“I’ll wait a bit. I’m fine,” he said, not wanting to move from his spot next to Laney.
“You’re turning down bacon?” I asked before taking a sip of my coffee.
“I’m not turning it down. I’m just comfortable,” he said.
“You look good,” Thorn said when I turned my attention to him.
“Thanks,” I said. “Did I look like recycled dog food before?”
“No…” Thorn looked like he wasn’t quite sure how he was supposed to respond.
“I’m kidding,” I said with a chuckle. “I know what you mean. I feel better too.”
“That’s amazing,” Thorn said. He leaned over and gave me a kiss.
“Sorry I didn’t come back up to bed,” I said.
“Don’t be. I’m just glad you finally got some rest,” Thorn said. “Let me get you some casserole.”
“I can do that,” I said.
“One more day?” Thorn asked. “I have to go back to work tomorrow, so let me take care of you for one more day?”
“Tomorrow for sure?” I asked.
“Yeah. I got the call this morning. Jeremy didn’t want to say anything, but he’s getting super behind on paperwork. One of our deputies called in sick a couple of days last week too, and he’s got too much overtime now. Looks like I’ll have a mess to clean up when I go back,” Thorn said.
“That sucks…” I started to say.
“Don’t you dare say you’re sorry,” Thorn cut me off. “I wouldn’t have traded this for the world.”
“I wasn’t going to apologize,” I protested, but I was.
“I know you better than that,” Thorn said.
“Fine,” I relented. “But I do feel bad that you’ve got to go back to a mess at work.”
“I can handle it,” he said. “Now, about that casserole.”
Chapter Two
The next day, Thorn had to go back to work. I’d had two cups of valerian and chamomile tea the night before, and somehow managed to sleep through the night.
Laney had as well, but when Thorn woke me up to tell me he was going to work, he had her nestled in his arms. “I was going to let you guys sleep, but your mom is here.”
“Oh, okay,” I said and sat up.
“She said she’d take Laney if you want to sleep some more, but I wanted to ask you.”
“Thank you,” I said. “I’ll get up.”
“You sure?” Thorn asked.
“Yeah, but can you take Laney back down to her,” I said and kissed her on the head softly. “I’d really like to shower and get dressed.”
“Sure,” Thorn said.
“Tell her I’ll be down in a few minutes,” I said.
“You can call me anytime if you need me,” Thorn said as he headed out of the room.
Before he got all the way in the hallway, Thorn turned around and came rushing back. He put his free arm around me and pulled me in for a kiss that made the butterflies in my stomach go crazy.
“Thank you,” he whispered and then kissed me on the forehead.
“For what?” I asked.
“For giving me everything I ever needed,” he said.
Thorn could be annoying and overprotective, but at other times, his love for me took my breath away. It reminded me of why he could be so overbearing. He was just trying to keep me safe, and that was a big job. I could be a handful.
Well, it had been a big job. Being a mother had changed my perspective on the situations I used to “find” myself in. There was no way I was going to do anything that would leave Laney without her mother. My days of investigation were over.
I took a long, hot shower that felt like a vacation. Knowing my mother was spending time with Laney meant I didn’t feel guilty about taking some time to take care of myself. I even left the conditioner she made for me on my hair for the full five minutes.
When the water started to go cold, a hint that the house had had enough of my lingering, I got out and dried off. After moisturizing thoroughly, I sprayed some of the hair tonic Lilith had made for me all over my damp hair. I wound the damp strands up and clipped them so they wouldn’t be stuck to my neck. I’d let them air dry that way, and it would give my fire-engine red tresses a nice bouncy wave.
I threw on fresh sweatpants and a t-shirt, my new mommy uniform, and headed downstairs. Mom was standing in front of the fireplace feeding Laney a bottle. She swayed back and forth while gently humming a tune. Meri had fallen asleep at her feet.
He was woken abruptly when she heard me coming down the stairs and turned around. “She’s a hungry one,” Mom said.
“She does have a good appetite,” I confirmed. “It means she sleeps a lot too.”
“That’s okay,” Mom said. “The business of growing is intense. Has she shown any signs of magic?”
“Nothing other than she has slept through the night since she was born,” I said. “That’s pretty magical, in my opinion.”
“I’m sure her powers will grow with her,” Mom said. “Whatever is going on with magic, maybe that’s what will happen rather than her having to learn to harness being born with so much power.”
“You mean like with me?” I asked.
“Yeah. It was great knowing that you were so powerful, but it was also scary sometimes. Especially when you would outgrow Amelda’s binding spells and we didn’t know it until you did something crazy.”
“What if she never has magic?” I asked. “What if she’s more like Thorn? She could be…I don’t want to say just a person because it makes it sound like people are less than us. But, what if she’s not a witch?”
“That’s impossible,” Mom said. “Even if her father isn’t a witch, there’s no way a child born to your bloodline could ever be anything but a witch.”
I didn’t say it to my mother, but there was a small part of me that hoped Laney was born without magic. I’d tried to have a normal life, but
