Dead Is So Last Year (3 page)

The diner emptied out a couple of hours later.

Finally, the day was over and I grabbed an iced latte and sat on a stool at the counter. It had been hours since I'd had any caffeine or chocolate, two dietary essentials in my book.

"How do you do it?" I asked Flo.

"You get used to it," Flo replied. "Go home and soak your feet. And buy some shoes with good arch support."

I went home and soaked my feet as Flo had suggested, but I didn't know that it would be my last moment of peace for the next few weeks. My life was about to get much more complicated. So complicated that aching feet were the least of my worries.

CHAPTER FOUR

It was finally
the day of the beach party. I'd spent a couple of hours cooking the night before, and Poppy and Candy were going to pack the food and take it to the beach while I was at work.

At the diner, I went back to the kitchen, but there was a stranger there with Slim. She was a short, curvy young woman with horn-rimmed glasses and blond hair, which was dyed with purple stripes.

It was clear, from her flirtatious giggles and Slim's low laugh, that I was interrupting, so I headed for the front.

"Who is that with Slim?" I asked Flo.

"That's Natalie, his new girlfriend," she replied. "She's a witch."

"You don't like her?"

Flo laughed. "No, I mean she's a real witch. She goes to grad school in Oregon, but she spends summers at her grandma's house in Nightshade. You'll be seeing her a lot this summer."

I nodded. "Need any help out here?"

Flo gave me a list of jobs and I started with the ketchup bottles, which needed refilling every morning.

I cheated a bit, when no one was looking, and used my powers to clean the coffee urn and to scrub the stainless steel.

I stared out the window as I worked. The sun was shining, and it was shaping up to be a perfect beach day.

A few minutes later, Slim's girlfriend came to the counter. "Hi, I'm Natalie Mason. We didn't introduce ourselves earlier. I was a little preoccupied." She let out a breathy laugh that made me glad my boss was invisible. Whatever they'd been doing in the kitchen, I didn't want to see it.

"I'm Daisy," I replied. A thought struck me. "Are you related to Mrs. Mason? I think her first name is Matilda?" I asked her. Mrs. Mason was the president of my mom's garden club. She always wore orthopedic shoes and a jogging suit. Mom had often wondered how Mrs. Mason managed to grow roses the size of a bread plate every year.

I finally figured it out when I saw her with her wand at a Nightshade City Council meeting. The city council was made up of members of Nightshade's thirteen founding families—all paranormal beings. They kept tabs on any weirdness in town.

"She's my grandma," Natalie replied. "How do you know her?"

"She and my mom belong to the same garden club," I said. "She grows beautiful roses."

Natalie paused, then said, "Yes, she really has a green thumb. She can make anything grow."

Of course she could, since she was a wand-carrying witch; and according to Flo, Natalie had the same talents.

"I didn't catch your last name," she said.

"Oh, I'm sorry." I held out a hand. "It's Giordano."

She grabbed it and shook my hand vigorously. "You're Daisy Giordano?"

Natalie dropped my hand and gave me a hug. "Oh, it's so great to meet you. I've heard so much about you and your family."

My mom's psychic powers, especially, were notorious even outside Nightshade. "Uh, that's great," I said. I didn't know what else to say. Natalie's enthusiasm made me squirm, so I changed the subject.

"What's your grandma planting right now? Do you help her in the garden?" I didn't know very much about gardening, but I needed a topic of conversation.

She blinked and I noticed that her eyes were brown rimmed in yellow.

"That's difficult to explain," she said, then quickly changed the subject. "How do you like working here? Isn't it great working for Slim?"

Natalie sounded a little hero-worshipy about Slim. She looked to be in her twenties, about Flo's age. I wondered briefly how old Slim was, but then we were slammed by the breakfast crowd and I had no more time for idle romantic speculation.

When my shift was over, I felt slightly grubby and smelled like sweat and scrambled eggs. I changed into a bathing suit and cover-up, braided my hair, and slathered on sunscreen, then headed back to the kitchen.

"Slim, can you spare a couple of strawberry pies?" I asked. "I'll pay for them, of course. I just wanted to make sure I wouldn't leave you short."

"Take as many pies as you need," he said. "And make sure Flo gives you the employee discount."

"Thanks, Slim!" He was pretty cool for a boss. Maybe working at the diner all summer wouldn't be so bad after all. I paid for the pies and got a 50 percent discount. A definite perk.

When I made it to the beach, almost everyone we'd invited was already there, plus several tagalongs.

It looked like there was plenty of food, even though I hadn't counted on such a big crowd. There were pyramids of hamburger and hot dog buns, jumbo containers of potato salad, and chips. Ryan was busy manning the barbecue, which was already covered with huge slabs of meat. From the amount of food I saw, it looked like we were expecting the entire town.

