“That wasn’t sparring,” Jared said with a glance toward me. “That was me losing badly.”
I shrugged. “You’re the one who said not to pull my punches. Don’t say it if you don’t mean it.”
He tapped my nose. “I love you.”
“So you’ve said,” I teased as my cheeks went pink. Saying it that first time had opened a dam, and we said it to each other all the time now.
This, however, was a first—saying it in front of other people. Or, more specifically, saying it to each other in front of other people, without having first told my mom our new status quo. That, I think, is what qualifies as a major mom/daughter fail.
With a small grimace, Jared turned to Eliza and Sophie, who were both blushing as hard as I was. “So, yeah. Maybe don’t mention to Kate that I said that. I’d rather not be staked in my sleep. Or to Eric, for that matter. Or Stuart.”
He paused, then shrugged. “Not Eddie, either. Actually, you know what? Just don’t mention it to anyone.”
Eliza was trying so hard not to laugh that she looked like she had to pee.
“We won’t mention it,” Sophie said. “We don’t have to. Everyone already knows.”
She wasn’t wrong.
“Come on, Soph,” Eliza said, still giggling. “Let’s do some weights, then streamRocky.”
Once they were back inside, we continued down the hillside toward the cemetery, our fingers twined. “Come on,” he said, tugging my hand as we reached the flat ground of the cemetery, stretching out around us.
Some people think cemeteries are creepy, but I loved this place. It had a quiet, settled feeling. Not creepy. Just...patient. Like it had seen a lot and wasn’t surprised by much anymore.
And—bonus points—when we’d first started to fix up the mansion to become the school, Daddy and I had made a powder from the bones of saints, then spread it over the ground. And presto—demon and zombie deterrence courtesy of actual saint remains provided by the Vatican.
And an idea I’m still pretty proud of.
“So,” I said, because comfortable silences were nice, but I wanted to hear his voice. “The attack. You still haven’t told me what you thought of how the students did.”
“Sure, I did,” he said. “I told you that night.” He pitched his voice low as he continued. “You just forgot because you had other things on your mind.”
“By now, you should know better than to tell me anything important when we’re cuddling.”
He chuckled. “Fair. And same goes. As for the kids?—”
“Students,” I corrected.
“Trevor’s the one who really surprised me,” he said. “The way he got Timmy to safety—no hesitation. And then he cameback out. Kid could’ve stayed inside where it was safe, but he soldiered on.
“And almost got himself killed for it.”
“But he didn’t. Your dad made sure of that.” Jared paused. “How’s Eric doing, by the way?”
“Good. Marcus says the stitches can come out in a few more days. Mom’s been hovering, which is driving him crazy.” I kicked at a loose stone. “He keeps saying he’s fine, but I saw those wounds. That demon would’ve torn Trevor apart.”
“Your dad’s tough. And now Trevor owes him.”
“Daddy doesn’t see it like that. We’re all in this together. No one owes anybody anything.”
Jared shrugged. “True. But even so, isn’t paying back a mortal debt the karmically polite thing to do?”
“Maybe. I guess so. I mean, I would. So would you, right?”
“I would,” Jared said. “But I don’t think Trevor sees it that way. I think he’s more in your dad’s camp.”
“Really? Did he say something?”
