Page 19 of The Dragon’s Accidental Manny

“Food’s ready.”

I couldn’t not go into the kitchen because I’d always made a point that we ate together as a family. I snuck glances at him, but he avoided me and encouraged the kids to eat.

“Not more stuff in the egg.” Jack made a face but brightened after Cam gave him a look. “Okay,” he huffed. “I don’t know if I like them. I have to try them.” That last line was courtesy of Cam who’d been introducing my kids to vegetables since his arrival.

“I know what the red one is.” Isla put up her hand. “A bell pepper.”

“It’s sweet.” Bea didn’t poke at hers but took a mouthful.

“The green thing is spinach.” Jack held up his hand, and Cam gave him a high five.

I reached for the hot sauce, a spicy one that came from a dragon-shifter-owned business, at the same time as Cam did. Our fingers brushed over one another, and we both yanked our hands back. The kids stared but didn’t comment.

But they did have an opinion about Cam not eating. They all gasped as he prodded his now-cold omelet.

“You have to try the vegetables once.” Bea nudged Isla who continued, “If you don’t like them, you don’t have to eat them again.”

Jack was between his sisters, and they elbowed him.

“I forget.” He chewed a mouthful of egg.

“What does Cam always say?” Bea whispered.

“Oh, I know. You might like it.” He grinned.

“Cam, you look tired. We’ll rinse the dishes and put them in the dishwasher.” Bea glanced at me and then at Cam.

I agreed, telling him he had the night off, but I still worried he might leave. The kids and I got more water on the floor than on the dishes, and after bedtime stories, it was an hour later when I emerged from my older daughter’s room.

I hesitated, not wanting to walk to the end of the corridor and inspect whether his door was closed and if the light was on. Instead, I wandered to the front entrance, but his car was still there. Okay, there was a chance I could convince him to stay.

A clink of metal from the courtyard had me peering through the glass. The kids had strung fairy lights over the bushes last Christmas, and we’d left them there. The solar lanterns dotted around the space were glowing, and Cam was at the table holding a can of soda.

“May I join you?”

He nodded but didn’t look at me as I made my way in. I should have gotten a cup of something so I had something to do with my hands. Instead, I stared at the fairy lights and counted the seconds. Maybe Cam would never speak to me again and we’d live as strangers under the same roof.

“You breathed fire.”

Even though what followed might be catastrophic, at least I had a chance. He was talking.

“Whatever it is, whoever you are, just say it because I’ve been reeling since this morning.”

“The kids and I are shifters, so we have an animal inside us.” I gulped and plunged into an explanation. I told him there were many different kinds of shifters who lived among humans, and I detailed how I could shift into dragon form but the kids couldn’t, not yet.

“But they’re not old enough to always be able to control their beasts.” I clasped a hand around my wrist. “That’s why they wear the bracelets, especially around humans. They can still feel their dragons but any fire is contained inside them.”

Cam sipped his soda and stared at something over my shoulder. The waiting was nerve wracking, and I wished I could do what humans did and nibble my nails. Drumming my fingers on the table would only highlight my impatience and fear.

“Can you show me your fire?” He pinched his fingers together. “A little one, not the outsized stream of this morning. I think Jack did that once.”

He likes me. I knew it.

He doesn’t know you.

I let out a tiny deep red flame, no bigger than a candle, and it sat in my cupped palm. He waved a hand over it, feeling the warmth.

“It’s real. I didn’t imagine it.”