Starlight Web (Moonshadow Bay #1) - Yasmine Galenorn Page 0,11

captivated me. The color of spring leaves, they glittered like gems, and the crow lines at the edges of his eyes told me he had a few years on him. His features were angular, almost chiseled. He was sturdy—muscled and firm—and my imagination lingered, thinking about what his chest and abs must look like beneath the sweater he was wearing. Over the sweater, he wore a black leather jacket, and I noticed that he was wearing a pair of motorcycle boots. All in all, my new neighbor was smoking hot.

“Is everything all right?” he asked. It occurred to me that I had been studying his looks for a good minute or two without speaking.

Again, I blushed. “I’m sorry. I was just…spacing out. I’ve had a long day and it’s the end of a very long few months. I’m not at my best right now.”

He leaned back, crossing one leg over his other knee as he gave me a nod. “I get it. I’m sorry I bothered you tonight, truly. You look tired.”

Crap. I wasn’t sure how to take that, except it had never been a compliment.

“I am,” I muttered. “I just got home last night and I’ve spent all day unpacking. My aunt and Ari helped me, but you know how it is. Even when you want to move, it takes a toll on you.”

“And you didn’t want to move?”

I paused, trying to think of a good way to answer that. “I was ready to, by the time I left.” I wasn’t about to regurgitate the mess with Ellison or the months-long acrimonious divorce. “Let’s just say, it wasn’t my idea to begin with but now I’m glad to be back in town. So, where are you from?”

He shrugged. “I’m coming in from California. I’m a veterinarian, and I worked in Southern California until the fires destroyed the town. My house burned down, my business burned to the ground, and I lost everything. A client once mentioned Moonshadow Bay and the name stuck in my mind. I decided rather than rebuild—because with the way things are, the area will just burn again—I’d take a look up and down the coast for a place to live. I visited several towns in Oregon and Washington, but once I arrived in Moonshadow Bay, I knew this was the place for me. And it seems that one of the vets in town is retiring, so I bought out his business.”

He ran out of breath just as Ari returned, a cup of salt along with mugs of hot cocoa and a package of Candy Cane Oreos on a tray.

“Here we go, Oreos for the hungry and footsore. And hot cocoa, fresh made.” She set the tray down on the coffee table and handed us each a mug. I recognized them from my mother’s holiday Spode collection.

“You found her holiday dishes,” I murmured.

“I remembered how much you loved them. Every Yule, you’d beg her to make us hot chocolate. And she would, using these, along with homemade cookies.” Ari handed me a saucer with several Oreos on it.

I teared up, staring at the mug, my heart still sore. My mother had worked all her life, but she had always managed to make time for special occasions. The china had been passed down to her from my grandmother. And now, it was mine. As the hot cocoa hit my tongue, I turned to Killian, feeling slightly teary-eyed.

“I’m sorry about your house and your business. That must have been terrifying.” To Ari, I added, “Killian’s a vet—a veterinarian. He lost his business and home to the California wildfires.”

Killian stared into his cocoa. “Thank you. It was difficult. It’s hard to be uprooted from everything you know. It’s hard to lose everything you worked for.”

“I understand that all too well.” I paused, then turned to Ari. “So you found the salt?”

She nodded, glancing at Killian. “Do you mind telling us what you’re doing with the salt? Are you brining a chicken or something?”

He laughed. “No, I just needed to cleanse the space and while I could go out and, hopefully, find an all-night grocery, I’m too tired. So I thought I’d come over, introduce myself, and see if you had some. My mother taught me to always cleanse a house before you move in, but I didn’t have the opportunity, and there is some pretty murky energy there. I’ve got distilled water, but I didn’t have the salt. I’m going to make a spray and just douse the corners