“Okay,” I said, still uncomfortable about her not being here. But she was right. She had a life to go back to. One to wrap up so that she could move here, and the sooner the better. Now that I had found my cousin, I wanted her where I could watch out for her. “When are you two leaving?”
Eliza shrugged.
“Might as well go as soon as we can,” Stuart said. “It’s a five hour drive.”
“Okay by me,” Eliza agreed. “I just need to say bye to Allie and tell her I’ll be back.”
“And you have a car down there, right? One you left the airport?”
She nodded. She’d flown to Rome from San Diego, but had changed her return to come back with us into the coastal airport that services the area around San Diablo and Santa Barbara, transferring through LAX.
Stuart turned to face me. “This means I’ll need you at the mansion on Monday for a delivery. Is that okay? Bernie will be out of town, too.”
“Sure,” I said. “I can do that.” The truth is, I wanted to go back. I’d been right there when Lilith had wreaked havoc on the place. Now, I wanted a reminder of just how dangerous that bitch of a demon truly was.
“So it’s all settled?” Stuart asked.
“Sure,” I said, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that Stuart had another agenda. That maybe, just maybe, he was avoiding Allie. A fear that seemed more likely when Allie came over with Jared beside her, and instead of smiling in greeting, my husband glanced down as if examining his shoes.
Thankfully, Allie didn’t seem to notice. Instead, she was all lit up with what I’d recently come to learn was herI’ve met a cute boyglow.
“Mom, we’re going to go to the beach, okay?”
“Who is we?”
“Me and Jared and Mindy and, hopefully, Eliza?”
Eliza looked between Allie and me. “Sorry, Al. I’m popping down to San Diego to deal with packing and my mom’s funeral and stuff.”
“Oh. Right. I’m sorry.”
Eliza shrugged. “Yeah, well, the good news is I’m moving here permanently.”
“Yeah? That’s awesome.” She turned her attention back to me. “So just me and Jared and Mindy. I texted her and she’s totally into it, so you can’t say no. We’d disappoint her.”
“Allie…” I gave her the Mom Stare coupled with the Mom Tone.
“I know, I know. I should have asked first, but we were planning and it’s a gorgeous day, and?—”
“Don’t you think there’s something you’ve forgotten?” I asked.
She stared at me blankly, and I cast my eyes sideways in the direction of Jared.
“Oh! Right. Duh.” She cleared her throat. “Mom, this is Jared. Jared, this is my mom.”
“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Connor,” he said, sounding like a perfectly polite teen. So far, so good.
“You, too. How did you?—”
I was about to ask how he came to be around Allie and Mindy and Eliza yesterday, but Allie barreled on.
“Jared goes to Coronado High, too. He’s the guy I told you about. The one we met on the boardwalk last night,” she added, glancing toward Eliza.
Considering Jared knows exactly what he did on the boardwalk last night, I would have expected her to be less cryptic, but I appreciated that she realized we might be overheard. So kudos to my kid for thinking responsibly.
“Jared, I appreciate what you did for the girls. Do you drive?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m seventeen, but I’ve had my license for two years. I had a special permit when I was fifteen because my parents don’t drive and I had to get around. I’m happy to drive us all to the beach and then home again.”
