Page 7 of Ayden

“I’m not going anywhere with them, and neither is Harley.” He told Selma that he knew that, too. “I wonder what they would have done had they gotten one of us? They wouldn’t have had an easy time of it is what Brandy said. Did we tell you that she’s having us go to self-defense classes? I think we need that more than ever.”

“They’re in jail now, honey, and it doesn’t look as if they’re going to be getting out anytime too soon.” She asked if, because they were old, people would feel sorry for them and let them go. “I don’t think so. I believe most of their neighbors are happy that they’re gone, too. Something happened there, and I’ve not been made aware of it yet, but they’re going to be gone a long time.”

“I hope so.” Harley joined them in the kitchen, the house was starting to look like a used box outlet. They’d been finding things all over the place in town at auctions and garage sales. There weren’t too many of those this time of year, however. “Thanksgiving is next Thursday. What did you want to do about taking a covered dish?”

“I don’t think that we’re supposed to do that now. Aunt Brandy said she was going to have it catered so that no one has to clean up. Did you know that a turkey takes forever to cook? I guess on account of it having big boobs.”

“Turkeys do have big boobs.” He thought about the conversations he’d been having since he’d found out he was a father. It never ceased to amaze him what sort of things theycould ask questions about, either. And nothing was off limits. When they’d spent the day at the slaughterhouse with Lica, they had more questions than he thought a book might. And they read everything they could get their hands on, too. Christ, he was having so much fun.

Ayden helped the girls make placards for the table. It had cost him the world to get enough glitter and glue so that they would have enough to go around. Even as they were drying, all he could think about was how much glitter was going to be in the rental until the end of time. He was glad it was here and not his own home that they were being crafty with.

“Ayden, what do you know about sex?” He nearly swallowed his tongue when Selma asked him that question. “I don’t want you to explain it to me. Mom already did, but you do know that’s how babies come, right?”

“I do know that, yes I do.” He eyed her hard. “Did one of my brothers ask you to talk to me about sex with you? I’m going to murder them, just so you know.”

“No, they didn’t say anything. But Aunt Brandy is getting big, and we were wondering if you and Mom were going to have any children. Besides us? I want a little brother.” He wasn’t sure what to tell her about that. “You and Mom sleep in different houses. I hope you know that won’t get us a brother or a sister if you keep doing that. I think you like each other, but we’re wondering if we’re going to be only children.” He wasn’t even going to question her about being an only child when she had a twin sister.

“Yes, I’m aware of that. But your mom is still trying to figure things out.” She told him that she thought Mom knew about sex, too. He felt his face heat up hotter. “I’m sure she does. But you see, she has had a lot done to her in the last month or so, and I’m waiting on her to make the decision where I’m going to be sleeping.”

It wasn’t nice of him at all to put the blame on Summer, but he didn’t want to have this conversation with one of her daughters. It wasn’t as bad as how come bulls had balls and cows didn’t, but it was right up there. He decided right then and there that he was going to not say a word to his brothers on about raising little girls. He was going to let them figure it out all on their own, and he was going to sit back and laugh at them. At the very least, he was going to be laughing at his own home so they’d not hurt him. Ayden thought that he’d write down some of the questions that the girls had so that he could tell them to ask their parents. Yes, he was enjoying it to a point about having the oldest children, but also not. Christ, he was terrified of what sort of questions a son would ask when and if they ever had one.

When Summer came home, he could tell that something had happened. Getting her to tell him took a while, but he found out that she didn’t want to work anymore. He was all for that, he told her. He missed her when she was away.

“What will we do for money then?” He told her that he had a job that paid well. “What is it you do anyway? I don’t think that I’ve ever found out.”

“I go to businesses that need a boost up and see what I can see about helping them. It might be that they have the wrong sort of boxes to send things out. They might have too many employees or not enough. I study the place for a while, and then when I get it figured out, I tell Brandy about it. She decides then if she thinks that the place can benefit from having more money or just close up.” Summer asked him if it paid well. “It really does. I get paid very well, and I’ve only been banking it so that we can have a nest egg for ourselves. The house is paid off; it was a deal that Brandy made with all of us, and we were to get a house from her. I did let you know that Brandy is wealthy, didn’t I?”

