by Lila Kane
Ryan focused and joined her, walking through the forest with humidity making his shirt cling to his chest. He kept his eyes open for blackbirds and Kane and anything else that might join them. But they made it to the cave without incident.
The walls were still crumbled and trees and branches covered the opening.
“Selena sure did a good job on this,” Myra said wryly.
“Let’s just get this done.”
Before Willow could step inside, Ryan heard a snap of a tree branch and suddenly Logan was there. He stepped close to Willow and snarled, “What are you doing here?”
Instinct kicked in and Ryan prepared to kick the shit out of Logan if he even put his hands on Willow.
“Well, that was productive,” Myra said when they reached Willow’s house, trying to lighten the situation. They’d gotten the amethyst at the cave, which is what they needed—and without beating anyone up. But Willow was still hurting and she could tell Logan was, too, no matter how tough he tried to come across.
Willow got out of Ryan’s truck and went straight to her room to pack for the evening at Cheyenne’s house, but Myra hung back with Ryan. He stopped at the front door, lingering on the porch.
“I don’t have time for this,” Ryan said with a sigh. He propped his hand against the wall of the house and scrubbed the other on the back of his neck. “I have to get to the site soon.”
“Then what’s stopping you?”
He looked up, surprise and then anger flashing in his eyes. “I wanted to make sure Willow got back safely. That’s my job, and thanks to your brother, it’s getting harder and harder.”
“It’s not Logan’s fault all this is happening,” Myra said.
He gave a humorless laugh. “I was talking about Kane, but I guess both of them are the cause for all this mess. You–”
“What? You thought something like this was never going to happen?” Myra took a step closer, itching for a fight. “You thought you’d stay in your safe little town and never have to deal with your shifting and have the perfect little life–”
“You know nothing about my life,” he snarled.
“Then tell me. Tell someone.”
“It’s not that simple. It’s not–” He broke off and dragged a hand through his hair.
“It doesn’t have to be complicated,” Myra said. She could read the struggle in his eyes, eyes that said so much more than his mouth.
And she couldn’t help herself. She lifted her hand to his cheek, gently. Slowly.
He winced but she didn’t pull away, and then he swallowed and his eyes met hers.
“It’s not that simple,” he repeated in a whisper.
As if pulled by some unseen string, a tenuous but obvious link between them, Myra leaned forward. Ryan froze a beat before their lips met, and then he surged forward. His lips closed over hers and he yanked her against him.
Myra’s breath left her lips in a rush. She brushed her thumb along the stubble of Ryan’s cheek as his tongue invaded her mouth.
“Myra,” he said, voice coming out quiet.
She picked up noises all around her. Birds chirping from the trees. Willow inside packing. And the frantic beating of Ryan’s heart.
“Myra,” he said again.
He pulled back, capturing her wrists in a firm grip. She could have pulled away easily–she was as strong as him. Maybe stronger. But she stayed put, her eyes locking on his again as the world came back into focus.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“This isn’t–I don’t–” He eased back several steps, putting distance between them. Not enough distance she couldn’t still hear the beating of his heart, but enough she couldn’t feel the warmth from his body anymore. “This isn’t a good idea.”
She brushed her hair back from her cheek, narrowing her eyes at him. She knew he had his demons, but damn–the rejection still hurt. “I think you’re afraid.”
Her attempt at provoking him didn’t work. He only dropped his chin to his chest with a sigh. “I’m not…I don’t want to fight about this. Are you going to be here with Willow?”
“Yes,” she said, confused. She couldn’t fight with him–couldn’t even be angry with him when he looked so lost. “Are you okay?”
His eyes snapped to hers. “Yeah. Fine. I’m going to get going.”
He couldn’t have left any faster, jogging down the stairs and to his truck. She saw his short glance back at her before he hopped in and drove away like he was being chased. What was that all about?
And that kiss…she was going to have to do that again.
She just had to convince Ryan it was a better idea than he seemed to think it was.
Chapter 4
He jumped into work hard after he and Myra kissed. Hands on, lots of sweat, and it still couldn’t make him stop thinking about the kiss. Or about her. The feelings weren’t going away. They were getting stronger.
But he kept his distance. Which meant waiting until the next morning to join up with the group again at Cheyenne’s place.
The pull toward Myra was like a physical force, a jagged rope yanking him to her. It got smoother the closer he got and almost painful the farther away he stayed. But he had to fight it, didn’t he? It wasn’t permanent. The feelings would go away and he’d be stuck in something awkward with a vampire. No, a woman who used to be a vampire if all things went how they planned.
And then what? She’d be normal and he’d be normal and they’d just be two people attracted to each other and it wouldn’t be a problem. Then why did he have to stay away from her now?
Ryan slammed the door to his truck with a frustrated grunt. Because he didn’t want anything dictating his life. Not his parent’s relationship, not shifting, and definitely not his feelings for a woman–feelings that weren’t real.
