Page 56 of Glow

“I thought you covered that well by saying that the bear retreated into the cave, and it was too dangerous to follow.” Dan looked over from where he was putting away breakfast dishes.

“Cross your fingers,” Quinn said. “Because I don’t think the sheriff or Amy and her coven really want to go on the record talking about a dragon.”

Dan had already given his statement, first to Armel and then to a private investigator Liam knew who handled paranormal situations. The PI agreed to intervene on Dan’s behalf with any other law enforcement agencies that wanted to know about Harrison, and Dan was enormously relieved to be out of the spotlight.

“Amy says she and the other witches went back to the cave for another set of binding spells,” Quinn told him. “And just to be even more careful, they made the mouth of the cave collapse. No one is going to wander in by accident.”

“That’s a relief.” Dan managed a wan smile. “I’m glad it’s over.”

“I think we’re due for some rest and relaxation,” Quinn said. “You know the Midsummer Festival starts this coming weekend. You haven’t really seen Fox Hollow in its glory until you go to the festival.”

“I’m game,” Dan said. “As long as there’s food.”

Quinn laughed. “Oh, wait until you see! Yes, there is plenty of food.”

“Maybe next year we can go to the big Summer Solstice Festival in Yellowstone,” Dan replied. “It’s a big deal on the cryptid social calendar.”

“I like road trips. Sounds good to me,” Quinn agreed.

The rest of the week went fast, between giving statements to the police, getting Dan officially moved to Fox Hollow, transferring his mail and bank account, and unpacking boxes.

Liam dropped by a couple of afternoons later, glancing around the living room appreciatively. “Looks like you two have managed to blend your décor already. Russ and I are still working out the fine points of that.”

“Quinn had more stuff,” Dan said. “It made things easier. We’ll eventually have to deal with the house and the rest of my furniture in Dover, but we’re taking our time. I’m so glad breaking the lease on the rental worked out, but I feel bad for the owner. Lisa said the repairs could take a month or more.”

“You could have just told them you found your fated mate. This is Fox Hollow; we understand these things.” Liam raised an eyebrow, then continued. “I’m sure Armel filled you in on all the official info about Harrison, so I’ll skip that,” Liam said as Quinn made coffee and they settled at the kitchen table. “I’ll give you the back-channel, extremely unofficial update on things we don’t tell Armel,” he added with a foxlike smile.

“Do tell.” Quinn stirred his coffee.

“Harrison was wanted in several states for assault with a deadly weapon, poaching, out-of-season hunting, and similar charges,” Liam said. “But he had also made some very dangerous enemies from the families of shifters and cryptids that he killed. Especially the ones with Mob connections.”

“Oops,” Quinn snarked.

“The bounty hunter had a significant bounty on his own head,” Dan mused. “Is that supposed to be poetic justice?”

“I was thinking more along the lines that shit comes home to roost, but no matter how you say it, the guy wasn’t likely to live to a grand old age,” Liam replied. “When it comes to pissing off the Mob, ‘death by wurm’ might have been relatively merciful.”

Quinn put his hand on Dan’s arm when he saw the shudder that trembled through his boyfriend, and Dan nodded in silent acknowledgment, accepting the comfort.

“I’ve got an update for you,” Dan said, and Liam raised an eyebrow. “I’m part of a private online network of cryptids. We swap tips and are a sounding board for each other on the kinds of things only ‘monsters’ understand.

“I told them about Harrison and the wurm, the whole story,” Dan revealed. “Turns out he had come after some of them too but had given up. None of the others had heard about a Tatzelwurm, so they thought that part was cool.”

He paused. “The other piece of this whole thing was the podcasters who outed me, Chet Sutton and Phil Sullivan. They’ve been after some of the others in the network for a long time. When I told them about the investigations that Liam and the sheriff put into motion, they intend to pile on.”

Dan took a deep breath. “Some of the other cryptids have been around long enough to be quite wealthy. I don’t think the podcasters will be back on the air, and if they know what’s good for them, they might go into some kind of witness protection program and disappear forever.”

“I love it,” Liam replied. “They had it coming.”

“Change of subject,” Quinn said. “I’m guessing the library is involved in this year’s Midsummer Festival again?”

Liam grinned broadly. “Of course! It’s always a big deal for us. We have authors doing readings and book signings, a storytelling pavilion for the kids, artists making book-inspired creations, and a big charity book sale.” He gave them a sly wink. “We can always use more volunteers. It’s fun, it raises money for the library, and it’s a great way to get to know people in the community.”

Quinn glanced at Dan, who nodded. “Sure. Sign us up, preferably for the same shifts so we can wander the festival together.”

“Done!” Liam replied.

Things had calmed down a lot in the two weeks before the start of the Midsummer Festival. Enough so that Quinn and Dan could enjoy their time volunteering and exploring without looking over their shoulders for danger.