Poppy bounded over wearing the new pink skull bikini she had gotten at Tete de Mort, the store where Samantha worked. "Guess what, Daisy?" she said. "On the way over here today, I got a job!"

I looked my sister over skeptically. "You must have made quite an impression at your interview," I said.

"Very funny," Poppy said, crossing her arms over her chest. "It wasn't a planned thing," she explained. "Candy and I stopped by that little concession stand by the boardwalk to get her a candied apple and noticed that they had a Help Wanted sign. So I got to chatting with the owner and she hired me on the spot. I start tomorrow."

"Congrats!" I said. "Can you get me an employee discount on chocolate bars?"

"Is chocolate all you think about?" Poppy said, as she headed off to continue her volleyball game.

Chocolate most certainly was not
all
I thought about. I smiled to see my boyfriend coming to meet me.

He took the pies out of my hands and gave me a quick kiss. "How was work?" he asked.

"Okay," I said. "Slim said he might let me do some prep work in the kitchen next week."

"What's Slim like, anyway?" Ryan asked.

I wasn't sure if I was supposed to say anything about Slim's being see-through.

"He's..." I floundered with my words. "He's ... different. Sometimes I don't even notice he's there."

Elise Wilder and Bane Paxton came up to where Ryan and I stood. I was wiggling out of my cover-up, although not without some misgivings. We'd eaten lots of delicious desserts in Italy and I wasn't sure my body was exactly beach-ready. But I shrugged and tossed the cover-up to the ground. I wasn't going to let a few extra pounds stop me from having a good time.

"Thank you for inviting us," Elise said.

"I'm glad you could come," I said.

Elise's eyes focused on something behind me. She stiffened. "You invited Penny?"

"No, I didn't." Penny Edwards, Nightshade High's number one gossip, was here? I turned and looked. Penny wasn't easy to take, except in very small doses. Normally, I'd rather stake a vampire than talk to her, but I'd seen another side of her at prom.

"Daisy," Penny said. "I hope it's okay that I came." Gone was Penny's usual garish clothing. She wore a swimsuit in a subdued color, and her normal nasally tone was sweeter than usual.

I summoned a smile. "Of course."

"Can I help with anything?" she continued. "I brought you a cake." She held out an enormous bakery box.

"Thank you, Penny." She continued to stand there docilely. I exchanged a look with Elise. "Why don't you put it on the picnic table with the other desserts?"

Why was Penny being so nice? We'd had a little moment of friendliness at prom, but this affable Penny was unexpected.

I waited for a snarky comment, but she just beamed at me.

"Great. I really like that suit you're wearing, Daisy. It looks really cute on you."

What was going on with Penny? She was a social climber, for sure, but she had never considered me worth her time.

Elise and I exchanged glances as Penny bounced over to the table with her cake. A minute later, she had cut an enormous slice of it and had shoved it in her mouth. I knew for a fact that Penny hadn't let carbs touch her lips since the sixth grade. She noticed my gaze and grinned at me. A little dribble of frosting ran down her chin. She certainly was happy. Creepily happy.

"Penny's acting ... a little unusual," I said. "Will you keep an eye on her?"

Elise frowned. "Yes, yes, I will." Penny had moved on to the chocolate brownies. I was dumbfounded by her table manners, or more accurately, lack thereof.

Poppy's friend Candy came up to where we all stood. "What is there to drink?" she asked. "I'm parched!"

"Let me get you something," Ryan said.

"After that," Poppy said, "I want to say hi to the guys. The single ones."

For a minute, she sounded like the old Poppy.

There was a cooler full of sodas right behind us. Ryan handed me a soda—one with caffeine, of course—then gave Poppy and Candy the diet sodas they requested.

"I just remembered," I said. "I brought fresh lemonade."

It was in an insulated container, but it wasn't quite cold enough. While I was adding some ice, Wolfgang made a beeline for me.

"If it isn't my favorite waitress."

I ignored the leer that accompanied his comment, but he moved closer until he was definitely invading my personal space. My bikini suddenly felt entirely too revealing, so I grabbed my cover-up and threw it on, hoping he'd finally go away.

He didn't. Instead, he poured a glass of lemonade and gulped it down. He threw the plastic cup on the ground.

I glared at him. I hate people who litter.

"You're thirsty today, little Wolf," Ryan said.

Wolfgang wiped his forehead. "Yeah, it's a hot day. What of it?"

The air suddenly felt a lot denser. Ryan bared his teeth. "You're right," he said reasonably, and poured a glass of lemonade for himself.

A trickle of sweat inched down Wolfgang's face.

Ryan took a long drink, then he very elaborately threw his cup into the trash, where it belonged. He looked at Wolfgang levelly. "You know what to do."

