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Chapter One
Earlier…
“You wouldn’t be sneakin’ out to check out the nightlife in the small town of Valentine, Tx, now, would you?”
“No, not me,” Creed lied, spinning on his heels, trying to act casual even as he felt like a little boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
“Let me guess, you fell asleep in your jeans and boots then found yourself out here sleepwalking. Is that it?” Raising his eyebrows and crossing his arms over his chest, Gunnar, the Viking Healer, stood and stared at Creed with a gleam in his eye and a smirk on his face.
“Would you believe me if I said yes?”
“Not if I was blind, deaf, mute and standing on my head.” Leaning against the wall of the garage attached to the cabin Owen MacAllen and his lovely wife, Barbara had given them to stay in, the Paladin chuckled, “Since we’re both about two days younger than dirt and have pretty much seen it all, how about you just tell me what’s goin’ on? It’ll save us both a lot of time.”
Following the man, his friend, the one he’d known longer than most, into the kitchen, the Leader of the Paladins sighed, “You’ll just laugh if I tell you. Hell, it’s so far outta character, I’m pretty sure I need to go see that little Witch Mated to one of Owen’s boys to have my head examined.”
“Hey!” Gunnar griped, making a show of furrowing his eyebrows and acting put out. “Like I wasn’t a Healer before she was even a twinkle in her daddy’s cauldron?” Slapping himself on the chest with his fists. “You think I can’t mess with your mind better than a Celtic Conjurer you’ve known for five whole minutes?”
“I’m not saying she’sbetter,by any means.I’m saying by talking to Bryn, I wouldn’t have to deal with a load of bullcrap and three centuries of jokes at my expense.”
“Oh, so you want my professional advice for free?” The Viking chuckled.
“No, I’d really just like to go to bed and forget all of this ever happened.”
“Aww, come on. Don’t be that way.” Holding out his hands, palms up, he shrugged and poured on his old world Norse accent, “Try me, Lad. I swear to be fair and keep the commentary to a minimum.”
Shaking his head and running his hand through his long curls, Creed mumbled, “I know, I’m gonna regret this, but here goes.” Looking Gunnar right in the eye, he hurriedly admitted, “I’m going to that new bar J.D., one of Owen’s boys told us about.” Snapping his fingers, he huffed, “What was the name?”
“Rodeo.”
“Yeah, Rodeo,” Creed nodded. “I know it’s stupid, and I’m old enough to know better. But…”
“But we haven’t been off the Isle of Skye in over a decade unless we’re off on some mission, saving the world, or rescuing some poor soul. You’re here now. No one is vying for your attention and there’s no young’uns to keep on the straight and narrow. So, why not live it up? The meetings with Owen and the Sampson Wolves didn’t take near as long as we expected. Hell, I get it. You’re not getting any younger…”
“And neither are you.”
“That was rude, you’re at least a week older than I am.” Gunnar rolled his eyes, going right back to what he was saying. “You want to have some fun before it’s back to Scotland and back to work?”
“You got it in one.”
“I usually do.”
“And you’re so humble about it.”
“Hey, look, humility never was my thing. I leave that to you and the others. I paid my dues,” Gunnar laughed, opening the refrigerator, and getting out a bottle of water. “Seriously though, I think you should go. You haven’t had a night on the town in this century.”
“It’s not that bad.”
“Damned near,” Gunnar insisted. “And you can catch up with Bonnie and Maggie Sampson. It’s been years since you guys did any more than say hi and bye at some meeting or another. We used to get into some real trouble with those twin Alphas back in the day.”
Chuckling even as he began to feel older by the minute, Creed sighed, “I forgot it had been that long.” Looking back up, he shook his head, “I’m pretty sure the last time I actually spoke to either one of the girls was at their parents’ wake. The Shifter world lost two of their finest on that day.”
“Damn straight,” Gunnar agreed, drinking almost the entire bottle of water in one gulp. Making a shooing motion with his free hand, he added, “So, go on. Tell which ever twin’s working I said hi. Kick your heels up, Old Man. Show the young’uns how it’s done. Who knows, maybe you’ll even get lucky. The Great Goddess knows it’s been years since you got laid.”
“You just had to go there, didn’t you? You almost made it through a whole conversation without bringing up my sex life,” Creed groaned.
“Or the lack thereof,” Gunnar barked with laughter.
“You are not funny. Not funny at all.”
