Free Halflings by Heather Burch Page B

you haven’t told me yours.”
    “Aren’t you charming, Nicole? My name is Damon Vessler. I’m an old friend of your mom and dad. In fact, we work together.”
    Nikki frowned. Work together? Her mom and dad’s deal was all their own.
    “Sort of,” her dad corrected. “Mr. Vessler purchases a lot of weapons from us. When we have surplus, he sails in and saves the day.” He cleared his throat.
    Nikki’s gaze skated to her mom, who was struggling to portray absolute happiness about the unexpected company. “So, you sell antique weapons?” Nikki asked him.
    Vessler smiled. “Some. But that’s just one of my many interests. And I’m a hopeless romantic. I keep most of the weapons for myself. Once I fall in love with a piece, I’m incapable of turning it loose.” Something protective flashed in the depths of his obsidian gaze, causing a tiny ripple across Nikki’s stomach.
    Her parents reacted too. She could feel their tension drifting on the lasagna-scented air. Nikki donned a perfect smile. “Are you staying for dinner?” Her eyes shifted from Vessler to her mom. Gotcha! Mom reacted just as Nikki thought — horror stricken. So, if her mom didn’t like this guy, and her dad was visibly uncomfortable with this guy but trying so hard to be cheery and nice …
Why is this guy in my house?
    “I’d love to stay for dinner, but unfortunately I’m headed to Nashville in a few hours. Some organization wants to honor me.”
    Humility was ugly when it was false. “Really, why?”
    “It’s for some humanitarian work I like to do.”
    Nikki nodded, waiting for more.
    Vessler shrugged. “As I said, I have a lot of interests. I’m an inventor of sorts and apparently one of my pet projects has helped a magnitude of people in a third world country.”
    “What kinds of things do you invent?”
    Again, she was being studied by eyes that said one thing but hinted at something far different. “Boring stuff, Nicole.”
    Her dad spoke up. “She might not find it boring. She’s actually quite interested in science.”
    Vessler’s eyes trailed to her dad and held for a few agonizing moments. “Your father is being far too kind. Trust me.”
    He headed for the front door with her dad in tow. Nikki stayed close on their heels. “It was nice to meet you, Mr. Vessler. I hope our paths cross again, as I’d like to know more about what you do.” There was the slightest hint of a challenge in her words, and she wasn’t even completely sure why. He’d been nice enough, but seemed too comfortable in a home not his own.
    He turned and locked his gaze on her. “You’ll be seeing more of me, I promise. Events of late have afforded me the opportunity to return to my first love.”
    The look in his eyes was searing, like he was branding her. “Your first love?” she uttered, and realized she’d taken a step back.
    But all the tension disappeared with his captivating smile. “Yes, the beautiful Ozark Mountains. I do my best work right here.”
    And then he left.
    She felt like she wanted to take a shower. But at the same time, he’d been so very attentive to her, treated her like an adult, an equal, and she couldn’t help but like that about the guy. Herfirst impression was likely due to her suspicious nature. She really hoped she’d get another chance to talk to Damon Vessler again. He was a humanitarian, after all.

     
    Mace sat down last at the dining room table. All three boys had dropped their backpacks by the front door and Vine was mumbling about homework. There’d be time for that later; right now they needed to get down to business. It was four thirty in the afternoon, and they had no guarantee Nikki was in for the night.
    At least the heat was off him for a while. One day of school and Raven had landed in the principal’s office.
You’d think Will would expect that by now.
Their guardian wasn’t happy with his prodigal, and Mace had never been so happy to be ignored.
    The massive table seemed to have