She shrugged with a facetious grin.“I kind of like him as a trickster.It’s a little sexy.The broken, little-boy-lost, just-wants-Daddy-to-love-him gig is pretty hot.”
Harvey playfully chucked a piece of popcorn at her.“I’d like to say I see that, but I really don’t.”
They sat in her grandfather’s room at Remember Me, watching Marvel movies and spending time with her papa as she tried to relax and catch her breath after another long day of battle training.
All had been quiet, almost too quiet, leaving her rattled.So on her nightly visit to see her papa, Harvey had suggested dinner, a movie and some decompression.
They’d shared a meal of lemon chicken and potatoes with Stavros, who’d eaten every last bite, finishing it off with some baklava—all courtesy of Harvey’s cooking, with Arch and Tottington as his guides.
Darnell and Carl, with some clever foundation all over his body to disguise his pale green pallor, were hosting a game of bingo in the rec room, while the ladies of OOPS played along and kept the residents happily occupied.
Now, Stavros snored softly in his favorite chair, covered with a blanket her grandmother had made, while they sat on the couch across from him with MC in her lap.
Everyone was safe.All was well.
So why was her stomach in a knot?
“Listen, I know we said we were going to have a Fraggle Rock-free party tonight, but have you heard anything about finding this magic the giants…er, Jötnar want?Do we even know where to begin to look?”
The idea they could take MC from her incited her, frightened her, made her want to superglue him to her hand.
“Wanda talked to one of her clients, Robbie, I believe.A woman who became a witch under similar circumstances as you.”
“She was turned into a witch at a swap meet?”
Harvey laughed, tucking her closer.“No, but it was accidental just like you—sort of.Apparently, she’s quite the witch now.She’s assisting Wanda, and so is her coven, but they haven’t found anything that will help…Yet, anyway.”
“And Heimdall?The sorcerers in Asgard?Any help there?”
“Nothing.Which is what leads me to believe, the giants are bluffing.”
She wrinkled her nose, turning to look at his handsome face.“That serpent wasn’t bluffing.Ask my hamstrings.They still hurt and it’s been almost a week.”
“I’m trying to wrap my head around the idea they could get their hands on the kind of magic it would take to steal MC from you.They’re a bunch of lugs, Dom.Total morons.”
“You don’t need to have a high IQ to kick someone’s ass, Harvey.I mean, how long does this go on, how long do they keep coming for me and MC before I break?”
“I will not allow you to break, Dominique.We’ll fight as long and as hard as we must to ensure the safety of the world,” MC reminded her, his tone fierce.
Blowing out a breath, Dom shook her head.“I think I understand why your father headed for the hills.This waiting for the other shoe to drop is exhausting.”
Harvey moved a tendril of hair from her face, the gesture leaving her with that warm feeling in her belly.“It isn’t always like this, Dom.I promise you.As I said, before this happened, all?—”
“Wasquiet.I know, I know,” she said with resignation.“But there was still a threat of doom, always lurking in the background somewhere.It’s no way to live.”
Harvey nodded.“I agree.But whether you realize it or not, you’ve always lived with the threat of doom here, too.Nuclear bombs, terrorist attacks.It’s not much different.Yet, you still get up every day and live your life.”
“Well, sure, but I’m not responsible for making sure those things don’t happen.If you ignore the news, life is bliss.”
“It’s a heavy burden, and because of that, I’d almost—almostunderstand why my father ran away, if not for the fact that he left MC high and dry with me, someone who can’t utilize his strength.It’s like leaving the fate of the world in the hands of a toddler.”
Dom agreed, toying with the blanket in her lap.She didn’t want to insult Harvey, but he spoke the truth.“Yeah.I don’t get that at all.Has he ever left MC like this before?”
“For short periods of time, yes.But he always came back.”
MC barked a laugh.“Do you remember when he left me with Gunnar the stable boy?”
Harvey tipped his head back and laughed, too, revealing his tanned throat.“You mean Gunner the runner, don’t you?”
