held my hand out to him. “Trust me. If I disagree when you lay down the law, you’ll be the first to know.”
“Fair enough,” he said, taking my hand as we walked to the door. He glanced at his watch. “It’s not quite five. Not really worth getting up and dressed yet, and at the same time I’m not that keen on going back to sleep.”
“You’re not?” I said, amused. “I’m pretty sure we left Hi Ho! Cherry-O on the kitchen table. Maybe a quick game to lull you back to dreamland?”
“That would definitely lull me into oblivion,” he conceded. “I was thinking of something not quite so G-rated.”
“Hmmm,” I said, pretending to consider. “It’s a little late for a movie.”
He took my hand and tugged me toward the stairs. “Come with me to my casting couch.”
I laughed and followed, but at the foot of the stairs, I turned back, glancing toward our yard, currently doubling as a demon disposal.
“Kate?”
“Just thinking whether we locked the door,” I lied as I considered my options. Plead a headache, and Stuart would stay up with me, rubbing my temples and providing hot tea. Plead exhaustion, and he’d tuck me into bed and snuggle close. And if I were to claim that I was frazzled by Allie’s supposed misbehavior, he’d inevitably stay up with me to talk it through.
All of which meant that my options were pretty much limited to snuggling with my husband or confessing all and enlisting his help in hiding a body and boxing up various limbs.
In truth, the confessing all option was becoming more and more appealing. Eventually, I had to just bite the bullet and do that. But somehow four thirty in the morning didn’t seem the right time. And to be completely truthful, considering the way Stuart’s hand was rubbing the back of my neck and the way his lips were grazing the top of my ear, true confessions were the last thing on my mind.
We reached the top of the stairs just as a stream of light cut across the darkened hallway, accompanied by the squeal of hinges desperately in need of a shot of WD-40. A moment later, Eddie appeared, his hair shooting out in all directions and his eyes looking just as wild. Eddie’s a former Demon Hunter who—as a result of a series of convoluted stories manufactured by yours truly—is now living in our guest room, with everyone in our household believing him to be Eric’s great grandfather. Just another twist on our already convoluted family life.
“The devil himself better be in the living room,” he said, giving the cord on his blue flannel robe a tug. “Can’t think why else you’d all be making so much racket.”
“Close,” I said, keeping my smile bright even though I was less than thrilled with his choice of words. In my line of work, a reference to the devil himself could be quite literal.
“Allie and Kate saw a coyote,” Stuart said helpfully.
Eddie let loose with a loud guffaw. “Hoo-boy. I’ll bet they did. Gotta nip those suckers in the bud. Stab ’em with something nice and pointy. Make sure they don’t come back again.” He pointed a bony finger at Stuart. “That’s the only way to take care of beasties like that.”
“Thanks for the tip, Eddie,” I said, keeping my voice calm even though I was seething. “We’re going to bed, now.”
“Sorry we woke you,” Stuart said, aiming a look at me that suggested he was rethinking his decision to let Eddie live indefinitely in the guest room.
“Feel free to go outside and search for coyote carcasses,” I said cheerily as we passed him on the landing. I punctuated my words with a significant look. With any luck, I wouldn’t have to rely on postcoital demon carcass removal. Eddie would take the hint and handle that little chore for me.
Of course, the fact that Eddie yawned, turned around, and disappeared back into his room made me think that I really shouldn’t bank on his help. I almost considered popping into Allie’s room on the pretext of a kiss
“Fair enough,” he said, taking my hand as we walked to the door. He glanced at his watch. “It’s not quite five. Not really worth getting up and dressed yet, and at the same time I’m not that keen on going back to sleep.”
“You’re not?” I said, amused. “I’m pretty sure we left Hi Ho! Cherry-O on the kitchen table. Maybe a quick game to lull you back to dreamland?”
“That would definitely lull me into oblivion,” he conceded. “I was thinking of something not quite so G-rated.”
“Hmmm,” I said, pretending to consider. “It’s a little late for a movie.”
He took my hand and tugged me toward the stairs. “Come with me to my casting couch.”
I laughed and followed, but at the foot of the stairs, I turned back, glancing toward our yard, currently doubling as a demon disposal.
“Kate?”
“Just thinking whether we locked the door,” I lied as I considered my options. Plead a headache, and Stuart would stay up with me, rubbing my temples and providing hot tea. Plead exhaustion, and he’d tuck me into bed and snuggle close. And if I were to claim that I was frazzled by Allie’s supposed misbehavior, he’d inevitably stay up with me to talk it through.
All of which meant that my options were pretty much limited to snuggling with my husband or confessing all and enlisting his help in hiding a body and boxing up various limbs.
In truth, the confessing all option was becoming more and more appealing. Eventually, I had to just bite the bullet and do that. But somehow four thirty in the morning didn’t seem the right time. And to be completely truthful, considering the way Stuart’s hand was rubbing the back of my neck and the way his lips were grazing the top of my ear, true confessions were the last thing on my mind.
We reached the top of the stairs just as a stream of light cut across the darkened hallway, accompanied by the squeal of hinges desperately in need of a shot of WD-40. A moment later, Eddie appeared, his hair shooting out in all directions and his eyes looking just as wild. Eddie’s a former Demon Hunter who—as a result of a series of convoluted stories manufactured by yours truly—is now living in our guest room, with everyone in our household believing him to be Eric’s great grandfather. Just another twist on our already convoluted family life.
“The devil himself better be in the living room,” he said, giving the cord on his blue flannel robe a tug. “Can’t think why else you’d all be making so much racket.”
“Close,” I said, keeping my smile bright even though I was less than thrilled with his choice of words. In my line of work, a reference to the devil himself could be quite literal.
“Allie and Kate saw a coyote,” Stuart said helpfully.
Eddie let loose with a loud guffaw. “Hoo-boy. I’ll bet they did. Gotta nip those suckers in the bud. Stab ’em with something nice and pointy. Make sure they don’t come back again.” He pointed a bony finger at Stuart. “That’s the only way to take care of beasties like that.”
“Thanks for the tip, Eddie,” I said, keeping my voice calm even though I was seething. “We’re going to bed, now.”
“Sorry we woke you,” Stuart said, aiming a look at me that suggested he was rethinking his decision to let Eddie live indefinitely in the guest room.
“Feel free to go outside and search for coyote carcasses,” I said cheerily as we passed him on the landing. I punctuated my words with a significant look. With any luck, I wouldn’t have to rely on postcoital demon carcass removal. Eddie would take the hint and handle that little chore for me.
Of course, the fact that Eddie yawned, turned around, and disappeared back into his room made me think that I really shouldn’t bank on his help. I almost considered popping into Allie’s room on the pretext of a kiss
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