Page 17 of Wolves’ Midlife Reunion (Shifter Nation: Enchanted Over Forty #3)

“How scary is it going to be?” Sage’s hand slipped into Dex’s as they waited in line.

“Well, I don’t know for sure,” he replied honestly. “Probably just a little bit scary, just enough to be fun.”

She looked uncertain. “My friend Ella said her mom went to a haunted house.”

Oh, boy. Here they went again with Ella. Dex had never realized just how much Sage would learn about life by sharing a classroom with other children who had big mouths. “Did she?”

“Uh huh. And she said it was really scary. It wasn’t just the decorations, either. There were people with chainsaws who were trying to cut them in half! They were running after them and everything!”

“I see.” There were haunted houses like that, but why would anyone come home and tell their young child about them? “Sometimes adults like to do things that feel really scary, and that’s why they go to haunted houses like that. I know this one isn’t that way, or I wouldn’t have brought you.”

“You’re sure? No chainsaws?”

“No chainsaws. I promise. I’ll be right here next to you the whole time, too.” Dex had thought it would be fun to do a haunted house together, one that was geared toward children. That was before he knew Sage had been primed with stories of other horror attractions.

“Well, if there are any people with chainsaws, I’m not going to let them touch me,” Sage affirmed.

Dex glanced around and then knelt in front of Sage. “You know, that makes me think of something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.”

“What?”

“I know you could get a little spooked in there, and sometimes we do things when we’re scared or we don’t have time to think,” he began.

“I won’t hit them,” she promised.

He chuckled. “I know you won’t. I just want to remind you not to use any magic.” Dex whispered the last few words so quietly that Sage had to lean close.

“I know, Daddy. You’ve told me that, and so has Tina.” She gave him one of those looks she’d mastered from a very young age, the kind that said she really wasn’t stupid and adults didn’t need to talk to her like she was.

“Yes,” he acknowledged, “and I know you’ve been very good about it. This is just a bit of a different situation, and I thought we should talk about it. Especially since you’ve been practicing so much.”

As soon as she’d gotten home from school and had a snack, Sage had disappeared into her room.

Dex went to quietly check on her an hour later, figuring she was probably exhausted from their late night at the Samhain party.

Instead, he’d found her sitting on her bed, working diligently to rearrange her stuffed animals with her magic.

They reached the entryway to the haunted house, and Dex paid their fee.

Then a woman dressed as a witch handed Sage a laser pointer.

“This is your magic wand! You’ll see many different creatures as you venture through our haunted house.

If any of them are a little too scary, you only need to point your magic wand and they’ll disappear! ”

“Clever,” Dex murmured. He took Sage’s hand.

“Do you have any questions about how your magic wand works?” the witch asked kindly.

Sage grinned. “No. I know a lot about magic.”

Dex let that go for the moment, but only because this was one of the very few times Sage would be able to say such things.

They wound their way through dark halls, swirling tunnels, and a room full of mirrors.

As the witch had promised, several actors in full costume and makeup were posted throughout the building.

The first few they passed were mild: a pirate, a princess, and a few more witches.

They’d done a good job at gearing this toward children.

“He’s not so scary,” Sage giggled as they passed a werewolf who lurked in the corner of a darker room.

Even Dex was starting to relax. She was going to do just fine.

They passed Frankenstein, his huge frame lurking in a doorway off to the side.

He groaned through his stitched mouth. Sage cuddled close to her father and whipped her magic wand, the red light of the laser pointer landing square on Frankenstein’s chest. The monster turned and walked away, disappearing in an instant.

“That worked quite well,” Dex noted, relieved that she’d used the laser and not her real magic.

Sage made a mummy and a ghost disappear next, but she let an alien stay next to his crashed spaceship with bright lights.

Another friendly witch now stood before them. “You’ve almost escaped! There are a lot of monsters behind this door. You must use your magic wand and get as many of them as you can. Do you think you can do that?”

Sage nodded bravely. “Yes!”

