Page 72 of Culture and Curiosities
“Oh.” The easily distractable dragon looked around the room seriously. “Bugging the conference room is naughty and I tattled on you to Carrick.”
When we both looked confused, possibly for different reasons, Kenzie smiled at us and lowered his voice. “That’s Lorne’s cranky mate. He’s a mage. He’s dangerous and has a short temper. Lorne’s the sparkly one.”
“You’re really good at breaking things down into the most important parts. You’d have been very good to go through the portal with, but I understand why you’re staying here with your Daddy.” I was being honest and polite but I’d miscalculated.
He tackled me.
“Thank you.” Daddy kept him from nearly taking us both down, but I got a squishy hug that rearranged several organs. “You’re so nice. I’m so glad you got an alien mate and he didn’t get someone cranky. We have to take care of our aliens.”
“Our?”
Daddy was back to being confused again but for a whole different reason that time.
“Have I been kept? No. Adopted?”
He was cute but I didn’t have any answers.
“I don’t know.”
It was a good question, though.
“With this town nothing would surprise me, but at least they like you enough to want to keep you.”
That seemed like a step in the right direction as long as it wasn’t to put him in some kind of zoo with the dinosaurs. Which brought that back to the front of my mind.
“Dinosaurs, really?”
Daddy shrugged in my head.
“I did not realize that would shock everyone. Didn’t. I didn’t realize it would shock everyone. We just thought you had removed them from the area for safety.”
“I’m glad you want to take care of him. Thank you.” Hugging him back was the only good option until his Daddy saved us all.
“Come on.” The deputy was trying not to grin as he gathered up his boy, but I didn’t think Kenzie would’ve minded that his Daddy thought he was cute. “What should we make for dinner since we’re having guests?”
Kenzie straightened and gave us another smile. “Don’t worry. I don’t cook. He’s being nice, so you don’t have to worry.”
Worry?
What had he done before he found his Daddy?
The Daddy in question was back to trying not to laugh, and somehow that gave me the impression Kenzie was downplaying the problem with his cooking.
“You’re both very nice.” Daddy was very nice too even though he was still very confused. “I’m looking forward to it.”
“My mate? What are the social topics I need to understand?”
He just kept asking good questions.
“Normally, I could explain that but this town is not normal for America or Earth or even for dragons. So we’re just going to have to do our best.”
His mental sigh said he’d been afraid I was going to say that.
“Um, we just need to let him know if there’s any food you can’t or won’t eat, and we need to find topics to talk about that won’t upset anyone.”
That should hit the highlights, right?
“I have not run into anything at the diner that I found distasteful and I think I will be the topic of conversation, so that can’t be offensive.”
