Home > Magical Midlife Invasion (Leveling Up #3)(15)

Magical Midlife Invasion (Leveling Up #3)(15)
Author: K.F. Breene

Austin took the other seat and crossed an ankle over a knee, looking out with me. “This is what you do at the end of a day, huh?”

“Yes. Often Mr. Tom will wander in with some snacks or something to drink, and then leave me to just sit here and gaze out. It’s a nice view.”

“It is. Peaceful. I have a view of woods from my bedroom. No hedge maze, though. My view is lacking for it.”

“I’m sure Edgar would build you one if you asked. Maybe plant you a ridiculous amount of flowers, too. I’d loan him out.”

“No, thank you.” The silence lengthened for a moment. Then he said, “One day, when your parents aren’t here and there’s nothing going on, we should come back here and enjoy the view, stress-free. Maybe with a glass of wine.”

Butterflies fluttered through my stomach. “That would be nice.”

After our respective showers, Austin using one in a spare bedroom and opting to wear his somewhat dirty clothes instead of the purple house sweats, we landed back downstairs. Niamh sat in the TV room with my dad, her feet up and a beer in her hand. Neither of them spoke, just stared at the blaring TV.

I noticed one of the dolls sitting on a chair in the corner, the baby face turned down, its eyes much too lifelike for my taste, given the dolls in this house actually did come to life.

“What is that thing doing there?” I pointed.

My dad struggled to swivel in his chair, trying to see what I was talking about. Niamh, who now had the flexibility of a much younger woman, easily turned and glanced at the offending doll.

“Your mammy brought it down.” Niamh took a sip of her beer, unperturbed.

“Why? What was she doing in the doll room?” I demanded.

“She thought you had a love child and went to check it out,” my dad said, equally as unperturbed.

“A…what?” I stared in disbelief.

“You might have a real rat problem, Jessie,” my dad said, grabbing the remote and putting the TV on mute. “There was some awfully big thumps from above. That’s the second floor—you shouldn’t have that kind of noise coming from the second floor.”

“Woulda been better off with that love child instead of rats, eh, Jessie?” Niamh asked, laughter infusing her eyes.

“Ah well, I don’t know. Rats are easier to get rid of. Though…” My dad swiveled again, this time to look at me. “We haven’t gotten one call from Jimmy, did your mom tell you? She’s called him a few times, sure enough, but that kid just does not want to pick up the phone. He’s worse than you. Have you heard from him?”

“He’s away from home for the first time and he has a new girlfriend. He’s busy.” I also knew that if he had a hard enough time picking up the phone to call his mother, he wouldn’t spend much time thinking about his grandparents. Eighteen-year-old boys didn’t seem to think about family until they needed it, or at least mine didn’t. I missed him something awful, but I also didn’t want to cramp his style. Not yet. Not until I couldn’t stand it anymore. I’d also need to figure out how to explain my new life. Given how it was going with the parents, I’d need to think a little harder about explanations when he finally came here. “He’s hoping to come out for Mother’s Day.”

My dad grunted and reached for the remote. Our talk was apparently done.

In the kitchen, Ulric and Cedric sat at the island in front of a plate loaded with cheese, salami, and crackers. Each had a drink—Ulric with a beer and Cedric with orange juice. My mother stood at the sink, her hands submerged in the suds foaming up out of the basin. An empty dish rack sat in front of Jasper, who was wiping a plate with a towel before moving to put it away.

The oven door lay open with Mr. Tom peering into it. “Honestly, Martha, you don’t need to do that. You can just sit down. I’ll take care of them in a minute.”

“Don’t be silly. I just wish you’d let me help more. You have your hands full catering to all these people!”

“I assure you, it is nothing I can’t handle.”

“Hey.” I stopped by the island, Austin beside me. Ulric lifted his drink in salute.

“Oh hey, honey.” My mom turned with a smile, pulling a yellow rubber glove from the glistening foam. “I hear the woods expedition went well. Your father says there are a lot of flowers out back. I think I’ll check those out tomorrow. Maybe get some pointers from Edgar.”

My mother was the worst gardener in history, or maybe second only to me. Edgar would likely make it sound easy, especially given he had a magical elixir that actually did make it easy, and if he encouraged her, she’d probably end up mass-murdering a bunch of innocent flowers. It would be a travesty.

“Did Dad mention anything else, other than the flowers?”

She thought for a moment. “No. He said the weather’s nice, but I knew that.”

I chewed on my lip. “Nothing about…seeing anything weird?”

She tilted her head. “Like what?”

“Like…animals…in the woods?”

“No. Why?”

“We have a problem with something eating the flowers,” Ulric said, peeling the label on his beer.

“Oh yes.” She scoffed loudly. “They are constantly after my roses! I had to put wire fencing around them.”

