“Yay! You’re here. I’ve been dying to get a chance to really talk to you, but we’ve been a bit slammed of late. Have you met my partner, Lachlan?” Sophie gestured to Lachlan, who stood and reached out a hand.
“Aye, we met briefly last night. Nice to see you again.”
“Thanks for all your help with Edith. We’re all over the moon about the new additions to the family.” Lachlan beamed at me and then put his arm around Sophie’s shoulders and she snuggled into him. They were quite the couple—her shorter and curvy, casual in a jumper and UGG boots, and him tall and stately in neatly pressed trousers and a fitted button-down. But their easy affection made me instantly like them together.
“I can’t say I’ve ever attended a hedgehog baby shower before, but it was quite the party.” I smiled as the older woman stood and came forward, her hand outstretched.
“I’m Hilda. Can I get you a cup of tea? Or a glass of wine?”
“Wine would be great, actually. It’s been a long day.”
“Och, I told you we should have done this on a day she doesn’t work.” Sophie shot Lachlan an accusing look, and he just shrugged.
“You said the sooner the better.”
“But she’s clearly tired.”
“You’re in charge here, darling, not me.”
At that, Sophie’s cheeks flushed, and she turned to me with a pleading look on her face.
“Say you’ll stay for a bit? You’re not too tired?”
“I can stay for a bit.”Just what did they mean about “the sooner the better”?
“You’re certain? We don’t want to put you out.” Hilda waited, concern on her face.
“No, please. Go ahead. I would have just been at home on my couch with a glass of wine as well. Plus, there are really no days off in my practice. Not when you’re a solo business owner. It’s kind of hard to say ‘no’ if there’s an emergency, you ken?” I sat down on the couch across from where Sophie and Lachlan had been sitting, and they sat as well while Hilda went to get me that glass of wine.
“That’s got to be exhausting, isn’t it? To always be on call and never have a break for yourself?”
“It is. But it’s rewarding. And there are slow days and mad days. It really just depends. Since I’m new here, it takes a bit more time because I need to inventory the office, put orders in for areas that are lacking, all while still seeing patients.”
“Did the last vet not leave it in good shape?”
“It wasn’t horrible, but he left quite quickly. Almost like he was running from something.”
The room went quiet and I realized that I’d messed up.
Somehow, I must have stumbled on the thing that Loren Brae was hiding. The very thing that I’d heard whispered about through the region. Apparently, the problem that was driving tourists and locals alike out of town was well known to the people gathered here.
“Och, he was. Running, that is.” Archie cleared his throat, his eyes on the feather he was working on. I realized he was tying flies for fishing. “Coward.”
“You can’t be blaming the man, can ye? Certainly one can only take so much.” Hilda came forward with a full glass of red for me in one hand, and a bottle in the other.Handing me the glass, she topped up Sophie and Lachlan’s glasses before taking the armchair across from Archie.
Silence fell across the room, and I twisted the wine glass in my fingers, my eyes dropping to the rich red liquid. Was this even safe to drink? What was happening here? My stomach twisted, nerves putting me on high alert. Were they going to kick me out of town already? I’d barely made a go of it here.
“We should just tell her.” Sophie twisted to look at Lachlan.
“Tell me what?” Sadness fell on my shoulders. I’d been on such a high from a fun night at the castle the night before, and now they’d found out what I was.
“Lass, we think you’re magick,” Hilda said, her tone serious.
There it was. I’d hoped it wouldn’t come, not here, but once again, I’d misread the situation. Loren Brae was just like every other small town, chasing away what they didn’t understand, needless worry overshadowing reason.
But one thing I would no longer do, that I’d sworn to myself that I would never do again, was lie about what and who I was again. Lifting my chin, I set my glass down on the table and stood.
“Aye, I am. A healer by heart, a veterinarian by profession. Magick is my gift, but hard work and ethics is my guide. It’s a shame you can’t be understanding of that.” Turning on my heel, I marched to the door.
