life has been a set of alternative facts.” Before the dialogue devolved into more handwringing, I rushed to say, “And there’s good news for you.”
“What?”
“Well, I’ve come into a little bit of money. Enough to pay for grad school and living expenses.”
I didn’t have to be with her in person to know that her mood had brightened instantly.
“Really?” she said.
“Yeah. You can stay in school for the rest of your life if you want.”
“Wow, Mom! That’s amazing!” She sounded like she’d won the lottery and, as a born academic, I guess in a sense she had. “So, I really don’t need to worry about you?”
“You really don’t need to worry about me,” I repeated.
“I want to come and see for myself. Christmas break?”
“We have lots of time to plan.” I was proud of that dodge and knew there was a chance she’d have things come up and forget all about it.
“Send pictures?”
“I will. I’m off to bed and reading.”
“Kinda early for bed.”
“It’s a lot later here,” I said defensively. “And there’s the part about reading.”
“Okay. Nighty night.”
“Night.”
“Mom.”
“Yes?”
“Are you really gonna be okay?”
“I’m really gonna be better than ever. Promise and a butterfly kiss.”
She giggled like she was eight.
I sent a newsy email to the few other people who would miss me, carefully avoiding naming the town that was my new home, warmed up my tea, and headed upstairs. I didn’t have a huge social life because Cole had made a point of using up whatever free time I might’ve had. He left me lists of things to do for him when I wasn’t working. The longer I’m away from that incarnation of myself, the more I wonder why I went along with it.
The fact that I felt excited about reading journals was the best indication I could have that I was in the right place, at the right time, doing the right thing.
As I opened the journal du jour, my mind drifted to a certain green-eyed Adonis with flawless, golden skin and a bio that placed him as already old when the Crusades began.
CHAPTER SEVEN Juggernauts and Jabberwocky
The next morning when I arrived at the proposed site of my new house, I found Keir already there and waiting in the empty field that I’d soon be calling home.
“Hey! What are you doing here?”
“Big day,” he said. “I wanted to share it. You don’t mind?”
“Of course not. I’m glad you’re here.”
“I have an ulterior motive.”
“That thing about your own room.”
“That,” he confirmed, “and wanting to see your reactions.”
What a heartbreaker he was. “That’s nice.”
“I love it when you wear that shawl. It makes your eyes look like…”
“What?”
“Magic.”
“Huh.”
I saw Lochlan emerge from his house at the same time I saw the dogs jump the fence and come bounding toward us. They wiggled and wagged and turned in circles for me like always, but gave Keir nothing more than a watchful eye.
“Are they afraid of you?”
He nodded slightly. “Very likely.”
“I see what you mean about becoming part of the package deal.”
“Package deal?” Lochlan said. “What’s that?”
I grinned. “We’re talking about the puppies.”
“Magistrate.” I couldn’t help but notice that he used my formal title. “This is the contractor.” Lochlan gestured toward the fae queen, a blonde so flawlessly beautiful she looked like she’d been airbrushed. No discernible makeup. She was simply perfect without it. Though she gave the impression of someone who’d be completely at home in long, flowing robes, she wore a nubby hemp caftan over jeans and boots. Her hair was set in a complicated do of braids, wisps, and tendrils. As a final touch, she had pale blue eyes that twinkled even in broad daylight. “Maeve.”
Ignoring me altogether, she looked at Keir in a way that suggested previous carnal knowledge. I hated her.
“Keir Culain,” she said. “You’re as beautiful as the day I made you.”
Made him? I loved her.
He smiled and put a claiming arm around me like he was presenting me in the oddest version of a meet-the-parents moment.
“This is Rita Hayworth.”
It was clear that she had to drag her attention away from Keir. No doubt he was the cover page of her portfolio. She nodded to me in a formal way that suggested a slight bow. It made me eager to adjust the tone and get off on a more contemporary footing.
“Hi,” I said.
There was a flicker of surprise in her reaction. Perhaps she’d never met a human, much less an American human. Perhaps no one had ever addressed her so casually. But she gathered herself and returned my