Page 70 of Amber Gambler

As fate would have it, I bumped right into Kierce and bounced off his chest. “Oh. Uh. Hi.”

“Josie told me to meet you in the parking lot.” He had gripped my upper arms to steady me but let me go. “She also saidto remind you how much you love her and that you would miss her if you killed her.”

“Ugh.” I deflated on the spot. “She’s too smart for her own good.”

The message? Effective. The method of delivery? Not so much.

Josie must have been thinking too hard about saving herself to be worried for Kierce.

“Hey, Kierce.” Carter nodded to him. “How’s it going?”

“Better now that Frankie is back.” He slanted me an apologetic wince. “Josie is…”

“Yes, she is, and I promise to never leave you alone with her without an intermediary again.”

“Josie is your sister?” Little poked her head out from behind her goodies. “She’s the one I’m supposed to be helping?”

“She’s mean to boys.” I checked Kierce over for damage. “She likes girls best.”

Given the situation, I was hoping that would set her mind at ease the fastest.

“Oh.” Little hopped down beside me. “I like girls best too.”

“That makes three of us,” Carter said slyly.

“Thanks for the lift, Carter.” I shut the door to cut off anything else she might say. “Thanks, Harrow.”

“You’re welcome.” He watched Kierce through the side mirror. “Talk to you soon.”

Kierce, doing his best to mitigate the damage, led Little around the shop to the garden.

Harrow didn’t take his eyes off him, and I didn’t take my eyes off Harrow.

Josie, who was still hiding from my wrath at closing time, had a new devotee. Littleadoredher. Likely because Josie let her plant strawberries then used her gift to make them grow fruit and ripen the berries before Little’s eyes. Then Little got to snack on her labors in a display of instant gratification only dryads could produce. Paying her twice what she asked for probably helped too.

“Don’t worry,mija.” Pedro stood in the doorway to my office. “They’ll come.”

The shop had closed a half hour earlier, but I stayed at my desk and stared at the chair across from it as though I could make a client appear from sheer will. No such luck. I had zero takers. Which meant Mr. Collins, who I hadn’t seen since the asrai incident, remained my only client.

“I’ve never had a dry spell this long.” I locked up on our way out. “Maybe I should have a coupon day.”

“Your skills are worth your fee.” He opened the door on the wagon for me. “Things will pick up soon.”

For our sake, I hoped so. The shop covered its own bills, but my clients kept our emergency fund healthy enough to guarantee we wouldn’t have to start over from scratch if we ever had to run. And, after years of being the breadwinner, I couldn’t adjust to twiddling my thumbs, waiting for paying gigs to roll in.

A few minutes later, Kierce slid in the back with Little beside him.

“Josie said to tell you that you have to forgive her eventually.” Kierce observed Little fasten her seat belt on Pedro’s orders then mimicked her motions. “She also offered to cook dinner for us.”

“She meant no harm.” Pedro chuckled at my scowl. “She was bonding with him, in her way.”

“She rubbed him—” I snapped my teeth closed. “We’ll pick this up later, okay, Pedro?”

“I wasn’t rubbed,” Kierce protested, which made Little giggle beside him.

“I smell the sunscreen on you.”

There wasn’t much difference between its scent and the product she used in his hair, but it was there.

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