EVIL QUEEN - Rebel Hart Page 0,93

barely make it up the front sidewalk to the front door of the main house. Avery and Kyle, flower aficionados, kept stopping along the pathway to talk about the different colorful flowers I’d had planted there, and Alistair was impressed with the hedge work and new cobblestone pathway. Nikita seemed fine to just hold my hand and follow along as everyone buzzed about the house’s new look. I’d planted a few fresh trees that would grow over the course of the next decade and had all the stonework power washed so that it looked fresh and inviting.

“It’s so nice,” Colette said. “I never really realized how dreary it seemed until I saw it like this. You really made it much more inviting.”

“Thanks. That was the goal,” I said. “This isn’t even the best part, though. Come in.”

I unlocked the front door and led the members of The Royal Court into the renovated house, where they were met with several dozen bundles of gold, silver, black, and white balloons, sashes in the same color scheme, and a Congrats Class of 2020 banner hanging across the front entryway. The kitchen was jam-packed with everyone’s favorite foods, and there were now colorful, welcoming pillows in the living room, where each of our senior portraits was placed on the mantle of the fireplace.

“Wow!” Nikita said. “You completely redid it.”

“Yeah. I won’t say I was trying to get the feeling of my parents out of here, but I wanted this to be a place I could love and feel good about. I wanted it to be a place where all of you could come and be comfortable, which is why…” I walked over to the table in front of the fireplace and held out my arm toward the bags on the table. “In these bags, you’ll find a variety of fun things, including a key to the front door and a fob for the front gate. I want you guys to come and go as you please.”

Everyone walked over and fished into their bags, and though they all seemed excited about the contents, it made me happy that they all immediately went for their keys and started adding them to their key rings.

“What about your dad?” Avery asked.

“I had all the locks on the place changed, and the gate is being replaced in a few weeks, at which point I’ll have new fobs for you. I wanted it done sooner, but the people who installed the original gates are no longer in business, so I had to contact new people, and they have to install new doors.” I shook my head. “It’s a whole thing. There had been enough employees floating around who had fobs before I let them go, so there were enough to go around. When the new gates are installed, we’ll be the only ones who have the fob, except for maybe some new housekeeping staff.”

Brayden flipped his key over in his hands a few times and seemed taken aback. “You good?” I asked.

He jumped a little, but then he looked up and smiled. “Yeah. I’m good.”

“Okay. Stay close. I have a lot of exciting stuff to show you.” I smiled, and Brayden smiled back before sliding his key into his pocket. I locked eyes with Nikita, who’d admitted on the way home that she thought Brayden was up to something. We were staying on high alert, but I thought his emotions were simply related to not being a senior and feeling distant again. “Come on. This is just the start of it.”

With everyone in tow, I started my tour of the house, showing everyone the common areas first, including the fully stocked kitchen, the game room where my dad’s sitting room used to be, and the modernized library with room to add books as we needed to. Then I led them up to the second floor and showed off their bedrooms.

Colette’s and Jaxon’s room was done in opposing pink and red themes to match their starkly opposite personalities. The colors on the walls blended into a nice magenta right around where the bed was situated to symbolize their bond as a couple. There was a writing desk in there for Colette, and a punching bag for Jaxon, with plenty of room to add things as they saw fit.

Avery’s and Alistair’s room was very understated to match the pair. I’d given them the room with the best view of the garden, complete with a nook for them to curl up in like