Bait N' Witch (Brimstone Inc. #3) - Abigail Owen Page 0,20

way to release it was to squeeze it from her lungs, one long puff of air at a time.

A glance at the clock told her she’d better check on the girls.

They should be in bed already, but she looked in on them every night. Quietly moving through the house, she tried not to notice the light coming from under Grey’s office door. With a quiet click, she checked Lachlyn’s room first, but found the bed empty. A soft murmur of voices came from the last room, a bigger room created to be more of a playroom for the girls. Though they were almost too old to play in there.

Rowan made a mental note to ask Grey if she could convert it into a teen room with things they’d like. Atleigh was a gamer, so a setup in there might be cool. Chloe loved crafts, so maybe a table and drawers filled with things like that. And Lachlyn was the reader of the three. So a nook with shelves and cushions could be just what she’d love.

Rowan paused outside the entrance to the room, frowning at herself. Now how did I know all that about them? It’s hardly been any time at all.

“We should go to bed,” Lachlyn’s voice caught her attention. “Rowan will be up any minute.”

That made her smile. At least she was doing that consistent thing Grey insisted was important.

“If she catches us awake, she’ll probably want to do something like read us a story,” Chloe said.

“Like we’re still little girls.” Rowan couldn’t see them around the corner but could just picture Atleigh’s roll of her eyes.

With a grin and a shake of her head, she popped into the room. “Too late.”

Shocked open mouths gave way to an exchange of dismayed grimaces that only had Rowan chuckling. “Only I think you’ll like my kind of stories.”

“We don’t need a story,” Atleigh tossed off.

Rowan grabbed a cushion and plopped down on it, ignoring the way they moved to get up. “Everyone loves a good story. Don’t worry. This one isn’t for little girls.”

Doubt stared back at her from three sets of aquamarine eyes. Lachlyn dropped back to where she’d been leaning against the wall, arms crossed. “Okay.”

The other two seemed to take their cues from her and settled as well.

Rowan cleared her throat. “This is a little trick my mother taught me before she died. She used to do this for me every night before bed.”

Unimpressed had a look, and it was preteen girls.

“Before I get started, you have to give me a beginning sentence.”

Atleigh rolled her eyes again. “I bet you don’t have good stories.”

“Try me.”

The girl narrowed her eyes. Then gave a pouting shrug that would give a diva a run for her money. “Fine.” She took an exaggerated breath. “There was a girl misnamed Hope, who…” She left the sentence dangling.

Rowan smiled, then lifted her palm and manifested a small glowing light there. With a whisper of a spell, the glow took the form of a small girl with long blonde hair looking into a pond.

All three girls sat forward, eyes wide.

“Hope guarded a pond deep in the forest into which she poured her own tears. For she’d been gifted with the ability to cure anyone if they drank of the pond of tears.”

The glowing form in her palm leaned forward to blink tears into the pond, the surface rippling with each precious drop.

“Only no one had found her in so long, Hope couldn’t stand the loneliness. She had no idea what was happening in the world around her. So one day…”

The glowing figure wiped her face and got to her feet.

“…she decided to leave her pond and her forest.”

The girls each sat forward now, gazes raptly watching the figure in the woods, the glow casting dancing colors on the walls all around them.

She was taking a risk, revealing this small ability. But it was one that didn’t require much power, and if it meant finding a way to connect with these girls…worth it.

“What happens next?” Chloe whispered.

Rowan smiled. “That depends on you. I need another line.”

…

The late-night tea with Rowan had been a mistake.

He was still clear about that with himself. Keeping a professional distance with her was important for the employee/employer relationship.

But he was starting to realize what having her here could mean for his girls. Greyson stood in the hallway outside the playroom, leaning against the wall, chin to his chest. He watched the play of light on the walls coming from the