“My schedule can be negotiated.”
“Excellent. Then I have a few ideas regarding how to spend the rest of our evening.”
Chapter Eighteen
The culprit was being a little coward.
Whatever lizard-dragon thing that had targeted Finn and then Andre had evaporated into thin air, leaving me with a wrecked shop, part of a wrecked house, and a dragon shifter who was pissed at me.
Not that I could blame Smith for the angry text messages he’d sent me. I’d implicated him in a crime, even if only by accident. As soon as I’d mentioned he was the only dragon in town, Taliyah had asked him questions and even tried to take him in for questioning. That had definitely earned me a little ire.
Which was why I found myself approaching Smith’s house cautiously, a small basket of muffins clutched under one arm. They were still warm from the oven, wrapped in one of Wanda’s absurdly expensive fabric swaths. And, no, I didn’t believe Smith was responsible for whatever creature had ransacked my home and store. Even if he was the only dragon around. And that was for a couple of different reasons—one: what did he have to gain from it? He was freshly here from Misty Hollow and, naturally, all those from the destroyed Hollow wanted to be on their best behavior so we’d welcome them with open arms. And two: I wasn’t even sure what the creature that attacked us was. It looked like a dragon, sure (in the split second that I saw it), but that didn’t mean it was.
So, all told, I owed Smith an apology.
He lived in a trailer in the back of our haunted house attraction. Most of the Misty Hollow crowd did. Not knowing what to do or where to house the large influx of folks, we’d erected a short-term housing development in the only area that had the space. And as for getting the Misty Hollow folks work? That had been a problem too. Haven Hollow was only so big and only had so many jobs available. And those positions that wereavailable had been filled within two days of these folks arriving. That still left a lot of people without work, without income, without any way to feed themselves. The Council’s answer was offering them temporary work at the haunted circus, which was now attached to our haunted house. Some of the performers seemed content, at least for the time being. Others, like Smith, didn’t. At least, that was why I assumed he was glowering at his uniform. And at me.
He stood with his arms crossed, shoulders squared in that red strongman costume he’d been given for his circus act. It clung to him in ways that made it hard not to notice the breadth of his chest, the sculpted muscle of his arms, the overall enormity of his body. His burgundy hair fell in an untamed sweep over his brow. He was sweaty, but damn did he pull it off. Against his ivory-pale skin, his eyes looked darker—coal-black with a faint inner ring of fire.
He was glaring at me jaw tight, clearly furious about being implicated in my mess. But all I could think, mortifyingly, was how unfair it was that he had to look that good while also being mad at me. Was there such a thing as an ugly monster in this Hollow?
“Smith. I… I wanted to apologize.”
“Hmmph.”
“I’m sorry for dragging you into this mess. I didn’t intend to. I just answered a few of Taliyah’s questions and next thing I knew, you were implicated.” His expression didn’t relax. He was still fuming. “I just wanted you to know that I never thought and still don’t think you have anything to do with this.”
“Good, because I don’t!”
I nodded. “I know you’re mad. I get that. Taliyah and the police… they jumped to conclusions.”
“Why would they or you think this had anything to do with a dragon anyway?”
I shrugged. “Well, I said the thing looked like it was a reptile or dragon-like. I didn’t mean to imply that... itwasa dragon. Just that it looked like one. It wasn’t fair, and I… I apologize.” Then I shoved the muffins at him. He looked down at them and begrudgingly accepted them.
Then he just stood there for a long moment before rolling his eyes with a snort. “You take all the fun out of getting an apology, Poppy.”
“I—what?”
He chuckled. “Do you know how long it would take me to get Violetta to apologize about anything, let alone say something like that?”
I was at a loss. “Um…”
He chuckled. “Exactly.”
Okay, I thought this was a good thing? Did that mean I was forgiven? “You don’t have to forgive me yet, but maybe we can start somewhere?”
That earned me a somewhat mollified smile. “Well, I suppose it would be rude to take your food and kick you to the curb. You can come in.”
The trailer was cramped, barely wide enough for two people—or one dragon and a very large man—to move without bumping into something. A narrow cot occupied the far side, covered with a quilt that had seen better days, something that was probably donated by a Haven Hollow resident.
Something sat perched on top of a wooden chest near the door, wings folded tightly against its body. For a second that felt longer, I could only stare at it in blank shock, sure that I’d spotted the intruder at last. It was the same exact size and shape. And it looked… hmm. Similar but not exact. This creature was more graceful than the one I’d seen in Finn’s room. Slightly smaller and more colorful, too.
Smith caught me staring and nodded toward what I assumed was a tiny dragon. “That’s Burns. He’s sort of... a pet, you could say.”
Burns flitted nervously along his perch, wings trembling like delicate stained glass caught in a shaft of sunlight. It was mesmerizing to watch.
“He’s beautiful.”
