Will was the touchy, feely sort.
I wasn’t sure how to feel. Not once did he take his hand off my mother’s during dinner. It was cute, and he was charming and handsome, but it was just weird to see her with another dude. Weirder than I’d thought it would be. But he did give me a gift card to the local bookstore. Bonus points there.
The customary ice-cream cake was different this year. Will joined us at home for it.
“Here,” he said, taking the knife from Mom. “If you run it under hot water, it’s easier to use.”
Mom beamed up at him like he’d just discovered the cure for cancer. They chatted while I sat at the table, trying not to roll my eyes.
Will placed a slice in front of me. “Thank you,” I said.
He smiled. “No problem. I’m just glad you’re completely recovered from the flu. No one wants to be sick on their birthday.”
“I second that,” Mom said.
She didn’t take her eyes off him until it was near the time for her to get ready for her shift in Winchester. Will remained in the kitchen with me, finishing off the last of his cake while the silence between us grew to an awkward level of epic proportions.
“Have you been enjoying your birthday so far?” he asked, dangling the fork from his long fingers.
I swallowed the last of the crunchy part, which was the only section of the ice-cream cake I’d eat. “Yeah, it’s been really nice.”
Will picked up his glass, tipping it toward me. “Well, let’s toast to many more in the future,” he said. I picked up mine, clanging it off his. He smiled, crinkling the skin around his eyes. “I plan on being here to share them with you and your mother.”
Unsure of how to feel about him being here a year from now, I set my glass down and bit my lip. Part of me wanted to be happy for Mom, but the other part felt like I was betraying Dad.
Will cleared his throat, inclining his head to the side as he watched me. Amusement flickered in his eyes that were so pale, they were almost gray like mine. “I know you probably don’t like the sound of that. Kellie told me how close you were to your father. I can understand your reluctance to having me around.”
“I’m not reluctant to the idea,” I said honestly. “It’s just different.”
“Different isn’t bad. Neither is change.” He took a drink, glancing toward the door. “Your mom is a great woman. I thought that from the moment she came to work at the hospital, but it was the night you were attacked that things went from a professional working relationship to something more. I’m glad I could be there for her.” He paused, his smile spreading. “Strange how something good can come from something horrible.”
My brows furrowed. “Yeah…that is strange.”
His smile tipped higher, almost condescending. Mom returned, ending his totally weird attempt at bonding with me…or marking his territory. He stayed right up to the moment she left for work, sucking up her time. I went to the window, seeing them kiss before they got into separate cars. Gross.
With the sun setting outside, I wrote a quick review for Monday and then a longer one for Tuesday. The longer one was because I couldn’t stop gushing. I think I had a new book boyfriend and his name was Tod. Yumtastic.
I settled on one of those usually annoying stations on the TV that played only music on a blank screen. Stopping on a channel that offered hits from the eighties, I turned it up loud enough I couldn’t hear my own thoughts. There was laundry that needed to be done and a kitchen that could use a good scrubbing. It was too late to get the dead plants out of the flower bed. Gardening was something that always helped clear my thoughts, but autumn and winter sucked for it. I changed into a pair of comfy sleep shorts, little reindeer-covered socks that reached my knees, and a long-sleeve thermal.
I looked like a hot mess.
Running through the house, I gathered all the clothes, sliding at times on the hardwood floors. I dumped a load into the washer and started singing along to one of the songs. “In touch with the ground. I’m on the hunt. I’m after you.”
I scooted out of the laundry room and skipped down the hallway, arms flaying around my head like one of the hot pink puppets from the movie Labyrinth. “A scent and a sound, I’m lost and I’m found. And I’m hungry like the wolf. Something on a line, it’s discord and rhyme—whatever, whatever, la la la—Mouth is alive, all running inside, and I’m hungry like the—” Warmth spread down my neck.
“It’s actually, ’I howl and I whine. I’m after you,’ and not blah or whatever.”
Startled by the deep voice, I shrieked and whipped around. My foot slipped on a section of well-cleaned wood and my butt smacked on the floor.
“Holy crap,” I gasped, clutching my chest. “I think I’m having a heart attack.”
“And I think you broke your butt.” Laughter filled Daemon’s voice.
I remained sprawled across the narrow hallway, trying to catch my breath. “What the hell? Do you just walk into people’s houses?”
“And listen to girls absolutely destroy a song in a matter of seconds? Well, yes, I make a habit out of it. Actually, I knocked several times, but I heard your…singing, and your door was unlocked.” He shrugged. “So I just let myself in.”
“I can see that.” I stood, wincing. “Oh, man, maybe I did break my butt.”
“I hope not. I’m kind of partial to your butt.” He flashed a smile. “Your face is pretty red. You sure you didn’t smack that on the way down?”