Page 19 of Spellbound
“I-I am? But I feel fine.”
“I think we both know that’s not true. Now go upstairs, or I can take you and put you in the shower myself.”
I got to my feet, feeling shaky. What the hell? I hadn’t fallen in the damn creek. Why was I reacting like this? And why was he being so bossy? Not that he wasn’t always bossy, but he looked a little angry now too. Was that because of me and what had almost happened? I thought it was. I decided to humor him after all, and slowly I began walking toward the stairs, taking my cane as I passed him. He fell in beside me and took my arm to accompany me all the way, and I turned to look at him before I started up.
“You would have fallen in that creek, Ash, which isn’t that deep, so it would have broken your leg again at the least. Or you could have hit those rocks and either way you would have reinjured yourself, but you saved yourself with your magic. You stopped in midair and floated right back up to the bridge. I saw the whole thing from the porch.”
“No, that’s—that’s crazy. It can’t be right.”
“We both know it is right. Though how your magic broke through the binding is a mystery. Now go take your shower and make it a hot one. Once you get out and dry off, come back down and have something warm to drink and eat.”
I gave him a little smartass salute. “Aye aye, sir.”
“Go. See you in a few minutes.”
I went, grumbling just a little. I got to my room and saw the grass stains and the wetness going from my knees to my shoes, so it was probably a really good idea to change and get warm. My shoes were ruined. The shower helped me a lot, and I hadn’t realized how shaky I’d been feeling since I’d almost fell. I dismissed what he’d said about me using magic though. That wasn’t possible, and I didn’t know why he was making shit up. I didn’t know how I saved myself, but I’d think about that later.
When I came back in the kitchen, all three of them were there, drinking coffee. The kitchen, like that bathroom in my room, had undergone some expensive renovations at some point too, with more granite countertops and a big kitchen island. Everyone looked up quickly and stared as I came in, breaking off their conversation. I got that feeling you get when you just know you’ve interrupted a conversation that had been all about you.
“Are you okay, Ash?” Ben asked, and there was that shortening of my name again. I had to admit I didn’t mind too much when he did it. “Come in and have some more tea and something to eat. Rosalyn made some pastries this morning.”
“Unless you’d rather have eggs?” Rosalyn asked. “I have some apple butter I put up last fall, too, and some fresh pork sausage. Or I can make you some toast.” Rosalyn got to her feet. She seemed nervous, and I smiled at her, trying to put her at ease.
“No, please don’t go to any more trouble on my account. Pastries sound great.” And they smelled wonderful too. Now that I was inside the kitchen, the smell of the fresh baked goods was mouthwatering. She went over to pour me a cup of hot water and added a tea bag and some sugar. She went back for the tray of frosted cinnamon rolls to put that on the table too.
“There’s cream there if you want some.”
“Thank you,” I said, reaching for the little cream pitcher. Anything to help disguise the taste of the tea.
“Asher, I can’t apologize enough for that bridge,” Rosalyn said, her voice unsteady. “When I think of you falling onto those rocks…”
“How are you feeling?” Ben interrupted, and I let myself glance over at him. I hadn’t noticed earlier, but he looked amazing, as usual, wearing faded jeans and a well-worn, black sweater. He had shaved since the night before, and I could smell that musky, woodsy cologne again, though it wasn’t too strong. I guess I was sensitive to it. He must have kept a change of clothes there in his old room. A tiny bit of dark chest hair was peeping from the neckline of his shirt, and the sight of it made something inside me feel a little weak.
“Rosalyn’s famous for her cinnamon rolls,” my grandma said. “But be careful. They’re habit forming.”
I could feel the heat in my face from looking at Ben and hoped I wasn’t blushing. I don’t know why I should have been, but I seemed to do that a lot around Ben.
“I’m sorry I flaked out on everybody last night. I guess I was more tired than I thought. I don’t even remember going to bed.”
Ben didn’t reply as Rosalyn refilled his cup with coffee.
“I’ll talk to someone about repairing the bridge, Rosalyn,” Ben said. “I’d do it myself, but I don’t have the time right now, and it needs to be fixed before anything else happens.”
“Thank you, Ben. Tell him to be sure and use treated wood this time. We shouldn’t have to keep replacing it, and it’s not that old.”
“No, it’s not. But those boards weren’t rotted, like I said.”
“But then what on earth happened?” Rosalyn asked.
“Someone weakened the boards with magic. That’s why they broke the minute anyone put their weight on them this morning.”
“What?Oh no, you must be mistaken!”
“I wish I was. Have you made someone angry at you lately, Ros? Someone who might want some revenge?”
“Well, certainly not. Not that I know of, anyway.”
He nodded. “I’ll look into it.”
