Page 94 of Woods of the Raven

“Look, she got me a phone, and there’s a new solar charger at home.”

“Well, I ordered several, so we’ll see whose is better.”

I chuckled. “It’s not a competition between you and Amanda.”

“Oh no?” He did not sound convinced.

The man was adorable, and I kissed him deeply so he knew I was crazy about him.

At his Jeep, which he led me to after taking my hand, I told him how much I appreciated him putting the soft top on his vehicle so I didn’t freeze to death.

“This isn’t about you,” he said, holding open my door. “If we go into mud or water, I don’t wanna get dirty.”

“You don’t want to get dirty?” I teased him.

“Absolutely not.”

Once he was behind the wheel, he said, “Now, as I asked earlier before you distracted me with your shiny new iPhone, please tell me why you came here.”

“I wanted to do some research on the cultists.”

“And?”

“And I think I have a lead.”

“Okay, so where are we going?”

“To visit my friend Taylor Hernandez.”

“Why do I know that name?”

“She’s Jesus Fernandez’s wife. He’s one of our councilmen.”

“That’s right. Why are we going to see her?”

“Because I need more information, and I think she can give it to me.”

“Gotcha,” he said, sounding almost sad.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I was just looking forward to going home.”

My stomach fluttered, and my breath caught.

He chuckled. “Something you wanna say?”

“You said home,” I barely got out.

“Yeah. I called Jim and told him he had to feed his own kid tonight, and he said that was not a problem.”

“Called?”

“That’s right,” he said happily, proudly. “When I got there to pack a bag, the house was empty, which was a shock, so I called to see where Jim was. Turns out he took his daughter and drove to Westfield to see a movie.”

“Really?”

He nodded, reaching over to put his hand on my cheek and drawing me close for a kiss. “My baby is a miracle worker.”