Page 60 of Raven's Instinct
Bernard’s laugh was as rusty as his voice. “Sorry. It’s been a while. I apologize, ma’am. I had forgotten that when I last shifted I was…”
“I started my vet degree in human pre-med,” Kendra reminded him. “I’ve seen naked people.” But she didn’t offer to turn around.
Alan couldn’t exactly give him his pants, and wasn’t sure that Bernard would fit into them if he did, but he took off his jacket so that Bernard could tie it around his waist for basic modesty.
“Thank you.” It didn’t cover much, but it was better than nothing.
“I’ll get Aiden or Noah to bring you some clothing,” Alan said, texting on his phone.
Bernard was twisting to look at the image. “Mymormorused to trace symbols on my hand that she believed would protect me from bad dreams. Will this last?”
He answered his own question by smearing the line of paint and suddenly taking up several times the amount of space a massive bull. Alan’s jacket popped off of him like a rubber band.
Bernard bellowed in rage and stomped his feet. “Bleep you!” the translator attempted. “The weather is lovely! Query! Please! The weather is lovely! Anger detected! Bleep! Program error! Program error!”
Kendra turned back to fearlessly calm him and get him to stand still, while Alan found the pen in the pocket of the ejected jacket and redrew the missing part of the glyph.
Bernard was panting like he’d run a marathon, human fists clenched. “It’s okay,” Kendra assured him, snatching her hand back from his nose. “You’re back! You’renotstill stuck.” She held her ground and kept her chin lifted and he slowly calmed.
“We can have someone give you a proper tattoo, maybe,” Alan said, capping the pen again. “Something more permanent. I might have to do it myself to make it work, but I’m a quick study.”
Bernard was shaking his head. “I don’t know,” he said tightly. “There are definitely some side effects.”
“What side effects?” Kendra wanted to know, standing on her tiptoes to peer into his eyes. “Are you dizzy? Cold? It could be shock. Or, you know, no clothing.”
“I think thatconnectionwas taken a little literally,” Bernard growled. “He is thinking some very impure thoughts about you right now.”
“Sorry,” Alan said, startled and a little embarrassed. “That happens all the time.”
Kendra turned scarlet to the roots of her golden hair.
EPILOGUE: KENDRA
“We got a postcard from Bernard,” Kendra called as she came in and dropped her keys on the table beside the front door. “He says that apparently, Alaska is far enough away that he can’t tell when we’re doing it anymore.”
Alan appeared at the door to the bathroom with Amy in his arms. He was nearly as wet as she was. “Well, that’s a relief. Wait, did he write that on the outside of a postcard?”
“It’s in agency code,” Kendra assured him. “We didn’t scandalize the postman.”
“Oh good,” Alan said, bouncing Amy. “I love this neighborhood, and I don’t want to get drummed out for indecent correspondence before I’ve even completely unpacked.”
“Whenareyou going to get around to that?”
“Just because all ofyourearthly possessions fit in your van…”
It was still hard to believe that it was her house. After all her dreaming and saving and believing it was just out of reach, it washers.
Ours, she corrected herself, just as her owl contentedly cooed,Nest!
All of the happiness in the world was hers, in a house with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, a big back yard, and a porch off the master bedroom upstairs where she and Alan could go flying from…and Amy would be joining them in the air soon enough.
The only thing they’d done was build a carport for Rita, to protect her from the worst of the Montana winter snow, and replaced the carpet in the living room with something less likely to show stains. Amy had her own room, her own bed, and Kendra loved sleeping without being kicked.
The loan on the house was co-signed by both of them, and they were planning a spring wedding. Amy would not be the ring-bearer. “She’d eat the rings,” they both agreed. For an owl, she had a raven-like fascination for shiny things.
“What are you going to tell her about her dad, when she asks?” Alan had wanted to know, as they set out the details.
“You’ll be her dad,” Kendra had been able to answer with complete confidence. “A dad is not a donor, it’s the guy who's there for her, teaching her to fly and ride a bike.”