Without another word, Wolfgang deflated. He bent over and picked up his trash. He started to retreat, until one of his cronies snickered.

I thought a scene had been averted, until I heard Ryan's next words: "Who invited you?" I was startled by his pugnacious tone.

Wolfgang bristled. "It's a public beach. We have as much right to be here as you do."

"Look out,"Elise said. She took me by the arm and led me a few feet away.

"What?"

"Werewolves are territorial," she explained.

"But the full moon is weeks away."

"Doesn't matter," she said. "Remember, they are both young Weres and still learning control."

But Ryan managed to control himself, saying, "Whatever." He then shrugged and walked away, but Bane's little brother tackled him when he wasn't looking. Ryan and Wolfgang instantly became a pile of snapping, snarling testosterone.

Although Wolfgang had the element of surprise, Ryan was bigger and stronger. And seriously angry.

Sean and Bane managed to pull them apart, however, and Bane hustled his little brother toward the parking lot, presumably to send him home.

Meanwhile, Sean was guiding a still-seething Ryan away from the party, but Ryan twisted away from him. "Stay out of it, Sean," he snapped.

"Oh, that's how it is, is it?" Sean replied, and took off down the beach.

In a split second, Ryan had regained his calm and realized he'd hurt his best friend's feelings.

"Sean, I'm sorry, man," he said, but Sean kept walking.

Ryan trailed after him, still apologizing as they went out of sight.

Samantha appeared by my side. "I hope those two work out their differences," she said.

"What do you mean?" I asked. "Sean and Ryan are best friends."

"Yeah," Samantha said. "But, Daisy, even you can't deny Ryan's been secretive these past few months." She paused, seeing the offended look on my face, then explained, "Sean just feels like Ryan is shutting him out or something."

That's exactly how I felt before Ryan told me that he was a Were.

"I'll talk to him," I said, then sighed.

I thought about what Sam had said, while I toasted a marshmallow over the fire pit. There had been major drama leading up to the prom, and even though Ryan was gaining more control over his wolflike tendencies, he could still be really moody sometimes. His behavior must have been puzzling to people who didn't know he was a Were. But it was up to Ryan to tell people when he was ready. And apparently he still hadn't let Sean in on the big secret.

Ryan and Sean were gone a long time, but when they finally made it back to the party, Ryan was smiling and laughing with Sean, his dark mood evidently forgotten. Ryan sat down next to me and slung an arm around my shoulder.

"Everything okay?" I asked.

"I'm fine. I just needed to cool off a little."

"What was that all about?"

"I lost my temper," he admitted. "Wolfgang has been bugging me. And I don't like how he looks at you. But it's all good."

"Hey, Ryan," I said softly. "Did you happen to tell Sean..."

"Nah," he said. "This is a party. Didn't want to ruin it with anything heavy. I'll tell him soon, though."

I looked across the fire. Sean was sitting next to Samantha and looking happy enough, but a shadow fell on his expression as the firelight flickered. I knew how it felt when someone you cared about was hiding something from you. I just hoped Ryan wouldn't keep his best friend in the dark for much longer.

CHAPTER FIVE

On Monday night,
I was surprised to get a call from Natalie. "Daisy, I have a big favor to ask you," she said. "Could you teach me to cook?"

"You want to learn to cook from me?"

"Yes," she said. "I want to surprise Slim by cooking him a special meal, and I've never cooked anything more complicated than Top Ramen."

I laughed. "Sure, do you have something in mind?"

"Beef Wellington," she replied. "It's Slim's favorite dish."

It was a little ambitious for a beginning cook, but I'd try to walk her through it. We made plans to meet at her grandmother's the next evening. I'd never been inside Mrs. Mason's house, although I'd seen the enormous garden and greenhouse in her backyard plenty of times.

Natalie met me at the door. "I went shopping in San Carlos at that gourmet food store and got everything we need," she said. "And while I was there, I saw this." She waved a piece of paper in my face.

"What is it?"

She handed it to me. "It's a cooking contest," she said. "You enter your favorite family recipe. I thought of you right away."

"Oh," I said. "I've never cooked for anybody besides family and friends before."

"And the best part is that the grand prize is a trip to Le Cordon Bleu in Paris."

Paris? That was a great prize.

"Thanks, Natalie," I said. "Maybe I will enter." I slipped the flyer into my purse. I'd fill it out as soon as I got home. Otherwise, I'd never get it done.

Natalie and I were in the kitchen preparing the tenderloin when I noticed a large tabby cat observing us silently from the top of the cabinets. Its watchful green eyes were intimidating.

"I didn't know you had a cat," I said.

"That's my familiar," Natalie said. "I wish he could go everywhere with me, but unfortunately they don't allow animals in the diner. Not even magical ones."

