“What?” Dax looked upset. “Uncle Jerroldsaid. What did I do wrong?”
“It’s all right,” Taylor said quickly. “Actually, I am a freak. Look, I can bend my fingers way back.” She demonstrated.
“Hmm. Double-jointed, eh?” Cliff murmured. “So, exactly how flexible are you?”
“Shut it.” Taylor tried to kick him under the table, but he moved his leg out of the way. “There are numerous reasons why you’ll never find out.”
“That is so cool!” Dax said admiringly. He tried to bend his fingers back but couldn’t do it. Then he looked up at her expectantly “What else can you do?”
“I can pull a quarter out of your ear.” Taylor was afraid that Dax would already know that old party trick, but apparently he didn’t.
“You can’t! Can you?” He sounded very hopeful.
She kneeled down next to him, reached behind his ear, and quickly produced the promised quarter.
Roger ran up to her. “Do me, do me! But it has to be a hundred dollar bill!”
“Roger!” Serafina looked utterly mortified and near tears. “I’m sorry, Uncle Cliff.Pleasedon’t send them away to military school.”
“Why would I do that?” Cliff asked. “If the occasion calls for it, I’m more than capable of delivering a good old-fashioned butt whipping right here.”
Both Roger and Dax froze where they stood and glanced at him warily.
“But the occasion doesn’t call for it, right?” Roger said.
“Jury’s still out.” Cliff fixed him with a warning look.
“What’s an occasion?” Dax asked his brother, who shrugged and held up his hands.
“Something bad,” he said. “Or why else would it call for a butt-whipping?”
“You swear you won’t send them away?” Serafina persisted. “Uncle Jerrold said you were thinking of sending them away to military school because they’re so badly behaved.”
Cliff snorted. “Uncle Jerrold lied to you, because that conversation never happened. And I’d never discuss any of my plans with him anyway. You should know better.”
Serafina looked relieved. “That’s true,” she said. “I should have known.”
“That’ll happen over my dead body,” Austin growled, eyes alight with anger. Then he relaxed and winked at Serafina. “If it gets too much for you here, you can always come join my pack,” he assured her.
“Really?” she glanced hopefully at Cliff.
Cliff shot his brother a look of annoyance. “We’ll talk about Austin’s so-called ‘pack’ later. You’re safe here.”
“Are they, though? Even if they don’t toe the line like good little robots?” Austin met Cliff’s gaze challengingly, and tension crackled in the air.
“Ahem!” Taylor said loudly, and she pulled a quarter from behind Dax’s ear. “Let’s see if I can get you a little more money.” She stuck the quarter behind his ear again. She pulled out two dimes and a nickel. “Nope,” she said, shaking her head solemnly.
Dax and Roger shrieked with laughter.
“I’m glad I didn’t bite you,” Roger said.
“Why would you bite her?” Cliff’s tone went dangerously low.
“Cliff, he’s a child,” Taylor whispered. “Settle down there, cowboy.”
“Uncle Jerrold said her blood is made of chocolate. He said I had to bite her really hard in the neck to get to it.”
“Well, gee, I’m glad you didn’t bite me too,” Taylor said lightly, as Cliff’s face went dark with anger.
