Dex leaned back in his chair, trying to affect that super-casual thing he usually did so well. But his hands were shaking and his face looked ravaged. "Well, I may not have superpowers, and it's true my asthma may get in the way of much monster chasing, but I did used to be dead, and I faced down a terrifying ghost tonight. So, I'd like to...join your gang. Or whatever. There aren't any initiation rituals involving blood are there?" He shuddered, and Mom cut her eyes at me.

I gave a little shrug.

"You understand why I might be hesitant to let my daughter's boyfriend move in with us, right?"

"I'm not her boyfriend," Dex said, his voice completely serious. "I'm just her friend. I swear." He lifted his hand in what I think was supposed to be a Boy Scout salute, but just ended up looking like a vaguely obscene gesture.

Mom turned back to me. "That true, Iz? This guy is nothing more than a friend?"

I looked at Dex and ignored the twisting in my heart. He was right. So we had liked each other. We could get over that. Especially if it meant Dex could stay with us.

"It is," I told her.

Sighing, Mom stood up and braced her hands on her lower back. "Well, we've solved Ideal's ghost problem. So where to next?"

Maya leaned back in her seat. "I have at least three file folders for you to look through. Couple of interesting cases just came in over the last few weeks."

Mom nodded. "Good. And there's another thing." She laid both hands on the table, leaning in so that she could meet my eyes. "Yes, the research I've been doing is about Finley. I've been trying to track the history of the coven Finn was with the night she disappeared, reading up on other vanishings, seeing if there's anything, any scrap that can help us find her. And I didn't tell you because I..." She looked down, flexing her fingers. "I didn't want to get your hopes up if it all came to nothing."

I reached out and covered her hand with my own. "Mom, knowing is better than not knowing every time, okay?"

After a moment, she squeezed back. "Okay." Then, slapping her palms on the table, she straightened up. "So we have more monsters to fight, places to go, and your sister to find. We have our work cut out for us."

Clearing his throat, Dex leaned forward and raised his eyebrows. "And does that 'we' include me?"

Mom looked down at me, and I could read the question in her eyes. If I said yes, she'd let Dex come with us. Which would mean traveling with Dex. Living with Dex.

But that would be fine. So we'd kissed a few times. It wasn't like we'd had some long-lasting relationship or anything. Surely downgrading to "just friends" and, basically, "work partners" would be easy enough. No matter how blue his eyes were.

I gave Mom the tiniest nod, and she returned it.

Putting one hand on Dex's shoulder, Mom gave him a little shake, making him wince. "Welcome to the Brannick family, Dexter."