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  He looked at her. His uncertainty matched hers, and the pain beneath his nearly drowned her.

  She lowered her eyes. “Dougal’s not all bad.” Granted, some days he seemed it. “The other day he drove me to school and today he’s been so considerate. Saying thank you was the least I could do.”

  A muscle twitched in Chase’s jaw. “Do you like him?”

  Maddie flashed a smile and shook her head. “I don’t like him like that. But do you know who I do like like that?”

  “No,” he whispered.

  “You,” she murmured, a tad breathless. Her eyes never wavered as she leaned forward. Their lips met and a tingle, both electrical and emotional, raced through her entire body.

  A door slammed and she yanked back, startled and guilty. A doctor wearing a white coat crossed his arms and tapped his foot against the tile floor. He didn’t look like he was joking, either.

  Heat flooded her cheeks.

  The doctor dropped his arms. “You may see your grandmother, but only briefly.”

  Brief or long, she was ready. “Yes, of course.”

  “After your visit, I recommend you go home and rest. You may see her again tomorrow.”

  “Will someone call me if she wakes up?” asked Maddie.

  “Yes. Just make sure to leave your number at the nurses’ station.”

  She excused herself and followed the doctor along the hallway to a set of double doors. He hit a sequence of buttons on a keypad and the doors swung inward. The smell of antiseptic assaulted her nose. Fluorescent bulbs reflected off the glossy floor tiles, threatening to blind her. Machines whirred, creating their own musical patterns.

  The doctor led her down the hallway, stopped at an open door, stepped aside, and directed her onward with his outstretched arm. “You have thirty minutes.”

  She nodded. Thirty minutes? That hardly seemed enough time to pour out her soul and confess her sins.

  Grandma Draoi lay on the hospital bed. Her long hair lay unfettered across her pillow. An oxygen mask covered her face and taut blue lips. She looked much older than Maddie remembered, and horribly ill.

  Unbidden memories of visiting Grandma came to mind. Always they had a good time, playing in the garden, riding Gray Beauty, and canoeing on the river, then everything had changed.

  The fire. Her parents had perished and Grandma Draoi had offered to take her in. Fear of hurt made her distance herself from Grandma Draoi and their closeness had dissipated. Foolishly she had believed if she didn’t get too close and Grandma died, then it wouldn’t hurt as bad. What a stupid lie!

  She held Grandma’s unresponsive hand and talked. Everything that had happened over the past week poured forth. Fresh tears flowed. Before she finished, a nurse stood at the open door and casually announced the end of her visit.

  Maddie leaned over and whispered in Grandma’s ear. “I don’t want you to worry. I have Chase and his family to help me. And believe it or not, I think I may have made another friend. His name is Dougal.”

  She kissed Grandma goodbye and left the room.

  ****

  From his perch on the window ledge, Dougal watched as Maddie took her grandmother’s hand and began talking. Hanging branches covered him and his clawed toes gripped the concrete. His hawk-like ears listened to Maddie’s speech. His pulse raced from her presence. The evil, black part of him wished to grab her by the throat and strangle her until dead. Of course then he would be forced to listen to Serena’s harping. But there was the other part, the part that Cian had noticed in him, the good part, that longed to hold her, possess her. What was it about this daughter of a Casey that made his blood run hot and his soul yearn for her love? Was it because she reminded him of Merissa or was it because she could help him free his family?

  She told Draoi of her adventures, beginning with his unusual arrival at school and ending with her night away. Most of the juicy details were left incomplete. He kept waiting for her description of the fight, or her take on her harrowing escape, but she kept silent about those events. Maybe she didn’t want to risk frightening Draoi, even subconsciously.

  Never once did she mention that she’d been hanging out with gryphons. He was a tad insulted. Then it happened — she told Draoi not to worry, she had friends. She gave his name.

  A friend. She considered him a friend.

  Shock gripped him. His claws went lax, releasing their hold on the ledge, and he fell backward, smashing his head into a tree limb on the way down and landing on another. Dazed, Dougal lay awkwardly along the limb, listening to its strained creaking. No one had ever called him friend. Even in his own village, he’d been despised and feared.

