“Excuse me, but may I ask how you managed to get through security?”
Zoe’s smile was enigmatic. “You mean the keycard thing upstairs? Yeah, Sami’s been blowing past those since she was six. She once went into every room at a Florida resort looking for the peanut butter we hid from her.”
Sami made a face. “Oh, that’s such a load of crap. You tell that story to anyone who’ll listen and it’s not even true. I went into like two rooms.”
“And stole some other kid’s peanut butter,” Aric pointed out.
“Whatever.” Sami was almost pitiable as she turned back to Paris. “They grounded me for something that isn’t even my fault. I had to get to you right away because they’re driving me crazy. They won’t even let me go to the bathroom by myself.”
Paris’ eyes went wide. “What?”
“Oh, don’t believe her,” Zoe shot back. “Nobody is going to the bathroom with her. She is, however, grounded after the stunt she pulled in Hawthorne Hollow.”
“And what stunt is that?” Cormack queried. I was surprised to find him watching Sami with a mixture of amusement and nostalgia.
“Let’s just say she took off in the middle of the night when we had bad guys breathing down our necks and then inserted herself in the middle of a battle, and leave it at that,” Aric replied. “She’s grounded until we say otherwise.”
“Which is totally unfair.” Sami’s voice was shrill, like nails on a chalkboard, but I seemed to be the only one bothered. “They had my vampire. I had to save him.”
Oliver stirred. “Your vampire?”
Sami spared him a cursory glance and then did a double-take. “Whose vampire are you?”
I expected Oliver to snap at her. Instead, he smirked. “I guess you could say I’m Izzy’s vampire.” He pointed at me. “When she was young — much younger than you — I helped take care of her. I’m guessing your vampire helps take care of you, too.”
“He does, but he had to make some trip so he’s not with us this time.” Sami’s gaze was dark when it landed on her mother. “I’m not supposed to know about the trip but I heard them whispering. He’s doing something that I can’t know about.”
“That’s because you can’t be trusted,” Aric offered blithely. “When we feel we can trust you again, then we’ll talk about lifting your grounding. Until then ... stuff it.”
“I’m not talking to you,” Sami hissed, burying her face in Paris’ shoulder. “You can talk to them, Aunt Paris. You can make them see.”
Paris hesitated and I could read the conflict on her features. “I think I’m going to stay out of this one, Sami.”
“What?” Sami was positively apoplectic. “You were my only hope.”
“You’ll have to excuse her,” Zoe offered, shuffling to the bottom of the stairs. She seemed curious about the gate, but she was more leery about closing the distance than her husband had been. “She’s at that age where all you want to do is lock her in a room and not come back for three years.”
To my utter surprise, Cormack chuckled. “I remember that age so well. She reminds me of my Aisling.”
That was when things clicked into place for me. Cormack wasn’t bothered by the security breach because Sami served as some sort of blast from the past. He was an indulgent father in almost every sense, which meant he was drawn to mouthy children. Sami was right up his alley.
“You must be the father,” Zoe noted, looking him up and down. “Paris has mentioned you. She says you have a gaggle of kids that all look alike.”
He smiled. “They’re adults now. My daughter, however, acted just like your daughter when she was that age.”
“I’m sorry.”
He chuckled. “I survived. You will, too. Heck, I had five of them within five years of each other.”
“You’re clearly a glutton for punishment.”
“Pretty much,” he agreed, pursing his lips. “You only have the one, though. That was probably smart, if everything I’ve heard about you is true.”
“My wife needs little embellishment,” Aric offered, extending his finger toward the gate. “She’s a legend.”
Instinctively I reached out and grabbed his wrist, shaking my head when he cast a sidelong look in my direction.
“What will happen if I touch it?” he asked curiously.
“Probably nothing, but we just got it back up and running and it’s been known to glitch a time or two. I would prefer it if you didn’t get sucked to the other side.”
“I would prefer that, too,” Zoe volunteered. “If I have to cross that thing to save you, I’m going to be totally ticked.”
“I think you should both cross,” Sami snapped. “Maybe then I can have five minutes of peace.”
“Keep it up,” Aric warned. “I can make your life less comfortable than it is.”
“How, when I’ve got parents crawling up my —”
“Sami!” Zoe’s tone was low and full of warning as she extended her finger. “Not one more word.”
I was uncomfortable with the dark ambiance crawling over the room, but Cormack seemed to be happier than I’d seen him in weeks.
“I’m really liking this kid,” he enthused.
“You can keep her if you want,” Aric offered, his attention turning back to the gate.
“Don’t tempt me.” Cormack offered Sami another grin before focusing on her parents. “My understanding is that you’re here to help with our ... situation.”
“Actually, we’re here to visit Paris,” Zoe replied, moving away from the stairs. She seemed fine giving the gate a wide berth. “If we can help you at the same time, then I’m open to it. I’m simply not sure what it is we can do for you.”
“We’re not sure either,” Cormack admitted.
“Well ... then I guess we’ll figure it out.” Zoe shot him a rueful smile and shifted her eyes toward Aric. “You’re starting to make me nervous. Can you please move away from the gate?”
Aric shifted to stare at his wife over his shoulder. There was genuine affection there, as well
