Several more witches got up from the surrounding booths in the bar and circled around us. I guessed old Nestor wasn't the only one who wanted answers.
Sighing, I sucked down some of my drink to steel my nerves. "Mother came for a visit. As far as I know, she should be leaving any day and coming back here."
"That's not what her letter said." Nestor pulled out a folded piece of stationary and slapped it down beside me.
Gingerly, fearing the worst, I picked it up off the bar and scanned the contents. The letter was addressed to Nestor. I'd known they'd been lovers, but seeing the graphic and detailed address to Nestor, I felt my drink rising in my gullet as it threatened to make its escape. I did not need to know Nestor was endowed like a bull elephant. He was creepy as fuck enough already. How Mother found him attractive was beyond me. But, then again, she found most of the male members of her coven attractive. Probably why she bedded half of them.
After the disturbing greeting, she basically said she quit and that her troublesome daughter needed her. She was resigning the coven to the witches of Ashville to decide on leadership going henceforth.
Nestor was right.
My mother was an asshole.
"Fuck me." I handed Nestor back his letter. "Don't look at me. She showed up and kept going on and on about how she was leaving any day. Then she agreed to stay through Yule. This is the first I'm hearing about it."
The other witches grumbled an understanding, but Nestor was scrutinizing me, gauging if I was telling the truth. "Why? Did you really need her that bad?"
I opened my mouth to deny it, but I couldn't. Not after how much help she had been. Her and Nana both. "I did. And I won't lie to you, Nestor. I might need her for a bit longer, but I'll send her back as soon as she's done."
"Don't bother. We don't need her." He got up from his stool and wobbled off toward the bathrooms.
There was one thing for sure as shit. I didn't want her, either. She was my mother, and I loved her, but I would be much happier with her several states away. Plus, Ashville needed her, despite Nestor's proclamation.
Gulping down my drink, I tossed a twenty down on the counter and waved goodbye to Mr. Connors. I needed to get my shit together and get her back where she belonged. For both our sakes and my sanity. And for the safety of Cedar Falls. Having her and Nana in the same city was never a good idea, no matter how much they pretended to get along. They had to be up to something…
Chapter 2
Yuki was glaring daggers at me over the back of the couch while the coffee maker sputtered behind me. Jaeren and Ellis, both coloring, were looking intently at the books sprawled out on the table in front of them. That was their excuse not to look at the impish vampire glaring daggers at me, and me pretending not to notice. I was sorting through the mail like there wasn't an absolute fucking thing wrong in the world.
"Anybody want ice cream?" I asked without looking up from the stack of mail on the counter.
"What is ice cream?" Ellis whispered the question to Jaeren.
"Frozen milk from cattle with fruit mixed into it. Or sometimes chocolate. It is quite delicious."
"What is chocolate?"
"A sugary confection made from the nuts of a tree."
"Yes, I'd love to try some," Ellis called to me over Jaeren's head.
"Rocky Road?"
"What is–"
Jaeren silenced Ellis with a wave of his hand. "Yes. For both of us, please, Lady."
I chuckled under my breath. Maybe Ellis would be good for the overbearing king. Hard to be an asshole when you're stuck teaching elves about the mortal realm. Ellis had taken to him like the older brother, even though they were as different as night and day.
Jaeren didn't seem to be harboring any open hostilities toward his unseleighe cousin, either. I was shocked and pleased, almost crying when he offered him some of his color sticks and books.
"I'll be back in a little bit," I said to them, grabbing my purse, and heading for the door.
"There's seven different flavors of ice cream in the fridge, Master." Yuki got up and walked into the kitchen, pulling out the freezer door and showing me our stock.
"Huh. No Rocky Road. I'll be back in a bit."
"There's fudge nut brownie. Put some of the little marshmallows in it."
"Not the same."
"It is and you know it."
"You want to go with me?" I asked as a peace offering. She had been more than pissed I'd traveled halfway across the country, unsupervised and without her.
