Blending In

by RJ Blain

  I had wanted to stay and watch them. Chase had ultimately wrapped his arm around my waist and dragged me out of his house while I complained over his cruelty. I sulked over the entire lot of them forcing poor Pupperina to stay in her crate while we were gone.

  Tiana and Chase worked together to force me into the computer store, and once there, they had a freak out over the selection of computers. I pinched the bridge of my nose watching them flail about trying to decide which system would be best for my son.

  Chase’s father patted my shoulder. “I’m sorry. He gets excited sometimes, especially when a computer is involved. If it’s too expensive, say so. You do not have to listen to them about the computer. Buy the one you think your boy will like best.”

  “So you can go behind my back and buy a better one?” I muttered.

  “You caught on to that really quickly.”

  I pointed at Chase, who was singing the praise of a system while Tiana argued with him over the same exact one but in a different color. “I’ve been told I’m an unreasonable person and don’t need to put anything in my child’s college fund because I’ve covered it twice over. They’re going to coerce me into getting whatever one they think is best.”

  “And they won’t agree on it, ultimately forcing you to pick. And I’ll still uphold my agreement for all chameleon incidents even though you’ve been a very good mother in terms of planning for your son’s future. You might have other kids down the road. You’re spry and young enough if you want them.”

  “You just want two grandchildren to spoil instead of just the loaner.”

  “This is a factor, yes.”

  At least I knew where Chase’s father stood in the grand scheme of things. “Fine. You’ll get your karma chameleon in a wedding veil picture, assuming you can convince him to ask me because I’m not asking him; plus, you pay for the computers, plus the fifty grand for the incident to go into the care and upbringing of one of my children. Even if I only have just the one.”

  “You have a deal.” Chase’s father skipped off to hunt for an employee.

  Chase’s mother took his place, shook her head, and laughed. “You’re a cunning one, that’s for certain. I take it you intend on saying yes should Chase ask?”

  “I gave up fried chicken for him.”

  “Well, technically, you gave up the willful acquisition of fried chicken, relying on someone else to provide it for you, but that’s close enough. You’re trusting him with your fried chicken supply.”

  “He makes lasagna. From scratch. I’m pretty sure he said he was making it yesterday, but I don’t remember if he did.”

  “You were mostly asleep when you were eating it, but you seemed to really enjoy it. By that, he tried to take your empty plate away and got snapped at. You hadn’t licked it sufficiently.”

  I foresaw a lifetime of embarrassing myself over food. “I should apologize for that when I get a chance.”

  “Don’t worry about it. He gave you another piece and you got teary eyed because you liked it so much. While we understand the medications are mostly to blame, I think he took it as the compliment it is. Ask him to make turkey for you sometime. He learned that one from his grandmother, and if you’re lucky, he’ll be the one cooking dinner this year.”

  “Turkey? He makes turkey?”

  “It’s not chicken, so you can ask for it whenever you want. And, if he’s feeling up for a challenge, he’ll deep-fry it for you. He’s not above taking a few risks for a good dinner.”

  “He’s probably a better cook than I am.”

  “That’ll make him happy. He likes pulling his own weight in everything he does. Expect some posturing when it comes to your boy, as Chase will try to compete with a divine.” Chase’s mother rolled his eyes. “I’d be more upset over this, but at least he’s being stubborn for a good cause.”

  As my son’s happiness was the best cause I could think of, I nodded. “I can work with that, but I draw the line at them actively fighting over it.”

  “That’s a reasonable line to draw. You realize you made a mistake, right?”

  “I did? What mistake?”

  “You didn’t specify the number of computers my husband is to buy.”

  “But I did. A laptop and a desktop. We spent how long talking about them?”

  “Ah, but you didn’t specify how many of each.” Chase’s mother pointed at me, and then she pointed at Chase. “My husband is not a reasonable man. In the future, specify. You can thank me later.”

  What had I gotten myself into?

  Chapter Seventeen

  I survived the shopping expedition, and I even managed to buy my son several presents without the interference of Tiana, Chase, or his family. I’d avoided gaming consoles mostly due to their costs, but I spent some of the money I’d been squirreling away to get him a portable system and a few games to start him off. I even picked one game destined to occupy his time more than I liked.

  Collecting things in a game meant he wouldn’t be collecting things in the apartment, and I thought everyone won as he could indulge in his OCD tendencies without driving me insane in the process.

  Add in a fortune of puppy supplies, which I would wrap individually and organize so he’d open them in the order I wanted, and I thought I’d do okay on giving Caleb the best present possible.

  The lie I’d told to Chase’s mother would be exposed soon enough. If Chase didn’t ask, I would, and I meant to give Caleb something even better than a puppy: a second father to fill the spaces when Gavin couldn’t be around. Chase wouldn’t replace Gavin, and I’d make certain my son knew it, but whenever he needed a father figure in his life, he’d have one. On the big events, I’d make sure he had two.

  I’d give Chase until Christmas to take the initiative, and if he didn’t, I had some red string with his name on it. It’d only take a few minutes for me to braid it into something vaguely ring shaped. While I wouldn’t win any awards for creativity or investments, I thought I’d be able to get the point across with my choice.

