As they neared Fairhaven, Jackson asked, "Will you stay for dinner? I'm sure Sarah has something prepared on the off chance you'll be there."
"I'd love to. You know, Sarah was very kind to me. When she showed up at my door, I thought she came to kill me, but she was so understanding and sympathetic. I will forever be grateful."
"Yes, she may be a vampire and she may be a spoiled brat, but she has the purest soul I have ever known."
"Does Connor know you're vampires?"
"Yeah, Sarah recently told him. He's adjusting well."
"Hmm, that's good, they seem well suited."
Jackson's jaw tensed. "Elisabeth, I'm sorry for what I said to you in the woods."
She held his hand. "I know. It's forgotten."
They pulled up in front of the house, and Sarah met them at the door. "How did the lecture go?"
Jackson pulled Elisabeth to him and kissed her temple. "She was a big hit."
She hugged them both. "Are you hungry? There's chili and homemade sourdough bread bowls."
"Thanks, that sounds delicious. Where's Skippy?"
"He's at the office; he'll be here shortly. If you're not too hungry we could wait and eat together."
"Sure, let me get drinks."
The three sat, Sarah inquiring about their day. The irony of having a werewolf in the house didn't escape Jackson. He thought about the next full moon and wondered how they would deal with it.
Connor arrived, sat next to Sarah and kissed her. "What's going on?"
"Nothing, just waiting on you for dinner."
"Good I'm starving. I skipped lunch today."
The foursome headed to the kitchen and sat around the table. Jackson was once again struck by how much like a family it felt.
After dinner they sat in the drawing room, by the fire Jackson had started. Sarah brought Elisabeth up to speed about the Halloween gala and asked if she would like to help plan it.
"I'd love to, it sounds fun."
"Great. I'd like the name of the caterer you used. The food at your open house was delicious."
"I'll get you the number."
"Would you be willing to carve the pumpkins? I'm sure they would be amazing if you did them."
"Of course, I'll start drawing some ideas right away."
Sarah beamed. "It's going to be the best ever!"
"Have you decided on costumes yet?"
"Connor and I are going to be Anthony and Cleopatra. Jackson is a real bore, he's Dracula every single year, ughh."
Elisabeth laughed and arched a brow at him. "Is that so?"
Jackson picked up an apple from the bowl of fruit, tossed it in the air, caught it, then bit into it. "Mmm, the Macouns are incredible this year. Actually, I was considering a departure from my usual costume."