After gathering up some pillows and a particular dog stuffy, we all trooped back to my bedroom, and I pointedly ignored the ice streaking the hallway. We all managed to get settled in my bed, and after a few minutes of eyelid drooping, both boys were asleep again, if not peacefully.

  Honestly, I was glad to have them there with me where I could see them. Those first few minutes when all I’d heard was screaming... I hadn’t had a clue what was going on, and the bolt of sheer, naked panic that had jolted through me like a spear of ice had almost dropped me to my knees. It made it a little easier to have the boys in my line of sight, where I could make sure nothing could happen to them.

  Out of all the awards and praise and titles I’d ever been given in my life, adopting Sean and Charlie was the one I was most proud of. They were the greatest part of my life. And ‘Mom’ was a way better title than ‘Princess’, hands down. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

  It took a while, but eventually I drifted off to sleep with my sons tucked in close to me, and the gentle moonlight pouring in through the window.

  Chapter Six

  Sleep hadn’t been particularly restful, with the middle of the night scare and my two boys in a bed I’d grown used to sleeping alone in.

  Between the shuffling, and the kicking, and the blanket hogging, I’d woken up even before my alarm was set to go off, so tired that my eyes felt gritty, like someone had kicked sand into them. The boys weren’t much better off. Sean was quiet and grumpy over breakfast, and Charlie had been extra clingy and prone to crying over every little thing, including that his favorite juice cup hadn’t gotten washed the night before and he’d had to drink out of his second favorite.

  I was holding onto my temper with my teeth and toenails by the time a bright and chipper Chloe showed up at the door. The boys perked up when I let her in, and Charlie happily attached himself to her hip instead of mine, the fickle little man.

  “See if you can get them to have a nap later,” I whispered to Chloe when I had a second with her without the boys in hearing distance. “It was a rough night for everyone, and they’re overtired.”

  Chloe made a sympathetic face, and pressed her travel mug of coffee into my hand instead. “I think you need this more than I do. Try to have a good day, Candace. I’ll keep the boys quiet.”

  The thoughtfulness of the gesture almost made me forgive her for being cheery and well-rested.

  Almost.

  I was grateful to get out the door. Assaults and homicide had nothing on the tantrums of a sleep-deprived child. Though, with Chloe working out so well, I realized I was going to have to eventually get around to that awkward conversation where I told her I’d hired her under a fake name and just exactly what I did for a living.

  That was future Taliyah’s problem, though. I had enough on my plate this morning.

  The day didn’t get any better from there. The hours stretched out unnaturally, and every time I looked at the clock, it seemed that only five minutes had passed. The coffee helped, especially because it was actually pretty good and not just the black tar we had at the precinct. No matter how many I worked at, it seemed to be a rule that a police station could not have good coffee. If someone was drinking it with enjoyment, and not sucking it back through their teeth for the caffeine boost while it ate a hole through their stomach, it was committing at least three felonies.

  But even the miracle elixir that was coffee couldn’t keep me going all day. When noon finally, glacially, rolled around, I popped out for a bite of lunch, and also swung by Poppy’s store.

  Sleep deprivation and I were old friends. But the boys needed rest in order to grow and be healthy, and since I knew for a fact that magic was real and that things like potions and enchanted candles did work, I figured I’d pop in and try and grab something to give my sons peaceful dreams.

  Poppy wasn’t normally the kind of woman to be dressed up to the nines just to work at her store (unlike Wanda, but since she sold fashion, it made sense that she should be dressed for the goal), but Poppy was always neat and well-presented, even if her uniform tended towards jeans and knitted sweaters. So, it was something of a surprise when I stepped into her shop to find a frizzy-haired, drawn woman racing around and wearing Poppy’s face.

  “Everything okay in here?” I asked warily.

  Poppy whirled, blinking owlishly. “Oh. Taliyah. Hello. No, I’m fine. I just misplaced my pen.”

  Wariness grew into true concern. “You mean the pen that you’re holding in your other hand?”

