Page 47

I chuckled. “It’s pretty clear to me that Kagan wants you just as you are.

” I grabbed the pretty lime green verbena bath salts.

“Throw some of this in there,” I said. “It will make the entire room, and you, smell like heaven. Might even encourage you to drift off for a well-deserved bath nap.” She looked dubious.

“House!” I said. “Keep the bath water at this temperature unless Esmerelda tells you to change it.”

“You just gave me the keys to the house?”

I laughed. “Not a chance. You have a temporary key to the bath water. I’m going to get Kagan some tea and something to eat. He could probably benefit from the same bath treatment, but I’m not going to suggest it.”

“Where’s Keir?”

“At Evie’s. Running a clandestine errand. But he promised to share every detail when he gets home.”

The sight that greeted me in the kitchen made me not only pull up, but take a step back.

Frey was sitting in Kagan’s lap. It was awkward, but neither of them seemed to mind.

Neither of my pups had ever attempted to crawl into someone’s lap.

They were near-grown Border Collies. I had no explanation.

Only the conjecture that Frey recognized Kagan as exhausted or heroic or both.

In any case, she seemed to think he needed a hug.

“If you don’t want her in your lap, Kagan…”

“She’s fine, Rita.”

“I didn’t know you were fond of dogs.”

“I would no’ say that in general, but Fen and Frey? They’re no’ really dogs.”

Couldn’t help but smile like the proud dog-mom I was. I turned my back to set the kettle on the burner that had somehow become the designated water boiler.

“How hungry are you?” I asked.

“Fair to middlin’.”

Opening the fridge, I said, “Well, let’s see. Got some leftover Turkish wraps. A fruit plate. I think there’s everything I’d need to make a mile-high deli sandwich.” I looked over at the cookie jar. “I think Keir would forgive me if I shared his bacon jar.”

Kagan’s head jerked toward the counter. “Bacon?”

The way his eyes lit up, I knew I had a winner. No need to add to the list of possibilities. I shut the refrigerator, then put a plate, a napkin, and a cookie jar full of freshly grilled bacon in front of him.

“Do you want to talk about it?” He shook his head. “Was it awful?”

He stopped chewing. “Could’ve been leagues worse.”

“Do you know what Keir is doing?”

“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 the lane 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.