Chapter 3 #2
Hattie had never made a single complaint. The opposite, in fact.
Tess floated over. “I made her some cookies if you don’t mind taking them with you.”
Moira eyed the plate of what appeared to be chocolate chip cookies. “Just for her? None for us?”
Tess smirked. “There’s a full plate in the kitchen.”
“May the gods bless you,” Moira said, taking the plate from Tess’s pale hands.
As she scooted away, I called out. “Bring me two back!”
“Depends on how many Tess brought,” Moira sang as she disappeared around the corner.
“I brought a lot,” Tess said, then frowned. “But Moira can eat her body weight in snacks.”
A surprised laugh broke from me. Despite what happened with Ash and then Titania, Tess had come through it okay.
She still had moments where she became paralyzed with intrusive thoughts, but after everything, Tess had come out better for it.
She was a little more self-deprecating with her humor and a little more adventurous than she had been, telling me she only had one life and needed to make the most of it.
Wise advice from our young banshee, and something all of us should take to heart.
“Thanks for thinking of us.”
Tess shrugged. “I don’t have a boyfriend anymore, so I can make cookies and do whatever I want.”
I laughed again. “True.”
Tess settled onto the stool behind the register and pulled the order book over.
I eyed her. She’d always be pale. Her heritage as a banshee required it.
But there was a happy flush in her cheeks and a sparkle in her eye where there’d been none before.
As much as it pained me to know Tess was doing far better than Ash, her glow up made me ecstatic.
“You know,” I ventured, “when you find that perfect person, you can still make cookies and do whatever you want.”
Tess waved a casual hand. “I know, but then I have to make sure I have extra time for them, and I have to split my time between what they want to do and what I want to do.” She shook her head.
“I don’t want to make decisions like that right now.
If I want to see an afternoon movie, I can just buy a ticket and go.
If I want to make chocolate chip cookies, I don’t have to worry about scheduling the time between a date or an event. ”
I blinked. “Fair enough,” I murmured. “Being single can be a ton of fun.”
She smiled. “So far it’s wonderful!”
I was glad Ash was in the back because ouch.
The shop bell rang. Power swept into the room, a tingle of awareness making the hair on the back of my arms stand up.
A man entered. Tall, lean but built with muscle, sharp jawline, but a shaggy mess of blond hair at odds with his mostly clean-cut appearance.
He wore a pair of gray slacks and an emerald-green pullover sweater.
Handsome and well-dressed, I automatically assumed he was here to buy something for his girlfriend or wife.
I rose from the worktable, taking a clean towel with me to wipe off the remnants of plant material from the display I was working on. “Welcome to Little Shop of Florals. Shopping for a significant other today?”
The man’s gaze landed on me. I almost sucked in a breath at the intensity of his bright blue gaze but managed to control myself. “Are you Evie Quinn?” A crisp English accent in a deep voice would have melted me a few years ago, but I was made of sterner stuff now.
I tilted my head. “I’m afraid I’m at a loss here. Who are you?”
A devastating smile. “I’m Barrett Masters. We should have met years ago, but you managed to elude my notice for far too long.”
My eyebrows went up. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
A sheen of crimson rolled over his irises. I took a step back and pulled power in anticipation of a strike. Another Chimera. Perfect timing. Not much of anything interesting had happened in a few months, so naturally, it was time for the sky to fall.
He held up a placating hand. “Peace, Miss Quinn. Contrary to what you’ve seen from our kind, not all of us are bloodthirsty monsters. I’m here to make you an offer.”
“And if I don’t want to entertain any offers?”
Barrett’s smile reached his eyes. “Your reputation is well-earned, I see.”
“Reputation?” I frowned.
“Word of your exploits has reached across the globe. Though I can’t say I fault you for your responses to anything in the past, if what I’m hearing has happened to you is true.”
Moira came in from the back and halted, eyes narrowing as she spotted Barrett. Without a word, she came up to stand beside me.
Barrett’s eyes briefly flicked to her, dismissing her as a threat. I almost smiled. Moira might not get involved in a lot of scuffles, but I had no doubt she could hold her own if she were ever pushed.
“Exploits?” I echoed, even as anger filled me at his words. “I wouldn’t give a shit if you faulted me or not.”
His smile widened. “Forgive me. Poor choice of words. My understanding is one of our kind, Rhona to be specific, intruded on your territory and tried to stake an…ill-advised claim on you.”
“True,” I acknowledged though I didn’t expand on what I’d done to her afterward.
