Page 17 of Spellbound

“But that bridge was perfectly fine last night. I went for a walk before bed and stood on it listening to the creek for a while. What the fuck?”

“My pants and shoes are wet,” I said, laughing a little breathlessly now that it was all over. “Think my grandma would believe a heavy dew? I hate to scare her.”

I thought he’d laugh, but he didn’t even crack a smile and immediately, he stood up and hauled me up to my feet beside him. Even after I was up, he kept his arm around my waist, and I admit I may have leaned on him a little harder than I strictly needed to. I was still shaking pretty badly.

Another shout came from the house. “What are you boys doing down there?”

It was my grandma, and I quickly turned to Ben. “Don’t say I almost fell in the water. We’ll never hear the end of it.”

“Don’t be silly. We have to tell them, Ash. Rosalyn needs to get someone out here to fix this, and we need to put up a warning sign in the meantime.”

I sighed and agreed. Very reluctantly. He kept his arm around my waist, saying, “Lean on me. I think I saw your cane down there in the rocks. I’ll go see if I can find it once I get you to the house, and if I can’t, I’ll find something else for you to use.”

I nodded, just letting him take charge. I was beginning to feel queasy and a little sick.

Ten minutes later, I was sitting at the antique wooden table in the kitchen with my grandma beside me, and I was feeling nauseated, though I was trying to power through it.

I had a steaming mug of tea in front of me, though I hated the stuff, and I was sipping mine while my grandma was still chattering excitedly on about the accident and how lucky I was not to have been hurt.

Rosalyn was taking breakfast pastries out of the oven and murmuring agreement when she could get a word in edgewise.

“You were just so lucky not to have been hurt, honey,” Gran was saying, leaning over to pat me again. “Imagine those planks giving way like that! Do you think they rotted?”

“They must have,” Rosalyn said. “And I can’t apologize enough. I never go down there much, and I had no idea that bridge was in such poor shape.”

“It wasn’t,” came a voice from the doorway. It was Ben, who had followed us in, and he looked angry and slightly out of breath. He had my cane in his hand.

“What?” Rosalyn said, turning from the stove. “What do you mean?”

Ignoring her question, he glanced over at me instead. “You need to go up and take a hot shower.”

“I already did when I first got up.” I was a little surprised to find my voice was weak and trembly sounding.

“That was before your accident. Go take another one. In case nobody has noticed yet, you’re in shock.”

“I-I am? But I feel fine.”

“I think we both know that’s not true. Now go upstairs, or I can take you and put you in the shower myself.”

I got to my feet, feeling shaky. What the hell?

I hadn’t fallen in the damn creek. Why was I reacting like this?

And why was he being so bossy? Not that he wasn’t always bossy, but he looked a little angry now too.

Was that because of me and what had almost happened?

I thought it was. I decided to humor him after all, and slowly I began walking toward the stairs, taking my cane as I passed him.

He fell in beside me and took my arm to accompany me all the way, and I turned to look at him before I started up.

“You would have fallen in that creek, Ash, which isn’t that deep, so it would have broken your leg again at the least. Or you could have hit those rocks and either way you would have reinjured yourself, but you saved yourself with your magic.

You stopped in midair and floated right back up to the bridge. I saw the whole thing from the porch.”

“No, that’s—that’s crazy. It can’t be right.”

“We both know it is right. Though how your magic broke through the binding is a mystery. Now go take your shower and make it a hot one. Once you get out and dry off, come back down and have something warm to drink and eat.”

I gave him a little smartass salute. “Aye aye, sir.”

“Go. See you in a few minutes.”

I went, grumbling just a little. I got to my room and saw the grass stains and the wetness going from my knees to my shoes, so it was probably a really good idea to change and get warm.

My shoes were ruined. The shower helped me a lot, and I hadn’t realized how shaky I’d been feeling since I’d almost fell.

I dismissed what he’d said about me using magic though.

That wasn’t possible, and I didn’t know why he was making shit up.

I didn’t know how I saved myself, but I’d think about that later.

When I came back in the kitchen, all three of them were there, drinking coffee.

The kitchen, like that bathroom in my room, had undergone some expensive renovations at some point too, with more granite countertops and a big kitchen island.

