Page 9 of Magic's Dawn

Ros sighs. “Can I get a double order of bacon?”

“Plus Aspen’s rejects,” I insist. “No bacon will be left behind.”

Aspen gives the milkshakes in front of me and Tris a censorious frown. “Do you always begin your day with so much sugar?”

Wow. I really don’t like this guy.

I grin at him. “How do you think I stay so sweet?”

“Don’t worry, it’s only on days we come to Nesse’s,” Tris assures him.

“How often do you come to the diner?” Aspen asks.

“At least once a day.” I take a long pull on my milkshake. “It saves the others the burden of coming up to the house.”

“This way, Owen, Haut, and Ros get a break from cooking for so many people first thing in the morning,” Tris adds. “It’s also close to the clinic where I now work. And Books & Blots is right down the street. The sheriff’s office and the historical society are right across the street.”

It’s also an easier walk for the other witches, who have taken up residence in town, though I asked them to stay home today until we suss out our feelings regarding Aspen. No reason to expose them to his judgment right away. Some of them are still fragile.

Aspen’s blond brows shoot up in shock as he stares at Tris. “You’re a doctor?”

“Vet tech, though we also treat people,” he corrects. “The two go hand in hand here.”

“Right.” His gaze bounces around to all the wolf shifters in the room before settling on me. “And what do you do, Rowe?”

“Cause mayhem, mostly.” When Ros elbows me this time, I elbow him right back. “I’m a gofer.”

Owen glares at me. “Rowe is a project manager. She’s helping me to oversee the repairs of our town and to make sure our new residents are settled.”

“I deliver blood,” I say.

“That is only one of your many tasks.” Owen gives an exasperated sigh. “Why are you downplaying the importance of what you do?”

“Why are you trying to slap a fancy title on it? You say go there, so I go there.” I walk my fingers around the table. “Go for this, go for that. Check, check, check. I’m a gofer, and I like it.”

Helping around town has let me meet a lot of the residents, and I like to think the Wendall name is starting to lose its shine. Many of them now talk to me like I’m a normal person, not some mystical savior for the town. If I give myself big titles, it will build a wall between us.

But Owen and I don’t see eye to eye on this. He wants me to be respected for simply being me. I want to earn respect and trust, which is an uphill battle after I arrived and turned this place on its head.

Owen opens his mouth to argue, but before he can, Abony returns with a tray of dishes.

Haut rises and takes it from her to pass out food while she goes to get the rest of our orders.

I eagerly peek under the crust on my pie to find a red mix of berries before glancing over at the mountain of meringue piled atop lemon curd on Tris’s plate.

They both look delicious.

“Halvsies?” we say at the same time and grin at each other.

Abony returns with the rest of the orders, passes them out, then takes the last plate and settles into one of the open chairs. “So, what’s on the agenda today?”

I cut my pie down the center and slide half onto Tris’s plate. “The order of steel will arrive today, so we can start repairing the cages under the sheriff’s office.”

“Marleen is coming in for her twenty-eight-week checkup,” Tris says around the fry in his mouth. “She asked that you be there, Rowe.”

“Can’t Delilah do it?” I scoop half his pie onto my plate. “She actually knows about babies.”

“She wants you to rub her tummy and tell her it will be okay.” He pinches my cheek. “Humor the pregnant lady.”

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