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She fought for as long as she could before he reached over and lifted her head with a press of his fingertips to her chin.

“Hey. I know this is not what you expected when you woke up this morning, but this is the situation we find ourselves in. You’ve been tasked with getting the magic back up and running.”

“But I don’t have that kind of power!” she interjected, the panic rearing again.

“I know you don’t think you can do this, but you don’t have to be alone.”

“Yeah? Do you know another witch?”

He winced before shaking his head. “You’d be the first one I meet, actually.”

She snorted. “That you know of. We’re really good at hiding who we are.” She winced, realizing what she had just said. Now Cohen would know that she was indeed hiding things.

“Alana,” he spoke her name so softly, she barely heard it. He gently took her arm and spun her around so he could look into her eyes. “I don’t know you very well. I have always let my distrust of witches get in the way of being kind. I am sorry for that.”

“You’re just saying that now because you heard Mrs. Francis talk about my past. I know you, Cohen. You’re a sheriff, for fuck’s sake. You don't mind me so much now that you see me as a damsel in distress. But I don’t need you to save me, okay? I’m the same witch I was before.”

“I know,” he replied. “But you’re wrong, you know. I do not see you as a damsel in distress, and I never have. There is nothing about you that screams distress. It’s actually the opposite. You give off this energy like you don’t need anything or anyone.”

She pursed her lips. “Being the only remaining witch in Half Moon Key isn’t easy.”

“It’s lonely,” he amended, somehow sensing what she wouldn’t say.

She gave a curt nod. “Yeah.”

“Well, then, what can I do to help with this plan of yours?”

“I don’t actually have a plan. I knew they were going to task me with fixing it, so I just figured if I pretended to have an idea, then they would have to believe me later when I said it wouldn’t work. They’ll have to believe me when I tell them I can’t help them anymore.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course!”

“But have you tried?”

Alana narrowed her eyes at him. “No.”

He shrugged. “Well, then, how can you know you can’t doanything?”

“Because I am not as powerful as my grandmother and mother. And they needed to work together to keep it going. I can’t do it without them. There’s no way.”

“Perhaps not, but that doesn’t mean we can’t figure this out.Together.” Either he put emphasis on that last word, or Alana was losing her mind. He wasn’t done. “If we try everything we can think of together, then the council will have to go in a different direction than magic.”

“Oh,” her anger decreased, lowering her shoulders with it. “I didn’t think of it that way. That’s actually a good plan. Thanks, Cohen. For the support and trust.” It was weird to say those words to the sheriff, but Alana meant them.

She also could feel his support and trust. It wasn’t a bad feeling.

In fact, it was so refreshing that she checked to see if she had left a window open.

“Good thing you already established a truce, then, huh? You’re full of good ideas, so don’t sell yourself short.”

Alana took a deep breath. “Cohen, there’s something we need to discuss before we start working again. Okay?”

He swallowed hard. “Okay.”

“We cannot keep this up. This hot and cold. I can’t take it. All of my energy has to be for the town. I might not believe I can do it, but I still have to give it my all.”

“What are you saying, Alana?”