Page 248 of Bride of Choice

Rek’s hand tugging at my arm was urging me to go with him, but I couldn’t walk away even if I’d wanted to.

Gopher was next, looking like he wanted to retreat as Celuk advanced on him.

“Don’t hurt him,” I found myself blurting as the sounds of Odix splashing in the river Celuk had just chucked him a fair distance away from us and right into pricked my ears.

I was beginning to understand a little bit of Celuk’s “crazy” reputation, but it wasn’t quite what they’d claimed.

When Celuk turned to me, he cocked his head. He was waiting for more from me.

“Gopher was trying to stop Odix from attacking Bum-bum, and Rek was trying to save me from myself,” I explained.

Celuk turned back to Gopher and snapped something at him, then made a shooing motion. Gopher couldn’t hightail it out of there fast enough.

Rek’s arm wound around my waist and he lifted me up to rush off with me.

“Now just wait a damn minute here,” I started to protest.

“No,” Rek barked. “Rek no wait, see if Celuk let Rek live. Joanie stops talking and goes with Rek!”

“Now… that is just ridiculous! He wasn’t going to kill any of you!”

Rek meant business, scrambling for his hut to rush inside. He slammed and locked the door, then leaned back against it.

“He crazy!” he burst out the moment the door was closed.

“He’s not crazy,” I muttered. “He’s not really a nonsense kinda guy. With all you crazy assholes, can you blame him? Odix and Gopher picking fights with him, Bum-bum being, well, Bum-bum- It’s all a hot mess!”

“Joanie not listen to Rek,” he stressed as I dressed properly, everything in order and right side out. “Celuk crazy. Joanie want Celuk for mate, Joanie need to think very long, hard, she wants Kookypants be hers. He. Crazy.”

“He’s not, though,” I blurted.

“Him is!” Rek insisted.

“Rek… I lived with him for months,” I pointed it. “He’s pretty harmless, actually.”

“No.” Rek shook his head. “Him not harmless. Him smart. You say the coyote wily. Him worse. Him big smarts. Him roaded runner with all the haha meep meeps. Him knows all the things.” Rek tapped at his temple. “Joanie listen to what Rek says. Rek no make this up. Celuk crazy. Crazy smart.”

Glancing up from where I was tying my boot laces, I gave him a funny look. “Is that why you don’t want me to mate with him, because you honest to god think he’s crazy?” It sounded like Celuk was calculating, smart, militant kinda deal more so than crazy…

“Him’s is crazy!”

Jerking the top of my shirt down, exposing Celuk’s bite, I tapped it. “He already claimed me a while back. We just haven’t, uh, sealed the deal yet.”

“See?! Him crazy!” Throwing his hands up, he jerked his hands at what he saw as proof.

I tried not to but he was just being so damn silly about it I had to laugh. “That’s not why!” This was the “wish”/witch thing all over again.

“Why then? Why him not claim my Jojomine, hmm?” he demanded to know, his dander clearly up.

“Uhm. We’re taking our time?” I wasn’t about to point out Celuk had the mate lust stuff. It would just be one more thing Rek thought was crazy.

Standing, I gathered my things. To dust or not to dust. I was leaning away from doing so but Rek got one look at the powder I was reaching for and his nostrils flared.

I’d reached for it mostly out of habit, and partially because he was starting to act just like before, if a much milder version at the moment. Speaking of crazy, ahem.

Marching up to me, he grabbed the dust out of my hand and doused me with it.

“Rek! What the hell?!” I sputtered, fanning that shit away.

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