  He remained in beast form. When his shock faded, he took to the sky and landed silently on the hospital roof. There, by the emergency stairwell; standing there, he could see the entire parking lot. He held no desire to return to the lair where Serena was sure to ask too many intrusive questions. He would need to steady himself against her probing. His current thoughts he’d keep private. They were none of the witch’s business.

  ****

  Chase paced the waiting room. Although she’d absent-mindedly excused herself, Maddie had followed the doctor without even saying goodbye, and with her gone he didn’t know what to do. Didn’t help that he’d spent the first five minutes of her absence rubbing his tingling lips. He’d never get used to the surge of electricity when they touched. No matter what else happened, he had to find some way of keeping Maddie in his life.

  The waiting room door opened and Chase lifted his head. His parents entered, already deep in conversation.

  “Where’s she going to go?”

  “Home, I assume,” said Dad.

  “But Alex, she doesn’t need to be stranded out there alone.”

  Chase interrupted. “What if I stay with her?”

  They glared at him as if he had sprouted three heads. Raising his hands defensively, he added, “Their house is huge. I’m sure there’s a spare bedroom I could use. And it’s not like we could offer space in our house. I mean, where would she sleep? We’re packed in like sardines as it is. And like Mom said, Maddie shouldn’t be alone.”

  Dad nodded, but Mom glanced back and forth between them and straightened to her full height. “Alex, are you really considering this? That’s too big a temptation. They’ll be out there by themselves!”

  With a shrug, Dad clasped her hands. “They’ll get up, go to school, and then come to the hospital and spend time with Maddie’s grandmother. They can eat dinner with us. When they get home, they’ll have homework and by then it’ll be time to go to bed. I think it’ll be okay.”

  “It’s that last part I’m worried about. And, well, what about his, you know, condition?”

  Chase couldn’t wait to hear Dad’s argument on that point.

  Dad scratched his head and massaged his chin. “You’ll just have to trust me.”

  Oh, yeah, that was convincing. Chase grimaced and went back to pacing while Dad pulled her aside. The whispers grew louder, almost heated, then fell silent. When Chase glanced back up, she relented with a reluctant nod.

  ****

  Chase arrived back in the waiting room before Maddie. His books, clothes, and essentials he’d stashed behind the truck’s bench seat; a basket full of food would separate them on the drive to her grandma’s house. Despite the serious situation, he couldn’t help feeling excited, almost giddy, and more than a little nervous. After serving as big brother to all the Donovan youngsters, responsibility didn’t often faze him. But despite the nerves in his stomach, serving as Maddie’s support seemed so natural, he couldn’t regret his decision.

  Granted, they’d arranged her life without consulting her. Hopefully she wouldn’t be angry at that.

  She arrived a few minutes later. Her eyes were puffy and her shoulders slumped. She reminded him of a lost puppy trying to find her way home.

  Instead of talking, he wrapped her in his arms. She melted against him but didn’t cry.

  �
��How is she?” he asked against her hair.

  She shrugged.

  “Would you like to go home?”

  She pulled back and looked at him. The misery in her eyes tugged at his heart and settled his nerves. “How?”

  “If it’s okay with you, my parents agreed to let me stay at your house until your grandma is well enough to return home.”

  “Really?” She sniffed and brushed a strand of hair from her face.

  He combed it back with his fingers. “Yeah. That way I can drive you to school, the hospital, and home. That is, if you’re comfortable with it?”

  She lifted one shoulder. Red dotted her cheeks. “I guess so.”

  “I don’t want to rush you, but we can go anytime you’re ready.”

  She glanced around the empty waiting room, her nose wrinkling as if she’d seen all of the places she could stand. “I’m ready. Let’s get out of here.”

  Chapter 22

  Chase pulled into the driveway and killed the engine. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel in time with the pounding of his pulse in his ears. It sounded like a rock band on triple espressos. What in the world was I thinking? “Well, we’re here.”

