Protecting His Windflower (A Spirit Hunters Series Novel Book 1) by Temperance Dawn (best ereader for epub TXT) 📗

“Yeah. Traffic wasn’t bad today. Where’s mom and pop?” Luke asked.

Liam’s parents had pretty much adopted both Trey and Luke as their own. They weren’t only mom and dad to their own children. They were mom and dad to all of their children’s close friends.

“Probably in town on a walk. And don’t go begging my mom to cook you up a feast when she gets here,” Liam warned.

“Why not? She’d be happy to cook for us,” Trey cut in.

Liam looked at his friend and shook his head. “Dad said they stocked the fridge and pantry for us. We can fix something to eat while they are out.”

Trey already had his head in the refrigerator, and Emily could only stand back and listen to the hilarity of the conversation. It was all she could do to not laugh out loud.

“We’re in luck!” Trey shouted. “Mama Wesley, always thinking about us,” he stated while pulling out a casserole dish from the refrigerator.

Liam made his way over to Emily where she stood watching the scene unfold before her, grinning from ear to ear.

“You guys act like you haven’t eaten in two days,” Liam said.

“We haven’t,” the two friends said in unison.

“Don’t worry, Liam. I’m happy to take care of you boys,” a voice said from behind them.

Liam turned and greeted his mom in a warm hug. “Hi, Mom.”

“Hi, sweetheart. How are you?” Janet Wesley hugged her son tight. She was around Emily’s height, just over five feet, and she was indeed a beautiful woman. With barely a hint of makeup on, she was stunning and wasn’t afraid of her age. That was evident in the natural grey hair that she wore proudly, accenting the strands with honey and blonde highlights, allowing them all to blend together and set off her blue eyes.

Emily could see the resemblance in Liam to his father, who was also tall. Both men slightly resembled Adam Levine. Only they both had more hair and Liam definitely had his mother’s sapphire eyes.

“I’m good. I missed you.”

Luke was quick to come up next for a hug. “Hey, Mama.”

“Hi, honey.” Then it was Trey’s turn.

“Mama. You look beautiful, as always.”

“Aw, thank you. Did you boys find the casserole?”

“Yes ma’am,” both Trey and Luke answered, then moved to Liam’s dad for handshakes and hugs. When everyone had finished greeting each other, and his friends turned their attention back to the casserole, Liam took Emily’s hand and brought her to his side.

“Mom, Dad, I want to introduce you to Emily. Emily, my parents, Clay and Janet.”

Emily held out her hand. “It’s very nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Wesley. I’ve heard so many wonderful things about you.”

“Oh, my dear,” Liam’s dad spoke up, “we are not formal people. You just call us Clay and Janet. It is very nice to finally meet you,” and he pulled Emily in for a hug. Then, Janet wrapped her arms around Emily and whispered, “If there is anything you need, anything at all, don’t be afraid to ask. Okay?”

Emily felt tears burning in the backs of her eyes and tried to blink them away. She nodded and felt Liam pull her to his side once more. Emily was thankful when Janet pulled the attention away from her by inviting everyone into the living room while she warmed up the casserole. Simultaneously, Liam’s phone buzzed, and he pulled it from his back pocket to answer it.

“This is Liam…Yes…Say that again, please.”

Liam rubbed his brow with his hand. His head dropped down as he walked to a barstool at the kitchen island and took a seat. Emily’s heart sank. She had no idea what the call was about, but she guessed it wasn’t good judging by Liam’s drastic change in demeanor.

“I don’t understand. Are you sure…? Okay…Yes… I am out of the area for a few days. As soon as I get back, I’ll call you. Okay…. Thank you.”

“What was that about?” Trey asked.

Liam ran a hand down his face. “That was Phil’s lawyer. Apparently, Phil passed away.” His voice hitched, and emotion filled his eyes.

“What?” Shocked, Emily made her way to Liam, putting her arms around him. She held him while he rested his head on her shoulder. His breath warmed her neck as he breathed deeply against her.

After a few moments, Liam lifted his head and stared into her eyes. “That’s why I couldn’t get ahold of him.”

Emily held his face in her hands. “I’m so sorry.”

“There’s more. Phil named me as his next of kin. He left me the property.”

The next few moments were filled with, “You’re kiddings” and “What’s?”

Emily spoke, “This is becoming more and more complicated.”

“It is. There is something we are missing, and I hope we come across more clues soon. There is nothing we can do about it right now. We need to focus on one thing at a time right now. We will enjoy our time here, and when we get back to San Francisco, I’ll meet with the attorney and get all of the details. Until then, we are going to use these next few days like we planned. Relax, research, and plan our next investigation.”

***

The next morning, Emily woke to the gentle brush of Liam’s breathing on her shoulder and the smell of coffee and bacon. For a brief moment, she considered skipping breakfast, wanting to snuggle next to Liam for as long as possible. But, the growling in her stomach protested that idea. She gently slipped out of bed, careful not to wake Liam, and padded her way to the bathroom before heading to the kitchen. “Good morning.”

Janet was busy at the stove, frying up the delicious bacon. A cast-iron skillet sat on a trivet on the counter. The smell of a frittata wafted and mingled with the scent of the bacon

“Good morning, dear. Coffee?”

“Please. It smells amazing.”

“Thank you. I don’t get to cook like this too often anymore. I love it when the boys come to visit. I can cook all day long and