Page 24 of Mystery in the Mountains

She wiggled her toes through the pain. “No, I don’t think anything’s broken. Will you help me up?”

He cleared away some of the broken spindles and helped her.

She limped her way to the couch in the living room. “Will you turn that off?”

Abe nodded.

Asher knelt before her, checking her injuries. Her ankle was starting to bruise and swell, so he gently flexed her foot as she winced.

“I don’t think anything’s broken, just sprained,” Asher agreed.

“I can have Julie get you something for the pain,” Abe said, looking down at her.

“Is she a witch?” Sunny asked.

Abe nodded. “Yeah, she’s got a healing touch.”

She’d never seen Abe smile like that.

“Okay,” said Sunny. “I think I’ll be okay.” She tried to get up, only for Asher to almost growl at her.

“You’re hurt,” he snapped.

“I’m fine.”

“No. you’re not.”

“Asher. I’m fine, really.”

“What is it you were trying to do?” Abe asked.

“Oh, ummm . . . I was just going to go through some of the boxes in my dad’s office . . . but there are still a few in the dining room I could go through.”

Asher nodded. “Why don’t you just let us bring them to you? And we’ll fix that banister. That was at the top of our list . . . Well, that and the porch . . . and the roof . . .” He looked at Abe, who also nodded.

“Wait. What list?”

“Can I use your phone to call Julie? She’s working the lunch shift and can bring you something for your ankle on her way into town,” Abe said.

“Of course,” she said, gesturing to her phone. “But what were you talking about? What list?”

“The list of repairs this house needs,” Asher said.

“You guys are not fixing my house!”

“Well, you can’t live here in the state it is in,” said Asher, examining her leg.

“I’m fine, I can do it. This is my mess to fix.” She stood to move, but pain shot up her legs, causing her to wince and grab them.

“Sunny, be reasonable,” Asher said.

“Absolutely not! I can do it.”

“No. Let us help you,” Abe said in his deep voice, silencing Sunny’s dissent.

Sunny’s gaze shifted between Abe, with his arms crossed over his big wall of a chest with a stern but not unkind expression, and Asher, with his long dark curls pulled back, his hands in his pockets, uncertainty clouding his face.

“After everything I did, you still want to help me?”

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