She laughed and pushed me away. “Terrible. Go.”
I’d seen the little blush under her freckles, and that made me feel pretty good about myself.
I thought I’d be quick in the shower, but once I got the water to the right temperature, I lingered, the spray working out knots in my neck and shoulders.
The bathroom was steamed up by the time I stepped out and dried. I wiped off the mirror, thought about a shave, and decided the scruff could wait until morning. Or maybe I just wouldn’t shave for a while.
I wrapped the towel around my waist and strolled out of the bathroom.
Hado was back in kitten form, curled up on the other bed with Abbi, who drank water from a clear plastic cup.
Lu had kicked off her boots and sat on the bed where I’d been sleeping, one foot on the floor, one bent beneath her. Lorde snoozed at the bottom of the bed. Her food bowl was empty and her water bowl was lower than it had been.
Lu’s gaze did a slow pan up my body. From the heat in her gaze, I knew she wasn’t searching me for signs of injury.
I had to do some backwards counting to keep my reaction under control.
Mercy, what that woman could do to me.
“Ready to eat?” she asked.
I might have followed that up with flirting, but my stomach rumbled. “I could eat. Let me pull on some pants.”
Lu had stopped unpacking in motel rooms years ago. Mostly because when I was in spirit form, she rarely stayed in motels.
She’d been living out of a duffle bag for so long, it was more than a habit to keep it packed and ready. It was a way of life. It was the way of the road.
We’d bought an extra duffle for me, and it gave me a little ping of happiness to see my duffle resting next to hers.
Tossed on top of both of ours was Abbi’s bright blue backpack. It was unzipped and had obviously been rummaged through, leaving striped shirts and polka dot tights spilling out like colorful flowers.
Seeing all our bags there in a tumble together was almost, I thought with a strange sense of satisfaction, what a family looked like.
It made something settle in me. Something I’d given up on decades ago.
I cleared my throat against the emotions I wasn’t ready to name and grabbed my bag. I took it with me to the bathroom, since I had no desire to flash my moon to the lunar bunny.
Dressed, I stepped back into the main room. Lu frowned at her phone.
“Trouble?” I dropped my duffel and eased onto the bed next to her, snagging up the carton she’d set on the side table.
The orange chicken glistened, a sweet, salty mess. I settled the chopsticks between my fingers and dug in.
“Headwaters.” She tipped the phone so I could read the text.
I chewed and swallowed. “He wants you to call. Why are you worried?”
She shrugged and set the phone on the table between the beds. “Who said I’m worried?”
“Lu.”
“He was specific. The time. The place where he wants me to call him from.”
“He’s done that before.”
She shrugged again and picked up her chopsticks. I offered her the carton, and she plucked out a thin strip of chicken.
“But this time feels different?” I asked.
