Page 97 of Did It Have To Be Gnomes?!
Win tugged my hand. “Come on. Let’s get a few rooms done on the first floor while we wait on the pizza.”
With a nod, I followed him to my truck, only a little surprised to see Chaos and Aeson waiting for us, eager to help. The fact that everyone was so willing to lend me a hand made me feel a little choked up, but I did my best to hide it.
While we worked, I called Martha Cohen to tell her that our necromancer broke the curse and about the seal being added to the wall.
“Are you serious?” She let out something that sounded almost like a growl. “I know exactly who did this. I just… wow. I knew he was pissed he didn’t get the house, but I never imagined he’d do something so spiteful. He could’ve really hurt people.”
Before I could think better of it, I asked, “Who?”
“My uncle. He contested my father’s—his brother’s—will, trying to claim he should inherit the house even though he never even lived there, I’m the next of kin,andit was listed to go to me in my dad’s will. Uncle Jim was always a selfish prick, I just…” She trailed off with a sigh. “Anyway, thank you so much for taking care of it. Please thank the necromancer and the rest of your team for their help. You have no idea how much Iappreciate it. And don’t worry, I’ll pay extra since you didn’t sign up for curses, crazed gnomes, and seals.”
People really sucked, and I was sorry she had to deal with someone capable of cursing her house, but couldn’t say any of that. So instead, I said, “I was happy to do it, Ms. Cohen.”
We chatted a little more about payment and how much I was paying Chaos—which she actually wanted to pay—before we hung up, and only a few minutes later, the pizza arrived.
By the time we finished eating, I was sure everyone was ready to go home, but no one did. They all helped Win and me finish placing traps through the whole house, which meant we finished way sooner than anticipated.
It’d been a long time since I’d really worked with another person, let alone a group of them, and I’d forgotten how much easier it made things. And how much I’d missed human interaction in general.
It made me even more determined to hire someone to work with me full time.
I made sure to send Chaos and Aeson their payments for all their help, including some hefty tips. Neither kid pulled out their phones to check to make sure I paid them enough, which I thought was pretty trusting of them, but we all heard their phones buzz when it went through.
“Thanks,” Chaos said.
“Of course.” We all walked to our vehicles, and I smiled at the teens. “Thank you both so much for all of your help. We couldn’t have done it without you.”
Aeson waved us off. “No worries. I’m glad we were here.”
Chaos said, “Let me know if you guys need my help again.”
I nodded. “Will do, but if you guys ever need help with a job or with anything at all, you both have our numbers.”
Chaos nodded, and Aeson smiled, although the smile looked a little sad. “We will. Hey, you guys should come to the Museum ofSupernatural History some time. Text me, and I’ll let you know when I’m working so I can give you a tour.”
Winter smiled at the kid. “That would be really great. We’ll plan a trip in a couple of weeks.” He looked at me in question, and I nodded.
“Yeah, for sure. Lyric?”
“Oh yeah, count me in.” They grinned at the kids and held out a fist to bump. Both kids reciprocated.
The kids said goodbye to Sola, giving me a chance to pet Clucky and say bye to her as well, then they gave Win and me waves.
I had the intense urge to hug each of them, which wasn’t something Ieverfelt toward anyone ever. But since I didn’t want to come off as a weirdo, I simply waved back and watched them climb into their car and drive away.
Winter sighed. “I really hope they’ll be okay.”
Lyric nodded. “I think they will be, and when we plan our museum trip, we can take them out to lunch or dinner after, and Miles can mother hen them again.”
“I can what?”
They grinned at me. “You kept checking on them and you gave those kids so much fucking food this weekend.”
“They needed it.”
Lyric nodded. “I know. Honestly, if you hadn’t done it, I would have.”
“Same.” Winter nodded. “I’m glad you did. I’m sure those kids appreciated it.”
