“It’s not your birthday, not our anniversary. Am I forgetting something?”
I bumped into him and snaked my arm behind his back. “No. I just...we’ve been flying at different altitudes lately, and I don’t want to lose track of you. Of where you’re at. Of where we’re at.”
His arm came around behind my back. It was warm, strong, and I leaned into him before drawing back because walking that way over sand and rocks was tricky.
“We are good,” he said firmly. “Even if I feel like I’m never home. I make plans for the day and by the time it’s midnight I can’t figure out where the hours have gone or what I’ve done.”
“Mithra’s calling you away a lot more. Do you know why?”
“There’s nothing that connects it together. Sometimes it’s one of those archaic laws he wants me enforce, which I don’t, because no one is going to let me arrest someone for juggling without a license.”
“Oregon City?”
“Hood River.” His phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and frowned.
“Work?”
“Mithra.”
“Speak of the devil. Can you ignore it?”
“No.” He swiped the screen and put it to his ear. “Ryder.”
He moved toward the ocean, one hand on his hip, annoyance in every line of his body.
The morning breeze and rolling hiss and thunder of the waves covered the rest of his words.
I knew he wasn’t happy. I also knew he was going to head out to do Mithra’s orders before he even turned back to me.
“It’s okay,” I said before he spoke.
“It’s like a hook in my chest,” he said. “I can say no for a while, but it gets worse the longer I resist.”
“I know.”
“I don’t want to go. I was going to talk to you about the wedding. I was going to make you breakfast.”
“I know.”
He stared at the horizon, then back at me. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
I put my hand on his arm. “I know. It’s okay. You’re tied to a god, and gods are not reasonable. Do you want me to go back with you? We probably have time to toast a Pop-Tart before you leave.”
“No, you should finish your walk. Or jog. I’ll grab food on the way out of town.” He took a step, then rocked back toward me and leaned in for a kiss.
“Sorry, Laney,” he said again.
“Go. Do the jerk god’s bidding. We’ll catch up later today.”
He nodded, then started back toward the house.
Spud took a step toward Ryder. I snapped my fingers. “Wanna run, Spuddo?”
Spud wagged his tail, and as soon as I took a couple jogging steps, he abandoned all loyalty to Ryder and bounded along beside me, then ahead of me, loving this game.
I worked on my breathing and stride, letting the worries fade as I fell into the rhythm of breath and footfall.
The sun had pulled most of the shadow off this stretch of beach. A few people were out now, searching for agates, shells, or starting their morning jog.
