worry about it. We’ll take care of your uncle.”
“Did you forgive me about the baklava?”
“What?” Wolf’s brow creased. Then he nodded in understanding. “Yeah, I was an asshole. I admit it. Fuck, I should have… hell, I should have done a lot of things, but more importantly, I should have listened to you. Or at least suspected my mother of something stupid like that. You’d think I’d know better by now. And you? Forgiving my asshole behavior?”
“I’m thinking about it. My magic mushrooming you was an accident. You screaming at my head was on purpose.” Tristan pursed his mouth. “Tell me about your cousin Sey. And why the hell does she have a toy shop?”
“Actually, I don’t know what to call it.” Wolf had the grace to look sheepish. “I think it’s more of a doll hospital gone over the edge. She’s an artisan, really—learned it from her mother. Fixes antique toys for a living. The place started off as an inn a long time ago, but when my aunt—Sey’s mom—took it over from her mother, it kind of became a place for the family to go to when things got a bit rough.”
“Did things get rough for you? Your mom’s kind of nuts, but I didn’t think she’d put you guys in danger.”
“Not us. For Hellsingers.” Wolf thought of the times he’d watched as members of his family crawled back to their safe houses, beaten down and bloodied from battling things no one else believed in. “Sometimes, yeah. Things can get rough. But Sey’s place, it was good to go to. Kind of like summer camp except with fake body parts all over the place.”
“And you call me Thursday Addams?” he scoffed when Wolf nodded at him. “You’re the weird one.”
“I thought it was cool when I was a kid. There were eyeballs everywhere. Now? Okay, yeah. Still kind of cool.”
“Really?” Tristan shuddered. “Like Winifred’s tongue?”
“They’re not real . Okay, they’re doll eyes. Some of them are human sized. I used to put them in my mouth and scare my cousins by spitting them out at their faces.” Wolf laughed at Tristan’s horrified look. “Swallowed one once when I was seven. I didn’t want to tell Mom about it, but I looked at my poop for days for it but never saw it. For all I know, it’s still rattling around inside of me, looking for the doll’s head it used to be in.”
“Great. That’ll help me sleep at night.” Wrinkling his nose in disgust, Tristan shook the remains of his slush to mix it back together. “But what’s she like?”
“Cool. She’s older than me by about maybe ten years, and sharp. Sey always tinkered with things. When I was a kid, she could fix anything. Probably still can.” Wolf slowed the car as a marker announced the entrance to San Luis Obispo. “Sey’s place is outside of SLO. You kind of liked the older part of town. I saw you smile. It’s very tree-hugging otter scrubber.”
“It’s like you speak English, but the words are not making any sense.”
“Granola town. SLO—San Luis Obispo—we just drove through it? That kind of very hipster douche kind of downtown. Lots of organic sandwich shops and fair trade coffee places with gluten-free biscotti. You even counted them.”
“And you think I’m like that?”
“Not so much the organic, but I’m pretty sure you’d scrub an otter if it needed it. There’s also a fantastic home-style sausage shop.” Wolf shot him a smirk. “Of course, I can give you a sausage—”
“Shut up. I’m still working on the forgiveness thing.”
“Hey, I’ve been saying I’m sorry since back at the Grange.”
“And what about the Grange? Do you really believe it’s haunted?” Tristan shifted in his seat to study the passing buildings. “Or do you think I’m crazy?”
“Babe, I was there. I can’t document what Winifred was or even explain it. Hell, I can’t explain what any of the things at the Grange are,” he admitted. “But I know I can’t measure them and present it as evidence. That
“Did you forgive me about the baklava?”
“What?” Wolf’s brow creased. Then he nodded in understanding. “Yeah, I was an asshole. I admit it. Fuck, I should have… hell, I should have done a lot of things, but more importantly, I should have listened to you. Or at least suspected my mother of something stupid like that. You’d think I’d know better by now. And you? Forgiving my asshole behavior?”
“I’m thinking about it. My magic mushrooming you was an accident. You screaming at my head was on purpose.” Tristan pursed his mouth. “Tell me about your cousin Sey. And why the hell does she have a toy shop?”
“Actually, I don’t know what to call it.” Wolf had the grace to look sheepish. “I think it’s more of a doll hospital gone over the edge. She’s an artisan, really—learned it from her mother. Fixes antique toys for a living. The place started off as an inn a long time ago, but when my aunt—Sey’s mom—took it over from her mother, it kind of became a place for the family to go to when things got a bit rough.”
“Did things get rough for you? Your mom’s kind of nuts, but I didn’t think she’d put you guys in danger.”
“Not us. For Hellsingers.” Wolf thought of the times he’d watched as members of his family crawled back to their safe houses, beaten down and bloodied from battling things no one else believed in. “Sometimes, yeah. Things can get rough. But Sey’s place, it was good to go to. Kind of like summer camp except with fake body parts all over the place.”
“And you call me Thursday Addams?” he scoffed when Wolf nodded at him. “You’re the weird one.”
“I thought it was cool when I was a kid. There were eyeballs everywhere. Now? Okay, yeah. Still kind of cool.”
“Really?” Tristan shuddered. “Like Winifred’s tongue?”
“They’re not real . Okay, they’re doll eyes. Some of them are human sized. I used to put them in my mouth and scare my cousins by spitting them out at their faces.” Wolf laughed at Tristan’s horrified look. “Swallowed one once when I was seven. I didn’t want to tell Mom about it, but I looked at my poop for days for it but never saw it. For all I know, it’s still rattling around inside of me, looking for the doll’s head it used to be in.”
“Great. That’ll help me sleep at night.” Wrinkling his nose in disgust, Tristan shook the remains of his slush to mix it back together. “But what’s she like?”
“Cool. She’s older than me by about maybe ten years, and sharp. Sey always tinkered with things. When I was a kid, she could fix anything. Probably still can.” Wolf slowed the car as a marker announced the entrance to San Luis Obispo. “Sey’s place is outside of SLO. You kind of liked the older part of town. I saw you smile. It’s very tree-hugging otter scrubber.”
“It’s like you speak English, but the words are not making any sense.”
“Granola town. SLO—San Luis Obispo—we just drove through it? That kind of very hipster douche kind of downtown. Lots of organic sandwich shops and fair trade coffee places with gluten-free biscotti. You even counted them.”
“And you think I’m like that?”
“Not so much the organic, but I’m pretty sure you’d scrub an otter if it needed it. There’s also a fantastic home-style sausage shop.” Wolf shot him a smirk. “Of course, I can give you a sausage—”
“Shut up. I’m still working on the forgiveness thing.”
“Hey, I’ve been saying I’m sorry since back at the Grange.”
“And what about the Grange? Do you really believe it’s haunted?” Tristan shifted in his seat to study the passing buildings. “Or do you think I’m crazy?”
“Babe, I was there. I can’t document what Winifred was or even explain it. Hell, I can’t explain what any of the things at the Grange are,” he admitted. “But I know I can’t measure them and present it as evidence. That
Similar Books
