Daddy Dragon Guardians: The Complete Series Boxset, page 12
“I think he was just trying to do the right thing.” Leah leaned against the counter and folded her arms in front of her chest. “He didn’t mean to offend you.”
“No, maybe not,” Summer admitted. “But it was still annoying. Now there’s no telling what Joanna is going to say. And I meant it when I said I really don’t care what she thinks of me, but if the business starts to suffer, then Autumn is going to be really disappointed.” The store was incidental to her, a means for spreading her knowledge and helping when she could, but it was everything to Autumn. The last thing she wanted was to let her down.
“Don’t worry about that. Joanna already had her fun dragging your names through the mud, and she’s done it to me, too. Surely, she’s got something else to occupy her time.”
Summer grabbed an old rag from under the counter and dusted off a glass shelf that held stone eggs. “Let’s hope you’re right.” Irritated at herself for not just casting a spell to keep the dust out of the shop in the first place, Summer tossed the rag back under the counter.
“Well, don’t discount him just yet. I have a feeling he might surprise you. I trust Holden’s opinion, if nothing else, and he wouldn’t be friends with Xander if he was a bad guy.”
“Maybe not, but that doesn’t mean I’m interested in him.” She couldn’t quite explain her aversion to him. Xander hadn’t done anything terrible, but he hadn’t seemed to understand her position. Somehow, that had been enough.
Since there weren’t any customers in the shop yet, Summer leaned against the counter next to Leah. She pressed her lips together, debating on asking the questions that had been floating through her mind ever since Leah and Holden had gotten together. “So, he’s really a dragon, huh?” It was a lame start, but it was still a start.
“Yeah,” Leah replied, her eyes sparkling at the subject. “It’s crazy, isn’t it? I mean, things hadn’t worked out when I was with a regular guy. Victor could never understand what it was like to be a psychic. Holden might not be a psychic himself, but he definitely knows what it’s like to not fit in with the rest of the crowd. He’s used to being on his own and relying on only his closest friends, and I have to say I really like that about him.”
“I guess that’s what Naomi meant when she said there were others like her close at hand.” Naomi had been a dragon shifter as well and a friend of theirs back in college. She had always been secretive about her past. Unfortunately, she had passed away in an accident five years ago, but Leah, Autumn and Summer were lucky enough to be able to speak with her when they held séances. Naomi had given them a cryptic message about Holden before they had understood he was also a dragon.
“She must have known somehow, but in a way, I’m glad she didn’t tell me directly.” Leah was smiling, her expression distant. “Being a psychic, I should know better than to expect messages to come to me outright. They’re always shrouded in a little bit of mystery, but that’s a good thing. It helps to keep life exciting.”
“But it’s got to be somewhat…difficult to live with a dragon, right?”
Leah paused for a moment before she turned to her friend. “Just ask me what it is you want to know, Summer; I don’t mind. Holden knows that you’re aware of what he is, and I think we both understand why someone might be curious about things.”
Despite the open invitation, Summer still felt a little awkward. She was an open person herself, but she wasn’t trying to live as two different creatures. And it really wasn’t any of her business, even if Leah was one of her best friends. Still, this was the best chance she would get to ask. “Does he shift very often? I mean, is he usually a dragon or a human?”
“Most of the time, he stays in his human form. It’s a good example for his son, Finn, since he’ll be growing up on this world. I don’t really mind when he does shift, and I know it lets out a certain amount of tension for him, but I think Holden and I are both more comfortable together when we’re the same species.”
Summer raised an eyebrow. There was no turning back now. “And in the bedroom?”
Leah laughed. “Completely human, I promise. Is that what’s turning you off from Xander? I mean, he is a dragon, too, and that can be a lot to get used to.”
“Of course not. I mean, I’m a witch. I’m not exactly the girl next door. And besides, Naomi was a dragon, too; she was one of the loveliest beings I’ve ever known.”
It felt so uncomfortable not to know just what was happening with Xander, even though there really wasn’t anything going on with him. She needed to find some time for herself to realign her chakras and forget about everything else.
But customers were starting to filter into the store, and it would have to wait.
“I’d stick around, but I’ve got some clients scheduled this afternoon. I’ll see you soon.” With that, Leah gave her friend a hug and left.
It was tourist season, and there were more customers in on a Saturday afternoon than The Enchanted Elm saw throughout most of the year. Summer did her best to keep up, taking incense out of the packages for people to smell, explaining the uses of different crystals, and pointing the way to books that might prove helpful for those seeking to learn more about their own latent powers.
As busy as she was, she couldn’t stop thinking about Xander. She really had judged him too quickly, and that wasn’t like her. Summer prided herself on being not just a free spirit, but a person with an open mind, someone who accepted all kinds of people and never made assumptions. So why had she done this to Xander? Was she really that upset that he had tried to defend her? She was an independent person and she didn’t need his help, but she had been very ungrateful toward him. Leah had explained the situation, and Xander had backed off in the end. So, there must have been something else about him that was holding onto her mind.
