Page 11 of Whisker me Away
"Did she?" Miriam's voice was deceptively casual. "Or did a twenty-one-year-old woman turn down a twenty-five-year-old man who hadn't figured out who he wanted to be yet?"
"It doesn't matter," Kieran repeated, but the words sounded hollow even to his own ears.
"Doesn't it?" Miriam moved closer, her voice gentle but implacable. "You've spent fifteen years proving to this town that you're reliable, that you won't disappoint us the way you were disappointed. But you've never let yourself believe that someone might choose to stay with you. That someone might see past the reputation you've built and want the man underneath."
"Because they don't," Kieran said harshly. "People leave, Miriam. That's what they do. And the smart money is on being the one who leaves first."
"Not everyone is your parents, dear one. Not everyone is going to abandon you when things get difficult." Miriam reached out to squeeze his shoulder. "That girl in there? She'sbeen carrying an impossible burden alone for three years. She understands what it means to stay, to sacrifice, to put others before yourself. If anyone can handle whatever fears you're carrying, it's her."
"She doesn't want anything to do with me beyond this investigation."
"Are you sure about that?" Miriam's smile was knowing. "Because the way she looks at you when she thinks no one's watching suggests otherwise."
Before Kieran could respond, footsteps approached from the inn. Both of them turned to see Freya appearing in the garden doorway, her expression carefully neutral.
"I'm sorry to interrupt," she said, "but I should get back to the shop. I have customers coming in this morning."
"Of course, dear," Miriam said smoothly. "Kieran was just telling me how much he's looking forward to working with you."
Kieran shot his foster mother a warning look, but she just smiled innocently. He found himself hyperaware of every step Freya took beside him, every breath she drew, every small movement that spoke of the magic thrumming just beneath her skin.
Something was definitely happening between them. His tiger was becoming more insistent about it with every passing hour.
The question was: what the hell was he going to do about it?
7
FREYA
The Autumn Welcome Festival should have been magical. Paper lanterns swayed from the oak trees around Moonmirror Lake, their warm glow reflecting off the water as families spread blankets for the season's kickoff celebration. This was Hollow Oak's traditional way of welcoming fall—a cozy gathering before the grand Harvest Festival that would come in a few weeks when the leaves turned fully and the magical community's power reached its seasonal peak. The scent of apple cider and cinnamon filled the crisp September air, mingling with wood smoke from the central bonfire where couples danced to fiddle music.
Freya stood at the edge of the festivities, a cup of untouched cider growing cold in her hands as she watched children run through the corn maze with shrieks of delighted terror. Everything looked normal, peaceful, exactly like the autumn celebrations she'd loved since childhood. But beneath the surface joy, corruption was spreading through the countryside like a cancer.
"Three more farms reported plant deaths this morning," Maizy said quietly, appearing at her elbow with her owncup of cider. Her pointed ears drooped with exhaustion. "The Hendersons lost their entire apple orchard overnight. Mrs. Patte's herb garden looks like a battlefield."
Freya closed her eyes, feeling the weight of failure settle heavier on her shoulders. Each corrupted plant was another mark against her inadequate guardianship, another sign that the Thornweaver was stirring stronger with every passing day. The knowledge from her grandmother's journal sat like acid in her stomach. A few weeks until the main harvest festival, when the magical community's power would peak and draw visitors from across the region. If she couldn't figure out how to renew the binding spell by then...
"You look like you're carrying the weight of the world," Rowan's gentle voice interrupted her spiraling thoughts.
She turned to find him approaching with that patient smile she'd grown so accustomed to, his trimmed chestnut hair neat despite the evening breeze. He looked handsome in his autumn-colored sweater, the kind of steady, dependable attractive that should have made her heart flutter. Instead, all she felt was familiar fondness tinged with guilt.
"Just tired," she said, forcing herself to smile back. "It's been a long week."
"Then let me help you forget about work for one evening." Rowan offered his arm with old-fashioned courtesy. "The pumpkin patch is beautiful this year, and I heard Mrs. Patterson brought her famous caramel apples."
Freya let him guide her toward the festival activities, trying to push thoughts of ancient plant spirits from her mind. Around them, Hollow Oak's supernatural community celebrated with easy joy. Shifter children played tag in forms that shifted between human and animal, while witch families shared potions that made autumn leaves dance in spirals above their heads.
But her attention kept drifting to a familiar figure standing guard at the crowd's edge. Kieran leaned against an oak tree with predatory grace as he scanned the festival-goers with alertness that never fully relaxed. He'd changed into dark jeans and a button-down shirt that clung to his broad shoulders, looking like exactly the kind of trouble her grandmother had always warned her to avoid.
Their eyes met across the festival grounds, and Freya felt that spark of awareness shoot through her system. Even from thirty feet away, she could his gaze flash with something that looked like possession. The intensity of his stare made her skin hum with energy.
Professional consultation only,she reminded herself. That's what he'd said after making it clear she was just another problem to solve.
"Freya?" Rowan's voice brought her attention back. "You seem distracted tonight."
"Sorry." She turned away from Kieran's penetrating stare. "Just thinking about the investigation."
"Maybe you should take a break from all that." Rowan's hand covered hers where it rested on his arm. "You've been pushing yourself so hard since the corruption started."
