Page 72 of Fangs and Fudge

Mrs. Hunter rushed to hug Vena and then Miles. Mr. Hunter gave me a quick hug before Mrs. Hunter bumped him out of the way and wrapped her arms around me, squeezing me until I gasped.

“Honey, let her go before she pops,” Mr. Hunter said.

“I’m just so happy to see everyone,” she said as she released me and turned her gaze on Shepard. “Did we get a new son?”

“Mom, this is Shepard,” Vena said. “He’s Everly’s…friend.” Vena smirked at me. “Shepard, these are my parents, Dana and Garner Hunter.”

Mrs. Hunter arched a brow at me then eyed Shepard.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Hunter,” Shepard said.

Mrs. Hunter’s eyes lit, and she grinned at me. “Where did you meet? I want to hear all the details. Any plans to get married yet? You know my rules on marriage.”

Vena nodded. “If you don’t think you could live in a remote corner of the globe with only him as a companion for the next year, you’d better keep your ring finger free. Dead men are better than the wrong men.”

“Dead men as in mummies,” I clarified to Shepard.

Mrs. Hunter smiled at Vena. “I knew one of my lectures would stick. I’m glad it’s that one.”

“I think you’ll need to tell it to Everly again, just so it sinks in,” Vena said with a wink aimed at me.

“No need. Shepard and I are only friends,” I said.

Mrs. Hunter waved off my protest. “You don’t have to be embarrassed with me. It’s good that you found a partner.” She took Shepard’s arm and led him to the house. “I have a few warnings I’d like to give you. Do you know, by marrying Everly, you’ll have Vena as a lifelong squatter?”

“Mom! You’re saying that like I’m a leech!” Vena hurried to follow.

“I have plenty of room at my house,” Shepard said with a grin aimed at me.

Mr. Hunter clapped a hand on Miles’ shoulder and steered him to the house. “What have you been researching lately?”

I shook my head and followed everyone inside.

Before I made it to the door, I heard a cracking noise like the snap of a branch. Scanning the tree line, I didn’t see anyone or any animals.

Not brave enough to stay and find out where the noise came from, I ran into the house and nearly knocked Miles' bag off his shoulder when I bumped into him.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Vena’s parents led us to the living room as they asked their kids what they’d been up to. Neither Vena nor Miles mentioned vampires or werewolves. Both stuck with the mundane happenings like finally dragging me to the Shadow Market and how I’d jumped at every little thing.

While they laughed, I could tell that Shepard was less amused even though he smiled. So, I redirected the conversation to focus on Mrs. and Mr. Hunter’s last dig. They readily grasped the topic and produced the prerequisite souvenirs. The mummified finger they gave Vena was supposed to bring good luck and had me internally gagging.

Thankfully, my phone buzzed with a message, saving me from having to share fake appreciation for it.

Cross: How well do you trust Shepard?

Me: That’s a weird question coming from the guy who told me that I was safe in Shepard’s company.

Cross: Do you trust him to leave your virtue intact?

I almost laughed out loud as I read his message again. Virtue? Did he think I was still a virgin?

Smothering my humor, I glanced at Vena. She was still focused on her finger. Shepard wasn’t, though. He was watching me closely with a trace of concern in his expression. I shook my head to indicate everything was fine and slipped my phone into my pocket to answer later.

“Do you think what you’ve found will pay out?” Miles asked his dad.

“It will, but I’m not sure it’ll pay as much as we’d hoped. The dwarves who were interested in the mining maps sounded hedgy when we contacted them. You know how this game works. Now, we wait to see and hope there are multiple interested parties to drive up the price.”

---