halfway to the door, Wallie was already there. "It's too soon to be the pizza," I called.
Wallie ignored me and flung the door open. “Uncle Wade!” Wallie hugged the older man and stepped back to let him in.
Wade met my gaze and instantly crossed the room to me, pulling me into a tight hug.
My emotions went haywire. Wade was Clay's uncle and had adopted me as his own early in the marriage. He was the only one to keep in touch and make sure I was surviving Clay's death. It had nearly taken me out as well. Clay's parents didn't care for me, so they'd barely been in touch.
That didn't bother me. We'd told them early on that I was a witch, hoping for acceptance and tolerance.
We'd gotten the opposite.
What pissed me off was that they'd also written Wallie off when it became clear he'd inherited my powers.
I buried my face in Wade's chest. Hugging Wade had always felt like what I imagined a hug from my father would feel like.
“It feels like a lifetime since I saw you last.” Wade stepped back and framed my face. “How are you?” He'd cut his salt and pepper black hair short, nearly a buzz. It made him look like a big, burly general. He'd always been a big man, but as he got older, he'd kept up his activity level, so he wasn't getting all saggy yet like so many of us did as we aged.
Hell, I was already saggy. No plans to do anything about it, either, except maybe just try not to gain any weight.
Squeezing his hands, I smiled and tried not to look overly tired. “I’m good.” I meant it, too. In fact, I realized that I was better than good. “You need to stay for dinner. I ordered more than enough pizza.”
Wade yanked me into another quick hug. “I think I will.”
"Come sit." I looked around for Zoey, wondering where she'd snuck off to.
Wallie noticed my expression and said, “Zoey's taking a shower. She actually beat me to it. She’s fast.” The water heater in this house sorely needed replacing. While we had two bathrooms, if they both ran the shower at the same time the water went cold in a hurry.
But the small things like that actually made the house sell faster because I put it up at a very cheap price to offset the needed upgrades. I'd never even gotten around to installing a dishwasher and, in this day and age, that was unheard of.
I laughed at Wallie's frustration that he had to wait to wash off the airplane smell. “Yeah. That’s called shifter speed.”
Turning to Wade, I said, “I’d offer you something to drink, but I haven't been to the store yet.”
He grinned like he had a secret. “I figured as much so I brought some things. Wallie, can you get the bags out of the truck?” Wade sat on the sofa and motioned me to come over.
I sat beside him and pulled one of the throw pillows into my lap. “I’m not sure what to do with all this stuff. Yaya’s house—my house in Shipton—came furnished.”
He shrugged. “You could ask Hailey if she wants any of it and donate whatever is left.” He looked around. "I might take a few things. But I know Hailey is coming from a long way and I don't think she has a lot of stuff."
“Oh, I didn’t think about that. I'd be happy to give her some of this furniture. Good call.” I grinned at him. "I guess I got it in my head I'd have to do some sort of yard sale and I really didn't want to." I pulled out my phone to put a reminder in it to call the local thrift store and ask if they'd pick up the big stuff.
Wallie came back in carrying an arm full of bags. “This is more than a few things.” He struggled down the hall toward the kitchen. "Don't get up. I got it."
I grinned and Wade shrugged as he glanced at the doorway just when Zoey entered the living room.
The tiger ghoul stopped in her tracks and stared at Wade then me. I'd let her glamour go once we got here, and her ears were back on the top of her head. I giggled at her panicked expression as her ears laid down flat. “It’s okay, Zoey. This is Wade. He knows about the supernatural.”
I'd told Wade about Zoey, but I hadn't gone into details like