“Says the girl who’s been a witch for like a week,” Sam huffs. Nope. Definitely not over her issues.
“She’s right,” Nik says, unable to sit back quietly.
“Who is that?” Sam asks and I just give Ethan a look. Sam isn’t happy about her brother living with a witch. She’s definitely not going to be happy to know we have a faery houseguest.
“A friend,” Ethan answers. “Who does know quite a bit about magic. You’re jumping to conclusions, Sam. Which means letting the real killer get off the hook because you’re going to narrow your search.”
His words jar me, but he’s right. The Order is going to try and find who killed the hunter. And then they will punish them as they see fit…even if it’s a human.
“God, you’re so overdramatic. I’m not looking into anything. Or on this case even. I just wanted to relay a message.”
“You’re right,” I quickly say before she can hang up. “You didn’t insinuate anything, but since I am a witch, I wanted to make sure you knew the correct info.”
A few seconds of silence pass before she speaks again. “Yumi wants to know how the donkeys are doing.”
“They’re good. If you’re ever out this way again, we’d love it if you stopped by.”
“Yeah, we’d uh, we’d like that too. Be careful, Ethan.”
“Same to you,” he says and ends the call.
“Why would a witch kill a hunter?” I ask right away. “I mean, why would anyone kill anyone? But you’re right, well, I think. And I can find out more tonight, I suppose.”
“Slow down,” Ethan tells me. “And don’t worry. I’ll find out what I can. Most ritualistic killings are done by demons, though this still sounds like something set up. I’ve seen ritualistic killings and they’re not as obvious.” He shakes his head. “Leaving the murder weapon by the body…” He trails off and turns, resting a hand on my thigh. “Don’t worry, babe. You’re going to your coven tonight for the first time and like I said, hunting is a dangerous job. You piss off a lot of people—human people—along the way as well.”
“I know,” I sigh and plant my hands on the counter, pushing myself up. “I need to run to the feed store and put in another order of hay.” I look at Hunter. The feed store does allow dogs. “Want to come with?” He gives me a do you really have to ask look and wags his tail.
“Heading out now?” Ethan asks.
“Yeah. Might as well.” I look out the window. “It’s warming up. I might attempt my first ride on Mystery since, what, December?”
“It’s been a while.”
“The new barn and indoor arena cannot come fast enough. Though, I know my two lazy horses are enjoying their time off.”
“Funny how the times have changed,” Nik notes. “Horses used to pull carts. Now you’re pulling them in fancy trailers.” He raises his eyebrows. “I know what you spent on yours.”
I let out a snort of laughter. “Most horses have fared well over the years.” Getting up, I grab my phone and my purse. Ethan walks me to the door, grabbing me around the waist and pulling my hips to his.
“What are the chances that you’re going to come home with another animal?”
“Not very high today. But when the baby chicks are on sale in a month or so, I make no promises .”
He laughs. “Once the new barn is built, I’m good with chickens.”
I make a face. “I’m not keeping chickens in my horse barn.”
“Why not? Isn’t a barn just a barn?”
“I’m going to pretend I didn’t just hear that. But I have faith in you to build me a really nice chicken coo p.”
“You know what?” He steps in close, widening his stance. “I’d like that.”
I can’t help the smile that takes over my face. “I would too. I really like our little farm and our little family.”
“I do think we should eventually expand it.”
My heart lurches in my chest. Obviously, we see a future together or we wouldn’t have moved into the same house so soon. We’ve pretty vaguely talked about the future together. I always hoped I’d find someone who loved me and I’d settle down, get married, and have a kid of my own.
Ethan never thought he would.
But things changed when he met me, and now he knows he can have a similar future.
“With more animals?” I smile and raise my eyebrows.
“Among other things.” He kisses me again and steps back, slowly letting out a breath. “I’ll count on defensive training with you in a few hours.”
“I won’t be gone that long.”
He cocks an eyebrow and I laugh. Ethan knows me too well. “Fine. I might spend an hour looking at the new horse stuff they have.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less.” He grabs me around the waist and kisses me once more before Hunter and I finally set out. The remaining snow and ice have finally melted away, though it’s not unusual to get a decent snowfall in late March in the Midwest.
There’s only one feed store in the area, and it’s located in Paradise Valley, not Thorne Hill. Everyone else must be taking advantage of the somewhat warm day, and I park in the back of the full lot and head in, with Hunter walking in sync with me, right at my side.
Grabbing a cart, I decide to get a few bags of feed and hay cubes while I’m here, as well as a bunch of stuff I want but don’t need. Hunter and I actually make good time and get in line only forty minutes after we came into the store.
“Anora?” someone calls, stepping in line behind me.
Turning, I see one of my few neighbors. “Donna. Hi,” I say back.
Donna waves and nudges the friend she’s with, loudly whispering, “She’s old Estelle’s niece and lives in her big, old house.”
“How are you?” I go on, wanting to be polite. I push my cart forward a bit, moving up in line. Only one cashier is open and there are three people ahead of me.
“Good, of course. Busy as ever with the kids!” She laughs and looks me up and down before shifting her eyes to Hunter. He’s not on a leash and I know it’s killing her not to say anything. As a vet tech, I’ll be the first to say it doesn’t matter how well-trained your dog is, you need to respect leash laws and always be prepared for anything.
But Hunter isn’t a dog.
“What about you? I saw you have permits filed with the county for construction on your property. What are you doing?”
I blink, surprised but also not. Because, of course, Donna would know everyone’s business. “I’m having a new barn and indoor arena built once the ground thaws.”
“Oh, wow. How nice. And expensive? I thought you said you weren’t working at the moment.”
“I’m not working as a vet tech.” Reaching down, I rub Hunter’s ear between my fingers, comforted by his soft fur. Where this woman gets her audacity is beyond me. The line moves again and I turn, wanting to just leave it at that.
“What about your husband?”
“My boyfriend,” I correct, knowing Donna did that on purpose. “And what about him?”