Page 13 of Grey
“It happens,” he said dryly.
“No, I mean what if the point of the sabotage of the delivery truck was to get two of us away from the farm? Crew is asleep and Avi is on patrol, and with Dexter and Khyle on a construction job, Zara and Tris would be vulnerable.”
Ford grunted. “Sounds like something that asshole Colton would plan.”
“Damn, I have a date with Tatum tonight.”
“Look, we just won’t go to town for the delivery. They’ll get their tires fixed. Call Lonny back and tell him you won’t be there to pick it up and they can get it delivered whenever they can.”
“Okay, but what about my date?”
“We always go in one vehicle, but you obviously don’t want one of us sitting in the truck while you’re on a date, so we’ll go in separate vehicles. One of us can follow you, and we’ll be an extra pair of eyes for you.”
“That sounds like a good plan,” he said.
He left Ford in the barn, called Lonny with an update, and then went back to his chores. He’d talk to Crew when he woke up and they’d make plans for his date tonight. He had an ideafor something lowkey but fun, and he hoped Tatum would be excited by it.
By the time five o’clock rolled around, Grey was so ready to see Tatum he was a bouncing ball of energy. He drove to the library, followed by Avi in his truck, who was going to keep an eye on things but generally stay out of sight. When Grey had talked to Crew later that morning, he’d agreed that there was something sinister about the slashed tires and being more cautious was a good idea.
It was times like these that Grey wished they had more herd members, but that was something that would just take time. Stallions were secretive and kept to their own herds, so it wasn’t like they could go recruiting members publicly.
He parked in the library lot and turned off the engine. As he got out of his truck, he gave a head nod to Avi who was parked across the street.
Grey knocked on the glass door of the library and Tatum smiled as she walked up to open the door for him.
“Hi, how was your day?” she asked.
“I feel like it took forever to get to five o’clock, but it was good. Yours?”
“Pretty quiet here. I just have to grab my purse and I’ll be ready to go.”
He stayed in the foyer of the library and looked around. It smelled like old books and papers, and he found it comforting. He’d never spent much time in the library, but he could see why she liked it.
“It’s very peaceful here,” he said as they walked out of the library and she locked the front doors.
“It’s why I love being a librarian.”
“I had an idea if you’re game,” he said as they stood on the sidewalk in the late afternoon sun.
“What’s that?”
“Have you been to the mini-mart? They have really great sandwiches. And then I thought we could eat in the park.”
“I haven’t been to the mini-mart or the park, so that sounds good to me.”
They headed down the sidewalk toward the mini-mart, where they each ordered a picnic box with a made-to-order sandwich, a bag of chips, an apple, and a drink. When they had their cardboard meal boxes, they walked a little farther down the road to the park.
“So,” he said as they walked into the park, “do you know about the fountain?”
“No, what about it?”
They set their boxes on a picnic table and walked to the centerpiece of the park—an ornately carved old stone fountain. It had intricate designs of vines and flowers, and the local legend was that a traveler had gifted the fountain to the town a century ago.
“The traveler’s name isn’t known any longer, but they say he told the townspeople that the fountain’s waters were enchanted, and anyone who made a heartfelt wish would find it granted. But only if their intentions were pure.”
She looked at the fountain, which bubbled and babbled in the sunlight, and then looked at him. “Did you…just know this?”
“I looked it up,” he said. “I was thinking about coming here for dinner since it’s such a beautiful day, and I remembered that the fountain had a legend associated with it. And of course, you told me how much you enjoyed learning about local legends, so I wanted to be able to share it with you.”
