Chapter 35
THIRTY-FIVE
When a child loved their parents, their opinion mattered.
In the wee hours of the morning, not long after a nurse came by to check on me, Hugh manifested in the room as an invisible presence. “I would have come sooner, but the humans are flighty, and I do not wish for there to be any mistakes while I am here.”
While I had helped mend the weave that was His life, He would forever carry the consequences of His choices.
All I had done was make certain they no longer defined Him.
“Honestly, I’m surprised Yuless left without a fuss.”
“My son spoke to him with telepathy and convinced him you needed peace, quiet, and some time with Darlene.”
In a way, I had been relieved when the hospital had kicked her out at the end of visitors’ hours. Outside of a few discussions with the doctors and nurses about my stroke, I’d enjoyed just existing for a while. “That’s good. What can I do for you?”
“It is more what I can do for you. I will be addressing your health concerns, as I see no reason for you to deal with any further consequences of your actions. My son does enjoy tempering people. You have been tempered as much as you need, and riding your important races with a headache is unnecessary. Consider it a balancing of the scales. You helped me, so I help you.”
“I appreciate that. Thank you. I’m still going to ham it up so I can enjoy a few days of being lazy and pampered.”
“As you should. Before I handle the issue, which will result in an involuntary nap on your part, I want to make certain you have a better idea of what it means to help raise little dragons. They’re dragons.
They will test your boundaries and patience to their limits.
In good news for your sanity, punting is an appropriate discipline for baby dragons over a year of age.
You can assign your alligators as caretakers, so while you will monitor their activities from the shore, you can put them in timeout.
This will work for approximately the first ten years of life.
After that, they begin to grow into their wisdom and will not require a swift punt into the lake to teach them their manners.
It is important young dragons learn there are those who can—and will—seize control from them.
It makes it easier to contain their tendencies. ”
I snickered softly at the thought of punting year old dragons into the lake for the alligators to deal with. “Dragon babies seem quite more durable than human ones.”
“They are, which you will greatly appreciate. With that out of the way, there is the matter of my son’s daughter to discuss.”
“Is something wrong with Kanika?”
“Nothing is wrong, but I would appreciate if you cultivated a relationship with her as much as you do her mother. She is a little shy, and she would appreciate the friendship of another woman who is in a similar position. You are equal in many ways, and it is difficult to find companionship when this is the case. You can also unravel any curse she might toss your way, which will be a relief to her and her husband. They can relax, even when her temper rises, which is often enough. My brother does vex her often.”
No kidding. “Sure, that’s no problem. I like her. I didn’t realize she wanted to spend more time with me.”
“That is her nature, alas. She is quite skilled at walking through opened doors, but she flails horrifically when it comes time for her to open them for others. I am confident in your ability to help her get through it—and you can better train Malcolm to handle a rider. Kanika will adore you training her husband while she enjoys the view.”
“I’ll even make her some nice drinks and some pie so she can have some quality relaxation, and I’ll teach her how to train him herself.”
“I would owe you a great debt should you, after training Malcolm sufficiently he is forced to nap, teach her to swim. She might even do something other than flail when she must go into the water to enjoy the aggressive cuddling of many baby alligators.”
“This is not even a burden to me, Hugh. I’ll help with that because I want to. No debt would at all be owed, but I’m not saying no to a new baby horse. Aramathea could clearly use a friend or two her same species.”
He laughed. “An arrangement can be made. Now, with those pleasantries out of the way, please allow me to deal with your poor head. It has begun to hurt in earnest, has it not?”
While I did suffer from a headache, I refused to complain about the pain. “It has, but it’s tolerable.”
“It will be non-existent soon enough, and you will be able to go home in the morning to enjoy being pampered while you pretend you need a few days to recover. Yuless will enjoy his duties, and taking care of you will help him cope with the many emotions waging war within him. None bad, I assure you. It just turns out that mean old wyrm is fully capable of deep love, and he is being forced to face that. And before you worry, everyone around him has already figured this out and has known for a great while. Only someone capable of deep love is willing to put up with the woman he loves grabbing him and treating him like a ball whenever he goes astray.”
