28. Blaine
BLAINE
“Do you know how hard it was to find you?”
Henley was right…people didn’t use manners nearly as much as they used to.
“Can we help you, ranger?” I didn’t ask his name because Henley was dead set against having to use his, so I just pretended like the situation was perfectly normal.
And that included ignoring the police officer who was trying not to giggle.
It was good to see the uniforms hadn’t changed much or the type of officers that were being hired.
This one made me think of a slightly older Tommy Kirk but still just as innocent as the squeaky-clean-looking actor had come across in my time.
Ugh.
Henley was right…that made me sound like I was ancient.
The cranky ranger threw up his arms as he turned around and started marching back to his truck. “No. That’s Colt. He’s not human.”
He was incredibly helpful.
“Officer.” I was really hoping Henley stayed in the campground bathroom until I figured out what was going on, but my luck had to run out at some point. “How can I help you?”
Standing in the doorway blocked most of his view of the interior, but I made sure to keep eye contact with him and not look around at all.
“This is really cool.” The man who looked younger every time he smiled straightened his shoulders. “I went out and hunted you a dozen times. I’m really glad I didn’t find you.”
People really had gotten stranger since I’d been…gone.
“Me too.” This really was an odd interaction. “I don’t have a lot of clear memories of that time, but it seems like trying to find me was a community sport.”
Of some sort.
His cheerful grin and shrug didn’t tell me if he’d been trying to kill me or not and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. “Most of us are glad you’re back to your old self.”
Most?
“And that’s kind of the reason I’m here.” His frown didn’t make him look any older, but he was trying. “Um, from what we can tell, you guys were the ones who called in the drunk driver, right?”
Taking a page from my mate, I cocked my head and tried to look confused. It just made the officer excited again. “Oh, you’re good at that. I need to practice that expression.”
He was odd.
He was still happy, though.
“Um, I can tell when people are lying. It’s kind of an aura thing but not quite, so I don’t actually need you to use the words.
You were thinking about lying.” Shrugging, he charged right back in without my having to respond.
“So yeah. Okay. Um, well the guy who was following you was one of the locals who’s made a serious crack at finding you. ”
Something about the way he said that made me picture being a rug in front of some idiot’s fireplace.
“I hope you informed him that finding me was no longer necessary?” The officer’s nod didn’t make me feel a lot of confidence. “I appreciate that.”
“I explained the situation just in case he hadn’t heard.” I couldn’t tell if the officer realized how insane that sounded or not. If I was in a truck with a human-looking body, he couldn’t hunt me. “He just got excited.”
Really?
That was how he was going to explain it?
“But he was actually drunk as a skunk, so he won’t be driving anywhere for a while.” Perking up again, the officer looked excited to tell me that. “I just wanted to let you know he won’t be a problem and he actually had been following you.”
It was nice to know he hadn’t wanted us to think we were paranoid?
“Thank you. I appreciate that.” When he stood there just smiling at me, I couldn’t decide what to do next. “We won’t be staying around much longer, so you won’t have to worry about us.”
At the very least Henley was going to make us move campgrounds.
We’d been working our way through an exhaustive to-do list to make sure we were ready to leave and were done with most of the necessities. There were a few items he said would be nice to get done but weren’t essential.
The last important item we were waiting on was my new ID and banking cards, but those were supposed to be ready any day. Evidently the coven had interesting friends who could help in situations like mine, which made me wonder what was going on in the world where that was necessary.
Henley decided not to ask too many questions but offered the person who was recreating my life a generous tip. My mate enjoyed meeting fascinating new people and making sure they remembered him fondly seemed to be his goal.
Part of me couldn’t imagine what we’d be doing where we’d need them again but then I remembered Henley’s family.
Yes…I could see why we might need someone like that in the future.
Eventually his family was going to find us and they’d start asking questions about where I’d come from. We were both hoping I’d pass for a human he’d met on his trip, but his family was so suspicious I wasn’t sure how long that would be believable.
I knew Henley would protect me above all else. He’d already shown that he understood how insane his family was, but I really didn’t want to put him in the position where he had to pick my safety or theirs.
I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear his mental debate about how to kill them or where to hide their bodies.
“You’ll come back, though, right?” Still looking younger than he probably was, his wide eyes and eager smile had me wanting to deduct years off his likely age as he nearly bounced in excitement. “We have a festival for you every year. The humans started it but it’s fun.”
Good grief.
I didn’t know what to say to that but knowing he could read my intent had me considering my answer carefully. “Part of me thinks that would be a lot of fun, so I’m not discounting the idea, but we have plans that can’t be moved around. I’ll see how it works into the schedule.”
I wasn’t going to miss the best comic conventions just to come back and see humans celebrating a strange tragedy.
One that’d worked out for the best considering I had my mate, but still, I wasn’t sure I was ready for that kind of fun yet.
It seemed morbid at the very least.
But I’d have to hear how Henley saw it before I could figure out how I should try to see it. He always had a very interesting outlook.
“Great.” He must’ve realized I was sincere because his smile brightened as he looked around. “Oh, we only found you because Gladice over at the Dollar General remembered you guys buying brownie mix. She’s really nosy but I made sure she understood your safety was involved.”
So?
There was definitely something he was leaving out based on the way his wiggling had decreased significantly.
“So you’ve got about twenty-four hours before she forgets that part and starts chatting away.” Shrugging, the officer looked resigned to that fact. “I’d wrap things up if I were you and sneak out of town. It was great to meet you, though. I’m really glad I’m a terrible shot and only got Bucky.”
Huh?
