Page 40 of Three Reckless Words

“Honey—what? Does honey get purple?”

“Supposedly, yes. I’m going to find out in person.” I pinch the bridge of my nose again. Odds are good I’ll regret this tomorrow, but I’ve already committed. “I’m headed out there now to take a look. Do you want to come and get some fresh air?”

“Hell yeah!” He punches the air. “Uh, sorry.”

If he’s this excited to leave the house for purple honey, I guess being grounded is getting to him.

Good. That’s the entire point.

It also means there’s an extra pressure in my chest as we head out together, back to the place where all our latest troubles started.

When we get to Solitude,Winnie’s waiting for us.

She throws the door open the second we pull up in the driveway.

“You brought Colt along? Nice!” she says, her eyes shining as she sees him. “Come on in, guys.”

“Hey, Winnie,” he says almost shyly.

“It’s good to see you again. Your dad treating you okay?”

“Could be better.” Colt grins up at me.

“His dad is right here,” I say dryly.

Her smile is infectious as hell, I’ll give her that, bright-green eyes dancing as she leans closer to Colt.

“Blink twice if you need help,” she whispers, loud enough for me to hear.

Colt laughs.

I press my lips together so my amusement doesn’t show.

Gone is the broken, lost bird from before. In her place, there’s this fairy creature whose energy is palpable.

She beckons us to follow, her fingers fluttering, and Colt takes a seat by the island, just like before.

I lean against the counter, not wanting to get too comfortable.

“So,” I say. “Purple honey, huh?”

“I did some investigating before I called you. You saw the pictures, right?”

“Yes, I saw the pictures.”

“Right, well, that says it all.” She beams at me. “I checked out the woods around your property to see if I could find anything obvious that might explain it. There’s a rare crop of kudzu and black locust trees about half a mile in.”

“That’s what’s causing it?” I ask, unsure I’m following her.

“Yes! Probably, I mean. It’s unusual this far north—the purple color—and I’ve never seen this exact shade before. I can’t find a good match looking online.” Unable to keep still, she starts pacing. “It’s crazy, though. I never thought I’d find anything like this here.”

I glance at Colt, but he’s just propped his head up on one hand, watching her movements. If she’s not careful, she’ll burn a hole through the wood flooring.

“Do you have more land?” she asks suddenly.

“What?”

“More acreage? Do you own any of the forest?”

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