Page 42 of The Witch & the Hound
"Yes."
"Calling me a hero."
"You are a hero. You saved a little girl."
"I just tracked her. Anyone with a nose could've—"
"Stop," I said gently. "Let them thank you. Let them see you. You've spent a year trying to be invisible, trying to be useful but not noticed. Maybe it's time to let them notice."
He set the phone down, hands braced against the counter. "I don't know how to do that."
"You don't have to know. Just... exist. Be yourself. Let the rest of us catch up."
He looked at me, vulnerable and uncertain and so achingly hopeful it hurt to see. "What if they change their minds?"
"Then we deal with it. Together." I moved closer, setting my mug aside. "But I don't think they will. I think last night changed something. The town saw you help. Saw you care. Saw you be part of the community instead of just existing on the edges."
"Because of you," he said. "You organized the search. You knew what to do."
"Because of both of us," I corrected. "We make a good team."
His hand found mine, cool and steady. "We do."
My phone buzzed again. This time, a text from Sarah Mitchell:Thank you again. Lily keeps asking when she can see the dog man again. Would you both come to dinner next week?
I showed Bram. "Looks like you've made a friend."
"A six-year-old friend who thinks I'm a dog."
"Could be worse."
"Could be better."
"She wants to see you again," I pointed out. "That's better."
He nodded slowly, still processing. "I've never been invited to dinner before. Not by locals."
"First time for everything."
"Should I say yes?"
"Do you want to?"
He thought about it. "Yes. I think I do."
"Then say yes." I squeezed his hand. "Say yes to dinner. Say yes to staying. Say yes to being part of this town instead of just passing through."
"Is that what you want? Me staying?"
I looked at him, at the barghest who'd come to my rescue and rearranged everything, who'd tracked a missing child and kissed me like I mattered, who stood in my kitchen making coffee and asking permission to belong.
"Yes," I said. "That's what I want."
He pulled me close, arms wrapping around me, face buried in my hair. I felt him breathe me in.
"Okay," he whispered. "I'll stay."
"Good."