  The worst he could do was say no.

  A mountain of bags and boxes occupied the SUV, and everyone except Chase’s father had to hold something on their lap. To make it clear I’d been had, Chase’s father made me carry the bag containing multiple laptops, and he’d had them gift wrapped at the store so I couldn’t investigate.

  Instead of taking out my share of the presents, Chase’s parents evicted me from the vehicle upon arrival and ordered me to go away.

  “But I need to wrap those!”

  “You can wrap another day. Have Chase bring you over sometime during the week. I’ll even feed you your favorite,” Chase’s mother replied.

  I couldn’t win with his family. I waved my fist at Chase. “This is your fault.”

  “It really is. I’ve been told they were perfectly reasonable people before I was born, then I came around and made a mess of everything.” Chase grinned at me, put his hands on my shoulders, and pushed me towards his house.

  I wasn’t the only one to look up to make certain no one was about to drop another bag of almond flour on my head. With no evidence of impending assault, Chase unlocked his door. His father joined us on the porch and peeked inside the house.

  Chase frowned, stepped inside, and headed for the living room where we’d left Pupperina crated.

  The excited puppy yips I expected didn’t come, and neither did the three-legged purr machine determined to make everyone happy. “Chase?”

  “Dad? You need to come see this.”

  I followed Chase’s father into the living room to discover Pupperina’s crate open and empty with a note taped to the cage’s door.

  “Someone stole them?” My voice rose an octave. “Are you fucking serious?”

  “And they want you in exchange for them.”

  Someone was going to die a brutal and terrible death at my hands, and I’d do so with a smile plastered on my face. “Someone stole my cat?”

  “Someone broke into the house
and stole both of them,” Chase replied, and he pulled his phone out. “Don’t touch anything. The police might be able to get evidence.”

  While I’d gotten angry over someone trying to kill me multiple times, the idea that someone would hurt the animals Chase had rescued from the shelter stoked a fury so intense heat washed through me. I clenched my teeth. “Why the fuck would anyone take two animals to get to me?”

  “Your sight is a pretty amazing ability,” Chase said, turning to face me. His eyes widened, and he pointed at me. “Hey, Miriah?”

  “What?” I snapped. I grunted, shook my head, and took a deep breath. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you.”

  “You have literal smoke rolling out of your ears.”

  Chase’s father faced me. “Huh. You really do.”

  Both men snapped pictures of me with their phones.

  “Could you stop that? Someone took Goliath and Pupperina!”

  “Dad? You want to handle calling the police? I’ll call Gavin.”

  Chase wanted to call Gavin? I frowned. “Why?”

  “Miriah, you have literal smoke pouring out of your ears. I mean, I knew you were probably packing a bit of a temper under that cool temperament, but if anyone would know why you’re blowing smoke out your ears, it’s that divine.” Chase tapped his foot, thumbed through his contacts, and called Gavin. “Hey, Gavin? Would you happen to know why Miriah might have smoke pouring out of her ears?”

  Chase blinked and stared at me. “Oh.”

  To my surprise, he held out the phone to me.

  Careful to keep my temper from fraying completely, I took his phone and held it to my ear, which did feel warmer than usual. “Gavin?”

  “What happened to get your temper up?”

  “Someone stole Goliath and Pupperina.”

  “And that would do it.” The divine sighed. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine, but my cat might not be! And my puppy. She’s just a puppy. She’s been terrorized enough. Those fucking bastards left a note.”

  “What does it say?”

  “Give me a sec.” I went to the crate to read the piece of paper taped to the door. “If Chase wants to see the cat and dog again, he’ll deliver me to them. The note doesn’t say where, though.”

  “They’d probably call him later from an untraceable line. That’s what crooks like this do. Does anything else look disturbed?”

  “No, not that I can tell.”

  “That’s something. Wash your clothes just in case they added some almond flour to inconvenience you. Cool your heels. You can’t do anything right now.”

  “Like hell I can’t. You’re a divine. Tell me where I can find my cat and dog!”

  “My cat and dog,” Chase muttered.

  “Mine,” I howled at him.

  “Just order him to marry you so you can both have equal ownership of the pets, Miriah,” Gavin said, his tone resigned.

  I pointed Chase’s phone at him. “My cat, my dog, and you can marry me and pretend you have joint ownership. But they’re mine.” I returned the phone to my ear. “Like that?”

  “Close enough.”

  “It doesn’t work like that, Miriah,” Chase replied.

  “Like hell it doesn’t! It does now. You’re now under orders to marry me so you can pretend they’re your cat and dog. They’re actually mine, I’m just letting them live with you until I can ferry my stuff over here and refuse to leave. I have copies of the keys now.”

  Granted, I only had copies of the key because Chase’s father had given me his.

  “Thanks, Dad.”

  Chase’s father shrugged, and nothing about his expression seemed repentant. “It saved us a stop while we were out, and I recognize when a woman is going to get what she wants. Just roll over and agree to her terms. She’s a little riled up right now, though. I’d tread with care. Just give her what she wants. Anyway, don’t even try to tell me this isn’t the result you want. I saw you checking out jewelry stores when we were shopping. The only reason you didn’t drag her in was because Tiana saw that gaming store and suggested a gaming system for Caleb.”

