Sage laughed, and Canyon did, too, and in the moments of comfort that followed, she found the strength to divulge anotherfoxensecret.
“The giant spider in the hole,” she said.
Canyon nodded. “Kiki.”
“Kiki!?” Timber roared. “That scary-ass spider’s name is Kiki? Also, who the hell names a spider Kiki?”
Sage grinned, nodding. “Supposedly, she’s a demon from another world and Abigail brought her to this world promising she could mate with Khain… so now she lives in the hole, and if Khain ever goes to the Inn, Abigail has a way to release her.”
“Shit,” Timber said. “If there’s one thing Serenity does not need, it’s giant creepy demon spider babies.”
Canyon snorted laughter.
Sage laughed, too, saying, “Abigail thinks Kiki’ll eat him.”
“Oh, for real? Well, that’s different,” Timber said.
:4 p.m. Time for Timber’s 4th Foxglove application—
“I got it,” Sage said, getting up to grab her purse from the truck, then bringing it to Timber. He rolled up his sleeve.
She examined it, glad to see the weeping edges were almost closed. “It looks good,” she said.
“Yeah, thanks to you,” Timber said, grinning toothily, a grateful look on his face.
Sage gave him a small smile, then locked eyes with Canyon. He blew her a kiss, mouthing, ‘Thank you.’ She couldn’t help but smile widely at him, warmth spreading through her. She cleaned Timber’s wound, applied the paste and bandage, then cleaned up the detritus and dropped her purse near her chair.
Timber rolled his sleeve down, put his hands behind his head, and scooched down in his chair, getting comfortable. He closed his eyes, saying, “Feels like nap time.”
Canyon climbed up in the back of his truck and rooted around, coming out with a backpack and some folded chairs. He put the pack on his back and slung the chairs under his arm, jumped to the ground and held his hand out to Sage. “Wanna check out the bunker?”
She nodded, took his hand and pressed into his side, walking toward the edge of the bluff, feeling like everything would be okay, as long as Canyon was with her. She stared at the view over the edge of the bluff as they walked, mesmerized by the contrast of the green trees, blue sky, blue river, and all the colors of Serenity laid out below. They reached the bunker and took the stairs that led inside. Light from a square opening at the far end showed them a bunker full of windswept dirt and leaves and branches, but nothing else.
“Smells like pee,” Sage said, wrinkling her nose.
Canyon snorted. “Let’s get outta here.”
Up top was a different story. The air was fresh and the view was spectacular. Walking near the sides was dicey, becausethe ground fell away several hundred feet quickly, the bunker jutting out above the river below.
Canyon took the rucksack off his back and set it in the middle of the bunker’s concrete roof. He strolled to the edge and looked over, then returned to his ruck. Sage sat down and watched him work.
In no time, he had a folding tent set up with a double bed roll inside, and chairs at the entrance. He offered one to Sage. She got up and sat in it, smiling at him. He sat next to her and took her hand. Sage looked out over Serenity and the area beyond, some small part of her mind on her family, but most of her thinking about Canyon. Canyon stretched his legs out and relaxed in the chair, his hands folded over his belly, also looking out over Serenity, giant waves of satisfaction rolling off him. Sage couldn’t help but sneak peeks at him. His calm expression made her feel like everything was going to be okay.
Silently, she picked out landmarks: Blue River, the bluffs, Twilight Boulevard running through downtown, Interstate 90 bisecting town, all the train tracks and trestles, the bear statue, the wolf statue. Big Claw Woods, Serenity Hospital, Serenity Fire Department, and Serenity Police Department were all easy to find, while the catamount statue lay behind them and couldn’t be seen from this vantage.
“I might know where my pendant is,” Sage said.
Canyon turned his full attention on her, taking her hand and rubbing her palm with his thumb.
She watched him, spellbound, then remembered what she was saying. “There's a cavern up Morning Bluff at… ah, well, Abigail owns an inn up there, and the cavern is on the grounds.”
“We’ve been looking for the Morning Wood Inn,” Canyon said. “That’s how we ended up meeting Number Six and Number Thirteen, and of course Kiki.”
“It’s easy to find,” Sage said, frowning. “Right off the main road.”
“We looked. It’s hidden from us.”
Sage searched his eyes, then nodded. “I’ll take you.” Nerves filled her belly. “Tomorrow,” she added.
