Bracken pulled a small dropper bottle from his pocket and handed it to me.“I made you an herbal tincture that you can add to your tea.It should help settle your stomach.”
“Thank you.That’s really helpful.”I slid the vial into my hip pocket.“I’ll take it with me.Declan’s driving me to Mom’s for a Council meeting.”
“Send my regards to your mother and cousin, please.”He turned back toward the gate, either to go back to sleep or begin his work.Bracken usually slept during the day and worked all night.
“Can I get you something for breakfast before you go?”
He stepped back and squeezed my hand.“Nonsense.You have to go, and I have a full refrigerator.You take good care of me, and I appreciate it very much.”He leaned in and kissed my cheek, surprising both of us, I think.
“Are you going to try to get more sleep now that the noise has stopped?”
He shook his head.“I’m setting my alarm a little earlier every day.A few minutes at a time.”
A big wind came and pushed my curls out of my face.“Why?I thought you liked working at night.”
He smiled, but his eyes were sad.“I do.I think, though, that has more to do with retreating from the world.”He scratched his nose, staring down the long deck at Declan who was putting his tools away.“If I’m choosing to be up when the rest of the world sleeps, I can hardly blame people for never visiting or calling.”He tapped his pockets.“And the solitude helps calm my brain.It’s far less likely to spin out of control in the dark and quiet.”
I nodded, understanding.“But then why are you making yourself wake up earlier?”
When he smiled this time, it reached his eyes.“I need to be ready for babysitting opportunities.”
My eyes flooded and I hugged him, again surprising us both.
He gently patted my back.“Is this okay?”
I backed up and ran my gloved fingers under my eyes, waving away his concern.“Declan kissed me and I haven’t rebooted yet.I’m fine.”
“Oh.Good.I still need to look for that gestation question you asked me.”With a vague wave, he went through the fence and back to his RV.
Declan met me halfway across the deck, my backpack on his shoulder.“Everything okay?”
“Yep.”I put my gloved hand in his and went with him to his truck.
“Let me know if Elizabeth can’t bring you home, okay?”He squeezed my hand.“It’s no problem to pick you up.”He opened the passenger door, waited for me to climb in, and then handed me my backpack.
I stowed it between my feet while he closed the door and rounded the front of the truck.I’d started carrying a backpack with me when I began working with the detectives.I carried a sketch pad, charcoals, a water bottle, and snacks.Visions could exhaust me, and detectives often were stuck at crime scenes for long periods of time, so I needed supplies.The most important item in my backpack, though, was a little plastic bottle in the shape of an octopus that held seawater from deep in the ocean.Being half water fae, it helped clear and center my mind.It also reset my abilities after my magical null of a boyfriend short-circuited me.
I wore the gloves, the long sleeves, and long pants because in addition to being a Cassandra wicche who had visions in her blood, I was also a clairvoyant whose gift was psychometry.Gift or curse depended on the day.Suffice to say, if I touched someone or something, I usually saw far more than most people wanted me to.Except with Declan, thank goodness.It was how I knew—or was pretty sure—the Goddess had sent him for me.
Declan’s thoughts must have been running parallel to mine because he said, “Did you see anything you didn’t want to when your great-uncle kissed your cheek?”
I shook my head.“Not really.He misses his son and is struggling with whether or not he should fly to Boston to introduce himself.He’s only been on a plane once and almost ended up on the no-fly list from the panic attack he had.”
“He’s getting better,” Declan said, turning off the main street, up a long windy, tree-covered road leading to Mom’s.“I think being around you is helping him.His eyes don’t jitter anymore.It feels like he’s incorporated your gallery into his safe space.”
I nodded slowly, considering.“He holds a lot of guilt for not being strong enough for his wife and son.He considers it a failure, a weakness, on his part.He’s too hard on himself.She didn’t understand him.Neither was at fault.It was an untenable situation and when she left, she took their baby.”I glanced over at Declan.“He’s retraining his internal clock?—”
“I heard him say that.”Declan took my hand again.“That’s not easy, especially as he’s been nocturnal for decades.I guess that’s how much he wants to be a part of our daughter’s life.”
I had to blink back tears again.Damn these hormones.“He’s struggling between excitement over the baby and maybe a second chance to help—even on the periphery—raise a child, but a darker voice in his head is reminding him of all the ways he failed his own son.”
Declan turned in to Mom’s hidden courtyard and gave me an incredulous look.“But you didn’t get much from his touch.”
He stopped by her front door.“Listen.Private planes exist.A chartered flight will be easier, with far less chaos for him.And from what he’s said, it sounds like he makes good money with his writing.You and I can go with him.”He shrugged a beefy shoulder.“I’ve never been to Boston.”
I watched the trees sway in the wind a moment.“You’re right.There are ways around the roadblocks.”I gripped his hand tighter.“You’ll go too?”
He nodded.“Absolutely.While Bracken is meeting with his son, you and I can do some sightseeing.And if Bracken’s son doesn’t want to meet with him, we can be there to help.”