"Can I drive?"
"I've seen you try. Let's go with no, you can't."
"Oh, come on. I'm getting better."
"Tell that to the seven squirrels."
"I can't. They're dead."
"Exactly."
"They weren't people."
"Had there been any by the road, I'm sure you would have found some way to get them caught up in the wheel well. You coming?"
"Fine." She huffed and headed for the front door.
"Hey, Yuki?"
"Yes?"
"Want some hot cocoa?"
Her frown turned into a grin and she ran out the door.
Emo vamps were so easy. I laughed and grabbed my keys, tilting my head as a realization came to me. My little Yuki wasn't so emo anymore. She was even wearing a bright, lime green shirt. Her hair was still purple, but it wasn't spiked, and she had forgone the heavy black lipstick and eyeliner for a while. I sniffed as I walked out the door, pleased. My little Yuki was turning into a lady.
"Did you really want to buy me a cocoa, or are you just checking on the store because you haven't been there all day?"
"Little bit of both," I said as I got into the car. "It's the day after Christmas. The place should have been a madhouse. I want to survey the damage."
"Think there's a body count?"
"I doubt it. Jason is one smooth ass talker when he wants to be."
"If the customers were female. Betcha there's ten dead guys stashed in your office."
"I'll just reanimate them and send them home. Their wives might appreciate the silence. Hard to fight when all you can say is, Glaaaaah."
Yuki giggled. "I miss Squishy."
"I don't miss the smell."
"No."
She flicked on the stereo and we danced in our seats to K-Pop for the five minutes it took to the bookstore. Even from outside, I could tell it was still busy, even though they were closing in an hour. "We should check to see if they ate. Or if they even had time to eat."
Yuki wasn't looking at the bookstore, she was staring at the diner and frowning. "Go ahead. I'm going to pop my head into the CFD."
"What's wrong?" I already knew it had to do with the town's vampire population. That worried me, and I wanted specifics.
"Nothing's wrong… I don't know what it is. But I'm going to find out."
"Want me to go with you?" I pulled into a spot in front of the police station and put it into park.
"No. Not sure how the vamps will react. I'm going in cautiously and planning on running if I have to."
"Keep me posted."
"Yes, Master." She got out of the car and weaved through the moving traffic on Main like a ballerina on speed. Hopefully, nobody noticed her display.
Showoff.
Worried.
Okay. Be careful.
Getting out of the car, I stood there for a moment just to make sure nobody came flying through a plate glass window. When I saw Yuki's head as she sat down at one of the occupied tables, I relaxed.
You good? She didn't look like she was in trouble, I just wanted to make sure.
Yes.
Keep it that way.
I felt her mental chuckle more than heard it and headed for the bookstore. Chief was standing by the front desk of the station but talking on the phone. Smiling and waving, I headed past.
The bookstore was even more crowded than I thought. The registers were packed, but the aisles were even more so. "What are you doing here?"
I narrowed my eyes at Jason. "Is that any way to greet the lady who signs your paychecks?"
"When she was expressly forbidden from showing up on Boxing Day, yes."
"Boxing Day? Did we move to Canada?"
"We're close enough." He chuckled and spared me a smile, stepping a little closer and giving me a quick hug.
"Who are the new kids?" I motioned to the pair manning one register while Shea ran the other.
"That's Peter," he said and pointed to the kid scanning books and punching keys. "And the other one is Suzy. This is her first day so she's learning and bagging. The two of them together can't keep up with Shea. I don't think I would have made it through the day without him."
"Have you guys eaten?"
He grinned.
"What?"
"Worked it out with Herb. There's food in the back." He motioned toward the stock room, giving me a gentle push.
"Don't try to feed me, I already ate."
"Just showing off my brilliant idea and making sure you don't mind."
I pushed through the heavy swinging plastic door and whistled in surprise. "You had food catered?" There were four steam trays with Sternos on a longer table against the back wall.