The witch let them into the next room. It was styled as a bridge that went over a firepit, with fake flames and glowing red lights beneath it.

The wood had been distressed to look old and shaky, but it was sturdy under their feet.

As promised, monsters appeared on either side as they crossed the bridge.

Sage held tight to Dex’s hand, but she flashed her laser pointer as they hurried across the bridge.

Trolls, goblins, and ogres fell backward at the merest glimmer of her wand.

They pushed through a big wooden door and into a brightly lit room where yet another witch greeted them.

“You did a great job! Come pick a prize from our treasure chest!” She took the laser pointer and guided them to a huge treasure chest that held an abundance of little plastic toys. “You may also have a snack and a drink to refresh yourself after such an adventure.”

“That was so fun, Daddy!” Sage enthused as they each took a cupcake and a juice box over to a table. “I’m glad we got to do that.”

“Me, too, kiddo. You did a great job. You were really brave.”

“It wasn’t that scary,” she told him.

“Just enough to have fun?” he asked.

She thought about it for a moment. “Yeah. And there weren’t any chainsaws.”

“No, we didn’t need any of those.” Dex rolled his head from side to side, trying to work out some of the tension knots that were constantly in his shoulders.

He worried so much about Sage, and her magical training had taken that up another notch.

Right now, though, he was happy. He was close with his daughter, and this was a memory they’d share for a long time.

“Dex! How nice to run into you here!”

He looked up to see Vanessa, part of Debbie’s trio, approaching their table and holding a little girl’s hand. “Oh. Hello.”

“This is my daughter, Lily. Could we sit with you two?”

“Of course.” He gestured at the chairs on the other side. He didn’t know Vanessa all that well, but he didn’t want to be rude. “This is Sage.”

“How was it, Sage?” Vanessa asked. “Did you have a good time?”

“It was great!”

Lily, however, didn’t look quite as pleased with her experience. “I thought it was too scary.”

“Aw, that’s okay, honey,” Vanessa said, gently smoothing her daughter’s sandy brown hair. “It’s supposed to be scary.”

“But I don’t like it,” Lily replied, slumping in her seat.

“We’ll just have to do something not as scary sometime soon.

” Vanessa looked back up at Dex. She put one elbow on the table and leaned toward him a little.

“Wasn’t that reunion amazing? I can’t believe how many people came out!

It was just like old times, but even better because there was no homework! ”

Dex laughed politely. “Serena really put a lot of work into it.” Not that he’d stuck around to experience it for very long. The class reunion had merely been a prelude to a much more important reunion with Tina.

“That’s the thing,” Vanessa said, her eyes narrowing slightly. “Big events like that really do take a lot of effort to pull off. Did Debbie tell you that I’m working at the Academy now?”

“Are you? No, she hadn’t mentioned that.” Or if she had, Dex hadn’t been paying attention.

“Yes! For a couple of years now. It’s really great to be back on the old stomping grounds all the time and to see new batches of kids coming through.”

Where was she going with this? Dex hoped beyond all hope that Vanessa wasn’t trying to flirt with him. He didn’t want to have to turn her down, nor did he want to deal with Sage’s inevitable questions. “I’m sure.”

“I’m right in the front office, so I get to know all of them. Especially the ones who are always trying to go home sick!” she laughed. “Each faculty member has to volunteer to help out with a few extracurricular activities a year. Did you know that?”

“I guess that explains why Coach Chapman directed the school play that time,” Dex quipped.

“Yes! Exactly! That’s what you get for not picking your activity right away!”

Now he was starting to understand. “And what are you in charge of?”

“The fall dance,” she said, spreading out her hands to emphasize just how big and exciting it was supposed to be. “It’s going to be great! Straw bales and corn stalks, scarecrows, pumpkins, you name it.”

“I’m sure they’ll enjoy that.” He glanced at his watch, wishing he had some place he had to be. Right now would be the perfect moment to make his excuses, but Sage and Lily had scooted together and were playing with the little jointed plastic snakes they’d picked out of the treasure chest.

Vanessa tipped her head to the side and grimaced.

