Chapter 42
The house key was under the front mat, just like Sabrina had said it would be. Gideon let himself into Sabrina’s house. It was an odd feeling to be there alone.
He stood in the living room, not sure what to do next. She wouldn’t be home for another hour. He’d already decided he’d order dinner for all three of them, but he’d wait until she arrived to see what she wanted.
He got his duffel bag and went to the bathroom to shower and change into more casual clothes. He came back out to the still-empty house and looked around. How strange it was to be in a place that felt safe.
There was peace in that, a curious feeling that sent a warm rippling sensation through him. It was the absence of the weight he’d grown used to carrying. Like every gear was properly aligned.
The tension in his shoulders released, and the constant wary hum in his brain went quiet. He might not be curse-free yet, but he imagined this was close to what it would feel like.
He smiled. He wanted to do something for Sabrina. Something to make her life easier. He decided to clean. He could vacuum, maybe dust, whatever seemed needed.
He started opening doors, looking for the vacuum.
Instead he found a room filled with overflowing shelves. He turned on the light and stepped inside, knowing he was snooping even as he did. What was all this stuff?
He looked closer and realized each item was broken. And if not obviously broken, then it was awaiting some kind of repair. She hadn’t been kidding about her curse.
He understood. Deeply. He turned the light out and closed the door. He found the vacuum in a small pantry in the kitchen and got to work.
By the time Sabrina and Korrin arrived, Gideon had vacuumed, dusted, cleaned windows and mirrors, mopped the kitchen floor, and wiped down the appliances. The best part was he hadn’t broken a thing or injured himself.
Sabrina looked around. “Why does it smell like lemons in here and look as if Mr. Clean has visited?”
Gideon smiled. “I did some cleaning. As a way of saying thank you. Not because your place was dirty.”
“Oh, it needed it. I’m not going to pretend to be offended. I can’t believe you did all of this. That was a lot of work.”
“It was good to do. I liked doing it. And I’m about to order dinner. For all of us. I was thinking Chinese? Do you like Crystal Panda? I think their food is pretty good. I usually get fried rice, kung pao shrimp, and a spring roll, but we can get anything.”
Korrin’s wings fluttered excitedly. “What a kung pow?”
Sabrina laughed. “It’s a kind of Chinese dish. Come on, we’ll look up the menu on my phone.” As she dug it from her purse, she exchanged a quick look with Gideon. “Thank you so much.”
“My pleasure.” And he meant it.
Sabrina showed Korrin the menu on her phone. “I’m going to get orange chicken.”
“Get an appetizer too,” Gideon said. “Egg rolls or soup or something.”
“Spareribs?” Korrin asked.
“Sure,” Gideon said, already imagining how the sprite would eat something nearly as big as he was.
“Wonton soup,” Sabrina said.
“Great. I’ll call it in. And we can have that cake and ice cream for dessert.”
She gave him a curious look but just said, “I’m going to change. Then maybe we can watch a movie or something?”
Gideon nodded, nearly giddy with the normalcy of it all. This was how regular people lived. How he could live if the curse were gone. The kind of life that was possible. He watched Sabrina go back to her bedroom.
He wanted that life with her. It wouldn’t be as good without someone special to share it with. And she was definitely someone special.
He called the order in, realizing as he did that he didn’t know her exact address. He walked out to the front porch and found her house number. He relayed it to the young man taking the order, then gave him a credit card number.
When Gideon hung up, he stayed on the porch. Someone had a fire going. He could smell the woodsmoke in the air. Hopefully not his house. The crisp air made him wish she had a bench or a chair where he could sit.
He settled on the front step instead. His sense of peace was deepening. Even though he saw the yard needed to be raked. He’d do that tomorrow.
If they survived the Enchanted Forest.
The thought gave him some pause. Going there really wasn’t a smart thing to do. Some of his peace trickled away. The idea that Sabrina might get hurt bothered him deeply. He’d never forgive himself.
The door opened behind him, and she came out wearing jeans, a big sweatshirt emblazoned with pine trees and the word Montana, and fuzzy socks. She sat beside him. “What are you doing?”
“Just enjoying the evening. It’s really nice out. And I never do this at my place.”
She wrapped her arms around her knees. “Why not?”
“I don’t know. I guess because I feel like anything out of the ordinary might make the curse notice me more. I try to live quietly in that house. To be as unnoticeable as possible.” He watched her expression morph into one of pity. “Sad, I know.”
“Sad you’ve had to live like that.” She smiled again. “We’re going to change that tomorrow.”
“About that …”
She put her hand on his leg, completely erasing the thought he’d been about to share.
“I know you’re worried. That you think something’s going to go wrong or one of us is going to get hurt, and you know what?
Something might go wrong. One of us might get hurt.
But we’re all going out there of our own free will.
We all want to go. So if something happens, we’ve already accepted it’s a possibility. ”
He sighed, the warmth of her hand seeping through his jeans. “I will still feel guilty.”
“Nope. Not allowed.”
He laughed, mostly because of the bright, cheery tone she’d used to make the proclamation. “Be that as it may, I will. We’re only going out there because of me.”
“No, we aren’t.”
He frowned. “I thought you were okay with your curse.”
“I am. But Julia’s not. If we find that book, you’d better believe she’ll be writing her name in it too. So will Korrie. You think he wants to be tied to that gear the rest of his life?”
“I wouldn’t think so.” Unbelievably, he felt better. Not completely but enough that he was no longer dreading the day to come. At least not as much.
He changed the subject, gesturing to the porch behind them. “A bench would be nice. Or maybe a couple of chairs. Little table.”
She nodded. “I agree. I keep waiting to find the right set, but every time I run across something, I end up selling it in the shop.” She shrugged, making light of it. “Eventually.”
She sold them because she needed the money. He knew that without her saying it. “How was work today?”
“Busy,” she said with enthusiasm. “And Amelia already referred a repair customer to me. Pryn Gallow. I didn’t know her, but Julia said she’s Robin Gallow’s mother.”
“The Goblin King.” He nodded. “Good people. I’ve repaired a few things for him. Mantel clock and a pocket watch. First fae watch I’d worked on.”
“Fae? So the Goblin King isn’t just a nickname? He’s really a goblin? Or a fae?” Her nose wrinkled. “I know so little about the people who live here.”
“From what I understand, his mother, Pryn, is fae. That makes Robin half goblin, half fae. And yes, he was the Goblin King, but he was exiled by his ex-wife. At least that’s what I’ve picked up.” He shifted, putting himself slightly closer to her. “You know I don’t get out much.”
She gave a little nod. “You will now.” She grinned. “I gave Korrie some money today from a repair job he’s going to do, and he wanted to know how many pancakes he could buy with it.”
Gideon laughed. “You realize you’re going to have to help him with money. Teach him the value of it.”
“You might be better at that. What little money I get goes right out the door for food, lights, insurance, and gas.”
“That’s going to change.”
“I hope so.”
“You know, anything mechanical that you’ve got that needs fixing, you should bring that to me. We could work together on those kinds of items. And I could sell certain ones in my shop. Like I did the wristwatch. My customers look for those items in my store.”
“Yeah? Okay. I like that. And we’ll split the profit?”
“Yes.” Or he’d give her a little extra, but she didn’t need to know that.
A car pulled up with a Crystal Panda tent sign on the top. He got up. “Looks like dinner’s here.”