“Excuse me,” said an older woman who had come into the store. She had steely gray hair drawn back into a braid and bright blue eyes that belied her age. “I was looking for something that might help my granddaughter.”
Summer smiled and took a deep breath. This was the sort of thing she was good at. She liked to help people, and as far as she was concerned, that was the real reason the store was open. It gave the public an open venue to come and talk to her or Autumn instead of tracking down a witch in the middle of the woods. “Gladly. What sort of trouble is she having?”
The woman frowned. “She’s just started in a new school, and she’s having an awful time getting along. She hasn’t been able to make any real friends, yet, and the only thing she wants is to go back to her old school. She’s so very sad and frustrated, and I hate to see her that way. I’ve tried talking to her and taking her out on the weekends to make her feel better, but it doesn’t seem to be making any difference.”
The woman’s grief tugged at Summer’s heart. At the same time, her mind was running a mile a minute as she tallied up all the different herbs, stones, and crystals that might help. “The best thing I could do for her is to make a talisman. She could wear it around her neck, and it would just look like a pretty pendant, but it would have elements to help heal her broken heart, build confidence, and make connections with others.”
“You can really do that?” the woman whispered.
“I can. Of course, she’ll need to understand what it is. If she thinks of it as nothing more than a necklace, it’s not going to have nearly as much power. It will take me a little bit of time to put it together, but if you write down your name and number for me, I can call you when it’s ready.” Summer led her to the counter and handed her a piece of paper and a pen.
She scribbled quickly and gave it back. “Is there anything else I can do for her?”
“There is always something that can be done,” Summer assured her. “You and I both know how fragile young girls can be. Keep working with her, and let her know you love her. In fact, take her one of these.” Summer plucked a small pink stone from a nearby basket. “It’s rose quartz, and it’s the stone of unconditional love. Give it to her and tell her to put it in her pocket. Anytime she’s feeling nervous, she can reach in her pocket and touch it, and she’ll know you’re always out there looking out for her.”
Tears formed in the woman’s eyes as she looked down at the stone. She traced its smooth surfaces with her fingertip. “That’s so sweet. I think she’ll really appreciate that. How much do I owe you?”
Summer waved her hand. “Not a thing. Take it and let me know how things go. I’ll call you as soon as I have the talisman ready, which should just be a couple of days.”
The woman took a business card from the shelf next to the basket. “Thank you. I’m going to tell everyone I know about you and how wonderful you are.” She practically flew out of the shop, eager to get back to her granddaughter.
Summer sighed with satisfaction, but she hoped that the woman didn’t include the part about the stone being free when she told all her friends about her experience. Autumn would be pissed if she came back into town to find a line of customers out their door looking for free stuff.
There was already, however, a line at the counter. She hadn’t been keeping track of time while she helped the woman, and she moved quickly to ring up her customers. As she did so, she realized that there might be a reason for Xander constantly coming to the front of her mind. Perhaps he needed help just as the grandmother did, and Summer would need to make a talisman of some kind for him. She couldn’t pretend to know what he needed it for, and she wouldn’t dare make it without him asking, but it made sense that he might need her help. After all, he was relatively new in this world, from what she understood about the dragons.
With the cash register caught up, she decided that she was correct. She didn’t need to worry about what Leah saw as a spark between the two of them or what Xander’s intentions had been when he’d jumped up to protect her from Joanna. The universe had thrust him into her life because he was going to need her in some way, and that was all the reason she needed.
5
“Well, that was awkward,” Holden said as they drove away from Beau’s house, where they had just picked up the children.
“Thanks for being so delicate.” Xander slouched in the passenger seat and rolled his eyes. “I should know about these things. I’m the one who’s done all the research on this sort of stuff, so I should understand how to go about it. I knew that I should ask Summer about herself and try to get to know her, but it was next to impossible while I was fighting off a shift.”
Holden put his hand in the air in half a shrug. “Tell me about it! I think I scared Leah half to death when I first met her. A guy tried to grab her at the bar, and I would have killed him for it. She saw that in me, and it was no wonder it took her a while to relax around me. But in the end, I think that’s just the way it was meant to be.”
“It worked out for you guys, anyway,” Xander admitted. “But now I have to figure out how to make it work for me.”
Holden took his eyes off the road for a minute to glance at him. “I take it that means you haven’t given up yet.”
“Do you think I should?”
“Absolutely not. If nothing else, you’ll figure out that it was a false alarm and cross one more woman off your list. I have a feeling that’s not the case, though. You’ve always been so put-together, and Summer is the first person who has managed to knock you off your high horse with nothing more than a look.”
“I can’t give up anyway.” Xander looked to the backseat, where Nora was safely buckled into her car seat. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, and he felt the same need to protect her as he did with Summer. “She deserves to have a mother, and the physical reaction I have to Summer tells me she’s the one. At least, I think that’s what it’s telling me. Either that, or I’m allergic to her. For the first time in my life, I almost couldn’t tell which form I was in.”
“That’s a familiar feeling,” Holden replied with a grin. “So, what are you going to do?”
