Chapter 18
Chapter
Eighteen
Rhaz told Anon what he was going to do. Not that he had to. The vampire had excellent hearing.
His shift, as Anon called it, now finished, Rhaz waited for Phin to come get him. He made sure he stayed in plain sight, as much as he could while surrounded by human females, and watched for her arrival.
The one called Sandra kept bothering him, but he soon shooed her away with Anon’s help. Were all human females here this forward and aggressive?
So far she’d been the worst, but the others wouldn’t stop crowding around the counter, and Anon was losing sales.
Well, not really. In order to stay at the counter, the women kept buying more goat cheese, which Anon happily sold them.
Rhaz spotted Phin’s little car pulling into the parking lot and headed that way. Several women nearby gave him disappointed looks before wandering off.
Perhaps they sensed his dragon. Could that be it? Or was it something else? He knew he was a handsome man, but there were other handsome men around. Anon, for one.
Which brought up another question. As old as the vampire was, why was he not mated?
Rhaz shoved the thought aside as Phin poked her head out the window and waved at him.
He trotted over, climbed into the car, and smiled. “Thank you for picking me up. I don’t know your town very well. It might have taken me a bit to find your home.”
“That’s okay,” she said. “I don’t mind. You’re lucky my mother didn’t come.”
He laughed at that.
Phin pulled out of the parking lot and headed toward home. It didn’t take long to get there. Just a few minutes, perhaps, but the town wasn’t very big. She parked in the driveway, got out, and waited for him to do the same.
As tall as he was, climbing out took a little effort.
“You know, you can always put your seat farther back,” she said.
He gave her a blank look. “The seat?”
“Well, I... I...” She stopped and laughed. “Oh. Right. It’s an older model car.” She walked around to the passenger side, bent down, pulled a lever, and pushed the seat backward. “But a classic is still a classic. Most seats work on the same principle.”
“Oh, I see what you mean now.” He would have to remember that.
She shut the door, gave him a playful smirk, and headed for the front porch.
“How long have you lived here?” he asked, trying to make conversation.
“All my life. I know it’s an older Craftsman, but we love it, and it’s roomy. You should see how big our bathroom is.”
He chuckled. One of Anon’s bathrooms was as large as a bedroom. The others were what Anon considered smaller. The baths in the royal palace were enormous compared to the ones he’d seen in human homes.
Of course, the only human home he’d really spent time in was Anon’s.
They crossed the living room, passed through the dining room, and entered a large kitchen at the back of the house.
“There you are,” Phin’s mother said.
“Barbara, is it?” Rhaz asked with a smile.
Phin’s father came in from another room, perhaps a bedroom or office. “Well, Mr. Stormfyr.” He held out his hand. “At last we meet properly. Bill Ironwood.”
Rhaz shook the man’s hand. “Rhaziel Stormfyr.”
Bill laughed. “We all know that. In fact, the entire town knows your name. Isn’t that right, Babs?”
His wife smiled. She had the same dark hair as Phin, while Bill’s was a lighter brown.
“They certainly do,” she said. “Have a seat at the table, and we’ll get lunch underway.”
“Lemonade, anyone?” Bill crossed to the refrigerator and pulled out a pitcher.
“Have you had lemonade?” Phin asked.
Rhaz’s eyebrow shot up. “Does it look like I haven’t?”
She made a face and nodded. “Yeah. Kind of. Sort of. You look a little scared.”
He laughed. “I assure you, I’m far from it. But I have tried many new things since I’ve been here. Why not lemonade?”
Bill filled four glasses and brought them to the table.
Meanwhile, Barbara stood at the stove. “Just call me Barbara,” she said, waving a spatula in the air.
She flipped something and pressed it down. Rhaz had seen Basil do that countless times. What was a tuna melt, anyway?
Well, he was about to find out.
Once lunch was served, everyone began to eat, and he quickly discovered he liked the sandwich. It was hot, unlike most sandwiches he’d eaten before. Basil was a master of such things, but he’d never made anything quite like this.
Rhaz took a sip of the lemonade and immediately made a face. “Oh…”
“Is it too tart?” Barbara asked.
“No, I like it. It’s very good. Thank you.”
“I’m glad. Sometimes I make it a little too tart.” She looked around the table, raised her glass, and took a sip.
Phin kept stealing glances at him as he ate his sandwich.
Her mother kept up a constant stream of conversation.
In fact, her interrogation methods were much smoother than Phin’s.
Phin asked outright questions about his department, the equipment they used, and so on.
Somehow he evaded every one of them. With Anon’s help, he evaded all of them, come to think of it.
