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Mace leaned over. “I’d kiss you every day all day.” He kissed me softly. “Count on it.”
* * *
After I convinced Mace I could dress myself, he carried me home on his back. I didn’t object, since it was nice to be close to him. I didn’t watch the woods or the landscape change. Instead, I watched the sky. The colors of the lightning above us changed and swirled, constantly making a show for us. I didn’t notice it all the time anymore, as though I’d just gotten used to it.
But it really was beautiful. A light flashed to the left, brighter than the others. It was sort of more yellow. “Did you see that?”
He shook his head. “See what?”
“The lightning was a funny yellow.” It was gone, vanished in the darkness. “Not a streak lightning but more like one of those flashes.”
He shook his head. “I didn’t see it, I’m sorry. Was it pretty?”
“Not any more pretty than the rest of it, though it startled me for some reason.” I put my head down on his shoulder. “Thank you for today, Mace.”
“Don’t ever thank me for anything.”
I doubted that would be the case. I would probably thank Mace for the rest of my life for lots of things.
We arrived back at the bar, and although I wouldn’t tell Mace, I did appreciate the hot water rinsing away the cold from earlier. By the time I got out, rain pounded a staccato beat on the roof. Thunder sounded and I winced. Net was dead, so I knew he didn’t cause the storm. I knew they experienced their lightning and storm season, so I shouldn’t expect it to be sunny. Would I hate the sound of the rain for the rest of my life?
I ran a brush through my hair and considered leaving the burnished length of it flowing down my back. Normally, I pinned it back in some fashion, but what if I let it air dry just once? I decided to find out, so I pulled on a black cotton dress one of the neighbors left for me. I wished for a change of shoes, and wondered if we could buy a pair somewhere after the rainy season. I knew some of the locals ran shops in the town, but I hadn’t visited them yet—could there be a shoemaker among them?
Gunnar knocked at the door, jarring me out of my worries. “You okay?”
“Yep. I was just thinking I need some more shoes, but I’ll be out in a second. Meet you downstairs.”
I ran the brush through my hair one last time then opened the door to find Gunnar leaning on the frame. He grinned and said, “Or I could wait for you, because I just like to look at you.”
I put my arms around him, sighing happily when his arms closed around me in return. “Hi.”
“Hello.” He lifted me up for a kiss. “It’ll probably be a quiet night down there. The rain is really bad. It could just be us.”
Now that’s a thought. “What do we do when it’s just us in the bar?”
“Well, we used to tinker around trying to fix things—making them worse, actually, so we have to pay Winter to come over and fix what we made worse.” He grinned. “You haven’t met Winter and his crew yet, but there are three of them. They come and go a lot, buzzing all over the planet to repair things. They’re not here right now, but you’ll for sure meet them when I break something…likely, badly.”
I grinned. “Maybe you could dance with me? We could play a song from the jukebox, if we’re alone. Maybe you could all dance with me.”
“I’d love that.” He grinned. “So would the rest of them.”
Sadly, Gunnar was completely wrong. We were very, very busy. They came in large numbers that night, much like when Evans tried to kill Ransom. Why were they braving the weather? Ransom didn’t know when I asked him, but he kissed my cheek. “Maybe they’re here to see you again.”
I couldn’t be that interesting. It had to be something else. But I did notice plenty of girls around, which brought up a good question. I elbowed Ransom gently. “There are women around. Why did you wait for me? Like, why didn’t you fall in love with Chanel or one of the other women here?”
He set down the drink he was making, and Crew grabbed it to deliver it to a table. “Because they weren’t you, Butterfly.”
“That’s a non-answer.” I dried another glass.
“Well, it might have to do with our circumstances. We were welcomed, but we tried not to overstep. The regular humans like us, but they don’t particularly socialize with us. Chanel in particular is an excellent example. Her father is dead now—he took ill and didn’t get better—but he really didn’t like us at all. He was one of the few who voted to not let us stay.” Ransom shook his head. “He asked us specifically to stay away from them, so we did. They have a farm a ways from here. After he died, Chanel and her brother popped around a bit. They don’t seem as hostile, but we’re not going anywhere near that. Besides…do human guys have to explain why they like one girl and not another girl?”
No, they didn’t, but what did I know? “I’m not sure. I mean, I didn’t exactly have a traditional background, either. Sorry, I was just curious.”
“It’s okay.” He kissed me square on the lips. “You’re ours. That’s all there is to it. Period. It fit for us. I’m just glad it was something you wanted, too.”
Crew came back for another drink. “More than glad. They just weren’t ours, so don’t worry about them. We’re not going to suddenly decide we want someone else. We only want you.”
That was really sweet. Thunder boomed outside, and I winced. “This is normal?”