I let it go. Clearly my dad hadn’t said anything, and there were other extreme matters to attend to. “Why’d you bring down a doll, Mom?”

“The dolls! You didn’t tell me you had so many dolls! I didn’t remember you having that many dolls when you were married to”—she put a gloved hand to the side of her mouth—“you know who.”

“We all know who, Mom. I haven’t been secretive about the divorce—”

“Oh, here.” My mom quickly took off her gloves and laid them beside the sink. “Do you want a beer? Austin?” Her smile spanned her whole face for Austin, it seemed like. “You’ll have a beer, won’t you?”

“Yes, please. Thank you,” he replied.

“So polite. I’d worried about the younger generation and their manners, but all of you boys are so polite.” She dug into the fridge.

Mr. Tom jerked upright, hitting his head on the edge of the oven. He winced and rubbed his head. “I am perfectly capable of…” But the beers had already been pulled free of the packed space.

Austin grabbed a couple of brown bottles—my mother favored Coors Light over my father’s Pabst—and twisted off the caps. He handed one to me and then stepped back, giving me space.

“You are a true entertainer, Mrs. McMillian,” Ulric said with a sly grin. “An amazing host. You know what people want before they know it themselves.”

“Oh now…” My mom batted her hand at him, pleased by the flattery. “Call me Martha.”

Mr. Tom glowered and then shut the oven. “It has another half-hour. We held off a little in case you ran late, miss.”

“Niamh was right,” Ulric muttered to Cedric. “He’s often late with dinner.”

“Don’t mind them,” my mom told Mr. Tom. “I’m always late, aren’t I, Jessie? Time just gets away from me.” She took a long sip of her beer.

“She’s trying to make you feel better, Mr. Tom. Is it working?” Ulric said.

Mr. Tom met Ulric’s mocking grin with anger. “I will just check on the others.”

“Jessie, how about some clam dip? I brought some up since you didn’t come for Christmas. I figure we can have a sort of mock Christmas dinner. I made some deviled eggs, too.”

I didn’t bother telling her that she’d informed me of this twice already. “Awesome. Sounds great.”

My mom pulled the plug on the sink before heading back to the fridge.

“This is such a lovely, big kitchen,” she said. “We can all gather right here. I hardly have to move at all. And with Tom helping with the cooking, it’s almost like a vacation.”

“If you let him do all the work, like he wants to, it’ll completely be like a vacation,” I said. “You can even go wine tasting in town.”

“Don’t be silly, I couldn’t let him do everything.” She eyed me. “But wine tasting. That’s an idea. It’s such a cute little town. We only drove through. I’d love to visit some of the shops and things.”

“And wineries,” Ulric said.

My mom grinned sheepishly, resting the Tupperware of clam dip on the island and grabbing the chips. “Do you have a chip-and-dip party set, Jessie?”

“I’ve told the others they can only have a taste so you and Dad can get enough,” I said, putting down my beer and rooting through the cabinets. “I think we do.”

“Don’t be silly. They can have as much as they’d like.”

“I do not think you should be worried about that, Mrs. McMillian,” Ulric said dryly. Cedric shook his head.

“Call me Martha, please! You make me feel old.” My mom watched me dig through the various crystal bowls and platters.

“What…” Mr. Tom bustled in with two empty cans. They clinked down onto the counter. “Miss, what are you looking for? Here, let me help you. I swear, the whole place is in complete disarray. Does no one respect my role in this household?”

I got out of the way after telling him what I needed and, on impulse, ducked into to the fridge to pull out two deviled eggs. I handed one to Austin and bit into the other.

“Really? Can’t pass one to me?” Ulric put up his hands.

“You’re giving Mr. Tom a hard time. You don’t deserve one,” I replied, laughing.

“I am not worried about what a disco-haired upstart has to say regarding my affairs,” Mr. Tom grumbled. “I was storming the gates when his parents were in diapers.”

I nudged him with my foot, hoping my mom hadn’t noticed.

“I am hurrying, miss. Please, have patience,” he responded, clearly misreading that nudge. “There are fine things in this house.”

   
Most Popular
» Magical Midlife Meeting (Leveling Up #5)
» Magical Midlife Love (Leveling Up #4)
» The ​Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and Ash
» Lover Unveiled (Black Dagger Brotherhood #1
» A Warm Heart in Winter (Black Dagger Brothe
» Meant to Be Immortal (Argeneau #32)
» Shadowed Steel (Heirs of Chicagoland #3)
» Wicked Hour (Heirs of Chicagoland #2)
» Wild Hunger (Heirs of Chicagoland #1)
» The Bromance Book Club (Bromance Book Club
» Crazy Stupid Bromance (Bromance Book Club #
» Undercover Bromance (Bromance Book Club #2)
vampires.readsbookonline.com Copyright 2016 - 2024