“Pffft, nope. Jaggar, maybe.”
“Jaggar would act like he was chasing but run interference for us.”
“Ha,” Timber snorted. “I hope we get spotted.” He rolled down his window.
“No, no,” Sage said. “No high-speed chase, please. If my family saw me...” She shut her mouth with a snap. Timber gave her a knowing glance and rolled his window back up. Canyon put his free hand over his shoulder, waggling his fingers. She smiled, threading her fingers through his, just feeling so…. right with them. She hadn’t told them anything and they hadn’t asked, and they were treating her… not like a princess, not like a prisoner, but like she belonged with them.
Canyon pulled her hand forward so he could kiss her fingers, then he released her. She sat back in her seat. Canyonsmiled at her in the rearview mirror, then hooked his thumb over his shoulder at her, but talking to Timber. “Me ‘n’ Sage met before,” he said. “But I don’t remember.”
“I remember,” Timber said.
“What?!” Sage squeaked.
“You what?!” Canyon roared. Timber started to explain but Canyon stopped him. “Wait.” He pulled over to the side of the road, then drove off into the grass and cut the engine. He twisted in his seat and turned to stare at Timber. “Go,” he said.
“I remember her scent. It was five or six years ago, right?”
“Yeah,” Sage said, relief flooding her.She had her proof.“You moved my car.”
“To Renway Parking Garage.”
Sage nodded. “Yes! YES! See?”
Canyon looked shocked. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Tell you what? You didn’t come home one night, and you didn’t show up at work the next day, but you called me and said you met this hot chick and you’re hanging out with her, and you asked me to move her car. I did it, then I didn’t hear from you again for a couple days. I was covering for your ass right and left. I called you to come in to work and you said I should meet the hot chick—you even asked me if I’d ever consider mating a human.”
Sage gasped, staring at him, butterflies in her stomach. “You’re making that up,” she said.
Timber turned to her, his face open and honest. He held up his hand. “Swear on Rhen’s life.”
“Why didn’t youtell me?” Canyon repeated.
“There wasn’t anything to tell. You said you’d be in at noon but you didn’t show up till that night. I was still covering for you. When you got home you didn’t talk at all, and you went straight in the shower. When I asked you about the hot chick yousaid there wasn’t one, then you went to bed. I thought she broke your heart.”
Sage flung half her body over the seat and hugged Canyon around the neck, then kissed him square on the mouth.
“You did like me,” she said, releasing her hold on him and sitting back, but still running her fingers over his arms.
“What’s not to like?” he said, winking at her.
Sage smiled. Next to her, an alarm on the robot chimed.
:4 p.m. Time for Timber’s 2ndFoxglove application—
“Thanks Wulf,” Timber said. He looked at Sage. “Can we do it in the truck?”
“Sure.” Sage said, smiling at Canyon. She reached into her purse for the paste and the first aid kit, while Timber lay his arm over the seat for her.
“The robot’s name is Wulf?” she asked.
:I am Wulf—
Sage noticed the spelling. “Oh, like the Meadow guardian!”
Canyon and Timber looked at each other with confused looks on their faces.
“You don’t know about Wulf the Meadow guardian?”
