Page 87 of Lavender Lake
I leaned over and cradled his cheek.
“Let’s get some ice on that ankle,” he said.
He helped me up from the bench, quickly took off his boots, and then aided me inside. The house was quiet—my grandmother was likely asleep.
“What do you need first?” Cas asked. “Ice for the ankle? Aspirin?”
“My neck stings,” I remarked. “I think she used her claws.”
“Oh, yeah, she did.”
“There’s witch hazel in the cabinet,” I said. “And cotton balls.”
Cas went to the cabinet, and then said, “If I ask you something, will you answer truthfully?”
“Depends.”
“What did you say to Amber that made her lunge for you?”
“What makes you think I said anything?” I asked, feigning innocence.
He set the bag of cotton balls on the table, and then opened the bottle of witch hazel. “You’re not as feral as you let people think. I think youwantthem to believe that so they don’t know the truth.”
“Which is?”
“You’re protective of those you love. Everything you do, you do for them.”
I nibbled my lip. “Yeah, I do.”
“This isn’t the first time you’ve been protective of Hadley.”
“No. Definitely not.”
“So, what happened?”
He dabbed my neck and I hissed at the sting. He blew air across my skin, soothing it instantly.
“She said unkind things about Hadley getting pregnant . . . and a shotgun wedding. And I might’ve touched her eyebrow and said it never did grow back all the way. Then she went crazy.”
“I see. What else have you done in the name of protecting those you love?”
“Hmm. Let me see . . . the list is long.”
He laughed and began to clean up.
“Oh, here’s a good one. Wyn was dating a guy and she found out he was cheating on her. But instead of confronting him, she cooked him a nice dinner at his place . . .”
“Weird sort of punishment.” He dumped the cotton balls into the garbage and put the witch hazel back into the cabinet.
“I wasn’t finished. I had this idea to put laxatives in his wine. And it was also my idea for her to put a can of sardines deep in an air vent where he couldn’t get to them. And while he was fighting for his life in the bathroom, she found the girl’s social media on his computer and left it open so he would know why he was suffering.”
“I bow at the feet of the master,” Cas quipped.
“You did that earlier,” I reminded him.
“You want to ice your ankle down here or upstairs?”
“Depends.”