  “Yes, we’re here.”

  Just act cool. You’ll get through this. “Should we go inside?”

  “Probably.”

  Might help if she’d use more than three syllables per answer. “Maddie, are you worried about me being here? Because if you want to do something different—”

  She spoke over him. “No, it’s not that. I like being with you. I just wish…” She paused and ran a trembling hand through her hair. “I blame myself for this whole thing.”

  He frowned. So much for his worries. “But you shouldn’t.”

  ****

  Maddie didn’t argue. He couldn’t possibly understand, because he didn’t know everything she’d done. She’d left Grandma for more than just church. Heat rushed to her cheeks as she thought about the night spent with Alasdair. To cover her embarrassment, she climbed from the truck. He did the same and grabbed his bags while Maddie carried the basket of food inside.

  The fire had gone out. Devoid of its earlier warmth, the entrance was cold and uninviting. Fighting an ugly sense of foreboding, she directed him upstairs to a spare bedroom and then carried the food to the kitchen.

  Yummy aromas wafted to her nose and her belly growled. She unpacked the basket, found a chicken breast, pinched off a piece of the juicy meat, and popped it into her mouth. She smacked her lips as flavor struck her tongue. Pure heaven with a crispy crust. Next she ate half a flaky biscuit. She removed the gravy lid and raised the other half of the biscuit aloft.

  “So this is what you’ve been up to.” Chase leaned casually against the door facing, his arms crossed over his defined chest.

  She smiled and covered her puffed jaws with both hands, one still holding the biscuit’s second, doomed half. But she didn’t stop chewing. Strange how the promise of a good meal made the situation lighter and calmed her guilty nerves.

  “I thought you were following me and when I turned around you weren’t there. I called but you never answered. Now I know why.” He pointed an accusing finger at the food-laden table.

  She swallowed. “I was hungry.”

  He laughed. “Then by all means, eat.”

  She offered him a biscuit. “Do you want some?”

  “Yes, I believe I do. Do we need plates?”

  “Sure.” She put the biscuit on a paper towel and opened a nearby cabinet. The plates were on the top shelf and she tiptoed to reach them.

  Chase came up behind her. His chest grazed her back as he reached over her head and grabbed the plates. She turned and was engulfed in his arms, the plates somewhere behind her head. He laid them on the counter.

  Shyness overwhelmed her. “I don’t know why the plates are so high up. There’s no way Grandma Draoi could reach them. She’s shorter than I am.” Am I babbling? I am. I have to be. Dork dork dork.

  His blue eyes lingered on her face, looking longingly at her lips. A kiss… would be as good as the biscuit. But they played a dangerous game. Alone in the house and physically attracted to one another could get them in big trouble. And suddenly Maddie knew without a shadow of doubt that she wasn’t ready to go there.

  Without warning, he swooped down and stroked his lips on top of hers, taking her breath away. Whatever she’d been thinking vanished. She snaked her arms around his neck and pulled him close. Like a buoy in a storm, like a lifeboat, a lifeline, he became the only sane thing in her world.

  Finally they pulled apart, breathing heavily. His hands splayed along her waistline. She played with the hair that caressed his collar, thankful that he wasn’t insistent or demanding. A dork could get used to this.

  “I’ve wanted to do that all day,” he said.

  “Hmm… it was nice.”

  He laughed loudly. “Nice? I was hoping for amazing, spectacular, earth-shattering…”

  She pursed her lips. “Did I say nice? I meant exhilarating, titillating, passionate…”

  “Hmm, I like your adjectives much better than mine.”

  “You do?”

  “I believe I do.”

  He moved as if to kiss her again, but when their lips hovered mere inches apart, her stomach rumbled. Without releasing her, he pulled back. “Have you eaten anything today?”

  “A little piece of chicken and half a biscuit.”

  “Maddie! You need to take better care of yourself.”

  “Um, Chase, I haven’t exactly had time.”

  “Yeah. I guess I just don’t want anything to happen to you.” He ran a shaky hand through his hair.

