I wanted to tell her not to worry, that it wasn’t a big deal, that it would all be fine. But I didn’t know if that was true, and it wasn’t fair to minimize what she was feeling.
She sighed. “Burke told me who he was. What he was.”
Good. God knew, I supported honesty in relationships.
“I just—this isn’t the life I imagined. All this damn drama. All this damn magic.” She looked at me. “Angels, Claire. Angels in my backyard. In my bayou. The thing is, though? I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
I brushed sudden, sharp tears away. “I don’t know what I’d do without you, either. I need someone smart and logical to deal with all this nonsense.”
“It is a lot of nonsense, isn’t it?”
“It is. It really, really is. And I’m not just saying that because I need you to keep me apprised of your dating situation.”
“And speaking of, let’s talk about Liam.”
I didn’t think that was entirely necessary. But I owed her one.
• • •
When the store was empty again and the night was quiet, I realized sleep wasn’t going to come anytime soon, not with my mind spinning with Big Questions. So I walked back downstairs.
I flipped on the lights, smiled at the familiar buzz of electricity. Such a human thing. And today, I found that very comforting. I sat down at the counter and pulled over the owl, which still waited with unseeing eyes to move again.
I picked up a silver tool and got back to work.
Stay quiet. Work hard.
Because sometimes, when the world was shifting and changing around you, that’s the best thing you could do.
She sighed. “Burke told me who he was. What he was.”
Good. God knew, I supported honesty in relationships.
“I just—this isn’t the life I imagined. All this damn drama. All this damn magic.” She looked at me. “Angels, Claire. Angels in my backyard. In my bayou. The thing is, though? I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
I brushed sudden, sharp tears away. “I don’t know what I’d do without you, either. I need someone smart and logical to deal with all this nonsense.”
“It is a lot of nonsense, isn’t it?”
“It is. It really, really is. And I’m not just saying that because I need you to keep me apprised of your dating situation.”
“And speaking of, let’s talk about Liam.”
I didn’t think that was entirely necessary. But I owed her one.
• • •
When the store was empty again and the night was quiet, I realized sleep wasn’t going to come anytime soon, not with my mind spinning with Big Questions. So I walked back downstairs.
I flipped on the lights, smiled at the familiar buzz of electricity. Such a human thing. And today, I found that very comforting. I sat down at the counter and pulled over the owl, which still waited with unseeing eyes to move again.
I picked up a silver tool and got back to work.
Stay quiet. Work hard.
Because sometimes, when the world was shifting and changing around you, that’s the best thing you could do.
