Demons Will Be Demons, page 9
part #1 of The Realm Series
“Is she in on this too?”
“Maybe.”
Callie held her hand out. “Lead the way.”
Misha led her out of the building and walked slowly down the sidewalk with her next to him.
“What do you think of the clan compound so far?”
“Honestly? I’m impressed. I didn’t know what to expect, but it wasn’t this. It’s like a small suburban community.”
“Yes, my father and the elders wanted to create a place where our clan feels safe. We have over a hundred homes, the community center, and a small hospital, and I’ve been thinking. Now that the boys know what they are, it might make sense for you to stay here for a while. They could play with other children like them and learn to control their powers without exposure to humans.”
Callie stopped. “Are you saying we need to hide them away?”
“Of course not. Not everyone in our clan lives here. They come and go at will. The purpose of this compound is not to hide. It’s to build community.”
Callie looked at the beautiful homes lining the streets. “I couldn’t afford to live here, Misha.”
“Yes, you could. We have empty houses available for rent. I know of the perfect place for the boys. It even has a swing set in the backyard.”
“This is a big step.”
“When is your contract up on your rental house?”
“It’s already up.”
Misha turned to her. “Are you going to renew it?”
“I haven’t decided yet. My landlord gave me a three-month extension to let me decide, and that ends in two weeks.”
His eyes narrowed. “You aren’t planning on leaving, are you?”
She squirmed under his penetrating gaze. “I was. Before.”
“Now?”
“Now I think it makes sense to let the boys spend time with your clan to learn how to control their powers.”
“I agree. Which is why you should move here. Did I mention we have a grade school, too?”
She opened her mouth and he held up his hand. “Don’t say no until you see the house.” They walked one more block, and Callie gaped at the wonderful homes on either side of the picturesque street. Misha stopped in front of a gray ranch house with a pretty front yard.
Callie fell in love with it before they stepped inside. But she wasn’t about to let Misha know that yet. He unlocked the door and the entryway led into an open floor plan with a living room straight ahead and a kitchen to the left. A breakfast room with a view of the backyard perched in between. A fenced-in backyard—she stumbled over to the window and gaped—with a play set that included a jungle gym, swings, small rock wall, and circular slide.
“That is amazing!”
Misha chuckled next to her. “Isn’t it? The minute I saw it, I knew the twins would go silly over it.”
“Where did the family go who lived here before?”
“They moved to Russia for a year. It’s kismet. The house is furnished and has three bedrooms, an office, and two bathrooms.”
Two bathrooms. Callie couldn’t remember when she had ever had an uninterrupted moment in the bathroom. Since the twins were born, the answer was never. This seemed too perfect.
“Does your wanting us to live here have to do with the break-in at the office?”
Misha frowned and glanced away for a moment. “I won’t lie and say it didn’t play a part in my suggesting this. But I think it makes sense for the boys to be here right now, and it will be safer for you as well.”
“I’m not quitting my job.”
His eyes flashed. “I didn’t ask you to.”
“I would need to know the rent and review the contract.”
“Of course. Would you like to see the rest of the house?”
They walked through the house, and Callie knew before they got to the master bedroom that she wanted it. The bungalow they lived in now had come furnished. So it would only be a matter of moving their clothes, bedding, bathroom and kitchen supplies. Since they moved so frequently, the fewer possessions they had, the better.
“Should we show the boys?” Misha asked.
She pursed her lips. “Now you’re playing dirty. If the boys see this place, there will be no negotiating with them. We’ll be here tomorrow.”
“Then let’s go get them.”
Callie laughed. “You are a stubborn demon, Misha.”
“That’s what my babushka tells me as well.”
“Thank you for everything.” Callie cleared her throat. “I don’t know if I can ever repay you and Kyle for what you’ve done for the boys.”
His eyes tightened on her. “You don’t need to repay us for anything, Callie. That’s what friends do.”
She stopped herself from cringing. If all he could offer her was friendship, she’d take it. Her brain accepted it…even while her heart protested.
“Did I mention my cousins own a moving company?”
She rolled her eyes. “Of course they do.”
“So do we have a deal?”
“I don’t have much choice, do I? Especially after you and the twins gang up on me.”
Misha’s eyes twinkled, much like the twins when they were up to something. “Very true. Now, can we go get the boys to show them the house?”
“Fine. Lead the way, Misha, lead the way.”
Chapter 13
Misha watched Luke and Matty try to lug boxes into their new home.
Callie hadn’t exaggerated about the twins’ enthusiasm once they saw the house. They were moving in two days after their initial conversation.
It didn’t hurt that his cousins owned a moving company and were able to fit the move into their schedules. His cousins literally had the van loaded, transported, and unloaded in less than two hours with the items Callie needed moved. The fact that Callie had very little she could call her own troubled him. Probably in her mind it made moving easier. In his mind it meant she didn’t have a sense of permanence.
Misha held open the door with his foot as the boys staggered inside and dropped their box on the floor. Luckily it was full of unbreakable items.
“Why don’t you guys go unpack the boxes in your room while I help your mom?”