  She studied the buttons on his shirt to hide her curiosity. “Does it ever seem odd that you feel so strongly about someone you just met?”

  “Sometimes.”

  “Me, too. I’ve never met anyone like you.” Suddenly she felt so close to him, closer than any two near-strangers had any right to be. Words she hadn’t intended to say tumbled from her. “Besides my parents, you’re the only one who’s ever expressed any feeling for me.”

  He straightened, blinking twice, three times. “Surely that’s not—”

  “True? Yes, it is.”

  “What about your grandma?”

  “Yes, she loves me. But that’s not what I meant.” She should be blushing from the unintended revelation. But she wasn’t. Speaking with Chase, being with him, made everything all right.

  “What did you mean?”

  “I don’t know.” And suddenly the day just seemed like too much. The kitchen spun around her. She closed her eyes and her legs weakened.

  Chase guided her to the table. “Come, sit, and I’ll fix you a plate.”

  She settled in a chair and palmed her chin, letting him fuss with the food. “When I was younger, I loved to visit my grandma. She would tell me the most fascinating stories about our family and she made me feel so safe and happy. But as I grew older, she would sit and stare at me with a distant, absent look. I talked to my mom about it. I thought maybe I was dying or something and they didn’t want me to know, but my mom said she thought Grandma was just sad because she was growing older.”

  He placed a loaded plate before her and she shot him a grateful look, picked up a chicken breast, and enjoyed a succulent bite. She smacked her lips and he laughed at her enthusiasm.

  “Good, is it?”

  “Yep, reminds me of my mom’s.” Huh. She’d never before mentioned her mother without feeling sad.

  Maybe the thought showed on her face, for he froze as if afraid to respond. But Maddie found she didn’t need to stop and recover any composure. Instead she took another bite, and another, and by then he’d finished fixing his own plate and sat across from her, the open containers between them and the entire kitchen smelling like a cold-chicken picnic.

  “My mom was a fabulous cook and my dad never failed to tell her so. I remember this one time when she made a pineapple chicken dish. Dad at
e it but he was kind of picking and choosing, and she said, ‘It’s not that good, is it?’ And he laughed and said, ‘No.’ He told me later it was terrible but he was determined to eat it just to keep from hurting her feelings. Turns out after he ate the entire thing, she admitted she didn’t like it much, either. He and I laughed about that for weeks.”

  Chase fixed a chunk of chicken between two biscuit halves and dipped it in gravy. “That reminds me of the time my mom made biscuits and Dad picked one up and it was as hard as a rock. He tried to eat it but couldn’t get his teeth to bite through it. He put it on his plate, and when Mom saw it, she asked him why it was still there. He told her straight up that the biscuits were hard. She stood up, cleaned off the table, and dumped the food in the garbage. He was afraid she would never cook again.”

  “Obviously she did and her biscuits got better.” She reached for another one.

  He licked his lips, catching a trail of gravy obeying the law of gravity. “Yep, they sure did.”

  They shared more laughter and finished eating. Everything cleaned and put away, they retired to the living room and took a seat on the couch.

  “TV or talk?” Chase asked.

  She didn’t hesitate. “Talk. That is, if you want to.”

  “Of course I want to. I’d like to hear more about your family.”

  Maddie studied the couch cushions. Grandma had been lying there just a few hours ago, her head resting on that very pillow. Sighing, she said, “There’s not much to tell. I’m an only child. My mom was a housewife. My dad worked at a local plant and we lived close to his job in a small town about two hours away from here. Until they died.”

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  She’d spent hours with a therapist talking about it and nothing had changed. Why should she resurrect the incident? But then again, didn’t she want to share everything with Chase? The good and the bad? And maybe he’d do more for her than any therapist.

  She swallowed. “We had just come home from visiting Grandma Draoi and it was late. We said our goodnights at the top of the stairs and I went to my room. I was so exhausted from the day I didn’t even change my clothes. I think I fell asleep before my head hit the pillow.