Page 12 of The Librarian’s Familiar

“You’re the best.” He kissed his mother on the cheek.

“Are you going to head out again?”

“I might go for a run on two feet, out to the lake.” He wasn’t training for anything, but he still needed to do something. He didn’t want to turn from pro-athlete to pro-couch potato.

“Okay, take care.”

As a child, she would’ve given him a time to be home by, especially in summer when the sun didn’t really set. He’d missed curfew a few times, and one of his older brothers had been sent after him.

He had no natural predators out here, except for trigger-happy humans. But since he was going to be on two feet, that didn’t apply. “Is there something I should be careful of?”

“No…you aren’t used to…”

August lifted his eyebrows. “I run outside, Mom, not always on a treadmill.”

Did she think he had somehow become some kind of indoors pampered pet?

He grabbed a plate and started putting together some sandwiches.

“It’s different out here than a park in the city.”

“Would you prefer if I ran on four feet?”

“Maybe…but I know you aren’t going to.” She draped the rolled-out pastry on top of the pie. “You might see your dad up by the lake. He has some of the older grandchildren with him.”

He did not want to get roped into whatever they were doing. “I’ll keep an eye out for him.” He leaned against the kitchen counter, eating the sandwich. “I ran into the new librarian at the coffee shop…what do people think of him?”

“Well, he’s actually doing something with the library. I’ve taken a couple of the young grandkids to the story time he runs, and he’s been getting new books in, finally. The previous librarian was not interested in the library at all.”

“Probably too busy with his other job.”

“I don’t know. Why the question?”

“Like I said, I ran into him, and there was a vibe…” He didn’t know how else to explain it, and he certainly didn’t want to be telling his mother that he was jealous or curious. “What’s his magic?”

“I think he said he was telekinetic? A storm witch or a healer would be more useful.”

“Did the healer move away?”

“No, she’s still here. There’s also a luminaire.”

“Luminaire?”

“They can glow.”

August laughed. That didn’t seem like a terribly useful magic. He wondered if witches were ever disappointed with the way their magic was expressed. “The librarian seemed pretty friendly with the foxes.”

“He seems to be pretty friendly with everyone, so don’t hold that against him.” She considered him for a moment before grabbing another bowl of pastry and rolling it out for the next pie lid. “There are several polar bear women who are very excited to meet you.”

August took a rather large bite of his sandwich to give himself time to answer. She’d said as much the last time he’d been home. He chewed as if considering and swallowed, knowing that he was going to give a non-answer. He’d probably gone to school with those women or their older siblings. “I guess they know where to find me.”

“August…you need to settle down at some point. And if you didn’t come home to find yourself a polar bear and start a family. What are you doing?”

Before, he’d always had the excuse that he was always on the road and there was no point in having a partner when he was never home, even though plenty of guys did.

“I don’t know, Mom, and until I figure out what I’m doing, it’s not fair to drag someone else along for the ride.” He already knew it wouldn’t be a woman, shifter or otherwise, that he would be dragging along.

“Sometimes you need to start the ride before you figure out where you’re going. Maybe you need someone to help you figure things out.”