Bracken: Keep to the left as you approach the deck.Notice the rocks.
Declan called goodbye and I waved while puzzling over the cryptic message.Walking down the path along the side of the gallery, I noticed a small pile of rocks and kept to their left.I made it to the gate and turned around, wondering what that had been about.
“Oh good.There you are.”I heard Bracken’s voice but didn’t see him.“Wait one moment.”
Not knowing what to expect, I waited and was treated to a doorway opening out of thin air and Bracken walking down steps to join me.He closed the invisible door and paused, muttering something about never finding it again.
“I did something I hope you won’t mind,” he began.“I had to move the RV so the work could begin on the apartment.”
I nodded, with him so far.
“If I moved it to the far side of the parking lot, though, I wouldn’t have a clear view of the water, which I’ve grown to love.”He patted his pockets.“It’s quite restful, isn’t it?”
I nodded.“It is.I was worried I’d be too far away at Declan’s place, but he made sure to have lots of windows overlooking the water.”
The corner of his mouth kicked up.“Smart man.Well, as you can see, the view from this side of the gallery is perfect.”
“Yes, of course,” I interrupted.“Park it over here.”
“The thing is, I already did.”He looked a bit sheepish as he added, “But I worried that it would block your magnificent mural, so I worked on an invisibility spell much of the night.”
At my shocked expression, he pressed on.“It took a bit to get it to stay invisible for an extended period without compromising the wards in any way.There was also a very tense hour or so when the entire RV, including the interior, disappeared.Thankfully, I got that fixed.Inside, it is as it’s always been.Outside, it won’t mar the look of your gallery.”
“Bracken, that’s amazing!”I knew it was right in front of me.I’d seen him walk out of it, but instead of a huge RV, I was staring at flowering ice plants and tall seagrass.
I touched his arm.“An added bonus is that this helps protect you.The Swans can’t target you if they can’t see you.”I patted my chest.“This makes me feel better about leaving you here at night.”
He waved away my fear.“I’m perfectly safe here.It’s sweet of you to be concerned, though.”
“Oh.I had an idea.”I grabbed his hand and pulled him with me through the gate and across the deck to the back door of the gallery.Flicking my fingers, I unlocked it and took him back to the potential nursery.
The room was triangular.It wasn’t large, but I thought it would work.Glancing around, I mentally planned out where things could go.
“This is your room for readings,” Bracken said.
“It is.I only have a few clients who want to see me regularly.I haven’t been taking appointments for a while, since I’ve been so busy, which makes this mostly wasted space.”
He grinned, catching on.“Oh, I like this idea.”
“Right?”I went to the window on the parking lot side of the gallery.“We could have them turn this into a door, so you have an easy entrance to the nursery and the gallery as a whole.”
He nodded along with me.
“I was thinking a half bath here.”I pointed to the opposite corner.By the time I was done planning out loud, we saw the crew’s cars and trucks arriving.“Let’s go tell them about the changes.”
Once we were done with that, Bracken went back to his RV, his fingertips gliding through the air until he felt the break in the metal siding that meant he’d found his door.Hopefully he could get some sleep now.
After hours of working with the glass, I went in search of an electrician.I was sure someone on the construction crew could answer my question.I closed the door behind me, in case I needed to do more work, and lifted my sweaty head to the wind.Declan’s idea was brilliant.I’d charmed my clothes to stay cool while I worked.So, while my head was hot, my body felt fine.
Bud, one of the black bear shifters who worked on the crew, came back with me to help me wire the light fixture I was making for the dining room.
He stopped at the door.“Whoa.Do we have to work in here?”
“Nope,” I said.“Go next door into my studio.I’ll be there in a minute with most of the pieces.”
I brought in all the glass I thought he’d need.What I’d made today wasn’t ready to be worked with yet, which should be fine.He ran out to his truck, got some tools and supplies, and we started to put it together.
We were almost done—okay, Bud was almost done—when I saw my dad standing out on the deck.
