Page 87 of Live Love Lasso

Bluebell presses into Lemon’s arms, resting her head on Lemon’s chest. She barely comes up to Lemon’s collarbone.

“Awww, bestie, don’t bite me. Although, I guess it’d feel pretty good, right? Maybe we should try it sometime, sounds hot.”

To my right, Hadrian glances over. He heard what she said, I’d wager. His eyes drop down Bluebell’s figure but snap up when he senses me watching.

I don’t bother to hold back a smirk as he grits his jaw and looks away.

Oh yeah, there’s somethin’ there. Wonder how Bluebell’s brothers might feel about that? I think we’re likely to find out here soon.

The sheriff announces Roger as our official winner of the annual race. Then Main Street is utter chaos as everyone tries to grab their roosters. The tiny males are all riled up after the race. It takes Hadrian and Bluebell together to capture hers. I don’t miss the way he hands the chicken to her, his fingers resting softly against hers.

And I don’t miss the way her breath catches and she drops the rooster, who scuttles away as she stares into Hadrian’s eyes. He breaks the look first and disappears into the fray to help someone else.

Is love blooming in Pine Gulch? I think so.

Good.

It’ll give the pixie twins someone else to put on the front of their weekly column.

When I look at Lemon and feel her in our bond, it reminds me how different this is from all those years ago when a vampire bonded me by force. That woman took something that should have been my choice, and I retreated from monsters because of that.

But Lemon? She brought the light back into my world, and she shines it into all the darkest corners of my heart. I’ll protect that with body and soul until the day I leave this earth.

Lemon

“You’ve done a lot with this place in a few short weeks.”

I turn and smile at Varek as he waves at the paint cans by my feet. His pit hell lies by his feet, gazing lovingly up at him. I haven’t seen a bonded one yet, but it’s definitely something deeper than even the way Bebop loves Furyon and me.

“Yeah, I don’t know why she let me in, and why she’s okay with other monsters coming now to help.” I shrug as I stare at the front entrance to the Keeper’s house. “She’s waiting for something, something that’s coming, I think.”

Varek slides his big hands into his pockets, eyeing me thoughtfully. “You ever done the Keeper test at headquarters? Maybe you’re what she’s waiting for…”

I smile at him as I hand him a paintbrush. “Nah, I don’t think so. I don’t feel drawn to it at all. Potions are my thing. But she wanted a friend, and she wanted me for that. There’s a reason she wants to be fixed up now. We don’t know what it is, but it’s like a lot of things in PG, it happens when it wants to.”

He snorts, the gold ring in his nose flopping. “You don’t have to tell me, Lemon. I’ve learned that the hard way.”

I smile as he grabs a paint bucket and starts working on the inside of the front door. We work in silence for a few minutes. But eventually, I turn to him and lean against the wall, which is thankfully dry.

“How are you feeling about things these days, Varek? The whole imprisonment bit was a tad awkward.”

He laughs, giving me a wry look. “I’m thankful I was able to have a private conversation with the sheriff to clear it up and convince him of my innocence. All I can say is, had I known Letitia took you after I left her office, I’d have tried to help. Folks around here don’t give me credit because they think I wanna change Pine Gulch, that I want to modernize it in ways that’ll make them uncomfortable.” He shrugs. “If the Gulch herself thought that, she’d already have thrown me out like all the Keepers they keep sending who don’t stick around.”

“Oh, don’t I know it. You met the new one?”

He laughs. “I don’t give that girl two weeks.” He waves around us. “You don’t see her in here, do you?”

I poke his side. “Shall we bet on that? I got fifty bucks in my pocket.”

“Done.” He keeps on painting slowly and methodically.

Furyon’s name appears over my comm watch band, interrupting my response.

“Hey, baby, what’s up?”

My mate’s throaty chuckle warms me from the inside out. “Betty’s Bar tossed the new Keeper out on her ass. She’s in the middle of the street with her luggage in hand, waiting for Mabel to show up.”

I burst into laughter, and Varek shakes his head, a smile curving his lips upward.