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“Oh shit,” she whispers. “I’m sorry. Did I wake you?”
“Yeah, but it’s fine. I should be up. We were out late at a stupid vampire party, but that’s no excuse for staying in bed all day.”
She chuckles. “A vampire party? You’re so casual about it now. Does this mean you’re getting used to the idea that monsters are real, and you live in a town chocked full of them?”
“Ugh. I don’t know. Maybe a little.”
“Was it a rager?”
I snort. “No. Just a bunch of people in suits and fancy dresses sipping champagne in the Blackmore’s swanky rose garden.”
“Sounds cool.” She sighs wistfully. “I wish I could have been there. I hate that I’m missing all the festivities for Annie’s engagement.”
“Tell me when you want to fly in,” I say, even though I can barely afford plaster to patch the holes in the walls of our new home, let alone a flight from Nevada. But I’ve been dying for an excuse to get Casey away from Manny, her wretched boyfriend, so Annie and I can stage an intervention.
If she says yes, I’ll find a way to make it work.
But I know she won’t, even before she sighs again and whispers, “I can’t. Manny’s being even more of a weirdo than usual. If I leave for a week, I probably won’t have a home when I get back. He’ll burn it down or something. I caught him rubbing lighter fluid on his arms last night. Like…what the hell? I thought he was going to set himself on fire, but he said he just liked the way it smelled. Lighter fluid. Who does that?”
“Manny,” I say flatly. “You deserve better, sis.”
“Do I though?” she asks with a laugh. “Sometimes, I wonder.”
I sit up in bed, willing the last of the cobwebs from my sleep fogged brain. “What are you talking about? Of course, you do. You’re smart, hard-working, gorgeous, and funny as hell. Any guy would be lucky to be with you. I’m positive there are literally hundreds of single men in Vegas who would treat you way better.”
“Manny tries,” she says, defending the loser the way she always does when I’m dumb enough to slide back into this fight we’ve had a dozen times by now. “He adores me, and he’s the father of my child.”
“When’s the last time he helped buy diapers for Amy, let alone anything else?” I challenge, even though I know better.
It’s like Manny has some kind of strange power over my usually feisty and self-respecting sister. If we could get her away from him even for a day or two, I think Annie and I would be able to get through to her. But every time we offer to buy her and the baby a bus, train, or plane ticket home to visit, she insists she can’t leave Manny on his own. Like he’s a toddler who can’t be trusted not to hurt himself in her absence.
Though, considering that lighter fluid story, she might not be too far off on that part. Manny’s always had a weird thing with fire. Weird in that he likes to dance naked around them under the full moon, drinking beers with his equally odd buddies while my sister is at home with the baby or working a double at the casino bar to pay for childcare, utilities, food, and everything else her small family needs.
As far as I know Manny hasn’t had a job since he was fired from the charcoal company where he worked up until Amy was born.
“Let’s not do this,” Casey whispers, her voice so soft I have to strain to hear her. “This isn’t why I called. I just wanted to hear how the first engagement event went and make sure Annie was okay.”
“Define okay,” I mutter, swinging my feet out of bed and crossing to the window, frowning at the cool air that hits my face. I have to get these windows replaced and the frames reinsulated before it gets any colder or I’ll spend a fortune on heat this winter. “And why are you whispering?”
“The baby’s down for her morning nap,” she says. “I’m in her room. Thanks to the lighter fluid stink, Manny slept on the couch last night, so I can’t call from the living room. But I didn’t want to wait any later. I have to drop her at daycare and be at work in an hour.”
Rolling my eyes, I bite my lip for a long moment. Once I’m positive I’m not going to call Manny a Fucking Idiot Firebug or something worse, I say, “Annie seemed to have a good time, but I’m standing by my original verdict on this one. It’s a bad idea.”
“Really?” she asks. “Are you sure? I mean, we all have different things we want in a partner. Maybe Colin isn’t your cup of tea but that doesn’t mean he isn’t hers.”
“She doesn’t love him, Case,” I say, keeping my own voice soft in the event Annie is awake across the hall. “I’d bet my hands on it. And vampires can’t have children. I checked all the books in the town library. It’s confirmed.”
Casey makes a sad humming sound. “Oh, man. That sucks. Annie’s always wanted a big family. Did you tell her?”
“I did.” I shake my head and turn toward the closet, picking my way around the boxes. I don’t want to unpack until I’ve had the chance to refurbish the scarred hardwood floors, but so far, I’ve been too busy brainstorming ways to stop this wedding to even get started. “But she just said Colin had already explained that to her and went back to scraping pennies off the wall in the downstairs bathroom.”
“Pennies?” Casey laughs. “What’s up with that house?”
“So many things.” I open the closet door and grab my Carhartt overalls from their hanger. “It’s weird as hell, but cool. It has great bones, a gorgeous attic space, tons of natural light, and top-notch built-in features. When I’m done with the renovation, this gorgeous old lady will be as pretty as she was in her prime. With ten bedrooms and four bathrooms so—”
“Plenty of room for family to visit or come stay forever,” she cuts in. “Yes, you’ve mentioned that a few times. Amy and I will try to make it there for a winter solstice visit this year, I promise.”
“Are you sure you can’t come sooner? I know Annie would love to have you at the wedding.”
