Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 76943 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76943 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
“We’ll help them fix the portal problem, though.” I wasn’t sure there was anything we could do about the blue cake or their chattiness. “I’m thinking of suggesting that someone gets hired full time to watch over the area and the portal. Maybe two people? A mage and a dragon?”
I wasn’t sure if he was in the right headspace to have the conversation, but he didn’t give me any verbal or nonverbal pushback. He even kept wiggling excitedly as he nodded. “Oh, I like that. We need watchers. The people here get bored watching. There’s bugs. Only Paxton likes bugs. And sometimes it rains. And outside is hot and cold.”
No one had checked on the portal because the outside had bugs and it didn’t have AC or central heating?
Somehow, that did not surprise me.
“So we need to find people who like the outside and don’t mind bugs.” It should not be hard to find dragons who liked being outside, but maybe mages were pickier? “What else?”
Merritt seemed to like the conversation and plopped his elbows down on the table to rest his head in his hands in a very thinky manner. “They have to take notes?”
“That’s a good idea. We need people who will notice changes and be detail oriented.” Most mages I’d met were highly detail oriented, but maybe the locals were the more creative types? “I’m sure there were hints that there was a problem.”
Merritt nodded like that was a very smart comment. “The bugs.”
“The bugs?” People had mentioned the bugs and Merritt was making it sound like the problem involved actual insects. “Oh, what about the bugs?”
His giggle didn’t make me feel any better.
“The bug man.” Snickering, he waved one hand toward the building. “The bug man and his dragon mate.”
The human?
Paxton was the bug man…yes, I could follow connections even if they were haphazardly connected.
“Let me see if I understand this correctly.” Because the pieces I’d been given didn’t add up to anything logical. “The reason the locals keep talking about bugs is that there is a bug man…some kind of scientist from what I think they meant…and he found something wrong with the bugs? Something related to the portal?”
These idiots had to stop getting distracted and actually have the council meetings. I didn’t care who we were supposedly still waiting for—it was time to get all the information laid out. Merritt shouldn’t know what was going on just because he’d spent more time at the diner being fed copious amounts of cake.
“Yes.” Merritt was happy to fill the gaps in my knowledge as he wiggled. “The bug man found new bugs. They’re magic. They poof when you scare them.”
He mimed lifting a rock or log and finding something startling. It felt a bit like we were on Sesame Street, but I got the picture. “Oh, a bug. Oh, poof. Oh, bug all gone.”
Good grief.
“The bugs are doing something to magically hide from people?” Groaning, I scrubbed my hand over my face as Merritt giggled. “I think people have started to tell me this story several times but they always get distracted by weird details about the bug man’s marriage or about how littles like bugs.”
It’d been one of the bugs are sneaky and hide from everyone comments that’d made me wonder if we’d been talking about spy equipment, but I wasn’t going to feel bad about that.
Merritt continued to giggle and didn’t seem to feel bad about my drama. “I’m a good helper, Daddy.”
“Yes, you are.” And there were probably a dozen other things he could clear up too. “You’ve done a very good job of gathering information and making sure I understand what’s going on.”
Maybe it was Merritt’s background in health care that helped him relate to insane people?
Giving me more excited wiggles, Merritt nodded. “I’m smart and nosy.”
I wasn’t sure if I should laugh but as I tried to cough to cover up the one that escaped, Merritt giggled. “Funny Daddy.”
Sure, we’d go with that.
“Silly boy.” He liked my glare and that got more giggles. “You’re going to be my good helper when it’s time to meet with the other crazy men, aren’t you?”
It took him a few moments before he could stop his happy laughter, but eventually he nodded and sat up straight like a little soldier. “Yes. I’m Daddy’s helper and I can talk to the silly men.”
Silly. Yes. Not crazy.
“Silly men. I’ll remember.” Maybe, but Merritt’s barely contained laughter said I wasn’t terribly believable about that. “I would really appreciate help with the silly men.”
And the nosy ones, because a few had started circling around the table and one was getting suspiciously close.
It seemed like we’d lost our privacy to another nosy…dragon?
Chapter 4
Merritt
Nosy. Nosy. Nosy.
Hmm.
Nosy magey looked…confused?
Had to be nice to the other confused Daddies.
Sooo many new Daddies and Doms and somethings that all kept frowning at the naughty behavior.