Page 36 of Made

“Exactly.”

“Maybe I’ll pop over and just ask what’s going on,” she said.

I gritted my teeth. It wouldn’t be fair for Lily to find out and not me. I didn’t need to say what I was thinking. I just gave Keir my best puppy dog face. Alas, the bastard was steadfast.

“No,” was all he said. “Smells grand in here, Lily,” he told her cheerfully. “You ready?” he asked me.

“I guess.” I pouted.

On the walk home, Keir did his best to engage me in conversation, but I was focused on being a brat and turning sulking into an art form. I answered in monosyllables. I’m not proud of it, but it was a master class in passive-aggressive behavior. As soon as we were home, I went to my study, closed the door, and called Evie.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hey,” I replied.

“Mom. Put the phone down. I’m here.”

I turned to see her lowering a protruding belly onto my puffy leather chair and set the phone down. “That will always be unnerving. No matter how long I’m part of this.”

“Never say always. It’s the surest way to reveal exceptions and outliers. What’s up?”

“Must’ve caught you when you weren’t busy.”

“I’m never busy. Diarmuid sees to that. It’s silly. Worse, it’s fertile ground for boredom.”

“Hmmm. Can I get you something?” As soon as I said it, I knew it was boneheaded. Why offer something to a person who can instantly conjure anything imaginable?

Seeing my thoughts play out on my face, she smiled, then handed me my favorite grande Americano. Gods bless Queen Evangeline. I didn’t have to ask for a sleeve or a stopper. She’s the best barista anywhere. Perfection and consistency are acombination impossible to beat. As I took the steamy cup of heaven, she said, “Did you call for a reason or just want a Starbucks?”

“A reason. A favor.”

“What?”

“We got this marvelous carousel horse at The Hallows. Well, I call it a carousel horse, but it doesn’t have a, you know, pole thingy. Annnnnnd, it’s life-sized. I want to use it as the focal point in my Yule window decorations, but Maggie says it weighs a ton. That may or may not be literal. I didn’t personally try to lift it. She said that, and this is a quote, ‘It would take four men or Evie to move the thing into the window.’ Or something like that.”

Evie chuckled. “Four men or Evie,” she repeated. “I like that. You want it done right now?”

“Not since you just gave me a fresh coffee. Plus, we have to move everything that’s in the window now to make room. Last, based on what I heard, I might get in trouble with my son-in-law for having you perform strenuous feats of might. Currently, I enjoy a good relationship with Diarmuid. I want to keep it that way.”

“I have a solution.”

“What is it?”

She laughed. “We won’t tell.”

“There you have it, sports fans. My daughter, slyest Irish queen ever. Why don’t you conjure up a coffee for yourself? Oh, wait, can you have coffee?”

She scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous. It takes more than coffee to hurt a fae queen. Also, just not feelingthe joe. Maybe a strawberry smoothie.” She raised her hand, and the most beautiful pink drink appeared in a daiquiri glass complete with striped straw, umbrella, and fresh sprig of mint.

“Wow. Now I wantthat.”

“Really?”

I looked down at my cup. I wanted to have my coffee and drink something else, too. “Coffee now. Smoothie after horse wrangling.”

“Wrangling?” She grinned. “I hadn’t known I always wanted to be a horse wrangler until you just said it.”

“Glad to make your dreams come true. In my next incarnation, maybe I’ll be a fairy godmother instead of a judge.”

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