Page 75 of Refuge for Ailsa

“Thank you. Really. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. See you in just a little bit.”

“Thanks. Bye.” Tavish couldn’t believe it. Her dad wasn’t mad. He trusted Tavish?theytrusted him. They had no idea what a gift they were to him.

Not long after, he heard footsteps behind him, but before he could turn, a pair of arms were on either side of his neck, soft, feminine hands crossed on his chest, and she leaned down to kiss him on the cheek. “We’re here, laddie. Maureen’s at the marina runnin’ the store, and Toby and Vince are there with ’er. She’s got Starlight with ’er. Go get Starlight and go get some rest. Please.”

Magnus was standing by the bed, holding Ailsa’s hand. “Yes. Get some rest. Do you want us to stay with her overnight?”

“Not unless you want to. I want to be here. You know, in case she wakes up. She’s not supposed to, but, you know?just in case.” The panic he felt was coming out in his voice, he knew, and he didn’t want them to hear that, but he knew they could. Tavish was fast losing the ability to control his emotions. He was exhausted, afraid, worried, and overwhelmed.

Maeve took his hands and looked deep into his eyes. “Go home. Get some rest. Take a shower. Change clothes. Play with Starlight. She’ll be fine. I promise.”

By the time he got to the parking lot, he wasn’t sure he could drive. His apartment wasn’t far, so he went there and picked up some clothes, but when he climbed back into the truck’s cab, he sighed. He was so tired that he was afraid he’d fall asleep. He hit a familiar contact in his favorites list. “Hey! How’s she doing?”

“She’s unconscious. They gave her a sedative to keep her still and quiet. It’ll give the swelling a chance to go down.” He rubbed his forehead with his hand. “Maureen, what do I do? I’m so fucking scared that I can barely breathe. I’m having trouble swallowing. My head is pounding, and I feel like I’m going to collapse from the strain of it all. Can you just talk to me while I drive to keep me awake?”

“Where are you going?”

“To my apartment to pick up some clothes. Then to the houseboat. You’ve got Starlight there with you, right?”

“Yep. I just ordered some pizza, so get on over here and eat. Have you listened to the news this morning?”

“Uh, no.”

“Well, then you should know that the city council in Whitesburg…” Maureen droned on and on, and Tavish didn’t really care what she was saying. He just wanted to hear her voice. Even though she was younger, it had grounded and comforted him all his adult life. She was wise beyond her years, and everyone told him that she was a fantastic teacher. He had no doubt that was correct.

“And there’s a new bakery opening right at the edge of Danville on the way to Atoka. They have custom cakes and cookies, and?”

“Hang on. I want to hear about a bakery, but I’m here. I’ll be inside in just a minute.” He parked the truck, slid from the cab, and headed inside.

Starlight greeted him at the door, and he discovered he was hungry when he smelled the pizza. He hugged the dog. “Hey, baby girl. Look at you, all pretty and clean! Good girl,” he said as she hustled off to see if she could help Maureen drop a piece of pizza. Tavish had done it accidentally a time or two, and the dog was a maniac for anything that smelled like pizza.

“You coming with me, girl?” he asked the dog after he’d finished his pizza and headed toward the door. She turned and slipped behind the counter to stay with Maureen. “What the hell? Do I stink or something? Guess if I want a dog, I’ll have to get a new one. Mine is broken,” he muttered as he stepped outside.

The houseboat was silent when he opened the door. They’d moved furniture around to use it as the command center, and it had all been moved back before they left. The garbage cans were all empty, there were no dirty dishes in the sink, and the towels had been washed and folded. Conor and Morris. He knew they’d done it, and he couldn’t thank them enough.

After a quick shower, he put on a pair of lounge pants and a tee, then crawled into Ailsa’s bed. He tried to relax, but he just couldn’t. Tossing and turning, he finally rolled to her side of the bed.

The scent of her shampoo on her pillow engulfed him, and he could feel his resolve melting. The last four days had been grueling, and it seemed the current day wasn’t going much better. A stray tear meandered down one cheek, and before he could wipe it off, another one joined it.

The dam broke and he buried his face in the pillow. Every horrible minute of every terrible day hit him all at once, and he heaved in air. He’d come close to losing her?too close. That could never, never happen again. Even so, wouldn’t that make quite the story for him to tell their grandkids?

Grandkids. Kids. The house. Her smile. It all coalesced into one solid fact. Ailsa was going to get better, and she was coming home with him. No point in worrying about it. It was just a fact. They’d have those kids and grandkids, have that garden, have that beautiful home. She’d be right beside him.

Then he remembered a few things he’d brought with him. The runes. They’d been there for him at every important moment of his life, and this time was pretty important. His grandmother had slipped them to him and told him they’d belonged to her grandmother. Didn’t that make the original owner his great-great-grandmother? Until he’d talked to Ailsa about it, he’d never realized that his great-great-grandmother was probably a granny witch too, and most likely his great-grandmother and grandmother as well. The bag had been in the back of the drawer, and every time he took them out, he marveled at how new they looked. All those years and they were still bright and beautiful. He couldn’t remember what any of them meant, but his grandmother had written it down for him. The tiny Bible in the bottom of his bag had a tissue in it, a four-leaf clover pressed inside it from a day when he’d felt low and lonely, and he’d wished for someone to come into his life. In the back, there was a list of the runes, printed there by his grandmother one Sunday morning when no one realized what she was doing. He laughed. Wouldn’t ReverendLowe have had a fit if he’d known a granny witch was writing rune meanings in a Bible, of all things?

Three. There were other castings, but that was the one he remembered best. After he’d laid out a piece of white cloth that had been folded in the bottom of the bag, he pulled out the first rune and laid it down, then the second and the third. When they were all lined up, he opened the back of the little bible. She’d used at least ten of the little blank pages in the back that were intended for note-taking. Yep, she’d definitely written some notes, and he almost laughed.

The first one looked like an H, but with a wonky horizontal bar that was higher on the left than the right. He flipped the pages back and forth until he found it?Hagalaz. Her handwriting hadn’t been the best, and he squinted to read it.

What’s been hard is now easy. What’s been lost or searched for will be found. You will reap what you put out into the universe.

Laguz, the second one, looked like a backwards 7 that had been reversed and tipped until the longest part was straight and the other was pointing down to the right. Looking through the pages, he found it.

Water is powerful and ever-changing. It is the sign of water?a pool, a lake, a stream. Pay attention to your gut and your heart. They will not lead you astray.

The third one looked like a B with the loops pointy. According to the notes, it was calledBerkano. Once again, he had to squint to read it.

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