Page 13 of Buckle Up, Buttercup

She shrugs. “Happy to pay for it myself, if it’s an issue, Ranger Zayle.”

Hoboy. They’ve started flirting at the bar, which means one or both of them’ll be doing karaoke again soon, and then I’ll be thanking the gods I don’t have monster senses for the pheromone display.

Oz’ll comment on it though.

Lemon smiles at me. “Can you grab me some cool things for the Keeper’s mansion? Anything you see that’s gothic but a little more modern? I’ve got a troll builder coming to town later this week to work on some foundation issues, and then I can finish fixing up the back of the house.”

Oz leans forward, cradling the pit hell against his chest. “And then what, Lem? It’s not like you’re gonna move in.”

She shakes her head. “I’m not, but we don’t have a Town Hall or a haven Keeper, and I think the mansion could kinda function like one. We’re doing a lot of hiring at the potions house, and I’d like to use the mansion’s formal living room as a temporary space. The light’s great, and the house is on board. So’s Rykan; he’d have to okay it, of course, since he’s running the potions house now.”

We talk about that for a while, and Whiskey Business acknowledges her approval by shimmying the chunky ceiling beams.

My shift slows to a crawl after Lemon leaves. Thankfully, Oz sticks around to close down the bar, even though he’s not working. The pit hell ducks into a bed beneath the bar, falling asleep with her long legs tucked beneath her.

Once she’s snoring, Oz leans against the bartop and smirks at me.

I throw the rag over my shoulder. “What? Got something in your eye, Ozifer?”

He shrugs but the smirk remains. “Just noticing that pretty new necklace. Lemme guess…Hadrian?”

I return to my work, tossing the rag down and rubbing at nonexistent spots on the bartop. “I can neither confirm nor deny.”

“Still just friends, hmm?” He grabs a second rag and joins me in rubbing water spots that aren’t there.

“Oh yeah,” I lie. Hadrian hasn’t been ‘just a friend’ in my brain for many years, but it’s a secret I’ve got to keep to myself. “If I went on a date with Hay, Jasper would shit a literal brick.”

Oz laughs. “So?”

“Soooo….” I draw the word out long. “That just sounds like more shit to deal with and I am up to my ears in shit.”

“Heard,” he mutters, and thankfully that’s the end of that.

Eventually I abandon him at the bar and head to Lizard Lick Saloon to do the final couple hours until closing. My muscles are dog-tired…It’s been such a long week. But there’s no rest for the weary, I suppose.

When I step inside, the floor planks wriggle in a path all the way to the bar, the building showing me where to go.

“Sweet girl,” I whisper as I rub my fingers just inside the door, leaving a happy spark of magic. The saloon is full to the brim with monsters eating and drinking.

Behind the bar, a cute minotaur male winks at me as he rubs a wet rag over the wooden surface. “Bluebell, I hope you’re ready for a long night, girl. The minotaur social club is on a roll this evenin’.”

I let out a groan, glancing around him at the large group of minotaurs at the single long table in the back of the bar.

I shoot the bartender a knowing look. “Monthly poker tournament?”

He grins and nods, so I wave him out from behind the bar. “Git. I know you’re dying to join them and fleece someone again this month.”

He bends down and kisses the top of my head. “Thanks, friend.”

* * *

The following morning, I walk briskly through the portal between Pine Gulch and the Grand Portal Station at haven system headquarters. Thankfully, my trip to Mexico’s Santa Alaya haven will be quick now that the station connects every hidden monster community.

One of the downsides of the haven system used to be that each monster community was only connected to one other. Originally, it was meant to be a security measure but it made travel a real nightmare. These days, those worries are forgotten.

The haven system is safe. Safe from thrall attacks and monsters who don’t want to live within our system for one reason or another.

Jogging across the giant room, I locate Santa Alaya’s portal and rush through. I hate to be late, and I got a rough start after Jace showed up at my place at six a.m. with truck trouble. Jasper and Jack were already on a job and couldn’t help, so there I was in the middle of Main at the ass crack of dawn, helping him sort out carburetor issues.