Page 11 of Did It Have To Be Gnomes?! (Carry A Faerie #1)

Chapter Eight

Winter

M iles could easily walk on his own, but I wanted to help him, and touching him would help soothe the ache away.

So after I parked in his driveway, I got out and rushed to the passenger’s side.

He was just opening the door when I got there, and he gave me a look when I reached for him, but that didn’t stop me.

And he didn’t ask me to stop, so I didn’t.

I hesitated for only a moment because I really wanted to carry him, but I figured that’d be taking it a step too far for the proud man. So instead, I threw his arm over my shoulders and took some of his weight as we made our way into his house.

An orange tabby cat rushed down the stairs, meowing loudly to greet us, and I couldn’t help but smile. I loved all animals, including loud little hellions.

“Hey there,” I said to the cutie, then asked Miles, “You said his name’s Odin?”

“Mhm.” Miles had his eyes closed.

“Do you want to go up to your bedroom to lie down, or would you rather sit on the couch?”

“Mm.” He grunted. “Want the couch, need the bedroom.”

I could understand that. “Bedroom it is.”

As I headed toward the stairs, tugging him along and trying not to trip over the cute cat, Miles sighed. “I can make it up on my own.”

“I know, but this is easier, isn’t it?”

He huffed and didn’t deny it, so I kept going. Luckily, his stairs were wide enough to fit us without knocking the artwork down, and I soon deposited him on his king-sized bed. He let out a sigh as he lay back, and I started untying his shoelaces to get his work boots off.

“Winter.”

I paused my ministrations and looked up at him. “Yeah?”

His gaze was intense. “You don’t have to do that.”

I sent him a small smile. “I know. I want to.” Without waiting for a response, I finished, got both boots off, and set them on the ground next to his dresser.

When I faced him again, he looked bemused.

“I’ll go make you some ice water while you get out of your coveralls. Do you have an ice pack you can put on your forehead?”

“I do, but you don’t have—”

“Need anything else before I head out?”

He shook his head no. “You really don’t have to do all of this, Winter.”

I shot him a wink. “I know.” Then I bent down, took a chance, and picked Odin up. He practically melted in my arms, turning into a kitty puddle, and I cooed at him as I walked out of the room. “Does he need to be fed or anything?”

“Nah. Too early for dinner.”

“Got it.” I closed the door behind me so he’d be left in the dark.

As I passed a door at the top of the stairs, I heard a strange noise. Glancing at Odin, I whispered to him, “You don’t have any brothers or sisters, right?” Surely, Miles would’ve said so earlier. He only mentioned the one cat when I asked about pets, right?

I heard the noise again, but then I cringed at myself because I was being far too nosey. So I headed down to make a glass of water for Miles and find his ice pack.

Odin followed me back up and into the bedroom, and I was relieved to see Miles already sleeping. He looked… honestly adorable with his face and body fully relaxed. I didn’t realize how much tension he carried until I saw him without it.

After setting the ice water on the nightstand, I carefully placed the ice pack across his forehead and eyes, and he let out a little contented sigh, making me smile. Good. He’d be right as rain when he woke up.

I tiptoed out of the room and left the door cracked for Odin, who was still following me.

As I passed that other door, the sound came again, and I froze.

Something… rustled.

Should I look? No one would know, right? Miles was sound asleep, and taking just a peek wouldn’t hurt anything, would it?

Odin rubbed against the door and let out a pathetic-sounding mewl.

“What’s in there, boy?” I whispered to him.

He made the same pathetic sound again, and I knew right then and there that I had to look. I had to see what was on the other side of that door, what Odin very clearly wanted in there.

Glancing at Miles's bedroom door and seeing it in the exact position I’d left it in, I quietly creeped across the hall to the other door, grabbed the doorknob, and twisted it slowly.

Then I very carefully pushed the door open with my face pressed against it so I could just sneak a peek and then shut it quickly.

My eyes widened in absolute shock when I saw what was behind the door.

A firebird.

Miles had a motherfucking firebird.

In his home.

Who in their right mind let one of those things inside? Who in their right mind kept it in a bathroom that was set up like a giant cage with food, water, toys, and a huge perch over the top of the tub? Who treated a firebird like a pet?

