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Fiona grunted back.“Yes, are you?”

I picked up the envelope on the table. “No, I am not okay. Colonel Benson wants me to train Rasmus.”

Fiona blinked fifty times and then shook her head. “This is bizarre, Mom.”

I nodded slowly and with great exaggeration. “Oh, yes, daughter. I am well aware of how bizarre this is.”

Conn chose that moment to enter the kitchen. He looked at the man sitting at the table and drinking the tea I fixed him. “Hey, Rasmus. How’s it going?”

Rasmus stared over the rim of his cup. “Ben sent me to see if Aran would train me.”

Conn chuckled and closed his eyes. I could tell my joking about Mulan’s well-trained-boyfriends was about to bite me on the arse. The last thing I wanted was to explain the joke to the stranger sitting with us. In fact, I planned to never get that close to Rasmus Version 3 so I glared at Conn in warning.

“If ya say what ya’re thinking, brother, ya’ll be wearing yer tea instead of drinking it.”

My familiar grinned at me for calling him my brother, held up a hand, and sat down near the only mug without a person sitting in front of it. I hoped Conn’s focus on his tea meant my crisis of embarrassment had gotten averted.

I lifted the envelope to show Conn my present from Ben. “Rasmus tells me the Shadows Breakers have approved paying me whatever I ask to become their new trainer.”

Fiona smiled and chimed in. “Take the job, Mom. The house I found is expensive but perfect. It has land with other smaller houses on it. There would be a small private residence for each of us. The grounds remind me of the Abundant Life Temple. Our two biggest costs will be lawn maintenance and electricity. I see upgrading to solar in our future.”

“I refuse to live in a solarized temple,” I grumbled, bringing my tea to the table.

“The main house is a large Colonial. The other houses are cottages. Since you’re the one paying for most of it, I thought you could have the main house. It’s large at five thousand square feet, but not truly mansion-sized.”

I rolled my eyes. “Good Goddess… five thousand square feet? What do ya call a mansion, Fiona? I don’t need all that cleaning to keep up with. I won’t have time for it if I take this job.”

Fiona laughed. “You could rent out some rooms to help pay for everything.”

“I’d rent a room from you,” Rasmus said quickly.

Conn grinned at both me and Rasmus. “See, Aran? Problem solved. You can rent a room to Rasmus.”

I glared at both Fiona and Conn. “Training him will be all I can stand of his company.”

Rasmus chuckled. “Do you always discuss people aloud while they’re in the room with you?”

I turned to him. “Yes. I believe in transparency even if few others do.”

He visibly winced. “If I confessed all my past sins to you, would you let me stay? You have to let me try to resolve whatever bad karma is between us.”

When Conn laughed again, I put my face on the table and pounded my forehead against the surface.

Fiona laughed again. “Mom, stop. You look insane when you do that.”

I sat back up, groaned, and opened the envelope. A very generous salary offer was on the front page, as well as a recruitment bonus that would contribute a nice chunk to our down payment.

There was only one catch. “The money is great, but they want me to promise them five years.”

Fiona shrugged. “So what? You’re notthatold. Five years is nothing.”

I stared at her. “It’s not aboutmy age, child. Five years in the contract means I can’t return to Ireland for five more years.”

Fiona sipped her tea. “Good, because I want you to stay here with me. We lost a lot of time together while you were in prison. I want it all back before you take off and leave me again.”

“Or ya could go with me,” I said.

“No, thanks,” Fiona said quickly. “I’ve got too much to do here. Mulan and I are training. Do we know when she’s coming home? Has anyone told her we’re buying a bigger house yet?”