Page 33 of Marcus-stiltskin

I text Randy back.

The phone dings immediately, letting me know he’s responded. “He says he can bring her back, if you don’t mind.”

Marcus shakes his head. “Not at all. I’ve got to get these guys back to the fire station. It’d be a big help.”

I text Randy back as Marcus gets everyone’s attention with the apples. He bites off small pieces and hands them out on a flatpalm to each animal. Immediately, they crowd him, hoping for more treats. He backs up slowly toward the golf cart and gets back on.

“Can you put Freddie K. in the back?”

Immediately, Freddie K. sends me a picture of the fire station. “Yep,” I answer, not really paying attention. “You’re going home.”

He yips and sends me another picture of the fire station. “Yes. I get it. Home.”

“What’s wrong?” Marcus asks as I set Freddie K. down in the back of the cart.

I shake my head. “He keeps sending me pictures of the fire station.”

“Maybe he wants you to come back with us?”

Freddie K. starts to yip and wag his tail as Marcus gives me a “see” look.

“I could get some of the morning work done while you’re dealing with Ramona.” I offer.

“You don’t have to.”

I shake my head and pick up Freddie K. again. “I volunteered to help. Besides, you're going to have your hands full with Ramona.”

I sit down next to Marcus and let Freddie K. rest in my lap. Marcus looks over at us as he starts up the cart. He holds an apple in the air with his left hand and waves it to get the donkey’s attention before slowly pressing on the gas. “Freddie K. seems to have really taken to you.” Marcus says as we move across the yard, a gaggle of donkeys trailing behind.

“Darla told me that he’s my familiar,” I tell him and then instantly regret it. Freddie K. and I are now attached… which means Marcus and I are, too in a strange way.

Marcus seems unphased. “Well then, that explains all the pictures he’s been sending you.”

Instead of heading for the drive and going through the front yard, Marcus drives in a straight line directly toward the property line from our yard until we come to the spot where the donkeys must have gotten through. Here and there along the fence, the barbed wire looks really old and rusted. The top few rows on one section have broken off and hang down, leaving only the lowest wire still intact. “Looks like we found our escape route,” Marcus says aloud as we come up to it. He doesn’t pause. He simply follows the fence line, slowly, until we reach the front yard.

I hop out as we get closer to the fire station and open the gate that leads to the back yard. Marcus and Freddie K. pass through followed by the donkeys. I lock it back and walk the rest of the way in.

Large piles of lumber are stacked in various places throughout the yard. Marcus looks up at the sky as he steps out of the golf cart and sighs. “The Dvergar were supposed to come and start on the shelter, but it looks like rain.”

It tastes like it too. “If we hurry with their breakfast, maybe we can get the fence done before the sky opens up.”

“You know how to fix fences?”

“Well, I’m no good with the big animals, so Lugh and Jacqueline have to find some use for me.”

He smiles.

“I don’t know much really, but I can be more of a help than a hindrance. And I can hold things.”

He nods. “I’ll take that then.”

Chapter Fourteen

In Which This Finally Turns Into A Brother’s Best Friend Romance

There is still this tension there between us. I have no idea what he’s thinking or not thinking about me. Shania has never been wrong: We’ve reminded each other half a dozen times over the past year at various times: if a guy is confusing, he’s not that into you, but my stupid heart won’t stop being hopeful. We feed the donkeys as quickly as we can and then I take Freddie K. back upstairs while Marcus loads up the golf cart with everything he’ll need to mend the fence. I get Freddie K. set up with breakfast and a fresh bowl of water, for which I’m rewarded with the mental image of him napping, paws in the air.

I leave him and come down the stairs in time to find Randy Lamar riding up the driveway on Ramona’s back. Behind him, is Darla, slowly trailing behind in her old pickup, her emergency lights on.

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