Even though the boys could each have had their own bedroom, they chose to share one. Misha made sure they were in their room staying out of trouble before he went down the hall to the master bedroom. He found Callie unloading bedding from a box.
Misha set the box he was carrying next to the door. “That should be the last of the boxes from outside. What do you need help with?”
“You’ve already done enough already. It won’t take me long to get everything organized.”
“You’ve got me for at least the next hour, until Kyle shows up with dinner for everyone.” He held up his hand before she could protest. “No arguing about dinner. The last thing you’re going to want to do after unpacking is make dinner. You still need to go grocery shopping to restock anyway.”
“Fine,” she replied…rather grudgingly Misha thought…but it was a victory nonetheless.
“Let me help you with the bed.”
She nodded as she dropped the fitted sheet on the bed. “I would say that I can do it, but it’s a king, and it would probably take me an hour to make myself. I’ve never had such a big bed.”
“Actually, it’s a California king,” Misha announced as he tucked the corner.
“How do you know for sure?”
Crap. “Because I have one myself. Shamat males tend to take up a lot of space.”
“Obviously.” Callie’s eyes got huge when she realized what she’d said, and she grabbed a pillowcase, spending an inordinate amount of time putting it on the pillow and fluffing it afterward.
Misha helped her pull the new blankets up on the bed.
When Callie stood, parts of her blond hair came out of the ponytail. She tucked the loose strands behind her ear, and Misha took in her flushed face and sparkling green eyes.
“There are extra blankets in the chest at the end of the bed.”
“How did you know that?”
Where the hell had his brain gone?
“Hello? Is anyone home?”
Misha never thought his Babushka’s habit of showing up uninvited would save the day.
Callie looked up at him with wide eyes. “The van just left, so who could be showing up already?”
“I have a pretty good idea. You are about to meet the real boss of this compound. And if you ever tell my father I said that, I’ll deny it.”
He held out his hand, and Callie hesitated for a moment before grasping. He pulled her lightly down the hall to the living room. His babushka stood in the entryway with a dish in her hand.
“Babushka this is Callie. Callie, this is Irina Chesnokov, my grandmother.”
Babushka beamed at Callie. “It is so good to finally meet you. I wanted to welcome you to the compound.”
“So nice to meet you, ma’am.”
“None of that ma’am business. Please call me Irina.” Babushka looked around the room. “Everything looks great already. I was hoping to meet your boys. I hear they’re delightful.”
“They’re in their room. Let me go get them.”
Callie went to get the boys, and Misha turned to Irina. “This may be a new record for you, Babushka. The moving van left less than five minutes ago.”
She waved her hand. “You’re exaggerating. Anton texted me when they left, and that was at least ten minutes ago.”
Misha chuckled. “I stand corrected.”
Before Babushka could reprimand him for his cheeky response—and by the look in her eyes he would have gotten an earful—Callie came back in the living room with the boys following her.
Callie put her hand on each boy’s head as she introduced them. “Matty, Luke, this is Misha’s grandmother, Miss Irina.”
Babushka grinned. “I’m so happy to meet you two. Mikhail has told me so much about you.”
“Who is Mikhail?” Luke asked.
“I am,” Misha answered. “Just like Matty’s name is short for Matthew, Misha is short for Mikhail.”
“Exactly. I was the one who got to choose Mikhail’s name when he was born, but he insists on everyone calling him Misha.” She sighed dramatically. “Such a beautiful name, and he refuses to use it. So I call him Mikhail.”
The twins giggled.
“I brought some cookies I made this morning. I thought you might need to build your strength back up after working so hard moving today.”
Matty and Luke stood on their tiptoes to peek over the top of the plate. It was Babushka’s turn to giggle. “If it is okay with your mom, you can take the plate into the kitchen and each have one cookie.”
The boys turned expectantly toward Callie.
“That would be fine. But only one. Kyle is bringing us dinner.”
Babushka handed Luke the plate. “If you want to have more than one later, I would find a good place to hide the cookies from Mikhail. He is the original cookie monster.”
The boys galloped straight to the kitchen.
Babushka turned back to Callie. “So what do you think of the house?”
“We love it.” Callie smiled. “I can’t believe how lucky we were that one of your families went to Russia for a year.”
Misha’s stomach bottomed out as he saw the look of confusion on Irina’s face. He took a step closer to his grandmother. “Yes, I was telling Callie this was fate. They needed a place to stay, and we had an open house in the compound. The twins can continue their training, and with Callie working in the temporary immigration offices here, the location is perfect.”
Irina beamed. “I agree. It’s perfect for everyone concerned.”
Misha let out the breath he’d been holding.
“Callie, I don’t want to keep you from your unpacking. Do you mind if I borrow Mikhail for a few minutes and have him escort me home?”
Misha opened his mouth to protest, but Callie interrupted him before he could get the words out.
“Of course. We’ll be fine. Misha, take your time.”
Misha opened the front door and escorted his grandmother out to the sidewalk. They’d only taken a few steps before his grandmother turned to him and planted her hands on her hips.
