She sat across the table from me.
“So, tell us. Did you find out anything on your ‘errands’?” Mom used air quotes for “errands.”
I shook my head. “Not really.” I told them about meeting with Bea and the strange vibe I got there. But it felt more like excessive conservatism than anything threatening. I ended by saying, “I may not agree with their beliefs, but they have a right to them.”
“They may have a right to them but they should leave everyone else alone.” Vi picked up her knitting and viciously stabbed at the stitches.
“That’s right, Vi,” Mom said. “You don’t see the Wiccans picketing their church, do you?” I was surprised by this since my mom had never been a big Wiccan supporter. Maybe after witnessing the fracas at the memorial she had changed her mind.
“Bea doesn’t approve of Skye’s choice,” I said, “but what parent agrees with everything their kid does?” Mom snorted and nodded. Dad rattled his newspaper.
After a moment of uncomfortable silence, I told them about my encounter with Morgan at Rafe’s house.
“Do you think she took the will and the family tree?” Seth asked.
I shrugged. “It’s possible, but I don’t know why she would want them.”
“She’s a strange one,” Vi said, darkly.
“She told you to talk to Lucan?” Dad asked. “Do they even know each other?”
“They were both in Rafe’s coven until Rafe kicked her out,” I said.
“What does Diana know about that coven?” Vi asked. “Seems like there was an awful lot of drama going on.”
“I’ll ask her when I see her next. I don’t know how much she can tell us. She tried to stay out of that sort of thing. It’s not good for business to take sides.”
Dad nodded. “She’s done a good job with that store. Much better than her father ever did with his used books.”
“That’s true, Frank.” Mom smiled in his direction. “Want to come for dinner tonight, Clyde?”
“I can’t, but can Seth hang out here tonight?” I asked.
“Of course.” Mom turned to Seth. “Do you want to sleep over, Seth?”
Seth lifted a shoulder and let it drop. “Sure.”
“What are you doing?” Vi asked. “Are you going to follow Lucan? I’ll go with you. I think we need to keep an eye on him.”
“I’m going out . . . with a friend.”
“Who? Diana, Alex?” Vi leaned forward.
“No, it’s . . .”
Seth interrupted. “It’s Tom, isn’t it?” He tilted his head and lifted both eyebrows. His less-than-subtle cue that he was going to cover for me.
I smiled and didn’t respond.
Seth rolled his eyes. “I don’t need a babysitter so you can go out with your boyfriend.”
“He’s not her boyfriend,” Vi said. Then, almost to herself, she said, “At least, I hope not.”
“I could use some help with the computer, Seth. Maybe we could look at your math homework again,” Dad said. Dad didn’t know what he was covering for, but jumped into the fray.
“Yeah, okay,” Seth said.
“Where are you going, Clyde?” Mom asked.
“Just out to dinner. No big deal.” I pushed away from the table to end the conversation. I said good-bye and headed toward the front door, but I could feel Vi’s inquisitive stare follow me out.
31
I parked in my driveway and opened the back door for Baxter out of habit. Then I remembered I’d left him at my parents’ house along with Tuffy and Seth. I raced up the front steps and went into the house. My mind was swirling with suspicions and snippets of conversation. I tried to piece together all the bits of information I had picked up over the past week. So much had happened since Halloween night, only one week ago. I wanted to spend one evening not thinking about any of it. I hoped Mac felt the same way.
Since Mac and I had had a rough start to this new romance, it left me wondering where things stood between us. Our decision to take things slow had started to feel glacial. Had we missed our window of opportunity? Any new relationship, even if it was a second chance, needed momentum. Ours seemed to have skipped the courtship and gone straight to the post-honeymoon (without any honeymoon, I might add). Tonight I hoped to turn things around.