Page 12 of The Vampire and the Case of the Cursed Canine

I seized the bull by the horns. ‘That’s why you really came? To help Liv? It wasn’t to see me – it was just a happy coincidence that I live in the same town.’

To her credit, she looked like I’d slapped her. ‘Of course not, darling! I came to see you! To be honest, I would have palmed the job off on one of the other fire witches – I’m not a fan of air travel, as you know. But seeing you gave me the impetus to conquer my fears!’ She looked like she was expecting me to give her a standing ovation. ‘I couldn’t believe that I was being asked to come to the same town in America where you lived. It was like providence herself was smiling upon me.’ She beamed at me.

I wanted desperately to believe her and I found myself nodding. ‘And Dad?’

She hesitated. ‘Well, he wanted to come – of course he did! – but work obligations got in the way. Next time, I’m sure.’ She was lying, but what was new? Dad had no plans to visit me, now or ever. That made my eyes prickle, so I hastily looked away and took a long drink of Coke until I could pretend that the ache in my throat was from the bubbles.

For all Mum’s faults, she was good at reading a room. She reached out and patted my hand awkwardly. ‘Tell me about your young man, Connor. He’s a feast for the eyes, that’s for sure.’

‘Mum!’ I gasped, scandalised.

She chuckled. ‘I’m allowed to window shop, darling.’ She frowned. ‘A vampire called Mackenzie… Why is that name so familiar?’

I sighed; I might as well tell her because she’d find out one way or another. ‘Connor is the son of the Vampire King of America.’ I braced myself; that would get her going.

Her eyes widened. ‘Why didn’t you tell me so when you introduced us? Good Lord, I had him carrying my luggage like a common bellhop!’ Her hand fluttered to her forehead. ‘I feel faint.’

‘No you don’t,’ I snorted. ‘And Connor isn’t like that. This is Alaska – he chops down trees for a living. Besides, he and his father aren’t on the best of terms.’

‘That doesn’t matter! Oh my gosh, he must think I’m awful!’ She was literally clutching at her pearl necklace. I needed her to calm down before people started looking at us.

‘I wouldn’t worry. He probably wanted to make a good impression on you,’ I soothed.

That made perfect sense to her because in her world everyone wanted to make a good impression on her. Her expression cleared. ‘Even so, I’ll have to make it up to him. There has to be a better eating establishment in town. Let’s invite him to dinner – my treat.’ It was gratifying that she knew me well enough not to suggest that I cook.

‘There’s the Pizza Kodiak Kitchen, but to be honest it’s much the same as this place. You might want to consider coming back here – Connor does love a good chicken fried steak.’

She looked horrified and I smiled inwardly. Rural Alaska was going to be a rude awakening for her and I was looking forward to it.

The waitress arrived with our food. ‘Thank you so much,’ Mum said calmly. She waited until we were alone again then hissed, ‘Why is there so much of it?’ She was used to the miniscule portions of posh London cuisine.

‘Everything is big in America. Wait until you see the trucks around here.’

‘And your young man, I bet,’ she muttered salaciously under her breath.

I wished I could unhear that. Sometimes vampire hearing was the worst.

Chapter 8

Thankfully Mum liked the halibut. She was still dubious about the establishment as a whole – she set out the list of failures as we walked home – but I flagged the evening under the ‘not a total disaster’ column and moved on.

When we got in she excused herself and went to bed, exhausted from her trip. The sun was only an hour away from rising so I took Fluffy out for a toilet break and then crawled into bed too. As I was snuggling in, Shadow curled up on my chest. He had grown again. He purred loudly and moments later his brilliant golden eyes slid closed. Mine soon followed.

I woke to a loud, panicked yip, flung off the covers and ran out of my room. In the lounge, Shadow had Arabella pinned to the floor with one large paw. Arabella’s eyes were wide, and she was panting with fear. Whoops. I’d left the bedroom door ajar so Shadow could get to his litter box in the night. My bad.

I picked up Shadow, who yowled in protest at being deprived of his naughty little game. ‘Bad Shadow,’ I murmured. ‘Be nice to the annoying dog.’ If I had to be, then so did he.

I carried him into my bedroom and closed the door firmly this time, then went to the kitchen. This called for a brew. Cohabiting was exhausting at the best of times; add in territorial pets and it was a recipe for disaster.

‘That is not a normal cat!’ Mum glowered as she joined me. She picked up Arabella and fussed over her.

‘No, he’s a lynx kitten.’

‘A lynx? As in an actual wild animal?’ Eyes wide, she clutched at her throat where her pearls usually rested.

He might be a wild animal, but he fitted in fine with me and Fluffy. What did that say about us? That we were feral? I was strangely okay with that. ‘He’s pretty gentle most of the time,’ I said reassuringly. ‘He’s a baby and he’s still finding his way. The vet thinks he’s only a few months old.’

‘He’s bigger than Arabella!’

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