26. Chapter 26
Chapter 26
Time for a pick-me-up. Tessa walked into the clan kitchen and over to the cupboard where Marilyn kept the desserts she made. After working late, Tessa had come to check on everyone, but since she’d missed dinner, she needed a sugary treat.
It had been a few days since Ben started wearing the necklace, and none of his memories had come back yet. Each day that passed seemed to ratchet up Ben’s anxiety.
It didn’t help that Jonas hadn’t found anything yet regarding Mia. Even after talking to Evelyn and getting some names of Mia’s past friends and college roommates, they had all been a dead end so far. Megan had been reaching out to some of Mia’s colleagues in the art world to see if they had heard anything. So far nothing.
“You won’t find the sweets in there.”
Tessa turned as her best friend walked into the room with Bella on her hip. “Where are they?”
“She made cheesecake bars today. They’re in the fridge.”
Tessa walked over and opened the commercial-grade refrigerator and smiled. A whole tray of bars sat on the middle shelf. Some had cherries on top. Others chocolate. Decisions, decisions…
Megan chuckled behind her. “Just take one of each. You know you’re going to anyway.”
Tessa smiled and grabbed one in each hand. “You know me so well, Megs.”
Megan set a small plate on the counter for her. “I do. Which is why when I saw your car pull up, I knew that you would be here or…”
Tessa set the chocolate bar down and held the cherry bar up for further inspection. Marilyn was a food artist. “Or?”
“Or looking for Ben.”
Tessa shook her head. “No. I…I mean…yeah. I was planning on checking on him…and Lily. And of course…you and Bella.”
Megan’s eyebrows rose. “That was an insightful response.”
Tessa took a bite of the cheesecake and mumbled, “So good,” around the mouthful.
“I don’t know about you, Bella, but I think your Auntie Tessa is trying to avoid talking to me.”
“Blergh!”
“I agree.”
Tessa finished swallowing. “I don’t know what you want me to say. I feel bad for the way things happened at the motel. We still need to find Mia and have a curse to break, and I want to help with that.”
“You could help me or Jonas with our research.”
“I could,” she said to diffuse the inquisition.
“Or you could go out on the back deck. Eric is working with Ben to help him release his dragon.”
Tessa’s head whipped toward the back window, but she didn’t see anyone out there.
Megan laughed out loud, which got Bella laughing as well. If the cheesecake bar wasn’t so good, Tessa would smash it on her best friend’s smirking face.
“Did I say deck? I meant down on the cliffs.”
Tessa wasn’t sure what her face was conveying right now, but Megan stopped laughing. “It’s okay to care for Ben.”
“Of course I care for Ben. He’s part of your family. Sienna and Eric and the clan were heartbroken when they thought he died.”
“You know what I mean, Tessa.”
Tessa shook her head, and Megan held up her hand to stop whatever she was going to say next. Which was fine with her since she didn’t know what she had planned to say next.
Megan bounced Bella on her hip. “Ben is a wonderful man. From the stories I’ve heard, he’s practically a saint.”
Something she was definitely not . “Exactly. I don’t know how I would fit into that picture.”
“Just fine, I would think.”
Tessa set down the rest of the cheesecake. “Even if I could be attracted to him…”
Megan opened her mouth, and Tessa rushed on. “Could! I said could . He is trying to figure out who he is right now. He doesn’t need me to complicate things.”
“Okay. But that doesn’t mean you can’t be there to help him. Eric told me that he’s getting more and more frustrated, which isn’t going to help him remember who he is.”
Tessa sighed. “I know.”
“So be there as his friend if that’s what you want to call it. He hasn’t said anything, but I think it helps him to have you around since you didn’t know him before. You don’t have any expectations for him to remember you.”
“True.” He did seem to be calmer when she was around, or at least she thought he was.
“Plus when you’re not here, he not so subtly asks when you’ll be stopping by again.”
Tessa’s chest warmed at the words. “Really? I mean…it’s good to offer him support.”
Megan chuckled. “Right. Support . I call blergh, my friend.”
Bella giggled.
Traitors, the both of them. Before she could respond, the back door opened, and Eric and Ben trudged inside. Eric walked over to Megan and kissed her before taking Bella from her arms.
“No luck?” Megan said.
Eric shook his head. “No. But we’ll figure it out. It’s only been a couple days.”
Ben frowned but didn’t say anything. Bella reached for him, and his eyes widened in response. Eric handed her to Ben, and she clapped her hands on Ben’s beard.
Megan smiled. “She hasn’t been around someone with a beard before.”
Ben’s face relaxed. “That’s okay. She’s a cutie. Aren’t you?”
Bella threw her arms up and cheered. No one could stay in a bad mood with Bella near.
Evelyn walked into the kitchen while they were laughing. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but can we call Dr. Murphy?”