But they felt real. They felt so real that when he walked in Cheyenne’s house and heard Myra’s voice, the jagged edges started to smooth out and he actually felt better. It soothed his nerves and made him want to walk up to her and take her hand and tell her he was sorry. It made him want to be near her.
They were all in the kitchen, and he forced himself to keep calm and give everyone a polite nod before dropping his jacket on the back of a chair and joining Willow at the refrigerator.
“Sorry I’m late.”
“Want some juice?” she asked him.
He didn’t miss the tension in her shoulders or the worry coating her voice.
“Sure. What’s going on?”
“We found the spell in the Book of Shadows. The one we need to put everything back into place.”
His stared at her. This was good news but her voice sounded grim. “So why is everyone so tense?”
She glanced to the table where Myra was passing out plates and arranging the syrup and butter on the table. She looked like she always did these days. Alive. Beautiful.
He turned his attention back to Willow to distract himself and found her glancing at Logan. At least the guy had shown up this time. And from the looks of it, he might have smoothed things over with Willow.
“We have to do it on the full moon, which is in two days,” she said.
“And?”
“And it’s only a temporary solution.”
“And?”
“And we’re not sure if it’s going to take away what I did for Myra.”
It took him a moment to figure out what she was talking about. Then his jaw clenched. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, Logan thinks it might make her sick again.”
Ryan turned to the table, the words hitting him like a hammer. And he blurted the first thing that came to mind, saying it with such emotion everyone looked at him. “Then we can’t do it.”
Myra’s eyes were wide when they met his. Confused. “What?”
He tried to force calm into his body. No, no, no. Myra was too alive–too beautiful, too young, too perfect. She couldn’t get sick again. Not after yesterday, not after he had a taste, and she’d made
him soften, and she was alive–
“We’re not sure it’s a good idea to go ahead with the spell,” Willow said.
He released a breath and cast her a look of thanks. The last thing he needed to do right now was show everyone how this was affecting him. They all had too much to handle without discovering he’d imprinted on her. He seated himself at the table.
“It’s no big deal,” Myra said
Logan reached out to her. “Can you hold on a minute? We need to talk about this.”
Myra sighed. “This is serious, Logan.”
“Damn right it is‒will someone please explain to her just how serious this is?”
“You guys know what I mean,” Myra said, glancing at him. “I’m talking about the bigger picture here.”
Ryan’s hands clenched under the table. Willow nudged him with her elbow and he glanced at her with his eyebrows raised. Yeah, he was being obvious. But what was he supposed to do? Forget that it was dangerous for Myra, too? This wasn’t just about the spell anymore–if they were messing with Myra’s health, it was bigger than that. If Willow’s fire had healed her, she should be okay, but spells were powerful–he knew that first hand. If doing one of those spells might make Myra sick again, they shouldn’t do it.
They continued to talk and Ryan put the French toast Myra had made on his plate to keep his hands busy. The first bite melted on his tongue and he said to her, “This is really good.”
Myra smiled. “Thank you. At least someone appreciates my cooking.”
He looked away from the gratitude in her eyes. He still couldn’t forget what happened between them yesterday. Even more so because she initiated it. What did that mean? That maybe…he should just let things be?
“Bigger picture,” Myra said again when everyone went back to the topic at hand. “So, we’ll do the spell, and if I get sick again, Willow can heal me again and then I’ll be fine.”
“I don’t…I don’t know if I can,” Willow said. “Once the spell is done, our powers are going to go away.”
“But you could do fire before this. Before you even came to Shadow Hill,” Ryan said. He knew because Willow had told him. She had the fire long before she came here.
“I couldn’t control it then,” Willow said.
“But you can now.” Myra nodded. “I’ve seen you.”
“Still, I don’t know if it will be as strong. And what if I can’t control it? What if I hurt someone?”
“What if you don’t?”
Logan cut in before Willow could answer. “What if you do the spell and then Kane gets so angry, he won’t let anyone leave town? Then someone will get hurt.”
“I’m done with this conversation,” Myra said. “We all have things to do. Let’s just take a vote. All in favor of doing the spell?”
She and Cheyenne raised their hands.
Myra looked at Logan and then him. “All opposed?”
“I am,” Logan said.
Ryan nodded. There was no way he was on board with this. “Me too.”
Which just left Willow, and he knew she wouldn’t vote. She cared too much about how Myra felt, and too much about what was happening in Shadow Hill and he knew she wasn’t going to make a decision based off feeling pressured.
He was about to stand, to get outside for some fresh air when Myra made another announcement that stopped him in his tracks. She was opening a store. Which meant, for now, she was settling in Shadow Hill.
Ryan was the first one out of the house after the meeting in the kitchen. He stopped on the front porch, looking at the damp street, hands propped on the porch rail.
He heard a noise behind him and glanced back to find Willow had followed him. “What was that?” she asked.
He played dumb, just a moment longer to get his thoughts under control. “What was what?”
“That. In there. With Myra.”
He tensed. Maybe if he didn’t answer her question, she’d go away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, you do. I know you imprinted on Myra‒”
He whipped to face her. “Not here.”
