That was sweet, but Honor’s butt wouldn’t fit in that woman’s jeans. She could probably borrow a shirt, though. She shifted her weight. Should she start working out more? Then she flicked the bad thought to the embers. She was fine with her body and her many curves. She settled back with her tea, noting that Sam checked on her periodically as he spoke.
His attention made her insides go all squishy. She sighed.
Juliet chuckled. “Right? I can’t believe these guys are real.”
In a way, they weren’t. Not in the human world. “Garrett seems like a nice guy,” Honor offered. At least when he wasn’t pretending to work for the federal government to spring possible arsonists. Was that only the other day?
“Oh, he is.” Juliet crossed her legs and stretched her back, rolling her neck. “This is the craziest thing I’ve ever done. I mean, I met the guy last week and now I’m on one of those motorcycle rides like you see on television shows?” Her eyes widened, and she really did look like a princess. If Garrett’s uncle was a king, then his dad was probably a prince, which made Garrett a prince, too?
Honor chewed the inside of her lip as she pondered. “Yeah, me too.”
Juliet paused. “I wanted to get you alone for a minute, and I meant to do it before now.”
Honor’s interest was piqued. “Why’s that?”
The woman turned and met her gaze directly. “When we picked you up earlier, I wasn’t sure you were willing to come. Then when you went into the trees, you seemed pretty willing. But I need to make sure you want to be here. If not, we’re leaving.”
Honor’s heart warmed. “I want to be here, but I appreciate your concern. You’re a nice person.” It was good to know that the sisterhood existed even in the middle of nowhere. She didn’t get any odd vibrations from Juliet except tired ones, so she stayed out of her head, as was only polite. For now, she had some things to figure out once Sam stopped fixing the world. For one thing, did immortal really mean immortal?
Juliet fiddled with the bottom of her shirt. “Have you done this before?”
“No.” Honor burst out laughing. “I am so far out of my comfort zone that I don’t even see the shore.” What she did see was Sam Kyllwood in all of his pacing glory as Bear tossed a leather jacket at him from quite a distance and Sam caught it easily with one hand, not pausing in his discussion on the phone.
Juliet chuckled. “That makes me feel better, less like an idiot. This has been so much fun.”
“It has,” Honor agreed. Once she’d decided to go with the flow and enjoy the moments, her entire body had relaxed. She could control her future while still exploring the present. Life was so much bigger than she’d realized. “Why are you called Doc Julie? It’s a cool nickname,” she said.
“Oh.” Juliet rubbed her calf. “I’m a veterinarian, and I work at Base Mountain Vet. Garrett brought in a baby fox with a broken leg last week. I just moved from Portland to take the job, and my boyfriend didn’t want to do the long-distance thing, so he pretty much dumped me.” Her face turned a lovely shade of pink. “I’ve only known Garrett a week, and today we…”
Honor patted her hand. “One thing I’ve noticed about this group is that there’s no judgment. If you’re having fun and you feel safe, then why not?”
Juliet smiled. “Yeah. Why not?” When Garrett finished setting up their tent, he motioned her toward him, his gaze intent. “Seriously. How is he real?” Then she stood. “One of the women from a different camp came over to talk, and she said there’s a shopping mall only ten minutes away. Let’s go tomorrow. I forgot some items, and you need clothes.”
“Sounds great,” Honor said. Good. She needed thicker socks, for one thing.
Juliet set off, headed for Garrett at a pretty fast pace. He caught her, lifted her high, and then ducked into the tent with her. It was set against the trees some distance from the main group, which was probably a good thing.
Sam tucked his phone in his pocket and loped toward her, looking like a panther in his element. “How are your legs?”
“Time for the Honor compartment, huh?” she asked, lifting her head to better see him.
One of his dark eyebrows rose. “Excuse me?”
She grinned. “You. Everything in compartments and you check them off one at a time. Must be my turn.” The guy had a strangle hold on control in a totally calm way.
“Right. This is for you. Wear it.” He tilted his head, just studying her. Then he tossed the leather jacket next to her. The back design was of a grizzly bear that looked as if it was rolling its eyes. Script above the bear said GRIZZLY MC and the font below it said PROPERTY.
She studied the logo. “Property?”
He shrugged, the last rays of light streaking out behind him and putting his hard-cut face into shadow. “It’s MC lingo. Most of the clubs at this ride are human, and they have their own rules. Wear that, and nobody will harass you.”
She ran her fingers across the wild design, ignoring the “most are human” bit. “I’m not wearing this.”
“Up to you.” He reached for the pack next to her and drew out a tent. “But you will get hit on and pestered, and the later the night goes, the drunker everyone will be. Especially the humans.”
She looked over at him, suspicion filtering through her. “You’re being awfully agreeable.”
“I’m an agreeable guy.” He started placing metal spikes throughout the tent material, his movements smooth and efficient.
“No, you’re not. You give that impression, but it’s just another way you do what you do.” She looked around and noticed that most of the women were wearing leather jackets. “In fact, I think you’re being so agreeable because you know I don’t want to be hit on and will probably end up wearing this.”
His quick flash of a smile stole her breath. It was as close to an admission as she’d get, and she knew it.
“Dude, you’re fun to watch. For a second, I thought you were the man behind the curtain,” she murmured.
“For a second?” He efficiently lifted the now put together tent and looked around for a spot to place it.
She stood to help him, although he didn’t seem to need it. “Yeah. You’re the guy in front of the curtain. Not hidden, not quietly pulling strings, just right there holding everything together. You manage everyone without seeming to do so and are so tough you told off two kings within the span of an hour. While I have no idea how powerful kings are in this new and crazy immortal world, that had to take balls.”
Apparently he found the right spot, because he set the tent down against a rock outcropping with trees on either side. “This’ll do,” he murmured.