Page 134 of Dream Weaver

Like magic.

I thought of the lucky ax that had kept the fire crew safe all these years. Had the wind vane done the same for us? Would it do so in the future?

“Ah, Mom. She sure has timing,” Pippa sighed.

“Does she even care about us?” I couldn’t help asking.

“She cares,” Mike assured us. “In her own way, but she cares.”

“I’m starting to think so too,” Erin mused, rubbing her chin.

I seriously doubted it, but I indulged her. “How?”

“Three times now, we’ve been in trouble. And Mom has shown up every time.”

We all stared toward the road. Could it really be?

Finally, Pippa sighed. “Maybe. Or maybe she just enjoys torturing Captain Edwards.”

I laughed, but the way Mom moved from man to man tipped the scales in favor ofshe cares. Which was kind of mind-blowing.

Pippa hooked her elbow through Ingo’s and headed toward their converted barn. “Well, it’s been a long night. See you tomorrow, everyone.”

We waved, and Erin signaled to Nash, who flew toward her cabin and landed there. Two points of light marked his alert dragon eyes, then faded as he shifted to human form. Erin waved to him, then looked at Mike, Cooper, and me.

“You’re welcome to sleep at my place tonight, Dad,” she offered.

His eyes blazed as he looked protectively between Erin and me. He was still on the long, rocky road to accepting that “his little girls” — a category I was touched to be included in — were all grown up with men in their lives. Plus, Erin’s cabin was pretty small, and having a warlock in close quarters with his dragon shifter son-in-law was a potentially combustible combination — literally.

Usually, Mike stayed in the ground-floor guest room in the main house, below where Claire and I lived. But with Cooper here…

“I could, uh…” Cooper started.

I clutched his hand tighter. He was not going anywhere.

“I’ll take the couch,” Mike said gruffly.

Ha. I could see right through his logic — strategically positioning himself between Cooper, in the guest room, and the stairs leading to me. No hanky-panky with a warlock in residence, no siree.

But it wasn’t a night for hanky-panky. It was a night to…to… Well, a night to put an end to one day and hope for a fresh start tomorrow.

And boy, was I hoping for a fresh start.

Cooper, too, judging by the way his eyes glowed.

I hugged Mike. “Goodnight, and thanks for being the best grandfather ever.”

“Co-best grandfather,” he said softly.

That was a joke he and Pippa’s father had come up with over the years. And boy, did we welcome the total lack of drama as far as those two were concerned. It helped compensate for my mother… A little anyway.

“Goodnight,” I whispered again. Then I took Cooper’s hand and whisked him upstairs before Mike could protest. “Feel free to use the guest room, Mike. Cooper can have my bed. I’ll be with Claire,” I said, loud and clear.

No sense in getting a warlock worked up, right?

I didn’t specify how long I planned to stay with Claire, but I hoped an hour or so would do it. She’d survived a terrifying storm and nearly been electrocuted. Amazingly, she didn’t seem too traumatized, but it was hard to judge.

As for me, I was definitely traumatized, because my daughter had witnessed a terrifying fight and nearly been electrocuted. All that after fighting my own battle.

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