It made little difference to me what his reasoning was; I didn’t trust him to keep his word. Marsala could be very convincing and he was weak when it came to her, so Chansey and I needed to leave quickly.
“I don’t trust you to keep your word, Madon,” I said.
“It makes no difference to me if you trust me or not, but you know I don’t want you back. That alone should give you some reassurance.”
I wanted to ask him about the witch helping Marsala reach me through magic, but I wasn’t sure it was a good idea to show my cards, so I chose to not mention it. “Regardless of why you’re doing it, thank you for not leading Marsala to us.”
“Yeah, whatever. I think we’re done here,” he said and streaked away into the dark.
I walked toward the garden and Chansey met me before I made it to where our friends and family were in the garden. “Why didn’t you introduce me to your friend?”
“He was in a big hurry. He just wanted to stop by and wish me his best as he traveled to New Orleans,” I lied.
Gia sensed the trouble brewing and rescued me. “Chansey, let’s go inside and I’ll help you change out of this dress and get you into what you’re wearing when you leave so you and Curry can get a move on. It’s getting late.”
Chansey’s thoughts immediately switched in the direction Gia intended and she agreed, “You’re right. It is getting late.”
I placed a light kiss on Chansey’s lips and said, “I’ll meet you on the front porch when you ready, Mrs. Brennan.”
“I’ll be there, Mr. Brennan.”
Sebastian and Sol were immediately by my side for an explanation. “Madon was alone. Marsala and Wythe are still in New Orleans looking for us and he was sent here to rule it out. He says that he isn’t going to tell Marsala about us because he doesn’t want me back in the coven. That part I believe, but I don’t trust him. Marsala can be very persuasive and if he thinks he can please her or score points with her by telling her he found us, he will do it.”
“It’s a good thing you’re getting ready to leave. You’ll be gone for two weeks and then you’ll be at the new compound. Essentially, she shouldn’t be able to track you, but we’ll stay here for the next couple of weeks to protect Chansey’s grandparent just in the event Madon goes soft and confesses everything to Marsala.”
“Thank you. I can’t tell you how much that means to me and Chansey.”
“You’re family and families stick together.”
Lairah gathered all of the guests and told them to move to the front lawn since we were about to leave and I waited on the porch for Chansey. After several minutes, she stepped out of the front door in a cream fitted linen dress and held up a small bouquet. “Gia says that I have to throw this to the unmarried women before we can leave.”
I laughed and said, “Gia wants to catch it so she can pretend she is getting married next. It will only be her, Lairah and Shelby vying for the thing and she knows she can take Shelby.”
“Let her have her fun, Curry. It’s not every day she gets to do this kind of thing.”
I nodded and said, “You’re right. Throw it in her direction and let’s get out of here.”
We looked down over the lawn and saw Gia, Lairah and Shelby gathered at the bottom of the staircase waiting to fight for the bouquet. Chansey turned her back to them and said, “Here goes nothing.”
I watched the fuchsia bouquet fly over Chansey’s head and land directly in Gia’s hands. The small crowd clapped for her and we made our escape down the staircase as birdseed was thrown from every direction.
The black luxury rental car was waiting for us in the drive and Chansey stopped to say goodbye to Anna and Grady as we made our way through the crowd to the car.
Anna pulled me close for a hug and said, “Curry, tonight is a lunar eclipse. You know eclipses bring on strange things sometimes, so take care of my girl. ”
She let go of me and moved on to Chansey. She grabbed each side of her face and whispered, “Don’t forget how babies are made. You may think it won’t happen to you, but it only takes one time.”
“Granna, I’ve known where babies come from for a long time and I promise you that you don’t have anything to worry about,” Chansey whispered.
Anna kissed Chansey’s forehead and said, “I’m not worried, Baby. I’m just reminding you so you don’t have an “oops” because you didn’t think it could happen to you. You’re not the exception to the rule,” she warned.
Chansey looked at me and then back at her grandmother. “Okay, Granna. We’ve got it covered and that’s all I’m going to say about that.”
We got in the car and Chansey waved as I pulled away from the house onto the road ahead of us. When we were out of the drive, she looked at me and asked, “What in the hell was that all about? Granna acts like she knows, but then says something totally off the wall to make you think she doesn’t know.”
I was relieved to hear Chansey’s surprise at Anna’s words because it reassured me that she had not told her about us. “Sol and I thought the same thing earlier today. Before the wedding, she came down to help us with our boutonnieres. She told me that you were born especially for me and she knew that I would never allow you to be harmed. It was a little weird.”
“That is weird. Especially when you combine it with that lunar eclipse comment,” Chansey agreed.
It was puzzling why Anna would say something about such an important event in the world of vampires. “I thought Anna might be on to us when she mentioned the lunar eclipse, but I changed my mind when she started talking about babies. If she knew anything about us then she wouldn’t have brought that up because she would have known it wasn’t a possibility. I think the eclipse comment was a coincidence. Even humans think strange things happen when there is an eclipse.”
“Did you know there was an eclipse tonight?” she asked.
I hadn’t observed or kept up with eclipses since the day I escaped Marsala. “No, I quit keeping up with them a long time ago.”
“Is it a coincidence that w
e got married on the night of a lunar eclipse without realizing it?”
“Coincidence or not, I want no part of it or its supernatural event. Tonight is about you and me and nothing else. The best thing to do is stay inside and pretend we don’t know a thing about it.”
She reached over and placed her hand on my leg. “I can’t wait to get to wherever you’re taking me. I wish we were there right now.”
I put my hand on top of hers. “I knew it was going to be late when we left from the wedding, so I booked something close for tonight and we’re catching a flight in the morning to somewhere you are going to love.”
Chansey squeezed my fingers and said, “No, you chose to book a place we could get to fast because you knew you wouldn’t want to wait any longer either.”
“Maybe,” I laughed.
“Maybe?” Chansey asked in an unconvinced tone. “I don’t think so, Baby. Definitely is more like it. How much longer until we get to where we’re staying?”
“About 45 minutes, I guess.”
“Wow. You couldn’t even wait a whole hour.” she laughed.
“I’m not really sure I can wait another minute if we keep talking about it, so I’m changing the subject until we get there.”
12 Wedding Night
I turned into the driveway of the Bed and Breakfast and parked the rental car under the awning. I waited for some show of excitement from Chansey, but she was silent and it sent up a red flag for me. “This is it. What do you think?”
Chansey looked at the house and then back at me and softly said, “It’s a beautiful house.”
She looked disappointed, which disappointed me, and I didn’t understand why. “What’s wrong, Love?”
“Nothing is wrong,” she lied and we both knew it.
I reached for her face and stroked my thumb down her cheek. “There is something wrong. You were so happy until we got here.”
She dropped her eyes to her clasped hands and watched her fingers as they played games in her lap. “It’s beautiful, but it’s a Bed and Breakfast. We won’t have much privacy with the owners and other guests so close.”