Page 89 of Blade

“Let’s start with getting you a debit card and access to your money because they don’t know who you are.” I didn’t care about him being rich except for the practical side of it, but him not existing for the last seventy years would come in handy and I was going to exploit that for all it was worth.

“That is a very reasonable goal.” Looking around the truck, he was studying something. “I also think that having Serena teach me a few simple spells to change what the truck looks like shouldn’t be difficult.”

Oh.

“You don’t have to learn magic if you don’t want to.” That wasn’t something he should ever have to do for me. “Getting a new paint job isn’t hard and we can buy a spell for it. There’s a great online market for that kind of stuff and you won’t hit the radar as human, so it’ll be even easier.”

Being human was hard sometimes.

“I don’t have an issue with learning it.” Stroking my neck, he looked like he was ready for us to curl up on the bed. “Think of it this way. I’m going to have a lot of time on my hands and I’m going to need to stay busy no matter where we end up going. I’m at a different point in my life.”

Well, that was true.

“That’s an understatement, but yeah, you have more time on your hands now.” It would also be something he wanted to learn this time instead of something adults were dragging him to study. “Just as long as this is something you want.”

I’d seen what happened when someone felt backed into a corner and I didn’t want that for us.

“My mate, keeping you safe will always be something I want to do.”

He was so stubborn…cute, sexy, and amazing…but really stubborn.

“Eventually I’m going to figure out how to respond to that appropriately.”

Okay, and he had a good laugh too.

CHAPTER 28

BLAINE

“Doyou know how hard it was to find you?”

Henley was right…people didn’t use manners nearly as much as they used to.

“Can we help you, ranger?” I didn’t ask his name because Henley was dead set against having to use his, so I just pretended like the situation was perfectly normal.

And that included ignoring the police officer who was trying not to giggle.

It was good to see the uniforms hadn’t changed much or the type of officers that were being hired.

This one made me think of a slightly older Tommy Kirk but still just as innocent as the squeaky-clean-looking actor had come across in my time.

Ugh.

Henley was right…that made me sound like I was ancient.

The cranky ranger threw up his arms as he turned around and started marching back to his truck. “No. That’s Colt. He’s not human.”

He was incredibly helpful.

“Officer.” I was really hoping Henley stayed in the campground bathroom until I figured out what was going on, but my luck had to run out at some point. “How can I help you?”

Standing in the doorway blocked most of his view of the interior, but I made sure to keep eye contact with him and not look around at all.

“This is really cool.” The man who looked younger every time he smiled straightened his shoulders. “I went out and hunted you a dozen times. I’m really glad I didn’t find you.”

People really had gotten stranger since I’d been…gone.

“Me too.” This really was an odd interaction. “I don’t have a lot of clear memories of that time, but it seems like trying to find me was a community sport.”