Page 85 of When the Woods Go Silent

I didn’t have my phone or even my bear spray with me. Thanking my guardian angels for watching over my dumb ass again, I jog up the porch steps and slide breathlessly behind the counter just as Rose comes clattering downstairs, pushing her glasses up her nose and clutching her laptop to her chest.

“Everything okay?” I ask, immediately sensing that something is still off with her. Were she and Kier talking about Torrence and me?

“Sure. You? Wait, why are you sweaty?” She dodges the question and peers at me, and I feel my cheeks flush even more. Crap.

“I uh, was putting the sign out, and I thought I saw something. In the woods. It was nothing, though,” I add quickly, really not in the mood to tell her what a dummy I was being.

Rose worries her bottom lip, which is a sure sign she wants to tell me something but isn’t ready yet. I could try every trick in the book, but when she gets that expression, she won’t give in until she’s good and ready.

“So, boys are annoying when they’re real,” she says after a long minute of nervous silence, setting the laptop on the counter and sliding onto the high-backed stool. I sigh in relief, leaning my head against her shoulder and smiling. Thank goodness she doesn’t want to press me any further on all the weirdness. The day’s barely started, and I’m already done with it.

“Very, very annoying. Let’s stick with the fictional men today.”

“That sounds perfect,” she says softly, leaning her head down until it rests on top of mine. We stay in that position of bestie comfort for several minutes, soaking in each other’s energies, until the jingle of the shop door yanks us apart. Customers!

“Welcome toUnder the Covers, where your reads always come first,” I call to the older couple, and Rose grins at me, shaking her head as I test out another slogan.

“Go get those sales,” she whispers, and I wink at her before heading over to help them find some books they can’t live without.

Thank the Goddess for books and my bestie, and may She help me forget all about the annoying men in my life.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

ROSE

“So, tell me about this tall, handsome ginger,” Ruby says, cornering me with a grin later in the afternoon during a lull in customers.

Even though we’re still in the soft-opening phase, we’ve had a surprisingly busy day, and the excitement of making sales has washed away the negative start to our morning. Well, some of it, anyway. I’ve succeeded in blocking Kier’s confession of magic out of my mind until just now, when Ruby asks for the gossip.

What would she do if I spilled the hottest tea I’ve ever had?

Kier’s warning is the only thing stopping me from telling her absolutely everything, but once I hear the rest of his explanation tonight, I’m absolutely not promising anything. Ruby’s safety is worth everything to me, but he doesn’t get to decide how to protect her. For now, though, I decide to answer her with the sanitized version.

“Kier isn’t local, but he travels here for business a lot. Security, whatever that means. He reads smut,” I add, and Ruby pretends to swoon against the bookshelf.

“And has he picked up a few tips from the fictional men?” she teases me.

“Well, he has the whole pin-me-against-the-bookshelf technique down.” I laugh as she gasps and nudges my shoulder.

“Look at Rosey, getting all the hot guys.”

“And no biting,” I say, my laugh dying away when she flinches, her hand going suddenly to her neck. My eyes narrow. “What is it? Did something happen?”

“Um, I didn’t want to say anything. I don’t want you to be, you know. Mama bear.” Ruby grimaces up at me with a bit of guilt, and I frown back before slapping both palms across my mouth playfully. I know I tend to be overprotective, and this time she smiles at my silent promise to be, well, silent.

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