Page 15 of Icy Heart, Empty Chest
He shook his head. “Just never thought I’d hear you say that.”
“Me either,” I admitted.
“Are you wearing makeup? You never did before,” he asked suddenly.
“I didn’t look my best thing morning. You can tell? Am I smudged or something?”
I got up and headed to the bathroom. The light foundation I put on was still in place. “How could you tell?” I called.
“Dunno. I just could, between this morning and now.”
“You are far too observant for your own good,” I muttered and headed back to the table.
“As I was saying. I think Thursday night we should visit the hospital, spend Friday night at his place. We have Saturday as a backup, just in case.” I rolled up some of the blueprints and put them off to the side, smoothing out the stack of hospital ones.
“This is the wing he works in and where his office and laboratory is.”
Damien took the print from me. “Two different floors?”
I nodded. “Ask one of the maintenance guys at the precinct if you could borrow
their uniform. I’ll have my own.”
“Not security?”
“We want as little attention as possible,” I reminded him. “People tend not to pay attention to those who scrub floors or plunge toilets. It’s an oft forgotten, overlooked job.”
“Agreed. They deserve far more credit.”
“It’s about a half hour walk or shorter cab ride, whichever way we go.”
“You forgot the third option.”
I turned my head confused. “What third option?”
“Ride on my back.” When I didn’t answer he took on a bemused smile. “Did you
forget I was a kelpie?”
I blinked slowly. “I’ll admit I didn’t put your horse form in my initial list of assets,” I said seriously and we both burst into laughter. It felt good to laugh after all the drama. I needed it. Damien in his horse form was formidable. He could shift back and forth, carry heavy loads and he stood out being green. I considered it for a second then countered. “Is that the most conspicuous option? A giant-ass horse galloping through the streets?” I questioned.
He squinted. “Did you just call me bulky?”
I eyeballed him. “You’re muscular now. I haven’t seen horse form in a few years but you were pretty big back then.”
He smirked at me.
I rolled my eyes. “My two points are, could someone recognize you in horse form? Could you have a rider? I don’t weigh what I did in high school.” I glanced down at my thighs, which bore the stretch marks of weight gain/loss. Working in a cafe surrounded by pastry had not been the most conducive to my health and let’s just call my hips slightly “curvy” despite not adding to my smaller cleavage. The gods were cruel and the treadmill was crueler.
“Is that a joke? I’ve helped pull damaged cars off of people before. Your skinny ass isn’t a challenge.” He looked up thoughtfully. “To your first point, yes it’s possible to get noticed in kelpie form. There are only so many light green horses around. A couple walking in dark clothes into a kid’s hospital would draw less attention.” He turned to me. “Do you have anything to drink?”
“The holy trinity of beer, water or coffee.”
He snorted at my phrasing. “Beer then.”
I got up and sauntered to the kitchen, bringing back a beverage. It was hard not
to feel comfortable around him. Being around him was like the first warm rays of sun after winter. At one time he was my best friend in the world and then high school hit and fucked everything up.
