Chapter Forty-Four

Chapter Forty-Four

Josie

After four long days in the hospital, Kellan was released.

Kellan waited until the hospital staff walked back into the sliding doors to remove his crutches and hold them.

I stopped and stared at his handsome face. Though he looked tired and broken, he was capable of recovering with ease. His dominance wouldn"t allow him to look weak, though. I had a feeling I"d be forcing him to use those crutches.

"Careful, Kellan. You're not immortal anymore. Those powers are gone, and you're but a weak human."

He watched me dig his keys from my pocket with narrowed eyes. Then he wrapped his arm around my waist and held me close. "I'll show you a weak human when we get home."

I chuckled. "You need to keep your mind out of the gutter and get yourself together, Anti-hero."

He wobbled toward his truck, tossed his crutches into the back, and grabbed the door handle. "I think I can move up in rank now. I've been shot in the leg for you, and I'm still an anti-hero?"

I chuckled. "Any man that takes a bullet for me is my hero. Don't get butthurt. I'll show you how much of a hero you are when you get better."

I felt his eyes on me as I walked around the front of his truck. It'd been a long stay in the hospital. My back was aching from the uncomfortable lounge chair, and I was dying for a decent shower.

Though I was sure Kellan was hurting more than I was by far.

His entire life had been turned upside down.

Killing Deidamia had ended the curse. He wasn't going to live forever. I didn't have to worry about dying and leaving him alone for eternity.

I started his engine and pulled out of the hospital parking lot.

"Have you heard from your father today?" Kellan asked.

I let out a heavy breath of air and clutched the steering wheel. "No calls or texts. Luther did text me. He said Dad is fine. He's staying with him to make sure he eats and takes care of himself."

Kellan reached over and palmed my thigh. "He'll come around. You're his little girl. I know I would have come around if it were mine."

The thought of Kellan holding a baby gave me a heated rush of baby fever. I knew it wasn't the right time. I started my job at the school soon, and I was too young to worry about children.

"What are you thinking about over there?" he asked.

"About my job starting soon. It's over an hour"s drive from here."

Kellan nervously tapped his foot against the floorboard. "Do you have a place in the city lined up?"

"Yeah, I do."

Silence enveloped me and deafened the sound of his worn tires on the road. "Any chance there is enough room for me?" he asked.

The side of my mouth tugged into a smirk. "Is that something you would want to do? I mean ... it's a lot different than your cabin. I know that's been your home for a long time, Grandpa."

Kellan looked over. "Things change. I'm happy that they have, or I would have ended up living eternity in that cabin with no one. I don't mind a scenery change. We can always have somewhere to go to get away."

I wanted to believe his transition into city life would be easy. Kellan was a giant hermit when I met him. He'd progressed, but it felt weird to imagine him in my city apartment.

"Are you sure you'll fit in? What will you do? The bounty hunter thing? Will you leave to go to different realms?"

Kellan shook his head. "I think defeating Deidamia put that to rest. I needed that escape from reality. I couldn't fall into a normal routine without remembering what I lost. Doing that gave me a way to keep my mind busy."

I turned down the road that would lead me to Kellan's house. "Why don't we play it by ear? You can come look at it when you get better."

"I'm better," he said, giving me a side-eye.

"You're not. You need to rest. The doctor said so."

"Are you gonna be this bossy from now on out? Because I may go back into the realm and look for a nice, quiet fairy girl—"

I jerked the wheel swiftly to the right, making him jerk.

"What was that?" I asked.

Kellan chuckled, and the silence of the ride took over. When we pulled down the quiet dirt road, it looked undisturbed. It looked like a peaceful haven that I hated to drag him away from.

I parked underneath the giant tree and walked around to help him out. Kellan opened his door and stepped out as I grabbed his crutches and shoved them into his chest. "Yes, you have to use them."

The front door to his cabin opened, and Fern stepped out. She looked relieved to see us. "Thank goodness you're both alive. We were so worried."

Ernest wobbled out after her.

Fern stopped beside us and looked down at Kellan's leg. "You're hurt," she whispered, realization forming on her face. "You're ..."

"Human?" he said. "Looks like killing Deidamia did the trick."

She searched his face for a reaction. "Are you ... happy? I can't tell."

"Can't you see my excitement?" he asked, deadpan.

"No," she said matter-of-factly. "And I think if you're going to make Josie happy, you need to learn how to show your emotions. You suck at it."

Kellan placed his palm on his chest. "Ouch, Fern. I take what I said back earlier," he said to me. "I'm going to another realm to find an elf."

