She stopped chewing, swallowed, put her fork down, and asked, “Are you sure you want to tell me? Of course I can keep a secret, but I’m not the head of the family.”
“You will be. We will be. As well as Miguel and Sandra. My father had thought it would be Ryan and his wife—and then he had to disappear because of that whole dying-and-funeral thing. Then he thought it would be me and my wife after I married because the leader’s wife is an important part of the checks and balances in any decision-making process.”
“So…Miguel and Sandra?”
“There for opinions only.”
“Okay… How often do these decisions need to be made? Is it a daily thing? Are we expected to micromanage everyone’s lives? Because that would suck.”
“No. If something important comes up that the individual can’t handle, he or she can call a family meeting. The head of the family makes any huge decisions that affect the others. Everyone is supposed to abide by that decision…not that I always did.”
“And what am I? Your conscience? The tiebreaker?”
He smiled. “Not exactly. It was decided long ago that leaders need to talk things over with a more neutral party, just to be sure the decisions they make aren’t rash or a knee-jerk reaction. I’ve been told I can be a bit impulsive.”
Kristine smirked. “You don’t say…”
“Be nice.”
She giggled. “Sorry. So is that why Miguel has an opinion?”
“While I was incapacitated, Dad realized it would be nice to have a backup. He had been thinking of putting the two of us in charge together anyway. Miguel and I are very different, and we’d balance each other. Plus, if I never married, I would need Miguel and Sandra to intervene if necessary.”
“Is there anything else I need to know?”
“Ha! I haven’t even scratched the surface of the paranormal secrets. I’m glad you’re sitting down.”
She raised her brows, obviously anticipating a surprise. He wouldn’t disappoint.
“As it turns out, Boston is teeming with paranormals. And not just us. For instance, a lot of cops are werewolves.”
“How do they handle the full moon?”
“The people in charge of scheduling are usually werewolves themselves, and they have day jobs. We’re supposed to keep our para identities under wraps, so it gets tricky. But the mayor and chief of police are in on it. Some of the district fire chiefs know too.”
“Okay. What is it you want me to know?”
“Well, because Boston is a hotbed of paranormal activity, it’s the favorite hangout of a goddess who keeps an eye on us. Not just any goddess…theGoddess. Gaia, sometimes known as Mother Nature.”
When Kristine didn’t react, Jayce thought either she was taking it well or she didn’t believe him at all. He continued on, hoping she wasn’t just humoring him. “Gaia not only likes her seasons in Boston, but she protects her humans from us. If they knew about the paranormal population, they’d freak.
“She watches what we’re doing, making sure we don’t reveal ourselves even by accident. She used to be very upset about a paranormal bar in the area, but now we have a more private place to socialize. In fact, the paranormal club is in the building next door to the B and B where you were staying.”
“Uh-huh,” Kristine said, almost sounding bored.
“No, really! My father and Ryan have been in it…and they’ve met Mother Nature herself!”
She smiled and said, “So have I.”
After a stunned silence, Jayce asked, “Seriously? How? When?”
“She helped me get you out of the fire in the mansion. Amber is a modern muse and got me into the cellar, but she didn’t know how to save you. She brought Mother Nature. It was Gaia who told me to incinerate you with my breath. If I hadn’t known you were a phoenix or that this older woman was Mother Nature, I wouldn’t have been able to go through with it.”
Suddenly the Goddess appeared with her arms folded in front of her white toga. “Older woman? I’ve been told it’s very difficult to guess my age.”
Crap.
The Goddess laughed. “Don’t worry about it, dragon, I’m trying out this odd communication style you call humor.”