But her mother was smooth. “So you like to be called Rhaz? How nice. Is that a common name where you come from? And you’re how old, did you say?”
He didn’t say, did he? “Twenty-eight,” he hedged.
Mom giggled. “You had to think about it?”
He shrugged. “Well, I’ve been busy and had a recent birthday, but...”
“Oh, how nice,” Barbara interrupted. “When was your birthday?”
“Not long ago,” he said evasively.
“Never mind about that, Mom,” Phin broke in.
“Well, dear, you just had a birthday too. Maybe you have a birthday on the same day. What a coincidence that would be.” She flashed Rhaz a smile. He smiled back, just to be polite.
“So you’re a fire chief.” Bill reached for his lemonade. “Chief Morrison can’t wait to get his hands on you, son. Best be real sure taking over for him is something you want to do. For one thing, you’re awfully young. Some of those older volunteers are going to be grumpy over that.”
He took a sip, drained the glass, then reached for the pitcher and poured himself some more.
“Trust me, sir, I’m used to dealing with grumpy people much older than me.” He sighed and looked at his empty plate.
“Are you still hungry?” Phin asked. “I can make you another sandwich.”
“No, I am fine. I had a lot of goat cheese this morning with crackers. Anon wanted me to try all the flavors.”
Barbara laughed. “That Dr. Blackstone. What would this town do without him? He’s such a nice gentleman. A good dentist, too. Always looking out for everyone.”
“You know,” Bill said as he returned to the table, “he’d make a good mayor. He ought to run.”
“Against Chief Morrison?” Phin said in disbelief. “Oh, poor Chief.”
“What do you mean, poor Chief?” her mother said. “I think it would be good for him to have a little competition. Besides, Dr. Blackstone might not run even if he was interested in being mayor.”
“Doesn’t mean we can’t nominate him,” Bill said.
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea.” Phin shook her head. “In fact, I think it’s a horrible idea. The man barely has time to do what he does now, and he plays bridge. He’s head of the garden club, and what are some of the other things he’s involved in?”
“Oh, let’s see.” Barbara thought for a moment. “He donates to the library, he’s thinking of volunteering for story time at the school, and of course he teaches the children about caring for their teeth every year during health week.”
“Mom, he’s only been in town two years,” Phin pointed out.
“Well, yes, but...” She looked at Rhaz and smiled. “Your landlord is into everything in this town. He’s very well known and loved.”
Rhaz smiled and nodded as if agreeing. There was more to Anon than he first thought.
Phin watched Rhaz. Sometimes he had a look on his face that said he wasn’t sure what they were talking about. Maybe they didn’t have mayors where he came from. Maybe they called them something else.
“Would you like some ice cream?” Phin offered.
“What?” Rhaz looked around the table. “Ice cream. I’ve heard that name before at the house. What is it?”
Her father spewed lemonade all over the table and started coughing. “You mean to tell me you don’t know what ice cream is? What kind of country do you live in? Everybody knows what ice cream is. Oh.” He looked at the table. “I made a mess. Sorry.”
“That’s all right, dear. I’ll clean it up.” Mom wiped at the lemonade with a napkin, then got up and fetched a roll of paper towels.
“Gee, Dad. Thanks.” Phin deadpanned as she wiped droplets of lemonade off her arm.
“Sorry, Sweet Pea.” Her father gave Rhaz a sheepish look, then started helping with the cleanup.
“Why don’t you and Phin go into the living room, Rhaz, while we clean this mess up? Again, I’m sorry.” Dad looked away and continued wiping the table.
“Very well,” Rhaz agreed. He left the table and moved to the center of the kitchen to wait for Phin. She joined him and guided him into the living room, where they sat on the couch.
He looked around, taking everything in. “This is not the same as Anon’s house. Your furniture is different, as are your other things.”
“Wow. That’s an interesting thing to notice,” she said dryly. “It’s because this is our house and Anon has his house and his tastes in furniture.”
He looked at her. “Are you the same, economically speaking? Your family and Anon?”
She leaned back against the couch and laughed. “Oh my goodness. Are you for real?”
She laughed some more, then took in his curious expression and sobered. “You’re serious. Wow. No, we are not the same. In fact, Dr. Blackstone, who happens to be a dentist, makes a lot more money than my father and mother put together.”
“Does he?” Rhaz said. “Dentists are a good thing to be then.”
“Yes,” Phin agreed. “As are doctors and brain surgeons. My dad’s an insurance agent, and sometimes I think not a very good one. But don’t tell him I said that, okay? Mom works different jobs here and there. Right now she’s a secretary at the high school.”
“High school,” he said slowly, as if trying the words out. She noticed he did that a lot. “What is high school?”