"Oh my gosh." Toni pulled the cell phone from her pocket and called Howard.
"Oh shoot," he muttered. "They must have gotten the address before Vanda had it removed. We're almost there. We'll park in the back. See you in a few minutes."
"All right." Toni hung up, then gathered her school stuff in the kitchen.
Soon she heard voices on the back porch. She peeked out the window and saw Howard fiddling with his key. Behind him was an older woman with graying hair and a younger, blonde woman, both loaded down with tote bags. A little boy stood close by.
She turned off the alarm and opened the door. "Hi. Thanks for coming."
"No problem." Howard strode into the kitchen and headed straight for the foyer. "I'll see if I can get rid of those girls out front."
"Okay." Toni turned to help the elderly woman put her tote bags on the kitchen table. "You must be Radinka."
"Thank you, yes." Radinka took her hand and regarded her curiously. "Interesting," she murmured.
The pretty blonde deposited her bags on the table. "Hi, I'm Shanna."
"Nice to meet you." Toni extended a hand, but Shanna pulled her into a hug.
"I heard how you were attacked the other night." Shanna patted her on the back. "I'm so glad you're safe now. Are you all right?"
"Yes." Toni was surprised by how sweet and…normal Shanna was. Who would ever believe she was the wife of a powerful Undead coven master? And there was an angelic little boy standing close to her.
"This is my son, Constantine." Shanna ruffled his blonde curls.
Toni leaned over. "Hi, Constantine."
He smiled, then buried his face in his mother's coat.
The older woman chuckled. "He won't be so shy once he gets to know you. Gregori told me he met you last night. He was very impressed with your dancing."
Toni laughed. "He's a lot of fun."
"Yes." Radinka's eyes narrowed. "But I do not believe he is the one destined for you, my dear."
Toni blinked. "I–I'm not looking for anyone—"
Shanna touched her arm. "Don't worry. Radinka's always trying to match people up."
Radinka snorted. "There's no trying to it. I can see when two hearts belong together." She pointed to her temple. "I'm psychic, you know."
"Oh. That's nice." Toni didn't know what else to say.
"It doesn't take a psychic to know a bored child will be a problem." Radinka moved one of her tote bags to the floor. "So we brought the little one some toys."
Constantine rummaged through the bag, removed a big picture book, then wiggled onto a kitchen chair. "I want to learn how to read."
"That's wonderful." Toni smiled at him, and he smiled shyly back, his cheeks dimpling.
"Uncle Connor said you were nice. He said you know how to kick a—"
"Whoa, Uncle Connor talks too much." Shanna removed her coat, then turned to her son. "Let's get you out of that jacket."
While Shanna hung up jackets on the hooks by the back door, Radinka unloaded groceries from the remaining bags on the table.
"We weren't sure if you had enough food here." Radinka set a carton of milk in the fridge, then grabbed the kettle from the stove. "I'll make everyone a nice cup of tea."
Constantine eyed the bags of fruit still on the table. "Can I have a banana?"
"Here you go, sweetie." Shanna handed him one, then stashed the bags in the fridge.
Toni was about to offer Constantine some help when she realized he didn't need it. He peeled the banana, then bit off a piece while he studied his book.
He pointed at a word. "Is thishouse?"
She peered over his shoulder. "Yes, it is." What a bright little boy he was. She wondered if he was Shanna's from a previous relationship. Surely Vamp men weren't able to have children. "Thank you for coming today."
"We were happy to." Shanna hooked the empty tote bags on the pegs with their coats. "A delivery man's bringing a tree around noon. We always decorate one for the guards."
"Oh, that's nice." With all the turmoil in her life, Toni had forgotten that Christmas was coming soon.
Radinka set out three cups and saucers on the counter. "We saw those women out front with their posters. I can't believe they're behaving so silly."
"Yeah." Toni sat next to Constantine. "It's crazy."
Shanna shook her head. "Poor Ian. I heard he really had to suffer to get his older looks."