Page 63
Ben slid an arm around Sabine’s waist, smacking a kiss on her forehead. “So, I’m going up the mountainnext time the snow thaws, huh? I’ll re-pack that backpack.”
Oliver sighed. “Sometimes I really hate?—”
“GUYS,” Luna yelled.
The roof cracked open. Snow piled into the lobby, right on top of the carpet Oliver had cleaned a month before.
“Snow,” Oliver finished flatly.
Eighteen
Oliver bumped into three birdhouses on the way to Jackon’s front porch.
“They’reeverywhere,” he hissed when Luna turned around to glare at him. “Not everybody is as small as you!”
He expected her to preen. Maybe strike a pose like she was so fond of doing, as if waiting for someone to take her picture. Instead, she just looked at him, gaze lingering on his broad shoulders.
“No, they are not,” she said impishly and turned to knock on Jackson’s front door.
Oliver tucked his elbows in and shimmied past another cluster of birdhouses. There were several dozens of them littering the yard, each of them hanging from a display with a dewy price tag attached, the plastic misty from last night’s snow. It only came up to Oliver’s ankles, which told him a lot about what he considerednormal. Once upon atime, snow up to his ankles would’ve been a surprise.
He made it to the front porch, shaking snow off his boots, just in time for the door to creak open.
“Oh,” said Jackson, already wearing overalls despite the early hour. His wings twitched where they were folded behind his back. “Hello.”
“Hi!” Luna fluffed her blonde hair up, which she insisted was ruined by the hood she’d been wearing in the car on the way over. The drive hadn’t been long enough for the heater to warm up properly.
“Sorry to interrupt your Saturday morning,” she continued. “Beth gave us your address. I hope that’s okay. Oliver has something to say to you!”
She turned to him, smiling widely. She had been annoyed by the roof caving in again, like everybody else. But she’d been delighted to prove herself right in saying that he should’ve let a professional handle it, even if she tamed her reaction down yesterday.Since you were having an emotional time and all,she’d said on the way over.
Jackson looked at him, waiting. He looked expectant, and Oliver sighed as he realized they all knew what was coming.
“The roof caved in again,” he admitted.
“Oh, wow,” said Jackon mildly. “During the storm? Wow. Who could’ve seen that coming?”
“Truly nobody,” Luna said brightly.
Oliver squeezed the bridge of his nose. At least Jackson was doing his best to hide it. Luna was bouncing smugly in herboots.
“Look, you don’t have to rub my nose in it,” Oliver said. “Just… tell me how much it’ll cost to get you to fix it.”
Jackson’s eyebrows rose up his scaly forehead. “Fix it? Not just consult?”
Oliver waited, hoping he would keep going and he wouldn’t have to humble himself further. But the silence stretched. Luna dug an elbow into his side.
Oliver glared at her megawatt smile. It dimmed slightly like she was reminding herself that he had gone through something very emotional yesterday. Oliver told himself he wasn’t touched and turned back to Jackson.
“Seems like a waste of time for me to fix it again if it’ll just collapse during the next storm,” he admitted.
Luna’s smile turned into something even smaller. Almost proud. Oliver couldn’t look at it for long before he had to turn away.
Jackson fiddled with the straps of his overalls. “Sounds about right. I can come now if you want. I just need to grab some supplies first.”
“That would begreat,” Luna chirped. Then she winced, nodding for Oliver to take over.
“That would be great,” Oliver repeated at a normal level of peppiness for this time in the morning. “Are you sure? The snow’s stopped, so the tarp will hold if you have other things to do this morning.”
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63 (Reading here)
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98