Page 8 of One Chance to Stay (Bears of Firefly Valley #4)

Jason: Want to come to game night?

Jon: If not, good chance we’re all going to die.

Patrick: Are you being dramatic?

Jon: My high-priestess elf will NOT die tonight.

Amanda: Nope. Not dramatic at all.

Patrick: What else am I going to do?

Jason: The snowmobile club meets tonight.

Patrick: Do I need my own sword?

“I fire my flaming arrow.”

“Ew,” Amanda said. “Not at the table.”

Jon rolled the dice across the hand-drawn maps. It spun on a corner and I swore I heard all three of them gasp. It settled on one. After making a fool of myself with a goblin, I learned low numbers were bad. Unless they weren’t. This game had more rules than any sporting event.

“I call do-over.” Jon jumped to his feet. “It doesn’t count.”

Despite the comic book shop being warm, we all wore bulky clothes to ward off the chill.

Amanda sported a black and purple sweater that matched her hair.

Jon and Jason wore the classic hoodie with “Maine” written across the chest. I had an oversized flannel buttoned up and a knitted cap hugging my head.

Despite our winter armor, it still felt as if the cold air poked at exposed skin.

Jason cackled, pointing at Jon. “Your bow of flaming arrows…” From behind a cardboard cutout hiding his character sheets, Jason glanced from Jon to the twenty-sided die. “…snaps in half.”

“Carla!” he cried. “She’s been good to me.”

I didn’t know what to expect when I first arrived. Nobody dressed up, though Jason made enough comments to know he had a pair of elf ears at home. I didn’t understand most of the rules, but the more they roleplayed their characters, the more I?—

All eyes turned to me.

“Do I have chips in my beard?” I checked my face.

“You’re the only one who can stop the Lich King.”

I looked at the paper Jason had prepared for me. It had all the details of my bard. Ironically, my backstory involved working at ‘Ye Olde Tavern.’ Is this where I drew my dagger? A harp? Who walks around, stopping the undead with a harp? I had logistics questions about this game.

“You want me to whip out my harp—” They all snickered. “—and sing a song to defeat a zombie?”

“Technically not a?—”

Amanda held up a hand. “Shush. You can sing him to sleep, and then we can stab him.”

“That’s her strategy in real life, too.” She elbowed Jon. “Don’t act like there isn’t a knife in your boot.”

Most of my experience with this trio came from the bar. They’d order drinks and mingle with the crowd. After a cocktail or two, they’d be on the floor doing something that resembled dancing. I had known Jason ran the comic shop, but I guess I expected more capes and fewer swords and sorcery.

“I play him a song?”

Jon shook his head, and Amanda leaned across the table. She hooked a finger, demanding I come closer. “Patrick, we’re gonna need some flair.”

Flair? I had plenty of flair. Half my job behind the bar required putting on a show for patrons. The more glass flips and setting drinks on fire, the more the tips hit the counter. If they wanted flair…

“I reach around and pull out my—” I checked my character sheet. “— my harp of seduction?” Roll with it. “I belt out a tune about a… a… dancing king!”

Jon cheered. Jason rolled a die, and everybody cheered when it landed on sixteen. “Your magic is working. The Lich King is enamored.”

Sure, I could end the battle right now. The game might be over, but after seeing how vigorously they played, I needed to come up with a fitting solution. Having worked plenty of leather events at Spectrum, I knew the power of devotion. Maybe I could get my new plaything wearing chaps?

I rose to my feet, pretending to strum a harp. “I lure the Lich King closer.” Jason nodded his head. “Just as he gets within arm’s reach, I pull out a rope and tie it around his neck.”

Jon and Amanda’s eyebrows shot up.

“Call me your bard daddy.”

They all snickered as Jason rolled the final dice. “Patrick… I mean, Elric the Bard, now has himself a Lich King sub.”

Jon shrugged. “Not the weirdest end to a campaign.”

“So… Patrick.”

Amanda locked eyes with me while Jon continued his victory dance. Jason grabbed the dice, putting them in a velvet bag, but she never looked away. I could swear my cheeks burned from the intensity. Leaning back in her chair, she folded her arms.

