Page 36 of Searching for Thanksgiving

“You are hurt?” he asked.

She gave him a sharp look and shook her head. “No. I lost the lower half of my leg in an accident ten years ago.”

“You shouldn’t have walked here,” he said.

She glared back at him. “And you shouldn’t tell me what I can and can’t do.”

Her terse response took him by surprise. An unexpected bubble of laughter escaped him. The sound was raw, uneven, and completely unexpected. Her lips twitched, and she gave him a rueful, apologetic shrug.

“I’m sorry—” he began.

“That was rude,” she said at the same time. She straightened and rubbed her hands together. “I get a little edgy when people try to tell me what to do.”

Her confession struck him hard. She had people who loved and cared about her. He thought of the only person in his life who had once felt that way about him. It had been so long ago, he was surprised that the memory was so clear.

“They care about you.”

She nodded and lowered her hand to massage her thigh muscle. “Yeah, I know. It’s just sometimes it gets claustrophobic with everyone always trying to take care of me. You never told me your name. Is it some big secret?”

“Devon.”

She waited a second for him to continue. When he didn’t she grunted out something that sounded suspiciously like ‘Okay, just Devon’. Once again, an unexpected humor struck him.

“You never answered my question. Why are you here?” he asked.

She patted the symbiot she was sitting on. “You can thank your friend here. He’s been like a bug up my butt the last few weeks, following me around. I guess today he had enough and invited himself into my home.”

She wasn’t telling him everything. He connected with his symbiot. He silently grimaced when his symbiot shared its visit.

“I don’t need your pity or your help.”

He rose from his seat and paced back and forth in front of the fire. He needed to send her away. He paused and glanced at her. She was watching him.

It was dark outside. He couldn’t send her away in the dark. He would have his symbiot take her. Both his dragon and his symbiot bulked at sending her away.

She isn’t safe here.

We no send her away! his dragon mutinously growled.

Have you forgotten who… and what we are?

We no like him.

We are very much like him. She is human. She is bound to be here by decree of the royal family. If they know that we exist, we will be immediately terminated.

We no send our mate away.

“Is this a private conversation or can I join in?” she asked.

He stopped and glared across the fire at her. “I don’t know what you mean.”

She scoffed and patted the symbiot. “I hate to tell you this, but I’m connected to the party line here.”

It took a second for him to understand what she was saying. When he did, he could feel the heat rise in his cheeks. It didn’t help that his dragon and symbiot were enjoying his discomfort.

“Where do you live?”

She waved a hand toward the entrance of the cave. “About four miles that away. Christoff fixed up an old hut on the edge of his property.”

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