Page 64 of Cosy & Chill
“It’s beautiful,” Finn said, a little grudgingly.
“Don’t make that face, the wind might change. Tell me what’s botherin’ ye so early in the morning?”
“We need to talk,” Leo cut in. “Will you come upstairs and have coffee?”
She pulled off her hat, shrugged out of her coat, and tossed both over the back of an armchair. “Doesn’t sound as if ye’re givin’ me a choice, now does it? Lead on.”
The night Roisin had first appeared in their kitchen, she’d worn the same padded denim jacket and the same green hat, but she’d been edgier. Sharper. More desperate. As she settled at the table and took the mug Finn poured for her, she suddenly reminded Leo of his grandma.
“What can I do for ye?”
Leo set the sparkling spatula in the middle of the table. “Maybe start by explaining this?” The tips of his fingers tingled from touching the thing and he rubbed them on his jeans. “And don’t say it’s normal.”
“Don’t say it’s magic, either,” Finn added.
Roisin let her gaze wander between them. “What if it is, though?”
“Magic?”
“Yes.”
“You’re telling us there’s magic that makes utensils sparkle. That makes touching utensils feel like touching a live wire—”
“That lets you decorate rooms without ladders, dust cloths, paintbrushes, and even paint. In less time than it takes most people to do their weekly shop?”
“Or that lets you get in and out of houses even when the doors are locked and bolted from the inside?”
Roisin listened to their recital in silence. Then she sighed and pushed her hair back from her face. “I keep forgetting that humans aren’t as oblivious as they appear.”
“‘Humans’?”
“People.”
“You said ‘humans’,” Leo insisted. “We both heard you.”
“What if I did?”
“Roisin.” Finn cut in, calmer than Leo. More… respectful. “We’ve been worried that… well… that all these things you seem to have just ready for us to use…”
“Fell off the back off a lorry?” She grinned, wide and not all that friendly. “That’s a nice way to thank me for all my help.”
“We didn’t ask for your help in the first place. You broke in to search for treasure.” Leo focussed on Finn’s warmth beside him, soaked it up and held on to it.
“Doesn’t mean I’m not helping.”
“You’re giving us ulcers and palpitations.” Leo saw her eyes narrow and held up his hands. “We’re not ungrateful, Roisin. The rooms you create look stunning, but… You’re making changes at a speed that’s not possible. You’re not talking to us. And you’ve not once mentioned costs. When you add it all up, can’t you see that it would bother us?”
“What if the truth would bother ye more?”
“We won’t stop you searching for that treasure of yours,” Finn said. “We just need to know we’re not breaking the law.”
“Ye’re not breakin’ the law,” Roisin said immediately.
“Then tell us the truth.”
Roisin held out her empty mug for a refill. Finn took it before Leo could, so he stayed in his seat and watched Roisin. He wouldn’t at all put it past her to disappear on them.
“How old do ye think I am?” she asked when she’d taken a sip of coffee.
