“Why, thank you, my sweet Myra. How about a hug for Uncle Crow?” He did that wide-armed “gimme” motion again.
I shook my head but came forward anyway, wrapping my arms around him. He was one of my favorite uncles growing up. Always willing to answer my endless questions, though not always with the direct truth. He was teasing and full of stories and puzzles. I’d always loved him for that.
“How’s that demon thing going?”
“Fine.”
He released me and his gaze zeroed in on Bathin. I didn’t know what he saw in him, but he and the demon had some kind of history.
Crow had given Delaney her dragon. A dragon that preferred to look like a tiny pig and had the ability to find demons and move them.
“How’s the dragon?” he asked, still focused on Bathin.
“Eating our house and home,” Delaney said.
“Eating yououtof house and home?”
“Nope. It’s eating the house. We’ve lost a carpet, a side table, a loveseat, and the dishwasher. So thanks a lot for that. You owe us a household appliance.”
Crow laughed. It was a glorious sound, wild and loud. Mixed with the crash of waves, the rumble of voices down the beach, and the sharp call of seagulls, it sounded like home.
“I’d apologize, but you know.” He shrugged and draped his arm over her shoulders.
“You never apologize?” Delaney asked.
“No. Well, yes. But I think the dragon’s usefulness beats losing a couple pieces of furniture.”
“That dishwasher cost eight hundred dollars,” she muttered.
“Serves Ryder right for installing something that expensive. I might be willing to replace it with something gently used in the four-hundred-dollar range. Now can we be friends?”
“We’ve always been friends,” she said with a smile. “Let’s get your power stored, and then you can join the party.”
He opened his free arm for me, and I tucked under it, just as comfortable there as when I was a kid. I handed him the bottle of beer.
“You missed me didn’t you?” he asked me.
“Nope.”
“Better work on that lie, Myra. I can see right through you.”
Yeah, then, he had always been able to do that.
We strolled toward the bonfire, Bathin walking ahead and to the side, as if he hadn’t just been trying to follow us around. Delaney flagged Frigg out of the ball-and-racket game she was winning. Frigg took one look at Raven, gave him a chin tip, and then jogged up the beach to meet us.
“Hey, Bird. How’s it shaking?” Frigg was tall and blonde, and had a set of strong shoulders and biceps courtesy of her very physical job owning the tow truck service in town. Her T-shirt advertisedFrigg’s Rigsand so did the baseball cap she had on backward.
Raven unhooked his arms from around us and shook her hand. “Not bad. Better now I’m here. You holding the goods?”
“Yep. My turn for a year.” She swiped sweat and lose tendrils of hair off her face with the bend of her arm. “You want to ride with the girls or me?”
“He’ll ride with you,” Delaney said. “Myra and I will follow.”
Crow raised one eyebrow. “I forgot how bossy you are.”
“Oh, you haven’t seen anything yet,” she said sweetly. “I’ve had a full year of no gods in town. A full year. It’s been eye-opening.”
“You mean boring?” he said. “I know, poor thing. That’s why I’ve returned. To put a little spice back into your life.”
