Page 124 of Kick the Candle (Knight Games 2)
For a moment, I was sidetracked by the thought that my dad had found a shot putter attractive. But then when I had seen her last she'd been half-drowned and fully possessed.
I cleared my throat. "I know her from work, I think I'll stop by and bring her a house warming present. Do you remember her name? I keep forgetting it."
"Sure, Honey. That would be kind of you. It's Avery Bane."
Dad was acting a little tipsy and a lot compliant. I was fairly sure he shouldn't have given me the name of his client. Probably a breach of privacy laws or something. His secret was safe with me.
What was Avery hiding in that house? Was she possessed before or after the sale? I didn't know, but I intended to find out. I needed to talk to Rick. Avery did have a reason to be at the lake after all; she lived behind it. So, who had tried to drown her?
"I should probably get a move on," my dad slurred. His head had drooped toward the counter and his eyes were rimmed red.
"Why? Is Seraphina keeping you on a short leash?"
He took a deep breath and exhaled through his nose. "I don't think it's going to work out between Seraphina and me."
I molded my face into the most surprised expression I could muster, fighting down the pure joy that threatened to expose itself. "Why?"
"She's just too young. Works all day and stays out half the night. It was fun while it lasted but now she seems, I don't know, distracted. Not to mention, she's obsessed with knowing where I am at all times. Probably wigging out right now."
"She doesn't know you're here?"
"Hell no. I'm just waiting for the right time to let her down easy."
"So then, you can stay a little longer to..." I was going to say 'sober up' but the face he gave me clearly indicated he would not be receptive to his daughter taking away his keys. I needed to be smart about this. "I have a movie I was going to watch and I don't want to watch it alone." I put the bottle of scotch away in the cabinet and retrieved a Coke from the fridge to replace it. "Would you mind hanging out for a couple of hours? It would mean a lot to me."
He fixated on the Coke, then lifted his eyes to mine. "What movie?"
"Young Frankenstein."
"You've had that movie for years."
"Never a bad time to watch a classic. It's your favorite, right?"
He nodded slowly. I led him and his Coke into the family room and started the movie. He was asleep on my sofa before Igor retrieved the abnormal brain from the brain repository.
Avery's Secret
As it so happened, Dad spent the night on my sofa. It was okay with me. I'd rather have him sleeping on my couch than dead on the side of the road. My dad drank but rarely to the point of being drunk. This slip was a sign that he was truly uncomfortable with what had transpired in his life recently. I could blame Seraphina for some of that, but I supposed I was also at fault. After just twenty minutes of him not answering his phone, I was ready to call in the brigade to find him. I'd gone a week without returning his calls. He'd acted angry when he walked in my door, but as I watched him sleeping on my couch, I wondered if worry was what tipped his glass one too many times.
We ate a quiet breakfast together, not talking about my soon to be homelessness or his over indulgence. With a big hug, I sent him back out into the world, forgiven, and drove myself to work. I was lucky to have my job after dropping off the face of the earth while I was recovering. I owed Michelle, big time.
After a long morning in the ER treating the latest flu epidemic, I texted her to see if I could take her to lunch as a thank you. She agreed and met me in the back parking lot, outside the hospital.
"Valentine's?" she asked.
I shook my head. "I think I'm off Valentine's for awhile."
"No. No! Come on, Grateful, the only other place within lunch radius of the hospital is Aunt Bee's and we'll be bumping into the octogenarian dinner crowd. Are things between you and Logan so bad?"
"No...yes...Just awkward right now. But Logan's not who I'm worried about."
Michelle stopped our journey to my Jeep and made a gimme motion with her hand.
"Remember that short red-headed nerd you told to move?"
"Yeah."
"Leprechaun. Drugged me, then kicked my ass."
