Year One (Chronicles of The One #1)(97)

“You’d want me to do this?”

“I … I think you’re meant to do this.”

“All right.” He took her hand. “All right, we’ll try it. But you should choose another from your people, and an Uncanny. It gives balance.”

“Diane Simmons,” Arlys said without looking up from her notebook. “She’s quick-thinking, stable, and doesn’t tolerate bullshit.”

“Shapeshifter,” Katie added.

“I agree, Diane and Carla are sensible women,” Lloyd began. “And first impressions here say the same about Max. But spelling out the laws, and having the community at large accept them, accept the authority of the people we’ve named, is another matter.”

“I was hoping you’d spell things out,” Jonah said. “You’re smart and you’re fair, and nobody here would say otherwise. People respect you, Lloyd, so if you lay it out—and it might not be the fair way, but it’s the best way right now—like it’s just a done deal, most people are going to accept it.”

“And the ones who don’t?”

“Are going to get overruled.”

Lloyd rubbed the back of his neck, pinched the bridge of his nose. “Let me fiddle with that some. What do we do, if we manage this, with violators? Lock them in a closet?”

“A locked door wouldn’t stop some magickal violators,” Max pointed out. “Lana and I had a different method.”

“We called it Quiet Time.” Lana laughed. “Part of that was to make them feel like idiots, and this was, for the most part, frayed tempers, a fistfight or … some magickal bitch-slapping. We kept the same rule for either. A designated span in Quiet Time.”

“Inside the circle for a designated amount of time,” Max explained. “No communication. Time to cool off, time to think about being an ass. It worked fairly well.”

“I had ten minutes inside,” Will admitted. “Early on in our relationship. It’s mortifying, and isolating. The first minute in, all I wanted to do was get out and kick Max’s ass. Nine minutes later, I had a different perspective.”

The grin Max sent him mirrored the easy affection between them. “You were a quick study.”

“Well, let me think about this,” Lloyd said. “Try to work up some language, and an approach.”

“Good enough.” Jonah looked back at Max. “Meanwhile, we’re hoping you’d work with the power crew tomorrow. And give us some people for scouting and scavenging.”

“I can go. I’m not sure what I can do on power when we’re talking an entire town, but we’ll see. For scouting, you can’t do better than Flynn and Lupa.”

“That’s the boy from today,” Rachel said. “Lupa?”

“His wolf.”

“Do you mean an actual wolf?”

“I do. An elf and his wolf who kept a village of nearly thirty people safe and fed for more than two months. I’d send Eddie and Joe—Eddie’s dog—along there.”

“A regular dog?”

“A regular dog and a good man. For scavenging, Poe and Kim. Eddie, Poe, and Kim moved into the apartments attached to our house,” Lana told them. “They’ve been with us the longest. They’re not magickal, but they’re smart, and they’re steady.”

“Send a magickal with them,” Bill suggested. “It’s been an advantage there.”

“Aaron for now?” Rachel turned to Jonah. “And you should go. Medic—in case there’s trouble, and you’ll know what’s needed in medical supplies.”

As he’d thought the same, Jonah nodded. “Can you have your people ready, Max? First light?”

“I can.”

“I think…” Fred looked around the room. “I think they shouldn’t be Max’s people. If we’re together, everyone’s together. Everyone’s our people.”

“Fred’s right, as she usually is.” Arlys closed her book. “And that’s a pretty big agenda for what seems to be the first meeting of the New Hope Town Council.”

*

When Lana kissed Max good-bye at first light, it felt almost normal. Her man heading off to work, her own list of chores and errands lined up in her head.

“Good luck. You might have better if I went with you.” She took his hand, linked fingers.

“Let’s see how it goes. And let’s be optimistic. You should make sure everything’s turned off. No point bringing the power up if we end up blowing it out.”

“Good point. I’ll do that. Then I’m going to go down and work in the community garden in exchange for bringing some herbs home.”

“Nothing too physical.” He laid a hand on her belly. “Very precious cargo.”

“Rachel said sensible exercise is good for me and the baby, so I’ll be sensible. Then I’m going to check out the food supplies. Arlys said the American Legion, where they’re going to set up the training center for the kids, has a big kitchen. I might be able to organize a community kitchen there. Make breads and basics.”

He leaned in, kissed the top of her head. “You’re happy.”

“Yes. Aren’t you? Sheriff?”