After
Two months later
“Oh, my God, get in the car.” Felix pinched the bridge of his nose, so incredibly done with all of this. Visiting a paint center should not be this complicated.
All he wanted was a warm neutral, damn it.
Preferably one that wasn’t too pinky. Not that he had any issues with the color, but the couch Liam had picked out for his office would look horrendous against it.
Felix should just let the were suffer with it, since he was the one that would have to stare at it all day working remote for that big firm up North.
God, the man had zero eye for design. If he wasn’t so wonderful otherwise…
Liam grinned at Felix like he knew what he was thinking and strapped Poe into her carseat.
Thankfully, Liam’s ability to sooth savage beasts like Myx had extended to Felix’s youngest niece, and the screamer had become strangely tolerable.
Almost cute, even—well, except during baths and when she was supposed to go down for a nap, but it was a vast improvement over the twenty-four-seven cacophony she’d subjected Felix’s parents to.
They’d more than earned their extended “vacation” in Maybach clearing out Aunt Helen’s house.
And they were definitely enjoying it. To the point where Felix wouldn’t be surprised if they decided to move there and sell the house in Havers. Aunt Helen’s was in much better repair, and there would be room for everyone when Felix and Liam brought the kids up to visit.
That and they kept finding cats.
The move would necessitate Felix taking his mom’s place in the coven, but after Yule, the gaggle of old farts had definitely been looking at him with more respect.
He wasn’t about to tell them that calling the Wild Hunt—aka the kinip-kinap—had nothing to do with him, and everything to do with a certain frizzy, red-headed girl in the Bel Air’s back seat.
Aggie, of course, knew all about it, not that she’d tell anyone.
Sway fumbled a ridiculous stack consisting of every paint chip in the store and sprayed them all over the back seat. Poe clapped her hands, laughing.
Felix’s eyelids fluttered at the mess, and he slipped into the front, buckling up.
“You ready to go relieve my mom from urchin duty, or did you want to make another stop?” Liam asked, starting the engine.
A wide smile crossed his face as it “purred” for him.
The man really was obsessed with cars, and after Chase had mentioned its restoration during an interview about his work, Liam was fielding calls from all over the country.
It was just a hobby for now, but Felix knew that wasn’t going to last.
“I think we have an adequate amount of paint samples to choose from,” Felix muttered as they pulled onto the road. “Besides, every minute we let your mother stay at the house, another baked good appears on my counter, and I’ll be forced to eat it.”
Liam laughed. “Still mad about having to let your pants out?”
“They’re trousers, and yes.” Between Liam and his mother’s cooking, Felix had become decidedly fluffy.
Not that Liam seemed to mind, but Felix couldn’t say he wasn’t jealous of the were’s metabolism.
At least he and Jena had something new to commiserate about.
She might only be six months pregnant, but she was huuuge.
Not that he’d ever tell her that.
Thankfully, everything that’d happened at Yule hadn’t had any lasting effects.
She’d been admitted at Klineville General for dehydration and exhaustion, but was out two days later.
Chase, on the other hand, had become a helicopter husband and was at her side before she could even attempt to lift a finger.
It was cute, but Felix could totally see why she wanted to punch him.
They drove through Havers, and he rolled his eyes at one of the “Wanted” posters Lorraine had insisted they put up.
The butt cheek bandit was still at large, though how she thought the photocopied evidence with the “bits” redacted was going to help catch him…
Whatever. Now the culprit got to moon the entire town instead of just whoever opened the copier.
Felix shook his head, smiling despite that as they passed town hall. Part of the dragon’s gold had gone to balancing the town’s budget, and the streetlights were on again. So was the aftercare program for the school, and Felix had an entirely new appreciation for it.
Unfortunately, Ophelia had been correct about Fayet’s lawsuit going to trial, and opening arguments were scheduled to start in a few weeks. Still, he had hope. It was almost spring, and Main Street was beginning to showcase all things for Imbolc and Valentine’s. New beginnings were on the horizon.
A smile flitted over his lips, looking forward to the getaway he and Liam had planned for the holiday. He didn’t regret taking over guardianship of his nieces and nephew, but they definitely put a cramp in things. Especially the one in the back seat with “really good ears.”
Liam turned onto Bruntwell, and the landscape opened up.
The house they’d bought with another portion of the dragon’s gold stood at the top of a rise, overlooking the harbor.
Back in the day it’d been home to a ship’s captain, and Chase had wholeheartedly approved of the rambling Victorian complete with a widow’s walk.
From there, you could just see the top of the tor where Jena and Chase’s manor would eventually stand.
The Victorian was more house than Felix had thought he’d ever need, but with him, Liam, five urchins, and Myx, it didn’t feel too big.
It felt like home.
THE END