Waving, he turned and headed back to his vehicle before I could process what he’d said. Who was Bucky? Had he actually shot someone? Was Bucky a person? How was he a police officer if he couldn’t accurately shoot a gun?
As more questions kept firing through my head, Henley finally eased around the corner as the officer drove off. “That was weird on a variety of levels.”
“Agreed, my mate.” Had the locals always been strange? “I can’t decide if everyone has gotten more insane over the years or if I just hadn’t seen it before.”
“Is both an option?” Looking as confused as I felt, Henley checked on a few things on the side of the trailer before coming inside. “Were we really followed by some drunk local who was pissed he hadn’t killed you in your trapped form?”
“That’s what I heard as well.” People had definitely gotten more insane. I was going to blame it on social media like they did about everything else these days. “I think getting some space from town is a good idea.”
“Eventually they’ll get used to the idea of you being…well…you again and we won’t have to worry about this.” Frowning, Henley looked around the trailer and I could see a new to-do list forming in his head. “Maybe he’ll just end up in jail for a few years and that’ll make it easier.”
I wasn’t sure what to say, so I shrugged and focused on the present. “Hopefully. For now, though, we’ve got the shopping we needed to done, the trailer is ready to go except for emptying the tank before we leave, and you picked out the ATM we’re going to use as we leave the area.”
The plan was to drive an hour south to get money, then double back to eventually head west. He hoped that would confuse anyone watching us long enough for us to put some space between us and Bladenboro.
“Yes.” Taking a deep breath, he let it out slowly before stepping closer to me.
He might not think he was stressed but I could feel him relax against me as I hugged him tight.
“Serena texted me on the way back from the bathroom. Your stuff is ready and she wants to walk through the finances one more time to make sure you understand everything.”
While our biggest worries were about safety and the future, Serena’s main fears were about how I felt and how her managing my finances looked.
“Nothing she’s done says she’s untrustworthy, but I think it’s going to take time for her to believe it.
” Having that spell hanging over us had affected her life more than I thought she realized.
“It might be selfish but I’d much rather focus on our life and where we’re going rather than constantly watching the stock market and the local economy. ”
She was doing an amazing job of managing the money, but from what I could see, it was nearly a full-time job.
“I think that’s reasonable and we’ll be able to watch it as we travel.” Henley shrugged as he stepped back. “And even if she’s skimming a bit, she’s doing it really well and isn’t taking too much.”
He had the strangest outlook on life.
“Then we won’t worry about it unless the funds start disappearing dramatically.” Taking his perspective on the situation made it easier. “We’re taken care of and she’s doing a lot of work.”
Work that she was being compensated for, but it didn’t look like nearly enough.
“We just need to do some research on how much what she’s doing usually costs.” Frowning, Henley cocked his head. “I’ve never looked into that or had that much money.”
We were both operating without enough information but we could fix that over time.
“It’s another thing to research and then we’ll see how much of a raise she needs.” I couldn’t do anything about her punishing herself in the past, but I wanted to make sure she wasn’t still doing it. “She seems like the type to martyr herself rather than steal.”
“People make dumb decisions on a regular basis, so we’ll see which kind she makes.” Straightening, he smiled. “Let’s go talk to her and then we’ll wrap things up.”
My mate was excited to leave for a variety of reasons but I was pretty sure feeling unsafe in the area was top on his list even if he kept downplaying that one.
His anxiety had been just a bit too high over the past few days and he was having nightmares on a regular basis.
“You’ve promised to show me the country but so far it’s just talk. ”
I could feel his stress climbing higher the longer we stayed, but he’d been doing his best to hide it from me.
However, after being followed the other day, even I knew it was time to go.
I wanted my relaxed, content mate back and that meant we had to put some distance between us and his family and the local hunters and whoever else decided to come find us.
“Don’t tempt me.” Nearly bouncing, he started buzzing around the kitchen, putting things away. “I like going and we’ll end up on Mars if we’re not careful.”
If anyone could figure that out, it would be my mate.
“I’ve got a plan, though.” He flashed between Batman villain and kid at Christmas, but I wasn’t sure what I was missing.
“I’ve seen the plan.” I helped him work through it. Hadn’t I? “Why do you look so mischievous?”
Nearly giggling didn’t make him look any older or more innocent. “It’s a surprise.”
Really?
“How much of a surprise? Are we talking new route or new plan altogether?” His whole body was vibrating with excitement, making me lean toward a completely different planet. “That Mars thing was just a joke, right?”
His giggle didn’t give me a lot of confidence or any answers.
“Let’s go talk to Serena. She said she’s going to meet us over in her main office in Lumberton, so I figured we’ll do dinner there?
” Ignoring my question completely, he shifted gears as his excitement kept building.
“She didn’t want to risk us going back to the main house again unless that was what we wanted and she’s been meeting regular clients today. ”
“So we’re pretending you didn’t just tease me and then leave me unfulfilled?” The double meaning was intentional and had him sliding toward excited and wicked. “That’s not very nice.”
My sexy mate shrugged as he peeked over his shoulder at me. “Maybe I need to be punished.”
Clearly.
“I’ll take that into consideration.” Because we didn’t have time for it now and I wasn’t sure when he would be in the right headspace for it.
From what I’d read that played into how a scene should go and the way his brain was bouncing around like a rabbit didn’t make me think a spanking kind of scene would work.
But there were other ways I could help him relax, so I rolled those around in my head as we left the trailer and started off toward Lumberton.
Henley stayed busy teasing me with vague hints about what he was going to show me and randomly dotting in things we needed to do before we started out, but my brain was focused on ways to play with my sub.
So we both had very different things we needed to plan.