Page 58 of The Librarian’s Familiar

“And I am deeply grateful that you were here to help out,” Charlie said as he stepped away from August.

August glanced at him. They were okay, weren’t they?

The bond seemed less prickly. He paused for a moment, watching as Charlie picked up his paintbrush to finish the cutting in around the edge of the section that was the priority. Should he be ripping the bandage off instead of picking up the edges? But he was used to the slow approach. It was important to check the ice on the lake before skating out onto it and hoping for the best.

There were stories of people who’d fallen through the ice into the lake because it hadn’t been thick enough, and they hadn’t waited. Their bodies were usually recovered in spring when the ice thawed. Because even though the surface of the lake was frozen, there was still a current beneath, and no one could hold their breath forever.

Which is what he was asking Charlie to do.

It was what he’d been doing his whole life.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

He shouldn’t have been hurt that August didn’t stay over the next two nights. In fact, he should’ve been relieved. He still came to the library to help move furniture as promised, and everything between them seemed fine. The only reason he knew it wasn’t was because of the bond. There was something unsettled in it, and given that his magic was unraveling it at an ever-increasing rate, it didn’t seem right that he used it to probe at the problem.

In a couple more days, there would be no bond as his magic was working very efficiently and without sex, only kisses, the bond was being rebuilt much more slowly—which was useful information. Information he should share with his mate.

They moved the last bookcase into place. They were as solid as they looked, and he’d needed the bear’s strength. All that was left was for him to put the books back on the shelves, so there was no need for August to come to the library again.

Charlie wiped his hands on his dusty jeans and surveyed the room. Sure, it wasn’t a big library, but it looked so much better now. Bigger and brighter without the dark and dingy paint.

“I couldn’t have done this without you.” Well, he could’ve, but it would’ve taken him much, much longer.

August put his hands on his hips and nodded. “I didn’t think it would make much of a difference, but it has. It’s the kind of place where someone might want to hang out.” He smiled. “I’ve enjoyed hanging out here with you.”

“There’s no reason you can’t continue to.” He wasn’t ready for August to walk out of the library and never come back.

“And distract you?”

“As you can see most days, I am super busy…but I can spare you a few moments.” He grinned even though he wanted to ask what was wrong.

Maybe it was family stuff now that his brothers knew. Or perhaps the tension of keeping a secret from his parents was wearing on him. Or maybe he didn’t want the bond anymore but didn’t know how to say it, so it was easier to let the bond unravel.

“I can’t spend all day every day here, people will…” August caught himself. “They might think I can’t read.”

“Nice save.”

August glanced away. “I shouldn’t need to.”

Charlie wasn’t going to argue with that, but it was an opening to talk, so he took it. “I don’t know if you can feel it, but the bond is unravelling faster than it is being remade.”

“I can feel that it’s weakening, but not those specifics.”

Charlie drew in breath. Even though he didn’t want to, he was going to give August an out. “This could be an opportunity to let it unravel completely and see what happens?”

August frowned and pressed his lips together. “Is this because I haven’t been around?”

Yes. “No…I know you’re here to see family.”

It wasn’t fair to expect August to spend every night with him, even though that is exactly what he wanted. He’d gotten far too used to having August around far too fast, and that was a dangerous thing because it would never last. His magic would ensure that. Not only that, but he was stuck here for years. None of that took into account that August was still trying to find his way out of the closet, which irked him far more than it should have, even though he was trying to be understanding. This town was August’s family home. It’s where all his family lived. His parents probably had expectations of little grand cubs.

“This is going to sound really strange because I know they’re my family…yet at the same time I’ve spent so much time away, it’s like they’re strangers. I’ve lived a life they can’t imagine, and they’re happy living here—even if they went away to college, they still came back. Now they expect me to stay here too, and I know I haven’t been back long, but I don’t think I can stay in Claw Lake forever.”

Was that August saying he was planning on leaving sooner rather than later? God, that would make the next couple of years unbearably dull and lonely and frustrating in an entirely different manner.

“I’ve barely been here three months, and I know I can’t stay here forever. But then I came here knowing that the job has a time limit unless I want to extend it.”

“It obviously grew on the previous librarian.”