Page 61 of Cold Foot Sentry
“Um, I was wondering if you maybe want to go get lunch or something sometime. Or a drink? Just hang out.”
Tawk grinned down at Tammy and mouthed,Told you so.
Tammy draped her arm around Jess’s shoulders and nodded. Jess was part of Tawk’s team. She was the one with the power to feed him, and so for always, Tammy would appreciate her for that. “We’re going to have some adventures, you and I.”
Boom!
Tammy startled hard and gasped at the fireworks that exploded in the sky.
Cash whooped. “And in the rain!” he crowed, holding up his lighter.
“Dude, did you just burn your eyebrows off?” King asked.
Indeed, they did look a little thinner.
“Do you have any more, you freaking pyromaniac?” Harley asked.
“No. I paid twenty-seven bucks for that one. I’ve been saving it for a rainy day.” Cash pulled a face and pointed to the clouds. “Get it.”
“A one and done fireworks show. Nice,” Reed teased.
“Um, I can fix that,” Jess called out. “If you want.”
“How?”
She lifted her fingertips and whispered something under her breath.
Boom! Boom, boom, boom!
Bigger-than-life fireworks exploded into the sky and rained down sparkles all over the clearing. Tammy stooped and picked one up, and it sparked and fizzed in the palm of her hand, then lifted into the air and hovered in front of her face. “What is this?” she asked.
“An illusion,” Jess said. “A not-evil illusion,” she corrected herself, glancing at Tawk.
“Do it again,” Cash said, laying down in the rain.
“Is everyone okay with seeing the show?” Jess asked carefully.
One by one, the Cold Foot Crew went and lay beside Cash in the mud, with the rain falling on them.
Only Jess and Tammy, and Tawk remained.
“Already, your magic tastes purer,” Tawk murmured. He intertwined his fingers with Tammy’s and pulled her to lay down beside the Cold Foot Crew.
And for the next ten minutes, they looked up at the sky and saw a fireworks show that didn’t exist. The sparkles painted the clearing thicker and thicker until the Crew lay on a bed of magic.
During the grand finale, Tammy looked over at Tawk, and he wore the most serene smile she’d ever witnessed on a man’s face. He squeezed her hand and looked over at her, and God, he was perfect. Behind him, it looked like a thousand sparklers were going off, and in his eyes such affection was reflected. Such vulnerability. Such contentment.
“You and me,” he murmured so softly, she nearly missed it.
She was beginning to deeply understand him.
Acknowledging their lives would be together was huge for a man like him.
You and mewas as close as this Sentry Dragon knew to saying I love you.
Tammy scooted closer and nestled her head against his shoulder as he hugged her against him. “You and me.”
