"The dig about Ms. instead of Mrs. He knows. He knows our family."
Drake hadn't put two and two together with the insult to Vinia. "I don't know, but we need to find out."
They walked toward Sarah's so they could start baking. "Remember when I told you this was a bad idea a few days ago?"
"Oh, shut up, Drake. When I'm wrong, I'm wrong. I go all in."
Sarah was not happy about extra baking. Luckily, she had prepped too many rolls and had them in the freezer, so it was just a matter of popping them in the oven.
Drake left them to it and headed back to the barn. Joey lingered near Mission as she waited for him. She wiped her palms on her jeans when he walked up.
"I am so sorry I fell asleep on you night. I didn't mean to, and I always hear Cheryl when she comes in. Well, almost always."
He rubbed her shoulder. "Don't worry about it. I knew you were tired, so I shouldn't even have suggested it. You needed to be your best."
"At least I won' first prize. That is a relief."
"I saw that. Congratulations." He gestured to the door. "Come on. Let's take a walk."
They headed for the lake again while Drake told her about his confrontation with Percy. "That man certainly thinks his shit don't stink."
"Yeah. I don't know what he's up to, but I don't trust him at all. I haven't since the first time I met him." She sat on a bench by the edge of the water.
Drake stretched. "I mean, we all have secrets, but whatever he's overcompensating for by being an ass must be a doozy."
She cut her eyes at him. "You mean like you're a dragon?"
Her words almost bowled him over. He whipped his head around to face her so fast that he felt the strain in his neck muscles. "I'm sorry?" Certainly he didn't hear her correctly.
"You're a dragon. And your mom and brother and sister. I can see two beings when I look at you." She held up her hand. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. I didn't know you, and if I couldn't trust you, I didn't figure you'd appreciate that I could see your alter ego."
He didn't know what to say. Between the pendant, Percy being dangerous, and now this, Joey was turning out to be the perfect trifecta. But of trouble, not happiness.
"Umm, have you always been able to do that?" He didn't want to insult her by denying what she could obviously see, but he still wasn't processing that she could.
She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't think so. Or there just aren't many dragons around. I did see a wolf shifter once." She told him about her high school experience. "But it's never happened again until now. Until you."
"Does, uh, anyone else know?"
She shook her head, much to his relief. "Nope. Just me. Even with the other kid, I only told my parents, never any of the other students."
"What did your parents say?"
"Dad just told me that some people were special like that, a gift. Which, at the time, didn't really make a whole lot of sense since it was just the one kid that I had seen something different about.. Now, suddenly, it has a little more meaning."
They sat there quietly in the dark. Drake's mind rolled around different scenarios, one being how the hell he was going to tell his mother.
"Have you ever heard of a see'er?"
She answered with a shrug. "No." She snapped her finger. "Wait, I may have one in a movie once. A fantasy one. A see'er can predict the future, right? Like a gypsy with a crystal ball."
He snickered. "No, not like that. A see'er in my sense of the word is someone who can see both sides."
"Oh. Well, if that's the scientific name for it, then no, I've never heard it." She glanced at him shyly. "Can I see?"
"Can you see what?"
"You. Can I see your dragon side? I can honestly say I've never seen a real life dragon before."
