"I'll ask, but have you ever known my beautiful wife not to make a pie for company?" I grinned, still getting a kick out of saying 'my wife.'
"You are a lucky man," Dallas said. "Later, dude."
"Jack, did you see me?" Shelley shouted, racing over to me. "I drove the boat!"
"I saw you! Maybe a bit too fast?"
She grinned. "Yeah, yeah. Uncle Lucky said that, too. He sounded stressed. I promised to be more careful next time."
Next time.
I thought about the alligator soiree earlier and the speed-racing airboat just now and wondered if I could avoid ever bringing her out here again.
"Maybe let's head home now."
"Can we get ice cream on the way?"
"Always."
"Yay!"
10
Tess
Idecided not to go back to the shop. Half a day there, the encounter with Cletus, the chaos with the brooch, the encounter with hobgoblins … I'd put in a plenty full day for my first day back.
Back home, I plopped down on my comfy couch with my cat and thought about a nap for a while. I was so successful at this that I was sound asleep when Jack came home, scooped me up off the couch and onto his lap.
"You will not believe my day," we both said at once, and I started laughing.
"You know about most of mine, except for Robin and Thistle and the fainting goats," I told him. "You go first."
He raised an eyebrow but then shook his head. "No. I'm not going to ask. Mine is mostly about that one-girl tornado, Shelley. Oh. And the cow who kicked me in the head."
"Jack!" I took his face in my hands and turned it side to side, looking for bruises or lumps.
"It's okay. Tiger metabolism healed it by now, pretty much." He told me about the cow in the road, probably to make me laugh and soften me up for the rest of the story.
"She didwhat?" I jumped up and started pacing. "Jack, she's going to be in real danger if we don't rein her in. I'm so worried about what she'll do next, not intending any harm, but just because she's a ten-year-old girl with adult-sized magic."
"I know. I'll call Ven. He said Erin is in a big meeting, but he'll get word to her."
Ven, also known as the King's Vengeance, was the younger brother of the king of Atlantis. His wife, Erin, was an extremely powerful witch and had promised to help us out with our Shelley situation, but she'd gotten pulled into some very high-level magical council stuff and we hadn't heard from her recently.
"If he can't, we're going to have to find someone ourselves. We can't put this off any longer."
"I know. Mike and Ruby weren't the happiest, either." He winced, and I could imagine the earful Aunt Ruby had given him.
And the threatening glares my uncle must have sent Jack's way.
"Just when I think he's starting to like me, I nearly get his newly adopted daughter killed," Jack said glumly.
"That's not your fault, and you know it," I told him, plopping back down on his lap and putting my arms around him. "Uncle Mike knows it, too."
Then I kissed him, because he looked so weary and resigned, and because I could, and because I loved him. And when he kissed me back, I quit worrying about Shelley and Cletus and hobgoblins for quite a long time.
Icalled Eleanor to make our apologies, but we were just not up for a pool party tonight. I also doubted Uncle Mike and Aunt Ruby would let Shelley out of their sight after the news of the gators and the planned escapade to Orlando with Zane's cousin.
