Forever by Pati Nagle Page B

soap,” I said. “What else does he do?”
    Amanda chortled. “Name it. He’s a great cook, too.”
    “He’s a healer,” Len said, her tone suddenly serious.
    “Yeah,” Amanda said. “That’s his main thing.”
    “We all have cause to be grateful for his skill at healing,” Caeran said.
    All their faces went sober. Amanda and Len both nodded. I met Lomen’s gaze, and he gave me a tiny nod as well.
    I did a quick shield, wanting to keep my reflections to myself. The conversation moved on while I thought about why they might all have needed healing. I told myself that it was in the past, that those alben were gone. But there were the new alben to deal with. The clan wouldn’t be trying to track them down unless they considered them a threat.
    Depressing. I tried to pay attention to what the others were saying, but I couldn’t quite reconnect. By the time we’d finished eating and clearing away the leftovers, the sun was down and Lomen was on the phone with Savhoran. I sat next to him on the couch, and picked up Amanda’s tablet from the coffee table.
    “Can I use this?” I whispered.
    She nodded. I looked up the texts for my new classes on the UNM Bookstore’s website. There were ebook versions available. I’d download them later.
    With a pang of envy, I handed the tablet back to Amanda, mouthing my thanks. I’d been scrimping, hoping to eventually get one, but the good ones weren’t cheap.
    Lomen hung up the phone and looked at Amanda. “I’m to take your car and meet them, if you don’t mind.”
    “Sure,” she said, and dug the keys out of her pocket.
    He stood and took them. “See you later.”
    I watched him head for the door. He looked back and caught my eye, smiled a little, then went out.
    “I didn’t know he could drive,” I said into the silence.
    “He can handle an automatic,” Amanda said. “Barely. What the hell, it’s second-hand.”
    Len laughed. “Manda’s teasing you,” she told me. “They all learn fast. Caeran got his license a month after he started.”
    I looked at Caeran. “Is it strange for you? Driving a car?”
    He shrugged. “Easier than driving a wagon. Horses are unpredictable.”
    Horses. Jeez.
    “If the hunting looks to continue much longer, we’ll get Lomen a car. You should not have to sacrifice yours, Manda.”
    “Eh, I’m not going anywhere at night anyway,” she said. “I’m getting itchy for a poker tournament, though.”
    “Aren’t there some during the day?” Len asked.
    “Yeah. Hey, let’s play now! You know how to play poker, right Steve?”
    “Uh...I know the basics.”
    “Ever play Texas Hold’em?”
    “No.”
    “It’s easy. Come on!”
    She got up and pulled two decks of cards out of a cupboard, then went to the dining table. The rest of us followed.
    “I’d prefer to play bridge,” Caeran said as he took a chair. “There are four of us.”
    Amanda frowned. “That takes too long to learn. Do you know bridge, Steve?”
    I shook my head.
    “He’s a math whiz,” Len said. “He’d pick it up fast.”
    “Poker first,” said Amanda.
    I glanced at Caeran, sitting across from me, and hid a smile. We shared a guy moment.
    Amanda pulled the cards out of their boxes and handed one deck to Len to shuffle. She launched into an explanation and started dealing.
    At first I thought the game stupidly simple. Each player had only two cards, with five more shared on the board in a version of seven-card stud. It seemed mostly a game of chance, but as we played I realized a lot depended on the players’ choices. By the end of an hour I was intrigued.
    Len went out first, yielding most of her chips to Amanda. I was still figuring out the odds, which were different from those of regular poker. A couple of miscalculations cost me most of my stack, and a last-ditch attempt to recoup failed when none of the cards that would give me either a straight or a flush—outs, Amanda called them—came through.
    “Heads up,” Amanda said, looking