Page 54 of Grim Tidings

“It was an accident,” I whisper. “I didn’t mean to do that.”

His face is inscrutable. A stone mask. “Your magic?” he asks.

I nod.

His fingers flex over mine. “Hold on to it,” he tells me.

I nod, my teeth sinking against my bottom lip. “Okay.”

I wrestle for control, a ribbon dancing just out of reach. But how do I hold on to something I never grasped in the first place?

“Do you have it now?”

I stare at him. The shape of his eyes. The faint scar above his left eyebrow.

“Darcy,” he repeats, his voice stern and focused. Just sharp enough to guide me out of the haze I’m buried in. “Do you have it now?”

“I think so.”

Footsteps sound on the stairs. I try to pull my hands out of Gabriel’s grip, but he holds me steady.

He ducks his head and his scruff catches against my braid. “Good?” he asks, his breath a warm puff against my ear.

I nod, more frantic than I’d like. “The flowers. Frank can’t see that I’ve killed the flowers.”

Gabriel’s brows knit together. With one quick movement he lets go of my hands, then swipes his arm across the table. The mason jar goes tumbling off the edge and shatters against the floor, sending dried flower petals and broken glass every which way. Water creeps out beneath like spilled blood.

Another swipe of his arm and some of Frank’s fresh flowers fall over top, masking the dead ones.

“What the hell are you doing?” Frank asks, edging his way out from the cellar door with a massive bundle of mums in his arms. He drops them on a table, then hurries over. He studies the mess, then turns an accusatory look at Gabriel. “You ruined her flowers!”

“It was an accident,” Gabriel says. “I bumped into the table.”

“An accident,” Frank repeats with a huff. Color blooms high on his cheeks and along his neck. “Tell the truth.”

Gabriel holds up his hands. “That is the truth.”

“She’s been working hard on them all morning, then you bulldoze in here and disrupt us.” Frank digs a bony finger in the middle of Gabriel’s chest. “I don’t tolerate bullies, and there will be no reindeer games in my shop. Do you understand?”

Something warm blooms to life in the middle of my chest, spreading out, out, out. While I know, logically, the mess is my fault and

Gabriel did it because I needed his help, it’s nice to have someone defend me without hesitation.

Gabriel’s expression turns bewildered. “What’s a reindeer game?”

“Tomfoolery,” Frank explains. “Shenanigans.”

Gabriel grins, turning his body slightly to protect himself as Frank starts to smack him with the back of his hand. “Stop hitting me, old man. I wasn’t engaging in any tomfoolery.” His bright blue eyes lift to mine, crinkling at the corners. “Tell him, Darcy.”

I’m still trying to catch my breath, floating in a fog of fear. I wanted to create something beautiful, and it crumbled to dust beneath my touch instead.

“It’s true,” I manage, my voice weak. “It was an accident.”

Gabriel’s smile falters. I pretend not to notice. Instead, I go to my knees and start to collect the flowers strewn across the floor with broad sweeps of my hands.

Gabriel bends to help, his fingertips brushing against mine as he picks up the largest pieces of broken glass.

“Be careful,” he says. “Sharp edges.”