He pulled even further away from her, breaking the kiss. And because she was still so damned pretty, even a little addled, he couldn’t think of anything to say. Zed blurted out, “You know that some people think that Spanish Moss started as hair from the meanest man who ever lived? People say that one day, that mean old man was running through the swamp and his long white hair got all gnarled up in some tree branches. He yanked it out and walked away, but he was so awful mean that the hair took on a life of its own and took over the whole damn tree in revenge?”

Dani blinked sleepily at him, her lips spreading in a slow smile. “No, I’ve never heard that before.”

Zed dropped to the ground in a cross-legged position a few feet away from her. “Well, that’s not surprising. I’ve lived in the swamp my whole life and I’d never heard that story until Jillian moved into town. She lives for that sort of thing.”

“That sounds about right. What are you doing out here, Mr. Mayor?” Dani asked.

Zed scoffed. “What am I doing out here? What are you doing out here? Did you walk here? In this heat? Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? Not just because of the snakes and the gators and the bugs, but the heat!”

“Just give me a second.” She took a long pull from a bottle of water, took some deep breaths, and then more water.

Zed felt sweat gathering between his shoulder blades and soaking into his t-shirt.

She shook her head and inhaled deeply. “Sorry. It always takes me a minute or two to perk back up after that much focus. It’s like waking up from surgery.”

“So you weren’t asleep?”

“Oh, no, I was fully aware of what was happening around me. I heard your motorcycle pull up, just like I heard a car pass about forty minutes ago, and the herd of deer that trotted by a few minutes after that.”

“So you heard me talking to you and you didn’t respond? Woman, do you realize I thought you might be dead when I saw you sitting motionless out here?” he exclaimed.

“I’m sorry, but it’s really important that I don’t break out of that level of concentration. Not because I’m self-centered, but for my safety. This is my first day of work here in Mystic Bayou and I don’t want to mess anything up.”

Zed frowned. “What is it exactly that you do for the League?"

“It’s kind of complicated. There’s not really a name for it, even.”

“I’ll do my best to keep up,” he said dryly.