‘Olivia, you are stronger than you give yourself credit for. I think you need to stand up to these girls and fight for what you think is right. It wasn’t easy for me, buying back this farm, for instance. But I did it.’
Olivia imagined her aunt without a family, without any support, but still trying to play hardball against the bank that had taken back the property. ‘Why did you do it?’ she asked.
Aunt Rebecca’s hair blew softly in the breeze. ‘Because I knew I had to have this piece of family history back in our lives. Your mother and I grew up together here on this land. I knew it was the best thing to do and it turns out I was right. It’s given us a place where our whole family can gather. And look at how Ivy has tried to be better around the animals. She’s riding horses! She’s learning! Everyone can do the best that they can, if they put their minds to it. If you think the pink plan is a bad idea, you should come up with a better one. You’re the chairperson. Be pleasant, but stand your ground.’
Olivia ogled her aunt like she was a five-star general who’d just urged her into battle. Olivia had always thought Ivy got her tough streak from being a vampire, but now she was thinking that perhaps the toughness came from the human side of the family. And if that was the case, surely Olivia could be tough, too.
‘I know you’re right.’ Olivia reached down and plucked a dandelion from the ground. Pondering, she twirled it between her fingers. ‘But the atmosphere has become so bad. I don’t know how I can fix it.’ Olivia blew on the dandelion and the fluffy white of the flower scattered in the wind. She made a wish. I wish for the perfect night. And then she quickly added, Complete with the perfect boyfriend.
‘You’ll think of something,’ Rebecca assured her. ‘I remember when I was your age, your mother and I used to love holding big barn dances at the farm. Dancing with Brendan brought back a lot of memories. Dressing up in boots and hats and country cowgirl gear! Oh, those days were so fun.’
Olivia drew in a sharp breath. ‘That’s it! Aunt Rebecca, we can have a barn-dance theme! No one in Franklin Grove will expect it. Maybe that will bring everyone together!’ Olivia gave her aunt a giant bear hug. Maybe it was a good idea to come away for the day after all.
New dance theme? Check! Now all she had to do was deal with the mean girls . . . and find out what was bothering Ivy . . . and talk to Jackson. Gulp!
Ivy scraped sawdust off the back of her trousers. How utterly embarrassing. Brendan wrapped his arm around her waist, holding her close. Ivy was so not into the damsel-in-distress thing, but she guessed if she had to be saved, it might as well be a goth-gorgeous guy with skin the colour of pure white marble and high cheekbones that made picture-perfect valleys in his handsome face.
Ivy glanced up at her boyfriend. ‘I’m fine.’ She pulled away. ‘Really,’ she said after seeing the worried look on Brendan’s face. ‘It’s my super-strong powers acting up again.’ At all the wrong moments, Ivy added in her head.
‘Super-strong powers?’ Brendan’s eyebrows swooped up.
This was going to take some explaining. She looked to her father for help.
Charles gave a slight nod. ‘You’ll have to excuse me,’ he said, clearing his throat, ‘but I should go back to check on my parents.’
Ivy took Brendan’s hand and led him to the big porch that wrapped around the main house, where they plopped down on one of the swing seats. Ivy let her boots dangle as Brendan pushed the swing back and forth, his fingers still curled around hers.
‘When I told you about Wallachia Academy, I might have left out a few parts.’
‘Oh?’ Brendan’s eyebrows shot up beneath his hair.
‘Apparently my powers accelerate as I get older,’ she told Brendan. ‘It’s a part of being one of the gentry of Transylvania. It’s pretty freaky, really,’ Ivy admitted. ‘It doesn’t happen to most vampires. I accidentally broke a glass in my bare hand at Mister Smoothie the other day.’ Ivy laughed uncomfortably. ‘So anyway, that’s why I’ve been invited to finishing school – to learn to control them.’
‘Ivy!’ He stopped the swing. ‘Then that absolutely means you have to go. If you know this about yourself, isn’t it your duty to learn to control your powers? Do you want to risk blowing the vampire secret wide open?’
‘Are you being serious? I thought you didn’t want me to go.’
Brendan’s smile faltered. ‘I didn’t want you to go, but that was before you told me about your powers.’ He shook his head, staring out at the horizon.
‘What’s wrong? Why are you reacting like this?’ Ivy asked.
Brendan’s face was turning red. ‘Can’t you see, Ivy?’ He said quietly. ‘You owe it to everyone to learn to control your powers. If the vampire secret at Franklin Grove got out because you gave the game away, everyone would suffer.’
Ivy couldn’t believe Brendan was making out she was in danger of letting down every vampire she knew.
‘I’m sorry you feel that way,’ she said.
Brendan turned to face her. ‘It’s not about how I feel. It’s about the truth. I don’t want you to be far away from me, but if it’s for a really important reason . . .’
‘We’ve never, ever argued before,’ Ivy said, sadness leaking through her.
‘We’re not arguing now.’ Brendan’s rigid expression softened. ‘But I’m going to tell you when I think you’re wrong.’