“Yes, you did.” Summer made them all quick sandwiches before she sat down herself. “I don’t want to work. At least not ashard as I have been. I miss you and the kids.”

“We miss you as well.” After handing out juice bottles and napkins, he sat down with them all as well. “Brandy had found us a cook. She said that she hired us one because she didn’t want to see you in the kitchen all the time when you could be out with her. I think that she needs friends like you to keep her out of trouble. Though, now that I think about it, you’re trouble too.”

He kissed her on her nose and got up to get himself a fork. There was potato salad in one of the containers, and he loved that more than he did any other salad that was with the stuff they were eating.

After lunch, he went back to his office. He had to fill out the forms that Brandy had set up for him so that she could check the boxes of the places he worked. There were a lot of questions that he had to ask and fill out, but he enjoyed the job now that he knew he wasn’t going to be going undercover for her. That had gotten both him and his wolf really sick recently.

He’d been working for a restaurant over the summer, and they’d served him human remains for his dinner. He’d been eating there nightly, and it never occurred to him what he might be eating. Their plan had been to make him a part of the deal they had going, selling off the real meat and then serving the customers human remains to boost the profits they were making off the sale of the other meats. Ayden had been sick since and had not been able to eat any red meat, nor had his wolf. He hoped that he’d be able to get over it soon, but he just didn’t know. It was a great deal to process.

“Ayden.” He looked at Selma when she said his name and smiled at her. She was by and far the most girly girl he knew, and he loved her for it. Harley was the exact opposite in that she was the most tomboyish little girl he’d ever met. Yet the two of them seemed to get along. “Ayden, what if I told you that I could see the dead. What would you do?”

Chapter 3

Selma knew that she was being strange, but she didn’t know what else to do. Brandy had taken her aside last week and told her that she’d saved her life by giving her a bit of magic. Not asking her if that meant that she could see the ghosts around, she nodded and told her that she’d try things out to see what it gave her. So far, it had only been the ability to change her clothing and to see the ghosts, of course. She’d rather have to change her own clothing than to see the others that seemed to be around everywhere.

“What do you mean when you say you can see ghosts?” She glared at Ayden, wondering how else there was to see ghosts everywhere she went. “I’m sorry. I don’t know…tell me what you mean, and I’ll try to help you. I guess the next question would be…I’m sorry. I’m not sure what I can do to help you out with this.”

“Do normal people see ghosts? Don’t answer that.” She looked out the window that was in his office and asked him what he saw when he looked at her. “I mean, do you see this freak or something?”

“Okay, you’re not a freak. If you can see ghosts, it’s something that we deal with. No name calling even if it’s you that is doing that.” She nodded and looked at him, her eyes filling with tears. “If you cry right now, I’m going to be a mess. I want to help you with—did you tell your mom? Or anyone else?”

“Harley knows. Nobody else. I wanted to tell Brandy. She said that when she saved me that I might get something, but since she didn’t say I’d see dead people, then I didn’t go back to her. Could this be from her?” He said that all he knew was that she’d been shot in the head by her father and that Brandy had given her magic. “What do I do with this?”

“Do they bother you?” She said the ghosts were all right, but seeing them wasn’t. “I’m assuming that they look like they’re dead.”

“What?” He shook his head and told her that he was trying. “I know. Right now, there is a woman standing next to you, and she wants me to tell you thanks. I didn’t ask her for what because I’ve not spoken to any of them, but she said that you helped her.”

“But you can hear them?” She nodded, and when her sister joined her in the room, she felt better. The connection between the two of them had gotten stronger since she had left her home for the last time, and she wanted her nearby all the time. “Do you suppose they have questions too? I mean, you’re not answering them, right? What do they say to you? You know I don’t know what to do about this. Maybe we should tell your mother—”

“Not yet.” Ayden nodded. “She’d freak out, and I’m not ready for the two of us to be freaked out. You’re not yet, but I’m worried about your eye twitching like it is.” She watched as he covered up his eye and smiled at her. “That’s not as reassuring as you’d think right now.”

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