His Temporary Assistant

“No, I have something a little more permanent.”

“I don’t know what that means.”

“Of the demon spawn variety. Freaking teacher. Imma kill him. He’s never known the hex that I’m going to put on him. His ancestors for a thousand years will hate him.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Ugh. One more second.” The phone hit the table or the floor—I couldn’t be sure which one.

I rushed over to the stove and pulled out the ham before I burned down Preston’s very nice kitchen. I slammed the pan on the stovetop and waved away the smoke. “Shit.”

I ran over to the window and opened it to get the smoke out. The cat, who was obsessed with the window, hopped up and started cleaning his leg.

“Ry?”

“Here,” I yelled and ran back to the phone.

“What’s going on?” Preston came running in, wearing just a pair of jeans. “Is that smoke?”

I waved to him and he saw the overcooked ham. He flicked on the overhead fan and gently pushed me to go sit down.

“What can I do?” I asked Luna.

“I need somewhere to crash for a bit.”

“She can stay here,” Preston said. “She’s family.”

My eyes instantly filled. I had to swallow down the lump. I quickly hit mute on my phone. “You don’t even know what the problem is.”

“It doesn’t matter.” He crossed to me and rubbed my arms. “Tell her to pack a bag, and I’ll go get her.”

“We will.”

He kissed my forehead. “We’ll go get her.”

I unmuted my phone. “Lu? You can stay here with us.” I pressed my lips together. Us was getting a lot easier to say. “Preston offered up one of his guest rooms. He’s got a ton of them.”

“With its own bathroom, maybe? I don’t mean to be greedy, but the porcelain throne is my new best friend.”

Spawn. Throne. The pieces slid into place. “Oh.”

“Yeah. I’d handle it myself, but I just need a spot to think for a little bit.”

“Anything you need. Always. You don’t have to handle it alone.” I grabbed Preston’s hand. “We got you.”

Luna sniffed. “I love you.”

“I love you too, girl.”

“I need to take a shower and clean up.”

“Okay, we’ll be there in a little bit. Take care of you.”

“Take care of you,” she parroted back in our usual goodbyes.

I held my phone against my thigh. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“When are you going to get it, Ryan? Your problems are my problems. It’s just the way it is. And I love Luna just as much as you do.”