Chapter 4
I Inherited that Handsome Mage
On the way to the cottage, I silently debate how to reintroduce Rowan to my parents. What tactic should I take?
Is he my friend? That owl I mentioned? My employee? My mate? It’s all gotten so complicated.
But when Rowan stops his trap outside the garden gate, I temporarily forget about my relationship troubles because an auburn-haired pixie emerges from the front door. I blink at my childhood friend, wondering if my eyes are playing tricks on me.
“Nadine?” I hop from the cart and meet her in the middle of the front yard, hugging her tightly.
“This place is amazing!” she exclaims. “Just on the way to the cottage, I made friends with three sparrows and a baby bunny.”
“What are you doing here? I was just telling Rowan about you!”
“I came with your parents.”
Nadine is a few inches shorter than I am. She wears her hair long, but it’s almost always pulled up in a messy bun. She has pretty freckles, bright green eyes, and a way about her that endears people to her almost instantly. Like my mother, she’s an autumn pixie.
“You’re the surprise.” I smile at my parents when they emerge from the cottage as well.
“I had to come see the town that stole you from us.” Her eyes move to Rowan, and her lips part with surprise. “Oh my.”
I follow her gaze. Rowan stands near the gate with Chester. Though almost always composed, he seems uncomfortable right now.
I look at him like I’m meeting him for the first time.
He wears his usual waistcoat, button-up shirt, and pressed trousers—a look I’m beginning to think of as the Neilfellow dress code.
Though he’s not bulky, and his lines are long and lean, his shoulders are broad enough to hint at the muscle he built while he was an owl.
The evening sun brings out the red in his thick, dark brown hair and highlights his handsome face. Unlike other mages I’ve come to know, his fae heritage shines far more brightly than his human.
He’s…perfection.
How is this man my mate?
Quietly, so only I will hear her, Nadine says, “The natives are certainly easy on the eyes, aren’t they?”
“It’s all the high fae blood in town,” I murmur.
“Is he taken?”
“So taken.”
“Yours?” she asks.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Nicely done.” She grins. “Does he have a brother?”
“No, but he has a cousin. You don’t want him, though. He’s a pain in the tail.”
“Noted.” She grins in Rowan’s direction and raises her voice so he will hear her. “Hi there.”
Oblivious to our whispered conversation, Rowan nods as he closes the gate, looking adorably staunch and awkward. “Hello.”
I step forward to begin the introductions. “Mom, Dad, Nadine, this is Rowan. Rowan, this is my mom, dad, and best friend, Nadine.”
“It’s a pleasure,” Rowan says, all stuffy and nervous.
“I remember you, Rowan,” Dad says warmly. “It’s been ages, though. I doubt you’ll remember me.”
“Vaguely, sir. You’re Laverna’s nephew.”
“Correct!” Dad beams. “I see you’re still working at the tea shop.”
“I returned to help Kit, yes.” Rowan’s gaze meets mine briefly, and a little zing of attraction passes between us.
Do not sparkle.
Looking more than a touch suspicious, Mom glances my way as she says to Rowan, “You came back just for Kit?”
“And for Laverna,” Rowan pulls his eyes from mine. Though I suspect he senses I’m struggling with my sparkles, his face gives nothing away. “We were close.”
“That’s nice,” Dad says. “Very nice. Why don’t you come in for a while?”
Rowan glances at his waiting cart. “Oh, I should…”
“I’ll help you with your horse,” Dad offers. “I grew up here, you know. Worked at the livery stable while I was in high school, back when it was next to the grocery store and the Samuels family ran it. It’s changed hands now.” He pauses. “Now that I think of it, that was probably forty years ago.”
Rowan gives me a helpless look, but I just shrug, hiding a smile.
“Do you know the Danfords?” Dad asks as Rowan unhitches the horse. “Hudson brought us home earlier. Gave me his card. Nice guy.”
“Yes, sir. I grew up next door to the Danfords.”
“Did you?” Dad asks, sounding genuinely delighted. “You’ve been around a while. Tell me, have you seen the gnomes? How long have they been on the property? Have you ever seen them pass through before?”
I don’t hear Rowan’s answer because they head to the back garden, leaving me standing with Mom and Nadine.
“That man is extremely handsome,” Nadine says, fanning her face with a grin.
Mom frowns. Less than impressed, she says, “I believe the extremely handsome man is taken with you, Kit.”
Before I can respond, Nadine says to my mother, “I told you she started seeing someone. She was far too quiet for living here all by herself.”
“Are you dating him?” Mom demands.
“Oh.” I rub the back of my neck. “Yes. In a manner?”
Nadine puts on a thoughtful frown. “How do you date someone ‘in a manner?’ Is that like on social media all those years ago, when someone would classify their relationship as ‘it’s complicated?’”
