Page 229 of Trick or Stalk

“Unfortunately.”

Penny disappears into a pile of leaves.

A second later, her head pops out.

Hades laughs.

The sound does something ridiculous to my heart.

“She likes the woods,” I say.

His gaze moves toward the tree line. “So do you.”

I look at him. “How do you know?”

His attention returns to me. “You told me.”

“Did I?”

“At the bookstore.”

I try to remember.

Maybe I did.

I've told him a lot of things. Apparently he actually listens.

Penny races toward the trail. “Penny!”

She stops and looks back.

“Don't go too far.”

She trots forward.

“She listens well,” Hades says.

“You should've seen her while you were in the bathroom. She was pretending she couldn't hear me asking if she wanted breakfast.”

We follow her toward the trees. The trail is damp beneath my boots, covered with leaves that crunch softly as we walk.

Hades stays beside me.

For several minutes, we don't talk.

It's becoming one of my favorite things about him. Silence with Hades doesn't feel like something I have to fix.

Penny runs ahead, stops to sniff something, then races back.

“How about we turn around, put Penny in the house, and take a walk?”

I look up at him. “Okay.”

Hades whistles and Penny comes running. We turn around and head back to the house.

Once she’s locked inside, we resume our walk on the trail.

I glance at Hades. “So...”