“You’re going to explain to me, dear grandson, why that wonderful woman thinks a family lived in that house.”
Misha sighed. “Because if I told her the truth, she would never have moved here. She prides herself on being independent. She’s never had anybody she can rely on.”
“Your heart is in the right place. However, I think you may be asking for trouble. What do you think she’ll do when she finds out this house belongs to you?”
“Hopefully by the time she figures that out, she’ll be settled in here and won’t want to move.”
She sighed. “How in the world did you get that amusement park built in the back yard so quickly?”
Misha chuckled. “It’s not an amusement park, Babushka. It’s a next-generation jungle gym play set. I called in a few favors. Uncle Nikolai had a couple of his construction workers put it together. It only took them a day.”
Irina pursed her lips before continuing. “Your father built you this house in the hopes that you would move back to the compound instead of continuing to live in your apartment.”
“And I stay here on occasion, and eventually I’ll move back to the compound permanently. But Callie and the boys need it more. They need the clan. And as much as I admire Callie for raising those boys on her own, they need our help.”
“Luke and Matty are adorable. Of course they’re welcome in the clan, as is Callie. This is a wonderful thing you’re doing.” She patted him on the arm. “I only hope it doesn’t come back to bite you in the ass.”
Leave it to Babushka not to pull any punches. And he hoped she was right as well. The last thing he wanted to do was alienate Callie. The more time he spent with her and the boys, the more he enjoyed having them around.
Chapter 14
Callie walked into the kitchen to check on the boys. She found them hunkered down, peeking into the cabinet under the sink.
“What are you two doing?”
Luke slammed the cabinet door shut. “Nothing!”
Both Matty and he stood up at the same time, trying—and failing miserably—to look innocent.
“Boys…”
Matty sighed. “We’re doing what Miss Irina told us to do, hiding the cookies from Misha.”
“The cookies are that good, huh?”
Luke nodded. “He’s so big that we think if we put it down low he won’t find it.”
“Great idea, guys. Do you think you can help me straighten up the kitchen before Kyle comes with dinner?”
“Yes Momma,” they chorused.
Callie had already wiped down the cabinets and countertops, so she was ready to put away the things cluttering up the table. She directed the boys where to put various pots and pans in the lower cabinets while she loaded the plates and glasses in the upper cabinets. Callie was wiping down the now-empty table when a knock sounded at the door.
“Kyle!” the boys hollered before running toward the front of the house.
“Slow down,” she yelled as she followed them down the hall, but she was too late to stop them from opening the door. Even though they were in a gated community now, she still needed to remind them about not opening the door.
Kyle held up two plastic bags. “Hello, you two. Have you worked up an appetite moving in?”
“Yes,” Matty said while Luke tried to peek into the bags.
Kyle chuckled. “I’ll show you what’s in the bag in a minute, silly boys. Jason will be here in a second with the rest of dinner. He’s parking the car, and Jean Luc and Talia shouldn’t be far behind.”
Callie bit back a groan. She had never met Jason or Talia before, and now they were going to see her looking like a dirty mess.
Kyle watched her closely for a second before grimacing. “Misha didn’t tell you we were all coming over, did he?”
“Um, no. He said you were coming. I’m not really set up to entertain yet.”
“We’re not expecting you to entertain us. We just thought it would be easier if you don’t have to worry about dinner tonight.”
“Thank you. I appreciate everything you guys have done for us.”
Before Kyle could respond, a man walked up to the door. He looked to be in his thirties, with dark hair a little on the shaggy side.
“Callie, this is Jason, one of my teammates. Jason, meet Callie and her sons Matty and Luke.”
Jason grinned at the boys. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Callie beckoned for them to follow her to the kitchen. “Let’s set the food down. I’ll get some plates.”
Kyle and Jason set the bags on the counter. “No worries on the plates and forks. I had the restaurant give us paper plates. I can’t imagine you’d want to wash dishes tonight.”
“Where’s Misha?” Jason asked.
“He’s walking his grandmother home. She came over to welcome us.”
Kyle smirked. “I’ll bet she did. Irina is one amazing lady. Not much goes on here that she doesn’t know about.”
Matty chimed in. “Miss Irina brought us cookies, but we had to hide them from Misha.”
Jason laughed. “Smart thinking.”
Kyle pulled out plates and plasticware and handed it to the boys. “Why don’t you take the plates to the back patio table, and we’ll have dinner there…if it’s okay with your mom?”
Callie frowned. “I don’t remember there being a back patio table when I looked at the house.”
Kyle’s eyes widened. “Really? Ahhh…”
“You wouldn’t have seen it,” Jason said. “Misha and I stopped over here earlier today to make sure everything was ready before the move, and we found the patio table folded up in the garage storage room. So we pulled it out and put it in the back for you and the boys. I mentioned it to Kyle on the way over here.”
Before Callie could say thank you, Kyle grabbed the bags and carried them out the back French doors with the boys. Callie walked outside with Jason, and they sat and started passing around the food.
