Ethan blinked. “Alrighty then. Well, you’ve changed since then, right?”
Boy had I. Where was he going with this? “Of course.”
“Then assume your mother has too.”
My lips twisted. “She hasn’t changed in all the most important ways.”
“Maybe not. But time makes people more clever, doesn’t it?”
“Sometimes,” I agreed, making Ethan smile. “Alright, then. Let’s scrub this place from head to toe.”
We looked for hours to no avail. By the end, we were both filthy and annoyed. I stood with my hands on my hips, giving the place one final look over before turning to Ethan. “I think we’ve looked everywhere.”
I glanced down at my pants and grimaced. “We might need to get a smallpox vaccine.”
Ethan grinned. “Who knows? Maybe one of us is carrying the cure for cancer in some of this mold we’re wearing.”
I sighed. “Thanks for coming with me and looking for something you’d never seen before. Appreciate the company.”
Ethan dipped his head. “I didn’t believe you last night, but when I got home and really thought about it, something told me you wouldn’t lie to me.”
“Oh?” My heart warmed, even as I resisted the urge to throw myself at him.
“I don’t know why I’ve forgotten you, Moira, but I promise you it wasn’t on purpose.”
My heart was breaking. “I know, Ethan. Iamdifficult to forget.”
He rolled his eyes. “And so humble.”
I held out one of my grubby hands. “Come on. Let’s get home.”
We walked outside, hand in hand. I began to hold the image of home in my mind, and just as we began to shimmer from existence, I glanced up to see my mother perched in a tree smiling. In her hands, she held a silver Book of Shadows.
Right before I disappeared, she held the book up and winked.
Chapter
Twenty-Three
ETHAN
Sarah wrinkled her nose when I stepped into the house. Moira offered me her shower, but I hadn’t brought extra clothing, and asking Rowan for something wasn’t an option. Scent was an issue for shifters, and I wouldn’t return to the Keep smelling like another Lord.
The vampire insisted we were buddies, but Lords rarely become good friends. There was always posturing and trust issues. I liked Rowan, but we’d never been close.
If Moira was telling the truth, many things had changed over the last…however many years I seemed to have lost. I’d mellowed, Evie and I weren’t at each other’s throats, and Moira and I had formed a strong friendship.
And maybe more if the way she reacted to me when I helped her off the ladder was any indication.
“What happened to you?” Sarah asked. She didn’t run to greet me. While I couldn’t blame her, I had been gone all day and mostly absent last night.
“I was helping a friend with a construction project.” Sarah wouldn’t ask questions. She’d never cared for work outside the house, especially if it had to do with dirt and sweat.
“Oh.” Her eyes moved to my hands. “What’s that?”
I held up the storage container. “Cookies?”
She tilted her head, her golden hair sliding becomingly over one shoulder. “Cookies? Your construction worker friend bakes in his spare time?”
