Page 27 of Bad Witch

Shoot. I didn’t want to give away the location of my cottage. “Um, all around.” I couldn’t tell him I knew this forest like the back of my hand and spent a good deal of time out here hunting goats and wild boar to feed Manfred. “I like the outdoors,” I said instead.

“Who do you usually hike with?”

I glanced his way. “No one.”

“You hike alone?”

“I do.”

“Not through Oldwood, though, right? Somewhere else.”

“No, I mainly hike Oldwood,” I said, ducking under a low branch.

Fender stopped abruptly beside me. “There are demons all over this forest, Tempest,” he growled. “It’s fucking dangerous out here, especially on your own.”

Crap, I’d said too much again. Yes, I knew all about the demons in this forest, and they avoided me like the plague. Here, the Matildas were warded, like places and objects could be. No one would cause me harm, and if they tried, they’d regret it, instantly and violently. Our ward had been created and perfected over centuries. My cottage, the land surrounding it, and I were protected from every demon out here. “I’m very careful,” I said.

“Tempest,” he said more forcefully. “Do not fucking hike in these woods alone.”

He seemed really worked up about this, but then he had no way of knowing I was safe. “Okay, I won’t,” I lied. No, I didn’t want to make the mother cry, but I didn’t think she’d mind my little white lie in this instance.

“Promise me.” He was growling again.

Was he angry? He was, he was really angry. I crossed my fingers behind my back to be extra cautious. “I promise.”

My promise seemed to satisfy him, and we started walking again. We walked for a while in silence, and I kept glancing at him. I didn’t like it when people were angry with me, not people I liked. And okay, I didn’t have much experience with that either. Only three people had liked me in my whole life: my mom, W, and Magnolia. Two of those three were now dead. I couldn’t afford to lose anyone else.

I glanced over at him again. There was a scowly frown on his face.

No, I didn’t like it, not at all. It was making my stomach feel weird. I had to do something. Magnolia confronted people all the time when she found herself in a situation she didn’t like. I’d decided to be more like her, hadn’t I? It was time to put my money where my mouth was. I straightened my shoulders. “I don’t think you should be angry at me.”

His head whipped my way.

“Not for something I’ve been doing long before we ever met. I don’t like it when people are angry, especially at me. I want you to know that.” There, I said it.

He stopped again and his eyes were softer, the amber becoming a richer, warmer shade. “Angry at you? Fuck, peaches, I’m not angry at you.”

There he went calling me peaches again, and that, I realized, I did like. “You definitely looked it, and you certainly sounded it as well.”

“Not angry, babe, just worried. The idea of you getting hurt…” His nostrils flared and he drew in a breath. “Well, that’s something that I wouldn’t like.”

He was worried about me. Okay, that was nice. “I appreciate that, but I assure you, you have nothing to worry about.”

“Right, because you just promised you wouldn’t do it anymore.”

“Right,” I said, crossing my fingers behind my back again.

Some of the tension left him after that. We carried on and he kept to an easy pace, seemingly not in any great hurry. It had started getting dark when I noticed his limp.

“Fender, stop,” I said. He did, and I noticed the strain on his face. “You’re in pain.”

“I’m fine.”

He wasn’t. “Well, I’m not. I’m hungry and my feet hurt.” Another lie. Boy, I was racking them up today, but he was stubborn and I wasn’t going to let him carry on and hurt himself any further. How had I not thought about that? I’d been so excited to get to the blue cliffs and see what we could find that I’d spaced out. I guess I was used to thinking only about myself when I was out of the clinic. I’d also assumed that if he was in pain, he’d say something, but I was working out that males often did things that went against their own best interest, especially when they wanted to appear strong and capable.

He gave in without any complaint, and we got busy setting up camp. Fender found a sheltered area. It was really cool actually. Ivy had overtaken a huge willow tree and had created a natural canopy, like a leafy tent. Fender started a fire just outside it, then dragged over a log for us to sit on.

“I’m just going to…um.” I aimed my thumb over my shoulder. “Use the bathroom.”