Page 73 of Crowe
I picked it up. The stone was smooth and cool against my fingers.
“Thank you,” I said.
“You don’t have to wear it,” he said. “But I hope you will.”
I put it on my wrist.
He smiled and picked up his tea.
We stayed for an hour and a half just talking and swapping stories about our lives. By the time we left, both Caden and I had an assortment of bags of tea, and I had the bracelet, a small bundle of something Mars called protection incense. But most importantly, I thought I was leaving here with a friend. On our way out, he asked us to wait while he grabbed a card from the shop and wrote something on the back before pressing it into my hand.
Hawk held the car door, and I got in. I sat back and looked at the bracelet in the afternoon light and at the card that Mars had pressed into my hand. I flipped it over to see what he’d written on the back.
You are stronger than you think.
“Well?” Mika said. “What did you think?”
“You were right,” I said. “I loved it.”
“Mars has that effect on people.”
I pulled out my phone and texted Jackson.
Me:Headed back to the apartment. I liked the shop. Also I bought a lot of tea
His reply came in under a minute.
Jackson:Good. I’ll be home by six. Save me a lemon bar if Mika left any.
I smiled at my phone and looked out the window, and for the length of the drive home, I wasn’t thinking about Corvane or the case that Chance Kelly was still building. Instead, I thought about all the good things I had. Jackson, the guys at Three Bears, and now potentially Mars. About the life I could see building here in Vesper as long as I got the chance.
Chapter twenty-four
Crowe
Friday morning, I got up early because I had a meeting with Wolfe at eight. I left Noah sleeping in the bed we’d shared every night since we’d been back in Vesper and went into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. I also started the electric kettle with water for Noah’s tea.
I was standing there with the fridge open, trying to decide what to do about breakfast, when he stumbled into the room. He’d tossed on a pair of sweatpants that hung low on his hips and nothing else. He rubbed his eyes before grumbling, “You’re up early.”
“I have a meeting at eight with Wolfe.”
He looked at me. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, it’s a strategy session. Just working through our options.” I kept my voice even, not wanting him to worry.
“Okay,” he said with a shrug. He trusted me to tell him what mattered when it mattered, which was something he’d learned to do, and I didn’t take that lightly.
I poured myself a cup of coffee and handed him a mug for his tea. He smiled at me and filled it with water. Then he opened up the metal heart he’d purchased at Mars’ shop and carefully filled it with loose-leaf tea before dropping it in the cup.
“Mars texted me yesterday,” he said. “He wants to know if I’d be interested in teaching a workshop on flower arranging at his shop.”
“What did you say?”
“That I’d think about it.” He turned the bracelet once on his wrist, the way he did sometimes without noticing. “I think I want to say yes. I know I can’t go back to work yet, but I miss flowers, so something like that might be fun.”
“Then you should do it,” I said.
He looked at me. “You think so?”
