Total pages in book: 254
Estimated words: 240032 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1200(@200wpm)___ 960(@250wpm)___ 800(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 240032 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1200(@200wpm)___ 960(@250wpm)___ 800(@300wpm)
“You’re welcome to spend the night,” Franklin claimed, even though I could’ve sworn he didn’t sound thrilled, and I watched Henri’s head swivel toward him. “For now, we can take you to see the pup, or you can meet him later. The choice is yours.”
Franklin was being so weird.
But Ilya nodded, his bright blue eyes flicking back in my direction.
I pretended not to notice.
Henri moved. He angled his body halfway in front of me. “Follow us,” he said, setting a hand on my shoulder and guiding me to go in front of him.
All right then.
I led our small group back into the clubhouse, turning right to go down the hall. The nursery door loomed ahead like a portal into another dimension I was scared to see, but the heavy palm on my shoulder stayed right where it was. I told myself everything was going to be fine.
Duncan didn’t just have me now. He had Agnes. He had friends at the nursery. Maggie, his teacher, adored him. He had Henri. And even Shiloh would stomp on some toes for my boy if he had to.
At the door, I stepped off to the side, while Franklin gestured our visitor over. “If you come to the window, you’ll see the pup the exact way I described him,” the elder told him.
He didn’t need to be told twice. He went up to the door and peered in.
He moved his face muscles even less than Henri did, I thought, spying on him. The man didn’t even blink. His eyes, though, followed someone around the room, which from the sounds of it, made me think the kids were chasing each other.
What did he think?
The man named Ilya backed away from the door after a minute or two. He nodded with that carefully blank face, then met my eyes. “Tell me how you found him.”
Henri bristled at the same time I blinked at how freaking bossy that sentence had come out. What did Ilya think he was? The boss of me? Fluff agreed from the way he said very calmly—too calmly—, “You’re a guest here, but that’ll be the last time you demand anything from one of mine.”
Our visitor narrowed his eyes, and even his nostrils flared, but after a second, he bent his head.
Fluffy stared at Ilya, then looked at me and winked… in encouragement?
Henri had winked at me.
I realized in that moment that he’d always have my back, awkwardness or not, and that made me feel a little better about the future of our friendship. It wasn’t what I wanted, and it definitely wasn’t what I would’ve wished for if I had a choice, but I’d take it with open arms. I didn’t want to lose him.
So if all I would ever get was Teasing Friend Henri… so be it.
I pressed my lips together, then I told Ilya the story. All of it.
“Shh, Dunky, shh,” I whispered to the tap-dancer wiggling his butt down the stairs as we headed outside.
I had two beef tracheas in my hand that he was losing his mind over. Except, when we turned to go down the hall, Agnes wasn’t waiting for us in her usual spot. This was the first time in weeks that she hadn’t been right outside of her room, waiting, with her hands on her hips. We always went out around the same time, unless it was raining.
I thought about knocking on her door, or at least opening it to check if she was okay, but I didn’t want to invade her privacy. Her behavior toward me hadn’t changed much since the day Dom had been an asshole, but I’d swear there was a different glint in her eye when she was around me. I wasn’t going to say it was respect or even affection, but it was something.
Taking my phone out, I opened the app for the ranch, then went to the Agnes specific chat to see if maybe she was spending the night with someone. The last entry had been from earlier, where Phoebe had said she was taking her with them for dinner. Maybe she was still at their house. I’d save her trachea for another day.
Figuring she was in good hands, the donut and I headed outside. The moon was tucked behind thin, narrow clouds as we made our way to our clearing. Before we managed to do anything else, something caught Duncan’s attention, his tail snapping up straight right as a voice called out, “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
We found him at the same time. Ilya from Alaska, was leaning against a tree maybe twenty feet away. His arms were crossed over his chest.
I hadn’t sensed him, and when I checked to see if maybe I just hadn’t been paying attention, I realized that the strong magical presence I’d felt when he’d shown up was missing.