Chapter 12 #2
The space inside was narrow, and Jace didn’t want to get in the way. “I’ll be here if you need me.”
Erin nodded and followed Cassandra. Her attitude had changed completely as soon as she’d heard of the ill child, from relaxed and happy to entirely focused on her new patient. She slipped into the master bedroom at the end of the camper, where Eliana was lying on the bed.
“Honey, this nice lady is here to check out your tummy and see if she can help you,” her mother said.
Eliana, who looked to be about eight, used the corner of her blanket to wipe the tears from her cheeks. “It hurts!”
“My name is Erin. Can you show me where it hurts?” She kneeled down next to the bed so she wouldn’t loom over the little girl. She spoke softly, gently probing Eliana’s belly once she’d asked permission. There was some more discussion with Cassandra.
Jace couldn’t hear all of what was happening, but he didn’t need to. He had to admire someone who was so soft and delicate. Every day, or perhaps several times a day, he was coming to know a new part of her. So far, he liked all of them.
After a few minutes, Erin emerged from the bedroom. “Jace, will you help me outside?”
“What are we doing?” he asked, following her out.
“I need dandelions, and I saw some behind the camper. Do you know if Dex uses pesticides or herbicides?”
“I sure don’t,” Dex spoke for himself as he arrived with a bag of supplies. “What’s up?”
“She just needs a good laxative,” Erin explained as she reached down, grasped a dandelion at ground level, and pulled it up.
The root dangled from it. “The ones from the pharmacy do work, but they can work a bit too well in children. She’s only going to be miserable if it sends her in the opposite direction.
This should ease the pain and help things move along. ”
“A weed?” Dex asked.
“That’s just what everyone has taught you to believe,” Erin replied with a smile. She collected several more before heading back inside.
“She’s an interesting one,” Dex said quietly, coming up next to Jace.
He could see her through the screen door, making herself at home in Cassandra’s little kitchen as she put water on to boil. “It sounds odd, but I’d trust her. You should see what she did in my kitchen.”
“Hey, now,” Dex joked, elbowing him in the ribs. “This is the one, huh?”
“Yeah. She’s only in town for a few more days, though.” Jace watched as Erin washed and chopped the dandelion roots, steeping them for the tea. She began doing something else over on the counter, though he couldn’t tell what.
“What are you going to do?”
Jace sighed. “That’s the question of the hour. For right now, I think I’ll go inside.”
The men came in and sat down at the dinette, waiting to see if they were needed.
In the meantime, Erin was carrying a few things on a tray to the bedroom. “Here you go. Do you like hot tea?”
Eliana was still upset, but she looked somewhat interested. “Yeah, but usually just in the wintertime.”
“This one will make you feel better,” Erin told her. “I put some honey in it, which will make it taste pretty good, too.”
Eliana took an experimental sip. “It’s okay.”
“I made something else for you, too.” Erin lifted a circle of dandelion flowers from the tray. They were braided into each other, and she laid them gently on Eliana’s head. “It’s a crown.”
“Oh, how pretty!” The girl smiled for the first time as she lifted her head to look at herself in the mirror. “Can I keep it?”
“You can, but you have to make me a promise.”
“What?”
“I need you to drink all of your tea. It doesn’t have to be all in one big gulp. You can take your time, but you need to finish it, or it won’t work.”
“Okay!” Eliana quickly took a drink, but she had something more important on her mind. “Can you show me how you made the crown?”
“Sure, I’ve got some more flowers right here.”
All the tension that had arisen when Cassandra had come to them in distress had completely disappeared.
Jace could see just how good Erin was with kids.
The poor little girl had been crying in pain when they’d arrived, but now she was happily braiding flower stems. Eliana had completely forgotten how uncomfortable she was.
He wished a woman like that had been around for Ian.
Yes, Jace’s mother had certainly had her hand in raising the boy, but a grandmother wasn’t the same as having a mother of your own.
Jace’s heart hurt all over again at knowing he’d missed out on so many years with Erin.
Was there any possibility they could make things work, or was it too late?
Erin stood up. “You seem to be feeling much better. There’s still some more tea on the stove. You can save that and have it tomorrow. In the meantime, drink lots of water. You might also want to start eating some vegetables.”
“Ew!” Eliana protested.
“I know,” Erin said with a laugh. “It sounds like all you’ve had over the last couple of days is pizza and chips, though. Your body needs some fiber. You take care, Eliana, and have fun with your flowers.”
“I will! Thank you!”
Cassandra came with Erin into the main living area of the camper. “What do I owe you?”
“Not a thing,” Erin replied promptly.
“Oh, but surely you charge a fee for this sort of thing,” Cassandra protested.
“I do when I’m working in my shop. I’m technically on vacation, though, so this wasn’t work.” Erin smiled at her. “I’m just glad I could help.”
Once they’d disentangled themselves from Cassandra and Dex, Jace and Erin started down the trail they’d originally come there to explore. “What you did back there was pretty impressive,” Jace said.
Her steps matched his, their fingers entwined. “It was just a simple tea.”
“It was more than that,” he insisted. “I know how kids are. You can’t just tell them to take their medicine and expect everything to turn out right. You really helped Eliana.”
“Well, thank you.” She turned her head shyly away.
“Hey.” Jace stopped and used her hand to turn her to him. “I really want you to know how incredible you are. If you can do stuff like that, it’s no wonder people come to your shop, witchcraft or not.”
She tipped her head back. Her lips found his, warm and soft.
Jace wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, deepening their kiss, wanting to hold onto her for as long as he could.