luggage. Gramps was not adjusting well to the looming separation. “You could stay. I talked to your uncle Seamus earlier. He said everything’s running as smooth as silk over there. They can survive a few more months without you.”
“My uncle Seamus would never use the expression ‘smooth as silk,’ and it’s more likely that he told you to tell me to get my bony arse back where I belong.”
“He did say that,” Dick admitted. “And then I told him to watch his mouth in front of his elders.”
I snorted. It was an interesting time for the McGavocks. Distant vampire relatives, my mother coming back from the dead, unexpected declarations of peace. My family had not been pleased when I explained the new treaty with the Kerrigans. I believe Uncle Seamus’s exact words were, “Have you lost your feckin’ mind, girl?” It would take time for them to adjust to the idea that we no longer had mortal enemies. But so far, the Kerrigans had held true to their word. They had their powers back, and they hadn’t attempted to harm anyone in Kilcairy. Most of their efforts seemed to involve nurturing rose specimens into prize-winning blooms for village fêtes. I took this as a good sign.
I hadn’t heard back from Jed. After our ordeal in the woods, we were so happy to escape unscathed that we hadn’t made any plans or promises—and that hurt more than it should. He healed overnight and by the next morning was halfway to Tennessee. He needed to talk to his family about why he’d basically run away for months and about my theories regarding their shifting. I’d been putting off leaving for days, hoping that he might come back so we could talk. But I had to get back home.
I would have a bit of a mess on my hands when I returned to Kilcairy. The McGavocks were going to have to learn new ways to live, to get over old prejudices. And I was going to have to stop messing about and actually study the Craft in earnest. I would need the help of my family to do so. And I was going to be taking some serious guff from each and every one of them for changing my tune. There would be groveling. A lot of groveling.
“I need to get back to the McGavocks,” I told Dick. “There are things that need to be said, explained.”
“I only just found you.” Dick groaned, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. “And I just convinced you that I’m not a creepy stalker.”
“You’re not losing me,” I promised. “I’m just going where I’m needed right now. I’ll be back to visit. You can’t get rid of me that easily. And the plane routes work both ways, you know. You’ll see me before you know it. You could come to visit over Christmas.”
“We’re going to have to do that,” he agreed. “Andrea and I never did take a proper honeymoon. We just need to make sure we fly separately from Jane and Gabriel, though. They travel like something out of a Mad Max movie.”
Dick did another one of his loving face squishings. “You’re the last and best of our line, you know that? Gilbert was something, but you? You’re more than I ever could have hoped for. I love you, very much. And I don’t take the words lightly.”
“I know. I love you, too.” I hugged him. “Grampy.”
“Not budging on the nickname, huh?” he asked without moving away.
I shook my head. “Nope.”
I would miss them all so much, my little vampire family. I had not had any more dream vacations with my grandfather, but I expected any night to wake up in Machu Picchu or on top of the Tower of London. And I was looking forward to it.
But life would be very different for me when I got home. In Half-Moon Hollow, I’d gotten used to being myself instead of what was expected, to saying what I felt rather than what was best for the feelings of all involved. I wasn’t eager to take on the mantle of leadership when it had been so lovely just to be a link in a chain of trust and love. I would miss Jane’s sarcastic intelligence and Andrea’s unexpected and inappropriate humor. I would miss Zeb and Jolene’s sunny enthusiasm and Gabriel’s bemusement with us all. I would miss my ancestor, Dick Cheney, and the unquestionable, unshaking love he’d given me, even when I didn’t want it.
I was also