Page 110 of Goldilocks

Planting himself between Sam and the ghoul after seeing its strength went far beyondright place, right time. It went far beyond what he’d ever thought Fionn capable of. He’d put his life in danger for Sam. He’d trashed his own car for him.

“You’re not freaking out about…” Sam flicked his eyes in Roan’s direction.

“Nah, I see them out on the water all the time,” Fionn said. “Well, nothim, but two other guys. One’s got a copper tail, and the other is pale blue. We race.”

After Fionn’s words sunk in, Sam laughed. “Those two are jerks, aren’t they?”

“Total assholes,” Fionn agreed. “Whenever I beat them, they throw fish at me. Ugh,” Fionn straightened up with a groan. “I was finally warming Dad up to letting me get a new yacht – I had this absolute beauty picked out! Smaller than the one that sunk but built way more for speed; those two dicks would never beat me in a race again! He’s going to take one look at the car and go back to stonewalling me.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It was worth it.” Fionn sighed. “And I’d do it again.”

“You can come out on the boat with me,” Sam offered.

“I’m taking you up on that,” Fionn said. “I’ve been swimming Curlew Bay, but it’s such a pain cause they’re obviously going to win a swimming race, and they’re such show-boating assholes about it.”

Sam laughed.

When he quelled it, Fionn was looking at him sideways. “So, you’ve been through that thing?” he asked.

There was only one ‘thing’he could be talking about.

“Yeah. Have you?”

“Nope. Haven’t plucked up the courage yet.”

Sam huffed. “I find it hard to believe you suffer from a lack of courage.”

Fionn’s mouth twisted again; he was clearly fighting a smile. “I guess I’m braver than I knew.” He shrugged as if it were no big deal, but Sam could see that his words meant something to him.

The squeak of the gate drew Sam’s attention. Connor entered the garden, followed by Adonis, and he scanned them all as he stepped up to Laurence. “Are you hurt?”

Laurence jumped to his feet, shaking his head. “No.”

Connor examined Laurence, assessing his little brother from head to toe, before moving his attention toward the bench.

“Sam needs to be healed first,” Laurence said.

“We said Eric,” Sam corrected. “Then Roan.”

“You’re worse than Eric, though,” Laurence objected. “You keep zoning out.”

“No arguing, Sam,” Connor said. “And Adonis can’t do much anyway, so he’s just going to heal whatever’s serious. Can you shift, Goldilocks? I’ll drive you to the ocean.”

Roan could only grunt an answer. The ability to speak taken by exhaustion or injury; Sam didn’t know which. He just knew that his hand on his ankle was warm and reassuring.

Fionn reclaimed his spot next to Laurence. Laurence immediately leaned over, chattering, filling him in. Sam had no objection to that; Fionn had earned a few answers. Connor stepped right into Sam’s space and gently gripped Sam’s shoulders. “Lie down,” Connor urged.

Sam did as asked. His neck hurt fiercely, but he gritted his teeth and didn’t say a word. Adonis knelt next to Sam, and his fingers slid to cup the back of his neck. Heat blossomed, and pleasant unconsciousness engulfed the pain.

Chapter Forty

Sam woke to dark skies, heavy clouds visible through the canopy of leaves above. His throat was dry, but his neck felt much, much better. He turned his head – that pulled muscle in his neck only hurting slightly – and found Eric sitting on the ground next to the bench, using it as a backrest. The blood had been scrubbed from his hair, and a strong apple fragrance wafted from the strands.

The events of the past few hours whipped through Sam’s mind in a blur. He reached out, brushing his hand against the back of Eric’s neck. He startled, then twisted to Sam. “Hey,” Eric greeted softly. “Hey, how are you feeling?”

“Much better. You?”