Page 40 of The Cauldronball Run
The thought made her stomach twist.Her ex-husband would have absolutely chosen financial gain over her wellbeing.Hell, he'd done it repeatedly during their marriage.And now J.J.was out there, racing toward New York and a prize while she sat in a warehouse.
Maybe she'd misjudged him.Maybe the bond had made her see what she wanted instead of what was real.
"Miss Farrah?"Smokie called from outside."You okay?"
"Fine," she lied."Just tired."
She had no right to be mad at J.J. Sending him away had been her idea, after all.
After she was done, Smokie led her back to her area, but didn’t handcuff her again."Mr.Snuggles says I should let you go.He thinks Daddy is wrong."
"What do you think?”Farrah sat down on a metal bench.
"I think..."Smokie held the teddy bear up to his ear, nodding at whatever advice he was receiving."I think you really love the orc."
She opened her mouth.Closed it.Zeus’s hairy balls, she did love J.J.It had been less than a week. It didn’t make any sense. A few hours together, soul-rocking sex, and a partial bond, and yet it was love.
"I do.”Farrah nodded.
Smokie frowned. “Daddy says it’s unnatural for a human and an orc to be together.”
Farrah tamped down on a wave of anger because it was obvious that Smokie didn’t share his father’s ignorant views.“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure,” he said.
“Do you love Mr.Snuggles?"
"Of course I do.He's my husband."
"And when people tell you that's weird or wrong or impossible, how does that make you feel?"
Smokie's face crumpled slightly."It makes me feel bad.Like there's something wrong with me for loving him."
"But there's nothing wrong with you.Love is love, whether it's between a deputy and his teddy bear, or a witch and an orc, or any other combination that makes people happy."Farrah leaned forward, making her voice gentle."Your father sees the world in very black and white terms.Good guys and bad guys, normal and abnormal.But real life is more complicated than that."
"Mr.Snuggles says the same thing."Smokie clutched the bear tighter."He says love doesn't have to make sense to other people as long as it makes sense to the people involved."
"He's absolutely right."
"Can I ask you something now?"
"Of course."
"Daddy says orcs are dangerous."
"J.J.is dangerous," Farrah said honestly."He's seven feet tall, stronger than any human, and when his protective instincts kick in, he could tear apart a car with his bare hands."
Smokie's eyes went wide.
"But," Farrah continued, "he's also the gentlest person I've ever known.He spends his days saving lives as an EMT.He rebuilds engines and treats them like works of art."
"That doesn't sound very monstrous."
"The world sees his size and his tusks and his green skin, and they see a monster.But I see someone who works hard to pay off the debt from trying to better himself.Someone who makes me feel safer and more cherished than I ever thought possible."
"Even though he left you here and continued the race?"
Farrah was quiet for a moment."I told him to go.Told him the money was more important."
