Her brother hurried around the living room, straightening things he’d been straightening all day.
“Along with peach cobbler,” I said. “And I made some fresh lemonade from the stash Esther brought in from Dale’s farm.”
“Good, good.” Wilson’s gaze scanned the room, on the hunt for anything out of place.
“Is that what you’re wearing?” Octavia asked.
His gaze snapped to us on the couch. “Excuse me?”
“That.” Octavia pointed to the gray button-down and jeans. All perfectly respectable in my opinion. I frowned, glancing at her for a second. She had a knowing glint in her eyes.
For weeks, she had an inkling that Wilson liked Daylan. But he wouldn’t admit it to her. And whenever I brought it up, he looked at me as if I were dense.
“What’s wrong with it?” He tugged at his collar, looking for the issue. “Too casual?”
“No, it’s…” Octavia tilted her head to the side, studying him. I laughed under my breath and nudged her side gently. She’d been doing this a lot more, acting like a younger sibling. And from everything I knew about her childhood, she hadn’t always gotten the chance to be one. To be silly and teasing. It was fun to watch, and on any other day, I wouldn’t have intervened. But today we had a guest of honor. And I couldn’t have two stressed-out Daniel siblings on my hands.
“You look great, Wilson.” I nudged Octavia again, trying to get her to co-sign.
He frowned. “I wasn’t trying to look great. I just threw this on.”
“Seems like it,” Octavia agreed.
Wilson scoffed. “Are youserious?”
A knock at the door interrupted us. Wilson cursed under his breath. Octavia did the same under hers.
“I’ll get it,” I offered, trying to hold in a laugh of my own. “Let me talk to him alone first. Don’t want to overwhelm him.”
This would be the first bit of in-person human interaction Daylan had had in over a year. I opened the door to greet a lanky, light brown-skinned man. He had soft, amber-brown curls that brushed against his shoulders. Daylan clutched a small gym bag in one hand, and in the other, he fidgeted with a silver chain-linked bracelet.
“It’s that stable, is it?” was his nervous greeting. His gaze was trained on the old stable that housed the plank prison for our demon. We didn’t want to mess with whatever luck we’d had in creating a stable trap, so we decided to tape off the stable and build a new one for the horses. And during every event, we put someone on guard to make sure no one accidentally stumbled inside and went poking around.
“It is.” I smiled and held out my hand. Anyone with common sense could deduce he wasn’t a hugger. But I still felt like we should have had physical contact. We were friends at this point…or rather, I considered him a friend. I believed he simply tolerated me.
“Are there fresh wards?” He finally looked at me, brown eyes heavy with nerves. Daylan ignored my attempt at a handshake.
“All for you,” I promised. “I used that new one you taught me.”
Daylan sighed, but nodded. “Good…I mean, thank you. It’s…nice to see you?”
“Why is that a question?” I moved aside so he could cross the threshold.
“Because I’m still deciding.” He took a tentative lookaround the foyer, probably making the same notes I had when I first stepped into the house. “Here.”
I accepted the baggies he held out. Garlic. Rosemary. And something red and shaped like a star. “Funny.”
He raised a brow. “I’m not laughing.”
But I was.
“Can we come out now?” Octavia asked, but she was already in the doorway.
Daylan smiled at her. And when she offered him her hand, he took it for a shake.
“I can’t believe you’re here. Thank you so much for coming. I know it wasn’t easy,” Octavia said. She never squealed or jumped with excitement. No, the love of my life continued to be mellow. But I could tell how fast her heart was going by the quick pace of her words. The breathlessness in every sentence.
“It was fine.” Daylan followed us into the living room, eyes still darting around as if to note every object in case something was amiss later. “I need you all to…”
