Page 25 of Highballs & Hexes

“Do you know where my girlfriend is, ya wee Beastie?”

She laughed.

Frowning, Noah checked the others’ responses before looking down at her. “Sure, and what’s the craic?”

“You called me ‘wee Beastie’ just like Ronan. He’s a special Guardian for Baby Nate and me.”

“And what am I? Chopped liver?” Dubheasa asked with a laughing glance toward her mate.

“What can I say, Dove? The wee Beastie loves me best,” Ronan quipped.

“Pfft.”

Noah had been around many who displayed close familial ties and friendships, but other than Fi, he’d not experienced a true connection. He’d been a fool to ignore what she’d offered,and all because he’d been terrified she was the one person who could break down his protective walls.

Yet standing in front of him, refusing to let go of him, was another pint-sized female with a similar openness, taking a battering ram to those same walls. Both were making progress in their demolition efforts.

“Fi isn’t your girlfriend, Uncle Noah.”

“I won’t quibble over semantics,” he said with a half shrug, wishing he could punch himself in the face for letting everyone know how he felt about Fi. Taking the proverbial bull by the horns, he added, “She will be when I find her again, all the same.”

The extremely skeptical look from a child, like the one Sabrina was gracing him with, was disturbing. No one wanted to be called out on their shite.

“Fine. What is it you think ya know, wee Beastie?” he growled.

She cast her father a sly glance before shrugging. “I’m not allowed to tell.”

Damian laughed, damn him!

“And here I was beginning to like ya,” Noah muttered.

Sabrina’s tinkling laughter was as pure as church bells and highly contagious, though he refused to give into it.

No one else had the same problem.

Patrick and Fispent the rest of the day together, sharing the highlights from their lives. Their stories were outrageous and the laughter plentiful, despite the situation. She silently admired his casual pose, with one leg outstretched and a sinewy forearm draped over the raised knee of the other. His eyes leaned moretoward emerald today, and Fi could only assume his mood wasn’t as dark as when he’d shown up on her doorstep. It could be argued he’d found meeting her family less preferable to incarceration, but she wouldn’t go there.

When he bit into an apple with his straight white teeth, the juice settled on his lower lip, begging her to lean forward and lick it off. She checked the urge and glanced down at their lunch. Once again, it had appeared when she was dozing, and she could only assume there was a camera in the room, monitoring their movements, although she could detect no sign of it.

“Tell me about your parents,” he encouraged. “Why does your dad drink so much?”

“We’re Irish, or have you forgotten?”

He grinned. “Sure, and we all love a pint or two, but your da was well into his cups.”

Fi sighed. “We lost my little brother, Jimmy, when he was just ten. It made Mam overprotective and Da an alcoholic.”

“I’m sorry, love.”

The truth was, although all witches possessed abilities and, to some extent, healing magic, the Goddess had her reasons for taking a soul early. Of course, the Bohannons hadn’t been privy to that reason, and they missed young Jimmy something fierce.

“It’s why I’m determined to escape here and find Tadhg,” she told him. “They deserve better than to lose any more children.”

Patrick’s expression bordered on tender. “You’ll make good your escape.”

“It’s difficult to do when the bars will cook our arses if touched.” She sighed her frustration. “If only we could get an idea of who’s behind this, we could formulate a plan.”

With a frown and a considering glance around the room, he stood. He approached the cell door, stopping a few feet away, then tossed the apple core against the bars. Although the airaround them sizzled and snapped, the fruit remains were intact with no charing or marks of any kind.

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