Chapter 10
Chapter
Ten
Anon smiled cheerfully at Rhaz as he entered the kitchen the next morning. “Well, well, Your Highness. Tell me, how did you sleep?”
“Like the dead. I must say, my bed comfortable.” He shut his eyes, then opened them. “I mean, it is very comfortable.”
“Don’t worry about your speech right now, Rhaz. May I call you Rhaz? Oh yes, of course, you already gave permission. I’m afraid I’m a bit scattered this morning.”
Rhaz smiled. “It is all right. I learned this language...” He paused and frowned. “I just said learned, didn’t I?”
Anon laughed. “Yes, you did, young man, but that’s perfectly all right. We can understand you just fine. If there’s a word you’re unsure of, you simply have to ask.”
Rhaz nodded. “Thank you, Anon. I appreciate it.” He looked around the kitchen. “Where is Basil?”
Anon rolled his eyes. “He’s pouting in his room. I refuse to let him make breakfast. After all, this is my kitchen, and I do like to use it. In fact, I’ve made scrambled eggs, hash browns, and bacon this morning. Go ahead and have a seat. Would you like some coffee?”
Rhaz headed for the kitchen table. “Yes, thank you.”
Anon hummed as he plated the food, poured Rhaz a cup of coffee, and brought everything to the table. “There now. Do you take cream and sugar in your coffee?”
Rhaz looked at the cup. “I have not tried it that way,” he admitted.
Anon snapped his fingers. “Not a problem. Let me go grab the cream and sugar.” He fetched what he needed and returned to the table. “If you’ve never tried cream and sugar in coffee, you’re in for a treat. You might try it with just cream first and see how you like it.”
Anon watched as Rhaz poured cream into his cup, gave it a stir, and took a sip. “Oh, that is good.”
“Yes but now try a bit of sugar. Not too much to start.”
Rhaz stirred a little sugar into his cup and took another sip. “That is better.” He smiled at Anon, gave the cup another stir, and picked up his fork. “I had no idea you could cook.”
Anon patted his chest. “Yes, well, I’ve always liked to dabble in the kitchen. It’s a hobby. I don’t eat much of what I cook, but I do love cooking for others.” Anon returned to the stove and began making another plate.
No sooner had he finished than Quill entered the kitchen. “Good morning,” he greeted. He headed straight for the stove. “Is that for me?”
“Yes, it is, wizard,” Anon sang. “Help yourself to coffee, and I’ll put this on the table.”
Quill grabbed the coffee pot, opened a cupboard, and retrieved a cup and saucer. By the time he reached the table, Anon had already set down his plate.
Quill sat across from Rhaz and smiled. “Did you sleep well?”
Rhaz chewed and nodded. After swallowing, he pointed at his plate with his fork. “This is delicious.”
“Anon is quite the cook. Though your Basil was impressive last night, especially since he’s a gnome.”
Rhaz laughed. “He would love to hear the praise, but not the part about being a gnome. Although sometimes he doesn’t mind because he thinks it makes it sound more impressive.”
Quill took a sip of coffee and set the cup back in its saucer. “But it is impressive. He’s only three feet tall, yet he scurries around this kitchen faster than any of us. I’ve never seen anything like it. We might have to get some more step stools, Anon.”
Anon frowned. “Yes, I suppose the little tyrant does make a tasty meal. I did enjoy what I tried last night, though it wasn’t much.”
“Basil does love cooking,” Rhaz said. He returned to eating while Anon watched the two happily wolf down their breakfast.
The doorbell rang.
“Now who could that be?” Anon gave Quill a quizzical look, then went to answer it.
When he opened the front door, Phin stood on the porch.
“Hi, Dr. Blackstone. Um, I understand you have another houseguest here. Mr. Stormfyr, perhaps? Louise Tattleson told me.”
Anon’s eyebrows shot up with interest. “Why, yes. And tell me, Miss Ironwood. What would you want to speak with Mr. Stormfyr about?”
She clasped her hands behind her back and rocked toe to heel. “I’d like to invite him on a tour of the fire station. Chief Morrison sent me. He’d very much like to visit with Mr. Stormfyr. We’ve never met a fire chief from Dubai.”
“Oh, well, of course you haven’t. Who has? This is my first.” He giggled. Yes, he’d lied, but he did what he had to do to protect the prince.
“All right. Do come in, my dear.” He led Phin into the living room. “Wait right here, and I’ll fetch him. He was just having breakfast.”
He hurried into the kitchen. “Rhaz! My boy! You have a visitor!”
Rhaz looked up from his now-empty plate. “I do?” He rose quickly from his chair. “Who is it?”
“Not to worry,” Anon soothed. “It’s Phin Ironwood, the young lady you met yesterday. She’s here to invite you to tour the fire station because she thinks you’re a fire chief.”
Rhaz crossed his arms over his chest and fixed Anon with a hard stare. “And whose fault is that?” he asked.
