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)
I barely heard him say, “You don’t recognize her, do you?”
“She looks familiar, but I don’t know why,” I whispered to him. It wasn’t like I’d met that many people within a 100-mile radius of here to begin with.
“She doesn’t have as many freckles when she isn’t in her satyr form.”
My eyes went wide. “That’s why she looks different!”
Henri nodded.
It was Shiloh’s mom. I went “ohhhhh” in realization. “I feel dumb.” I laughed.
“I forgot again,” he told me, tapping the side of his nose. She would’ve smelled the same.
I nodded. “I’ve never had your senses, so I don’t know what I’ve been missing out on, but the more we talk about it, the more it feels like a lot,” I joked.
“It can make life less complicated, but it can make it a hell of a lot harder too when you’re forced to always tell the truth and deal with it because you can’t lie about anything.”
“And then if someone does lie, it makes it that much worse when you know they are,” I agreed. When I’d been very young, I remembered how long it had taken me to get over trying to lie to my parents about little things I thought they would get mad about.
It made me feel like crap, and I still felt guilty over certain things I’d tried to get away with, even if they were small and inconsequential now. Having to confront issues might seem like a curse sometimes, but it really wasn’t. Resentment built problems.
Henri nodded. “No matter how good a liar someone thinks they are, they’re never good enough.”
The way he said that made it seem like he had a lot of experience dealing with that kind of thing. Being in law enforcement and in his position in the community, he probably did.
Lowering my attention, I read through the menu. They had three different kinds of steaks, one with mashed potatoes, another with french fries, and a third option with a side salad. Bison and elk were also listed.
This was definitely a diner that catered to carnivorous magical beings.
As much as I enjoyed steak, I wanted comfort more. A BLT on the menu made my stomach grumble. I closed the laminated pages and sat back.
I clasped my hands together and smiled at the man across from me. I didn’t want to ruin his lunch being weepy. “You already know what you’re ordering?”
“Ribeye,” he answered, his intense gaze unwavering.
“That’s what your cousin orders every time it’s on the menu.”
“It has the best ratio of fat in the cut.” He set his hands on top of the table, those long fingers linked together, his light, caramel skin popping against the counter. The only jewelry he had on was a military-grade watch with a shiny, digital face.
“How many times have you moved?” he asked, surprising me with his change in subject.
“Since I started living in my trailer?” I hadn’t really traveled to that many places before I’d bought it. After leaving the small town where we’d grown up, Sienna and I had moved to Santa Fe, where I had learned the depths of my dislike of living among a lot of people. But for her, I had stuck around while we took six and a half years to finish school, both of us getting degrees in nothing we actually went on to use and barely passing our classes. Working full-time and going to school was not for the weak. By that point, I had maxed myself out on Santa Fe.
But I knew that wasn’t what he was asking when Henri dipped his chin. I still told him about it anyway. “I don’t know if we have time to go over everywhere, but I’m pretty sure I’ve stayed at almost every RV or state park on the west coast at least once, a few multiple times. I spent a year in Arizona, another year in California, months in New Mexico, but not where we lived….” I shrugged. “Everywhere, Fluff. Northern Colorado. I’d never heard of Lobo Springs. I didn’t know a place like this could exist. South Dakota and Wyoming are the closest I’ve ever experienced, but it doesn’t compare to here. This place feels like a nuclear reactor of m-a-g-i-c.”
Henri’s fingers stretched on the table. “There’s a place in Alaska that’s rich. Banff and parts close to Thunder Bay feel the most similar, but still not on our level.”
Matti had mentioned the place in Alaska already. “Really? I’ve never been to any of those places.” What were the chances these places were all located in the wilderness? Or maybe that was why there was so much wilderness.
Ancient conspiracy theory there.
“It’s where the majority of communities like ours are located, ’least the successful ones.” He was back to talking so low I had to put all my focus into paying attention and reading his lips.