Frost & Bothered (8 page)

Which I did while we walked upstairs. My first choice was to sleep in Terra’s room, but I hastily shut her door after opening it and peeking in. “Okay, not sleeping in there. No room. Does she sleep in tiger shape often?”

“No, that’s a...what is it humans say? A security blanket?”

“Oh. Yeah. I can sleep on the couch. I don’t want to put you out.”

“It’s okay. I don’t mind.” Logan waved away my half-hearted attempt at protest. “I’ll loan you a T-shirt.”

That put a stop to the idea of protesting. I closed my mouth, having never slept in something that belonged to a guy before. None of my exes had left clothing over at my place—not even Nick, though he’d spent a few nights nearly every week with me. “Okay.”

“Give me a couple of minutes to change.” Logan disappeared into his room, closing the door behind him. Taking off my coat, I laid it over the back of the recliner and slipped off my shoes. My feet hurt because I seldom wore anything with more than an inch-high heel.

My job required running a little too often.

Logan returned, carrying a pillow and blanket. He wore the sweats and tee he’d had on when I’d arrived earlier. “All yours.”

“Thanks.” I picked up my shoes and crossed to his door, stopping to look up at him. “Guess I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Yeah.” He bent, turning his head, and pressed his cheek to mine. It was a tiger thing, not nearly as good as a kiss would’ve been, but it put a smile on my face. “Sweet dreams.”

“You too.” I went into the room, noting the turned-down bed, with a dark gold tee folded and waiting at the foot of it. He’d also set out a clean washcloth and towel on the bathroom counter. Thoughtful.

I washed my face, used some of his mouthwash, and changed before climbing into bed. Rico’s gold shimmer was in his file.

And Ginger was lurking in the corner.

I sighed and closed my eyes, shutting her out. There wasn’t anything I could do about her. You can’t change the past. No one can.

The best I could do was curse Merriven. It was his fault I’d murdered her, according to the revelations he’d made. He’d used her as bait, wanting to turn a psychic into his little vampire princess. I shuddered, remembering the sound of his voice as he’d mockingly repeated the things Ginger had said to me.

I cracked one eye open and flinched, swallowing a scream of surprise. Ginger was bent over, her face mere inches from mine. Her blue eyes were scummy with the white of death. She’d never gotten so close to me before, not when I was awake.

Rolling over, I closed my eyes again and did my best to pretend she wasn’t there.

It’s not like she actually was there. Nope, I was beginning to lose it. That’s what was happening. I’d made a terrible mistake, and losing my mind appeared to be the consequence.

Which meant I shouldn’t be trying to start something with anyone.

Or maybe it meant I should, before I went too crazy and ended up as a resident of Happyville Manor. Who knew? Not me.

I didn’t particularly want to end up crazy and babbling to anyone who’d listen about the vampire haunting me. I just didn’t know how to handle the knowledge I’d murdered her, and not because she’d wanted to die. I mean, die again. I hadn’t killed her the first time she’d died. He had.

Freakin’ bastard
. I didn’t even know if he’d been telling me the truth, because Merriven had been in my head. He’d combed through my memories. There were still traces of his slimy mental touch in my mind. I’d hoped his death would erase them, but no luck.

I’d felt guilty before, back when I’d believed I’d done what Ginger wanted. When I thought I’d saved her from eternity with a sadistic monster. That guilt was nothing compared to what I felt now.

Calling Leglin was an option. Sometimes snuggling the giant hound helped drive Ginger away. But he was probably sprawled out on my bed and asleep. I trashed that idea.

Eventually, I fell asleep, and Ginger found me in my dreams. She chased after me as I ran, ignoring my tearful apologies. Strangers pointed at me as I ran by with her on my heels. They whispered “Murderer”, one after the other.

It wasn’t a restful night’s sleep.

“D
iscord.”

I opened my eyes and focused on a line of light. Someone had opened the door, but not wide enough to poke their head inside.

“Discord, Sunny called,” Logan said. “She said you’re supposed to be at Rita’s office at ten-thirty. It’s eight-forty-five, and it’s still snowing.”

“Shoot!” I threw back the covers and lunged out of the bed. “I’m gonna be late.”

There wasn’t time to drive home, shower, and change, before driving to the real estate office. I stood there, trying to decide whether to teleport and leave my car, or not.

“Are you decent?”

Looking down, I shrugged. His tee reached about mid-thigh on me. “Yeah.”

He pushed the door open. “There’s a lot of...you look really cute.”

My hair was probably waving hello, and I could feel sleep crusted in the corners of my eyes. “You have an odd idea of cute, but thanks.”

“You’re welcome. The radio’s reporting a lot of minor accidents, and there’s over a foot of snow already, with ice under it. You might not want to try driving your car in it.”

“I guess I’ll teleport home.”

Logan nodded in agreement. “I can pick you up from Rita’s office, if you want to come get your car later. The road crews are out, so you might be able to drive it home then.”

“I guess. I kind of wanted to go to my new house. You know, to sit in it and soak up the fact it’s finally mine.”

“Oh.”

“You haven’t seen it. Any chance you’d feel like driving me out there and watching me act completely goofy?”

