Page 15

GIDEON

T rigger takes to Winnow like shit to a shoe. “Get over here.”

Trigger ignores me, dancing in place, tail wagging furiously as Winnow plasters herself against the front door where he’s cornered her.

“He don’t bite.”

Winnow’s eyes lift from him to me, and I feel a palpable current of electricity flow between us. It’s mildly unsettling.

Even so, a voice in the back of my mind urges me to offer her tea or something. Striding to the kitchen, I hear Winnow mutter something in a language I can’t understand, but I have the feeling it is a prayer, and for some reason, the sound makes the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

I sneak a glance to see her offering a trembling hand to Trigger to sniff, and he greedily accepts by licking slobber all over her.

My eyes narrow, squeezing shut and opening repeatedly when I fucking swear on everything that’s holy, I see a soft golden light radiating from her hand, but it quickly dims and disappears, leaving me to wonder if I’m hallucinating.

Jesus, I’m just as bad as Harlan.

I stare down at my kitchen counter—raw-edged wood that I restored and lacquered myself—trying to quell the uneasy sensation churning in my gut.

Wondering what the shit I came to my kitchen for in the first place, my eyes land on the ceramic canister containing my homemade tea blend, all from herbs grown in my garden outback—lavender, mallow, dried apple, and chamomile.

“You want some tea or somethin’?”

Hesitating to dare a look back at her, afraid of what sorcery I’ll find, it’s the light and somewhat raspy song of her laughter that finally returns my gaze to her.

Still clutching the blanket around herself with one hand, she’s kneeling in front of Trigger, who’s taken to licking her face and neck, making her squirm as she giggles and strokes over his head and neck.

Something squeezes painfully tight in my chest, drawing my hand to the scarred expanse to knead it out.

She’s so focused on my dog that she doesn’t even hear me, which only intensifies the unfamiliar sensation.

“Winnow.”

Her eyes snap to mine.

“You want some tea or… water?”

I don’t have anything else here other than coffee, and it’s nearly my bedtime. I live the life of a paw-paw, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Could I have a bath first?”

Jesus, I’m an idiot. She’s covered in mud and blood.

I turn toward the hall to my bedroom, whistling to Trigger, and it’s followed by the sound of his claws clicking against the hardwood floors as he runs to my side. “Bathroom’s just back here.”