Page 79 of Bride of Choice

“Yes. Of course. Yes,” he muttered absently, once more spying the bracelet on my arm tinkling lightly.

“It’s a best friends bracelet. Gopher gave it to me,” I proudly informed him.

“I didn’t realize you were his Jo.” Bia looked so surprised by the fact, I had to wonder what all Gopher was telling him about me.

My eyes narrowed as his gaze grew thoughtful.

“Are you by chance, associated with Kirch’s warrior charge Rek as well?” His nose wrinkled and he gave a grunt. “I wondered why those two were suddenly at each other’s throats. Had to be over a woman.”

“Rektal causes his own drama,” I reluctantly responded. I was offended, defensive, and weirdly flattered.

“Do you nickname everyone you meet?” he wondered aloud.

With a shrug, I told him, “Only if they deserve it.” Wiggling a claw at him, I warned, “Careful, B, or you might be next.”

“Why does that sound like it holds two meanings?” he said on a laugh.

“Because it does,” I informed him saucily, bluntly. “Why, you want one?”

“Is B not one in and of itself?” he sputtered.

My eyebrows winged upward. “I’ve got better ones.”

“And Doogie was the exception to this rule?” he queried, ignoring my taunted quip. I took this as his desperate attempt to avoid something worse than B and take the heat off of him, simultaneously.

B was no dummy.

The fun of the moment popped like a pin to a balloon. Reality and sad stuff were mood killers like that. “He’s named after your mom’s brother,” I replied softly. “I heard about what happened to him. I won’t mangle his name but that doesn’t exempt Doogie from a fun, well deserved, non-birth-name-of-loved-one christening.”

A guarded look came over the male’s features. “How do you know about my mother’s brother?”

Not entirely comfortable admitting to the private conversation I’d had with his uncle, his frown lightened and he nodded knowingly. “Mama must have told you. She thinks you a potty mouth of the highest order but I heard she’s really taken to you.”

A cackle left me to hear that. Sounded like Dorothy. “I like your mom too,” I said easily, hesitating before admitting, “look, I don’t want to upset the person that told me but it wasn’t your mom. I’d like to think they can tell me things in confidence and I’ll do better to keep my trap shut and not slip up in future. I just know I run the risk of you stirring things mentioning this to your mom thinking she told me.”

Bia stared down at me, askance, but then he got this light bulb going off over his head look. “My uncle told you?” he murmured, looking stunned stupid at the idea.

“Not that it matters who told me, but is that so hard to believe?” A snort of a laugh left me. “I’m not that much of a monster, contrary to popular belief… all the time.”

The beast’s eyes widened and he shook his head. “Is that what you thought I meant?” Lifting his hands, he waved them briefly in a cutting motion. “That’s not what I meant at all.” A self-deprecating laugh left him at the mix up.

“What did you mean, then?” I mutteringly mumbled uncertainly.

“He’s not much of a talker,” Bia confided. His smile reached his eyes then. His deep blue eyes twinkled with something I wasn’t in on and wasn’t curious enough to ask about.

These beasts were full of odds and ends and silly secrets. At some point, I’d grown picky about what to care about and what to yeet the feck away from me.

Not much of a talker? Fuzzsticles? Really? He was a regular Gabby Gus with me. Maybe he’d yet to feel like he could open up to anyone else like he did with me. It gave me the warm and fuzzies to think maybe our feelings were so deeply felt on both ends.

“Do I need to follow you out now?” I asked, wanting to change the subject before I blurted anything else I shouldn’t out.

Bia blinked at the switch of topic but didn’t comment on it. Pulling a folded piece of paper from his belt, he held it out to me. “If you’re not ready to go now, Mama drew you a map. It’s in the village, cuts through, so you don’t have to worry about any “creatures” lurking.” Lower, he softly whispered, “We’ve never had a Krampus bold enough to waltz right into a camp before. Too risky.”

“You know, then.” My hands felt numb as I took the paper from him.

Grimacing, he admitted as he nodded, “Didn’t want to tell Mina. Didn’t want to lie. We told her there have been sightings of wild creatures lurking, and not to leave the village.” Hesitating, he muttered, “I don’t want to frighten her. It’s not a lie, is it? Mama says it’s not but… Kirch doesn’t like keeping the whole of it from her.”

“You’re protecting her.” Reaching out, I gave his arm a comforting squeeze, removing it from his person just as quickly. “Will Mina tell everyone else if you tell her?” I asked.

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