“Oh, it’s fine. I don’t know what Ryanne did, but I feel much better now.” Larkin transports out the room right as Ryanne starts fidgeting in my lap.
“Tom,” Ryanne says. “I healed Larkin. His boo-boo went bye-bye.”
“Ryanne, what’s two plus two,” David asks.
“Fish.”
“She should definitely become a mathematician.”
“One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish. I like Dr. Seuss,” she says. “He was one funny guy. I think. I didn’t know him. Though I had a lot of his books! Oh, we should get Olive a striped hat!” When everyone starts laughing, Ryanne looks around confused. “Who told a joke? I want to hear. Knock. Knock.”
“She wants to hear a joke, so she tells one?” Emma asks.
“Who’s there?” David asks with a large grin.
“Orange you glad I didn’t say banana,” she giggles. A few seconds later, she stops and stares at David with a blank expression. “Wait, I forgot to say banana. Knock. Knock.”
“Banana,” David says to confuse her.
“Who’s there?” Ryanne says. “Wait, that’s not right either. Knock. Knock.”
When no one says who’s there, Ryanne sighs. “Why don’t they have ding dong jokes?” she asks. “Do jokesters not have doorbells?”
“That’s actually a good question,” Natalie says quietly from across the room. I turn and look at her with a smile. It is a good question actually. What goes through her mind when she thinks of this stuff?
“I’d rather use a doorbell than knock on a door,” Ryanne whispers as she starts moving in my lap.
“Colton, your chest is too hard.” She pokes my chest with her index finger. “Get some fat on you, buddy. Eat some cake. I like cake. I watched an episode of Cake Boss one time, and they made a cake look like a foot. It was gross, but I’m sure it tasted good.” Leaning down, she rests her head on my leg. A couple seconds later, she sits back up. “Your leg’s not fat either. Why do you have to be all muscle-y and stuff.” I can’t hold it in anymore. Ryanne is pouting, and it is too adorable to not laugh. I motion for Logan to hand me the pillow next to him.
I move over a little and place the pillow against my leg. I pat the pillow telling her to lie back down. She looks at me, and in the deepest voice she can manage, she says, “I’m batman.”
Conner starts laughing and says, “Bazinga.”
“I drank milk that tasted funny.” When Conner laughs again, Ryanne points toward him as she rests her head against the pillow. “I like him. He watches the Big Bang Theor…” she sighs and whispers, “Bazinga,” before she falls asleep.
“I think I like that Ryanne,” Emma says.
Chapter Sixteen
Colton
I reach down and twirl a curl around my finger while we wait for Larkin to come back with Jane and Ross. Because of the rain earlier, Ryanne’s hair is very curly. I turn toward Liam and ask, “What did you guys tell them?”
“The truth. We didn’t get very far though. I told them about how Ryanne stopped an attack on them before, but Ryanne started laughing and talking about how it hurts to get stabbed in the leg. So, I decided it was time for her to get some rest.”
“Good move. I’d rather we explain everything here anyway, since this house is protected. The enchantment is still up.”
“Jane and Ross are kind of like David and Emma. Jane’s very outspoken while Ross kind of stands back and lets her talk. He stops her when she gets a little carried away,” Liam explains.
“Hey, I’m not that outspoken. I mean someone has to speak the truth. I’m just the one that volunteers,” Emma says.
“Oh my gosh, that was trippy. I feel like I’m on some sort of…never mind.” I turn around and see Larkin standing in the back of the room with Jane and Ross. Jane looks around the room. “Where’s Ryanne?”
“She’s right here,” I answer. Jane walks over to the edge of the couch and looks at Ryanne.
“Is she okay? She started acting a little strange. I mean, she’s always been a little strange, and I love her for it but weirder than usual.” Definitely like Emma.
“She’s fine. She just used too much magic. She needs to rest,” Liam says.
“Okay. Okay. This is all so weird.” Jane walks over to the side of the couch and sits on the armrest. Liam and Logan get up and motion for her to sit down. Ross moves so he is standing behind her. “So you’re trying to tell me that tonight you all saved us from being killed?”