Page 86 of Thunder with a Chance of Lovestruck

“You’re how many hundreds of years old?” I asked.

His gaze slid to me.

“Can you try to act like a grown-up?” I questioned. “Don’t fight her on this, Arch. You won’t win. You need to let her grow up. You’ll be there with her, around her neck when you’re not right next to her. And I’ll be in Grimm Cove too.”

He didn’t look sold on the idea.

I tried another approach. “Astria and Torid are there. We’ll all be in the same area again.”

He perked a bit, having always gotten along well with Torid. Technically, redcaps fell under the category of Dark Fae. Some were even goblins. Since Torid was a goblin and Dark Fae, they tended to get into mischief together, especially since Arch’s favorite things to do included killing, maiming, or any other act of violence, and Torid loved nothing more than to eat bad guys. Arch killed things, and Torid ate them.

“When is the last time you got to hunt baddies and then feed their remains to him?” I asked, giving his shoulder a gentle shove. “What did you tell me once? That the combination made for easy cleanup?”

He grinned slightly, his hand squeezing mine. “Fine. But I willnae let boys get near Demi. I’ll nae be changing my mind on that.”

“Noted,” I said, hiding my smile. “Can you please give her shoes and earrings back to her? And if you agree to change into something less…that, and take the cap off, you can come with us to the awards dinner and not by way of the pendant.”

He stood, shaking his head as he did. “I’ll go in the pendant.”

“Mom?” asked Demi as she entered the kitchen. She spotted Arch and lifted a dark brow. “Hey, Archie, I was looking for you earlier. Where have you been all day?”

Only Demi was permitted to call him Archie. Anyone else who tried it learned quickly how much he didn’t care for it.

He cleared his throat. “Yer looking for yer shoes?”

She nodded.

“I think I saw them,” he said, walking around her toward the exit to the garage.

She glanced at me. “He totally stole them and hid them, didn’t he?”

I laughed. “He means well.”

“I know, but he can be a lot to deal with,” she replied before noticing the cake. Her face lit. “Is that for me?”

“It is,” I said. “Congratulations. I’m so proud of you and the awards you’re getting tonight. I know it’s not been easy on you, handling school on top of everything else in our lives.”

She hugged me and gripped me tightly.

Demi was the same height as me, which meant she too was just shy of six feet. Between her father’s height and the Frankenstein family side, it wasn’t a shock.

“Thanks, Mom,” she said before stepping back. “I can’t believe high school is just about over. I can’t wait for my college classes to start. I love learning.”

“You are so mine,” I said, kissing her cheek. “Let’s get your shoes and then head out to the awards banquet and after, I thought we’d come back here for cake. Sound good?”

“Sounds awesome,” she said. “Did Astria call?”

“She did,” I said. “By this time next week, we’ll be headed toward South Carolina. Are you excited?”

Her smile faltered. “Yep.”

I took her hand in mine. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she said, glancing away. She pressed a smile to her face. “I’ll go see if Archie found my shoes yet.”

“Aye, lass,” he said, stepping into the kitchen holding them in one hand and her earrings in the other. “I found them.”

She went to him and eased the items from his hands.

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