Natalie reached up and gave the cat a bit of meat, and he purred gratefully. It made me miss my old cat, Midnight. But it turned out that she was a shifter and therefore not an ideal pet.

We heard Mrs. Mason arrive home.

"There's Grandma now," Natalie said. "C'mon. I'll formally introduce you."

We walked into the living room, where Mrs. Mason stood. She was talking on her cell phone. "But you have to come help me with this," she said into the phone. "I have clothes for the—" She paused as she caught sight of us. "I'll call you back."

"Grandma, this is Daisy Giordano. I think you know her mother."

Mrs. Mason frowned. "I didn't realize you had company." There was a huge bag at her feet. She wore a purple tracksuit with a row of fake flowers hot-glued to the collar. I wondered where she kept her wand stashed in those sweats.

"Daisy's teaching me to cook," Natalie said.

"I don't see why you won't just whip something up the easy way," her grandmother said, making a motion with her hand.

Apparently I had been staring curiously, because Mrs. Mason frowned at me. "Donation items," she said, "for my charitable work."

It was her outfit I'd been focused on, but now I realized that the bag at her feet was filled with men's clothing. "Oh," I said lamely. "That's nice."

"I'll leave you two girls alone," Mrs. Mason said, picking up the bag. "I'll be in the greenhouse, Natalie, and I'm not to be disturbed."

"Yes, Grandma," she replied obediently.

After Mrs. Mason left, Natalie explained, "Grandma is extremely touchy about the greenhouse. Even I'm not allowed inside."

I briefly wondered why she was taking the clothes with her to do her gardening, but soon got caught up in teaching the basics to Natalie. She hadn't been kidding when she said she'd never cooked before.

As the pastry for the beef Wellington baked, we chatted about her life back home. Natalie revealed that she'd spent most of her time at school ever since her father died a few years back.

"That's awful," I said. I knew how it felt to lose a dad. "If you don't mind me asking, how did he die?"

Natalie took a deep breath. "He was murdered," she said. "By people who found out about his magical abilities. They thought he was a freak. So they killed him."

I grimaced. I had never heard anything so awful. It was hard to imagine people could be so hateful. "I'm so sorry, Natalie," I said. I wondered if the people who killed her dad could have been part of the Scourge. It was their goal to wipe out paranormals of all kinds.

She wiped away a single tear and smiled again. "Well, things can only get better, right?" she said. "My grandma's the only family I have left. That's why I'm spending the summer in Nightshade."

"Did they ever catch who killed him?"

Natalie shook her head. "My grandmother even alerted the Nightshade City Council when the threats against him started, but by the time the council reached him, it was too late."

It was past eleven when we finished and Natalie walked me to the door.

"Thanks so much," she said. "I think I've got it now. Sorry about your arm, though."

She'd accidentally set down a hot pan a little too close to where I was working and my arm had been burned. "It's nothing," I said. "Don't worry about it."

"I'm such a klutz," she said with a moan. "Grandma says I can't do anything right."

I was beginning to not like Mrs. Mason. Natalie, on the other hand, was a sweetheart and I could see why Slim was smitten.

"It's nothing," I assured her. "Just a little mark, really. It doesn't even hurt." In truth, it was throbbing, but Natalie looked relieved and headed back inside.

As I stood on the porch, rummaging in my purse for a Band-Aid, a strange green glow appeared. It seemed to be coming from the back of Mrs. Mason's house.

Snooping was second nature to me, I guess, because I didn't hesitate to investigate. Walking closer, I could see that the light was coming from the greenhouse. I was surprised she was working on her plants so late.

I crept closer and peered through the doorway. The glass building was stuffed to the gills with plants and flowers, which spilled out of containers. Ferns the size of grown men lined one side. There was moss on the floor and a thick moist heat made it hard for me to breathe. I heard a low groaning noise and stepped into the room.

Dense foliage partially obstructed my view, but I could see that Mrs. Mason was bent over something on a long wooden table. She mumbled and green sparks flew from the object.

Without thinking, I gasped, then hid behind a large fern. Mrs. Mason stiffened and wheeled around. She peered into the darkness. I told myself there was no way she could see me, but I felt as if her eyes were boring into me.

"Who is there?" she cried. She raised her wand menacingly, and for a second, she didn't look like the pleasant elderly woman who took prizes for her roses every year. There were deep lines in her face and her eyes held a dangerous gleam. I didn't move and a minute later, she went back to her work.

I slipped out while her back was turned, then ran all the way home. What exactly was Mrs. Mason growing in her greenhouse?

Had I really heard a groan? I'd decided that my imagination was getting the better of me. Mrs. Mason was probably just working on her flowers with magic. The explanation satisfied me and I put the incident out of my mind.