“I heard a rumor.”

Jon stopped his dance, plopping into his chair. Resting his chin on his hands, he batted his eyelashes. “Town gossip!”

I didn’t tense, but I didn’t laugh either.

I should have known the moment I opened my mouth that rumors would circulate.

It either came from Logan or Gladys. The only person I knew who didn’t open their mouth was Seamus.

I suspected that he didn’t partake in town gossip.

I kept my mouth shut, not adding or confirming to whatever tasty morsel Amanda had at the ready.

She tried baiting me. “Have anything to say for yourself?”

“You know I grew up down the road, right? You’ll have to work harder to drag me into small-town gossip.”

“So, Seamus saved you from being a popsicle?”

Jon’s sour face meant he didn’t know the name. Living on the outskirts of town, I expected as much. I’m sure Seamus came to work, did his job, packed up, and returned home without any fuss.

The name caught Jason’s attention. I could see in his eyes that the lifelong resident had intel on Seamus.

It wouldn’t be as simple as asking a casual question.

Every request for information would need to be paid in kind.

This was the downside of tight-knit communities.

A conversation could never be a simple discussion without it being laced with assumptions.

“I found his house when I got lost. He let me crash and helped me get home the next day.”

“The hermit of Firefly let you stay?” she asked, as if he might be incapable of doing a good deed.

“What my loud-mouthed friend is saying,” Jason started. “Seamus doesn’t really interact with anybody. He’s a nice enough guy, but he’s a tough nut to crack.”

I didn’t confess my determination to break him open. Hearing that his gruff exterior hadn’t been reserved just for me made me want to uncover the secret softie. “I got that feeling. It explains why he answered the door with a gun.”

Amanda pointed at me and then touched her nose. “That’s more like it.”

“What’s his story?” I kept it casual. No snide remarks or giggles from the crowd. Could I navigate this conversation without an interrogation?

“Grace and I both played flute in the band,” Amanda said.

Grace? A daughter. Seamus got more interesting by the moment. If nothing else, it gave me something to talk about tomorrow night. It meant she was closer to my age, and he must be somewhere in his mid-fifties. I filed it away for a conversation starter.

“She was nice. Outgoing. A good girl. I think she works in Bangor. She got out of Firefly and didn’t look back.

Her dad?” Thinking of Seamus as a dad made me grin.

Did he have the same grumpy attitude with her?

“As for him, couldn’t tell you much other than he showed up at the concerts.

He’s been a loner since he moved into the old Miller farm. ”

Amanda shrugged, concluding the story. Having heard tales about Firefly’s whisper network, I expected theories and conspiracies. Had Gladys not once cornered him for an interrogation? The fact that he remained a mystery made him all the more intriguing.

I had to admit, I was becoming overly invested in this man’s secret life.

Is this how it started? A casual question, then gossiping in a shop?

Next, I’d be inviting myself over to listen to old records.

Dammit. Without realizing it, I had become one of the nosy neighbors they all joked about.

I couldn’t help but laugh at my inner monologue.

“Oh.” Jason shook his head. “I think we broke him.”

Jon snickered. “He came in as a simple bartender. He leaves as a singing dom with a pet lich.”

“That’s my cue to head home and do some cleaning.” Amanda waited a moment before crossing her arms. “Nobody? Nobody’s going to ask why I’m cleaning?”

Jason rolled his eyes. “We all know Tessa is coming to visit. It’s not like you haven’t mentioned it a million times.”

“Consider this a million and one.” She slammed her hands on the table, leaning as far over as she could. “My sexy girlfriend is visiting. Don’t expect to see me for a few days.”

“Ew,” Jon said.

They might not have converted me to Monsters and Mayhem, but I appreciated being invited into their inner circle.

Seeing them outside of the bar gave me a deeper understanding of what made them friends.

This right here is why I loved talking with people.

Finding what made them tick, both good and bad, filled my well.

Maybe that’s what I needed, a change of pace that put people front and center?

I’d have the next day to think about it before I made an awkward appearance at Seamus’s house.

Or I could do some shopping to make it less awkward.

My problems could wait.