  “I want the address so I can rescue my cat and dog, and I want it now, Gavin,” I hissed.

  “67 West Street, first floor,” he replied. “It’s abandoned because of problems with the landlord and him being unable to sell, so it’s been infested with squatters. The current infestation of squatters has your cat and dog. They’re fine, although you may wish to bring gloves and clothes you’re not afraid of ruining when you go. I also recommend you go armed. And Miriah?”

  “What?”

  “You officially can’t say I don’t cheat on your behalf now. You can thank me on Christmas Eve when I bring Caleb to that service.”

  “I’ll thank you by not strangling you.”

  He laughed. “Please be careful.”

  “I’m probably going to need bail or an alibi,” I confessed.

  “I’ll come up with something,” he promised before hanging up.

  I handed Chase his phone. “Goliath and Pupperina are at 67 West Street.”

  “He actually told you?”

  “Yes, he did. Please excuse me a moment.”

  Chase and his father stared at me, with Chase’s father returning to his call with the police. I began my search in the kitchen, pulling out his largest chef knife in case I couldn’t find a more potent weapon. When the kitchen proved to be a bust, I expanded my search to his bedroom.

  I struck gold in his nightstand, discovering a Glock hidden under a few magazines in the drawer. I checked the weapon, pleased to discover it was unloaded. Then I checked again, frowning at its unclean state. A brief blitz through his closet found a gun-cleaning kit, and I hauled it and the weapon to the dining room table. Huffing my annoyance over the state of the weapon, I dismantled it and went to work caring for the weapon. “This does you no good if you leave it just sitting in a drawer without taking proper care of it,” I announced.

  “You know how to handle a gun?” Chase blurted.

  “If I catch you treating a good gun like this again, I’m taking you to a range and beating gun safety into you. After I’m done, I’m going to make you practice until you lose feeling in both of your hands. This is not how you care for a good gun. This is a crime against guns. Why do you even have it?”

  “Apparently, I have it so you can have an opportunity to correctly tear into my ass for mishandling a firearm.”

  “Do you even have a carry permit?”

  “No, but I did legally acquire the weapon.”

  “You do not store your gun in your night stand. It belongs in a gun safe. You will get a gun safe for this, am I clear?”

  “I am now.”

  I shot another glare at him before returning to my work. I was hard at work reassembling the gun when the police arrived. As I expected them to jump on me for having a firearm out, I retrieved my purse, slapped my conceal carry permit onto the table, and went through my final checks of the weapon.

  Chase, his mother, and his father stared at the carry permit with their mouths hanging open.

  “Single mother of a child living in New York,” I stated, raising a brow. “Do you really think I wouldn’t have a gun around if I needed to protect him? I don’t usually carry a gun, but you better believe I have one and will use it if someone fucks with my kid.”

  “I’m never going to think of your purse as harmless ever again,” Chase admitted. “On the other hand, I have no problems with you being able to protect yourself. I’m just impressed you were able to get the permit. They’re not easy to get here.”

  “Single mother of a divine’s child. Add in my lack of significant magical abilities, and I was bumped into a special queue to get training and the permit. My permit is valid for New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland.”

  “Please don’t shoot me.”

  “Are you going to hurt Caleb?”

  “No.”

  “Then I have no reason to shoot you.�
��

  “You probably shouldn’t be saying that in front of the police, Miriah.”

  I jabbed my finger at my permit. “You hurt my baby boy, and I’ll use this and shove it right up your ass!”

  Chase grinned at me. “All right there, little lady. Gavin’s with your baby boy, so he’s fine. I’m certainly not going to do anything to him, and I’m certain the police won’t, either. I know a secret that’ll make you feel a little better.”

  I glared. “What sort of secret could you possibly know that’ll make me feel better?”

  “Your grandfather on your mother’s side is a djinn, and you were blowing steam out of your ears, not smoke. You can enjoy tormenting your mother over the holidays for her mixed heritage. Djinn are not Catholic by nature.”

  “Djinn? Like a genie?”

  “Your mother’s literally the wish child of a human and a djinn. Gavin thought I might be able to use this to keep your temper directed at someone other than me.”

  “That bitch! She bitched at me and crucified me about sleeping with Gavin when she’s only half human?”

  “Yes, she did.”

  “And you believe Gavin?”

  “Well, he explained why your ears were steaming, and since he had a logical and immediate explanation for it, I see no reason to believe he’s lying about it.”

  “You know that Christmas Eve service we’re going to?”

  “Yes. What about it?”

  “We’re bringing my kitty and my puppy, and you’re going to be packing some death metal on your phone. She who throws rocks at me best not stand near windows, and I’m going to enjoy earning my fucking coal mine.”

  “Should I be concerned?”

  “Only if you get in my way.”

  Chase shook his head, laugh, and returned to answering the cops’ questions. With a murderous smile fixed into place, I waved at Officer Calrig. “Long time no see, sir.”

  “That gun will do you a lot more good if it’s loaded,” he replied before returning to questioning Chase and the disappearance of Goliath and Pupperina.