Page 106 of Made

“Aye, but I do no’ know how it will turn out.”

“I see. A true mystery.” He shrugged. “Did Killian go home?”

He shrugged again. “I imagine so.” He pushed back his chair. “I’d like to use the shower in the cottage?”

“Of course.”

He lifted the teacup. “Takin’ this with me if ‘tis alright.”

Kagan grabbed a few more pieces of bacon on his way. I hoped Keir wouldn’t mind. Olivia wouldn’t be back to cook more until the morrow.

“Mi casa. Su casa.”

I continued to sit by the little kitchen fire for a bit after he left. Just to enjoy the quiet and the satisfied feeling that comes from knowing everyone’s safe after a scare. Fen reached a right paw over to tap Frey on the ear. Since we hadn’t gone for our morning walk over the hill, he probably had extra energy and was feeling mischievous. She pulled back, gave him a truly nasty look, and refused to be baited. I laughed on the inside.

Romeo had returned with Esme’s things before she emerged from the bath.

“I’ll return these later?” she asked.

Now that she had her keys, she was eager to go home. I didn’t blame her. I walked the two of them, Esme and Kagan, to the door and stood on the porch watching them walk down thelane together. I was thinking that every one of life’s problems should end so well.

I raised my face to the cloudy sky. Smelled like snow. It’s impossible to tell someone from Tucson how a person can smell snow. I don’t know if it’s scientific. I just know that I’m rarely wrong. Sure enough, in another few seconds, big flakes began drifting down slowly enough to look more like magic than weather. I stepped back inside the house just long enough to grab a wax coat off the hook by the door.

“Come on,” I said to the dogs. “Let’s go see how things are at the shop.”

They had a rather astounding English olfabulary. It’s a word I made up to mean they can’t speak words, but they can certainly hear and understand. “The shop” was one of the phrases they knew. The two ran out into the lane happily taking turns in a game of pretend chase with breaks for ear nibbling and the canine pièce de résistance - fake growls.

The short walk to the green was exhilarating. The overcast sky was dark enough to make the Yule lights twinkle through the snow, which was coming down harder. Every few seconds, my dogs would stop and gleefully shake white powder off their coats. They were scratching at The Hallows’ door, hoping to get Maggie’s attention, a full minute before I arrived.

Looking at the display windows, I felt bad for telling Keir that Maggie had thrown some stuff haphazardly into the windows. Truth was, I’d guessed at that without knowing what I was talking about. Our Yule display wasn’t as spectacular as it had been when Thunder occupied the space, but it looked pretty darn good. At least festive, which was the point after all.

CHAPTER NINETEEN Everybody is Invited

Evie had arrived at Molly’s early and snagged our favorite table by the fire. Esme and I arrived at the same time and hurried over to greet her.

“Hey. Where’s my granddaughter?” I asked.

“Hey, yourself,” said Evie. “Have I been permanently upstaged by the fruit of my loins?”

I laughed. “Of course not, but the fruit is a big deal.”

Evie smiled. “She is.” As we sat, Evie continued talking. “I can’t bring her because Thorn and Squeaky can’t stand being parted from her. The ruckus they raise just isn’t worth it.”

“Who’s Squeaky?” Esme asked.

“The baby dragon.” Evie rolled her eyes. “We call him Squeaky because, when he vocalizes, he sounds just like a rusty gate hinge.”

“Does that mean Rhiannon can’t leave home? Ever?” I asked. “’Cause there aren’t that many places in the world that advertise ‘unicorns and dragons allowed on the patio’.”

“Not inthisworld,” Evie said. “But we can take the circus most places in our world.”

“Oh. Well, I guess that’s right.”

I stood corrected, confronting the fact that my only child spent the great majority of her time in a different world. One where I couldn’t go without both invitation and escort. It meant there’d never be a question of dropping in without calling first. Not that I would.

I brushed that aside. The three of us were out for a girls’ coffee. Or whatever they were having.

“Unicorn?” Esme blinked at both of us. Apparently, her brain had seized on something said earlier.