Barrett’s blue eyes sparkled. “Death was a light sentence for Rhona. And I already know what Finn did to you.” His expression sobered. “If I had known years ago, I would have ensured he never caught up to you.”
He gave me a slight bow. “The making of—” He paused, his eyes lighting on Tess, then Moira.
“They know,” I said shortly.
He dipped his head in a slight nod. “The making of a new Chimera is a sacred thing and not something our kind takes lightly.”
Moira stiffened. “It wasn’t her fault,” she snapped, her voice heated.
Barrett focused his full attention on her. “If I thought it was, we’d be having a much different conversation right now.”
Moira snorted. “You have no idea what kind of storm you’d get caught up in if you came for her.”
A thin smile. “I’m afraid I do.” He gestured toward the seating area. “Please. I’m here only to talk. May I sit for a while?”
I thought about rebuffing him, but he’d made no aggressive moves and appeared to be here for a discussion and nothing more. “Please,” I said after a moment of tense silence. “Would you like some coffee or tea?”
“Coffee, please.”
I turned to make a cup for both of us, but Moira laid a hand on my arm. “I’ll get it. Go have a seat.”
“Cream and sugar?” Moira asked, her voice a little too sweet.
“Neither,” Barrett said, eyes narrowing a hair, as if he heard it too and realized he should be suspicious.
She flashed a friendly smile and walked away.
Barrett leaned forward and lowered his voice. “Do I need to worry about poison?”
“Umm.”
“No!” Moira shouted back but added an ominous disclaimer. “Not this time.”
His lips twitched. “I like her.”
“Me too.” I crossed an ankle over my knee and waited.
Barrett’s power beat against my skin, and I took a moment to ponder if he knew what he was doing or if his magic was so immense he couldn’t keep it completely contained. The thought made my heart skip a beat, and I studied him a little closer.
Moira interrupted with two steaming cups of coffee. “Poison free,” she said in a too chipper voice.
He raised his mug in a salute. “Thank you.”
Barrett didn’t speak for a few moments. When he did, what he said took me by surprise. Hard to do these days.
“I’ve rented a house in Joy Springs for the next few months.”
I tried and failed to keep the surprise off my face. “Oh? Any particular reason why?”
An amused smirk tipped his lips. “You.”
Moira snorted from the worktable area.
I shot her a glare and chewed on the inside of my cheek as I tried to come up with a response to that one.
“I’m not sure I understand what you mean,” I said after a long moment. “We’ve never met, and I do my best to keep my head down.”
Moira snorted again.
“I get it, Moira!” I snapped.
The witch laughed out loud.
Barrett’s lips twitched.
“I said I do my best,” I grumbled.
He leaned forward, the coffee mug balanced on his palms. “Our people are broken and scattered across the world.”
“For a long time, I thought I was the only one.”
His eyes flickered. “Our numbers are low,” he admitted. “We are scattered far and wide.”
I noticed he didn’t say what those numbers were. “You know what the Chimeras have done to me. Why should I take you at face value?”
“You shouldn’t,” he said simply.
A faint smile curved his lips. “I’ve done my homework, Miss Quinn. You have yet to pick a fight, but you’ve proven victorious over everyone who’s tried to engage you in conflict.”
“Fuck yeah,” Moira said quietly as she fist pumped under the table.
“Not without consequences,” I said quietly, the memory of floating through a never-ending nothing sending a chill through my bones.
His expression sobered. “Few walk away without wounds of some kind.” Barrett sipped his coffee.
“I’m here only to help. You are a Chimera, Evie.
Our powers are varied. While I don’t know all that you are, my reports tell me you are tangled up with the fae.
If you do possess fae blood and you carry the Chimera line… ”
His voice trailed off. “Then your power may be endless. I’m here to show you what we can do.”
“And if I don’t want your help?” I knew there was still much to learn about my power, both Chimera and fae. But this man was a complete stranger, and there were few strangers bearing gifts who came without ulterior motives.
He shrugged. “Then I’ll have a short sightseeing trip in Texas and return home in a week or two. No harm no foul.”
My eyes narrowed, making Barrett laugh.
“I promise. You will have no quarrel with me.”
“What do you want in return?”
When his eyes lit up, I felt vindicated. “I’m not marrying you,” I blurted. “Or doing anything weird.”
Barrett’s mouth snapped shut for a long moment. A bewildered look overtook his expression. “Uh. I’m not in the market for a bride, willing or unwilling,” he said slowly.
“Good. Because I have no desire to be a pawn in a game I don’t understand.”