“Well, all the dating guides I’ve read have suggested things like bringing flowers and chocolates. I guess giving a gift is a way of apologizing.”
“So, then you don’t have to actually say you’re sorry?” Holden rubbed the stubble on his chin. “I might have to remember that.”
Xander shook his head. “I’m not sure it’s all that effective. Humans don’t seem to have hard and fast rules like we dragons do. Roses might work on one woman, but another woman might prefer daisies. I guess that’s one of the questions I should have asked her as part of getting to know her, instead of just jumping up and thinking I could protect her from that vile woman.”
Holden laughed. “She really got under your skin, didn’t she?”
“I thought at first that she was just being nasty and calling Summer names, but then I realized that Summer really is a witch. I think you might have mentioned it to me, and then it clicked when she talked about the new age shop.”
“Does it bother you? Her being a witch?”
Xander felt a lopsided grin tightening his cheek. “Honestly, I think it might even be a little bit sexy. I like the idea that she’s not just some regular woman. I could find one of those anywhere. But a witch, well, that’s different. Still, that other woman—Joanna whoever—has no right to belittle her like that.” He curled his fist on the armrest, angry all over again. Joanna hadn’t done Summer any physical harm, but the look in her eye said she wished she could have.
“Easy now, Knight in Shining Armor. I don’t think Summer was too pleased with the way you stepped in. Maybe she’s not looking for someone to be Prince Valiant.”
“Who?”
“Something Leah showed me, an old comic strip. Anyway, that’s not the point. Just tell me what you’re going to do to win Summer’s favor. I was purely lucky with Leah, but I don’t think that’s going to work for you.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Xander snorted. “I think I’ll just have to show up, apologize, and ask her if we can start fresh. I don’t know what I’ll do if she rejects me again, though. I can’t exactly kidnap her and fly off to a cave until she submits to my will.” There were a few dragons back on Charok who had done similar deeds when they believed they had found their destined mates, but it wasn’t a widely accepted practice. The females of the species were highly respected, which the dragons considered a mark of their high civilization. Xander had yet to determine just how well the human females were treated in comparison; the results seemed to be all over the board.
“I think you’ll come up with something. Just be patient. Or introduce her to Nora and let her do all the work. She’s better-looking than you, anyway.”
Xander gave Holden a playful punch on the arm and began formulating his plan.
* * *
Xander took a deep breath as he walked up to Summer’s door. It was a quaint little cottage, and not the sort of place that most humans lived in. Instead of apartments stacked on top of each other or houses crammed shoulder-to-shoulder, this place was practically in the middle of nowhere. He stood for a moment and just listened, taking in the sounds of the wind through the trees and the birds singing. He made a mental note to learn more about the different types of housing humans preferred and why, although he thought he understood already why someone would live there.
He cleared his throat as he knocked on the door, wanting to be prepared to speak. He had rehearsed in his head a thousand times what he would say, and he knew the words by heart.
But when Summer opened the door and looked at him with those big green eyes, everything changed. He still knew exactly what to say, but they were no longer the words that he had carefully prepared. They came from somewhere else inside him, and they demanded to come out. “Summer, I’m so sorry that I offended you earlier today at the park. It’s not what I intended. I thought I was doing what was best, but I didn’t take into consideration the way you felt about things. I hadn’t even had the chance to know how you felt, and I never should have assumed.” He held out the bouquet of flowers he had specially picked for her, a mix of wildflowers in numerous colors. “I hope you’ll forgive me.”
Summer blinked at him and glanced down at the flowers. “Xander, I…I don’t quite know what to say. I never expected you to show up here.” She paused a moment, tipping her head. “How did you know where I live, anyway?”
His face flushed, and he could feel the burning in his cheeks. “I asked Leah. She said it would be alright if I were to stop by.”
She squinted one eye in a playful look of suspicion before finally nodding. “Well, I guess if she says it’s alright, then it is. Come in.” She opened the door further and stood back.
As soon as he stepped inside, Xander realized that he would have known it was her home even if he hadn’t already known she’d lived there. There was such a sense of her about the place, and even though he didn’t know her all that well, he could tell that she had made it very much her own. The furniture was a random collection of old pieces that had been reupholstered or repainted. Bright colors adorned the walls, from the paint to the light curtains that draped alongside the large windows. These were all open, letting a cool breeze flow through the place. A swath of beaded fabric set the living room off from the kitchen. It looked like the inside of a gypsy caravan if someone had taken off the wheels and parked it in the middle of the woods. “You have a beautiful place.”
“Thank you,” she said graciously, reaching down into a cabinet for a vase. Summer was wearing a long dress made of thin, purple fabric that showed off the gentle opalescence of the skin on her shoulders, and it draped gracefully around her body as she moved. She disappeared behind the curtain for a moment, and Xander could hear the sound of water as she filled the vase. When Summer returned, she set it on the coffee table and took the flowers from him. “You didn’t have to do this, you know. I’ve already figured out what’s going on between us.”
