“She is twenty-four years old,” Sophie pointed out.
“That’s just a baby,” Charlie insisted before he released a loud sigh as Sophie raised her eyebrow at him. “Well, it is,” he grumbled.
“She is a beautiful young woman,” Sophie said, reaching up and cupping her husband’s stubborn face between her hands before she tenderly smiled up at him. “If you remember, I was only twenty-three when we met.”
Charlie’s face relaxed as he stared down at his beautiful wife of over a hundred years. They had been gifted with three gorgeous children, two boys and a girl over the years. Tory was the youngest and had been a surprise to them both. She was also the most beautiful thing Charlie had ever seen next to her mother.
“Why do you think I want to protect her?” He asked in a husky voice as he slid his arms around Sophie’s waist. “She is as beautiful as you at that age.”
Sophie laughed and shook her head. “You sound just like my father,” she said with a sad smile. “There must be something about Vampires and their daughters.”
“Well, if you ask me, I think she is in as much danger here as she would be anywhere else,” Nonny said from behind them. “It looks like she has a couple of admirers who are willing to console her.”
Charlie glanced over his shoulder at his mother with a confused frown before he turned his gaze to the roof where Tory was sitting with her knees drawn up to her chin. Two males sat on either side of her, one had his arm around her shoulders while the other was tilting her chin toward him. It looked like he was about to….
“Charles!” Sophie called out in exasperation when her husband suddenly disappeared in a puff of dark gray smoke. “Nonny!”
“What?!” Nonny Carson said, grinning up at the roof. “I just said Tory looked like she had someone to help distract her.”
“You are no help,” Sophie told her mother-in-law.
She turned back to stare up at where her husband had re-materialized next to Maverick, the handsome young Werewolf, who had been leaning in to give Tory a kiss. She shook her head when the young pup yelped in surprise. Ever since Tory had been born, Charles had been overly protective of his only daughter.
“He’ll let her go,” Nonny said, looking up at her middle son.
“How do you know?” Sophie asked, biting her lip when Charles tossed the boy off the roof before turning on Tory’s other admirer who was scrambling down the drainpipe. “He is so protective of her. I’m afraid he’ll never let her spread her wings.”
“Oh, he’ll let her go,” Nonny promised with a grin. “Topper asked the Fates.”
Sophie turned in surprise to look at Nonny. “The Fates! I thought they were on vacation. When did they get back?”
“Oh, they’re not back. Topper and I went to see them last night in Vegas. They were on a winning streak, imagine that,” Nonny replied with a sigh. “I swear Vegas has the best shows in the world.”
“What are you two up to? And what did the Fates have to say?” Sophie asked, watching as Charles sat down next to Tory. “Is she going to be alright?”
Nonny rolled her eyes. “Of course Tory is going to be alright! She has the Fates as her Godmothers and they love her to bits. They did happen to mention that Alexandru is coming by for a visit.”
“Alexandru!” Sophie exclaimed in delight. “When?”
“Tonight,” Nonny said, nodding up at where her son and granddaughter were quietly talking. “He is going to take Tory with him on the business trip he has to make to Charleston. You know as well as I do that he is just as protective of Tory as Charlie.”
“What else are you not telling me?” Sophie asked quietly, turning to stare at Nonny with a suspicious look. “What are you and Topper up to?”
“Me? What makes you think any of this is my idea?” Nonny asked innocently.
“Okay, what is your older sister up to?” Sophie asked in resignation.
Nonny laughed. It was true. Topper, her older sister by only a few years was the wild one of the bunch. Topper’s personality was as colorful as her hair, which had a habit of changing colors several times a day.
She and Topper were descendants of the famous Warehausen witch family. Topper had yet to marry, whereas, Nonny had fallen in love with a handsome vampire almost two hundred and fifty years before. They had three handsome sons, though only Charlie had married and had kids so far.
Alexandru, their middle son, was an established entrepreneur who dealt in custom made furnishings and restorations of historic buildings all over the world. The fact that he had lived through some of the different time periods was a bonus. Unfortunately, he was a very busy man and they only got to see him once every few months, usually when he was traveling from one side of the world to the other.