Page 142 of Bride of Choice

Nodding, I quickly quit the room. The second I made it to the hall I was wiping at my eyes.

By the time I’d filled the pitcher, grabbed a few mugs, and made my way back, Odix, Lukar, and Doogie were gone.

“Is this enough?” I asked, carefully making my way over to set the cups down on her small coffee table.

“We thank.” Griever took one of the mugs and filled it, then set it next to Dorothy.

“See? Not ‘fected,” Booger muttered as Dorothy doctored up his eye.

Dorothy pursed her lips, looking like she was fighting a smile. She had a lot of experience with very stubborn males.

“How do you manage them all without losing your ever loving mind?” I blurted, amazed at her fortitude.

“Who says I don’t lose it on occasion?” she teased, giving Griever a silly smile.

Griever grinned and his chest started to rumble with a happy purr.

“And that’s my cue to take my Booger and skedaddle,” I quipped, making them laugh.

“Not ‘fected,” Booger insisted while I poured myself a drink.

“Look, if it’s fine by tomorrow, I’ll eat my underpants, smother ‘em in mock barbecue sauce and everything, with a smile on my face.” Wagging a finger at him, I shook my head. “But if it’s not…”

Booger grunted and mumbled quickly, “No make that bet.”

“That’s what I thought,” I muttered.

Finishing my drink, I stood as Dorothy declared Booger free to move about the country. “Nice eye patch,” I commented as he frowned at the material bandaging his eye.

“Jojoknee say pirates not in.” He sounded so morose at the idea, I had to think fast.

“It’s Halloween. Anything can happen. Everything’s in right now, right?!” Giving him a big smile, I glanced at Dorothy, who caught on and readily agreed.

“It’s very becoming,” she agreed.

“See?!” Patting his arm, I left him to Dorothy’s aftercare instructions and walked over to the door.

Spying a lone, dark form just up ahead, a frisson of fear slid over me.

“What wrong?” Booger asked as he made his way past me and stepped out.

“I thought I saw something,” I mumbled as I followed him out.

“What see?” Booger looked to me but I shook my head.

Like he’d been standing there waiting for us, Odix appeared from the shadows.

A smidge of trepidation remained, even as relief he wasn’t a rogue Krampus breaching camp filled me.

“Odix,” Booger rumbled out quietly in greeting, steering me right past him to keep walking.

“Odix- Odix-” Several starts and stops later, Odix called after us, “Odix go, too.”

Booger agreed with a sort of half grunt but kept himself between us. We were halfway to my place before I felt like I could finally relax.

Booger chatted up Odix in their tongue, nothing to his tone giving me pause. They could be talking about farts or barbecue sauce for all that I knew.

By the time we’d made it to my house, they’d slipped into companionable silence.

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