Page 89 of 10 Rings I Hate About You
“At the shelter?” Delaney confirmed.
“The shelter.” I hesitated. It was a small hesitation. I’m not even sure she caught it. “You should come tomorrow night,” I added. “To the auction.”
“Oh, she’ll be there,” Adele added brightly. “In the front. Center table.”
Center table?
I didn’t examine too closely what knowing that did to me. Or why a pleasant warmth settled within me at seeing her again.
“Maybe she’ll even bid on someone,” Adele continued, with a grin that suggested she was enjoying herself enormously.
My stomach dropped straight through the diner floor.
The thought hadn’t occurred to me. Okay, that was a lie. The thought had not occurred to me in this specific, concrete way, thatshe could bid on someone who was not me, and now that it had, I needed it to go back to wherever it came from. The auction was already a disaster waiting to happen, and I didn’t need additional variables.
Delaney, to her credit, looked like she was considering tossing her coffee at Adele.
I got Chaos sorted and turned toward Wyatt’s table before I said anything inadvisable, like tell Adele that Delaney should specifically not bid on anyone else, which would have been an insane thing to say, so I kept my mouth shut.
I took approximately two steps.
“Delaney, I’m so glad I caught you.” Mrs. Halstead stopped at the booth, hand already reaching for Delaney’s arm in a way that people often did when they were excited and hadn’t thought about personal space yet.
I paused.
This was not my business. I had eggs getting cold at Wyatt’s table. I had a goat who was eyeing someone’s toast. I had absolutely no reason to stand here.
I stayed.
“I wanted to thank you again," Ada Halstead said. “For last week. I feel—I don’t know how to explain it. Lighter. My shoulders have been unknotted for six days straight, and Ihaven’t been able to say that in three years. I’d like to make another appointment.”
Delaney gave her a bright, warm smile. Her whole face changed when she smiled like that. Not the performative smile she used when she was being polite, but this quieter, more anchored version of it. “I’m so happy to hear that.” She grabbed her phone and opened up her messaging app. “I just sent you the booking link—you can grab whatever slot works for you, and call the shop if you have any questions.”
“I will.” Ada half-turned to go, then stopped. “I almost forgot. My sister wanted me to pass along her thanks.”
Delaney’s expression softened further.
“Melinda came in last week too. You remember—she had that mass in her stomach. The one they’d been watching for months. She was nervous about surgery. About what they’d find.” Ada’s voice had gone careful in that way that suggested her news was bigger than her emotions knew what to do with. “They did new scans this week to prep for the procedure.”
She stopped. Pressed her lips together. “The mass is gone.” Her hand shifted to rest over Delaney’s. “No explanation. The doctors were baffled, but Melinda wasn’t. She said when you worked on her, she felt—she said she felt the energy collect right there, then release.” A shaky breath. “She wanted you to know.”
The diner had not gone quiet. There was still the sound of silverware and conversation, and Chaos made a run for it the second I was distracted—likely for that person’s toast—and I was going to have to deal with it in a minute. But something had shifted in the immediate radius of this booth.
Delaney threaded her fingers through Ada’s and held on. “I’m so glad,” she said quietly. “Tell her she’s always welcome.”
Ada squeezed her hand and returned to her table.
I stood there.
The probability of coincidence was high. Spontaneous remission happened. Stress reduction improved outcomes. There were documented mechanisms for how relaxation-based interventions could affect the body’s systems. I knew this. I’d been researching more about it since I agreed to help with the yoga class.
But Ada Halstead’s shoulders had come down from somewhere around her ears the moment she’d said the words. And Delaney hadn’t taken credit for the scan results, hadn’t claimed she’dfixedanything—she’d just saidshe’s always welcome.Like she knew with certainty exactly what had happened.
That was—that was a thing I hadn’t expected to observe about her.
I didn’t know what to do with that yet. My entire framework was built on what could be proven, and this couldn’t be proven. It also couldn’t be disproven. And yet Ada Halstead looked like she could breathe again.
I gave Delaney a quick nod meant to be neutral and probably wasn’t, collected Chaos, and made my way to Wyatt’s table.
