It kind of reminds me of the way that Calia and Eamon do their big meals at the compound, and the familiarity of it instantly puts me at ease.
There are a couple of big fire pits that they’re using to cook a couple of pigs, and they’ve got some BBQs going as well. Several tables have been pushed together to make a ‘u’ shape with even more food spread out all along it, and there’s a big bonfire, and several outdoor heaters keeping everyone warm. Add in the twinkle lights everywhere, and the place really does look magical and inviting.
“There’s my mom and dad,” Griff says.
He squeezes my hand as his mom spots us.
I don’t know what I was expecting, but the huge smile full of warmth probably wasn’t it.
She quickly makes her way over to us, with a big, burly man who must be Griff’s dad following behind her with a serene smile on his face. He looks so much like Griff that he couldn’t be anyone else.
To my utter surprise, Griff’s mom bypasses him completely and pulls me into a tight hug.
“I’m so happy to meet you,” she mutters quietly, and then pulls back. She winces slightly and adds, “I’m sorry, I can get a little overzealous. I tend to forget that some people may prefer to keep their distance and not have me in their personal space.”
Her husband pulls her under his arm with a soft smile and kisses the top of her head.
I grin, “Don’t worry about it. I didn’t mind at all.”
Griff pulls me close again, and I realize that the guys have drifted off and are being introduced to people by Griff’s brother.
“Neith, this is my ma, Lucy, and my dad, Lewis,” Griff introduces us.
“Nice to meet you,” Lewis says with a warm smile.
“Thank you, you too,” I reply.
He’s so laid back and easy-going that it’s almost impossible to feel nervous. At least I thought it was just as I started to relax, the dreaded question was asked.
“So tell us about yourself?” He asks.
Ah, damn it. There are the nerves. What am I supposed to say to that? How much do I share before it becomes oversharing? Where the fuck is the line? I’m thirty-something, and I still haven’t figured out how to not overshare when I’m nervous.
It makes no fucking sense.
Griff pulls me even closer, his hand rubbing soothing circles on my back.
“Neith has just joined our team, Ty has been trying to recruit her for years,” Griff says.
Lucy’s smile widens, “Oh wow, that’s impressive. Ty is picky. How did you get into that line of work?”
And just like that, Griff made it so much easier for me to find a starting point. After that, whenever the conversation stalled slightly, Griff or his dad would start it up again, and I found a whole new appreciation for Griff, and I was already pretty fucking appreciative of him.
He’s amazing.
I’m even happier when Lucy pulls out her phone and shows me some absolutely adorable pictures of Griff when he was little. Griffspends the whole time smiling slightly and rolling his eyes. Not once does he let go of me.
Something I was surprised to know though, was that gargoyles don’t get their shift later on as I thought.
They can shift when they’re newborns.
Honestly, it sounds like a handful, and like it could be absolute chaos as well.
Maybe not when they’re newborns, I imagine that’s just adorable, but I’ve looked after toddlers, human ones, and they’re a handful and try to get into everything. Don’t get me wrong, they are still utterly adorable and so much fun, but they’re tiny, adorable menaces. I can only imagine how much more trouble they could get into if they had wings and actual fangs. I mean, you don’t just have to watch them on the floor, and if they had a playpen, you’d have to put a lid on it or something, and then it really would look like a baby jail.
Although I suppose gargoyle parents have wings too, so that would help, they are at least on an even playing field.
Oh my god, and I have wings, so if I ever needed to babysit a gargoyle toddler, at least I would be able to catch them if they decided to fly off.
