Page 114 of Apex of the Curve
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Aspen…
“Thank you for doing this for me,” I murmured and looked around my mostly emptied shop. Today was the day. A rainy November morning outside the front windows matched a little how I was feeling on the inside about closing down and moving all of this stuff out to Fen’s barn.
I missed the farm. I hadn’t been in a couple of weeks and I was looking forward to the lush green pastures, the old wooden shake house, and the welcome sound of the bleating goats.
“Hey.” Fen’s voice snapped me out of my reverie and I dragged my eyes from the leaden gray outside and the falling rain.
“Hey,” I said softly, smiling.
“You doing okay?” he asked.
“Yeah! Yeah, why?”
“You just seem a little out of it, that’s all.”
“Just saying goodbye, I guess.” I sighed unhappily. “I don’t know what I’m going to do next.”
He hooked a hand behind my neck and pressed his lips to my forehead.
“Ain’t gotta worry about any of that right now,” he said and I put my arms around him and cuddled into his chest.
“I know,” I murmured, but I did. I still felt so… detached. Like everything was up in the air, and I didn’t like the feeling. I had always been one to crave roots. Maybe it was a byproduct of my name? Aspen was a kind of tree, after all…
“I got you, baby girl,” he murmured and kissed the top of my hair.
“And I am so grateful for it,” I murmured.
The U-Haul pulled up out front, blotting out the rain bouncing in the street and I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
Fenris had asked the club to help with the move promising barbecue, beer, and mead a plenty at the farm in exchange for their efforts. Nearly everyone had volunteered, so long, they said, as Vyking did the cooking.
Vyking was back at the farm, manning the firepit. Little Bird and Dump Truck were out there with him, along with Dahlia and Momma Kat fixing sides and making sure there was a dry place to eat.
It was the absolute worst weather to be doing any of this in, but that was Washington for you. You couldn’t plan anything by the weather here or you would never get anything done.
“Okay!” Maverick called, Marisol coming in the front door behind him. “Let’s rock-and-roll, people!”
I smiled and mouthed Thank you at him as Fenris let me go.
“Hey, boss?” Amber called from the office.
“Yeah?”
“Need you a minute, please.”
“Sure, sure!” I went in to find out what she needed.
“Well?” she asked, and I shook my head in confusion.
“Well, what?” I asked.
“How did he react?” she asked, eyes clear, bright, and curious.
“He didn’t really,” I said. “It was all very strange. He just stared at me like he didn’t know who I was and signed the papers.”
Amber fell into the desk chair laughing, her hands clutching her belly as I looked on even more confused than I’d been the moment before.