"How are you gonna get there?" I asked. "I'm the magical one now, and if you think I'm ever opening a portal again, you're dead wrong."

Kellan smiled softly and touched my mouth with his fingertips. "I've never been happier to hear that in my life."

Ernest knocked a cane against the railing of the front porch. "I'm dying to know what happened."

Kellan refused my help and wobbled over toward the porch. "Well, I wish it were more exciting. It turns out I'm not Josephine's only lover. Her ex showed up, followed us here, and shot me. I think he planning on killing me, but Josie here, she stopped the bullets."

Ernest's wise eyes shifted toward mine. "Magic is a gift."

It didn't feel that way. After learning how both my mother and aunt used it, it felt like a generational curse. Why couldn't I have taken after my father?

Then Kellan wouldn't be alive.

"I'm not sure I'm interested in my magic, Ernest."

He nodded, though I saw the curiosity in his eyes. "Come on inside. I made soup and bread."

My stomach grumbled. I knew Kellan had to be hungry. That hospital food was as terrible as it sounded. Ernest had everything on the table, as if he expected us. George lay on a small doggie bed in the corner of the room.

Fern beamed when I noticed it. "I bought that."

Surprised, I lifted both brows. "Yeah? You went to the store?"

She clapped. "I did. Everything is so nice here. Easy. I love it. The people are friendly. Are they always like this?"

"Uh, mostly," I laughed. "Not all of them."

I hadn't thought about where she would go once this all ended. She didn't seem to have a family back in the other realm besides Ernest.

I sat down in my chair and watched Kellan set his crutches to the side. Then we all poured the soup into our bowls and began to eat.

"Where are you going after this, Fern?" I asked.

She tucked a piece of blonde hair behind her ears. "I'm not sure. I don't think it's a good idea to go back. I'm afraid of the fae."

Ernest patted her shoulder. "You can always come to stay with me."

She smiled, though she didn't seem as excited as I thought she would be. Kellan's dark gaze shifted toward mine. "Why don't you stay here?"

Fern nearly leaped out of her seat. "Really?"

Kellan nodded. "Yeah, I'm moving with Josie to the city. You stay here. Keep up the house. Take care of George for me. I have a little garden out back you can take care of, too."

Fern ran around the table and threw her arms around Kellan's shoulders, making him groan from the pressure.

When she turned to me, there were tears in her eyes. "I'm so happy."

"Me too," I chuckled. "You"ll love it here. What about you, Ernest? You ready to move to Earth?"

He laughed and slurped his soup. "No. I'm set in my ways. However, I will come to visit. It would be a shame to lose such good friends. Plus, if you ever get curious about your powers, I may can help."

I doubted I would ever ask Ernest for any magic advice. Out of sight, out of mind.

Fern jumped back into her seat and began eating as if it was going to hop up and run away. Once we finished, I offered to clean the kitchen, but she nearly bit my head off.

Instead, I made my way to Kellan's room and found him sitting on his bed. His clothes were off, all but his underwear, and he was staring at the gunshot wound.

The sheer male beauty in front of me nearly sucked the breath out of my lungs. "Ogling is rude," he said, lifting his gaze to mine.

"Is it? Let me be rude a bit longer." I stepped over toward him. "Do you need me to clean it for you?"

"Already done."

"Kellan," I said. "I'm here to help you. You don't have to do everything alone anymore."

"I've been alone for so long."

I stepped even closer and stopped between his legs, putting my palms on each side of his face. "You have, but not anymore. If you need it, ask me."

Kellan closed his eyes and nodded into my palm. "I can do that."

"Are you afraid?" I whispered.

"Afraid of what?"

His mouth parted when I touched his bottom lip with my fingers. "You're not indestructible anymore. You're human. Does that scare you?"

He chuckled and palmed my hip. "No, for the first time in decades, I feel like happiness is obtainable for me. I'm going to live my life with my soulmate, my future wife, and know that I won't live thousands of years after she's gone. My mentality feels strong. I feel strong. Even with this bum leg. This is all because of you."

I smiled. "Because you couldn't help but kiss me and find true love?"

"That's right," he said. "And everything changed that day, didn't it? My resolve slipped, and I realized how emotionally weak I'd become."

Kellan leaned up, laced his fingers around the back of my neck, and kissed me. It took my breath like the first one.

Pushing him back onto the bed, I straddled his hips, careful not to harm his leg, and leaned over him. "I don't think you give yourself enough credit. You've never been weak. You've been hurt. Now it's time to mend that broken heart for good."