its place. “I’m surprised that the cabinet’s supporting all the weight.”
“You and me both. If you see something you like, feel free to take it.” He gave me a considering look. “You’re over 21, right?”
I laughed. It was the same thing he’d asked me when he’d poured me my first shot in the RV after a bad dream.
“Not by a few years. But if you won’t tell, I won’t.”
He pretended to lock his lips and throw away the key.
“The police won’t be knocking on your door because of me,” he said.
I turned before my expression could give away any of the pain those words caused. The bottles provided a good distraction from the reminder of the world we had lost.
“Do you have a kind you don’t like?”
“Any of those big ones. That’s too much for Mary and me to finish, and we know you girls like to have your get-togethers. Help yourself.”
I selected a 1.75-liter vodka bottle that already had some missing from it.
“We’ll help you finish this one off,” I said, standing.
“Real kind of you.” He winked at me before getting serious. “You girls need to take care of yourselves. Mary and I lost a lot, and I’m not sure we could handle any more.”
“None of us can.”
He nodded in agreement.
“Any chance you changed your mind about house-sharing with one of the fey? I think Emily wouldn’t object if you were—”
“No.”
“I’m not suggesting anything permanent like the other girls. What if you did something like Mary and me? A different fey every night so none of them get ideas.”
I shook my head.
“You know why that won’t work. A single night? A week? The length of time wouldn’t matter; what matters is that Emily and I are over eighteen. We’re fair game. You and Mary aren’t. If we let a fey in, we’re waving the flag that we’re up for auction. I’m not going to be a broodmare for the next generation of feybies just to have a big, strong protector. No thanks.
“I appreciate the donation,” I said, lifting the bottle, “but I think I’ll get going. Please let Emily know I headed home.”
James sighed and nodded.
Leaving him at the table, I grabbed my jacket and hurried out the door. My rush wasn’t due to his nagging. After all, the topic of a fey roommate surfaced every time I visited the old couple. I really hadn’t expected to escape it this time. No, my haste was due to my need to beat Emily home. The topic was just a perfect excuse for my departure, though.
With my prize safely tucked under my arm, I let myself into our house and went straight for the recycling. The bottles from our party were still there. Glad that Emily hadn’t carried it to wherever she went with the recycling, I fished through for another vodka bottle, carefully rearranged the rest, then filled the bottle with water.
By the time she returned home, the fake bottle of liquor was stored above the stove, and I had two shots warming my belly while I lounged on the couch.
“We need more movies,” I said. “I’ve watched all of these enough to repeat the lines, word for word.”
“Why didn’t you wait for me?”
“Because you were in the kitchen, cleaning up, and I was in the dining room, listening to James’s ‘you need a man’ speech. It wasn’t something I wanted Merdon to join in on.” I lifted my head from the couch and met her gaze over the back. “Oh, and James sent home a mostly full bottle of vodka with me. I stashed it above the stove, figuring we could save it for the next party. I know we do food and booze as the buy-in for the parties, but what if we allowed a movie or two?”
Her concern melted away to a smile.
“I like that idea.”
And just like that, I knew I’d reassured her.
Unlike me, Emily didn’t drink outside of the parties. She’d never know the bottle wasn’t real. I’d replace it long before then.
Chapter Four
A splash of unwanted orange flickered through my eyelids and pulled me from my sleep. I rolled over to a more comfortable position, facing away from the window, and hit my forehead on something hard. Cracking my eyes open, I cringed at the sunlight glinting off the vodka bottle on my pillow.
I didn’t remember removing it from its hiding place under my mattress after going to bed. Then again, I’d been pleasantly buzzed when I’d come up to my room, so who