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Folks stepped away from the stall. Kathleen wrapped them both in a hug before heading deeper into the stables. Goldie ignored the order and kept watching the foal nurse as his mom licked him off.
Paul pivoted to Moira. “Can you handle those bales? Or are you gonna need help?” He pointed to the huge bales of hay on a cart at the end of the row.
“I can do it,” the young woman said defiantly and marched toward them.
Goldie turned back to the horses.
“I told you she’d be fine,” Aiden said.
“Yeah, you win.”
“Everything.”
“Does that mean you won’t collect?” Goldie asked hopefully. He’d bet her they’d have a healthy foal before midnight.
Aiden rubbed his hands together. “First edition, any book with a wolf in it, if you please.”
Her furniture business was all but retired as she focused more energy on the horses, but she occasionally put her skills to work tracking down books for her book lover. She could get him to do practically anything given the right find. She still couldn’tbelieve she spent her free time tracking down the books she had vowed to avoid at all costs. It was worth it to see the shine in his eyes when some esoteric new text showed up. The library was well on its way to eating the downstairs parlor.
“Fine. But no moreWhite Fangs,” she said.
“Aww.”
“I draw the line at six copies. I’ll find something better.”
“Promise?” Aiden said with a wicked grin.
She rolled her eyes. “Double promise.”
He kissed her deeply and pulled away. “I should get back.”
“If they caught the killer, you have to write the triumphant, everything’s perfect scene.”
Aiden laughed and kissed the top of her head. “Can I tell you a secret?”
“What, there’s something about you I don’t know?” She was actually offended at the thought.
“That’smyfavorite scene.”
Goldie laughed as he jogged away, and she found herself alone with the new mom and the baby. She took a deep breath. “All right, dude. Let’s see what you can do.” She was extremely curious to know if her crazy magic was just a delusion, or if she was responsible for a million-dollar racehorse. Of course, it would be years before they knew.
That was okay. She had years.
A crash sounded from the end of the stalls, and Goldie’s head snapped that way, a defensive spell on the tip of her tongue.
Nothing moved.
She switched spells to a rescue one and started toward the noise.
Having spells at the ready was another major change. Aiden seemed to find spellwriting completely addictive, and his never backfired. He seemed to know exactly what words were requiredto do what she wanted. She now had a hundred ready-made rhymes etched in her mind to deploy at a moment’s notice.
Goldie turned the corner to find Moira standing next to a bale of hay that should have squashed her flat. As Goldie watched, Moira shoved the bale back onto the cart.
Without touching it.
Either Goldie was delusional, or that woman was a witch.
A thousand questions spiraled through her brain. Why was she here? Where was her coven? Paul kept calling her Brennan; Goldie didn’t recognize the last name. Did the woman know she had landed in the middle of a werewolf pack? Was she here to harm them? A lot of covens still considered them enemies.
