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She smiled, though she didn’t seem as excited as I thought she would be. Kellan’s dark gaze shifted toward mine. “Why don’t you stay here?”
Fern nearly leaped out of her seat. “Really?”
Kellan nodded. “Yeah, I’m moving with Josie to the city. You stay here. Keep up the house. Take care of George for me. I have a little garden out back you can take care of, too."
Fern ran around the table and threw her arms around Kellan’s shoulders, making him groan from the pressure.
When she turned to me, there were tears in her eyes. “I’m so happy.”
“Me too,” I chuckled. “You'll love it here. What about you, Ernest? You ready to move to Earth?”
He laughed and slurped his soup. “No. I’m set in my ways. However, I will come to visit. It would be a shame to lose such good friends. Plus, if you ever get curious about your powers, I may can help."
I doubted I would ever ask Ernest for any magic advice. Out of sight, out of mind.
Fern jumped back into her seat and began eating as if it was going to hop up and run away. Once we finished, I offered to clean the kitchen, but she nearly bit my head off.
Instead, I made my way to Kellan’s room and found him sitting on his bed. His clothes were off, all but his underwear, and he was staring at the gunshot wound.
The sheer male beauty in front of me nearly sucked the breath out of my lungs. “Ogling is rude,” he said, lifting his gaze to mine.
“Is it? Let me be rude a bit longer.” I stepped over toward him. “Do you need me to clean it for you?”
“Already done.”
“Kellan,” I said. “I’m here to help you. You don’t have to do everything alone anymore.”
“I’ve been alone for so long.”
I stepped even closer and stopped between his legs, putting my palms on each side of his face. “You have, but not anymore. If you need it, ask me.”
Kellan closed his eyes and nodded into my palm. “I can do that.”
“Are you afraid?” I whispered.
“Afraid of what?”
His mouth parted when I touched his bottom lip with my fingers. “You’re not indestructible anymore. You’re human. Does that scare you?”
He chuckled and palmed my hip. “No, for the first time in decades, I feel like happiness is obtainable for me. I’m going to live my life with my soulmate, my future wife, and know that I won’t live thousands of years after she’s gone. My mentality feels strong. I feel strong. Even with this bum leg. This is all because of you.”
I smiled. “Because you couldn’t help but kiss me and find true love?”
“That’s right,” he said. “And everything changed that day, didn’t it? My resolve slipped, and I realized how emotionally weak I’d become.”
Kellan leaned up, laced his fingers around the back of my neck, and kissed me. It took my breath like the first one.
Pushing him back onto the bed, I straddled his hips, careful not to harm his leg, and leaned over him. “I don’t think you give yourself enough credit. You’ve never been weak. You’ve been hurt. Now it’s time to mend that broken heart for good.”
Epilogue
Josie
Five Years Later…
I slid my keychain over the hook above our hallway table as I kicked the front door shut. The smell of takeout hung heavily in the air, and my stomach reminded me it was definitely past time for dinner.
Josephine’s humming from the kitchen settled against my skin. It was the best part of each day. Coming home to her made all my many years of wandering worth it.