  Poppy stared, and then turned to look down at the yellow sunflower patterned pen clutched in her fist, and her shoulders slumped. Her free hand came up to rub her temple. “Yep, that would be the one. Sorry, Taliyah. I’m still not sleeping very well and I think I’m now losing my mind.”

  “That’s actually why I came by,” I told her as I took a few more steps into the store. “I was hoping you had a couple more of those Sleepy Time candles for sale? Charlie had a nightmare and overall, none of us are sleeping very well.”

  Poppy’s face crumpled, and she twisted her free hand in the bottom of her sweater. “I’m so sorry, Taliyah, but I’m sold out of just about everything related to sleep. Oh!” She brightened then. “I can whip something up, though, if you don’t mind waiting a few minutes.”

  “That’s fine.” It wasn’t ideal. I needed to get back to work, but if the boys needed something, I was going to get it for them.

  She started grabbing bottles from behind the counter, and even pulled out a little hot plate from who knew where. “It’s been kind of nuts in here lately. I haven’t been able to catch up with the demand, but only for Zest or Sleepy-Time potions, or even Dreamtime Oil, when I don’t have anything else available. It looks like a lot of people are having rough nights. Even Finn and I have been having trouble sleeping, and he’s never had trouble, ever since he was a baby.” She shook her head and almost dropped one of the bottles. “Must be going around.”

  “And Andre?”

  She colored then. “Um, well, I wouldn’t know how Andre has been sleeping, because... well, because...” Then she colored even more.

  I held up a hand. “We don’t need to get into that,” I started, remembering how Wanda had mentioned something to Maverick about how Poppy was a complete and total prude and what a shame it was. As far as I knew, she and her English boyfriend had been going together for a few weeks now, so I supposed it wasn’t totally out of the question that they hadn’t yet slept together. Not that it was any of my business and nor did I want it to be.

  “Right, well, just give me a few minutes and I’ll whip up something for the boys... and for you,” Poppy said as she then started going on about something else, her chirpy little voice sounding like the song of a bird.

  I wasn’t a huge fan of chit chat at the best of times, and standing there, listening to Poppy ramble when I was operating on less than three hours of sleep, was not anywhere near the best of times. But she was trying to help, and I wasn’t going to be a grouch to her, so I just nodded when she glanced up to see if I was listening.

  But the more Poppy went on, the more I had to think about it, and nothing was adding up to anything that made me happy. Because Poppy was right; something was going around. And that was weird. One or two people experiencing sleepless nights? Sure. We were busy people living stressful lives, and sometimes sleep was a hideous wench who wouldn’t cut us a break.

  But this was rapidly moving beyond lumpy mattress into worry territory. First Fifi with her accident, then that really confused werewolf. Me, Maverick, the boys, even Poppy, her customer and Finn. This was now more than a coincidence. It felt like there was something else going on in town. Because of course there was. Never a moment’s peace in Haven Hollow.

  I was going to have to look into things, and I had absolutely no idea where to even start investigating. Did I just question random people on the street? Hey, you, did you get a full eight hours last night? Where were you between the hours of ten and six pm last night?

  That was almost enough to get me to crack a smile. Almost.

  Poppy finished what she was doing and moved the little vial onto the counter, where she started to wrap it in paper. The move brushed her cardigan sleeve over the surface of the still active hot plate, and a few curls of smoke spiraled into the air.

  I moved without thinking. She’d had just one second to yank her arm back with a shocked gasp, before my hand snapped forward to cover Poppy’s sleeve in a blast of lacey frost.

  Blood rushed into Poppy’s face then, and she turned tomato red from her chest to her hairline as she laughed shakily. “Well, I haven’t done that in years. I guess I wasn’t paying attention. Thanks, Taliyah.”

  I just nodded, a little embarrassed myself. I wasn’t one to throw around my magic. I hadn’t had it for the first near half century of my life, and using it now wasn’t instinctive at all. It wasn’t my first response to a problem. Heck, it wasn’t the second or third most of the time, either. I should have grabbed a cloth to smother the fire, or smacked it out with my hands. But it was like my magic had reacted without any conscious choice on my part.

