Page 11 of Haunt Improvement
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“HOW DID IT GO?”DYLANasked, greeting me at the front door with a kiss and a cautious peek at the sky.It was a bit overcast, but the worst had passed.
“Fine, I guess.”I shrugged and beelined for our bedroom, eager to get out of my dress and into my painting clothes.
The custom colors I’d ordered for the nursery had come in the day before Halloween, but I’d been too busy with party planning, and I’d promised Dylan I’d wait for Mama Hermosa.She was impressed with the painting I’d done in the rest of the house, and she wasn’t as skittish as she’d first been aboutbrujasand theirbrujería.She wanted to see my domestic magic in action, which was more than anyone in my family had ever requested.
“Do I dare ask what triggered you?”Dylan gently inquired as he followed me into the bedroom.“Or should I wait a day or two until you’ve had more time to process?”
“Definitely gonna need a day to process.Maybe tomorrow?”
We were committed to Roger’s communication techniques.My cousin’s fluffy hump buddy knew how to get couples on the same page.Which I guessed was how he had kept my flighty cousin so grounded all this time.
“Asher and Mama are already upstairs,” Dylan said as he unzipped the back of my dress.“I left a pair of my coveralls on the bathroom counter.”
“You don’t want to help me into them?”I shot a sly look over my shoulder and batted my lashes.Maybe a better distraction would chase away the lingering clouds.Dylan gave me a crooked grin and kissed my neck before sliding the sleeves of my dress down my arms.
“How about I help yououtof them after we’re finished painting the nursery?Mama has plans to take Asher out for ice cream after.”
“Even better,” I agreed, squinting against the sudden sunlight that flooded our bedroom window.Alone time with my honeybat always did the trick.There was a rainbow in the forecast, after all.
Dylan left me to finish changing and headed upstairs.I had my own coveralls, but they no longer fit over the baby bump.Even Dylan’s were tight, and I had to roll up the legs.But this would very likely be my last home improvement project until after the baby arrived—even if she did spend another four months baking in my cauldron.
Witch-Shifter hybrids were rare territory, so no one could give a definitive answer as to how long gestation would last.Mama Ellie, Dylan’s witchy great-great-grandmother, had given birth to Dylan’s great-grandfather Matteo in 1919.From the few clues I’d found in her sex ritual grimoire, she’d been pregnant for either six or seven months.
But Matteo also hadn’t inherited any of her witchy ways.Though that still technically made Dylan one-sixteenth wizard.And our baby would be the first girl born in the Hernández family since Mama Ellie’s accidental curse...
There were a lot of variables to consider.This was definitely a horse of a different color.Which I supposed was why DeeDee had instructed us to put together an emergency birth kit a month ago.
She’d also recommended that we have the baby shower sooner rather than later.It was set for two weeks from today.I’d already sent out the invitations, but there were a few extras tucked inside the old rolltop desk in the foyer.Just in case I’d forgotten anyone—accidentally.
They were sonotfor bully cousins I’d hoped to never see again.
After I finished pinning up my dark curls and applying a fresh coat of mascara, I exited the bedroom to find Broomzilla waiting at the foot of the stairs.Her handle drooped sheepishly when she noticed me.
Crap.She’d overheard the excuse I’d given Dylan yesterday morning for my bruised condition.Sometimes, having an anthropomorphic huskcycle was a real drag.Navigating my own emotions and moods was challenge enough, thank you very much.
“It’s not your fault I fell on the front steps last week,” I assured Broomzilla.“It’s just that time of year.No one expects you to keep them leaf-free around the clock.”
Her bristles scratched out a nervous question mark on the hardwood floor.
“There’s nothing to forgive.”I sighed and gave her handle a stroke before beginning up the stairs.She followed close behind, protectively staving off another fall.
The nursery was on the third floor.I had to stop on the second to catch my breath.Ash and Hermosa’s animated voices carried down the stairwell.
“Papa Ernesto doesn’t like the name Yanet either,” Ash said, earning an amused snort from hisabuela.
“Oh?And what name does yourabueloprefer?”Hermosa asked.
“Ernestina,” he answered without missing a beat.“We’d call her Ernie for short.”
I suppressed a snort of my own.We would not be naming my wittle witch Ernie.Sorry, Ash—I mean,Papa Ernesto.
A drill buzzed as I finished my climb, and I spotted Dylan near the dumbwaiter door, polishing the sheetrock dust off a shiny new deadbolt.
“Are you sure we can’t put an eye scanner on the other side, like in the spy movies?”Asher pouted.“Do I really have to use the stairs from now on?”
Dylan cocked his head and chuckled.“Sorry, Double-Oh Ash.Safety first.Maybe we’ll look into getting a keypad when bitty bat is a little older.”
