Page 1050 of One More Kiss

Yep. He knew. “Stalker much?”

Jett just grinned. He’d relaxed now that we were in the car and driving away from the Fae, the tension leaving his shoulders. He slung an arm over the back of the seat, not quite touching me. I ignored him. I could be the bigger person.

We arrived at my home twenty minutes later. The lights were off, except for a glow from the lamp in Mom’s bedroom.

“Wait here.” I opened the car door and slid out. “I won’t be long.”

Jett ignored me, hopping out before I had a chance to shut the door on him. “I’ll stay in the background, but I’m coming in with you. Just in case.”

I scowled, but if I didn’t want a screaming match outside my front door, and I didn’t, then there was nothing I could do. “Keep quiet,” I hissed.

I went around the side of the house to the back porch. Only visitors used the front door. I used my key to open the glass sliding door. It was a good lock, and reinforced glass. And the entire threshold was made of iron.

It was annoying, the wave of dizziness each time I entered or exited the house. But it was worth it to know my family was safe from Fae intruders.

“Why is your threshold iron?” Jett was close, his voice a whisper in my ear.

“Ssh.” No good could come from my answer, and I didn’t want to lie to him. “You’ll scare my Mom.”

We entered the house through the dining room, next to the kitchen. The whole downstairs was open plan, except for the second toilet and laundry, and you could see the living area from where we stood. Nothing moved. Nobody was down here except us. Which was as I’d expected, seeing as Mom’s bedside lamp was turned on upstairs. It meant she was home alone and asleep, or trying to sleep. She always kept the light on though. She explained once that she didn’t like to be taken by surprise. I got that.

“Stay down here, I’m going to check on Mom.” I crept up the stairs. We had three bedrooms and a bathroom we all shared, me, Mom and Aunt Joey. I went to Mom’s doorway and looked in. She was awake, reading, laying on her side of the bed. You’d think she’d spread out when Aunt Joey was away but she never did.

“Hey Mom.”

“Li-Li, you’re home.” She put her book down on the bed beside her, face down. I winced at the cracked spine. She did it all the time and it always gave me an icky feeling.

“Not for long. Just checking in.” I walked in and sat on the edge of the bed. “You good?”

“I am.” She reached up to touch the side of my face gently. “You?”

We had a kind of shorthand, which I figured most parents and kids did. Not that I was a kid any more. But she was still my Mom.

“Yep. But I’m going to be away for a few days.” I covered her hand with my own. “Will you be okay on your own?”

She laughed softly. “I’m a bit slow, but I’m not an invalid. I just need to take my time with the stairs and it’s all good.”

I frowned. We really needed to look at getting one of those chair lift thingies installed.

She dropped her hand from my face and patted my leg. “You worry too much. Besides. Joey will be home tomorrow.”

My eyes widened. Aunt Joey was meant to be gone for two weeks, and she’d only been away for one. She had a big conference where she was presenting, and then business meetings. “Is everything okay with her? What happened?”

“She’s coming home straight after her conference. Some of her meetings got rescheduled to online, is all. People off sick, or isolating. She was happy to be able to do her presentation in person, anything else was a bonus. Zoom for the win.” She smiled.

I smiled back. “Zoom for the win.”

I stood and moved to the door. “I’m glad she’ll be home. I don’t like leaving you alone. Be extra careful, okay? There’s a pesky critter hanging around that I don’t like the looks of.”

Mom sat upright. “What creature?”

I shouldn’t have said anything. “Don’t worry, your iron will keep him out.”

“I don’t like this, Liandra.” She’d used my full name. Oh boy. “Stay here. Stay safe.”

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t stress, I’m being safe. I’ve just got a few things to take care of.”

“I worry, you know that.” She settled herself back on her pillows and picked up her book. “Now I’m going to have to distract myself by reading. It’s a good thing I don’t have to be anywhere tomorrow.”

“I’ll be back soon. Promise.”

I just hoped that was a promise I could keep.

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