Page 65 of Bad Witch

I leaned on the table as well, because I had to. My knees felt weak just from having Fender’s gaze on me. “He left a little while ago for an appointment.” I turned back to Fender. “Thank you for bringing me dinner, but I need to get back to work.”

“No problem,” he said. “Just promise me you’ll take a proper break and eat it.”

“I promise.” I turned back to Mags. “I’ll be right there.”

“Thanks.” Her gaze slid back to Fender, a strange look coming over her features, then she was gone.

“Sorry,” I said to Fender.

He stood and was back in front of me in two strides. “No problem, but I need to see you tonight. You want me to come to you?”

I almost said yes without thinking. “I’ll have to come to you,” I said. “But I won’t be able to stay too long.”

He frowned. “Why is that?”

“Like I said, I have pets.”

“Then I’ll come to you.”

I frantically searched for an excuse. “They’re wary of strangers.”

“They’re gonna need to get used to me eventually.”

Now it was my turn to frown. “I can’t think why?”

His head jerked back like I’d struck him, and I wasn’t sure I liked the expression on his face. Not anger, but he was definitely frustrated. One thing Matilda W had always said, if you take a lover, you need to set boundaries and lay out ground rules, or things would get complicated. “I need to go help Magnolia now, but I’ll call you when I finish work. We need to talk.”

“About what?”

I headed for the door. “I’ll call you.”

He grabbed my arm. “Tempest…”

“I have a patient waiting, Fender,” I said with as much force as I could muster and pulled my arm free.

He didn’t look happy, but he lifted his hands. “Of course.”

I really hoped I hadn’t made a mistake choosing him. If he became too possessive, I’d have to end things before they even began, and I really didn’t want to do that. “I’ll talk to you later,” I said again and strode out.

Magnolia stood talking to a female in the emergency area. I couldn’t see her properly, but as I approached, I recognized the children sitting with her—and froze a moment before I got it together and forced my feet to keep moving.

Magnolia stepped back as I approached. “This is Tempest. She’s our expert with fractures,” she said. “I’ll leave you in her capable hands.” Magnolia walked away, and Wendy stared up at me, her eyes huge.

The children leaned against their mother. “How are we doing over here?” I said, hoping she didn’t hear the way my voice trembled. I couldn’t react. I had to hold it together.

Had this ever happened to one of us before? Of course not, because every Matilda before you had followed the rules and not taken stupid risks.

She looked down at her arm and back up. Her wrist was swollen. She’d tried to do too much with it, too soon, and the work I’d done hadn’t held. Maybe she didn’t recognize me. She’d been scared, injured. Her memory could be hazy. She blinked up at me like an owl. “N-not too good.” Her gaze darted around the room and back to me. “My, uh…I hurt my wrist.”

She recognized me. She totally recognized me.

I glanced over my shoulder. Magnolia was on the other side of the room, restocking some of the cabinets. “It certainly looks that way.” I smiled at the children, who unlike their mother, thanks to my potion, didn’t remember me at all. “There are toys over there. Why don’t you see what you can find while I fix your mom’s arm?”

They looked to her, and she nodded. “Stay close,” she said.

“Wendy.” I reached for her wrist. She jumped, and I yanked my hand back. Was she afraid…of me? Oh gods, I felt ill.

“I won’t hurt you. Everything’s okay,” I said for her benefit as well as my own, though I had no idea if I was right. I had no frame of reference for this utter shambles of a situation.