Logan chuckled. “Love to.”

We settled a few details before I grabbed all my things and teleported home. “Mom, I’m home!”

She came to my room as I tossed everything onto my bed. Leaning against the doorframe, she asked, “Is that Logan’s shirt?”

“Yep, he loaned it to me.” I stripped. Being naked in front of Mom wasn’t a hang up of mine. After all, she’d given birth to me, and used to change my diapers and give me baths. “I’m going to hop in the shower.”

“All right. Do you want something for breakfast?”

“That would be great. I’m going to teleport to the meeting.”

“No, you’re not. Your father’s on the way over. He should be here in twenty minutes.”

“Oh. Okay. I’ll be out in a few.” After I’d taken the quickest shower ever, dressed, and hung up my tiger coat, Mom called me to breakfast.

Purse and less-dressy pea coat in hand, I hurried to the kitchen. Dad was drinking coffee and sitting at the table with Tonya. I kissed the top of his head in passing, and ruffled Tonya’s auburn curls. “Good morning. Where are the dogs?”

Tonya pointed at the window. “Bigs are outside, littles are hiding under a blanket on the couch.”

“Here.” Mom handed me a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon. “Eat.”

“Thank you.” I kissed her cheek and plopped down in a chair. “Were you guys excited when you bought this house? Because I’m on Cloud Nine.”

“We were,” Dad said. “First houses are special.” He smiled at Mom, and she returned it. Something, or someone, thumped into the back door then Leglin galloped past the large window, Kyra in hot pursuit.

“Well, they’re having fun.” I began eating.

“You’re not the one who has to dry them when they come in.” Tonya sighed.

“Sorry, but thank you. I promise I’ll do something nice for you.” Mr. Whitehaven gave us generous bonuses at Christmas, and I’d missed Terra’s birthday. Taking both teens on a shopping trip after Christmas might work.

Tonya shrugged. “You don’t have to.”

“I know, but I want to. It’ll have to be after I move though. Ooh, maybe we can have a slumber party at my house.”

“That would be fun. Will Terra be able to go?”

“Yes.”

Dad cleared his throat. “We need to leave in five to have enough time to get there.”

“Right.” I gobbled down my breakfast, and left with Dad.

In his car, he glanced at me. “Your mother said you stayed over at Logan’s last night. Are you two seeing each other now?”

Dad increased the wiper speed to combat the snowflakes trying to collect on the windshield.

“Kind of easing into it. He slept on the couch,” I added, because my first response sounded weird by itself.

“He seems like a nice guy. Definitely an incredible mechanic.”

“You should see his car. It’s a ’69 Challenger he restored. Slow down, someone’s going to...”

Dad was already applying the brake, and the truck that slid through the intersection missed us by a foot. “Good job, co-pilot.”

“Thank you, Captain. You may proceed.”

“I thought Nick was nice too. The boys really liked him.”

Insta-guilt. “Yeah, he was, but we argued too much.”

“Ah.” Dad left it at that.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you. Logan’s picking me up.”

“Lunch date?”

“No, I want to go bask in being a homeowner, and he hasn’t seen my house yet. Plus, my car’s at his garage and I need to pick it up.”

“All right. Looks like it’ll be a while before I can have a lawn crew go out there.”

I frowned at the falling snow. “Well, at least I won’t have to worry about snakes until spring.”

W
hen we finally left Rita’s office, Logan was sitting in the waiting area. I held up my new keys in my left hand, flexing my right—holy crap, there’d been about a billion things to sign!—and jingled them with a grin. “All done. I’m a home owner.”

“Congratulations.” He stood and held out his hand to my dad. “Hello, Mr. Jones.”

“Hello, Logan.” They shook. “You did a superb job with Cordi’s car.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Call me Ben.” Dad turned to me and held out his arms. “Give me a hug, and go have fun.”

“Thank you for helping me with everything.” I threw my arms around him. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“You’re welcome, honey.”

“Be careful driving home, and tell Betty and the rug rats hi for me.”

“I will. You two be careful. Bye.” Dad left, and we followed him a moment later, once I had my coat on.

“T
he turn’s coming up on the left.” I was bouncing in my seat. “Look, they added the ‘Sold’ part on the sign.”

“I see that.” He began slowing his truck.

“I’m being annoying, aren’t I? I’m sorry.” I’d yapped non-stop about my new house the whole drive.

“No, you’re not. I don’t blame you for being excited. It’s a big deal.” He made the turn, the tail of his truck slipping a bit, and brought it to a halt after entering the drive. We could see the house and garage down the unbroken lane of snow. “That’s a pretty picture.”

“It is.” All of my worries about home ownership had melted away. “That’s my house. Gosh. I’m like, officially an adult now.”

Logan chuckled. “Do you need a minute?”

“Nope. I need to get inside and see if it’s as awesome as I remember.”

“All right.” He began to drive forward.

“It does need paint, and there’s an unfinished efficiency apartment at the back of the garage.”

“How much land?”

“Twenty-four acres.”

“Nice.” He slowed the truck and pulled up in front of the garage. “It’s a good-sized place.”