When she got out of the car, the crisp, fresh scent of pine trees and earth and the flowers in the front garden settled the halfling into a calm she’d forgotten she knew how to reach. There are still benefits to coming “home.” She grabbed the chair from the trunk, opened it up, and brought it around toward the passenger side door.
Ember stared at her when the halfling opened the door. “What are you doing?”
“I’m gonna help you into this baby.” Cheyenne patted the back of the chair. “And then I’m gonna figure out the best way to get you inside the house before you meet my mom.”
Ember steeled herself to just go with it. “Okay. Let’s do it.”
“That’s more like it.” Cheyenne bent down and helped her friend out of the car. Ember barely had enough energy in her arms to steady herself on the armrests, then she was in, and the halfling closed the door. “That’s gotta be a record.”
“Really? Felt like hours.”
Shooting her friend a knowing glance, Cheyenne swiveled the chair around on the gravel until Ember sat a foot in front of the Panamera, directly in front of the door. “Lookin’ good. I’ll be right back, okay?”
“Yep.”
The halfling hurried toward the wide stone steps and almost laughed. So much better than the last time I was here. Zero FRoE agents. She skipped up the steps and smoothed down the front of her shirt before knocking quickly on the front door.
It opened, and Eleanor’s perpetually flushed, smiling face greeted her on the other side. “Well, look at you!”
The woman opened the door all the way and spread her arms. Cheyenne stepped into the crushing embrace Bianca Summerlin’s housekeeper and close friend never failed to deliver, grunting a little at the pressure. “Hi, Eleanor.”
The woman released Cheyenne and stepped back, squeezing the halfling’s shoulders before releasing her. “Don’t tell her I said anything.” Eleanor glanced briefly over her shoulder and lowered her voice. “But she almost danced across the house when you didn’t think twice about accepting her invitation.”
Cheyenne smirked. “She doesn’t dance across anything.”
“I said, almost.” Eleanor batted her employer’s daughter with a playful hand, then glanced out the door onto the front stoop. “I thought you had a friend coming?”
“Yeah, she’s here.” Stepping back out the onto curved landing at the top of the stairs, Cheyenne turned and swept her arm out toward Ember. “And there she is.”
Eleanor grinned. “Hello. So glad you could make it.”
When the housekeeper gave the fae an enthusiastic wave, Ember’s anxiety eased enough to make her chuckle sound genuine. She waved back and called, “Thanks for having me.”
“Oh, she’s lovely. I can tell already.” Still smiling at the fae in the wheelchair, Eleanor clasped her hands in front of her and muttered to Cheyenne from the side of her mouth, “You need a little help getting inside, don’t you?”
“Yep. Hey, I won’t say anything about the dancing part if you don’t say anything about what we’re about to do.”
The housekeeper cleared her throat and cocked her head. “You drive a hard bargain, Cheyenne.”
“I learned from the best.”
“I’m going to pretend you’re referring to me and take that as a compliment.”
The halfling smirked. “Of course.”
“Let’s get to it, then.” Eleanor stepped quickly down the stairs, a new grin spreading across her face as she and the half-drow approached their guest for the evening. “So nice to meet you, Ember. I’m Eleanor.”
“Nice to meet you too.” Ember shook the woman’s hand and shot Cheyenne a curious glance. “Everything okay?”
“Totally. Ready to go?”
“Uh, yeah. How are we—”
“Why don’t you just let us handle that part, Ember?” Eleanor nodded with her hospitable smile as Cheyenne stepped around the back of the chair and spun her friend around. She tipped the chair back just enough to lift the smaller front wheels and pulled Ember backward toward the stairs.
Ember’s eyes widened, and she glanced at the halfling over her shoulder. “Cheyenne—”
“We got it, Em. No problem. Another two minutes, and you’ll be getting the grand tour.” They reached the bottom of the stairs, and Cheyenne positioned the back wheels squarely before stepping up. “Just a few bumps. Probably.”
Eleanor caught the fae’s gaze and let out a little giggle as she reached down for the frame of the chair below the seat. “You know, Ember, Cheyenne failed to mention she’d be driving up in a new Porsche tonight.” The housekeeper grunted as she and Bianca’s daughter lifted the chair’s huge back wheels over the first step. “Honestly, I’m more inclined to believe the story of how she got that car if it comes from her friend.”
“Wow.” Cheyenne laughed as she stepped onto the next step and got ready to pull. “After all this time, you don’t trust me enough to brag about my car, huh?”
The housekeeper lifted again as the halfling pulled back, then she puffed out the breath she’d been holding and glanced briefly up at the girl she’d helped raise on the estate. “That’s precisely what I’m trying to avoid, my dear. Your bragging.”
With another grunt from the housekeeper, they made it up another step and were over halfway there.
“I don’t brag, Eleanor.” Cheyenne lifted up one more time and glanced over her shoulder. “I just save the best stories for you. And I haven’t said a word about the car.”
“But you want to.” Lift, grunt, drag. “Don’t forget, I’ve been anticipating your every move since you were two.”
The halfling barked a laugh and moved onto the last stair. “And I’m still a step ahead of you.”
“No, you’re — Oh. You meant literally.” Eleanor chuckled, her face flushing even deeper as she and the half-drow lifted Ember’s chair one final time up the last wide stone step. “Don’t underestimate these gray hairs, Cheyenne. We both know most people can’t keep up with you, but I am certainly not one of them.”
The housekeeper dusted off her hands as