Odin started pawing at the door, trying to push his way inside, and I cringed. I had no idea if he got along with the firebird or if he wanted to eat it—or if the firebird wanted to eat him—so I nudged the cat back with my foot so his paws wouldn’t get caught and shut the door.

Then I just stood there in shock for a few minutes.

A firebird.

In the house.

What the hell was he thinking?

A s soon as I made it home, I greeted Goliath. He started prancing around, but since he was as big as I was, he nearly bowled me over. With a small laugh, I bent down and pulled the big dog into a hug.

“Heya, buddy. It’s alright. I’m home now.”

His tail thumped against the back of the couch as he gave me slobbery doggie kisses.

“You wanna go for a walk?”

He knew that word and started tip-tapping around, so I grabbed his leash and headed back out with him in tow.

Of course, I walked past Miles's house, but everything was quiet and the lights were still off, so hopefully he was sleeping off the migraine.

And hopefully he’d call me when he woke up.

Goliath and I made it around the neighborhood, and I waved to a couple of people along the way. We came to a street that had an empty house on it—it was for sale, and had been for months—and movement caught my eye.

Curious, I stopped and watched a kid dressed in all black with a backpack slung over one shoulder do something to the house’s side doorknob before glancing around.

I ducked behind the fence so he didn’t see me, and luckily, the fence was high enough to cover Goliath too.

After a beat, the kid went inside the house.

I straightened and debated what to do for a few seconds. Should I call it into the police?

That thought made me grimace. After what I’d gone through, I didn’t really trust the system to be fair to people, and I didn’t want to be responsible for messing up some kid’s future.

I could call the number on the For Sale sign, but they’d probably call the police too.

Or I could just let the kid be.

He was either going in there for sex or drugs—which, for some reason, I had a feeling neither of those things was it—or he was going in there for shelter. Something told me it was that last option.

I didn’t want to be the reason some kid was stuck sleeping on the street either.

After staring for a long time, Goliath nudged my hand with his nose to get me moving again, so I kept walking down the sidewalk.

I supposed I’d let it go.

If I heard about a problem there, I’d call it in, but my gut was telling me to let the kid be.

By the time I made it back to my house, I needed a shower, so I took care of that, fed Goliath some food, checked his water, and sat on the couch with my phone on my knee. I debated for about two seconds before dialing my best friend.

They were the only person to stick by me during my prison sentence. They were the only person who even came to visit me since my parents disowned me, and my siblings followed their lead. Lyric was all I had.

They were my family, and I really needed to talk to someone right now. Who better than my bestie?

“Hey, boo. How was it?”

The fact that they barely said hi before asking me about my time with Miles made me grin. “It was good at first. Miles is a really nice guy.”

They waited a beat. “But…? What happened to make it not good?”

With a heavy sigh, I laid out everything that’d happened, including the firebird in Miles's bathroom. Lyric listened and offered their own commentary because I’d never known Lyric to keep their mouth shut for long, but they were still a good listener.

“Okay, I agree that it’s weird. But… have you considered that the firebird could be his familiar?”

Everything inside of me untwisted, the knot in my belly straightening out, at the thought. A familiar. The firebird could be his familiar.

I thought about the setup at Miles's house and frowned. If that was his familiar, why the hell was it in his bathroom? Why hadn’t he asked for it? A familiar could’ve helped him in that situation, so… that didn’t really fit with what I saw.

My belly soured again when I thought of our conversation in the car. Surely, he would’ve mentioned having a familiar when we were talking about pets.

“The bird was locked in his bathroom, and when we talked about our pets, he didn’t mention the bird.”

“Okay, that’s weird. But… maybe they haven’t connected yet. Or… or maybe he’s just a weirdo who brings home strays? Maybe the bird was injured or something like that, and he’s helping it? There’s lots of reasons, Win. I mean, if you like the guy, you should give him a chance to explain, yeah?”

“Yeah. Definitely.”

Lyric and I finished our conversation, and then I settled in to watch some TV while I waited on Miles.

As soon as he called or texted me, I was going back over there to talk to him about that firebird.

Freaking crazy person keeping her in his house.

Please call me, Miles. I need to know you’re okay, and then I want to yell at you… just a little.