  I flexed my hand, feeling the cool brush of frost against my skin.

  “Okay, here we go.” Poppy placed a little bag on the counter, breaking me out of my thoughts. “I made some of the Sleepy-Time Oil, but instead of an anointed candle, you can put it into a humidifier. Do you have one? I thought that might be safer than having a lit candle next to two energetic little boys.”

  “I do,” I said, relief running through me. “That’s perfect. Thank you, Poppy.”

  She smiled, but her usual grin was a little wilted at the corners. “I’m glad to help. Take care, Taliyah.”

  Just on the store’s threshold, I paused to take in a lungful of cool air, trying to clear my head. Poppy was right, the oil would be safer than a lit candle, especially with Sean’s penchant for sleeping like a starfish and having a fight with his sheets every night.

  There was movement across the street: Maverick in the window of Wanda’s Witchery. He’d lifted his hand to draw my attention, and a tired smile curled my mouth. A bit of the exhaustion weighing me down let up, and my heart gave a little flutter before I stomped it back down again. I was too old to be getting excited over a man, even if that man was technically my husband.

  Still, I had some of my lunch break left, and no one was calling in with any issues, so a quick visit would be fine. And I could use a bit of enjoyment to get me through what was shaping up to be a very, very long day.

  A car came bustling down the road then, so I waited for a break so I could get to the other side of the street. Unfortunately, the man crossing from the other direction either didn’t see the car, or wasn’t paying attention to anything at all, because he suddenly walked right out from between two cars parked on the side of the road. I saw the step that would take him right into oncoming traffic and my heart leapt into overdrive, adrenaline singing through my veins like a shot of ice. My body was already in motion almost before I fully realized what was about to happen.

  Ten feet.

  I felt the shudder of my feet striking pavement all the way up to my knees.

  The sandy-haired man with the dazed expression took that last, disastrous step. Tires squealed, and a tone of metal and glass protested as the driver desperately tried to avoid impact.

  Five feet.

  My breath sawed in my throat, burning with each inhale.

  The guy jolted, his pale face twisting with horror as he suddenly came to and realized the car was bearing down on him, its momentum fighting the screaming brakes.

  I slammed into the man’s side, knocking him back towards the sidewalk, and we went crashing down together. I rolled, trying to brace him, to take the brunt of the fall, and my shoulder slammed into the ground before we rolled over, and over again.

  The car came to a stop a few feet past where the guy had been standing, and the driver’s door flew open as a woman I recognized vaguely from around town came stumbling out. She took one look at me and the man lying safe on the sidewalk. He was unharmed other than some bruises and scrapes, though he was holding his wrist. She turned to the side then and threw up on the road. Then she burst into tears.

  The guy sat up with a wince, clutching his arm to his chest as he stared around with wide, wide eyes. His face was almost gray with pain and exhaustion as he stared at the car still on the road.

  “I-I’m so sorry. I didn’t see the car. I… oh my God. I didn’t even see it.” Then he looked at me. “You... you saved my life. Thank you.”

  I nodded, even as my shoulder was roaring at me, red waves of pain washing over it like a tide, and I clenched my teeth and tried to breathe through the pain before I had to stand up and be Chief Morgan again.

  “Taliyah!” Maverick dropped down beside me, his hands hovering like he wasn’t sure where he could touch me. His jaw was so tight, I could see a muscle ticking through his skin.

  “I think... I’m okay,” I managed.

  Seconds before, the sky had been a faultless blue. But looking up past Maverick’s shoulder, black storm clouds boiled across the sky, stained purple at the edges as magic flickered in the depths like lightning.

  I gave him a warning look, patting his arm as I stared pointedly up at the storm his powers were manifesting. It was sweet that he was worried, but I didn’t want to get hit by lightning, either. It had already been kind of a rough day. And the last thing we needed were reports of bizarre weather that might bring that awful You-Tuber, Kenzie Chase, back to Haven Hollow. We’d just barely gotten rid of her as it was.

