night.â
âWhatâs the ton ?â
âOld-time British word for the aristocracy. Itâs what I call Emersonâs herd since he named them after the peers of the realm.â
Owen continued to look confused.
âDuchess, Lady, Countess.â
âThatâs weird.â
âWeird is what you make it.â I was weird, but Iâd done my best to make sure no one knew it but me. âYou didnât have to stay.â
âI had no place to be.â
âYou could have slept in a bed.â
âMaybe,â he said. âBut probably not.â
Before I could follow up on that statement he blurted, âPeople are treating me differently.â
âOkay.â
âChief Deb didnât accuse me of animal mutilation.â
âNo, she accused your mother.â
âActually she accused my motherâs imaginary friends.â
âShe accused your motherâs coven.â
âMy mother isnât a witch, so she doesnât have a coven any more than she has friends.â
Poor woman. Sheâd been a miserable mother but not on purpose. Iâd always hoped that someone could help her, but apparently crazy like that was beyond help.
âEmerson shook my hand,â Owen continued. âThe last time I saw him he shot me.â
âSo?â
âSo?â he echoed. âOnce someone shoots at me, they donât come back later and shake my hand.â
âWhat do they do?â
He didnât answer, and I didnât press. I probably didnât want to know. The very idea of someone shooting at Owen made me twitchy.
âI doubt itâll be the last time someone shakes your hand around here.â
âWhy?â He seemed horrified.
âHeroes get their hands shaken.â
âReggieâs the hero, not me. I just hold his leash.â
âI highly doubt thatâs all you do. But you can always have them shake Reggieâs paw if you want to.â Owen cast me an exasperated glance, which I ignored. âWhy do you downplay what youâve accomplished?â
âYou have no idea what Iâve accomplished.â
âYouâve been in the service for ten years, Owen. I doubt you had your thumb up your ass.â
He choked.
âIf it bothers you to have your hand shaken, get over it. Itâs going to happen a lot.â
âNot if I hide.â
âGood luck with that.â Once people knew he was in town, and why, they were going to come searching for him. And a guy of his size, with a dog of Reggieâs size, in a town of this size?
He wasnât going to be able to hide for long.
*Â Â Â *Â Â Â *
âI didnât join the corps to be a hero,â Owen said.
âWhy did you?â
He cast her a quick glance. âYou know why.â
âI know what you told me.â Her mouth tightened. âYou had to make something of yourself. But to me, Owen, you were everything.â
Sheâd been everything to him too, which was why heâd had to go. This place had made him feel like nothing, like no one, and even her love couldnât change that. But how could he tell her that she wasnât enough?
âI didnât mean to lie.â Which was a great, big lie. He hadnât wanted to lie, but he had meant to.
âYou lied?â
âI said Iâd write.â
âYou were going to leave and never write?â Her face crumpled, confused, in the soft, early morning light.
Heâd also said heâd come back. But one lie at a time.
âI should have told you, but Iâ¦â
He had a sudden memory of her eyesâstricken. Her tearsâsalty. Her kissâdesperate. Her touch â¦
Everything.
How could he tell her it was over when all heâd wanted was for it not to be? Then heâd made love to her and â¦
He certainly couldnât tell her then.
âI didnât want to hurt you,â he finished.
She
Alaska Angelini, A. A. Dark