CHAPTER 86
DAKOTA
After the two days pass, we head out to meet Thess again.
By this time, I’m even more determined to get Dottie to a doctor.
She never complains about anything, but I notice that she’s quieter than usual.
She sits in her chair and knits and lets Aggie do all the talking, and she takes lots of naps.
Any time we ask her how she’s feeling, she snaps at us, as if we’re being ridiculous.
It just reaffirms my decision. She can hate me, but I’m going to get her looked at.
I won’t have anyone getting sick on my watch.
Even the smallest cold can be deadly when there are no doctors and no medicine in the area, and all the stuff I’ve gleaned from pharmacies is haphazard and older than the hills.
Someone’s got to be the adult around here.
“More scavenging?” Rabbit asks as I tie Murr’s kilt to my neck like the saddest superhero cape. It’s morning on the day we’re supposed to meet Thess again and I’m getting ready to head out. My daughter looks disappointed. “I guess I can’t go?”
I pull her in for an apologetic hug, tucking Rabbit close. “I wish, baby. But Murr might need to carry something and he’s only got two front legs.”
“I could ride his back, like a horse.”
The thought terrifies me, and my brain is suddenly filled with images of Rabbit slipping off a nonexistent saddle and crash-landing to Earth. “Not right now. We’ll get it figured out, but not today. We’re meeting up with Thess again to talk about the fort stuff.”
She looks disappointed, but nods. “Okay. I’ll stay behind and keep an eye on things.”
“Any requests?” I ask, smoothing her hair back from her face.
“Hit up a pet store? Maybe some toys for the cats and the puppies?”
A pet store? Of all the things… But I should have known. Rabbit lives for the menagerie in our home. I give her a quick kiss. “I’ll see what we can find.”
Dottie’s sleeping in and Aggie’s with the puppies (and secretly watching over Dottie), so I don’t check in on them before heading out.
I slip out the heavy doors of the bookstore and pause by the morning fire, pouring myself the last few sips of pale coffee and chugging it.
Then I set my cup down again, brace myself for another flight, and head over to Murr.
My handsome dragon-husband is in his dragon form this morning.
He left bed early to check on his cats, and when I find him, they’re tearing apart what looks like what’s left of a wild turkey, judging by the feathers everywhere.
Two of the bonded tuxedos are curled up against each other, tucked against the side of his head.
It’s the cutest picture, and I hate to disturb them.
Murr opens one whirling eye, the color changing to a rich gold the moment I stroke his scales.
“I’m just about ready. Rabbit wants us to look for a pet store if we have a chance. ”
He blinks once, and I know it’s a quiet acknowledgment. Maybe it’s my imagination, but I can feel love and affection radiating from him today. I drape myself over his enormous head and hug him, giving him a kiss right on the horns.”I told you that you’re my favorite husband today, right?”
Murr huffs, blowing air out his nostrils.
“Just making sure.”
This time when we fly, I’m a little less anxious about being dropped.
Murr’s claws hold me tight, and he tucks me against his chest, right over his heart.
The warmth of his big body pressed to my back is reassuring, and with time, I think I could get used to flying.
I’m going to have to, given that I’m married to a great big dragon.
Thess is waiting in the parking lot of the antique mall for us when we return.
She’s also in her dragon form, her scales a dull red-gold.
As we circle overhead, she stretches like a cat, extending her claws and then arching her back before yawning.
We land, and she transforms to her human form, her thick hair tousled and wind-blown.
“Hello again, friends. Glad to see you again.”
“You too.” I touch the knot at my throat, wondering if it would be weird to hand Murr his kilt while Thess is as bare as the day is long.
I guess I can be the only one wearing clothing at this get-together.
I turn to my husband as he shifts into his human form, and he immediately approaches me, wrapping his arms around me from behind and tucking me against his chest once more.
Again, I feel that hot surge of affection, and I want to curl up in it and just bask. Even if it’s just my imagination running away with me, I’ll take it.
“Is all well?” Thess asks. “How did the discussions go?”
I rub my hand over Murr’s forearm. “We talked about most everything. Dottie isn’t any better and I’d like for her to see your doctor.
I don’t think she’d go willingly so we’re not going to tell her about him.
It’s going to be a surprise and she’s going to hate it, but I’ll take the responsibility for that. ”
Thess looks unhappy at this. “I don’t wish to cause issues in your clan.”
“I’m the one that’s causing the issues, not you. Aggie is open to possibly giving a puppy to your friend, but she wants to meet him first. And we’d all like to do some trading with the fort. So we’re all going to go together.”
Thess nods. “I’ll let the fort guardians know that you’re coming for a visit and for trading only. There will not be problems, I assure you.”
Of course there’d be fort guardians. That makes me a little worried, but what choice do we have?
Murr rubs his face against my hair, reminding me that he’s with me, and I relax.
He wouldn’t let anyone take advantage of us.
“When do we want to do this? The sooner the better for me. If Dottie really is sick, I don’t want to wait. ”
“We can meet up tomorrow. I can come to your home and carry whoever you’d like,” Thess says.
I hesitate, because I’m picturing my daughter and myself in Murr’s claws, and the two older women in Thess’s claws. It still doesn’t seem safe. I’d feel better if we had seatbelts.
Murr points to a nearby car. “Humans in car. Murr carry car?”
It’s like he read my mind.