Page 69 of Never Been Gargoyled
She was nodding, getting excited despite everything. “I could do plant sales too. Seedlings in the spring, herbs and vegetables during growing season.”
“Exactly. And consider partnerships with local schools for field trips. Educational programs generate goodwill and steady bookings.”
As we talked, I could see her vision taking shape. She had the passion and creativity to make this place magical. She just needed the opportunity.
“You'd be amazing at this,” I told her.
“Would have been amazing at it,” she said sadly.
“Wherever you end up, whatever happens with this place, you'll create something wonderful. I believe that.”
She smiled then, the first real smile I'd seen from her since before the meeting. “What did I do to deserve you?”
“You woke me up,” I said simply. “In every way that matters.”
Chapter 25
Dazy
The next morning, I woke up wrapped in Feydin's arms, his tail coiled around my waist and his wings creating a warm cocoon around us. For a moment, I let myself pretend that everything was normal. That I wasn't facing the possibility of losing my home to a woman who may have every legal right to claim it.
But reality crept in as sunlight filtered through the curtains. Helga's diary existed. Rebecca was her daughter. The judge would probably side with a close blood relative over a great-niece who'd inherited everything on what might appear as a whim.
“You're thinking too loudly,” Feydin said against my hair.
“Sorry. Didn't mean to wake you.”
“I was already awake. Watching you sleep.”
I turned in his arms to face him. “That's not creepy at all.”
“You make these little sounds when you dream. Happy sounds. I like knowing your dreams are good ones.”
The sweetness of that statement made my chest ache. Here was this incredible male who loved me, who'd turned my world upside down in the best possible way, and I might have to leave him behind along with everything else.
“What if we lose?” I asked quietly.
“Then we'll deal with it.”
“We?”
His eyes met mine, and I found so much certainty there. “Where you go, I go.”
“But this is your home. You've been here for years.”
“You're my home now.”
The simple way he said it, like it was the most obvious thing in the world, made tears prick my eyes. “I love you.”
“I love you too. Which is why we're not giving up without a fight.”
After breakfast, we threw ourselves into garden work with what felt like desperation. If I was going to lose this place, I wanted to leave it better than I'd found it. Maybe Rebecca would appreciate the improvements. Maybe she'd understand why Helga had loved it here.
Feydin sensed my need to stay busy. He worked beside me without complaint, hauling stones for the pathways I was designing, helping me transplant the struggling perennials we'd rescued from the overgrown beds.
“These hostas will look amazing once they fill in,” I said, patting soil around the roots of a particularly large plant.
“You're talking about them like you'll see them mature.”
