Page 23 of Holly's Grizzly

“Good,” Nora cuts in, much more encouragingly. “I’m so glad he found you before anything bad happened, and got you somewhere safe.”

“Yeah, me too.”

I could add thatsafeis a colossal understatement, but I’m a little worried I’ve already given myself away to my friends in the way I talked about Irving at the start of our conversation.

It turns out that worry isn’t entirely unfounded as Kenna speaks back up after a few-second lull in our three-way call.

“So… is he hot?”

“Kenna,” I hiss again, but I’m not sure she heard me over the deep male voice that pops up on the other end of the line where she has us on speaker.

“Who’s hot?” Blair, her dragon-shifter mate, asks.

“The grizzly Holly’s shacking up with.”

“I’m not shacking up with anyone,” I groan.

Blair’s voice is clearer when he speaks again. “I could still shift and fly up there to get you.”

“And then have her freeze to death when you fly her back down through a blizzard?” Kenna asks.

She’s not wrong.

Kenna had thrown out the possibility during our first volley of texts when I let them know where I am, but the prospect wasn’t very appealing then, and is even less so now. As much as I like Blair, the idea of climbing up on dragonback and flying through the storm kicks up a dull ache of icy dread in my bones.

“I’m alright,” I say, and there’s a little more muffled back and forth on her end before Blair’s voice fades away.

“Sorry,” Kenna says. “Six months mated, and you’d think he’d be a little less grumbly when I’m talking about how hot your shifter is.”

“Kenna,” Nora warns, but I swear I can hear a smile in her voice.

Kenna sighs dramatically. “Okay. Fine. And I’m glad to hear you’re safe, Hol. Really.”

I gave them both the rundown of the last day and a half, and they seem much less likely to call in the cavalry to save me than they did when we first got on the phone.

I should have done this sooner. I shouldn’t have felt that same stupid urge not to bother them, and just twenty minutes on the phone with them has my spirits even higher than before.

Even if it’s also a reminder of just how much I’ve been holding back from them this last year.

“I’m sorry I missed your holiday party, Nora.”

“There’s always next year,” she says.

“I know… I just… I feel like there’s more I should be apologizing for.”

“What do you mean?” Kenna asks.

I swallow hard. “I mean… acting the way I have since me and Cody… well, since everything happened. I know I haven’t talked about it much, and I’ve been off doing my own thing a lot, and I just… I feel like I haven’t been a very good friend.”

After a few seconds of rushed protests from them both, I cut back in.

“We don’t have to hash it all out right now,” I say, letting out a short, shaky laugh. “But can we talk when I get back? There’s a lot I want to tell you both.”

“Of course,” Nora says.

“You know we’re always here,” Kenna adds.

“I know.”

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