How to Rattle an Undead Couple - Hailey Edwards Page 0,64
your own city to protect. I can’t keep dividing your focus.” A noise on the porch distracted me as I told Bishop, “I do appreciate the help, though. Past and present.”
“Future too,” he said sternly. “Tell your folks to call me with any problems until they lose their training wheels. We’re solid here. I can afford to lend a hand until the newbies get the swing of things.”
“We have to go,” Linus interrupted. “Bishop, you and I will talk later.”
Ending the call, Linus took my phone and set it on the counter.
“I’m showing initiative,” I informed him. “You can’t blame Bishop for not telling you.”
“Oh, he told me the second after he hung up with you.” Linus smiled, and it showed the barest hint of teeth. “Where do you think he got the list of local candidates so quickly?”
“Bishop is kind of magical.” I shrugged. “He pulls information out of the ether.”
Lips pursing, Linus nodded. “I can’t argue with that logic.”
Another thump, followed by a bump, worried me. “What is going on out there?”
The lights remained constant, no flickers, and the house was silent. No curtain flips, no cupboard slams, no vent swirls. Then it hit me.
Woolly was in on it.
Whatever it was.
When I turned back to Linus, who had pocketed my phone, I realized he was too.
Traitors, the lot of them.
At long last, the doorbell rang, which was all kinds of weird. I couldn’t remember the last time I actually heard it. It was a nice sound, but that was beside the point.
Cocking an eyebrow at my devious spouse, I asked, “Am I supposed to get that?”
“Woolly does appear to be indisposed.”
“You’re the man of the house.” I squared off with him. “You can’t get it?”
Lifting his nose, he breathed in. “Do you smell something?”
The scent smacked me in the face, and I knew—I knew—Woolly had done it on purpose.
This was a setup, but now I had to decide if I wanted those cupcakes or if I wanted to be cautious.
Another blast tickled my nose with my favorite flavor combination.
Chocolate. Caramel. Cinnamon.
Mmm.
With a hesitant stride, I crossed the living room and stared up at the foyer chandelier.
“I’m going to remember this,” I muttered at Woolly. “Just wait until the next time Neely asks me to sign off on one of your special orders.”
A swirl of the warmest air yet hugged me, and the doorknob turned before I touched it.
“Surprise.”
The chorus of voices filled the porch and startled me back a step.
“Happy Mother’s Day.”
“Happy You Already had the Baby but Let’s Party Anyway.”
“Happy You Survived Childbirth.”
“Happy Give Me Your Cupcakes.”
That last one was definitely Lethe.
“Aww.” I wiped my fingers under my eyes. “I just stopped with the crying jags, and now here I go again.”
At least this time the tears had my permission to turn me into Rudolph the Red-Nosed Necromancer, as much as any of us can approve the eye-leaking joy that comes from the rare moments when we can feel how much we’re loved radiating off those around us.
Eva, Kaleigh, Hood, Lethe, Neely, Cruz, Adelaide, Boaz, Marit, Cricket, the Haint Misbehavin’ crew plus my own Haint Behavin’ girls and guys, and tons of pack members crowded the porch and spilled across the lawn. Even the Grande Dame sat on a chaise with Marco at her side.
Given that he was her driver, I hoped that meant she was ready to go home, but I wouldn’t fuss tonight. Tonight was perfect. All my fears over the Samaritan got shoved down into my feet so I could walk over them. Sure, I might feel the pebble in my shoe from time to time, but Bishop was right.
Our lineages, Linus’s and mine, had guaranteed neither he nor I would lead ordinary lives as individuals. As a couple, we held too much power and influence between us not to use it to help those in need, and that involvement came with risks. But we had friends who were as good as family willing to lend a hand when ours were full, and as long as we had each other, there was nothing we couldn’t overcome together.
“The man of the hour.” Corbin sidled up to me and passed off LJ. “All hail the Woolworth prince.”
A fresh cheer rose when LJ made his debut, and then the cooing started over his adorableness.
Eva, who had been closest to the door, vanished into the crowd with Kaleigh on her hip when Corbin waved an awkward hello.
“Let it go,” I murmured. “She’ll be over her crush by the