“Huh? Kizzy. Who else would it be?”
“Fine. Well, come over when you get the chance. I want to hear more about this doctor girlfriend of yours.” Then she brightened. “Or maybe you can bring her with you! I’d love to see her again.”
He sighed. “I doubt she’ll come.”
Something wasn’t going well there, but she wasn’t about to get into it while everyone was within earshot. They said goodbye, and she finally returned to the table. “That was Noah. He’ll be over later…and maybe he’ll bring his new girlfriend. I don’t know. He was very evasive.”
Suddenly, Mallory began to shake uncontrollably.
“Babe?” Dante asked. He put an arm around her shoulders and murmured something into her ear.
The girl’s bright-blue eyes were wide, as if she was afraid of something, and she quickly slipped under the table.
“I’ve got this,” Dante said and held up one hand as if telling his family not to worry and leave everything to him. Then he slithered under the table too.
What the…
Gabriella’s concern made her lean over and peek under the tablecloth. To her shock, a little monkey sat on the floor, hugging Dante’s leg. Because the monkey was wearing Mallory’s dress, it didn’t take a genius to surmise that Mallory was a shape-shifter. And it appeared as if she didn’t have terrific control over her shifts. Paranormals didn’t just shift spontaneously in front of people they didn’t know well.
Gabriella did a quick mental check of everyone. They were all aware of the paranormals living among them. Most were shape-shifters themselves. Misty was the newest member of the family, but she was comfortable with the “uniqueness” of the Fierro men—and in fact had her own unique abilities. Sandra was the only one who was a totally unadulterated human, but she’d been a part of this family for so long, she wouldn’t bat an eyelash.
Gabriella smiled. “It’s all right, Mallory. You can come out. We’ve all seen much weirder things.”
Dante grinned at his mother. She resurfaced to see how the rest of the family was taking this. So far, everyone was being quiet and respectful.
Then Antonio peeked under the table and groaned. “Not another one…”
Gabriella gave him the stink eye. He winked at her, then stretched and yawned. “Yup. It’s just another Sunday dinner at the Fierro house.”
* * *
Kizzy had to admit she was missing Noah. He had been sweet and attentive and hadn’t given up on her. He called her almost every night, and when he couldn’t, he let her know why. He was the kind of dependable good guy she would have liked to have in her life—eventually.
She hated to defy her father, but it was her life. She was twenty-seven years old, for gods’ and goddesses’ sakes. She was still fighting with him over using a spell to cause temporary blindness in order to stay home, protecting the book. She understood that she would need an emergency leave, and certainly, a sudden loss of vision would preclude her from doing her job…but couldn’t he come up with something better?
He wanted her to be safe, of course, but the idea of a seeing-eye wolf still rankled. Bostonians weren’t likely to know the difference between a wolf and a dog, but what if she was visited by a colleague who hailed from Montana?
And what would she tell people when she got back?Oh, it was hysterical blindness? It must have happened because I didn’t want to see the news anymore? It’s really depressing.Or,I poked myself in the eye really hard?How could she explain something as dramatic as going blind?
So she became stubborn. Her father couldn’t keep dictating what she should and shouldn’t do. Especially who she should and shouldn’t date. Wait a minute.No, that couldn’t have anything to do with it.
Noah wasn’t just gorgeous. He was interesting—in a geeky kind of way, but they had that in common. He told her about strolling around old bookstores, his interest in science, astronomy, as well as honing his skills as an EMT and firefighter. Plus she liked and respected him for all his charity work. Who wouldn’t? She wanted to spend more time with him and get to know him better. At times, her mind wandered, and she fantasized about kissing him. Even that much got her panties damp.
One evening, during their nightly phone call, he asked her out to the firefighters’ next charity event. It was really hard to say no to charity. And this was something a little goofy, but it sounded like fun. He was participating in the hot dog eating contest. He even mentioned that it might be handy to have a doctor close by in case of choking. How could she say no? Sure, all the firefighters were EMTs, but she was an ER doctor, and her presence might make them feel even safer—and for a good cause.
She agreed to go. Now she just had to come up with a story to tell her father, something that couldn’t be a lie but wouldn’t include the whole truth. She’d tell him she was going to volunteer her time at a charity event. The charity was raising money to benefit widows and orphans. The firemen’s fund did benefit the kids, widows, and widowers of fallen firefighters.That should do it.
* * *
The day of the hot dog eating contest arrived, and Kizzy had her sister pick her up. The two of them were going together, and Daddy would stay home, guarding the book.
When Kizzy spotted Noah, she wanted to run to him and throw her arms around him. Instead, she decided to control herself and sneak up behind him, snaking her arms around his waist. No need to look like a teenager.
He stiffened and swiveled enough to see who it was. A grin split his face when he saw her. He turned around and lifted her off the ground as they shared a warm hug. It didn’t seem like the right time and place for kissing him, but she wanted to. He greeted Ruth as if she were an old friend, giving her a quick hug too.
Long tables had been set up on a makeshift stage. The smell of hot dogs cooking filled the air. It wasn’t the most pleasant odor, especially knowing how many disgusting things went into hot dogs. She didn’t have to eat them, however, and Noah would be downing them for charity. She could always pump his stomach later.
Someone blew a whistle.
