She came back refreshed and looked for her bags of clothes by the closet. Not finding them, she opened the closet and saw it bulging with hangers full of Prada and some other clothing that looked new. Were all these hers?
It turned out the dresser against the wall was budging too. In it, Hildy found the off-the-rack yoga clothes all clean and folded. She pulled on a pair of cropped pants and a sports bra but topped it with a loose blouse from the closet so she wouldn’t feel naked.
In the kitchen, she found Chuck sitting at the table with his head in his hands. “Hi.”
Chuck lifted his face. “Hildy?”
In the living room, she heard the boys playing loudly with the cats. The little buggers hadn’t bothered to tell their father she was awake. She lifted both hands. “Guess all the noise and chaos mean I’m still alive.”
Chuck didn’t get up. He just scooted his chair back and motioned her to him. Hildy climbed into his lap and put her arms around his neck. Chuck wrapped her up so tightly in his arms that it was hard to breathe.
“Ease up a bit before you squeeze the wind out of me. How long was I asleep or unconscious or whatever it was? I saw you’d hung up my clothes.”
Chuck clenched her tightly. “You were unconscious for a whole month when I stopped counting. I couldn’t handle knowing how long it had been.”
Hildy hugged him. “Well… I’m back now. And I don’t even feel bad. I feel pretty great actually. I feel like I need some tea and some food.”
Chuck kissed her face and her neck, reluctant to turn loose. “The kids spend their weekends with Charlie. If the kids weren’t here…”
Giggling, Hildy put her face in her neck. “Are you guys living here now?”
Chuck nodded. “I had to take care of you. It was the only way. We’d sort of talked about it…”
She giggled and patted his face the way Harrison did before the spell. “Yes, Chuck. I’m okay with my mate and his children living with me. Are the boys sleeping upstairs?”
“Goddess, yes,” Chuck said firmly.
Hildy laughed at the relief in his voice and raised her face to smile at him. “Perfect. We’ll celebrate my being alive tonight. Did you soundproof the bedroom while I was recovering?”
“No,” Chuck said. “Why would I do that?”
Chuckling, Hildy gently slid from her mate’s lap. “Uh… no reason. I’m going to make some tea.”
“Zenos has been coming to doctor you. Do we need to let him know? And Carol too… either her or one of her warlocks popped in the check every day.”
Hildy dropped the teakettle in the sink and turned around. “Tell me you haven’t let the boys be around him.”
“Uh… I…”
Hildy pointed a finger. “They are not allowed around that dragon. I love him like a father, but Zenos is…”
“Stop, Hildy. He’s the one who saved your life. Zenos used some ball of bright light to put your magic back into your body. You used all your magic up for that spell you cast.
Hildy stopped what she was doing and came to the table. “Did it work?”
“Yes—now that you’re awake and talking to me,” Chuck admitted, “but you almost died. The shifters were fine that day.”
Hildy reached out and took his hand. “But I didn’t die. And what I did was the only way to undo what Isobelle had put into place. That’s why my magical friends came to help. I would have done the same for them.”
Chuck ducked his head to think about it. “I’m glad the shifting problem got fixed. I am. It was just hard seeing you lying there for so long. I thought I’d lost you for good.”
Hildy got up and went to sit in his lap again. “I’m sorry you were so scared. Hopefully, that will be the worst thing that ever happens in my healing career. Most of what I do will be normal and boring.”
“Like what? Explain boring to me,” Chuck ordered.
Hildy grinned. “You’ll drag Mac in for stitches or a ruptured spleen from some fight he brought on himself. George will lose the occasional ear when one of those women of his chews it off. See? Normal stuff.”
She smiled when Chuck laughed.
“And the nights will be ours. The bear cubs will be in college in the next two years at the rate they’re growing. Then you’ll be an empty nesting papa bear stuck living alone with a horny witch. We’ll sneak in quickies between my patients.”
“Do you promise our life will be like that?” Chuck asked.
“Solemnly promise,” Hildy said, crossing her fingers behind her back because… well, life didn’t always work out like a person planned. She was never going to allow herself to forget that. She was going to live each day to the fullest.
She kissed her good-hearted, loving bear to seal the deal and made Chuck growl in pleasure. That was how happy endings got started in most stories, and she was absolutely, positively ready to start hers—even if it did mean living in Assley, West-effing-Virginia.
* * *
— The End (for now) —
* * *
To check out all the side splitting books
in the Magic and Mayhem Universe,
go to https://magicandmayhemuniverse.com/
* * *
Want to hear about the other upcoming books in this series?
Join my mailing list!
Other Books By This Author
Baba Yaga Saga
How To Train A Witch
How To Date A Dragon
To Yaga Or Not To Yaga
* * *
Aliens In Kilts
Matchmaker Abduction
Nate’s Fated Mate
Shades Of Darcone
Cyborgs: Mankind Redefined
Peyton 313
Kingston 691
Marcus 583
Eric 754
Nano Wolves
Ariel
Brandi
Heidi
Forced To Serve
The Daemon Of Synar
The Daemon Master’s Wife
The Siren’s Call
The Healer’s Kiss
The Daemon’s Change
The Tracker’s Quest
My Crazy Alien Romance
Tangling With Topper
Touching Topper
Timeless Topper
About the Author
Donna McDonald published her first romance novel in March of 2011. Forty plus novels later, she admits to living her own happily ever after as a full time author.
* * *
Her work spans several genres, such as contemporary romance, paranormal, and science fiction. Humor is the most common element across all her writing. Addicted to making readers laugh, she includes a good dose of romantic comedy in every book.
Here are some easy ways to find me online!
www.donnamcdonaldauthor.com
email@donnamcdonaldauthor.com