Hatter's Heart - Erin Bedford Page 0,3
smacked me on the arm, making me wince. "Use them."
Not commenting on her boorish actions, I waved slightly at Cheshire before making my way down the steps to start the long trek home.
Chapter 2
Hatter and my's house sat about two miles away from Kat's, a bit away from the street. One of the main aspects I loved about the place was the long walkway up to the Victorian style house. It reminded me of my childhood home. Or what I remembered of it.
We hadn't done much to the house since we acquired it. Hatter - or rather Mercury - had said I could change anything I liked and with magic at our disposal changing the colors of walls or flooring was quite easy and affordable. Magic couldn’t fix the more complicated changes such as knocking down walls and updating the plumbing. That was when my job as representative came in handy.
I had never in my wildest dreams thought I would have a job, let alone my own bank account. I certainly wouldn't have had one had I not fallen into that rabbit hole. Not that I regret it. I missed my family sometimes of course, but I didn't remember them much. I blamed the Seelie Queen for that bit. Being imprisoned for hundreds of years will do things to a person's minds. Even a Fae.
Glancing down at my hand, I pushed magic into my nails, changing the color from a nude to a pretty pale blue. A part of me still expected for my magic to disappear one of these days. I hadn't done much in my life to deserve it and the deal I made to get it had been with the Shadow Man or Moradoc. My part in the whole ordeal was one of the reasons I took the position as representative to make up for all the heartache and pain I caused.
Sighing with a sort of satisfaction that made my feet skip, I went up the walkway. Curiously, the lights were off in the two-story house. My enhanced hearing didn't pick up any sound from inside the house other than the electricity and the air conditioner running.
Had Hatt - Mercury gone out?
Normally, he would tell me if he was going anywhere. As I opened the front door, I pulled my cell phone from my purse. Pressing on the screen, I waited for it to come to life.
No messages or missed calls.
Frowning further, I wandered through the house in search of him. "Mercury?" I peeked my head into his workshop but found his seat at the worktable empty, unfinished hats set aside, and spools of ribbons strewn across the room. If I hadn't known the man, I'd have said there was a struggle, but Mercury's creative process wasn't something I could comprehend.
Some nights he spent hours in his shop and sometimes didn't come out with anything new at all. There were other nights he would have made several different hats for some of his special request clients but seem completely torn by the prospect of parting with them.
I supposed it would be hard to separate from one’s work of art for money. I'd told him before he didn't have to do it, but he insisted on contributing to the household.
"I promised to take care of you, little one." Mercury's smooth voice caressed my ears as if his long nimble fingers were touching me themselves. "Would you make me break my promise?"
Smiling to myself, I walked back through the house to the kitchen. Mercury would come back eventually. He probably just got distracted. He did that sometimes. Phones were a new idea to both of us and while I had to use them on a regular basis Mercury only had me to call.
Residing myself not to worry, I went to work on making myself dinner.
I pulled a wine glass from the cabinet and poured myself a glass of wine. Finding the radio, I turned it on to my favorite station. Reggae. Kat had teased me for my choice in music, but I enjoyed the offbeat rhythms and chords played by the guitars. The slower pace of it was so much less harsh than the pop rock music Kat seemed to enjoy.
My hips swaying to the beat, I found a frozen premade dinner in the ice box. Reading the instructions quickly before popping it into the microwave oven, I set the timer by what it said on the box. Drinking from my glass, I danced around the kitchen to the