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My foot starts tapping. “They could give me my gun back so I can protect myself.”
He pales and straightens away from the door. “We’ve had enough people shot with silver.”
I wince at the reminder of how recently he was shot. “Sorry, I’m grumpy about missing breakfast at Nesse’s again. You should go to your bookstore. I’m okay on my own.”
“Nu-uh, we’re on the buddy system until further notice.” He reaches out to grab my arm and tug me out of the house. “Now, come on, buddy. What’s on our task list today?”
I squint against the early morning sun. “First, we go to the butcher to pick up blood and do a delivery. Then we reward ourselves with French fries.”
He walks down the stairs, using the handrail for support. “Bit fast for a reward, don’t you think?”
I bounce down to the driveway after him. “Are you questioning how I self-motivate?”
His hands come up. “Nope. Not me.”
“That’s what I thought.” I stop next to his van and pop open the driver’s door, climbing inside.
He catches the door before I can close it. “What are you doing?”
“Chauffeuring you around on my errands.” I buckle my seat belt. “Hop in on the other side.”
“You know this is my van, right?” When I nod, his brows arch. “So, why are you driving?”
“Because you’re still healing.” I reach for the door handle. “I will be your driver today. Now get in.”
He releases the door, and I close it, then turn on the van using the keys dangling from the ignition.
Barron climbs into the passenger’s side and buckles up. “I’m not an invalid, you know.”
“And when you can turn back into your wolf, you can drive me around again.” I tap my foot around the peddles until I find the brake and release it, then roll down the driveway. “Any progress with that?”
He leans back in his seat and closes his eyes. “I can sense my wolf moving around inside, like he’s waking up, but I can’t shift yet. My wounds are nearly gone, too, and are healing faster every day. I’m not sure why I’m stuck in human form.”
My shoulders relax at the news. When the wolves who received Tris’s and my blood couldn’t immediately shift the next day, I’d worried that we permanently damaged their other half.
But it makes sense that their wolves will be slow to wake up after being suppressed. The return of super healing gives me hope that everyone will be back to normal in the next week or so.
The drive down the hill into town only takes a minute, which is why we usually walk. But Barron’s not healed enough for the hike up the driveway, yet.
When I park in front of the butcher a few moments later, it feels weird to be the only vehicle on the street. Most of Hartford Cove’s citizens walk everywhere, but with the expansion of witches and vampires in our town, we may see more vehicles soon.
I hop out and resist the urge to go around to help Barron. He may still need handrails to go up and down stairs, but as he said, he’s not an invalid.
But this non-invalid still deserves to have doors opened for him.
I hurry ahead of him to the butcher shop and open the heavy glass door, making the little bell attached to the interior handle jingle.
Barron gives me an exasperated look as he steps inside ahead of me, and I follow.
The cool air within the butcher holds a weird combination of metallic blood, cleaning supplies, and spices. A glass display case fills the front of the shop, with cuts of meat—mostly beef—in the front and smoked options in the shorter case that juts off on the left.
Under the large window that faces the street, a low shelf holds marinades and spices, while a fridge offers a small selection of beers and wine.
“I’ll be right out!” a voice calls from the back.
“It’s just me here for a blood pickup!” I head for the small open space next to the fridge and step behind the counter.
The large door to the refrigerator stands open, with a thirty-pound barbell on the floor to make sure it doesn’t close by accident.
