Page 47 of Boss Witch

No wonder Gram doesn’t like him.

D-­Pop radiated a sort of scruffy chill and tended to greet everyone with egalitarian aplomb. Even now, he joined Allegra in the hug, but where her mom was careful not to muss herself, Dougal gave Clem a big squeeze and patted her back.

“Good to see you, darling Clementine.”

Normally, she’d hit anyone who called her that, but for some reason, she didn’t mind it from D-­Pop because he always smiled beatifically, eyes crinkled up, his face leathery above the beard from twenty years without sunscreen under the Florida rays.

“You too, D-­Pop.” She’d never been able to get herself to call him “Dad,” but she didn’t say that to her sperm donor either. He beamed at her and offered a fist bump. At least he didn’t object to D-­Pop, just as she let him get away with “darling Clementine.”

“You look pretty,” she said to Allegra, because Mom loved hearing that.

And frankly, it was true. Allegra looked ten years younger than she was, even though she was a bit older than Dougal. His lack of skin care and the graying beard added years to his face, but his bright-­blue eyes remained ever the same, always a hint of a twinkle, like life was a joke and he knew the punch line. He was also steady as a rock, unflappable no matter what crisis (real or imagined) riled Allegra up.

“Thank you!” Mom said, beaming. “I had a facial treatment, exfoliating and revitalizing, the day before we left. It’s so sweet of you to notice.”

Shit. I have to get rid of them in the next two hours.

“Come in.” She stepped back and beckoned them inside.

They settled in the front room while she poured three glasses of fresh lemonade. Allegra wouldn’t touch cookies, so she also cut up some apple and added cheese chunks for Dougal. He ate like he was hungry, maybe starved by mediocre plane food.

“Did you have a good flight?” she asked.

That gave Allegra space to vent while D-­Pop inhaled cheese and apples. When her mom paused, Clem had to act fast.Best to make things clear.

“Did you get the cottage I had Ethel check out for you?”

Allegra brightened. “Yes! It’s a delightful little place on the lake, half an hour away. There’s a hot tub and all the privacy we could want.”

Some of Clem’s tension drained away, and she relaxed her shoulders, relieved this wouldn’t be a big deal. “Sounds like a fantastic getaway.”

Her mom nodded. “I’m excited to see everyone.”

That was code referencing Lughnasadh rites that were coming up. As far as D-­Pop was concerned, this was a combo trip meant for catching up with friends and family while taking a break from Florida in summer.

Swallowing a sigh, Clem braced herself. “It’s better if you find out from me. Barnabas is in town, and he brought his fourth wife, Pansy.”

Then she winced in sympathy for the neighborhood dogs as Allegra went sonic.

***

It had been too long already.

In truth, Gavin should’ve written back to his grandad straightaway, but he’d been so shocked at first, and then he couldn’t decide what to say. If his old man found out—­

“But how would he?” he asked Benson, who was currently nestled in his palm, allowing Gavin to run a gentle finger down his spine.

To Gavin’s knowledge, Jason Rhys had no idea about this old Hotmail account, and if he learned about these communications, it meant he had spyware on Gavin’s phone.

“Oh hell, maybe he does. Does that sound like something Da would do?”

The mouse twitched his whiskers, and for some reason, it looked like a “maybe” to Gavin. On impulse, he searched for the nearest store where he could buy a cheap netbook, as all his electronics had been provided by the order. Doing this constituted a fundamental breach in everything that had been drummed into him for as long as he could remember.

Witches are evil. Evil must be eradicated. The order will serve.

Even now, he could recite the code in his sleep, and while heknewthere were trackers in his electronics—­in case he was taken—­this was the first time he’d wondered if there were actual keyloggers or if they were looking at his search history back at headquarters. Given his old man’s tendency toward paranoia, it wouldn’t surprise him.

Making up his mind, Gavin carefully placed Benson back in his cage, and the little chap promptly dashed to the exercise wheel; he genuinely seemed to enjoy running. Then Gavin headed out to quietly begin his rebellion. Getting on the Duc and driving to TeqMart felt revolutionary. He pulled cash at the ATM and paid with it for the netbook, earning a sideways look from the clerk. Even if it was a cheap laptop, it had to seem sketchy as hell for him to drop a bundle of notes for it, especially with the image he cultivated.

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