Page 21 of Outlawed

“You guys restored my faith in people a little.” I swallow around a lump in my throat, my palms damp with nerves. “I know you’ve heard about Dawn. But I don’t know if you heard the rest…about me, about what I can do. About who I am,” I whisper. “If you haven’t, you will. And I’ll understand if you want to leave. I promise, there will be no hard feelings.”

“We’re not going anywhere, lass,” Hank, one of the oldest ranch hands, says.

I bite my lip before I hold my palm up and make a spark appear. As it trails and dances across my skin, I lock eyes with Hank, who has a look of awe in his eyes. “Even if people come with pitchforks?”

“I carry a gun, ma’am. What the fuck is a pitchfork gonna do?”

I bark out a surprised laugh as he moves in closer. “As I said, we’re not going anywhere. Right, boys?”

“Nope.”

“Hell no.”

“Can’t get rid of us that easy.”

I look around at them all, fighting back stupid tears once more. “Why? You’re acting like working for a witch is normal.”

“Normal is overrated. You treat us well, Miss Hart,” Tim, the youngest of the crew, states.

“You give us a shit-ton of benefits most other places don’t,” Peter, another guy, adds.

“And it feels good here,” Tim says. Everyone turns to look at him. He shrugs. “What? It’s true. It feels like visiting family every time I come to work. You just don’t get that anywhere else.”

“Hell, he’s right. I like this family better than my own,” Karl, one of the others, jokes, making the men laugh.

“Does it hurt?” Belle asks, pointing at my hand.

“No. Well, not me anyway.”

She grins, stepping forward in fascination.

I make the spark disappear so she doesn’t reach out and hurt herself. She looks up at me sheepishly.

“Just so we’re clear, you won’t turn us into frogs if we annoy you?” Christian teases.

I roll my eyes. “Now, why would I turn you into a frog when I could turn you into an adorable chocolate lab?”

His mouth drops open in surprise, making me laugh. I immediately feel guilty about it.

“Hey, no. It’s okay to laugh and to smile in the face of shittiness. Dawn was proof of that. She smiled even when it re-split that damn lip of hers. She laughed even when it pulled her ribs. Little Hannah is gonna need that now more than ever.”

My shoulders slump, but I nod.

“It’s a cruel joke, I know, but life goes on for those of us left behind. We mourn her, carry her with us, and we never forget the way she touched our lives. But we do a disservice to the dead if we don’t live the lives they never got to, out of some misguided sense of guilt.”

I know Christian is talking about more than just Dawn, so I nod and offer him a small smile. “I’m going to take Willow out for a bit. Get some air.”

“I can go get her ready for you,” Belle offers.

I shake my head, knowing how cranky Willow can be with others. “I’ve got it, but thank you. When the guys come looking for me, tell them I won’t be long.”

“You’ve got it, sweetheart,” Christian tells me as I stroll down to the stable.

I grab a chunk of carrot and head down to Willow. She neighs when she sees me. I feed her the carrot as I open up her stall and let her out. “Hey, pretty girl. You wanna get out of here for a little while?”

She makes a chuffing sound and nods, making me smile.

“Okay.”