Chapter 12 #2
Kizzy knew what those other abilities were.
He might need an attack wolf. Her father didn’t have the same powers.
In fact, his hands were tied, in a way. He had taken the Hippocratic oath.
However, even though they were both healers, Kizzy was the stronger one when it came to protection.
For some reason, the females received a little more power in certain decidedly female traits: Ruth’s psychic abilities, and Kizzy’s matriarchal protective instincts.
Her father’s male protectiveness was more of a human trait.
And he wasn’t allowed to destroy anyone. Not that he would. She hoped.
Kizzy worried her lip. “Okay. Do whatever you have to do to feel safe, but I don’t know if it’s a good idea to put the books together.”
“Exactly. I was thinking the same thing, so we’ll have ours in its locked and warded room for now, but I’d really feel better if I could see this new book for myself first before we decide anything.”
“I understand. Noah and I will wait for you. Meanwhile, I’ll cast a few wards that only you and Mr. Wolfensen can get through.”
“Good thinking.”
“Wait a minute,” Noah said. “I have a roommate. My brother. He’s not due home for another hour or so, but I certainly don’t want to lock him out.”
“It will only be temporary,” Kizzy said.
“If he comes home early, he won’t get zapped trying to open the door or anything, will he?”
Both Kizzy and her father chuckled. “No. The door just wouldn’t open. I don’t zap unsuspecting strangers.”
“Okay then. Ward away.”
Aaron chuckled. “See you in a few minutes.”
He hung up the phone, and Kizzy disconnected on her end. Then she set the phone on Noah’s kitchen counter and draped her arms around his neck. “I think that went well. Don’t you?”
Noah let out a deep breath. “Better than I thought it would.”
“I love you, Noah.”
“You should probably tell your dad that.”
“Oh, he knows. Trust me. He knows.”
* * *
What seemed like only a minute later, Noah heard a knock at his door. “I wonder who that is?”
“Can you see who’s at the door by looking out the window?” Kizzy asked.
“No. Can you see through the door?”
She laughed. “Who do you think I am? Supergirl?”
He inwardly laughed at himself. “Well, if you’re not, I’ll just have to open the door and see who’s there. There’s no peephole in some of these old homes—including this one.” He tucked the book in a kitchen cabinet among a couple of cookbooks.
When he got to the door, he took a deep breath before opening it. He was shocked to see Nick and Dr. Samuels there already, and they had a redheaded woman with them. “Come in.”
The woman stepped inside ahead of the two men.
Noah shut the door. “How did you get here so fast?”
“Can he be trusted?” Nick asked Aaron.
“My daughter trusts him. She’s a pretty good judge of character.”
Kizzy entered the room. “Pretty good? I’d say I’m very good.”
The woman smiled. “Except where love is concerned. Then things like judgment and trust can get very confusing.”
“Spoken like someone who knows,” Nick said and smiled at her.
Noah’s patience for all this cryptic conversation was wearing thin. He folded his arms. “Is anyone going to introduce us?”
“Oh! I’m sorry, Noah. This is Nick Wolfensen’s wife, Brandee,” Kizzy said.
“How did you get here so quickly?”
Brandee shrugged. “I’m a good driver. I know how to avoid traffic.”
Noah narrowed his eyes at her.
“It’s okay,” Aaron said. “He knows.”
Brandee placed her hand over her heart. “Whew, I was afraid we were going to have to come up with some kind of bizarre explanation for my being able to change time and transport physical matter through the ether.”
Noah raised his eyebrows.
“I don’t think he knew all that!” Aaron said.
“Actually, I’m familiar with a deity who can do all that, and more.”
This time, Brandee’s eyebrows shot up. “It sounds like you’re talking about my boss.”
“If her name is Gaia, then yes.”
Brandee grinned. “Oh, my paranormal family. How the heck do you know her?”
“It’s a long story. One I’d rather not get into right now.” He glanced at Kizzy.
“I agree. Dad, you wanted to see the book. Is it okay to bring it out to the living room and show everyone, Noah?”
“I don’t see why not. The only one I don’t know is Brandee, and Nick can vouch for her. What do you say, Nick? Can your wife be trusted with a secret?”
Nick laughed. “Absolutely. She didn’t divulge mine even when she thought I was… Never mind. It’s a long story too.”
“Okay,” Noah said. “I’ll go get the book.
” He went into the kitchen and took it out of the cabinet where he’d stashed it.
He hoped showing it to them would help somehow.
He wasn’t quite ready to surrender it though.
He had everything set up in his lab, but having the right words would really help.
Kizzy might be willing to divulge the information he needed later.
Taking the book to the living room, he handed it to Aaron.
