I nodded, my guilt over Sebastian’s death still fresh. “Thanks for coming,” I said. “We couldn’t have done it without you.”
He clapped Austin on the back. “I figured I’d tell you here, in front of Jess. The people I brought knew going in that they’d have a choice to stay here and join your pack at the end of all this. I brought the guys and gals who never wanted you to leave in the first place, plus some newbies who need more room to advance than is available right now in my pack. All but a couple of them are going to stay.”
Austin’s eyes widened. “I can’t let you do that.”
“It’s done. Consider it a territory-warming present. Once you get everything official, throw a huge feast for everyone.”
“You’re too good to me, brother.” Austin put out his hand to shake.
Kingsley grabbed it and pulled him in closer, bumping chests and patting him on the back. “We’re family, and families stick together. We want to hear from you. Aurora especially wants to hear from her Uncle Auzzie.”
Austin nodded, his heart warm, his face unreadable. Kingsley nodded as though he knew how much his words meant to Austin, how much Austin had needed to hear them.
Kingsley gave me one last nod. “Take care of him, because he won’t take care of himself. And let him take care of you. It’s his job, and he won’t want to do anything else.”
“Okay.”
To Austin he said, “Don’t let her get into any trouble.”
“Yeah, right, as though I could stop her,” Austin replied with a laugh.
Kingsley looked at Ivy House one last time and then turned toward Austin’s waiting Jeep. Austin gave me a quick kiss.
“Will you be around later?” he asked.
“Of course. I just have to finally sign the papers to make everything official with Ivy House, and then I’m free to leave.”
“My house, then?” He chuckled softly and kissed me again. “I love you. See you tonight.”
He was striding away before I could respond. Which was maybe for the best. My heart fluttered with joy to hear it, but I was still afraid to say it. To feel it. It seemed too soon. It seemed not soon enough.
Shaking my head, I headed into the house, up the stairs, and into the office, the furniture still the same as it had been on my last visit. I sat in the creaking leather chair and took a deep breath, placing my hands on the desk.
“Mr. Tom?”
“You rang?” He stepped into the room.
I rolled my eyes. “The ledger, if you please.”
“Yes, miss,” he said, and I could tell he was almost giddy with excitement and trying not to show it.
He laid a large tome on the desk in front of me, years and years of markings contained within its pages. He opened to the last used pages, the neat scrawl only reaching halfway down the second page. The total number in all the combined accounts stared back at me.
“This is after the winery expenses, right?” I asked.
“Yes, as you will see here.” He traced a line farther up the page. “The cash has been sent to the escrow account. Tomorrow you go in to sign a few more documents and then it is all done.”
“Right.” I blew out a breath. “The blood oath is done, but I have to sign something, right?”
“Yes, for legal purposes.” He brought over a rolled-up parchment, flattening it out in front of me. He held out a fountain pen. “Make your mark at the bottom.”
A large X waited in front of a long line at the bottom of a document that was written in Latin or some other language I couldn’t read. The text was dirty red and looked suspiciously like dried blood.
“It isn’t blood, though, right?” I asked Mr. Tom.
“It is blood,” Ivy House said. “It is your blood, collected from the soil and transferred here after you assumed your power. You have but to sign, and it is done.”
I hadn’t put that much blood in the soil, but I didn’t see the point in saying so. They’d just tell me this could all easily be explained by magic.
I scribbled my name down.
Mr. Tom nodded, collected the paper, and rolled it back up. “Fantastic, miss. You are now officially the rightful heir to Ivy House. Congratulations. The Havercamps no longer have a claim to this house, not that Peggy wanted it anyway after she was denied.”
“Okay, then.” I stared at the ledger. “We’re going to automate this, I hope you know. Get a proper bookkeeping system up and running. Pay things online.”
Mr. Tom pursed his lips. “If you say so.”
“And this money…” I tapped the last number on the right. “I get that I can’t pass it down or anything, but are there rules on what I can spend it on? Can I, like, buy a vacation house?”