Page 9 of Homesick, Lovesick
Match laughed against his mouth and kissed him, still laughing."Shut up.What do you mean approved to buy?Like your parents finally allowed it?"
"No, like Ferrari finally decided he was good enough to be allowed to purchase one of their cars."
"You're lying."
"Nope."
Match just shook his head."I like your car and only your car, though Benny's precious soccer mom SUV is tolerable."
"Soccerdad."
"No, I promise you, most of the dads drive the obnoxious pick-ups."
"I drive a pick-up," Lynwood said sourly from behind them."What's wrong with pick-ups?"
"Nothing," Ronan said easily."My uncle has one.We're just making fun of some of the more ridiculous parents Benny interacts with."
Match launched into one of their many stories of overzealous parents as they returned to the dining hall, Gail joining them halfway there.At leastshefound the story funny.Lynwood seemed wholly unimpressed.
As they got closer, Ronan frowned to see a whole bunch of cars that hadn't been here earlier.Way more than would be needed by the group running late, as he was pretty sure they were traveling together over two or three cars.This was like six, no seven.Why would so many people show up if they weren't part of the project?
The reason was probably entirely innocuous, but his hackles were up anyway.Match's hand gently squeezed his in reassurance, as he was always so good at picking up when Ronan was unsettled by something.Traci and Benny were too, and his uncles of course, but otherwise people rarely noticed he was bothered by something until the problem was damn near resolved.
Inside, he could hear a lot of talking, and everyone was in the big, main room instead of the smaller room they'd used for breakfast.A large lunch was laid out, like at least six different kinds of sandwiches arranged in fancy towers, with pieces of folded paper in front identifying the type.
All eyes immediately turned toward them, and then they were swept up in a tidal wave of people.
Well, Match was.Ronan somehow found himself pushed to the edge, staring in the center of the mess where Lynwood was now introducing Match as though they were old friends.Ronan narrowed his eyes.
Match turned to look at him, gave a bare shake of his head, and then nodded toward the table.
Huffing, Ronan nevertheless obeyed the silent request to get them food instead of throwing people around.
He grabbed himself a roast beef sandwich with an obscene amount of mustard, and for Match a turkey sandwich with extra pickles and plenty of mayo.He also grabbed them chips and iced tea.
When he went to deliver the goods, though, it was to find Match clear across the room at a table, surrounded on all sides—and that little fuckhead Lynwood on his right side, where Ronan would normally be.
Now he was starting to getreallypissed.
Not quite stomping his way across the room, he leaned over the end of the table to deposit the food, not bothering to beg anyone's pardon."Need anything else?"
Match smiled at him."I'm good, thank you.Pull up a chair, handsome."
While Ronan would have preferred to pick up Lynwood and throw him across the room, he obeyed the silent request to play nice and grabbed a chair instead.If some of the others at the table looked annoyed he was crashing the party, too damn bad."I'm Ronan, the dark paladin in our Guard.Who are all of you, then?"He took a bite of mustard-soaked roast beef.
"Witches," a woman said stiffly."I'm from the south end of Furrow County.There are three groups who oversee it—"
"But only one controls the other half?"Ronan asked."That seems weird.Why only one guard for half the county, but three for the other half?"
"Population disparity," said the man on Lynwood's other side, in a tone of voice that said he thought Ronan was an idiot for not already knowing that."More people, more Guards."
Whatever, it would still make more sense to have two and two, given the amount of ground that needed to be covered.
Introductions were made, but Ronan didn't bother to retain the names as it was clear they were here to fawn over Match and not help with the project, even though they were basically neighbors to Minerva's crew.
And fawn they did.Ronan got up once to get more sandwiches for the two of them, but otherwise didn't do much of anything except listen as they lavished praise on Match, asked him a million questions, generally acted like they'd known him their entire lives, and talked up their territories in a ridiculously unsubtle bid to impress him.
"We don't have county fairs," said the woman who'd first spoken, "but we do host important statewide events.We're hosting the Nightshade Convention this year.We'd love to have you as a special guest.You'd be paid ten thousand for it, could probably convince the board to go a little higher if you insisted."
