Page 31 of Whiskers on Kittens

Her sulking after whiplashing between fury and general confusion did me in, and I snort-giggled over the absurdity of the situation.

Easton leaned over, eyed me, and asked, “Are you okay, Kelsie?”

Unable to talk due to laughter, I waved my hand at him and hoped he received the message that only my dignity and pride had been injured.

“What just happened?”

“Kelsie, the woman in question, apparently found the thought of me luring anyone to a secondary location so ridiculously absurd she fell out of her chair. I’m sure she’s fine. She’s a shifting lycanthrope, and it would take a lot more than falling out of a chair to do anything to her. She’s the one who extended the invitation. I present the sounds of uncontrollable laughter as evidence there is actually a woman and I’m not trying to lure you to a secondary location.”

He had no idea how wrong he was, and the idea I snookered him along with his family amused another snorted laugh out of me. After a few gulps of air, I calmed myself enough to right my chair and sit back down. As it was his show, I mouthed an apology and did my best to behave.

“I see. When would you want us at this woman’s home?”

“Christmas Eve around noon. She wants to do the full celebration, which includes a midnight single present exchange along with the big dinner. She has a nice place in Chicago. Since you’ll have to fly in, I’ll arrange for someone to meet you at the airport if I can’t escape from the general preparations.”

“We could get a cab.”

I shuddered at the thought of the bill for a cab, the terrors his family might experience should they make such a terrible mistake, and how much the therapy bill might cost.

“Are you still fascinated with vampires?” Easton asked, and he raised a brow at me.

“Of course.”

“Kelsie, can you arrange for one of your vampire associates to pick my parents up at the airport?”

“Sure. I’ll just need their flight number, and I can make certain a vampire does the pickup. And don’t stress if you don’t arrive right at noon, especially if you’ll be at the mercy of the airlines. If you need to come a few days before, that’s also fine. The guest house can handle you for as long as you’d like to visit Chicago. If you want a week to see the sights, I’m sure I can coerce a vampire to play tour guide for you. We might be out of town for a few days at your arrival, as we’re working a case right now, but I’m more than happy to have you come earlier. One of the vampires is a neighbor, and we try to be nice to each other on my street.”

“Oh! That… would be nice. I’m not sure if we can afford the time in Chicago, though.”

“The food and lodging are on me, as it’s my guest house, and I was raised to feed guests. You’ll have a stocked fridge, and if you need groceries, I can arrange for anything you need.” The thought of trying to manage the guest house for a couple closer to the poverty line would do me in; I’d have to remove all the price labels, mask as many brands as possible, and pretend like I discount shopped or made use of the more affordable farmer’s markets while sliding in luxury food they could love. “I haven’t gotten to host Christmas before. My parents usually steal my thunder, but this year, the celebration hosting is mine.”

Easton laughed at my outburst. “It’s true, Dad. She almost cried while dancing around the hotel room when she got her parents to agree to come to dinner. They’ll be staying in her guest bedroom, and you and my brothers can share the guest house, which is plenty big for all of you.”

“Must be quite the guest house to fit everybody.”

“It’s a townhouse she rescued after it caught fire. She repaired and restored it, and as it’s a historic building, she had the exterior rebuilt to be as close of a match with as many of the surviving stones as possible.”

“It’s historic?” The excitement in the man’s voice made me grin. “How historic are we talking about?”

“My house, which is next door to the guest house, was built in 1891 and was among the first of Chicago’s greystone houses. It’s more of a manor, but it needed a lot of work, so I bought it for a pittance and restored it. The house next to it was built a little later. I think the landowner of my house sold the lot to someone as the period style changed. The one next to the guest house has been owned by the same Polish family since it was built. The one next to that is owned by my vampire friend. My street is loaded up with greystones. If there’s time on Christmas Eve, we can take a stroll through the neighborhood, and I can show you the historic sites.”

“Where do you live?”

“Logan Square. It’s a historic neighborhood in Chicago. It is a weird one. At its start, it was predominantly inhabited by immigrants. However, some of these immigrants were rather wealthy, so they built some homes like mine. Others are much smaller. Nowadays, the neighborhood is undergoing gentrification, and the greystones are in demand. Some have been hit hard by the ravages of time and neglect, though. I’d be quite happy to show you around town if you like historic landmarks.”

“We do,” Easton’s father confirmed. “I’ll talk with the wife and find out which date is best for us to come. You’re sure it won’t be a problem to stay in your guest house?”

“It’s no problem at all. Once you know the dates you can go, I’ll see about getting you a flight for you and your other children. I’ll take care of wrangling the cop and making sure he shows up on time.”

“That might take a miracle. He usually runs if he thinks his older brothers are going to show up.”

“He won’t run, but I can’t promise we won’t have to drag him out of the cellar kicking and screaming.”

“Cellar?”

I’d have to investigate Asher Easton Dannell and learn more about why the word cellar had prompted confusion. “It’s just a fancy word for basement. I have some wine down there, so I call it a cellar so I can feel special. I really like my little wine collection.”

Mr. Goody-Goody raised a brow before shaking his head, making it clear he thought I was a shameless liar.