Hæra threw herself back into the Gator. Several meters away, Brodie watched mistrustfully. The smartest of the dogs, he was the only one who accompanied Hæra on her morning rounds because he knew to leave the trow alone. When she gunned the motor and drove away, he ran alongside the vehicle.

She’d gotten a late start today. She needed to return to the farm and work with Connor and Jim. They undoubtedly wondered why she’d been less present the last few days.

Or perhaps they’d put it together after meeting Madeleine. Maybe they’d realized Hæra’s life had changed, even if they couldn’t know how. It didn’t matter. She had a job to do until she couldn’t do it anymore. She’d just have to trust she’d recognize that time when it came, assuming she had a choice in the matter.

As she approached the farm, Connor came forward, waving. She stopped next to him. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I hope. Jon just said you should see him before you start work. He’s in the office.”

“I already started,” Hæra snapped. “What does he want?”

Connor raised his eyebrows. “He didn’t say. Did you two have a row?”

“No. I expect I’ll be out soon.” She pursed her lips. “I know I haven’t worked as much lately.”

“Lady who helped buy the farm can take a day off. It’s not as busy as lambing season. Jim and I will see you when we see you.” At that, he turned and ambled back toward the barn.

Hæra headed to the house and banged open the rear door. She wasn’t in the mood to be subtle or chat business with Jonathan. Her body needed to move, whether in the fields or the barn, until the anger and doubt that had plagued her for hours sloughed off in sweat. She growled, “Connor said⁠—”

Madeleine and Jonathan looked at her from the kitchen table.

Hæra stopped dead in her tracks. Her heart seemed to stop too.

“Good morning, lass,” Jonathan said. “Look who’s dropped in.”

Jonathan had offered to leave Madeleine and Hæra in the kitchen for privacy, but even with the cold, Madeleine had needed to be in the open air. Now she and Hæra walked away from the house, and she gathered her courage.

“I wasn’t sure you’d want to talk to me.” Madeleine zipped her jacket all the way up to her chin. “And I’m sorry for how I behaved yesterday.”

“Is that why you’re here?” Hæra asked.

It would be easy to say yes. Now that Madeleine was actually here, surrounded by the everyday business of a farm, it seemed impossible to talk about magical creatures as if they were real.