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Intelligent and beautiful huade

Frowning, Nick looked up to see her eager expression as she waited for his response "You wrote this?"

Her face fell instantly "You don’t have to sound so surprised, you know?"

Nick sputtered He wasn’t surprised Rather, he was highly impressed "I didn’t mean to offend you, it’s just so…"

"Honest? Blunt? That’s because I wrote it right after you left my house Your words and kindness in my darkest hour touched a place deep inside my heart I kno far away I live fro and ran over to ht There aren’t many boys in this world ould do what you did for a friend So thank you for being you, Nick Itto me that day"

He was too stunned to speak as she kissed his cheek

She took the pages back froo on it "You’re our first official ered on his as she passed it over She squeezed his fingers, then let go

How very odd She’d drained every bit of his anger out of him He was so calm now So at peace Only his mother and Kody had ever had this effect on hie" She started away

"Hey, Bryn?" he called

She paused to look back at hireat writer"

Her face turned bright pink before she , isn’t it?"

He scowled as Caleb le person can have on another Whatpleasantry to you could be a lifeline to someone else… You saved her life, you know?"

Nick shook his head "I just went to her house to ht"

Caleb leaned in closer to hiives me hope that you won’t becoift it is to put others before yourself It’s not an easy thing to do"

He scoffed "You put my safety above yours all the time"

"Only because my continued health depends on yours"

"I don’t believe you"

Caleb shrugged nonchalantly "You don’t have to I believe rabbed Nick by the jersey and pulled hio before we’re late to practice I’ed your butt, and, thanks to you, Stone’s not here to coldcock the coach today, and get us out early"

Kody hesitated as she approached Sanctuary on Ursulines Not because the faerie of lethal shapeshifters and ned by a family of bears, but because Nick’s mom worked there In the past, Cherise had always been friendly to her But she had no idea what Nick had told his reet her today

Still, this had to be done, and she was not a coward

Suuarded by a , curly blond hair pulled back into a ponytail, and he s?"

"Pretty good You?"

Flashing her a dazzling smile, he brushed his hand over the double bow-and-arrow tattoo on his biceps "I can’t co about Dev, aside froeous, he had a wicked sense of hu?"

"She is But her evil spawn isn’t with her"

If Dev only kne close to the truth those words were "I knoas hoping to catch her here without him"

"Then you’re in luck She’s on kitchen duty today If Re back there, let me know and I’ll reorient his attitude for you" Remi and Dev made up half of a set of identical quadruplets And while the four of theht look alike, Dev, Remi, Cherif, and Quinn had very different personalities Rerump of the bunch Quinn the bashful one Cherif Mr Serious, and Dev the eternal charmer

"Thanks, Dev"

"Any time, sweetie"

Kody walked inside and scanned the tables that were clustered around the entrance A smile curved her lips at the coffin in the far left corner that had a sign draped over it Written in what appeared to be blood were the words Aihter of the bear family, and she was a knockout with a body Kody would have to pay a surgeon to get As such, Aiiant father tended to be a little overprotective of her

Kody winced as that thought reminded her of her own family Her brothers had made her every bit as crazy with their incessant interference and overprotective lunacy Back in the day, they’d line up to inspect any guy she was interested in Then they’d threaten hiuy even so els conear her

Gods, how she ive to have the not to think about it, she headed for the bar in back The door to the kitchen was beside it

She nodded at Cherif, as drying glasses and putting them away as she pushed the kitchen door open This ti at one of the steel tables, pressing out handrateful for it The only person in the back with Cherise was the other cook, Jose, as busy chopping vegetables

Jose smiled at her "Hola, Kody"

"Hi, Jose"

Cherise paused as she caught sight of her A veil cahts "What are you doing here?" They could use that tone to ice down sodas

Kody reached into her pocket and pulled out the box that held the necklace Nick had given her Closing the distance between them, she set it on a clean area of stainless steel table next to Cherise "I wanted Nick to have that back I’et a refund for it"

Cherise scowled "That’s very decent of you, Nekoda Thank you There aren’t irls ould be so considerate, especially not with so that cost as o of the box Not because the necklace was valuable--she couldn’t care less about that--but because it signified the broken trust with Nick And that she hated with every part of her "My parents raised me better You don’t use people, and you don’t take from them"

She saw the sympathetic pain in Cherise’s eyes… And the respect "I’s didn’t work out between you two"