Page 52 of Dancing With Darkness

I moved through the house on silent feet to the kitchen with them behind me. Romero and I sat the grocery bags down on the counter beside the sink and Romero immediately began digging through them and pulling things out.

Rain had his arms crossed over his chest and he was looking around the kitchen with curiosity.

“Talk to me, Finn.” he commanded in a gentle voice I wasn’t quite used to him using on me just yet.

But it was certainly effective.

I told them everything about our night. About how she’d lit up more with every room we’d walked through. Everything she’d revealed about her family. How much she missed this place and how connected she felt to not just the house but the actual land itself.

I felt like I talked for an hour and I only paused when I excused myself for a minute to grab the whiskey bottle from the other room. Now that they were here I felt it was safe for me to get drunk and I didn’t have to worry so much about Isobel.

She was in the best hands she possibly could be with these two here now.

Back in the kitchen I poured myself a half full glass and sipped from it as I told them all about my night with Isobel.

Rain surprised me by pouring himself a healthy glass of whiskey but Romero didn’t touch it. I had never seen either of them touch liquor before and, now that I thought about it, I wasn’t sure I’d actually seen Romero drink except for at Ariel’s wedding and a beer once in Rain’s backyard. I had only ever seen Rain drink beer before and I had never seen him intoxicated before.

There were stools at the island and Rain and I both pulled one out to sit on while Romero put the groceries in the fridge and proceeded to look through every cupboard and nook and cranny in the room. He looked awfully nosy but I envied him because I had wanted to do the same damn thing in every single room I had walked through with Isobel earlier.

When I was done speaking, Rain refilled both of our glasses without me having to ask him to.

“We have a problem,” he told me before shooting back his drink and drained it dry. He refilled it once more and scowled around the room at every possible thing in sight.

I was just happy he didn’t aim that look at me. Romero got it though but he ignored it like it was nothing to him. He was probably used to being on the receiving end of it by now.

But, in the grand scheme of things here, I was thinking we had more than just one problem. Rain was going to have to get more specific.

Romero leaned in from across us and placed his elbows on the counter. “It’s only a problem if you make it into one. I don’t see a problem here at all.”

Okay, I’d had enough and wanted in on the conversation. “What the fuck are you two talking about? I’m not a mind reader here.”

Romero smiled at me and I was taken aback at just how handsome he was when he wasn’t glowering at everyone like some angry old man.

“Rain thinks we all should be living together in one place and that’ll help keep us all safer. I don’t want to give up my home and it’s not big enough for all of us, there aren’t enough bedrooms. We can add on to it in time and easily make enough space for everyone. I'd be happy with that. I also get why Isobel would want to keep this place. It’s her home and it’s magical. What I’ve seen of it so far I absolutely love. I see no problem here, only a solution. Rain’s issue is he can’t see the bigger picture and it’s making him an asshole.”

I had to admit, I couldn’t see the bigger picture either but I wasn’t touching that one with a ten foot pole.

Rain looked like he wanted to murder Romero. “Since you’ve clearly got it all figured out why don’t you fucking share with the rest of us before I strangle your obnoxious ass.”

Romero just laughed.

I wondered if they’d ever let me watch them have sex because I bet their fight for dominance and Romero’s submission were hot as fuck.

Christ, I felt like such a fucking pervert and was glad I could keep my thoughts hidden from my face or I’d be caught red handed here.

“I don’t think we need just one place to call home. This can be our safe house. If Isobel wants to let the rest of our family know about it, that's her call to make. If not then it can just be for us and we can come out here whenever we get the time. And, in the meantime, we can work on adding rooms for everyone at my place. Finn’s already got one there, not that he ever uses it. And, Rain, you have the shop that’s yours but I know damn well you don’t have any real ties to that cabin. Your ties are more in the people you surround yourself with and less about the places. If we work on the cottage and this place we’ll be safe and we’ll make sure both are safe. Everybody wins and there’s nothing for you to fuss about.”

I liked this plan. It sounded like it worked for everyone but Rain. I shouldn’t have worried about Rain because in the next sentence he proved just how selfless he was.

“I could care less where I live, just so long as I’m near my coven and my daughter. I’m actually all on board with this plan. I can feel the magic this place holds in its bones, its powerful ancestral magic, and it’ll make a perfect safe place for our coven. And, Rome, if we’re going to build onto your cottage I want some say in what’s going to be built and I want a garage. Are you going to have a problem with any of that?”

“Nope,” Romero said through his smirk. “I’m more than happy with all of that and you can do whatever you need to to my place in order to make it ours.”

“Finn?” Rain asked as he turned to me.

I swallowed down the lump of emotion clogging my throat. It felt good to be a part of something. To finally belong. To have found my coven and all of my people after all of this time.

“Yeah, I’m good with all of that too. Works for me.”

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