by Davida McLea
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Chapter Fourteen
Josh sat with his head in his hands as Lorena and McKenna took turns berating him.
"This is what I was talking about when you tried to train yourself!” McKenna paced back and forth in front of him.
"What in the hell were you thinking?” Lorena added. “You knew that you were going to be trained—by me—but you continued to try to work on your own anyway!"
"Do you see what you caused?” McKenna screeched.
"Do you understand that you could have died?"
"That thing could have taken your soul with it when it left, and all that would have remained of you would have been a shell!"
Josh opened his mouth to apologize, but he was rescued by Aidan.
"I think the guy has been through enough.” Aidan clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Isn't it punishment enough to be possessed by a demon, without having to take verbal abuse from the two of you?"
"Verbal abuse?” McKenna turned on Aidan. “This is mild compared to what he deserves."
But even as she said the words, she knew that Aidan was right. It had been two days since the final cleansing, and Josh was still pale and weak. His face showed faint red traces of the burns he had sustained when the blessed water injured him. She had come so close to losing Josh. She turned and embraced him.
"You scared the hell out of me.” Her voice broke as she bit back a sob.
"I scared the hell out of myself,” he said. “I just got so impatient."
"That's the first lesson you will learn,” Lorena said. “Patience will be of more benefit to you than any of your other gifts."
"So you'll still teach me?” Hope filled his eyes. “I thought you would be too mad."
"Oh, I'm royally pissed,” Lorena said as she crossed her arms over her chest. “But you're like a loaded gun waiting to go off. It would be irresponsible to let you walk around untrained. Something else could try to gain control of you when no one was around to haul your ass out of the fire."
"Thank you,” he whispered, gratitude making his voice soft.
"Don't thank me yet,” she said with a smile. “You haven't even had your first lesson."
* * * *
McKenna glanced out the window of The Book Shelf as another guest left the Inn. Aidan followed the couple to their car and helped load their suitcases in the trunk. The man turned to shake his hand. Whatever was said brought a broad smile to Aidan's face. McKenna was glad to see that the Inn was back to normal. What was good for the Inn was good for Murphy's Corner. But in the days since the end of the investigation, she had only seen Aidan a handful of times. Business was booming, but her love life was a bust. Aidan was so busy with guests and getting the Inn back on track that he didn't seem to have time for her. It had only been a week, she told herself, and he had a business to rebuild. But it still stung when she thought of him.
She sighed as she took a long pull on her coffee. Oh, well, she thought, it's not like it's the first time I thought something was more serious than it was.
She started to turn away from the window when she saw Aidan look across the square. He raised his hand in greeting and gave her a brilliant grin. She raised her hand to wave, but could not muster up an answering smile.
Aidan jogged across the square, the grin still plastered on his face. “Hi,” he said breathlessly as he came through her door.
"Hi."
"You've been busy,” he noted as customers milled through the bookstore.
"So have you."
"Business is picking up, but I finally have a vacancy.” He took her hand and pulled her through the door.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm trying to take you across the square. I want you to see something."
"I can't! I have customers!"
"Josh!” Aidan called.
Josh poked his head out of the back room. “Hey, Aidan!"
"Can you handle the store for a while?"
Josh looked down at Aidan's and McKenna's entwined hands and smiled. “Yeah, I got this.” They paused before he encouraged, “You two go on."
"So how are things going while Lorena is staying with you?” Aidan asked.
McKenna stifled a groan. She loved Lorena, she really did, but it was growing cramped in her small apartment. It wasn't that Lorena was doing anything wrong—McKenna was just used to having her own space.
"They're fine,” McKenna lied. She gave him a smile to reinforce her words, but it felt forced.
He let out a bark of laughter. “That's what I thought. Two strong personalities in that small space is a recipe for disaster. Why don't you suggest that she find a place of her own while she's here?"
"She's doing me a favor. The least I can do is put her up in my apartment for a while."
The lobby of the Inn was crowded with guests and townspeople enjoying the ambience. McKenna's heart thrummed when Aidan put his hand on the small of her back and guided her through the crush. She thought they were going to his office, when he turned and guided her up the stairs.
"Where are we going?"
"Upstairs to get my things,” he smiled.
"What things?” McKenna was thoroughly confused and not in the least amused by his cryptic hints.
"My bags, of course. You don't think I could go to New Orleans without packing?"
A faint thread of regret passed through McKenna. He was leaving town. Probably moving on now that the Inn was settled, finding another building to restore.
"Oh,” her voice trailed, “so you're moving?"
"No, I'm not moving.” He gave her an incredulous stare. “But if you think I'm letting you go to New Orleans alone, you're out of your mind."
The room spun around McKenna. She placed a hand on the wall to steady herself. “What are you talking about?"
"New Orleans, Lorena—remember?” He grinned at her. “She's staying here while you go to New Orleans. She seemed to think you knew all about it."
The memory began to surface. “I had forgotten about that. But it wasn't a concrete plan. It was just talk."
"Well, it's concrete now. We're heading to Louisiana while Lorena stays here. Kind of an apartment swap."
It sounded wonderful—time away from Murphy's Corner, spending time with Aidan in romantic New Orleans—but she couldn't leave The Book Shelf, and Aidan could hardly uproot his own life. “But what about the Inn?"
"Perry said he will handle everything. He's better at managing people than I am anyway. The renovations are done, reservations are up and we haven't had any guests check out in the middle of the night. My bags are packed and everything is set."
A small bubble of hope rose in McKenna's chest, but she still wouldn't let herself believe. “The Book Shelf?"
"Josh knows that place inside out, and Lorena can help him. Promote him to manager and let him be her boss for a change."
McKenna laughed out loud at the thought. Lorena didn't take directions from anyone. “He could do it—for a while, at least."
"And he loves that place, almost as much as he loves you. He wouldn't let anything happen to it.” Aidan wrapped McKenna in his arms and smiled down at her. “If I didn't know any better, I would think that you didn't want to go with me."
His body was warm and hard as she snuggled deeper into his arms. “I do want to go with you. But what about my bags?"
"Packed and in the car."
"You're kidding.” She pulled away so she could see his face.
"Nope. Lorena packed them for you. See? We can handle everything for you. You don't have to do it all.” His hand cupped her chin. “You deserve a break. Say you'll come with me. New Orleans wouldn't be any fun without you."
It was all too good to be true. Aidan was holding her in his arms, Lorena and Josh were taking over The Book Shelf, and the Inn was back to normal. All she had to do was get in the car and drive to a city full of history and wonder and romance with Aidan.
"New Orleans is waiting.” She pressed
a quick kiss to Aidan's lips. “What are we waiting for?"
The End
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