Ivy’s mouth watered at the tantalizing smell of juicy T-bone steak cooking on Aunt Rebecca’s outdoor grill. Thank goodness her dad had brought plenty of meat this trip. Aunt Rebecca was a vegetarian like Olivia and the Abbotts, and Ivy had just about died when she had last stayed at the ranch, with nothing but bunny food around. If she’d had to eat one more Vita Vamp bar in Aunt Rebecca’s bathroom, she was sure she’d have been sick.
Outside, the sun was trickling through green leaves, spattering bright polka dots of light across her family’s faces. Acorns littered the ground and the distant mooing of cows could be heard in the background. Even Ivy could appreciate the peacefulness of Aunt Rebecca’s farm. She enjoyed the sweet scent of the hay scattered under their feet. She was just thinking how lucky she was to have everyone gathered in one place when she felt her stomach turn. She sniffed the air. Is that garlic?
Aunt Rebecca appeared out of the kitchen, carrying a tray. ‘Four loaves of my famous garlic bread coming right up!’
Ivy could feel her face going pink. She wanted to faint at the idea of garlic-smeared bread. That was ten times worse than any bunny food. But what could she do? She couldn’t tell Aunt Rebecca that almost every single person at the ranch was allergic to garlic. What were the odds of that?
Mrs Abbott licked her lips, taking a big whiff of the freshly baked bread. ‘My favourite!’
Olivia’s eyes bugged and she squeezed Ivy’s hand underneath the table. ‘Our grandparents!’ said Olivia through gritted teeth. ‘If they get anywhere near the garlic they’ll pass out. There’s not a speck of garlic to be found in all of Transylvania – they’re not used to this. We have to keep the evil globes away from them!’
The Lazars’ smiles were starting to look a little stretched and Brendan’s sister Bethany was turning the colour of cooked shrimp. They needed a plan – and fast!
Ivy headed straight for the kitchen, signalling for Olivia and Brendan to follow. The fierce scent of garlic nearly bowled her over. She blinked hard, trying to focus.
Brendan looked close to losing his appetizers. ‘Vampire kryptonite!’ he said, wiping a layer of sweat off his forehead. ‘Are they trying to kill us?’ Ivy knew her boyfriend was exaggerating. A small taste of garlic would hardly be enough to poison them, but it was enough to make them feel deathly ill.
‘I know,’ said Ivy, pulling her sister and Brendan into a huddle. ‘Consider this Garlic-CON 5! This is not a drill, people! Brendan, you find a baguette.’ She pointed to the pantry. ‘And I’ll grab the butter. We’ll make some fake garlic bread and pass that round the vampires.’
‘Olivia can pass out the real garlic bread to anyone who can eat it,’ suggested Brendan, sucking in his breath.
Olivia hesitated. ‘Do you really think that will work?’
Ivy looked deadly serious. ‘Brendan can use diversion tactics to provide cover if either of us needs it.’
‘Diversion tactics?’ Now Brendan was the one who was less than gung-ho.
Ivy sighed. ‘OK, so I know the plan may be a bit sketchy, but it’s the best I could come up with on such short notice. I’m not a mastermind.’
Olivia grinned. ‘Are you sure about that?’
At that moment they heard the girls’ grandmother calling for them. It sounded urgent.
‘Right,’ said Ivy, placing her hand in the centre of their human triangle. ‘Are we in or are we out?’
‘I’m in.’ Olivia put her hand over her sister’s. ‘I’m in.’ Brendan placed his large hand on top. ‘Great, Operation Garlic Bread is a go! Now, break!’ They tossed their hands in the air. Ivy and Brendan hurried to retrieve the supplies. Brendan sliced the flaky baguette while Ivy buttered. Olivia arranged the fake garlic bread neatly on a tray and, in hardly any time at all, they had created a non-toxic dish that looked exactly the same as Aunt Rebecca’s famous-but-lethal garlic bread. The trio hustled outside, ready to serve.
‘Aunt Rebecca, you’ve worked so hard,’ Olivia exclaimed, a little too loudly, to give Ivy and Brendan their cue. ‘Please, let us!’ Olivia scooped up the tray of real garlic bread and began circling the table. As usual, Horatio couldn’t resist getting in on the table-waiting, too. He passed out napkins and wiped up stray crumbs.
Her aunt enthusiastically took two pieces for her plate. ‘Charles, please help yourself!’
Charles pulled at his collar. Brendan went into a fit of coughing. Oh no, quick! Ivy darted forwards with her platter of harmless bread, while Olivia moved down the table to her parents, the Abbotts.
‘Olivia, will you go ahead and serve the Count and Countess first?’ Aunt Rebecca called. Ivy froze. Her sister didn’t seem to know what to do.
Brendan jumped to the rescue. ‘Pardon me, Rebecca, I was wondering . . .’ He scratched his head. ‘Do you know how to do any country dances? See, I’ve always wanted to try. Could you show me?’
Aunt Rebecca looked Brendan up and down, as he stood in his black, rail-straight jeans and burgundy button-down shirt. ‘Really?’ she asked.
Ivy fought back the laughter bubbling up in her throat. That was the first idea that came to Brendan? Country dancing?
Brendan’s eyes flitted to Ivy as she served the plain bread to her grandparents. Mission accomplished. ‘Oh, never mind.’ He tried to back away, but Aunt Rebecca caught his wrist.
‘Don’t be silly!’ she said, slapping her knee. ‘I think it’s a great idea.’ Once upon a time, Aunt Rebecca had thought Brendan was a no-good teenage yob. Now, she’d clearly changed her mind.