Trent sucked in his breath, and an alarmed expression filled his face. “Good God, no,” he said, making me laugh.

He was tidying Lucy’s blanket, showing all the signs of getting ready to leave, and all of a sudden, I didn’t want him to. “Thanks,” I said, standing forlornly next to the sink, not knowing what to do with my hands. “For everything.” He looked at me from under his bangs, and I made a weak gesture. “I suppose I could have done without you releasing Ku’Sox, but thanks for picking up the pieces and putting me back together.”

Trent was drifting to the door, moving slowly because of his cast. “You’re welcome. Uh, about that kiss,” he said, his voice hesitant.

I froze, wanting to ignore it. “Forget it,” I said. “I am.”

He hesitated a bare instant. “I was just going to say I was sorry for misleading you.” Turning away, he headed for the hallway, Lucy in his arms and his head bowed. “Good night.”

That was not what he was going to say, and I licked my lips in a flash of understanding as I again saw his loneliness, the space he kept between himself and the rest of the world. I knew he would love Lucy, but even then, he would hold himself apart. I’d seen him afraid. I’d seen him vulnerable and down to his last option. He had risked not just my life but his to give me a choice. And it bothered me that he was going to be so…alone. He had wanted to be a tailor when he grew up, because they had been stronger than his dad to his young-boy eyes.

“Trent?”

The word was out of my mouth before I even knew I was going to say it, and he stopped in the threshold, spinning quickly back to me.

“Yes?”

It was hopeful, and my heart beat strongly. But fear shot through me, chased by adrenaline. “Never mind,” I whispered. “Have a good night.”

He turned, but not fast enough to hide the light in his eyes, dimming, and it scared me even more. “You, too,” he said again, his voice precise and controlled again. “I’ll let myself out.”

He walked stiffly into the hallway, and I swallowed hard, feeling unreal. “Bye, Trent,” I said, my fingers trembling slightly as I felt my way around the center counter to sit in my chair and stare at the table. There was a new feeling trickling through me, making my breath come fast and my heart thump. It was more than having Trent off my case. The witches, too, and the I.S. if that conversation in the van was any indication. True, I was a day-walking demon and I couldn’t leave Ohio or Kentucky without notifying the I.S., but the legislation would go through soon, and I wasn’t shunned anymore. It wasn’t the satisfaction of saving San Francisco from Ku’Sox, or having finally freed myself from Al and the rest of them, or even that I’d become a demon godmother to Trent’s daughter and gotten my Saturdays back, too.