Boundary Born (Boundary Magic Book 3) - Melissa F. Olson Page 0,71

“Your mother’s fallen under the spell, I’m afraid. She’s buying souvenirs for all the grandkids, and she thinks we should have Mickey ears for our holiday photo. I’m worried she’s going to put them on me while I’m sleeping and take photos.”

I grinned, dropping into a chair. “And Charlie? Is she getting any of it, or is it too overwhelming?”

“A little of both. You want to talk to her? She’s right here. John’s back at the room, taking a nap. He hasn’t been sleeping well, poor guy.”

Longing and sadness burst through my heart. “Yeah, sure.”

So I spent a few minutes chatting with my two-year-old niece. I did most of the talking, but I did manage to learn that she had met Pwincess Anna and Pwincess Elsa that morning, which was “awesome.” “Awesome” was one of her favorite words, thanks to my cousin Paul’s influence.

When Charlie discarded the phone in favor of a caramel apple, my dad picked it up again. “And how are you, honey?” he asked. “Work going okay?”

My family had learned through trial and error that using this phrasing was the simplest way to talk to me about my life and my odd job situation. “Yeah, work is fine. I just miss you guys.”

“We miss you, too.” Some of the din behind him quieted, and I figured he’d ducked somewhere quiet. “I’m actually kind of surprised John didn’t invite you on this trip instead of us. I would have paid for it.”

I smiled. Classic Dad: half altruism, half wishing I was the one stuck in line for the Jungle Cruise instead of him. “I wouldn’t have let you.”

He acted like he hadn’t heard me, which maybe he hadn’t. “Is everything okay with you and John, honey? Your mother says you haven’t been babysitting on Fridays.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, but it didn’t stop the tears from leaking out. “Everything’s fine, Daddy,” I lied. “John probably just figured I can go to Disney anytime, whereas you’re so old and decrepit you might not have another chance.”

My father let out a full-throated laugh, but he caught himself and pretended to grumble at me. Still, I could tell from his hesitation that he wasn’t ready to drop the subject.

Dammit, I hated to pull this card, but it was the best way to placate him. “No, seriously, I think he just figured all the noise and crowds would be too much for me. You know.”

“Oh, of course, baby. I’m so sorry. I should have realized,” he rushed to say, his voice filled with concern and guilt. I immediately felt like an asshole. I’d just used my alleged PTSD to weasel out of a difficult conversation with my father. “We love you so much, Lex, honey. We just want you to be happy.”

“I love you too, Dad.”

I hung up the phone feeling both better and worse. At least Charlie’s having fun, I told myself. And at least she’s not part of this.

I checked my phone for messages and saw that I’d missed a text. Simon and Lily had finished moving Maven, and they were both going to rest for a bit. Good. They needed it. The control freak in me was tempted to call and demand details, but Jesse’s cell phone paranoia came back to me. I trusted Simon and Lily. I didn’t need to micromanage them.

But where did that leave me? I still had four hours before Cruz would call me back, and six hours before Quinn would wake up and we could figure out a game plan.

I tried to come up with another way to find Emil or my biological father—or both. By now, though, they could be just about anywhere. I wasn’t going to find them by kicking in doors, which was unfortunate, because I was really good at that.

I spent some time contemplating Emil’s next move. If I really was right about our father pulling Emil’s strings, and they still wanted me alive and Maven dead, they would eventually have to come looking for me. Quinn and I had been staying away from all the usual Old World hangouts, including Magic Beans, so Emil wouldn’t be able to track our movements through other vampires like he’d done in Denver. Emil did know that Simon was involved, but I’d only introduced him by his first name. Even if he managed to identify Simon, Hazel Pellar’s farmhouse was well warded against intruders.

As long as we kept Maven hidden away, I concluded, Emil only had two possible moves: he could try to