Free The Parting Glass (Caitlin Ross Book 4) by Katherine Lampe

thing?”
    “You know as well as I do that there’s energy between people. I’m not the psychic, but even I could see it arc when you and that big man stood close. Like chained lightning. You just be careful when the chain breaks.”
    Having given her disquieting pronouncement, she hung up, leaving me to get ready for my breakfast date with the topic of our conversation.
     

     
    By the time I got off the phone with Sage, I was running late, so, after a quick shower, I threw on the first pair of jeans and tank top that came to my hand, tossed my keys and some cash in my fanny pack, and dashed out the door. I lingered over the selection of earrings, being rather vain about jewelry, and at length chose some opal drops I had ordered for the store but ended up keeping. As I pushed them through my earlobes, I tried not to think about the opal’s reputed ability to bring about change. I liked the earrings; that was all.
    When I reached Lucile’s, I found Timber already seated at the same table where we had shared our contentious breakfast the day before. I saw him before he saw me, and a wave of relief washed over me. I couldn’t help dwelling on the fact that Sage and I had been discussing his potential as a sexual partner not half an hour ago, and I welcomed the chance to wipe all traces of the conversation from my mind and face.
    When the chain breaks, Sage had said. Not “if,” but “when.”
    Timber rose as I approached the table and didn’t seat himself again until I had taken my own chair.
    “Sorry I’m late,” I said.
    “Don’t mention it,” he replied. “They only just seated me.”
    Was my imagination playing tricks, or did he seem even more aggressively male than usual this fine summer day? As if I would know his usual appearance. But there was something. He’d lost the flannel, and his black t-shirt hugged his body in an alarming way, showing off his broad shoulders and baring the muscles of his arms. He had a tattoo on his left bicep, a ring of Celtic knotwork done in purple and black, with specks of scarlet and gold in the spaces. I tried not to stare, and had difficulty with it.
    “Coffee?”
    “Yes, please.”
    He signaled the waitress, who brought me a cup and a menu. The sun flashed off the third finger of his right hand; he was wearing a ring I hadn’t noticed before, silver, set with some black stone. Onyx , I thought . Protection from nightmares and dark forces.
    I sipped my coffee. “I was thinking…”
    “Aye?” He cocked his head with polite interest, drawing my attention to the obsidian point dangling from his left ear. The shaman’s stone. Earth energy. Powerful against magical assault , my shopkeeper’s mind gabbled. A ring of silver bound it at the top, also set with a gemstone, a green one. Peridot , I thought. Another shaman’s stone. Mental clarity and inspiration. Restores the soul . A new addition, or had I just not noticed it before, like the ring?
    I cleared my throat. “I thought it might be good to call the hospitals first. If we find Stonefeather there, we won’t have any need to go out to his studio. Getting to North Boulder will be a trick today; the busses don’t run regularly on Sundays.”
    The waitress came back and took our orders, Eggs Sardou with spinach and shrimp for Timber, and Eggs Jennifer, which was essentially the same thing minus the shrimp, for me. “As to that, I have an alternative to your busses. But we can do as you think best.”
    The same, strange deference he had shown me after the session. What was up with that? I allowed myself to gaze at him over the rim of my coffee cup, using my Sight as well as my eyes. His energy felt odd, almost low behind the overflowing masculinity. His face seemed pale, and his blue eyes were shadowed.
    “Are you all right?” I heard myself ask. “You don’t look very well.”
    “So speaks the witch. Aye, I’m well. I didn’t get much sleep last night. I walked a bit. This is a fine town for