Hunter Academy - Book 1

FAMILY MEETING

JESSICA

Memaw and I are just finishing up dinner when Matt walks in. He comes over and gives me a side hug and a kiss on top of my head. He then goes over to Memaw, picking her up and squeezing her in a bear hug.

"Let me down, you big galoot!" She shrieks, swatting his arms, and trying to wiggle free. He only laughs at her sad attempt. We all know she secretly loves it.

"Oh, put her down, Matt." I heard Bella say as her and Cara walk into the kitchen. She sniffs the air. "It smells so good in here. I wish I could cook like you two do."

"I've offered to help you learn, but you keep putting me off." I remind her.

"I know, I just don't ever seem to have time."

"Why don't you help me make the salad dressing?" I offer.

"Okay." She comes over to see what I'm doing.

"So, it's just a basic vinaigrette. We start with a little dijon mustard. That's a binding agent. Then some chopped garlic, fresh thyme and basil, and salt and pepper. Next add some red wine vinegar and mix it all together. Now we stream in some olive oil until it's all blended together. Voila, salad dressing." She finishes whisking in the olive oil. I take the mixed greens, tomatoes, cucumbers and radishes and tos them on top of the salad dressing. "Now you just toss it all together." She takes the tongs and starts tossing everything together.

"She's tossing salad." Matt snickers from across the room. I turn and toss an oven mitt at him, laughing. Unfortunately, the light fabric doesn't fly very far and lands flat in the middle of the kitchen floor, which only causes Matt to laugh harder. I look at Memaw and raise an eyebrow at her. With my look, she turns and smack Matt on the arm.

"Stop being disgusting." She says, trying to keep a straight face. It's no use, though, and soon we're all laughing. Cara's just finished setting the table, and drops into a chair, laughing so hard tears are streaming down her face. It takes a few minutes for us all to calm down enough to be able to sit and eat.

Finally settled down, we all gather around the table. We all bow our heads as Memaw says grace. Even though I'm not much of a believer, I still respect her beliefs, same goes for Matt. After grace, I start passing around the salad, and Matt grabs the chicken. We all pass to our right until we all have a plate of food. As we dig into the tomatoey goodness, Cara looks at me.

"So why did you have us all come here on such short notice." She asks around a mouthful of chicken. She chews the rest of her bite, then swallows. "You wouldn't have unless it was important." Bella is nodding beside her. I clear my throat and think of the best way to broach the subject. I guess just telling them everything is the best way.

So that's what I do. Between bites of food, I tell them everything. They already knew about the demon, so I tell them about the prophecy, about the demon just getting stronger, about how I'm supposed to fight her using 'the white way' and that I have no idea what that even means. They take all this in stride. I finish my last bite of garlic bread after swiping it across my plate to get the last bit of tomato sauce up. After I chew and swallow, I take a deep breath.

"I figured you would take that part well."

"There's more?" Matt asks, setting his napkin on his plate. I nod my head. I get up and start clearing dishes. Memaw puts a hand out and halts my actions.

"Peanut, stop stalling and tell them. They're family. They aren't going to judge you." She says quietly. I sigh and look around the table. The girls look worried and Matt looks mildly curious.