An hour later, Bryn had used a substantial amount of the money her grandparents had put into her account when they’d accepted her as their granddaughter to buy a first edition, signed, hardback set of The Lord of the Rings. The dealer assured her that he’d take care of the transaction and have the books wrapped and shipped to Sinclair Estate. Hopefully, Jaxon would appreciate the gift. If not, Bryn knew what she’d be reading over Christmas break.
What would Jaxon buy for her? Would he even attempt to find something she’d like, or would he buy the most expensive and exclusive item he could find for the strange game Blues played? With her luck, she’d end up with a book bag bedazzled with diamonds in the form of a giant W or something ridiculous like that. Truthfully, the only thing she wanted for Christmas was to spend time with her family. She’d love to have her parents and grandparents in the same room, but she was beginning to realize that might never happen. For now, it was enough that she’d be baking cookies with her mom and dad tomorrow, which left one question. Who would be riding to Sanctuary with her? She hadn’t thought to ask Clint and Ivy if they wanted to go to Dragon’s Bluff so who did that leave? Only one person was that interested in her personal welfare. She grabbed the phone and dialed Jaxon’s number.
“Hello?” Jaxon sounded irritated. Great.
“Sorry to bug you, but I’m visiting my parents tomorrow and I know the SUVss are Directorate sanctioned, but I wasn’t sure if I should ride out there alone.”
“What time were you planning on going?” he asked.
“Noon.”
He was quiet for a moment. Maybe she should have called Clint and Ivy.
“I can drive you there at eleven thirty and pick you up at two,” Jaxon said. “I’m meeting my father in Dragon’s Bluff for lunch.”
“Thank you. That will work.”
Bryn called her parents to update them on the change of plans.
“So Jaxon is driving you out here.” Her dad sounded like he was plotting something. “You know, I’ve never met him.”
This wasn’t a road she was ready to go down. “You have plenty of time to meet him. If you want you can frown at him from the front gate when he drops me off, but I’m not arranging a meeting. Tomorrow is supposed to be fun, not stressful.”
“It would be fun for me.” Her dad laughed. “For him…not so much.”
“Another time,” Bryn said. “See you tomorrow.”
…
Jaxon wasn’t super chatty as he drove her toward Sanctuary, but at least the silence between them was comfortable.
“Thanks for taking me,” she said.
“Not a problem,” he said. “I’m glad you didn’t ask me to meet your parents.”
Bryn laughed. “My dad suggested I bring you along for a meet and greet. I told him this wasn’t the right time.”
“Good answer,” Jaxon said. “It’s strange. My father raised me to think badly of your mother, and before you gripe at me, I’ve overcome that. It’s funny that he never mentioned your father.”
“I will never pretend to understand how your father thinks,” Bryn said.
When they pulled up to the gate, Bryn grinned. Her dad stood there, holding an ax casually against his shoulder like he’d just gone out to chop wood. There was a small stack of wood in a wire basket at his feet, but Bryn bet the entire thing was staged.
“Want to come say hello?” she asked.
Jaxon put the car into park. “I can’t let the crazy man with an ax think he’s intimidated me, so sure, I’d love to meet him.”
Bryn laughed. “Okay. Try not to act too Blue. Let’s go.”
Jaxon snorted. She climbed out of the car and walked toward the guard at the admission checkpoint. Jaxon did the same.
“Who are you visiting?” the guard asked.
“My parents, Ian and Sara McKenna.” She pointed at Jaxon. “He won’t be staying. He’s just saying hello.”
The guard made them both sign in, gave them lanyards which had numbered pass cards, and then he allowed them to go through the gate.
“Hi, Dad.” Bryn grinned. “Jaxon wanted to meet you before he heads to Dragon’s Bluff for lunch.”
Her dad set the ax down and held out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“It’s interesting to meet you,” Jaxon said. “The ax was a nice touch.”
“Thanks,” her dad said. “I thought it would help get the message across.”
“What message is that?” Jaxon asked without blinking.
“Despite the strange history between our families, I expect you to treat my daughter with respect.”
Jaxon nodded. “In spite of the strange history our families share, I do respect Bryn. So you’ve nothing to worry about.”
“Good.”
“I’ll be back at two,” Jaxon said to Bryn.
“See you then.” After Jaxon had signed out and driven away, Bryn pointed at the ax. “I can’t believe you did that.”
He grinned. “Come on. Your mom is chomping at the bit to make cookies.”
As they walked to their cabin, Bryn noticed that he wasn’t wearing his leg brace but he was moving well. There was only a slight jerkiness to his walk.
“Your leg seems better,” she said.
“Your friend Garret stopped by the other night. The new brace he made for me fits under my jeans. It’s amazing.”
After a round of hugs and a quick summary of her dad’s meeting with Jaxon, they started working on the cookies.
Bryn’s mom rolled out the dough for sugar cookies on the kitchen table. “I mixed this batch up last night so we could bake them today.”
“There’s about half a batch of chocolate chip cookie dough left in the fridge, too,” her dad said.
“Half a batch?” Bryn asked.
“I ate the other half.” Her dad grinned. “For quality control testing, of course.”
“Of course.” Bryn laughed. “Where are the cookie cutters?”
“On top of the refrigerator,” said her mom.
Bryn grabbed the brand-new package of cookie cutters and ripped open the bag. “Let’s see…we have a tree, a star, an angel, and a candy cane.”
“And I will be making my amazing snowmen.” Her dad reached for some of the dough still in the bowl and started rolling large, medium, and small-sized balls.
Bryn took a shuddering breath as a wave of emotion swamped her. She turned away and wiped at the tears in her eyes.
“What’s wrong, honey?” her mom asked.
And Bryn burst into tears. “Sorry, it’s just last year I never thought I’d see Dad’s crooked snowmen or make cookies with you ever again.”
Her mom dusted her hands off on her apron as she came to give Bryn a hug. “I’m so sorry.”
“It was my fault,” Bryn said. “I’m the reason someone tried to blow up the apartment with you inside.”
“That’s not true.” Her dad came to join them in a family hug. “They came after us because we’re dragons who defied the Directorate.”
“The reason doesn’t really matter,” her mom said. “What matters is that we’re here together and we have cookies to bake.”
“You’re right,” Bryn said. “Back to the cookies.”
They spent the rest of the afternoon baking and eating cookies, and it was wonderful, but it wasn’t the same as it had been before all this dragon business happened. Then again, maybe it was because she was older, more aware of the craziness going on in the world, and everything seemed less safe.
When it was time to leave, her mom volunteered to escort her to the gate.
“Sure you don’t want to come along…maybe bring a machete or something,” Bryn said to her dad.
“No,” he said. “I think he got the message loud and clear.”
She hugged her dad and then headed out the front door with her mom.
Jaxon pulled up to the gate within seconds of Bryn’s arrival. She hugged her mom, signed out, and returned the lanyard. Jaxon opened her car door for her, giving a nod of recognition to her mother before climbing in and driving them back toward school.
“So what did you think of my dad?” Bryn asked.
“He made his point in an amusing manner,” Jaxon said. “What did he think of me?”
Her dad had said Jaxon didn’t seem as obnoxious as his father, but she probably shouldn’t share that quote word for word. “He appreciates your attitude toward me and likes that you come across as more approachable than your father.”
“According to my father, Westgates aren’t supposed to be approachable,” Jaxon said. “My mother had a different theory on the subject, so I landed somewhere in between.”
Thank goodness for Lillith.
“Speaking of your mother, how are she and Asher doing?”