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Heather walked hand in hand with her male through the forest. They’d landed at the main house and helped to put gear away, and now they were on their way to their cottage. Heather’s fingers touched her pocket, feeling for the packet of anklets for the hundredth time that night.

The day had been long and challenging, and the night had been so much fun. Heather was exhausted, but one thing bothered her.

“Why didn’t anyone ask us where we’d been?” she asked Graeme.

He looked up at the sky, which was slowly clearing of clouds and filling with stars and didn’t answer right away.

“I dinnae ken,” he said finally. “Mayhap Trevor told everyone it was a secret. I told him before we left what we were about.”

They reached their cottage, and once inside, Heather checked on her lizards right away—they were all fine and sleeping.

Finally, she could finish her business with the gold.

First, she took the two crystals out of her pocket and placed them carefully with her glassblowing equipment. She opened her tool chest, lifted the top tray, and fished out Graeme’s Valentine’s day gift—a ticket for a flying lesson in an antique bi-plane. She put it in her pocket and went into the living room to look around with fresh eyes.

Graeme had told her she would know the proper hiding place for the anklets when she saw it, and that something as small as them would likely be best hidden in or near their home, especially considering the personal nature of them.

Graeme, already dressed in his silk boxers, appeared at the bedroom door.

“I’ll be lying down, but nae sleeping.”

She nodded at him, knowing that was his way of leaving her to her business, but staying available at the same time.

Heather wandered around her house, but nothing was jumping out at her. She went into the bedroom and walked around the bed, thinking the fireplace looked interesting. Graeme, lying on the bed with no blanket, looked at her suddenly, almost startling her.

He sat up and swung his legs over, speaking in ruhi. I remember my dream. I’m to be handing over the keeping of yer pendant to ye.

Really? Heather didn’t even know where her pendant was. Graeme had hidden it after they’d last used it and she hadn’t asked where.

Aye. He stood, crossing the room to the fireplace, his right forearm and hand burning red, then white hot. He knelt to thrust his hand into the stone at the base of the fireplace, and the room filled with an acrid smell. He pulled his hand out, holding a small metal box. He handed it to her, then returned to the bed.

Heather peeked inside the box. The pendant was there, with the dragon on one side and the angel on the other. She closed the box quickly, attempting to guard herself against the swirling emotions the sight of the pendant brought up in her. Now she had two things she had to hide.

She circled the room, looking at everything. The only thing that was interesting to her now was the fireplace. She left the room and circled through the house once more, even pausing in the kitchen. She frowned. Nope, still nothing.

She went back into the bedroom, and suddenly, the fireplace was the only thing she could see. It loomed larger than anything else in the room, making her feel dizzy. She covered her eyes, and when she looked again, the fireplace was normal, but seemed… brighter somehow.

“Is it okay if I hide my pendant in the same place you did?”

“Aye, if it calls to ye.”

Heather crouched there and inspected the rocks Graeme had taken the pendant from. They looked like the rest of the river rocks, and somehow she knew what to do with her hands to make them melt that way—a certain swirling movement would do it.

She cupped the box with her pendant in it, protecting it from heat, while blazing her hand red hot. She stalled out at red hot, unable to reach the same high temperatures as Graeme.

Nae bother, Graeme said, relaxed on his pillow, watching her with hooded eyes. Will still work. Try.

So Heather tried. She pressed her hand to the rock and raised her temperature a few more degrees, focusing with all her will, and the rock softened. She pressed hard and her hand went in two inches. Heather laughed in surprise. Her temperature shot up several hundred degrees and she was able to sink her hand in as deep as her forearm. She spread her fingers in the molten stone and released the box, then pulled her hand out, giving the rock the little twirl and smooth she’d thought of. It cooled quickly, quickly returning to normal.

She turned to look at her mate and he was grinning at her.

Nicely done.

She held up the anklets. Can these stay compressed?

Aye, but only for sixty years. After that, the gold will be less likely to recover its shape, no matter what.

She almost laughed at the absurdity of the number of years, but then she remembered she was in training, and so she repeated the fact to herself several times.

Now I need to find a place to hide these , she thought.

The correct place popped into her mind—just to the right of the pendant. She picked her spot and increased her temperature, this time getting hot enough on the first try. She pressed her hand in, holding the compressed anklets tightly. When she felt she was even with the pendant, she opened her hand and released the anklets, withdrew her hand, then swirled and smoothed the rock.

Another job well done, Graeme said from the bed, his eyes closed, his mental voice soft.

Heather stared at the rocks at the base of her fireplace for a long time, thinking… thinking there was something else she should do. She sat down on the floor, and reached out to touch the rocks where she’d hidden her pendant. They were still warm. She smiled to herself, feeling so good that she’d been able to hide her own pendant the same way Graeme had.

Her belly moved and she dropped a hand to it. “Okay little one,” she said softly. “Let’s get ready for bed.”

She got to her feet. Graeme was asleep, breathing deeply and evenly, his body relaxed. She took his Valentine’s Day gift out of her pocket and put it on the nightstand near him so he would see it when he woke up.

She went to the bathroom and cleaned up, pulling her hair out of the braid, and dropping her clothes in the hamper. The microwave in the kitchen beeped softly, and she realized the generator had shut off, meaning the power was back on. Good.

Heather went to bed and curled up next to her mate. She snuggled into her pillow, and within a few moments, she was asleep.

***

Ella dragged the load of linens to the washer and put it on top for the morning. In the kitchen, she put the last of the food in the fridge, made sure both housecats and the bobcat had food and water, then she did a tour of the house, turning off lights and checking doors.

She’d had such a fun Valentine’s Day, spending the entire day with her new family, and now she had a full house, and a happy heart, two sore feet, and one sore back. She started up the stairs, thinking she’d be lying down soon.

The front door opened and Trevor came in. He met her on the stairs and embraced her, rubbing the small of her back automatically.

Everyone’s eaten, the guard is all good, and Bob, Sharon, and Lillian are all safe, he told her in ruhi.

Good. Crew and Dahlia are set up in the guest bedroom, and Beckett and Cerise are in Troy’s room.

We can go to bed, he said with a kiss and a smile.

Soft lights in the kitchen flickered once, and the generator whirred to a stop.

Trevor grinned. Power’s back.

I wonder if anyone will go home, Ella said.

They stood on the stairs for a few moments, but when all stayed quiet, they started up the stairs hand in hand.

Trevor brushed his teeth then headed to bed while Ella was still taking her makeup off. She washed her face and brushed out her hair, then went to the bed, unable to see anything in the room while her eyes were adjusting. She crawled in next to Trevor, to the safest place in the world, and he snuggled her in close to his body, cupping a hand under her belly, then lazily rubbing her shoulders with the other.

“Love you,” she said.

“Love you,” he said.

Ella closed her eyes, and she fell asleep, dreaming deep dreams of love and life, her heart filled with the promise of tomorrow.