“I’ll be damned. That’s it.” He didn’t even study it. Just a quick perusal of the cover and contents made him smile as he scanned.
Aaron turned to Brandee and nodded. Noah wondered what that was about. Suddenly, everyone disappeared except the redhead he’d just met.
* * *
“Son of a monkey’s butt!”
“Kizzy! Language!” her father said, horrified.
“I didn’t swear. None of those words are swears.”
“But would you say them in the ER?”
“Probably not. Sorry. But how do you expect me to react to this a-hat behavior?”
“I expect you to be on your best behavior—at all times,” her father said.
“So suddenly, here I am with you and Nick. Where is Brandee?”
Nick and Aaron glanced at each other. “She’s with Noah. She has to get a friend to help wipe his memory of the book.”
“A friend? Who? And why?”
“There’s no way we can let anyone who doesn’t absolutely need to know in on this. It’s for his own safety, Kizzy.”
She sagged. “I understand, but how much of his memory is Brandee’s friend going to wipe?” She narrowed her eyes at her father.
Her father straightened his spine. “What are you implying?”
Kizzy shrugged. “I know you don’t like him. Maybe you want her to wipe his mind of my existence?”
Her father looked hurt. “I would never do that. Your love life is your own. Your mistakes are your own. I don’t want to be responsible for making those decisions for you.”
“And yet you tried to talk me out of seeing him.”
He shrugged. “I never said I couldn’t express an opinion.”
“You did more than that. You told me to break up with him.”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have.”
She was tempted to make a crack about how maybe he was finally seeing her as an adult or mellowing but didn’t think this was the time.
“I appreciate your opinions, but not your interference.” Before he could respond, she held up her hand.
“I really do love Noah. And I know he loves me. I trust you wouldn’t ruin that, even if you didn’t approve. ”
Kizzy went to the refrigerator and poured herself a glass of ice water. “So, Nick. How much of Noah’s memory is Brandee’s friend going to erase?”
He shrugged. “Not much. We have a friend with the power to mesmerize. Ruxandra can erase memories as well as replace them with new ones. And she’ll ask her to only erase his memory of the book. He won’t know about its existence. That’s all.”
She couldn’t help being suspicious. How would she pull that information out and leave everything else alone?
Brandee popped into the room. “I’m sorry it took so long. I had a nice chat with your young man before Ruxandra erased his memory—with his permission.”
“Seriously?” Kizzy asked. “He agreed to it?”
“Yes. He’s a good guy, Kizzy.”
“I know that.” She eyed her father. “I wish everyone did.”
“Honey…”
“Stop. I understand. You just want what’s best for me. The thing is, Noah is what’s best for me. I’ve never known anyone so selfless. Maybe it will work out. Maybe it won’t. But for now, he’s the only true friend I have outside this family.”
“I understand that now. There’s no doubt in my mind that you two could be good for each other. Of course, I’ll need to wait and see.”
Kizzy let out a deep sigh. “Yeah. I have to expect that. I imagine it’s the same with every parent who thinks no one is good enough for their baby.”
“You’ll find out,” Brandee said. Her bright-blue eyes twinkled.
Both Kizzy and her father looked at her in surprise.
“Oops. I guess I should’ve yelled, ‘Spoiler alert!’”
“Wait—you can’t mean Kizzy’s…”
“Not yet. Sorry,” Brandee said.
Kizzy smiled, and it grew into a grin. “Just knowing that I’ll have children eventually makes me happy.” Then she turned to her father and said, “Mazel tov, Grandpa.”
Aaron groaned. “Grandpa? Already?”
Kizzy laughed. “It’s not like you’ve got a lot of time to get used to the idea. I may not be pregnant, but Ruth is.”
Suddenly, she remembered she and Noah hadn’t used anything other than magical protection—and she’d never tried it out before. Maybe she was pregnant! Nah… She didn’t feel any different. Still, she’d better keep that little tidbit to herself.
* * *
Dante walked into the house and hung up his jacket. “Hi, honey, I’m home.”
Noah wandered into the living room, scratching his head. “I just found something, and I’m hoping you can tell me what it is.”
Dante took in the strange look on his brother’s face and grew alarmed. “What is it? Some kind of new bug crawling on our food or something? I told you to put everything in airtight containers.”
“Come with me.” Noah strode toward the back of the hall and veered left into the spare bedroom. He indicated the amateur chem lab with a sweep of his arm. “This. What’s all this?”
Dante gaped at his brother with concern. “Your lab? You set the whole thing up but don’t recognize it? You don’t know what experiment you’re doing in here?” Dante strolled up to his brother and felt his forehead. It was no warmer than usual. “Are you feeling all right?”