"Yep. Already paid for a week. They deliver after lunch and after the dinner rush. Which works out good since we don't open until ten and the second crew comes in at five."
"You're brilliant."
"And because we are repeat customers, they're not charging us even half of what they should be. Just wanted to make sure this was okay with you. We're working everybody to the bone–"
I silenced him with a kiss. "This isn't just my store. Not anymore. It hasn't been since the day you started working. If you think it's a great idea, I think it's fucking genius. You never need to ask me about shit like this."
"Can I ask you for another one of them kisses?"
"Tell you what, why don't you," I paused and put my lips next to his ear and whispered the rest. "Stop by the house and I'll kiss you where it really counts." I pulled away and ran my hand over the front of his jeans.
"Ooh. A bonus."
"No. A bone me." I gave him a saucy smile and squeezed, nearly groaning as he swelled under my hand.
"I'll see you tonight. Can I use your shower?"
"Since that's where I was planning on giving you those kisses, absolutely."
A dizzy, dreamy grin spread across his face and Dar snickered behind us. "Can I get some of those, too?"
"You gonna be home tonight?"
"Well, I wasn't, but maybe I can talk Shea into having a sleepover at the boss' house."
"Don't. I may come spend the night with you guys tomorrow."
Dar and Jason's eyes narrowed. "Is everything okay, Master?"
"Yes. Just picked up another stray."
Jason tilted his head and Dar scrunched his eyes in worry. "Stray?"
"Remember the dark elven prince?"
"Elleslyn?"
"Yeah. Long story, but he's kind of in the same boat as Jaeren. Sworn to serve me." I sighed heavily and almost dropped to the floor. Anger, doubt, and frustration making my head hurt. I didn't need another servant, and I sure as hell didn't want one. "All right. I'm supposed to be on an ice cream run, not ruining everybody's mood with my problems. Gonna check on the girls and go grab Yuki from the diner." Giving them each a kiss on the lips, I left them standing there staring at me in shock.
I made it about three feet from the backroom door when the shakily asked question stopped me in my tracks. "Excuse me, Miss? Do you have any books on hydroponics?"
I almost laughed at the elderly lady browsing the gardening section. "I'm not sure, but you're in the right section if we do." The door behind me swung open and Jason stepped out. "But the guy to ask just walked through that door." I waited until he got a little closer. "Hey, Jay. Books on hydroponics?"
"Yep. Several of them. Here," he answered and bent down to find them. I caressed his shoulder and gave the old lady checking out his ass a smile.
Leaving them, I headed for the coffee shop. It was running like a well-oiled machine. Josie was running the register and Candace was conducting a symphony of younger vamps manning the espresso machines, blenders, and coffee makers. The three of them were flipping cups, ducking under each other, and not spilling a drop. The people in line were applauding their barristacrobatics and stuffing tips in their jars. When an order was filled, it was handed off to Candace who got it to the appropriate customer. It was almost mesmerizing to watch.
I couldn't take my eyes off them as I pushed my way through the line and walked around the side of the counter, slipping up behind my sister. "Holy shit," I said behind her back in awe.
"Brilliant, huh?"
"Hiring vampires? Fuck yeah."
"You can thank your little princess. She hooked us up."
"She did?"
"Janay, cover for me for a minute?"
"Sure thing, Miss Josie." One of the vamps broke from the pack and slipped behind the register. The other two vampires sped up a little to cover the missing person and keep the production going. They weren't a well-oiled machine, they were a fucking Tesla Model S.
Josie motioned for the back room, letting me lead the way through the swinging door. There was another vampire back there grabbing a snack. "Hey, Miss Josie."
"Karl."
"Need some privacy?" He motioned to the bag of blood in his hand.
"Please. Give 'em a hand for a minute."
"Sure thing, Boss." He grinned at her, fangs on display as he bowed almost reverently to me. I caught a whiff of fear coming from him and I shuddered in ecstasy.
"You okay?" My shiver didn't go unnoticed by Josie.
