Page 14 of Vow Of A Fox

I blinked, caught off guard. “What? No. I can’t leave you to handle the lunch rush alone.”

She waved my words away. “I’ll be fine. Besides, you’ve been working hard all morning. Take a break. You deserve it.”

Ben’s grin widened, and I could see the hope in his eyes. My fox practically hummed with contentment, and I knew I was fighting a losing battle.

“All right,” I said, giving in. “But I can’t be gone long.”

“Not a problem.” He grinned.

“Let me grab my coat.”

As I stepped into the back room for my coat, I felt a buzz of excitement radiating from my fox. She wasn’t the least bit conflicted about spending more time with Ben. I, on the other hand, couldn’t shake the thought that I might be making a mistake. But as I slipped my coat on and joined him by the door, I decided I could afford one lunch break.

Just one.

After this, we would have to distance ourselves until I got the feather and Maribel did her thing, sending Lucius’s spirit where it deserved to go.

Ben held the door open for me, and I stepped out onto the sidewalk.

“Where are we headed?” I asked.

“How about the gazebo?” he suggested. “We can eat and people watch.”

“Sounds perfect.”

We headed in that direction, walking side by side. The fall air carried a crisp chill, the kind that hinted at the first frost of the season coming soon. I tugged my jacket tighter around me, sneaking a glance at Ben. He stared straight ahead like he didn’t have a care in the world.

I envied that.

“I called Donna this morning,” he said, breaking the silence. “Bella and the puppies are all doing good. She sent me a picture of the whole crew piled up together, happy as can be.”

“That’s great,” I said, managing a small smile. “I’m glad they’re okay.”

“Me too.” He nodded, his tone warm. “It was a close call, but Bella’s a tough one.”

I tried to focus on his words, but my mind kept wandering. Xander. His raven. The feather I still didn’t have.

I was failing at this task miserably.

We reached the gazebo, and Ben held out a hand, motioning for me to take a seat. “Ladies first,” he said with a grin.

“Why, thank you,” I replied, sliding onto the bench.

He sat beside me and pulled out the sandwiches from the bag he carried.

“All right,” he said, holding them up. “Turkey or ham?”

“Turkey. Definitely turkey,” I said, grinning as I took the offered sandwich.

He unwrapped the ham sandwich and leaned back, the wooden bench creaking slightly under his weight. “So, get this,” he began, launching into a story. I tried to pay attention, but mymind was elsewhere. My brain was too tangled up in thoughts of Xander and what I needed to do to fully process the words he was saying.

“Okay, what’s up?” he asked suddenly, his voice gentle but direct, catching my full attention. “You’ve been nodding at all the right parts, but I can tell you’re not really here.”

I blinked, caught off guard at being called out. “What do you mean? I’m here.”

He gave me a knowing look, one that made it clear he wasn’t buying it. “You look like you’ve got a lot on your mind. I’m all ears if you want to talk about it.”

My fox stirred, pushing me to admit the weight of my problems to him, but I knew I shouldn’t. Dragging him into the mess that was my life right now wasn’t smart. After all, he was human. Even so, I wanted to tell him something about it all so he could wallow with me for a while. He was smart, maybe he could help me figure out a plan.

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