Nurse MacLeod bustles into the office, her short hair standing on end as if she’d been running her fingers through it. Was she that worried about Maya? It’s a wonder she even let me perform the spell.
“What’s happened?” she asks. “Is the witch still here?”
I raise a hand. “Present.”
“Oh.” She draws herself up. “Well. Let’s see what’s what.”
Ty and I move out of the way, so Aiden, Jack, and Mr. Thomas can lift the door and carry it back into the clinic. It’s cumbersome, and Maya protests feebly, saying she doesn’t need to be carried. Luckily, no one listens to her. Then the nurse has everyone leave again.
Mrs. Thomas remains in the office with Ty and me. The man next to me is out cold, his broad chest rising and falling steadily. He needs to sleep it off, then he’ll be fine. I know that, yet I’m still worried. Leaning over, I brush his black hair off his forehead and press a kiss to his cheek.
“You really love them, don’t you?” Mrs. Thomas walks over to a desk chair and perches on the edge of the seat. “Both of them?”
All of them.
My tired brain supplies the answer, and it’s true. It has been for a while. But I can’t tell her that. Aiden isn’t mine to love, and I’d rather swim naked in the ice-cold water of the bay than admit any of this. So I just nod. It’s the safest option.
“I’m sorry,” she says quietly. “For doubting you before.”
I grimace. “We still don’t know for sure that I changed anything.”
Jack’s mom cocks her head to the side. “You gave it your best shot, though, didn’t you?”
Suddenly, my eyes well with tears. “Yeah. It might still not be enough.”
She clucks her tongue, and suddenly, she’s beside me, her arm over my shoulder. “Hush, now. You tried to help my kid when no one else could do a thing. Thank you for that.”
I sniff and dab at my eyes with the edge of my sleeve. “I’m a pretty shit witch, you know.” I point at Ty, who’s now snoring. “This keeps happening to me.”
“He knew what he was doing.” She pats his arm. “I suspect he likes you a lot, too.”
Jack inherited her kind gray eyes. She’s a beautiful woman, with the kind of style I’d love to have while living here—her jeans, boots, and a jacket look like a carefully chosen outfit, not the necessity of weather conditions. Right now, her face is still pinched with worry, but I suspect the faint lines around her eyes and mouth are due to smiling, not frowning.
“I really hope Maya will be okay,” I whisper. “In the morning, after we’ve all had some sleep, we can try again.”
“You’ve done enough already,” she says firmly. “Now rest.”
She catches my hand and gives it a little squeeze. I hiss in pain and recoil, pulling my hand from her grip. Her eyes narrow, and she takes my wrist despite my protest, turning my palm to the light.
“Oh!” she exclaims. “What happened?”
I yank away from her and curl my hands to my chest. “It’s nothing. I’m fine.”
“You hurt yourself, didn’t you?” She gives me a stern frown. “Come with me. Nurse MacLeod can treat that for you.”
Reluctantly, I wobble to my feet, and she steps closer, supporting me to the door. When Jack notices us, he rushes over and all but carries me to the clinic door where the rest of them are gathered. I send his mother a pleading look—I don’t want to draw attention to myself in this fraught moment.
But her nostrils flare, and she gives me a stern glare. “She hurt her hands,” she announces. “Burned them, from the looks of it.”
Aiden’s head jerks up at that. “What?” He strides over to me and takes my hands in his. “How did this happen?”
“When the energy passed through me, I think.” It might have been the lack of the potion—the magic was less focused, sort of raw as it rushed out.
I can’t handle Aiden being so gentle. My heart does stupid somersaults whenever he touches me, so I step away, putting some distance between us.
“We can do another circle,” Jack says. “You’ll fix these up in no time.”
I tuck my hands under my armpits. “Not tonight. I can’t.”
