“But what if they can hide from you?” Holly blurted. Somehow, she had to allude to the charm Loch used without admitting he’d gotten into the house.
“Hide?” Garret frowned. “How do you mean?”
“Well,” Holly stammered. “If they’re doing shady shit, don’t you think they’d take extra precautions? If they’re shifters, then they probably know how to move without being detected by other shifters, right?” God, she hoped she didn’t sound insane.
“There are witches in the area,” Johnny said. “We should see if they’ve sold any suspicious spells.”
Holly tried not to look relieved.
“If a witch were selling spells to help someone hide, why would she give that information away?” Keller pointed out.
Holly pressed her lips together and looked between the men. She couldn’t risk dropping another breadcrumb for them yet. If she went to the study, she could look for a book about spells and charms and pretend she had learned it from there. The book about wards Loch had mentioned last night would probably do the trick.
“Witches can always be bribed.” Johnny grinned. “There’s a witch in Gallant Green who’s been after one of my carvings for years. That could be a damn good bargaining chip.”
“Why haven’t you made her a carving?”
“She’s only willing to spend twenty bucks.” Johnny shrugged. “Even her smallest spell costs one hundred. Cheap old bat. Half of her spell ingredients are really just dry foot skin, you know?”
Keller stared at Johnny, opening and closing his mouth as he tried to come up with some kind of response. “Nope, I’m not going to touch that one.”
“Me, either.” Garret shuddered. “That right there is why I don’t mess about with witches. Who knows what they put in their wares?”
“Dried foot skin, apparently,” Holly said.
Garret loaded up four plates, and they moved to the wooden dining table.
“Did you make this, Johnny?” Holly asked before taking a bite of the most wonderful salmon she’d ever tasted.
“The table? No. But I know the guy who did. Canadian. Decent fella.”
“Didn’t he come to town once? I swear you got into a fight with a Canadian woodcarver two years ago,” Garret said.
“Yeah, that was him.” Johnny nodded.
“Why did you get into a fight with him?” Holly asked with a soft laugh.
Johnny paused to think for a moment. “I can’t remember,” he said. “But I remember he was an honest fighter and took his loss with dignity.”
“Didn’t you also get into a fight with a French painter?” Keller asked.
“No, that was me,” Garret said.
“What?” Holly blurted. She couldn’t imagine Garret getting into a fight with anyone, bear or not. “What happened?”
“He insulted Robeline’s food,” he replied.
“Oh.” Keller nodded. “Yeah, that’s fair.”
Holly stifled her laughter. This was nice, spending time with all three of them like this.
“I have an idea,” she said, and all three men turned their attention to her. “I think we should do family dinners.”
“When?” Johnny asked.
“Every night,” she replied. “The three of you are going to be running off chasing down God knows what. It’ll be a good way for us to touch base and plan our next steps. It’ll also be a good way for us to get to know each other.”
“We aren’t exactly strangers.” Johnny chuckled, and Holly’s cheeks grew pink.
“Yes, but things haven’t been entirely smooth since my arrival. Trust needs to be built. Besides, according to the prophecy, I have to get to know all of you pretty damn well. I decide the king, remember?”
“We aren’t likely to forget,” Keller said. “I think it’s a great idea. We have to take an organized approach to this whole situation; otherwise, we’re going to descend into chaos. That’s an advantage those who’d stand against us don’t need.”
“As long as I don’t have to cook every single night, I’m all for it.” Garret grinned.
“I can take over the cooking,” Holly said. “I’m not terrible at it. Besides, it’s not like I can do anything else. Not really. I can research, but I won’t know what I’m reading about unless I have one of you here to explain it. The least I can do is keep you three well-fed.”
“I think we have a deal.” Johnny grinned.
He put his hand in the middle of the table, and Holly placed hers on top of his. Garret and Keller followed suit. Holly’s smile stretched from ear to ear. This felt right.
It would also be a great way to figure out who should be the father of her prophesized child without hurting any of their feelings. There was a way to make this work, but it would be just that. Work.
But, Holly thought with a smile, just because it’s work doesn’t mean it can’t be fun.
CHAPTER 25 - Holly
As it turned out, being trapped in a house wasn’t fun at all. The family dinners were nice, though. Every night, the four of them sat at the table made by the nice Canadian fella and ate whatever Holly had made.
In her boredom, she chose elaborate and complicated recipes to try out just to keep her busy for longer. They were rarely a success, but she was slowly getting better.
“It’s not that it’s bad,” Johnny said, laughing over a personal-sized pot pie that had come out of the oven with a burnt bottom and a smooshed appearance. “I’m just not sure what it is.”
“You don’t have to be sure; you just have to eat it,” Holly teased. Aside from the burnt bits, it didn’t taste all that bad. The pie crust was dense and kind of rubbery, but it tasted fine. The meat inside the pie was perfectly cooked.
“Maybe you should take a class or two from Garret,” Keller suggested.
“Is it really that bad?” Holly pouted.
The three men