Quill glanced between them. “Anon, what did you do?”
Rhaz turned to the wizard. “He told the young lady that I was a fire chief from some place called Dubai.”
Quill’s face scrunched up in confusion. “Where is Dubai?”
Anon rolled his eyes. “Oh, it’s nothing, really. I had to make him sound realistic, considering he ran into a burning building twice. Only an idiot would do that if they weren’t trained, and we don’t want our dragon prince here coming across like an idiot.”
“No, we wouldn’t want that,” Quill said dryly. He returned his attention to his breakfast. “So you’re going to let Rhaz go with Miss Ironwood?”
Anon gave Rhaz a pleasant smile. “Why not? Don’t you want to tour the fire station?”
Rhaz glanced from Quill back to Anon. “But they’re going to ask questions I might not have answers to.”
“Of course they are, dear prince, but I have a plan. Once you take a tour of the station, they’ll leave you alone.”
“Anon,” Rhaz began as the vampire took him by the shoulders and steered him toward the door, “I do not know anything about this fire station or Dubai or?—”
“Hush now. Everything will be fine,” Anon soothed. “You’ll see. Just think about fire and how you handle it. You’re a dragon, after all, and this is Moon Creek Falls. It’s perfectly acceptable if they think you’re a weirdo.”
He led Rhaz through the dining room and into the living room, where Miss Ironwood waited.
She stood and smiled. “Good morning, Mr. Stormfyr. Are you able to tour the station this morning? Chief Morrison would greatly appreciate it. He’s dying to meet you.”
Rhaz’s eyes widened. “Dying?” He glanced at Anon. “Is the man really dying?”
“It’s a colorful expression,” Anon said. “No, he is not dying.” He smiled at Phin. “All right, dear. He’s all yours.”
Phin beamed. “Thanks, Dr. Blackstone. I’ll have him back in an hour or so, if that’s all right.” She hesitated. “You… didn’t have plans, did you?”
Anon smiled. “Well now, dear, if we did, you wouldn’t be taking him with you.”
“Oh. Right.” She gave him a sheepish smile. “Sorry. I guess I’m a little nervous. I’ve never met anyone from Dubai. I hear it’s a fantastic place to vacation.”
Rhaz looked toward Anon for help, but the vampire simply nudged him closer to Phin. Anon studied them together, and his heart skipped a beat. What a lovely couple they would make. But time was wasting.
He steered them toward the front door. “Now have fun. And if you’d like to spend more time with Rhaz afterward, go right ahead. Maybe the two of you could have lunch together later.”
Rhaz shot him a horrified look before his attention shifted to Phin. “Lunch?” he repeated. His eyes drifted over her appreciatively.
Anon arched an eyebrow. “Would you like me to join you?” He knew the dragon to be a gentleman, but one could never be too careful.
Rhaz shook his head. “No, I will be fine. Unless you think you should come.” He raised both eyebrows at Anon, worry in his eyes.
Anon smiled. “No, I think you’ll do all right by yourself. Now run along, you two. Have a good time.”
He practically shoved them out the front door. As soon as they descended the porch steps, he shut the door and pulled his cell phone from his pocket.
He opened his contacts, selected the number he wanted, and put the phone to his ear. “Hello? Louise?” A wicked grin spread across his face. “Gracious me, darling, have I got a scoop for you!”
Rhaz looked around as Phin, as she insisted he call her, parked her car in front of the fire station and shut off the engine.
He’d asked her all about cars and trucks on the way. She kept giving him funny looks, but he didn’t care. He wanted to know more about the world he found himself in.
“Well, here we are,” she said.
Rhaz looked out the window at the large brick building. Several red vehicles sat in open bays, gleaming in the afternoon sun.
He’d learned there were all sorts of words for the conveyances he’d first discovered upon his arrival: cars, trucks, four-wheelers, motorcycles, convertibles, and the list went on.
He looked at Phin. “They keep the trucks indoors?”
She blinked. “The engines? Yes, of course.”
He nodded to himself. Interesting. So they kept their fire trucks in a garage, much as they did their cars.
Phin’s face screwed up in confusion for a moment, then she climbed out. Rhaz did the same and followed her inside.
The fire station smelled of coffee, cleaning supplies, and something metallic. He wasn’t sure if it came from the trucks or something else.
A few men, firefighters as Phin called them, looked up as they entered, and their conversation stopped.
Rhaz noticed every eye in the room shift toward him. Great. He was quickly learning that humans were just as curious as dragons.
“Everyone,” Phin said, “this is Rhaz.”
Several men nodded his way. One grinned. “The guy who ran into the Parker fire. Chief Morrison’s been talking about you all morning, buddy.”
Rhaz offered a slight nod. The other firefighters looked impressed. He wasn’t entirely sure why. He’d simply rescued a child and then a dog.
Phin led him farther inside the building. “The chief is expecting us.”