“Ah.” He swept his gaze over my face. “Will you join me?”
For a second, I got my wires crossed. “In the game?”
I had an avatar, but she had died horribly so many times, I elected to let her rest in peace.
“He meant help with Clay.” Colby snuggled in. “She will.”
“Excellent.” Asa awarded her a smile that hitched my breath. “Can I give you a ride home?”
“I need to run a few errands first.” I checked the time. “Meet me at my house in thirty minutes.”
“I’ll be there.”
With one hand in his pocket, he strolled the sidewalk until a store caught his interest and he went in.
“You’re grounded,” I told my naughty hair bow. “Grounded into the dirt.”
“You have zero follow through.” She scoffed at my tone. “You just like to make threats.”
Who had I become that a tiny moth sassed me without fear of the consequences?
Probably a better person.
But could a better person stop a copycat when the original Silver Stag had nearly beaten my worst?
* * *
Camber and Ardenshared way too many knowing glances for my comfort when I made my excuses.
I refused to believe I was so hard up for a man that everyone felt matchmaking was my only hope.
Dry spells happened to everyone. A decade wasn’t that long, right? Or two? Had it already been three?
By the time I set Colby up with her bee pollen granules and sugar water, I was ready to escape her smug—if adorably so—face too. Her little headset slayed me with its cuteness. Her whole gaming setup was built to spec for her comfort, since virtual friends were the easiest for her to manage.
Well, real friends. Virtual landscape. Pixels didn’t exchange Christmas presents, you know?
With her settled in for her raid, I checked to make sure I had all my supplies.
Jeans, boots, tee, spell kit, and athame. The spell kit reminded me of a jumbo leather fanny pack, except it buckled like a belt at my waist then fastened around my upper thigh to provide extra stability for vials. The overall effect was very steampunkish, but it was an heirloom piece, and its weight comforted me.
“I’ll check in if we run late,” I called on my way to the front door. “Have fun.”
There was no answer, which wasn’t unusual. She lived in those noise-cancelling headphones.
Best investment ever? Maybe. Though possibly the worst. It depended on the day and how loud I had to scream to get her attention. She suffered from bouts of selective hearing during school and chore times.
A parent might worry Colby was too plugged in for her own good, but I wasn’t her mom. I was more like the fun aunt, the one who fed her niece too much sugar, bought her too many expensive toys, and let her stay up too late. I was just grateful technology had reached a point where she could experience any sort of normalcy to count the hours she spent glued to her computer screen.
Standing a good foot away from the white picket fence, Asa waited for me with a smoothie in hand.
“The man at the counter told me this was your usual.” He offered it to me when I joined him outside the wards. “After quizzing me on how I knew you, what my intentions were, and when I was leaving.”
“Thanks.” I accepted the bribe, a godsend since I didn’t eat at breakfast. “And don’t take it personally.”
“It’s not just me?”
“Barry still asks me when I’m going back where I came from. I thought it meant he wanted me gone, but his wife assured me it’s his way.” I took a sip and had to admit, Asa was sly. “These things have too much sugar to qualify as healthy, but I do love a good strawberry, banana, pineapple smoothie.”