Page 54 of Sunsets & Other Dangerous Things

“I’m not your parent. Deal with it yourself.” Esther scooped green bean casserole onto her plate and passed the dish to August. “Pretend you’re mature adults for one night.”

“She doesn’t even need it.” Under his breath so no one but Ashley heard, he muttered, “Probably suck us all dry if Esther wasn’t here.”

“You know what.” Ashley was done with his childish behavior. “Take your damn roll.” She picked up the one with a single bite missing and lobbed it at his stupid face, bonking him on the nose. His shocked expression made her stifle a giggle.

“Are you kidding me?” He scooped a hearty helping of the green bean casserole, but instead of dropping it on his plate, he lifted the spoon and flung the serving across the table.

She gasped, leaping to avoid the projectile beans, but only dodged half the serving. “You ass, this is cashmere!”

Her fangs came out with a hiss.

“You want a fight?” August stood from his chair, letting it crash to the floor behind him. “Let’s go.”

Ashley threw her chair to the side, ignoring a resounding crash, as August muttered incantations under his breath. Uther’s hand slapped over August’s mouth.

“Stop it!” Esther slammed her hands on the table, making everyone jump. “I made that green bean casserole.” She pointed at the mess splattered across the table. “Okay, I just dumped some stuff in a dish and stuck it in the oven, but I don’t cook so this is a big deal. And Uther heated those bakery-fresh rolls in the oven by himself. There is more than enough food for everyone, so stop being asses and eat your food, or so help me, I will cut someone.”

“She has a knife,” Uther chimed in. “She’ll do it.”

Under Esther’s glare, they righted their chairs and returned to their seats.

Esther sighed and dropped her chin. “What will it take for the two of you to stop being so scared of each other?”

The question must have been rhetorical. Instead of letting them answer, she picked up the platter with the canned cranberry sauce and resumed the passing and serving process.

A weight settled in Ashley’s stomach that had nothing to do with the dinner roll, but she wasn’t quite sure how to fix it. “Sorry about throwing your roll, Uther. I hope I didn’t ruin your Thanksgiving.”

“Are you kidding?” Uther reached for a second helping of mashed potatoes. “I’d take this any day over a meal with my conservative uncle and his thinly veiled homophobia.”

Esther accepted the tray from him. “How’d you get out of Thanksgiving with the family when they live so close?”

“I didn’t.” Uther looked down at his plate, mashing the already mashed potatoes with his fork. “We do family Thanksgiving the Saturday after so we can share Black Fridayshopping stories and eat discount turkey. My family is clever like that. What does your family do, Ashley?”

“Oh, mine?” Ashley took another bite of turkey before answering. “I haven’t been home in years, but they were pretty traditional around the holidays. Aunts, uncles, cousins. We’d all cram into the house of whoever called it first that year. Before that, Oma hosted each holiday.”

Uther nodded along, like Ashley’s story was a familiar tune, and that small gesture warmed a place deep in her chest.

“Do the vampires do anything to celebrate?” he asked.

Right. Ashley had been swept away in her own story. She wasn’t human anymore. “Hannah and John are older than the holiday and generally don’t see what the fuss is about. Claribel and Cynthia will sometimes agree to a meal, but when you don’t need to eat anymore, a holiday around food doesn’t make much sense.” A return to a community was one of the main draws of joining the Family. She couldn’t say she wasn’t disappointed to learn of all the holidays they’d already outgrown. “When I officially join the Family, I plan on hosting some creative holiday parties where food is optional. But I don’t want to rock the boat until then.”

“When you join?” It was the first time August had spoken since their fight. She’d nearly tuned out his existence. “What do you mean ‘when’?”

“Well, I haven’t officially been accepted, so to speak.” She concentrated on shaping her potatoes into a unicorn, glad for once she was no longer able to blush. “They don’t let just anyone into a Family. You have to prove you won’t draw attention from the humans first.” She looked up again, feeling more confident. “But this is my year. I can feel it. Third time’s the?—”

“Third?” August’s voice raised a level, but Ashley didn’t find it as entertaining this time. “What happens if you mess up again?”

Ashley fisted her fork, holding on to her patience and that positive energy. “Iwon’tmess up again.”

“Ashley, this is serious. The witches…” August trailed off. She wasn’t sure he’d addressed her by her name before. His throat worked like he was trying to swallow his words. “If you aren’t part of a vampire Family, you’re their prime target. You need to get in.”

“I know that,” she snapped. “You think I’m not painfully aware of the stakes? Why do you even care?”

“I—I don’t.” He sat up straighter and resumed picking at his plate. “Just making conversation.”

Ashley eyed him, unconvinced. They resumed eating to the tune of silverware scraping plates.

“Damn.” Uther tapped at his phone. “My phone died. Does anyone have a charger?”

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