“Is something wrong?” Tessa asked.
“It’s Lily. She’s not feeling well. I was wondering if he could come check on her.”
“Let me give him a call,” Eric said.
“Thank you,” Evelyn said. “Tessa, she wants to see you and Ben.”
“Of course.”
Ben handed Bella back to Megan, and they followed Evelyn down the hall and up the stairs.
“What’s wrong with her?” Tessa asked.
“She feels hot to me and she is uncomfortable, like she can’t keep still. She’s never been sick while she’s been with me. I’ve taken care of lots of fevers in my life, but with her being a dragon, I don’t want to make assumptions.”
Evelyn opened the bedroom door. Lily was sitting on the bed. She smiled when she saw them, but it didn’t reach her eyes and her face was flushed.
“Are you not feeling good, sweetheart?” Tessa asked.
Lily shook her head. Tessa rested her hand on Lily’s head and she was warm. “Dr. Murphy is going to come see you and fix you up. I bet he’ll let you use his stethoscope while he’s here.”
Lily gave a slight nod, and Tessa caught Ben’s worried expression that more than likely mirrored hers.
An hour later Lily sat propped up against the headboard with Ben sitting on the bed reading her a book.
Ian packed up his bag and came over to speak with Tessa and Evelyn.
“What’s wrong with her?” Evelyn asked.
“She is starting to show signs of her transition to dragon. She’s running a fever, and the lines on her back are pink. They’ll continue to darken to a bright red before her wings come out for the first time. After that the lines will fade away and her back will be clear.”
“Why is this happening now?” Tessa asked.
Ian set his bag down. “Lily has been living with humans, right?”
“Yes, for over a year at least,” Evelyn said.
“Normally a dragon child will imprint with their parent or guardian around the age of three or four and their wings will emerge. Lily hasn’t had a dragon to guide her, and she’s passed the normal age of transition. Now she’s been thrust into a houseful of dragons, and it’s triggered her change. We need to figure out who she linked to so that they can guide her through the change.”
“So it can’t be just any dragon?” Tessa asked.
“No. Her dragon has chosen someone to help her.”
Tessa stomach dropped as Lily giggled at something Ben said to her. “I think I have a good idea who that might be.” The one dragon in the house who didn’t know how to teach her.
Ian nodded. “That’s what I was afraid of.”
Once they had settled Lily in bed and Evelyn stayed to look after her, they adjourned to the office to meet up with Eric, Megan, Marcus, and Sienna.
Ben paced back and forth as Ian explained what was happening to Lily. “How can I coax her dragon out? I don’t know how to handle my own!”
Eric answered. “Sienna, Marcus, and I can help. So can Ian for that matter.”
“I’ve tried for days now and nothing worked. Now Lily is in pain because of me.”
Ian held up his hands. “This is normal for kids. Lily isn’t ready yet to change. The marks on her back are still pink.”
“How long do you think we have until they turn red?” Tessa asked.
“Maybe tomorrow or the next day.”
Ben started pacing again.
“We’ll figure it out, Ben,” Eric said. “If we need to change ourselves, that might prompt your dragon, which would start her transition.”
Ben pulled out the necklace from under his shirt and gripped the pendant. It was supposed to be magical, some sort of lucky charm that was failing him…and now Lily. “Maybe if I could remember who the hell I was, I could actually remember how to turn.”
“I’ve asked Marilyn to make some herbal tea I gave her,” Ian said. “It’s a special blend to help Lily relax and get some rest, which is what I would suggest for the rest of you as well.”
Sienna and Marcus walked Ian out.
Eric gripped Ben’s shoulder. “We’ll figure it out, brother.”
He and Megan said their good nights, but Tessa couldn’t get herself to leave. At least not yet. “Lily is going to be fine.”
He turned to her. “You don’t know that.”
He was spiraling and she needed to help him. “I do. For two reasons. First, you will do anything to help her.”
“I will, but—”
Tessa interrupted him before he went back down the rabbit hole. “And second, Lily has already showed us what is going to happen. She drew the picture of the two of you with wings. You are both going to be fine.”
He blew out a hard breath. “I want to be able to help.”
Tessa stepped forward and rested her hand on his arm. “You will. And you are helping. Do you not see how happy Eric, Sienna, and Marcus are to have you back? Wait until your clan knows you’re alive. They will be thrilled.”
His face relaxed. “How do you always know what to say?”
“I’m brilliant. Just ask Marcus and your brother. The first time they met me, they said, Tessa Stuart is brilliant. We should listen to everything she has to say.”
Ben laughed, which had been her goal.
“They were right about that.”
Those brown eyes—Did they have flecks of gold too? Step away from the lumbersnack. She had just told Megan she wouldn’t complicate things for Ben right now. And for her. Because she was falling for a man who didn’t know about his past.
When he did, would he want her to be a part of his future?