Healing Hands (The Queen of the Night series Book 2) Read Online Free Page A

of us and Corey was sound asleep, I buried my face in his chest, and wept.
     

 
    Chapter Three
    Corey
    When I woke-up my head felt like it had been stuffed with cotton. That’s right…I remember…Mom passed away last night. I fell asleep crying into Evan’s t-shirt. Hey, wait a minute…he’s still here . While I’d slept, I’d turned over to lie on my side facing away from him. He draped his heavy, muscled arm around my middle and spooned me. By the sounds of his breathing, he still slept.
    The bittersweet realization reminded me how I was an orphan. Neither of my parents would ever hold me like this again. On the other hand, being this close to Evan comforted me. He was truly a kind person.
    Of course, several of Fiona’s hand-made quilts enveloped me and Evan lay on top of the covers, fully clothed, but I could still feel skin-on-skin where his arm pulled me close. I took a moment to savor the calmness that washed over me when he held me tightly. He stirred. The moment ended.
    I knew the instant he became fully awake. He pulled his arm back as if it had been burned.
    I shrugged and made my way to the guest bathroom, just as Corey was leaving.
    He still had the toothbrush in his mouth so he mumbled. “You’nd yer boyfriend better stop foolin’ ‘round ‘ngit dressed…” he removed the toothbrush, “Fi says people are coming to visit.
    “He’s not my boyfriend,” I responded reflexively. Then it hit me. Oh Goddess, we need to warn Corey . Mom had insisted on keeping Corey in the dark, as if hiding the existence of magic would keep any gifts he might have repressed, but Mom was gone and he lived here now, in Magic Central…I’d have to tell him everything.
    “Corey, I have something I need to talk to you about. Get dressed, and then meet me in Rose’s bedroom.”
    “Not before I get something to eat.”  My brother ate constantly. “Can you smell that?  It’s bacon!”  He left me alone in front of the bathroom mirror.
    Boy, I looked a mess. My violet eyes were puffy and bloodshot. My pink and raw nose was surrounded by random splotches of red on my face. I never looked dainty and adorable when crying, like girls on TV. I looked downright ugly and I didn’t care. My long, thick chocolate brown hair was all tangled. I tried to mash it down somewhat from the pieces that stuck up at odd angles around my face. Splashing water on my face and brushing my teeth. It was the best I could do.
    Launching into my explanation as soon as I returned to Rose’s bedroom, I announced, “People are coming to visit. We need to tell Corey everything. He needs to know about the clan, about magic, about Arianrhod, the Destroyer, and especially how we are not boyfriend and girlfriend!”
    Evan looked taken aback at my tirade. “Okay,” he said thoughtfully. It irked me sometimes how people spoke slower here than in LA. “But shouldn’t we break it to him a little at a time?  He’s had to deal with so much lately.”
    Corey walked in, carrying a piece of bacon.
    “Oh good, you’re here.”  I looked at Evan pleadingly and said, “There’s no time. We have to tell him now.”  I racked my brain. How did Evan start when he broke the news to me?
    Evan spoke first. “Corey, take a seat.”
    I moved to sit on the bed while Corey headed toward the reading chair. Evan leaned against the dresser.
    A small, high pitched voice squeaked behind me. “Mistress Maggie, I thought you might like a breakfast tray in your roo…Oh, hello.”
    My dear friend, Ginger, the house Brownie, carried a tray of food. She hadn’t bothered to camouflage herself. Ginger stood about eighteen inches tall. Proportionally, she looked like an adult human. She had a huge mass of curly brown hair, dark leathery skin, and huge green eyes. She stopped short when she saw Corey, who never made it to the reading chair.
    He ‘eeked’, threw his hands in the air (the bacon fell forgotten onto the floor and shattered) and shouted, “What the