“It’s okay.” He pulled me to him and wrapped me tightly in his arms. “We’ll figure it out.”
“How can you say that?” Frustration clawed through my throat. “How can you know that?”
His response was simple. “Because that’s what we do.”
“But—”
“Nope.” His headshake was emphatic. “We’re going to figure this out, but we need to strategize. I do not want you getting worked up and rushing out to the ranch so you can race over to another plane without a plan.”
He was deadly serious as he dipped his chin to look directly into my eyes. “We’re coming up with a plan. We’ll get both of them. We’ll end Declan as a threat. Just take a breath.”
I stared back at him, debating, then buried my face in his chest. I didn’t want to cry. It made me look weak. Okay, I knew that wasn’t really true. It made me feel weak though. I was supposed tobe this big bad witch. I was supposed to be able to take out any and every enemy. All I wanted to do was curl into a ball and let Galen hold me.
So that’s what I did.
He didn’t try to quell my tears. He didn’t beg me to stop, which was often his way. He held me until I was all cried out, then dragged me on top of him so I had no choice but to stare directly into his eyes.
“You listen to me,” he said. “Wearegoing to figure this out. I need you to have faith.”
“Normally I do. This time, it’s harder.”
“Because it’s May and your mother. Your emotions are all over the place and that’s okay. This is more than any one person should have to deal with.” He brushed back my dark hair, which was falling like a curtain down his face. “I can’t pretend to understand what you’re feeling. You never even got a chance to know your mother. This situation, well, it’s messed up.”
I laughed at his delivery. “Is that your expert opinion?”
“We’re still going to figure it out.”
“I wish I could have your faith.”
“I’ll loan you some of mine.” He took a breath. “I refuse to let you be tortured at the thought of your mother and May being on another plane, trapped forever. It’s just not going to happen.”
I nodded. When he said it like that, with so much conviction, I could believe it.
“We’re going to be smart about it,” he continued. “We’re going to figure out a plan as a team. Together.”
“I don’t think I could live with it if something happened to you or our friends because you were trying to help me,” I admitted.
“Hadley.” He sounded exasperated. “How many times have you put yourself at risk for our friends?”
“That’s different.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s me.”
“I need you to consider something.” His tone didn’t change. “Your friends want to help you the same way you want to help them. You don’t get a say in that. We’re a team for a reason.”
Part of me wanted to argue with him but the other part recognized he was telling the truth. “Fine,” I said, exhaling heavily. “We’ll do it as a team. I get to be the boss, though.”
His lips twitched. “I’m not agreeing to that until we come up with a plan.”
“Oh, I’m going to be the boss.” I was firm on that. “I’m good at being the boss. Look how great I am at being mayor.”
“We’ll talk.” He gave me a kiss. “We should hop in the shower. As much as I’d like to linger here, something tells me we’re about to have a very long day.”
WE SHOWERED TOGETHER. GALEN ALWAYSjoked that we were conserving water but he was full of it. He just liked playing with the loofah. Once we dressed, I pulled my hair back in a braid — it was my Lara Croft I Mean Business hairstyle — and headed downstairs.
Breakfast would be first, then we would come up with our next move. I had no idea what that would look like, other than a trip to the cemetery, but I was determined to get a preferable outcome, one way or another.
