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Mitch held her hand as they walked toward the B&B. He held on a little bit too hard, but she didn’t mind. The sun was coming up; they were alone on the street. She didn’t know or care where they were going.

“We can get in my truck and leave right now,” Mitch said, his voice more gravelly than usual. “We’ll get as far away from Mystic Springs as…”

“No,” she said calmly. “You know what will happen if we… if I run.” Mitch was free to go. He’d tried to save her, he’d done his best, but it wasn’t meant to be. “You don’t have to stay and watch.”

He stopped on the sidewalk and tugged on her hand so she faced him. He was angry. Hurt. “Do you think I would leave you to handle this on your own? Do you really think I would run? Give up? No. There has to be another way.”

“There’s not. Not with the book and the information in it gone. You heard the girls. The instructions can’t be replicated. They’re gone.” She leaned in and up and kissed him. The sex was great. She loved the sex. But even more startling was the way they kissed. No one had ever kissed her this way. No one had ever made her feel a love so deep.

If she told him how much she loved him, it would only make what had to happen more painful. She wouldn’t do that to him.

She ended the kiss and stepped back. “If I just have a couple of days, two and a half, to be precise, there are a few things I have to take care of.”

Mitch shook his head. “Don’t think, don’t worry…”

“I want to talk to my kids, but I’m not going to tell them what’s going on.” They’d think she’d lost her mind. Well, they already thought that. Their very proper mother buying a bar had shocked them both. “I don’t want them here and there’s not enough time to see them, but… I need to hear their voices.”

“Whatever you want.”

“I’ll draw up papers leaving The Doghouse to Stella.” Against all reason, Armi smiled. “In a weird way it feels like it was hers all along. She’ll thrive there.”

Mitch nodded. Had he accepted that this was inescapable? Not yet. Maybe he would before the autumnal equinox.

“And I want to find a quieter, more private place for us to stay until…” She took a deep breath and released it. “Until.” She smiled. “I want ice cream and sex, not at the same time, mind you. I want to talk all night and learn everything there is to know about Mitch Duncan.”

“We should work on developing your talents.”

There wasn’t much to develop, as far as she could see. Eyes that glowed on occasion and better reflexes than normal. What good would that do her? If she didn’t bite the bullet and do what needed to be done and the war with evil Mitch had been warning her about came to pass, maybe she’d develop more useful fighting skills. “We haven’t made any progress with that so far. Might as well just wait and see if they kick in when they’re needed.” If they were needed. She wouldn’t need any special abilities to simply accept what was coming. Would she?

He took her face in his hands. “I love you.”

Armi shook her head. “Don’t say that.”

She had two and a half days to grab what she wanted from what little was left of her life. Her kids, Mitch, a moment or two of peace. Everything else she’d been carrying with her, anger at Andrew, determination to show him and everyone else that they didn’t know the real her, her stubbornness… none of that was important. Talk about learning to live in the moment!

“First order of business, let’s find a place to stay that’s just for us.” She wanted quiet. She wanted peace. She wanted to discover everything she’d missed by not finding Mitch until the end.

* * *

Sonny’s big old house was cold in the morning. Mary had left the motel with nothing but the clothes on her back, so she’d slept naked. That seemed to suit Sonny—and her—just fine. But when her feet hit the floor in the morning, she needed something warm. She padded across the bedroom floor and quietly opened the closet door. There wasn’t anything handy that seemed to be what she was looking for, so she rifled around to the side looking for a robe, maybe a flannel shirt. She couldn’t even imagine Sonny in flannel.

There were three robes in different colors and fabrics, all tucked in the back. No flannel, of course. She grabbed the fluffiest robe of the three, a muted green plush garment, and pulled it on. She hugged the robe to her body against the chill, and then she ran for the bathroom off the hallway.

She flipped on the light and stared into the mirror for a long, surreal moment. What the hell?

If the streak in her hair had been silver, like Armi’s, she might not have noticed it right away since her hair was so fair. But the impossible, new, and startling black streak stood out like the proverbial sore thumb. She ran her fingers through those strands, wondering if maybe she’d slept on something, or if some kind of goo had seeped from the ceiling, but all she felt was her own, soft hair.

What the hell? Was this a sign of some kind? A warning? A promise…

She turned and ran back to the bedroom. “Sonny,” she whispered as she approached the bed, casting a glance to the unmarked, unstained ceiling and then to her clean pillow. When Sonny didn’t move at all she raised her voice. They’d never spent the night together before, so she didn’t know if he woke easily, hard, in a good mood or grumpy. It didn’t matter. She couldn’t wait.

“Come on, Sonny.” She sat on the bed and reached across to shake his shoulder. “Look at this. Look. Look!”

For a moment he didn’t move. He was so still she thought about leaning down and in to see if he was still breathing. Before she could do that, he rolled over and glared at her. Okay, he was a grump in the morning. She could almost see the harsh words that were coming her way. But his expression softened, changed, and he looked puzzled as he sat up. “What did you do to your hair?”

“Nothing!” she insisted. “I woke up and found it like this.” She pointed to her head.

Sonny reached out and raked his fingers through the strands. “It’s like Armi’s gray,” he said, and then he smiled. “I don’t understand, but I like it.”