loved, right now those high-pitched barks felt like ice picks in my brain. I scooped Baxter up and he tried to lick me, then he stopped cold at the strange antiseptic smells and gave me a curious look. I cuddled him close as Maggie bustled up.
“Oh my goodness,” she said shaking her head. “You are a hot mess.”
“Bed,” I managed. After the ride with Teag, I was talked out, and totally exhausted.
“Good heavens, go right ahead,” Maggie said, overflowing with maternal concern. I noticed that she was dressed in a pair of classic men’s-style linen PJs with a terrycloth robe over the top. “I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about taking the stairs, so I made a bed for you on the couch. Teag got your roll-away out of the guest room, and set it up for me in the dining room. That way, if you need anything I can hear you.”
I hugged Baxter, looked at Maggie with her crutches and then looked back to Teag and felt overwhelmed at my good fortune. “You are both the absolute best,” I said, trying not to tear up because I knew it would make my headache worse.
“Get some sleep,” Teag said. “Don’t worry about the store tomorrow, either of you. I can handle it myself.”
“Thank you both so much,” I said, suddenly too weary to stay awake. I noticed that someone had set out my pajamas on the couch, and I headed into the bathroom to change while Teag and Maggie conspired near the front door. On one hand, it tweaked my pride to need help. On the other, I was exhausted and in pain, and couldn’t do for myself. I decided to leave off thinking about it until tomorrow. Teag was gone by the time I came out of the bathroom.
“Do you want a cup of hot chocolate? Or tea?” Maggie asked. “Bourbon, maybe?” I remembered that she had children and grandchildren. Mothering seemed to come naturally to her. I managed a wan smile.
“No thanks. Just bed.”
“You go ahead and get comfortable,” Maggie said, bustling around despite her crutches. “I’ll make sure all the doors are locked and turn out the lights.”
I was too tired to argue. Every muscle and joint hurt as I eased myself onto the couch and lifted Baxter up to nestle in to the bend of my knees. I was home. I was safe. I was among friends.
Just in case, I made sure that my athame and the walking stick were within reach.
I INSISTED ON going in to the store around noon the next day, and Maggie refused to let me come by myself, so we drove together in the rental car Teag had arranged. Fortunately, things were quiet, and both of us could spend the afternoon seated behind the counter. That was good, since we were still recuperating.
“If you feel up to it, Anthony wanted me to invite you over for dinner tomorrow night,” Teag said after we closed up at the end of the day and Maggie had gone. “Nothing fancy,” he added. “He’s planning to pick up take-out, but he said he’s found out a couple of things and he wanted to tell you about them. Oh, and I did talk to Sorren. He was really worried about you but he knew Maggie was at your house, so he grilled me on the details and gave me strict orders for both of us to take full precautions. He said we’re not to go anywhere without our ‘tools’. He’s really upset, Cassidy. I’ve never heard him so distracted. But on the Boston situation, he did say the other guy is going to pull through and that he’d connect with us as soon as he possibly could.”
I felt chills down my spine. Sorren was our rock and to think of him being rattled was more than a little disconcerting – but then he’d just lost a friend and seen others he’d known for years get hurt. That’s when I remembered my promise to Kell.
“What are you doing tonight?” I asked. “Valerie wants me to go on one of her ghost tours to see the kind of weird stuff that’s going on, and then Kell wants us to go through a haunted house where he found some more weird stuff.” I sighed. “And I also told Kell that I’d see if I could find some kind of charms to protect the ghosts that are causing his people so much trouble.”