Page 150 of Home to the Hollow

Jolene’s parents were far less middle class than they pretended, and because their wealth was re-invested into Society ventures, hertrueinheritance won’t pass to her unless she emerges. It’s a shitty by-law, and I’ve voted to change it many times, but my father is the great hold-out who sways the members every time.

Zeus forbid any of the ‘lost ones’ come back to reclaim their fortunes without being able to contribute to our cause.

A hand on my shoulder draws me out of my reverie, and I startle as Wolfgang tilts his head at me. “You felt… troubled, Edgar. Don’t worry; I believe Seer will take care of our sugarplum. She’s got more going on under the surface, I’m certain of it.”

My head dips as the rush of calm flows from him to me. Wolfgang rarely uses his Fae abilities on anything but animals—as far as I’ve heard—and I’m curious why he chose to help me. The three of us are bound by our connection to Jolene, but before her, we definitely didnotrun in the same circles. This situation will take some getting used to, and I’m working hard not to let the curveballs throw me.

“You’re doing very well,” he whispers when I look up. The look in his eyes is full of nerves, but the young vet covers it with a smile. “The family we’re forming with sugarplum is outside of your typical purview, Edgar, but you’re handling the changes like a pro.”

Well, I’ll be damned. No wonder Tilly adores him; Fletcher is like a warm hug in human form.

I clear my throat, trying to sort out what I want to say. Affection for the sake of comfort rather than appearances has never been common with my parents, and this is a lot of emotion I wasn’t prepared for. Hell, I don’t even know exactlyhowI feel, but I sure as fuck can’t tell him that.

“Boone?”

Hamilton’s voice saves me from my dilemma, and I look over at the doctor expectantly. “What?”

His grin widens as he looks at me, and he shakes his head. “You’ll probably just want to let it happen. I know there’s a thousand things absolutely destroying your world view at the moment, but you’re already a goner, man.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Waiting until Wolfgang heads out the door to the dumpster, he jogs over and sock my shoulder. “Once Lucy’s got his hooks in you, there’s no fighting it. Trust me—as the charter member of that club, I can spot it from a mile away. Be careful with him, but magpie and I will share.”

My brows furrow and I roll my eyes. Of all the ridiculous nonsense I’ve heard come out of his mouth at meetings, this trumps all of it. Fletcher is probably his mate and definitely mydrugar’smate, but he’s simply being kind to me. Even if itisan unusual experience for me, it doesn’t mean anything more than that. We all have to take care of another and communicate, or this weird rectangle won’t work.

Right?

The Fae in questions pops back in, smiling brightly, and the force of his sunshine smacks into me. Presley smirks when I shake my head and I growl at him in irritation.

“Something wrong, guys? We’re almost done, so I called and placed an order for Chinese. It’ll arrive just after we get home. I don’t know about you, but this teeny chicken food wasnotenough.” Wolfgang bustles across the room, looking around to make certain we put everything back in place correctly, and turns back to us. “Prez, I got you Pad Thai. I ordered abunchof soups and apps ‘cause I didn’t know how hungry we’d be, and Edgar, I guessed you might like spicy Mongolian beef. I asked them to spice it up extra, and the girl knew exactly who it was for!”

Son of a bitch.

“I, uh… thank you, Wolfgang. You guessed perfectly.”

He rolls his eyes at me. “Edgar, we sleep in the same house with the same woman. Call me Wolfie like everyone else. Stop being so… formal.”

“Yeah, Boone, stop being so formal,” Presley snickers as he heads to the back to let the companions out.

Jolene’s cats, giant bird, and my dogs come racing into the gallery space and I breathe a sigh of relief. This has been the weirdest night of my life, and I have no idea how to parse all the thoughts and feelings racing around in my brain. Kali gallops up to me and nudges her head into my palm, bringing a sense of focus that rivals the calm our vet filled me with earlier.

“Are we ready to head to Jolene’s? I promised the gal atWok’n RollI would call when we were leaving,” Wolfie asks.

“Yes, love, we are. Boone, if you’ll take your dogs, we’ll take the cats. Eurayle can fly.” Presley winks at me, and I nod curtly. “Great. We’ll see you at Magpie's. I spied a deck of cards in the entertainment center and if I’m not mistaken, you enjoy a game of chance, eh?”

Oh, that’s a mistake he’s going to regret.

“I do, Hamilton. Make sure you bring your wallet because you’re about to lose your birdseed money.”

Take that, you know-it-all winged wonder.

* * *

“Fold!”I stare at the cards in my hand in disgust. I’ve never had such a rotten run of luck in my entire life, and I swear to hell, it feels like I’ve been hexed or some shit.

Hamilton pops a dumpling in his mouth, maneuvering his chopsticks like he was born with them in his hands. “Jeez, Edgar. I could have sworn you were some kind of bookie. For someone so good with numbers, you seem to be striking out tonight.”

My eyes narrow at the avian doctor, picking up on the needling tone. “I am. Now that you mention it, this ‘dry spell’ is statistically improbable.”

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