“Well, then you can call me, ‘Dani,’” she told him. “I look forward to working with you.”

“Not nearly as much as I look forward to working with you,” he said, finally releasing her hand.

Jillian cleared her throat as she glanced at the bent copper tub and the slats Zed had pulled loose while trying to free it. “Um, Zed, do I even want to ask what happened to your shirt?”

Zed shook his head. “Not really.”

“Dani here was hoping to move in today, but I can see that there’s still an issue with the shower,” she said, chewing her bottom lip.

“I tried, Jillian, but I wasn’t expecting you for another two days. And there was the small matter of my town to run, while you and your League buddies plan your invasion,” Zed noted.

Jillian very subtly scratched her nose with her middle finger. Zed was teasing her, of course. The citizens of Mystic Bayou needed the League’s resources as much as the League needed information from Mystic Bayou’s citizens. They’d been too long without a proper healer. Hell, they’d never had a dentist who could treat all of the different teeth amongst the Bayou’s population. Half of parish school’s teachers were well past retirement age and leaning towards ‘older than dirt,’ but stayed on because there were no trained educators to replace them. There wasn’t enough in the parish accounts to cover the badly needed repaving, because thanks to the otherworldly mojo bouncing around the bayou, the roads kept moving around like the freaking staircases in Harry Potter and it was damn near impossible to estimate how much asphalt would be needed. And then there was the small matter of the rift de-stabilizing and spreading its chaotic energy amongst the Bayou residents and changing their very genetic make-up.

But Dani didn’t know he was teasing and she frowned slightly at Zed’s mention of an invasion.

“Not that I mind. Sometimes a little invasion can be good. Like the Beatles or how all of the sudden all actors seem to be Australian,” he said.

Jillian lifted a brow. “Um, sweetie, did the tub hit you in the head?

“Not that I can remember.”

“Dani, it’s not a problem for you to stay with me and Bael for a few days until the shower’s fixed and the house is livable,” Jillian protested.

Dani shook her head. “Oh, I couldn’t possibly. I wouldn’t want to impose. Besides, I’ve stayed in much rougher places than this. A couple of days of sponge baths won’t do me any harm.”

Zed found his mouth suddenly going dry at the thought of the beautiful Miss Teel and sponge baths.

“Besides the house is amazing. I love it already. And compared to my last accommodations in Mongolia? It’s a luxury suite,” Dani said.