Everyone looked up quickly and stared as I came in, breaking off their conversation.

I got that feeling you get when you just know you’ve interrupted a conversation that had been all about you.

“Are you okay, Ash?” Ben asked, and there was that shortening of my name again. I had to admit I didn’t mind too much when he did it. “Come in and have some more tea and something to eat. Rosalyn made some pastries this morning.”

“Unless you’d rather have eggs?” Rosalyn asked. “I have some apple butter I put up last fall, too, and some fresh pork sausage. Or I can make you some toast.” Rosalyn got to her feet. She seemed nervous, and I smiled at her, trying to put her at ease.

“No, please don’t go to any more trouble on my account.

Pastries sound great.” And they smelled wonderful too.

Now that I was inside the kitchen, the smell of the fresh baked goods was mouthwatering.

She went over to pour me a cup of hot water and added a tea bag and some sugar.

She went back for the tray of frosted cinnamon rolls to put that on the table too.

“There’s cream there if you want some.”

“Thank you,” I said, reaching for the little cream pitcher. Anything to help disguise the taste of the tea.

“Asher, I can’t apologize enough for that bridge,” Rosalyn said, her voice unsteady. “When I think of you falling onto those rocks…”

“How are you feeling?” Ben interrupted, and I let myself glance over at him.

I hadn’t noticed earlier, but he looked amazing, as usual, wearing faded jeans and a well-worn, black sweater.

He had shaved since the night before, and I could smell that musky, woodsy cologne again, though it wasn’t too strong.

I guess I was sensitive to it. He must have kept a change of clothes there in his old room.

A tiny bit of dark chest hair was peeping from the neckline of his shirt, and the sight of it made something inside me feel a little weak.

“Rosalyn’s famous for her cinnamon rolls,” my grandma said. “But be careful. They’re habit forming.”

I could feel the heat in my face from looking at Ben and hoped I wasn’t blushing. I don’t know why I should have been, but I seemed to do that a lot around Ben.

“I’m sorry I flaked out on everybody last night. I guess I was more tired than I thought. I don’t even remember going to bed.”

Ben didn’t reply as Rosalyn refilled his cup with coffee.

“I’ll talk to someone about repairing the bridge, Rosalyn,” Ben said. “I’d do it myself, but I don’t have the time right now, and it needs to be fixed before anything else happens.”

“Thank you, Ben. Tell him to be sure and use treated wood this time. We shouldn’t have to keep replacing it, and it’s not that old.”

“No, it’s not. But those boards weren’t rotted, like I said.”

“But then what on earth happened?” Rosalyn asked.

“Someone weakened the boards with magic. That’s why they broke the minute anyone put their weight on them this morning.”

“What? Oh no, you must be mistaken!”

“I wish I was. Have you made someone angry at you lately, Ros? Someone who might want some revenge?”

“Well, certainly not. Not that I know of, anyway.”

He nodded. “I’ll look into it.”

“Or you can just call the sheriff’s office, and they can come out and take a report.

I can’t imagine it was anything more than some kind of prank or some kids fooling around out there when I wasn’t home.

” She turned toward my grandma and shrugged.

“I’m gone for hours sometimes when my ladies’ group and I volunteer over at the nursing home.

We go over there and paint the ladies’ nails or do their makeup.

We do crafts with them too or read to them.

Janet, you’ll have to come with me sometime. It’s so rewarding.”

Ben interrupted my grandma before she could answer.

“This wasn’t any kids playing a prank,” he said, his voice loud and harsh and cutting right through their chatter.

“I was on that bridge just last evening and it was fine. So, I believe it happened between then and the time Asher stepped onto it. I think this is magistrate business. Someone tried to deliberately hurt one of us, or considering Asher’s injuries, maybe even try to kill him. ”

“B-but who would do something like that?” I cut in.

“Besides, anyone could have used that bridge. If that had been my grandma or Rosalyn out there this morning, they could have been badly hurt or even killed. No one could know it would be me. Maybe Rosalyn is right, and you should report this to the sheriff. I think you’re right about this being deliberate though.

This was far from being any kind of prank. ”