Page 83 of Fresh Old Bounties

“Oomph.”

I lost my hold, and he used the opportunity to push me aside and break out in a full-on run.

Not three seconds later, Ian leaped over me to give chase.

I wanted to get up and go after them. I really did. But all I could do was lie there on my back, staring at the dark sky and breathing hard.

I seriously needed to restock on freezing potions.

A few minutes later, Dru appeared in my field of vision.

She looked down at me, hands on her hips. “Got the shit beat out of you, did you?”

“Almost.”

“I guess you tried.”

“It’s all in the attitude,” I agreed. I held out a hand, and she helped me get to my feet. Then right back down onto my butt. “Oops.” I gestured weakly toward the path. “You go see if Ian needs help. I’ll guard the house.”

Dru said nothing but set off in an easy lope that made me wonder if she was a habitual runner.

Eventually, I managed to get back to my feet and make my way to the house. Ian and Dru were nowhere to be seen, so I went in through the back door, switched on the lights, and cleaned up the broken glass. Then I sat at the big kitchen table, leaned my head on my arms, and waited for the cavalry to return.

Ian nudged me awake some time later. I sat up straight with a jolt, my pulse pounding in my throat as I searched my surroundings.

Ian’s kitchen. Ian standing by my side.

“Mystery Man?” I croaked.

“Got away,” he said. After another squeeze of my shoulder, he opened a cupboard and took a couple of cans of pasta out. “Coffee?”

“Soda, if you have.”

I rubbed my eyes and watched him start the coffeemaker, then open the cans and pour them into a pot, which he set to heat on the stove.

A small whine brought my attention down. Fluffy hovered by my chair, peering up anxiously.

“Fluffy!” I brought her up onto my lap and gave her a big hug. A scratch of nails against hardwood announced Rufus’s entrance from the living room. “I’m sorry. I fell asleep. I meant to stand guard in case someone else came by.”

“Thank you.”

Fluffy squirmed, and I allowed her down. She went to her bowl and lapped some water.

“How did you get the dogs here?” I asked. Last I’d seen them, they had been given free rein in my backyard.

“We picked them up before I dropped Dru home.”

I scanned the kitchen, the dark world outside the windows, and the beam of light from the kitchen’s ceiling fixtures extending into the shadowed living room. “No strays?”

Ian set a can of my favorite brand of diet soda and a bowl filled with canned pasta in front of me.

“What? No handmade cooking? No strays to watch over me and no handmade cooking. Oh, how far my star has fallen!” I said theatrically, then leaned in as he sat by my side. “It was the magic, right? My poor ward wasn’t up to your standards.”

He snorted. “I assumed you’d rather eat now than wait an hour for me to make food.”

“Excellent point.” I dug into the pasta with relish. It was good.

Then again, after using my magic, everything always tasted good.

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