just see his house down the road. "Your father is at the house."
Crap that was too insensitive. I was terrible at this stuff.
"You saw him?" Wallie's tone was calm. He wasn't surprised by the news flash.
I met his gaze with wide eyes. "You're not surprised?"
"No. Not really. I felt him when we got there. I just didn't say anything because I didn't want to upset you." He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me close. I rested my head on his shoulder as we started walking again.
Of course, he’d sensed his father. Wallie was going to be as strong as I was one day, or nearly so at least.
Zoey reached out and took my hand. She must have sensed our emotions in a bit of turmoil. I pulled her into the family hug.
Time to come clean. "I called him out when you two were at the store. However, we have a problem. He says I'm still holding on to him so he can't move on. I don't know how to let go. I didn’t even know I was holding him here."
Zoey pulled back and took my hand again, her claws gone now. "But you have moved on. You're dating Drew. Right?"
I nodded and realized that I hadn't talked to Wallie about my relationship with the sexy sheriff. "About that.” I looked at him out of the corner of my eyes. “Are you okay with it?"
He chuckled and squeezed me tighter. "Of course. I like Drew. Plus, I think he’s good for you. You don't have to hide who you are."
Wallie kissed the top of my head and let go of me. "We'll figure out the issue with Dad."
Just then, a woman came around the corner at the end of the road from the direction we’d just come. She had workout clothes on, which made me think that she was on an early evening walk. As she passed us, she smiled and nodded. We all muttered polite hellos, but my greeting died in my throat as I caught sight of what looked like a bite on her neck.
Wallie and I looked at each other but didn't comment on it. It could’ve been anything. Every injury or strange happening didn’t automatically mean something spooky was going on. We kept walking.
When we got to Wade's the sun had begun to set, but there were no lights on in his house. He lived in a house about the size of ours. I’d completely forgotten to get his spare key out of the kitchen drawer, so we walked around the house and knocked, peeking in the windows until we began to worry the neighbors might call the police.
I should’ve put up a ward to make us invisible, but I didn’t think of it until it was too late. “Well.” I stepped back and peered up, trying to see into his upstairs windows but it was no good. “We’ll come back tomorrow and break in if we don’t hear from him soon.”
“Agreed,” Wallie said. “But that’s unlikely. We do have a key.”
Oh, whatever.
Zoey sniffed at the door subtly. “I don’t think there’s anyone there.”
On our way back to the house, we noticed a group of people outside the creepy neighbor’s house. The one across the street from mine.
At first, I thought they were having a party or something, but the music wasn't loud. I barely heard it as we walked up our driveway. The weird thing was that they seemed to be sunbathing in the moonlight. In lawn chairs. Talking and laughing with sunglasses on.
They were so weird!
We went inside and watched them through the windows. Zoey sat on the couch and said, "They’re not human. I don't know what they are, but human, they are not."
"They’re vampires."
I nearly jumped out of my skin when Clay appeared beside me and announced the origin of our neighbors.
Wallie must’ve heard his dad’s voice. He hurried out of the kitchen and stopped short in the living room doorway. “Dad,” he whispered.
Clay walked over to him, but his feet didn’t quite touch the floor. “Oh, Wallace. I’ve missed you so much.”
Watching them embrace set my emotions over the edge they’d been teetering on.
I gave them a couple of minutes to whisper to each other.
“That’s Clay?” Zoey asked, plopping down on the sofa beside me, both of us gazing at the father and son reunion.
“Yup.” I eyed my boys. Clay was solid when he touched Wallie or vice-versa. When they weren’t in physical contact with each other, Clay took