"Yep. Peachy. Nice to meet you, Karl."
He blushed and shot through the door, leaving the two of us alone. I rolled my head over my shoulders and felt my neck crack. The stock room was quiet. The first actual silence I'd had all day. I almost didn't want to start talking.
Too bad that wasn't a trait of my sister. "Yeah, it was Yuki's idea hiring the vamp kids."
"Brilliant. What about paperwork? Some of those kids have been around for ninety-something years. Don't you need social security numbers and shit?"
Josie blushed.
"What?"
"They have them."
"How?"
"You can thank your buddy, the mayor."
"Sherry?"
Josie giggled and nodded. "Remember Georgie Blake?"
"Your seventh-grade crush?"
Josie nodded. "He moved to town and since he worked at the records department in Ashville… Sherry gave him a job at city hall. He's been working diligently magicking birth records and helping the kids in town apply for social security cards. A whole flock of 'em ranging in human ages from sixteen to nineteen."
I leaned against the wire shelving behind me. "Holy shit." I blinked at the implications.
"Yep. Cedar Falls is turning into Ashville."
I blew out a breath of appreciation. Things were moving along nicely, much faster than I'd expected. Now if we could just stop some of the townsfolk from rounding us up, tying us to stakes, and burning us, things would be great. At least we didn't have to worry about the three major ones anymore. Hard to stage a witch hunt when you'd been reduced to zombie kibble. I felt bad. Not for their deaths. They were almost zealot level in their hatred of witches, but because I'd inadvertently caused their demise. The zombies I'd accidentally created had eaten all three of them to protect me. Personally, I would have felt much better turning them into horny toads.
"You sure you're okay?" My sister was staring at me intently.
"Yes. You can stop asking now." I blew her a kiss for her concern.
"You just seem…"
"Preoccupied?"
"Yep."
"Lot of shit happening. Store, mother quit the coven, we picked up a dark elf houseguest, the vampires think I'm going to eat them, Yuki is at a vampire town meeting at the diner. The usual."
<
br /> "Wait, what?"
"Which part?"
"Uh, all of it?"
"Stopped by Ashville to get a drink. The witches are pissed at Mother because she skipped town to come help me. Left her letter of resignation."
"Are you serious?"
"As a heart attack."
"Don't tell my mother." Josie started fidgeting with worry.
"Okay. Why?"
"Because she'll head back there and try to take over."
"And that would be bad, why?"
"Could you imagine what that scatterbrain would do to Ashville?" She shuddered.
So did I. "Okay, mums the word."
"Dark elf?"
"Long story."
"Eat vampires?"
"Longer story."
"Vampire town meeting?"
"Gonna go find out what all that's about now."
She chuckled and leaned over, giving me a hug. I almost sobbed in her shoulder. I wanted more than anything in the world to tell her right then and there how much she meant to me and who she really was to me, but I bit my lip. It wasn't the time. Once I sorted out everything with my father, then, and only then, would I spill the beans.
"Dot?"
"Yeah, Jose?"
She pulled back and looked me in the eye. "There's something I've been wanting to ask you."
"What?"
"Will you marry me?"
"Huh?"
"Candace and me. Sorry, I should have said will you marry us?"
My heart started beating again and my stomach settled back down. "Of course! Have you picked a day yet?"
"It's kind of soon, but the next day the store is closed is New Year's Day…"
I smacked her on the head. "You are not planning a whole wedding in a week. Don't make me smack you. I will marry the two of you, but you're going to do it right, with beautiful dresses and food and friends and a band." Mustering the sternest look I could manage, I booped her on the nose. "We'll plan it together, all of us. In the meantime, treat your lady right. She's not going anywhere, and neither are you. And don't worry about coordinating around the store being open or not. We can close for such a momentous occasion."
She started crying.
Master… Yuki's voice didn't sound panicked, but it was close.
What?
I need you. Now, please.
Seventh Seal: A Reverse Harem Tale (Lovin' the Coven Book 7) Page 2