Page 35 of Vampire Lee

Dillon stared at him. “What?”

“Harden off, isn’t that what it’s called? I think we should carry everything outside, including everything you’ve sown. If it sprouts outside, we don’t need to harden them off.”

“Okay.” Dillon wasn’t sure what he meant, but he could carry the cups outside.

“We’ll place everything on the patio, and we’ll have to…I don’t know, bring the plants inside again in a few hours, and then keep doing it for a few days before we can plant them in the soil.”

Dillon nodded. He could do that.

“And we can sow some carrots and stuff directly in the pallet collars. Beans. It should be warm enough for beans.”

“I have beans in cups.”

“Good, then we’ll know how much space they’ll need when they sprout.” Excitement shone in Devin’s gaze. “It’ll be awesome. After breakfast, we’ll carry everything out on the patio, and we’ll sow some carrots. You have the seeds, right?”

Dillon nodded.

“Great! Pancakes?”

“Pancakes?”

Devin grinned at him. “I’ve made pancakes. Would you like some for breakfast?”

“Eh…”

Before he’d managed to formulate an answer, Devin was gone. A few seconds later, he placed two plates on the kitchen island with a stack of pancakes on each. He climbed onto one of the stools and motioned for Dillon to do the same.

Together, they ate pancakes with their backs to the others. Apart from eating lasagna with Murrie the night before, Dillon had never eaten with anyone other than Devin in the room. As the murmur of the others’ voices drowned the buzz in his ears, he took a bite. The sweet taste exploded on his tongue, and he took another bite as soon as he’d swallowed.

* * * *

Rei slapped Lee’s thigh under the kitchen table and grinned at him. Lee didn’t know why, or Rei’s nod toward Dillon was a pretty big clue, but he still didn’t know what made him happy. Sitting there, the entire table would be able to tell they hadn’t slept with each other. Or they’d know they’d slept with each other, but they’d know they hadn’t had sex, so why Rei was so happy he didn’t know.

Looking around, he realized everyone was smiling while trying to act normal. Everyone but Mars. He looked his usual grim self and was glaring at his coffee. What the hell was up with them? He frowned as he looked from person to person, but it only made them grin wider.

“So…”

“Let’s eat first, and we can head into the office to talk.” Murrie bit into a sandwich, his eyes dancing.

Right. Okay, no talking business during breakfast.

“Faelan texted me around three in the morning. Said he’d hung out with some wolves he’d never spoken to before but hadn’t found out anything damning.” Hanna reached for more coffee as Murrie hummed in reply. They were talking business during breakfast then? Lee was confused.

“We should give him a burner phone.” Rei leaned back in his seat and rubbed his belly as if he had eaten too much. “If someone gets hold of it and sees our numbers there, his cover is blown.”

“Are you working tonight, Lee?” Murrie tipped his head at him.

“Yeah, early shift.”

“Meaning?”

“Ten-thirty to seven. It’s mostly prepping for the night, but there is a bit of a lunch crowd on the weekends. So pouring a few drinks, chatting to a few customers, but no heavy-duty bar tending.”

Murrie nodded. “If I give you a phone and tell Faelan to swing by, can you switch it for his? Preferably without too much of an audience.”

“Sure. Have him come in for a drink and sit by the bar, and it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“I think he should go somewhere else.” Hanna sipped on her coffee. “He might not be the most known of us—” She widened her eyes at Rei. “—but there are people at The Rambling Rogue who know he’s part of our group. They’ll never talk about underground fighting with him.”

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