“They will, but only if I can make it happen. You see, I’ve managed to wrangle enough staff members and parents to act as chaperones, but I don’t have any help with decorating.

It’s so difficult to get people to volunteer these days.

Is there any chance you could come and help? ”

“Well, I don’t know,” Dex replied uncertainly. “I’m not a staff member, and Sage doesn’t go to that school yet.”

“Oh, that doesn’t matter!” Vanessa quickly replied. She smiled widely, but desperation pinched her eyes. “It would just be for an hour or so to set up.”

His schedule was already so busy. Dex worked a lot of hours, and he devoted almost all of his free time to Sage. He scratched the back of his neck. “I’m not much of a decorator.”

“I want to do it!” Sage blurted out, suddenly no longer interested in the plastic snake. “I want to decorate for a party! I really like parties!”

“What a great idea!” Vanessa squealed. “You could help your daddy!”

There was no hope of getting out of it now. Dex looked at Sage. “This isn’t a party you would get to go to. It’s only for high school kids.”

“Can I blow up some balloons?” she asked.

“Absolutely! It wouldn’t be a party without balloons!” Vanessa replied.

Now, his plans were solidified, all without making a decision himself. “Then I guess we’ll see you this weekend!”

“Yay!” Sage cheered. “Are you going to be there, Lily?”

“No, I’ve got gymnastics practice.”

“You do gymnastics? I play soccer.”

The girls were having such a good time that Dex hated to pull them apart, but it was starting to get late.

He made sure he had Vanessa’s contact info and then loaded Sage into the car.

They talked on the way home, and even though he wasn’t crazy about the idea of helping Vanessa, he was glad that he and Sage had this evening together.

“Oh, no!” Sage said when they got home and walked into the living room.

“What’s the matter?”

“Look!” She held up her snake. The plastic pieces were jointed together so the snake could be held by the tail while it slithered in the air. One of those joints, however, had snapped.

“Hm. How did that happen?” Dex gently took it from her hands to get a closer look.

“I buckled him into the car with me to make sure he was safe!” she whined.

Dex fiddled with it for a moment, hoping to make a repair, but it just wasn’t possible. “I think that might’ve been too much for him.”

“No!” Sage snatched the two halves of the snake from his hands. She smashed them together, but of course, they didn’t stay. “I didn’t mean to!”

“It’s all right, honey. I know it was an accident. Sometimes these things happen.” He did his best to soothe her, but Dex could tell it would only go so far. Sage had finally hit the wall and was beyond tired. “Let’s get you ready for bed, and we can talk about it in the morning.”

Tears were running down her face now, and she didn’t make any move toward her room. “But I liked that snake!”

“It was a very neat toy,” he agreed. The thing was made of the cheapest plastic possible, and it was no wonder that it’d broken under only a slight amount of strain, but he’d enjoyed those sorts of toys when he was a kid, too. “It’s a real bummer that it’s broken.”

“It’s not fair!” she screamed, still holding the snake in her trembling hands.

“I understand,” he said softly.

“No, you don’t!” Her brow scrunched up, her mouth pursed tightly. The two halves of the plastic snake lifted up out of her palms.

“Sage,” he warned, trying to keep his voice steady. “You need to stop that right now.”

She didn’t listen. With a flick of her wrist, she chucked the broken toy at the wall.

“Sage Marie Heywood!” Every last drop of patience was wrung out of him in a split second. “You do not use your magic to be destructive! You know better than that! Go to bed, right now!” He pointed down the hallway for emphasis.

She charged down the hall, screaming and crying, and her door slammed behind her.

His muscles twitched at the sound, and he wanted to yell at her all over again for slamming her door, but instead, he threw his hands into the air. “What the hell,” he said to himself. “I’ve tried her whole life to be patient, caring, and nurturing, just to get this in return.”

Dex crossed the room to retrieve the broken snake. Ironically, it wasn’t any more damaged than it’d been before Sage had thrown it.

The toy, however, wasn’t the problem. Sage’s control of her magic was.