“Thank you all for coming.”I walked over to Dad and took his hand.“Has everyone met my dad?”Some eyes widened at that.“This is Mac.Dad, this is Mom’s sister Elizabeth, her husband Robert, and their kids Frank and Faith, whom you probably remember from the Gallery.”
I gestured to Hester.“Speaking of the gallery, do you remember my Aunt Hester?She’s helping me out behind the counter in the café.”
Dad nodded.“I remember.You were all in attendance at my daughter’s opening night.”
“Right,” I said.“And this is my Great-Uncle Bracken.He’s Gran’s younger brother.You’ve probably seen him around the gallery too.”
Dad nodded again.“Yes.You live in that—” He looked at me for help.
“RV,” I said.
“Yes,” he agreed.“I’m glad you are there.You are powerful and you care for my daughter.That makes you valuable to me, so I help you.”
No one seemed to know how to respond to that comment, so I blurted out, “Declan, maybe you could give everyone the tour?”Grinning like an idiot, I added, “He designed and built this whole place.”
They asked questions about the materials used and the design choices, but I ducked back into the kitchen to make the dessert filling.By the time the tour ended in the kitchen, I was putting the filling in the refrigerator.
Mom gave me a one-armed hug.We’d learned long ago how to show affection without causing visions.“Darling, your new home is stunning.”
“Thanks.I think so too.”
“He showed us which room you were planning to make the nursery.Can my housewarming gift be your nursing chair?”she asked.
“I’d love that,” I told her.
“Oh,” Elizabeth crooned.“We get to throw a baby shower.We haven’t had one of those in a while.”
Brow furrowed, Faith turned to her mom at that.“Nuh-uh.We went to Jade’s baby shower last year.”
Declan raised his eyebrows at me.
“Jade is a cousin,” I explained.“She’s in Gran’s sister Margaret’s line.Faith is right.We were there.Jade’s insufferable, as are most on that side of the family?—”
“Arwyn,” Mom warned.
“Am I lying?”I rolled my eyes and turned back to Declan.“They made a huge deal over a very expensive designer baby bag.Everyone was taking selfies with it.”
“I looked it up afterward,” Faith told him.“That bag sells for twenty thousand dollars.”She shook her head in disbelief.“Who spends that kind of money on a diaper bag?”
“Wealthy people, I suppose,” Elizabeth replied.
“Then they can buy their own houses,” Faith countered.“They don’t need the yellow house.”As soon as the words were out of her mouth, her hand slammed over it as her eyes darted around the room, trying to calculate how much trouble she was in.Who had heard who shouldn’t have?
Mom patted Faith on the back.“It’s all right, dear.We all make mistakes.No one here is going to gossip.”She glanced around the kitchen.“Are we?”
We heard the message loud and clear, so Mom got the head shakes she expected.
“FYI,” I said to Faith, “that bag was a fake.”
Her eyes went wide.“How do you know?Wait, does she know it’s a fake?”
Nodding, I told her, “She was the one who bought it online and wrapped it herself before putting a note on it from her boyfriend, so they’d all think she was hooked up with a rich guy who spoiled her.”I shook my head.“People are weird.”
“Yeah.”Frank laughed.“But you actually have a rich guy who spoils you.”
Declan’s arm went around me.“I’m the one who lucked out.”He tipped his head toward the dining room.“Can everyone sit down?Arwyn and I will bring out the food.”
Declan sliced the tri-tip, put it on a platter, then slid the veggies into a serving bowl.He took both out to the dining table, while I used a spell to heat up milk bread dinner rolls.I grabbed two ramekins from the refrigerator, one with roasted garlic and herb butter and the other plain.When I took that out, Declan grabbed the rice.