Willow lowered her voice but didn’t relent. “Ryan, it’s getting obvious. You care about her.”
“It’s magic, or‒or a product of our circumstances. It’s because our powers are changing.” He shoved a hand through his hair and turned away. “It’ll go away. It’ll‒”
He broke off and propped his hands on the rail again, hanging his head. No, it wasn’t going away. And no matter how he tried to convince himself of that, it wasn’t working. In fact, he wasn’t sure he wanted it to work anymore.
“Ryan.” Willow set her hand on his arm. “It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not.”
“Why? Because you have feelings for‒”
“They’re not real feelings.”
“What if they are?”
He didn’t answer. The feelings felt real. Just like shifting. So real it rocked him to his core.
“Would that be the worst thing ever?” Willow asked. “Maybe this is an opportunity.”
He gave a short laugh. “An opportunity?”
“Sure. Maybe you’re getting a chance to…consider a relationship with someone you might not have considered before.”
“A relationship?” He rolled his eyes at her. “You’ve got it all figured out, don’t you? Have you ever thought that I don’t want a relationship? That I’m fine just how I am? That everything was working out pretty well for me before any of this ever started?”
“Yeah, I thought of that. It doesn’t fit.”
He crossed his arms, figuring as much. Willow wasn’t stupid. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’re that kind of guy. The one who’s responsible. The one who has a wife and kids and actually spends time with them and takes care of them. The kind of guy who settles down.”
So what? That didn’t mean that’s what he wanted right now. “Maybe you don’t know me as well as you think you do.”
To his surprise, she reached out to give him a hug. He returned it.
“You’re in love,” he murmured. “That’s why you’re doing this.”
“Yes, I am. And no, that’s not why I’m doing this. Sometimes we work really hard to fight something we should just let be. Trust me, I know from experience.”
He released her and smiled some. “You never thought you’d be stuck here with me when you came to Shadow Hill, did you?”
“No, I never thought I’d be stuck here. But I kind of like it. Even though I am definitely not the settling type.”
“How about we stop this conversation?”
She laughed. “For now.”
Chapter 5
Their trip to the hospital to put the amethyst in Willow’s mother’s room had only been partially successful. Kane had shown up as well, demanding to talk with Willow the next day, and Myra hadn’t been able to do anything but stand and watch Willow agree. Ryan had almost shifted, Willow’s mom wasn’t any closer to waking up and Cheyenne wanted to do more research. There wasn’t anything she could do to stop her brother and she was starting to worry what he was going to do to Willow.
It surprised her when Willow’s idea was to look at the store that was Myra’s number one pick.
When Willow scanned the inside of the store and then said, “It’s perfect,” Myra knew it too. It was the place. But it meant a lot to her that her friends agreed. And mostly that Logan agreed and he was on board with her plan–especially since she’d just told him about it this morning.
Cheyenne gave it her opinion from a business point of view while Ryan walked directly behind the counter and knelt down. “You’re going to need new electrical in here. Rewire this back here. Probably‒”
“Is that bad?” Myra asked, eyes widening. She walked over, willing to ignore what had happened between her and Ryan if he was willing to help. Maybe he was right. Maybe it wasn’t the time. They both had other things to deal with.
“Not bad,”
Ryan said, voice muffled under the counter. “Did you have anyone come in to check the place out?”
She shook her head, glancing at Logan. “I hadn’t decided this is the place yet.”
“It’s the place,” Willow said.
But she kept her eyes on Logan. He left his spot by the window and smiled at her. “This is the place.”
She captured him in a hug. It meant a lot that he back her up on this. She had her health and she had her family–at least the brother who was interested in family. That was more than she could ask for right now and she was grateful.
When she turned, she swallowed down emotion and smiled at Ryan. “Can you look at it? Look around and make sure I’m not making a mistake? I don’t want to buy a place that’s falling apart. Or if I can’t add in the refrigerators I want, or if I can’t move the display cases to the side here‒”
“I’ll take a look,” Ryan said.
“Should I, um, make an appointment?” Myra asked. She wanted to do this right. “I’ll pay you, of course, however much a normal inspection would be, or‒”
“No.” Ryan shook his head. “You don’t need to pay me.”
“But‒”
“Come on,” he said. “I’ll take a quick look now, and then we’ll be more thorough later.”
“Right now? Really?”
She followed him to the kitchen, ignoring the waft of cologne coming off of him, and the kindness of the gesture. Maybe he felt bad about what had happened and this was his way of making it up to her.
She’d just keep it professional, that’s all. It was business. They were doing business together and that was it.
But Myra had barely made it two steps inside the kitchen before Ryan swiveled to face her.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“Sorry?” She shook her head. “No, this is really helpful–I’d like to get this place up and running as quick as possible.”
His jaw shifted and he stared at the ground, industrial tiles in good enough shape she didn’t think she’d have to replace them. “That’s not what I’m talking about. I meant about yesterday at Willow’s house. And before that.”
“Oh.” Myra flashed a smile. “No big deal. We’ll just forget about it, right?”