Nope. Didn’t work. Everything was starting to make her think of him. Even that silly conversation she had with the twins earlier about the Big Bad Wolf. She had no idea why that would make her think of Col, but it did. Which just went to show you how bad her crush was.
B-A-D.
By the time Miller had set her up with facial recognition at the checkpoint for cars, it was already starting to get dark. As she neared the house, she could hear very distinctly the sound of…dogs? Dogs that were barking? Fighting?
How odd.
She didn’t recall any warnings about wild animals in this area, but all the same, she hurried out of the car to the front entrance of the house. She’d ask Miller about it when she saw him.
The door was unlocked, she supposed that was Miller’s doing too, after he had set up her clearance. By now she knew her way around the house, and even if the foyer was dark, she figured that the huge living room would be a sure bet as to where she would find everyone. There was also an entrance in that room that led to the backyard, although if those were wild animals she was hearing, she hoped that it was shut.
Bingo, voices were coming from the living room. Definitely where she needed to go, so she walked confidently towards the doorway. The sounds were getting louder. A few more steps and yes, she could see several of the men in front of her—but from the corner of her eye she glimpsed a flash of fur, followed by something she could only describe as a gust of air although nothing else, not even her hair was affected by it.
Before she could think about it, several voices yelled out. “Hello, Katie Cooper!”
She saw Simon, and Tybalt, and Aylwyn immediately, but knew who she was really searching for. She turned her head to where she had thought she had seen fur. How silly, it was simply Barric with his wild, dark mane of hair loose. That, along with his big, bushy beard was what she had thought was fur.
“Greetings, Katie Cooper,” he said, in his rich baritone voice. He actually looked happy to see her, or at least the wariness that he had had for the first few days were gone. That only made her feel worse to have thought he was some wild animal.
Silly Lily.
She should trademark that.
“Hello, everyone.” She remembered her manners and let her greeting sweep the room. To her disappointment, it was confirmed: Col wasn’t there. Oh yeah, and Merek was missing too.
As if Barric read her mind, he growled, “They are on patrol tonight.”
Aylwyn piped in, “They drew the short straws!”
“Well, I thought I heard some dogs outside when I was coming in.” Lily said. “I hope they’re careful.” She noted that the sliding door to the backyard was wide open.
“Dogs?” For some reason Barric thought that was funny. She was treated to the unusual sight of him bent over laughing. That seemed to set off Aylwyn’s laughter, although he was always quick to laugh. Even Tybalt, who was normally oh-so-serious even with his pretty boy looks, seemed to find humor.
“Um, something I said?” Lily stood there, not sure if she was the butt of the joke. But they really did look like the grown-up, supercharged versions of Brady and Clover. It was hard not to feel elated with their laughter, especially Barric’s. The normally taciturn man was actually wiping…tears from his eyes?
“We’re just playin’” Aylwyn said, although he was still gasping and wheezing with laughter.
Simon was next to speak. “It’s been a long day, so they’re letting off steam. Something about you makes them more comfortable to…” He paused, struggling for words. Lily was happy, though. Simon was also getting more comfortable talking with her.
“Getting STOOPID!” Aylwyn exclaimed, and that just set off another bout of laughter. Lily still had no idea what had initially started this, but she felt relaxed, as if this was a group of friends or even family of which she was a part, where she truly belonged. It was such a warm feeling, she let herself enjoy it for the moment, stilling the voice inside that was warning her not to get attached.
The only thing that would make that warning necessary was if Col were there too.
