I draw in a breath, inhaling the scent of the flowers and it’s almost like being home. And I make the mistake of closing my eyes.
“Don’t think I’m not pissed with you. You took off without saying anything.” Her fist connects with my shoulder. I catch her hand before she can pick a better target.
“I went hunting with your father.”
“And he told you to leave me alone.”
“Not in those words, but yeah.” And I’m not having this discussion until I’ve cleared it with Lindsay.
“And you listened to him?” She snatches her hand away. Hurt glimmering in her eyes.
“Danni, it’s not that—”
“I’m banning you from the bar.” She spins on her heel. “I’ll get Mom.”
I watch her walk away, knowing that to win her back I’m going to have to do more than replace the bat I broke, but it will be a start.
I blow out a breath, hoping that Lindsay won’t ban me from the café. I’ve made a mess of things. This is exactly the reason I avoid entanglements. My arm is still warm where she punched me. I deserved it, but I can’t imagine not seeing Danni again.
“So you’re the rider that’s got Danni wound up.” Lindsay walks over.
Danni mentioned me? She’s been wound up? That gives me more hope than I’m entitled to feel. “She needs to know who she is and what she can do.”
She pulls my jacket off my arm and gives the wound a poke. “I don’t want her ending up like this.” The pain is blinding, and it’s all I can do to breathe. “I thought running this place and seeing your lives would be enough to keep her safe.”
“She’ll start to find her magic on her own and that will be dangerous.” For her and those around her.
“You riders always promise magic and bring only heartache.” She plucks leaves from various plants as she talks, jamming them into a chipped blue cup.
“She’s not human.”
Lindsay hangs her head and her shoulders heave. “I know. But I thought I’d have a few more years with her before she’d want… I don’t want her to be left behind like I was, but I don’t want to lose her to faery either.”
“I’m not stealing her, Lindsay. All I want is permission to teach her to fight and use magic.”
She turns, and I know where Danni gets her glare from. “Liar. You want more than that.Shewants more than that.”
My heart lifts, but I keep my face neutral. “She is the one who decides where she lives, and not you or I can change that.”
“But you want to be the one to offer her that chance.”
I give a single nod and wait for Lindsay to tell me to go fuck myself with one breath and ban me from the café with the next.
She doesn’t though. She sighs and sits. “I wanted her to be human so badly. I didn’t understand how it worked, and Shay never told me anything until after she was born. For the longest time, I could pretend that she was human. But now…I can see the change in her.” She lifts her gaze to meet mine. “I better fix you up so you can do what you need to keep her safe.”
She takes a few steps away. “I’m guessing Shay is alive?”
“Yes, he is.” And he’s going to be pissed.
