Page 85 of Deadly Avarice
“Yoo-hoo!” Mrs. Hart’s happy greeting was overshadowed by Miss Pattycakes’s shrill yips and barks. The small Maltese liked to make her presence known.
“For the love of Gaia,” Pops groaned. “Why did you have to invite that dog into your home?”
Standing, I slapped Pops on the shoulder and hissed, “Be nice. Besides, Miss Pattycakes is an extension of Mrs. Hart. It would have been rude not to invite her. You’re just upset that she doesn’t like you.”
“That rat with fur is a menace,” Pops grumbled while I went to greet our latest guest.
“Mrs. Hart, I’m glad you could make it.”
“Nonsense, dear.” Mrs. Hart kissed my cheek before raising a steaming pan of green bean casserole. “Your momma told me this is one of your favorite dishes.” Mrs. Hart looked so proud while I struggled not to turn green with nausea.
“Thank you, Mrs. Hart,” Franklin said, saving me from immediately answering. “I’ll just put this on the counter with the rest of the food.” Franklin shot me a wink as he slid past me. Mrs. Hart followed while Miss Pattycakes ran ahead, scooting to a stop by Pops’s feet. Craning her neck, Miss Pattycakes beganbarking anew. Every time Pops moved his leg, Miss Pattycakes dodged and darted, making a show of trying to nip his ankles.
“Don’t you dare,” I warned Pops when I saw his hand duck into one of his pockets. “You cannot throw a charm at Mrs. Hart’s dog.”
Pops rolled his eyes. “It’s just a freeze charm. She’ll simply be immobile for the remainder of the day.”
Hands firmly planted on my hips, I gave Pops the stink eye. “That’s what I was afraid of. Be nice.”
“I’m not the one being unkind,” Pops answered while pointing an accusing finger at the dog.
“Oh, my. That is a lot of Jell-O,” Mrs. Hart exclaimed when she saw the pan of jiggly goodness.
Pops hung his head, mumbling something I couldn’t hear while Momma explained the excess amount of Jell-O in a way that Mrs. Hart would hopefully understand. If we were really lucky, Aurelia wouldn’t pop in until after Mrs. Hart left.
A clear ball with a hamster rolled past my feet, immediately grabbing Miss Pattycakes’s attention. Looked like Luck was a lady who didn’t have my back today.
“Ican’t believe your momma found a home for Aurelia’s latest pet.” The room was beautifully lit. All the lights were off except for the decorative ones. Franklin half lay in the corner of the sofa and I was snuggled up to his chest. A warm fire danced in the fireplace, casting speculative shadows across the room. Those shadows now sent waves of unease slithering down my spine. None of us had heard a word from Tenzen Huxley since his ominous phone call to Franklin.
“Momma’s got a good network, and since she is a real estate agent, she’s meeting new people all the time.” Momma got lucky and recently sold a home to a family with three young children. While she’d been showing the house, one of the kids mentioned that if they got the house, she hoped she could get a hamster. Momma jumped on that opening and viola, Aurelia’s latest venture in pet parenting came to an end.
“What do you think Peaches will say?” Franklin asked as his fingers lazily carded through my hair.
“I’m not sure, but hopefully he won’t be too upset that we found a home for the hamster first. In the end, it was Aurelia’s decision.” I’ll give her credit. Aurelia took care of the little hamster until it could find a new home. Unlike Little Fang, Aurelia clearly hadn’t liked the hamster. She’d never even given it a name.
I felt the air compress around us and knew Franklin had activated the sound muffling charm Pops left for us. He’d left us with half a dozen and promised more when he got back home. Pops’s flight was early tomorrow morning. Momma offered to take him to the airport, but Pops had a rental to return. He was staying with Momma tonight, leaving Franklin and me blissfully alone after the festive events and earlier meal.
“We need to talk to Peaches,” Franklin said now that our conversation was private. None of us knew if Tenzen was listening in. His shadows could be anywhere and I more than suspected they’d been in my home, watching me, these past few weeks.
We’d been putting off that conversation until after Solstice Day. Aurelia said Peaches was hosting a party at his orchard and we didn’t want to spoil the day. Now that Solstice Day was nearly over, it would be time to confront the elephant-sized shadow in the room.
Laying my head on Franklin’s chest, I allowed the constant beat of his heart to sooth me. “We promised Peaches we’d do a video chat with him and we still haven’t gotten around to that. He wants to meet you face-to-face. Maybe now’s the time. Well, maybe not right this second, but tomorrow or the next day.”
“I’m not sure why Peaches wants to see me,” Franklin said, but it didn’t come across like a complaint. More like curiosity.
“He wants to put a face to your voice.” I didn’t think it was all that odd. In fact, I thought it was sweet.
“I’m not much compared to a pixie,” Franklin lamented.
“I don’t imagine any species is.” Pixies were one of a kind, that was for sure. They were colorful, playful, and downright magical looking. Fairies were the only species that gave them an ounce of competition in the pretty department.
Franklin’s chuckle lifted my body. “You’re right about that. What color is Peaches?”
“Kind of golden-yellow. His dust is the same color. If you ever meet him, make sure to cover your nose. I think Pops also has a charm that dissipates the dust. If you don’t, you’ll end up in a sneezing fit that could rival the one Pops’s charm created on that Boggs jackass.”
“Holland was exceptionally pleased when I told him how I’d used one of his charms to nab the bad guy.”
I grinned. “I’m sure he was.”