“I can’t help it. It’s the squeaks and squeals and the splash that silences said squeaks and squeals. I will never get enough of it.”
“For which he is grateful, albeit it does disturb him a little. Just remember you should kiss and make it all better each night you punt him across the lake. That way, you are both happy at the end of the day.”
Some advice was easier to accept than others.
I wiggled and made myself comfortable. “Okay. I’m prepared to get smacked into general unconsciousness so I can start turning this plan into a reality.
Should you see Kanika before I do, invite her to my place.
We’ll get pizza, and then we’ll terrorize the entire world, especially if we bring her mother into it. ”
“Mother and daughter alike will love everything about this plan. Your men? Your men will weep from despair, and that, too, is a thing of beauty. I recommend pizza once a week. That way, Kanika may one day be able to accept and offer affection without property damage being involved, for she will have learned she can from you.”
When a child loved their parents, their opinion mattered.
I sucked in a breath. Between worrying about the baby dragon, Yuless’s reaction to his sibling’s rebirth, and the visitors distracting me, I’d completely forgotten to contact my parents about my latest hospitalization.
“Crap. Do my parents know about the stroke?”
“Do not fret. Yuless called them while you were in the ER, and he promised them you would be fine, and that he had the word of numerous archangels that it would be so. They will come to see you tomorrow after you have returned home. Yuless made those arrangements. He figured you, with the headache you surely suffer from, would not remember to do so.”
“Remind me to thank him.”
“He would prefer if you did the thanking while naked and in your bed,” Hugh informed me in a solemn tone.
I snickered. “Once I’m out of the body shop, and I have enjoyed some pampering, I think I’ll do just that. Hit me with your best shot, just don’t send me back to the valley. I think I’ve had enough of that for a few years.”
“That you have. When the morning comes, all will be well.”
* * *
As promised, all evidence of the stroke disappeared, resulting in a confused medical staff, who had run me through their various machines when I had requested an estimate for my departure.
As I had gone from possessing a rather bruised and unhappy brain to a healthy one, I received the desired discharge, thus throwing everyone in my life for a loop.
Yuless had not been prepared for me to return home immediately.
“Already?” he blurted for the sixth time.
It amazed me his poor phone survived his flailing about.
Something in our home did not, and I sighed at the crash.
“Calm down. I can get a ride from Lucifer or one of his demons, I’m sure.
There’s no need to panic. I’m still requiring a great deal of attention and pampering from you as part of my recovery plan. That is not negotiable.”
“I was working on a present for you, and I don’t know if it can be made ready before you get here!”
Dragons. I smiled at his plight. “How about I find an escort, wander to a bookstore, and work on filling our library? Dragons need libraries.”
The noise quieted, and my fiancé made a thoughtful sound. “I do like books. Can you give me three hours? I can have everything ready in three hours.”
“I can give you three hours,” I replied. “I’ll even get you a small present for your hoard. Dragons need new items in their hoards, else they might perish.”
“I really might. It would be a tragedy if I were to perish because I didn’t have any items in my hoard from my future wife. Can you tell me more about my present?”
“I will give you the item before I get naked and throw myself onto our bed. That’s part of the present.”
“Now I regret I require three hours to finish this.”
I laughed at his misfortunes. “Good luck with your project. I’ll call you if I’m delayed for any reason.”
“Okay. That works. Thank you. I love you. Please do not get into any trouble.”
“I’ll do my best. I love you, too.” I hung up before one of us became wishy-washy, a real concern considering the stress we’d both been under. With Yuless handled, I dug through my contacts, selecting the dragon’s old friend as my target. I dialed, put the phone to my ear, and waited.
“How can I help you, Crystal?”
“How good are you at finding things people don’t want found, Hagnar?”
Yuless’s companion made a thoughtful sound. “For you, better than most. What do you need?”
“I want to find the person who shot me. I might be inclined to present their head on a silver platter to my fiancé.”