closer and shifted my hold so my arms were wrapped around him. “She waited to see you and to make sure you were going to feed me peppermints and make sure I ate enough vegetables.”
Snickering, he hid his face against my shoulder. “I got the embarrassing stories treatment. She didn’t try to kill either of us or quiz me about my favorite weapon. That was amazing.”
How had he survived his family growing up?
If Miss Ida had known how bad his childhood had been, she’d have tried to follow him around forever.
“She said you were handsome and had a lot of nice things to say about you.” I’d done my best to help him follow along but I knew I’d missed things along the way. “She…she gave me a list of things to make sure Serena has but that can stay in storage for now.”
I wasn’t ready to deal with any of it, crazy people or not.
“Okay.” Kissing my cheek, Henley straightened and took my hands as I slowly released him. “Thank you for letting me meet your family.”
Swallowing, I nodded and worked at sounding relaxed. “I think that was the last thing on my list.”
“We’ll make a new one for the next time we come back.” His flash of a grin said he’d decided a distraction was in order. “That cute little cop seemed excited to have you come visit for the festival.”
Ugh.
I was never going to hear the end of that.
“He was just being polite.”
Henley snorted and rolled his eyes. “Bullshit. He was hoping to get lucky with The Beast and he was sorry he missed his chance. You’re mated and mine.”
My mate was adorable and ridiculous.
“He was just excited meeting a local celebrity.” I was either famous or infamous; it was hard to tell sometimes. “And he was just doing his job to help keep us safe.”
“Bullshit…” His sing-song tone had me sighing. “There are monster fuckers in every group. Some are just more open-minded than others.”
“Don’t put that image in my head.” I was hoping to sound stern as we headed back to the truck but I mostly came out sounding a bit petulant, like a sulking child. “Brat.”
He giggled all the way into the truck, still snickering as he kissed my cheek before turning it on. “But I’m your brat and one Miss Ida approves of.”
Because she had good taste.
As we started to drive back toward the campground, Henley took my hand again. “Okay, what is she? I don’t think you ever said.”
Huh?
Oh.
“Human.” She was just as bossy as any alpha shifter I’d ever met. “Her grandmother saved my great-great-grandfather as a child and figured out what we were. They’ve worked for our family ever since. Her mother always said it was because shifters needed someone with common sense to manage things.”
She hadn’t been wrong but from what I remembered she’d been a tyrant.
“Human?” Henley blinked. “Really?”
Out of everything he’d seen, my nanny being human was the one that shocked him stupid?
My mate was a constant surprise.