“I’m tempted to stay down here through the winter, Ada, but my mate would miss the snow. Winter is already in fullswing Upstate. Brr, it makes me cold just thinking about it. You wouldn’t mind a seasonal houseguest if I never needed to escape it, would you?” Aurelia quips.
“Not at all! You know you’re as welcome as the flowers in May. Though if you are interested in eye candy, and I’m talking to all of you, Bran at the inn has turned into a tall drink of sweet tea. He’s a bit younger than me. His family has always lived on my street. I can’t help but still think of him as the little kid who’d tag along with me and my friends.” I smile to myself as I recall his big puppy dog eyes, which to be fair, as a barghest, were somewhat genuine.
“We took stock already. He was quite popular with some of his unmated guests, though he remained respectable and professional, to their dismay. So disappointing.” Cyrinda sighs her words.
Tallie listens with half an ear as she surreptitiously ogles Hal, who seems to be flexing a little more than usual, at least to my eyes. He’s not usually such a flirt, but he must be hamming it up for her in good fun.
“Mother Earth to Tallie,” Cyrinda waves her elegant hand in front of Tallie’s face. “Someone’s got a little crush.”
Tallie shrugs, smirking at us.
“Let the female have a little fun,” Aurelia tuts, waggling her eyebrows.
“I suppose, but we are having ourselves a farewell ladies’ night. She can look but notlookif you know what I mean. At least until later,” Cyrinda says, aiming a wink at Tallie.
“I have a feeling we’ll use our portals a little more after this council ends. It beats flying six hours to visit the west coast,” Aurelia reflects.
Cyrinda takes umbrage. “Frankly, I’m offended you talk about coming here for the winter, Aurelia. I have a perfectlygood house in sunny Los Angeles you can stay at.” She crosses her arms in an exaggerated fashion and pouts at her.
“Is the invitation open to anyone?” Tallie wonders. “I wouldn’t mind seeing the sun a little bit in the winter. It gets downright dreary in Cascadia.”
“I suppose you’ve grown on me enough to let you stay.” Cyrinda rolls her eyes playfully. “Sometimes it feels like I need to escape the sun. So, this better be a two-way street.”
“You like to pretend to be a city gal, but at heart you like a slower pace of life surrounded by beautiful nature more than you care to admit.” Aurelia gives Cyrinda a knowing look.
“Mayhap, but if one of you isn’t there” —she points her finger at us—“I wouldn’t be caught dead near the woods. Yuck, there are so many bugs,” she complains with a shiver.
“You talk like a live in a cabin in the woods. I live in town!” Aurelia exclaims, laughing at Cyrinda’s words.
“Close enough. You live next to a path to the woods. That’s basically the same thing!” she defends.
“You love it,” Aurelia intones, nudging Cyrinda with her shoulder.
“Sometimes. When I’m sick of the city that is,” Cyrinda relents with a dramatic sigh.
“That’s how I met this ludicrous female. Sheneeded to get away from it allbut ended up in a town full of bear shifters like it was some yoga retreat.” She smiles fondly at her friend.
“Don’t pretend your town doesn’t have a yoga studio that overlooks a bluff. I’d call that a retreat,” Cyrinda argues.
“I’ll be sure to pass that business idea along,” Aurelia says thoughtfully.
“I suppose. Unless it gets too popular and I’m forced to book months in advance. I like having my own secret getaway. If half the Whispered Folk world found out, I’d bevery upset,” Cyrinda insists.
“That would be a good problem for us to have. Don’t worry, there’s always room for our favorite sharp-tongued faun. You’re basically part of the clan at this point,” Aurelia croons to her, reaching out and pinching her cheek. Cyrinda playfully bats the hand away from her face while cracking up.
“Ashes! You don’t have to blab all my secrets.” Cyrinda wheezes as they poke at each other, their behavior reminiscent of siblings.
When they order a second round of drinks, I opt for sparkling water with lime instead. Alcohol is going to my head a little too quickly these days, though I could always stop by my shop to pick up a hangover cure potion. But I do feel pleasantly loose after this one drink.
“So it’ll just be you in the house with Niven and Norrell starting tomorrow. They’ve become surprisingly friendly in the last week. I wasn’t sure if that was in the cards for them. Niven didn’t seem to be a fan at first,” Tallie notes, turning her attention to me.
I rest my chin in my hand as I consider her question. “Yes, they find common ground in the work they’re doing together. I’m not sure they’d necessarily be friends in other circumstances. Neither of them open up that easily.”
“I’ll extend my stay a few days if you need a buffer against Norrell. I would never leave a female in the lurch like that,” Cyrinda says very seriously.
“Oh, I know you wouldn’t, especially if you could get in a few more good jabs at him,” I chuckle. She winks at me in response. “Things are easier between us. But it’s still a new horizon, and I don’t know what’s on the other side. At first, I thought he was all hat and no cattle, but his support feels genuine now. Mother Earth knows he’s running all over hell’s half acre keeping up the house for me. At times, it can be hard to accept. I don’t relish being the damsel in distress.”
“Aw, listen to you sounding like a little Southern belle. No wonder he’s head over heels for you,” Tallie remarks, a smile in her voice.
