Page 15 of Code Mages & Empty Pages
“I’ll test the sample I took and send you a proper quote,” Gerry explained. “Once you have it, you can let us know if you want to go ahead. But Dawn, right now the house isn’t habitable. Greenleech spores spread everywhere. It’s dangerous to stay. We’ll need to close the place off, contain what we can, and decontaminate your things.”
”Yeah, that’s what Luc told me,” I said.
He handed me a small list. “For clothes, wash everything at least twice on hot. I’ll send you the full list in an email, since I know this is a lot to take in.”
I nodded, not trusting myself to say much else. After he left, I drove straight back to Luc’s cottage. There was no way I could face work after that. I barely knew anyone else in town, and even though Luc and I weren’t close, his house was the only place that didn’t feel completely unbearable. I waited there, numb, until Luc came home from Frostfire.
Chapter 6
Luc
That evening, I came home to find Dawn visibly upset.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” I asked, kicking off my shoes in the hall.
“Oh, Luc, hi. I didn’t hear you come in.” She sniffed, trying to wipe her face on her sleeve.
“What happened? Did the appointment not go okay?” If Gerry had made her uncomfortable, I’d go have words with him.
Dawn shook her head. “No, the appointment was… fine. As fine as it could be, I guess. It’s just…” Her words caught in her throat as tears spilled down her cheeks. Before I could overthink it, I set my bag down and crossed the room to sit beside her, pulling her into my arms. She buried her face in my shirt and sobbed.
I’d never had anyone to come home to before, not like this. The way she let me hold her felt strangely…good? She clutched me for what felt like forever and twisted her fingers into the fur at my neck to ground herself. I let her.
When Dawn finally sat up, her face was red and blotchy, and I honestly thought she’d never looked more beautiful.
“What happened?” I asked quietly, trying to be gentle.
She let out a shaky sigh. “The appointment went okay. Gerry looked at the fungus. You were right, it’s probably Greenleech.”
“Oh, shit.”
“Yeah, that’s pretty much what he said.” She tried to force a laugh. “It’ll cost about twelve thousand crowns. He says I can pay in installments, and it’s removable, but it’ll take a couple of weeks. I’m sorry, Luc. I understand if you don’t want me staying that long.”
“Don’t be daft. Of course you can stay. Why would you pay for a hotel or another flat with that kind of bill coming up? Just stash your cash. You don’t have to pay rent, alright? If you want to chip in on the food, fine, but let me handle the rest so you can save for the repairs.”
She shook her head. “I can’t accept that, Luc. You’ve got all the bills.”
“And I make enough. I managed before, didn’t I?”
She still didn’t look convinced, but her shoulders dropped a little. “Thanks, Luc.”
“You’re welcome. Now, tell me, do you have any comfort foods I should know about?”
She managed a tired smile and admitted to loving cheese toasties and tomato soup. A little while later, we found ourselves at the kitchen table with some lo-fi playing. We had grilled cheese sandwiches and tinned tomato soup I’d dug out of the cupboard.
“Thank you, Luc,” she said for maybe the fiftieth time as she picked up our dishes. She loaded the dishwasher, then circled back and, before I knew it, slipped an arm around my neck and pressed a kiss to my cheek. “Good night. See you in the morning.”
“Night,” I managed. I’d had hookups before, but never the comfort of shared meals, or soft, unexpected kisses.
By the Moon Goddess, it felt like something I could get used to.
The next morning, I made us porridge. Hec and I had to live off the stuff when we first moved out. We didn’t have a lot of money and had a little competition running on who could make the food look better. I still had a soft spot for it. I hoped maybe a pretty breakfast would help lift Dawn’s mood.
“Morning.” She still looked a bit peaky but tried for a smile.
“Morning,” I said, searching for something, anything, that might cheer her up. “I made you some breakfast.”
She stepped up to the counter, eyes widening. “You made this? Wow, it looks amazing.” My ears flattened back, tail twitching with embarrassment and something else. Goddess, I loved her praise. Was it normal to discover a praise kink in your thirties?
