Page 32 of Midnight Whispers
Riley pulled his coat around himself when the chill set in and made his way to the sidewalk in front of the inn. He had a three-mile walk ahead of him where he had to trudge through snow. He probably should have let Cass drive him home, especially considering he was no closer to shutting off his inner critic.
A garage light on a passing house illuminated the area enough for him to glimpse black fur and that smooth gait. Cass was on the back side of the houses.
“I’m fine. Go back home, Cass.”
Of course, Cass couldn’t say anything while in wolf form.
He came to the front of the house and eventually began walking beside Riley.
The entire way home, the silence was comfortable. Riley felt better about not being alone. What quieted Riley’s negativity the most was Cass’s presence. He even waited for Riley to enter the house before he left. Riley waved and watched Cass head back the way they had come.
It felt more like a beginning than an end as he shut the door.
Chapter Fifteen
Riley couldn’t believe he had a small flame at the end of his fingertips, and it wasn’t burning him. It wasn’t even hot.
Riley grinned. “Holy shit. I’m doing it.”
Dad smiled. “I see that.”
Griffin sat on the floor with his legs cross-legged. He looked like a preschooler on his way to fix a refrigerator. His shirt even had his name on it and the name of the little business he created for himself.Palmer’s Handyjobswas stitched onto a patch on his shirt.
Riley pointed to the patch. The only problem was that he forgot about the flame on his finger. A small ball of fire went sailing at Griffin.
The good news was Griffin moved out of the way at the last minute. The bad news was Riley set the recliner on fire.
Dad seemed to pull a fire extinguisher from nowhere and had the blaze gone within seconds.
“Well, the chair is toast,” Griffin stated the obvious with a grin. “Good job.”
Riley’s face heated when he met his dad’s gaze. “I’m sorry.”
He felt like he’d been saying that a lot lately.
“Griffin burned down the shed when he was learning. I had to call the fire department for that one.” Dad chuckled, as if scorching the chair wasn’t a big deal. He patted Riley’s shoulder. “I was expecting it.”
“Great. So I met your very low expectations.” Riley’s shoulders sagged.
“Actually, you exceeded my high expectations.”
Griffin nodded. “Yeah, man. You learned how to do that faster than most warlocks.”
“If memory serves, it took me two days to learn how to conjure a flame,” Dad said.
Griffin nodded. “Why did you point at me?”
“To tell you the name of your business sounds dirty.” Riley still felt bad about burning the chair, but at least he didn’t set his brother on fire.
Griffin chuckled.
Dad rolled his eyes. “That’s why he picked it.”
Riley laughed. “Really?”
“Hell yeah. Do you know how funny it is when people call me, and I say, ‘Palmer’s Handyjob? How can I serve you?’ Everyone in town knows I’m Sheriff Palmer’s kid.”
Dad shook his head, but he laughed too. “I always get asked about Griffin’s reasoning for the name.”
