Page 60 of Wind Called

Worry was clear in Marc’s dark eyes, but he only said, “Do you think it’s going to be a problem?”

The thing was, she just didn’t know. Jack had seemed pretty mellow about the whole situation when she called him on Monday, but she’d only been asking for two days off, not a sabbatical of unknown duration.

She shrugged, the only response she could really give. “I guess I’ll find out in a few minutes.”

Marc put a sympathetic hand on her shoulder, then leaned down to kiss her softly on the cheek. “I’ll be here, no matter what happens.”

That was the only good thing about this whole mess. Some part of her would have been all too glad to have never discovered the real effect Sedona’s vortexes had on the witch population, but on the other hand, she wouldn’t have passed up meeting Marc Trujillo for the world.

His presence gave her the strength she needed to pick up her phone and call Jack. Not at the wine bar, because it was way too early for him to be there, but on his personal cell, the number he’d given to all his employees in case of emergency.

Bellamy supposed this could be considered one. With her having to bow out for the Goddess only knew how long, her boss would be scrambling to cover her shifts, especially with the weekend coming up.

But she knew she couldn’t avoid this. The witch world hadn’t interfered with her life before now, and she guessed it was just making up for lost time.

Jack’s voice at her ear, already sounding suspicious. “Bellamy? Aren’t you supposed to be in at noon today?”

Which was still an hour and a half off. Would Marcy be able to take her hours today, or would Jack have to watch the place by himself?

One could argue that Thursdays in general weren’t party central at Sedona Vines, but all it took was one unscheduled tour bus to upset the apple cart.

“I am,” she said, then made herself to take another breath. “Or at least, I was. This mess with my family has kind of blown up, and I honestly don’t know when I’m going to make it back to work.”

There, she’d said it. Now all she could do was let the chips fall where they may.

A pause on the other end of the line. Then Jack said, “I’m sorry to hear that your family’s having a difficult time. But I need someone I can rely on, Bellamy. I can’t go on indefinitely getting different people to fill your shifts.” Another hesitation, longer this time. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to let you go. You can come in sometime next week to pick up your final paycheck.”

Well, there it was. In a way, it had been almost a relief to hear Jack utter those fateful words, because at least now she wouldn’t have the problem of what to do about work hanging over her head.

No, she was utterly fancy-free.

“I understand,” she said calmly. “You have a good rest of your day, Jack.”

And she touched her finger to the phone’s screen to end the call.

Only a foot or so away, Marc was watching her carefully. “Well?”

She sent him a limp smile. “I got fired.”

“Oh, Bellamy.”

At once, his arms were around her, holding her close, and she let herself relax into the embrace, glad of the strength and reassurance and love she could practically feel flowing from him, giving her the support she needed.

Was that sensation her gift expanding even more, or just the subtler energy of two souls who’d somehow managed to find each other despite everything?

Either way, she thought she was okay with it.

“I’m all right,” she murmured into Marc’s shoulder. “And it’s going to be fine. There’s no way I could have gotten through all this stuff with the vortexes and the Collector and put in eight hours a day at the wine bar on top of it. I’ve got my stipend, and I’ve got what Ike’s paying me every month to watch the ranch. It’s not as if I’m going to be out on the street or anything.”

A fate that never befell those of witch-kind anyway, just because there was always a relative to take you in if you happened to fall on hard times.

Which were generally few and far between, because even though not everyone had the gift of luck like Lucas Wilcox did, witches and warlocks tended to be a bit more fortunate than the civilian population, with odd little windfalls popping up here and there when they least expected it.

“Of course not.” Marc let go of her, but only so he could take a step back and entwine his fingers with hers. “You’re sure you’re all right?”

She looked up at him, at the dark eyes under their emphatic brows, at the finely sculpted mouth she just loved to kiss. With Marc around, she couldn’t be too worried about the future.

“I’m fine,” she said, and realized she meant it. After they got past this stuff with the Collector and the vortexes, then she’d have to sit down and figure out what to do with herself, but she’d worry about that when the time came.

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