When she said that he looked like the ultimate HFMF, Harding beamed. A second later, he nodded. “Yes,” he said. “Yes her name is.” Harding didn’t actually get the joke in that moment, but he was going along with it. Did John Lennon like tables? Harding was a tiny bit deaf in one ear. Sports injury.
Harding was definitely going to have to remember those facts though, he smiled. This was a smart girl. The kind that looked up facts. “The media gods?” What was she rabbit holing? Harding was more than happy to let her keep talking. He was enjoying himself.
“No way!!” Harding’s jaw dropped with enthusiasm. “That’s awesome. So you’re the cousin. Came here on their recommendation?” The happy moment didn’t last. Harding missed Jake. It had only been a couple days, but he was really pulling for the bro’s healing powers to kick in. These sort of dire medical emergencies weren’t supposed to happen to the shifters. He winced for her. “Yeah, the timing there…” It was painful. “But hey,” Harding said, finding the silver lining. “At least you’re here when your family really needs you. More camaraderie. I bet they all really appreciate that.”
She was a nice girl. Really open. Really friendly. “You’re from New York? Big city girl. There’s a new barista working for my brother. She’s from New York too. If I didn’t know any better, you’d have me convinced New York was the city of sunny blondes.” Harding had lived in New York before though. It was actually a city of caffeine deprived brunettes. If Jax wanted to franchise, New York would be a good second location. “Yeah it is!” Harding agreed when she said it was an adventure. He raised his hand for a high five, and then stopped.
“Oh yeah,” he said. “Since you’re a McKenna, I can tell you this. But...I can’t touch shifters. Not directly anyway. It’s kind of a Midas thing.” Now that he knew she was a McKenna, he knew he could tell her that. It was kind of a relief that he could get that out of the way.
He laughed at her stipulation. “I’ll tell you. But now you won’t know if I’m telling the truth.” She’d kinda ruined her chance with that intro. Harding followed her down the stairs. “Not very long,” Harding said. “These apartments are all relatively new. I was at Cedar Falls before, and my parents’ old house before that. I’ve gotten around. I like this building though. The apartments are really nice.”