Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 77127 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77127 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Someone had tattled on us, but I couldn’t decide who it’d been.
Carrick was mad enough that he could’ve easily thrown us under the bus. Lorne was still convinced he’d done the right thing, so he might’ve bragged about it. Kenzie liked gossiping enough that he might’ve accidentally told everyone what he knew.
And our little librarian friend might’ve just answered someone’s question honestly because that was what librarians did.
Yep, there were a thousand ways the wait for my mate had turned into something like the game of watching the lottery grow bigger and bigger.
“He just had a long way to go to get here.” Kenzie seemed to think that was a reasonable answer, but if my mate had been driving for a month, he must’ve been coming from Mars.
“He’s also had to pack up his life and his work and maybe sell a house and rehome plants and cancel his gym membership and explain what he was doing to family and possibly escape the mental institution where his family put him for talking about crazy things like magical compulsions.” When the ancient voice coming from behind me finally paused to take a breath, I thought I was saved.
I wasn’t.
“We’ve started wondering if your mate is human too and everyone around him thought he’d cracked. You know, like one of those mental things that happen to humans in their twenties. That’s when they go crazy. There was a show on it.”
Dragons above.
“Um, I don’t think two humans have ever been mates.” Kenzie’s response was actually helpful and logical that time. “We can make Stefan do some research, but I don’t think that’s a thing.”
Well, that was one less thing to worry about?
As the debate started to swirl around us, I focused on Kenzie. “It’s going to be fine. I’m just a bit stressed. I don’t like waiting.”
That was an understatement.
I liked doing things, but finding new ways to keep myself occupied while the magical apocalypse built around me was getting harder and harder.
And exhausting.
“We could go on a trip or make a list of things to do to keep you busy.” Kenzie sat straighter in his seat, nearly bouncing on the bench. “You liked going to the beach last year and we didn’t get in trouble…or lost or get food poisoning or drown.”
His list of what could go wrong made me laugh. “You have to stop listening to everyone.”
Ignoring the low grumbles about someone who seemed to have read an article about a woman who drowned because she had food poisoning, I focused on Kenzie and not the crazy around me. “Yes, we had fun, but I don’t need a vacation right now. I’ve been working on a lot of different projects and picking up extra shifts when I can.”
I’d been so busy, it was the first time in a week I’d found time to just sit at the diner and have a meal. I was at the point where I was too tired of cereal to keep going and not even stress could make me get up.
Cocking his head, Kenzie’s frown shifted to looking concerned. “Are you having fun being that busy?”
Why had he asked that?
“I’m not sure that’s the point here. I’m keeping occupied and not letting myself worry too much.” I also wasn’t sitting around pouting or making lists of everything that could go wrong.
I’d stopped that the first week when the list had started to give me nightmares.
I was at the point where I couldn’t decide if my mate being pulled into a thousand pieces by magic going completely fucked was the worst thing that could happen or if my mate turning out to be a woman because we’d fucked with things we weren’t supposed to would be worse.
Honestly, all the options my brain had come up with were bad.
“I think planning out what fun things you’re going to do with your Daddy first would be a better use of your time.” Kenzie looked confused when I just stared at him. “You need a list.”
“I’m worried I might’ve gotten him killed or something even more terrible. I’ll start thinking fun things when he actually shows up and my anxiety goes away.” I’d never had it before and it was going to kill me. “I think I’m getting an ulcer from all this, Kenzie.”
Going forward, I was going to make sure Lorne’s Daddy knew what he was up to before agreeing to anything.
Kenzie’s face scrunched up. “I guess I can understand that.”
He was weird sometimes.
“You’ll feel better once you can get spanked and cuddled.” Kenzie just ignored the odd questions that started popping up around us.
No matter how much they read, most of the town couldn’t figure out why spankings were a good thing…and the ones who got it just always ended up walking out of the room as soon as the topic came up.