“I don’t know how to work your espresso machine. So you’re going to have to fix that yourself.” Her eyes were twinkling as she spoke.
“You’re going to have to learn how to use it if you expect to live with me. Just like I know how to make your tea. You like two tea bags in the cup, so strong that you could stand a spoon up in it. I don’t know how you can gag that stuff down.” I wrinkled my nose at her, grinning. “I’m glad you’re feeling okay this morning. I was so worried about you last night.”
“I told you, he’s going to be fine. He’s safe where he’s at. Meanwhile, I have to admit that I’m kind of excited. I hated that job, and you’ve got to admit, this is going to be a whole new way of life. No more drifting. And at least I know DJ will be looked after and that they can afford to take care of him. There were months where I ate ramen for dinner so that he could have a halfway decent supper and breakfast.”
“I wish you would have told me.”
We had very few secrets from each other, but there were matters we were both embarrassed about. Or maybe, too proud. Money was one of them, on Angel’s part.
“There’s not much you could have done. You weren’t that much better off.”
I shrugged. “I could have figured out something to help.” I dug into my pancakes. “Where the hell did you find pancake mix? I didn’t have any in the cupboard.”
“Flour and eggs, baking powder and milk. A pinch of salt. I know my way around the kitchen, girl.”
I frowned. “I don’t remember buying flour and baking powder.”
“My house. You brought them with us last night.”
“Oh! That’s right. I just grabbed whatever I found. I wasn’t paying close attention.” The pancakes were soft and fluffy, and the syrup tasted slightly different but good.
“I know I didn’t have syrup. Your place?”
She shook her head. “I was out of syrup, too. But there was brown sugar and cream, so I made a form of caramel. So you want to be roomies again?”
I nodded. “I’m game if you are. We can look for a house after we go visit Herne. Or rather, after we go to work. I must admit, it will be a relief not having to freelance anymore. It gets scary when the clients run thin. Or when they cheat you.”
She gave me a solemn nod. “While my job was more secure, I got really tired of being cussed at when things went wrong, and watching the guys get promoted right and left. Not to mention having the scuzzball boss hit on me. But if I had filed a sexual harassment suit, he would have found a way to turn it around on me. And I couldn’t afford to be out of work, given taking care of DJ.”
I bit down on a piece of bacon. Several times, I had wanted to pay a visit to Angel’s boss and set him straight on how to treat her, but she begged me not to. And I knew she couldn’t afford to get on his bad side.
“I’ll put the condo up for sale. I should be able to find a little house on the outskirts of the city for not much more than I paid for this. Mortgage shouldn’t be too steep, and you can rent a room from me. That work for you?”
She nodded. “All right. I’ll give thirty days’ notice on the house, it’s not on a lease so at least I’ve got that going for me. The only thing I ask is that you don’t buy anything near a frat-boy hangout or party house. The one thing going for the neighborhood I lived in was that it was quiet.”
“And dangerous. We can ask Herne for some recommendations.” I paused, glancing sideways at her. “Am I the only one who thinks he’s pretty hot?”
Angel let out a laugh. “You better watch yourself. Getting involved with a god could be dicey.”
“Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve had sex? After what happened with the last couple guys…” I fell silent, my giddy mood suddenly vanishing. “Thank you, by the way. For explaining to Ray. I just couldn’t tell him.”
“I thought you might be mad, but I felt he deserved to know. He deserved to know that you weren’t being a bitch. You did what you could to save his life.”
“Well, thank you anyway. I still can’t talk about it very easily. I don’t know what happened, and I don’t know if I ever will. The first time I thought it was a fluke, but after Leland I knew it was just being in proximity to me and my work.”
I closed my eyes, trying to keep away the images that kept running through my mind. First there was Robert, who tried to help me on a job putting a stop to a batch of will-o’-the-wisps, but they lured him away when I wasn’t watching and drained him of his life force. I blamed myself, and it had taken me months to regain my equilibrium, and a couple years before I felt strong enough to date again.
And then I met Leland, and I had fallen in love with him. He was a cougar shifter from Mount Rainier. We dated for several months before I would even let him kiss me, and then slowly, I let the relationship move forward. He was a gentleman, waiting for me to give the okay. Finally, I took him into my bed, made long slow love to him, and in the middle of our tryst, he had a fatal heart attack. The doctor said it was too much rich food—and Leland did love his expensive pastries and carb-rich pasta dishes—but that kind of put a damper on things for me.
Then Ray showed up. He almost made me almost change my mind, but the closer we got, the more flashbacks to Robert and Leland I had. And then, Ray was attacked by the goblin I was going after. He hadn’t died, but the scar was a nasty one, and I decided that I liked him too much to chance him getting killed because of me.
“So you’re thinking, maybe because Herne’s a god, that he won’t fall under whatever curse you think you carry that killed Leland and Robert, and almost killed Ray?” Angel smiled. “Just make sure that you really like him first, okay? I know you’re hard up, and trust me, I understand. But don’t jump your employer’s bones just because you’re horny. That could be bad in so many ways, and I’m not just talking about finding him dead on the bed.”
“I suppose you’re right.” I gave her a wry grin. “It’s been so long since I worked for anybody else that I’ve forgotten the nuances of social interaction on the job. I guess it would be like sleeping with one of my clients. Not such a good idea.”
I hated to admit it, but she was right. I also didn’t like owning up to the fact that I found Herne absolutely gorgeous. I had a thing for the biker boys, especially the bad ones. Pushing lascivious thoughts away, I finished my breakfast and stood up.
“I suppose we better go find out what our new lives are going be like.” I paused, then added, “I’m glad you’re okay. Last night was harsh.”
Even though Angel insisted she was all right, there had to be a place deep inside where she was devastated. She took her responsibility for DJ so seriously that I couldn’t imagine that everything was quite as hunky-dory as she said. But I wouldn’t push matters. Angel would deal with this in a way that was easiest for her. If that meant pushing away her own feelings of loss, that was probably what she needed to do. At least, for now.
We carried our dishes to the sink. Then, grabbing our jackets and purses, we said good-bye to Mr. Rumblebutt and headed for the elevator. It was time to go to work.
ON THE SURFACE, Seattle was a beautiful city. Over the years it had grown into its nickname—the Emerald City. Set on Puget Sound, it was a major port for the country and an international hub, airport-wise.