Ryder, my long-time-crush and recent boyfriend, had been on a job building a new care center over inBend.
Our daily texts and long after-dinner phone calls had dwindled down to him sending me an occasional text every other day complaining about the weather, and how slow the project was going, and why no one could follow simple directions and do what they were contracted to do on the jobsite.
I missed him. I hadn’t heard him say he missed me, which was making me worry that he’d been gone long enough to re-think our relationship. Re-think the spark that had drawn us together in the firstplace.
Had we been drawn together because of a natural attraction or was he just interested in the supernatural things that surrounded me and filled thistown?
I’d like to think it was natural attraction that brought ustogether.
But Ordinary was full of unusual people, powers, and things, including vacationing gods and supernaturalcreatures.
I was in charge of looking after everyone who lived here. Those duties meant Ryder’s and my relationship had already been tested by some heavystuff.
This year alone, I’d been shot twice in the line of duty. I’d bargained away mysoul.
Ryder had tied his life to a god of contracts who really didn’t like me or my sisters being the law here inOrdinary.
I’ddied.
My heart stuttered and my stomach clenched. Every time I thought about that, it hit mehard.
I licked my lips, tasting salt and pushing away thosememories.
Ryder had been there for all of that. Had been there for me. So why was Iworried?
He hadn’t made it home for Thanksgiving and wasn’t coming home for Christmas. That’s why I wasworried.
Looking at our lives through the high-stakes we had experienced could make the holiday less interesting. Less important. Would it matter if we missed our first Christmastogether?
Our relationship was strong enough to miss one holiday. We’d been there for each other when it really counted. Manytimes.
When things weredangerous.
But what about when things were happy?Safe?
Worse, what about when things wereboring?
Just because we weren’t talking, never saw each other, and he hadn’t been brave enough to say he loved me (except for that one time when he was yelling it at a vampire) didn’t mean our relationship was sinking before it had even left the shore,right?
I sighed. Maybe I was kidding myself. Maybe we were boringnow.
Maybe there was a big ol’ iceberg out there ready to sink this ship and it was time to deploy the floatingdoor.
“Has he said it to you yet?” Jeanasked.
Jean didn’t have mind reading abilities. Her family gift was that she knew when something bad was going tohappen.
Actual mind reading didn’t run in our family. Or at least I hoped itdidn’t.
“Not talking aboutit.”
“You don’t have to be afraid of the ‘L’ word,Delaney.”
“Lifeboat?”
She gave me a weird look. “What is going on in yourhead?”
Yep. No mindreading.