  Maverick glanced up and gritted his teeth hard enough that I could hear the creak of it. But the clouds broke apart, fading back into a perfect November day, like they’d never been there at all. I, meanwhile, hauled myself into a sitting position with a groan, swallowing around the wave of nausea that rolled through my stomach. I was pretty sure nothing was broken, but I was going to have an amazing technicolor bruise in a few hours. At least I didn’t need to worry about having enough ice packs in the freezer anymore.

  The driver scrubbed her face, still a little soggy. “Is everyone okay? I didn’t even see him until he was right in front of me.”

  “No, no,” the guy said, dazed, as he rolled his wrist and winced. “It was my fault. I should have been paying more attention. I’m so sorry.”

  It was time to take charge. I stood up, trying not to look like a woman who almost ate pavement a few seconds before. Maverick hovering at my back like an overly familiar shadow probably wasn’t helping. “Ma’am, you’ve had a nasty shock,” I told the driver. “I think you should sit down.” Then I turned to face the man. “Sir, you’re clutching your wrist—do we need to call you an ambulance?”

  Roy then poked his head out the door of the Half-Moon up the road, and was watching the scene with his brow furrowed. I mimed drinking something, and gestured to the two people. He nodded sharply and disappeared inside.

  The guy still sitting on the pavement shook his head slowly. “I don’t think so. I mean, I landed on it a little hard, but it only hurts like I jostled it, not like anything is broken.” Then he looked at me. “Are you okay?”

  “I think so,” I managed.

  Regardless, he was probably still going to need to go to the hospital. People’s skin, or at least human’s skin, should never have been that particular shade of ashy gray.

  Roy showed up with water and bottled juice then, and I convinced the poor woman who’d been driving to have some juice to help combat the shock. The guy wasn’t tracking well, and he struggled to get the lid off his water bottle, much less drink any of it.

  “I don’t know what happened,” he mumbled. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to cause any trouble. I’m just…” He rubbed his eyes, almost jamming the neck of the bottle into them before he remembered to use his free hand. “I’m just so tired. I haven’t been sleeping very well.”

  It certainly did seem to be going around.

  “He needs to go to the hospital,” I told Maverick quietly.

  Roy, who’d come over to stand with us, as subtle as a mountain, nodded. “I’ll keep an eye on the driver, make sure she’s okay. I’ll get her name for the report, too.”

  “Thanks, Roy.” There was a reason he was my favorite council member. He had a good head on his shoulders, wherever Fifi wasn’t involved, and he took his responsibilities seriously. The two of us had a lot in common and if he wasn’t already busy with his own responsibilities at the Half-Moon, I would have asked him to join the police force.

  Maverick and I convinced the injured man to get into my car, and Maverick slid into the driver’s seat with a pointed look at my shoulder.

  Normally, anyone else trying to drive my cruiser would have made me furious. But I was tired, and my shoulder was throbbing, and it wasn’t just anyone, it was Maverick. So, I didn’t say anything. I just got into the car, awkwardly buckled myself in, and settled back for the ride.

  Chapter Seven

  Haven Hollow didn’t have a huge hospital.

  Certainly nothing like the hospital in Portland. But it had doctors, and nurses, and you could get an X-ray there, so it got the job done. It also had really uncomfortable vinyl upholstered chairs, which made it just like any other large hospital I’d ever been in.

  I sat there, waiting for word about the guy who’d almost ended up a pancake, letting the hum of the lights overhead and the tinny announcements from the PA system wash over me like white noise.

  At least, I did right up until my phone went off.

  One of the nurses glared at me, but I ignored her as I answered the call.

  Dispatch alerted me to an incident in town, people calling in someone who apparently was going berserk with a baseball bat, which was weird enough to be alarming even after the day I was already having.

  “No rest for the wicked,” I muttered to Maverick as I boosted myself out of the chair. “I’m sorry to do this, but I have to go. I had dispatch send a deputy to meet you to take over waiting here, and another to drive you back to the store.”