Page 131 of The Seven Rings
Yoda raced to the door, spun a circle, barked.
“I think our dates are here. And the playmates.”
Mookie barreled in, and with Yoda immediately rolled into a mock fight. Jones strutted in, gave them a superior look with his good eye.
“That’s a sight a man’s grateful to see on a Friday night.”
Sonya angled her head. “Playful dogs?”
“Beautiful women.” Trey scooped her up for a kiss.
Cleo pulled Owen to her with a fistful of his shirt. “These two women are ready for a good meal and some potentially above average music to follow.”
“We got Question Mark. That’s the band,” Owen explained. “Question Mark.”
“I’m sure they’ll do.”
“I’m tonight’s DD, so I have to listen to them without the benefit of beer.”
“You’ll get through it.” Amused, Cleo took his hand.
“All right, Jack, you’re in charge.”
Also amused, Trey took Sonya’s. “Really?”
“He’s very responsible,” she said as they walked out to Owen’s truck. She glanced back, saw the shadow move by the library window. “They all are.”
She settled in the back with Trey. “The days are getting shorter, the nights a little cooler. I might be sorry to see summer end, but I’m looking forward to seeing Poole’s Bay in the fall.”
“She puts on a show,” Trey told her.
“I’ll have weekends to paint that,” Cleo put in. “A reward for going back into work mode. And a respite with color and beauty as opposed to the dark and creepy.”
“It’s a terrific book. Scared the crap out of me. And it has a lot of heart.”
Cleo shifted to look at Sonya over her shoulder. “I get why you’re so into his books. He puts you there, right there, makes you feel it. Which is exactly why I’d avoid his books like the seven plagues if I hadn’t taken this job.”
“What works so well in this story? The monster is so much just a regular guy, until he’s not. And when he’s not, he can still bring some of that through. Just a regular guy who happens to feed on the youth, energy, vitality of young people in a sleepy southern town.
“I loved it. I swear, you can feel the Spanish moss, smell the lazy river that winds through, feel the heat pressing down. I can’t wait for the second book.”
“Don’t remind me I’m going to deal with this twice more.”
“I could tell you it’s fiction. Monsters aren’t real.” Owen gave a shrug. “But sometimes they are.”
“Thanks for that. And since I already know that, I’m only going to work on it in the bright, bright light of day.”
“Which is getting shorter.”
At that, she punched Owen’s arm.
“Just the facts,” he said as he drove into the village.
“I’ll save you, Cleo,” Sonya assured her. “And your illustrations are going to crush it. We’re also going to crush our own in-house monster, reopen the ballroom, and have one hell of a holiday party.”
“You’re feeling positive tonight,” Trey commented.
“I am. I realized today I’ve passed my three-month mark, which was sort of my borderline when I came here. Give it a quarter of a year, see how it goes. Well, I know how it’s gone, how it’s going, and I’m going to make sure where it ends up. Meanwhile, I’ve got my bestie with me, I found my favorite cousin, have an adorable and faithful dog, met my biological grandmother. And.”