“Oh, Kit,” Mom sighs, ignoring Nadine. “I was hoping you would find a nice pixie while you were here.”
“Mom.”
“I’m sure there are lots of lovely options. You haven’t been here too long. Are you sure you want to leap into a relationship so quickly?”
“What is he?” Nadine asks before I can respond, not bothering with formalities when it’s just the three of us.
I give my mom a wary look. “A mage.”
They both gasp. Nadine lifts a hand to her throat, clutching non-existent pearls. Her scandalized grin says she’s delighted.
“Kathleen,” Mom hisses. “He’s not high fae?”
“I mean, he’s…half.”
Nadine drops her voice like we’re telling secrets. “Does he have a wand?”
“Several. He’s a few college classes away from becoming a sorcerer.”
“Oh,” Nadine draws out the word, looking toward the back garden. “Handsome and gifted.”
“And dangerous,” my mother feels the need to add.
I glance at her, uneasy. I didn’t expect this, but I suppose I should have. All my life, my parents have been telling me to stay away from mages.
Mom studies me for several seconds, and then her stance softens. “Don’t give me that look. I suppose I trust your judgment.” Then, as if she can’t help herself, she adds, “Mostly.”
Mostly.
Together, we walk into the cottage. Dad and Rowan enter the living room from the kitchen, finished with the horse.
Nadine gestures toward the empty perch. “We’ve been here all afternoon, and I haven’t seen your owl.” She looks around as if he’ll suddenly appear. “Where is he? Does he sleep outside during the day? I was hoping to make friends with him.”
I slowly turn to Rowan, not sure how to proceed. Mouth set in a firm line, he offers me the subtlest of shrugs, silently telling me we might as well get it over with.
Okay. Here we go.
“Rowan is the owl,” I say calmly.
The room falls silent.
Nadine finds her voice first. “He’s a shifter? I thought you said he’s a mage.”
“He is a mage. He’s studying metamorphoses and had a slight setback—” I cut myself off, deciding to change tactics. “You know what? It doesn’t really matter. He’s not an owl anymore.”
“Are you telling us Rowan is the owl you inherited from your aunt?” Mom demands.
Oh, this isn’t good.
I glance at Rowan. “Technically…yes?”
“Young man.” My father faces Rowan, looking horribly uncomfortable—like he knows he must step into stern father mode but is quite allergic to any form of confrontation. “You’re not living in the cottage with my daughter, are you?”
“No, sir.” Rowan blanches, extending his hands palm-up as if that will show his innocence. “I mean, I was. While I was an owl. But I’m not anymore.” He swallows hard. “Sir.”
Usually, Rowan is extremely well-spoken, but he’s flustered right now.
“No wonder you like living here,” Nadine whispers to me. “Vermont is so much more fun than I expected.”
Well, I’m glad she’s enjoying herself, because Rowan looks like he wants to turn back into an owl and fly far, far away.
After the awkward introduction, Rowan attempts a graceful escape, but my parents won’t hear of it. So he ends up staying through dinner, as tense as a man at a job interview.
“He likes you so much,” Nadine says to me quietly from the kitchen entry, sipping a cup of peppermint tea as she looks into the living room where Rowan currently sits with my parents. “Look how nervous he is.”
“I feel bad.”
“Why? Your parents are delightful. Most would have tossed him out on his tail-feathers the minute they learned about the weird inheritance thing, but they’re genuinely making an effort.”
“It’s not like any of this is Rowan’s fault. And besides, he was an owl when he lived here—not exactly a threat to my innocence.”
“How long did it take you to figure it out, though?” she asks quietly. “Personally, I have zero qualms wandering around half-naked if just my cat is home, but I’d certainly be covering up if I knew there was a mage-owl in the house.”
“Rowan told me immediately. There was absolutely no half-naked wandering.”
She presses her lips together to hide a laugh. “Goodness, he’s good-looking. Did you have heart failure when he turned back?”
“No,” I whisper. “But I almost passed out when I learned that the reversal process fused our magic, and now we’re basically the mage/pixie equivalent of bonded shifters.”
It takes Nadine several moments to process that. Her mug hovers inches from her mouth, and her eyes go wide. Slowly, she lowers the tea. “You’re what?”
“You heard me.”
“I did, but I don’t understand.”
“No one does. Not Rowan, who’s studied magic for years. Not even Ansel, our local full-fledged sorcerer.”
“You’re bonded mates?” she whispers.
I nod.
She looks at Rowan, blinking, looking more like an owl than he does at the moment. “Lucky.”
Startled, a giggle escapes me.
Nadine pulls me into the kitchen, desperate for details.
“What’s it like?” she demands. “The bond. How does it feel? I’ve read shifter fiction, but most of it is written by humans.”