Teaser Tuesday - Forest Fires

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I'm not sure why taverns seem to be the launch pad of choice for so many adventures and quests, but there's a tavern in mine too. This one is run by Charley's brother, Dink. Enjoy this scene.

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Heidi put her camera away. “It’ll probably be a few days before I can get those prints to you, is that okay?”

“No hurry.”

Drake lifted his glass to his lips and glanced over at Charley for the twelfth time. He loved looking at her, and when he was standing behind her a few minutes ago, it took every ounce of self-control he had not to reach for that sleek fall of hair like a drowning man.

Heidi laughed at him. “A little distracted there, Drake? Why don’t you just invite her to join us?”

He slowly brought his gaze around and gave Heidi a cockeyed smile. “Because I’m having way too much fun figuring her out from a distance.”

“What? I don’t get it.”

He shot another quick look at Charley and got a frosty glare in return before she spun on her seat. Her pointed snub amused him.

Chuckling, he confided in an undertone, “Charley likes to pretend I’m totally irrelevant and she’s not the least bit interested. She needs to work on her poker face.” His eyes strayed back to her and he burst out laughing because it didn’t take an ornithologist to recognize the bird she showed him.

Heidi looked over to see what was so funny but Charley had already turned away. “Why?”

“I’m not sure, but I can’t wait to see how this plays out.”

Heidi considered Charley sympathetically over the rim of her glass. “She’s not happy we’re sitting together.” She fell silent for a moment before musing aloud, “I wonder if she’s ever had a girlfriend. She’s actually quite pretty.”

“She’s not a lesbian,” Drake murmured, his focus fixed on the cute tomboy.

Heidi snorted into her beer, barely holding it together. “I know that. What I meant was a girl friend, someone to soften her rough edges, initiate her into the sisterhood.”

He sighed. “Doubtful. From what I understand, she only hangs out with guys. It’s strictly platonic.”

Heidi studied Charley long and hard. “I can already visualize her swan-like transformation. That would be so—” She laughed and snapped her fingers under Drake’s nose, bringing his eyes back to
her. “I was talking to you. Oh, forget it. She’s doing just fine without the Eliza Doolittle treatment.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Heidi smiled at him. “She doesn’t need the trappings. She’s got your attention without them.”

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