Page 73 of The Heart of Moonlight Falls

“I think a few of them are at the diner now if you feel like stopping in?”

Warmth bloomed in Sebastian’s chest. “In that case, a late breakfast sounds perfect.”

The diner was bound to be quiet at eleven a.m. on a Tuesday, and he had his headphones around his neck in case the noise started to put him on edge. “Let’s go bother Eli and Parker. I have to thank them for getting us to the hospital. It completely slipped my mind before.”

They crossed the street and Sebastian opened the diner door, ringing the bell. Eli leaped from behind the counter and rushed to them.

“Sebastian!” Eli threw his arms around him, and Sebastian returned the hug without hesitation. “I’m so glad you’re out of the hospital.”

“Feels good to be free. Thanks for getting us there.”

“Of course.” Eli gave him one more squeeze before moving on to James. “Good to see you back in town too.”

James ruffled Eli’s hair. “Nothing can keep me away long.”

Parker exited the kitchen and didn’t delay giving Sebastian his own near-crushing hug. “Good to see you on your feet.”

Sebastian’s face was hot from all the attention, but he didn’t mind. The only other person in the place seemed to be Princeton, sitting alone at the opposite end of the room.

“My feet weren’t exactly the problem,” Sebastian joked.

Parker released him, a hand lingering on his shoulder. “How’s your finger?”

“Pretty much completely gone.” Sebastian lifted his bandaged hand. “The doctors expect it to heal fine now that they fixed the mess I made of it.”

Parker squeezed Sebastian’s shoulder, looking him in the eye with that intimidating expression of his. “Thank you.”

“For?” Sebastian’s gaze flitted instinctually to James, then back to Parker.

“For making a sacrifice for us and for the town.”

“Oh.” Sebastian squirmed, and Parker withdrew his hand. “You don’t have to thank me.”

“For cutting off your finger to save us, I think we do,” Eli argued.

To Sebastian, it didn’t feel like a huge deal, not compared to having to give up his life, but maybe James hadn’t told the others about that part of the night. They didn’t know how far he’d been willing to go.

“Everyone in town is grateful,” Parker went on, gesturing to the display around the stone. “Even if Eleanor didn’t broadcast specifically what sacrifice you had to make. She kept the details out of it, making sure your privacy was respected, but everyone knows you did something brave for them.”

Sebastian stared at the hand-painted signs, glad his missing finger wasn’t the talk of the town. “They aren’t going to forget it any time soon, are they?”

James studied him. “Does the attention make you uncomfortable?”

“A bit,” Sebastian admitted. “But not in a bad way. It’s nice to be appreciated. It makes me feel like I’ve been accepted.”

“You have been,” Parker said resolutely. “I’ve already had people ask when I’m putting your photo up in the diner.”

Sebastian’s mouth fell open. “My photo?”

Parker and Eli grinned, the big man hooking his thumbs in the pockets of his apron. “A key piece of town history like you vanquishing horrible shade-beings and stopping the veins from blasting the place off the map has to be celebrated.”

Sebastian was overwhelmed with pleasurable embarrassment. He wasn’t a fan of too much attention—he found it stressful—but when it came with the sense of belonging and accomplishment he had right now, he didn’t mind so much.

James studied him, an understanding expression on his face like he knew exactly what Sebastian was feeling. “We could take a picture right now, out by the stone.”

“You have to be in it with me.” Sebastian pulled James against him.

“Anything you want, sweetheart,” James agreed before turning a calculated look on Parker. “Speaking of pictures, we could replace my old photo with this new one. I can’t be up there twice.”

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