I raise an eyebrow. “So you’re admitting to trespassing previously?”
“I took my sister door to door selling Girl Scout cookies. Is that against the law, too?”
“Depends on the mood the judge is in,” I admit. “I had the gargoyles removed to be restored.” I say the first thing that comes to mind. It’s an expensive lie, but not a terrible one. “Now, unless you want to find out how competent minors can be tried as adults, I suggest you leave.” I look down the driveway, wishing I could see in the dark like the gargoyles. “How did you get here?”
“I live up the street, about half a mile away. We walked.”
I let out a sigh. “You shouldn’t do that. Walking around a rural road at night isn’t safe for adults, let alone a couple kids. The world is unforgiving. I’m a homicide detective, and I’d hate to stumble upon your bodies in the ditch.”
The wind blows dry branches overhead, and the distant flapping of wings can barely be heard over the rustle of the trees. Both kids startle, looking around with fear in their eyes.
Good.
Shivering, I watch them hurry down the driveway.
“Should we follow them?” Thomas asks from the shadows. He and Gilbert are only yards away.
“Yeah, but only to make sure they get home okay.”
“You’re worried about their safety?” Gilbert gives me a look. “After they came onto your property, poking around, looking forus?”
“They’re just kids. Annoying, entitled kids, but kids. And I’m actually not surprised this place is rumored to be haunted. I doubt they’re the first to come poking around, either, and probably won’t be the last. I need a fence.” I rub the goosebumps on my arms and head back into the house to grab my shit. I’m not leaving until those kids are back inside their house. If they saw me take off down the road right after they left, they might think they’d rattled me.
And because I meant what I said about the night being dangerous. Though with Thomas and Gilbert keeping watch, I have no doubt they’ll make it home safely. I brush dirt from my socks and take a seat on the couch in the front living room.
The front door opens, and I know it’s Jacques before I can see him. Each gargoyle has a different energy about them, and I’m starting to be able to tell each one apart.
Maybe there is some magic in me after all.
“You look tired, Ace.” Jacques’s voice is low. “Maybe you should stay home tonight.”
“This isn’t my home,” I blurt.
“Do you want it to be?”
“I don’t know.” I’m resisting this place. I’m resisting what could very well be my destiny. I’m resistingthem.
Relying on people, getting close and opening myself up emotionally always ends one way, and it’s never good. Once the curse is broken, what’s stopping the guys from leaving?
“It’s not mine either,” he says softly, and his words surprise me.
“What do you consider home?”
He slowly shakes his head. “I don’t know anymore. Though, if my years of travel have taught me anything, it’s that home isn’t always a place.”
I give him a small smile. “People still say that, even after a thousand years. There’s a difference between a house and a home, and if I’m honest…it’s been a long time since I felt like I had a home too.”
He doesn’t have to say it for me to know we’re both longing for a place to lay down roots and call our own.
* * *
“I literally have nothing to wear.”
I sort through my clothes one more time, looking for anything remotely sexy. Thinking back, I cannot recall the last time I tried to dress up for anyone, actually. And I’m well aware how pathetic that is. I haven’t had a boyfriend in three years, and, until tonight, it had been over a year since I had sex with something other than rubber and plastic.
I have a lot of workout clothes, a decent number of jeans, and just enough professional wear to look presentable for meetings and conferences. The few “going out” clothes I had were dated and I donated them to Goodwill last Christmas.
The curling iron I plugged in starts to smell hot, reminding me of how little time I have. I grab a black silky camisole and put it on. It’s something I wear under a blouse, and it’s too loose-fitting to work. Itlookslike an undergarment and not in the sexy way.
