After some time, I headed out to cut the grass.It was hot and humid and I was soon looking for a chance to rest. I grabbed a lemonade drink that I had...made from freshly squeezed lemons and drained that rather quickly. Then I lay out in the hammock for a short rest in the cool shade of the old oak tree.Imagine my surprise when I felt a small hand lightly touching my chest. I was in that special place that you go to on a warm sunny day. I was in the most serene and comfortable of states, one that. He knew the reason for Michael’s distraction and if he slacked once again, there would be no mercy. He needed Michael’s knowledge and connections on the force but he could always get someone new. Michael was dispensable and Salvatore would make sure he knew it. *********** When they left her home after telling them what she knew about Michael and the letter from William confirming all her suspicions, she felt partially relieved and hopeful for the first time in years. But she never mentioned. It was easier that way, and in time things evened out. She still burned for him, but as the years went by she found it easier to control herself in his presence. She had dated, casually, but nothing had come of any of it. The dates had been fun diversions, nothing more, nothing less. It was easy to lose herself in college, and after that, commit herself even more fully to her study of magic. She watched her friends change with the years, the same in so many ways and yet the years brought new. Amanda and Estelle were by now well adapted to the regimen that applies to my students and were both resting quietly when I opened the door to the cellar. I checked the locks on their cage doors and the security of the straps about their wrists and ankles. For Estelle, hooded following an instance of defiance that afternoon, I ensured that her discomfort was no more than I intended.Then, confident that all was secure, I took myself off to my bedroom up on the third floor. Upon my nightstand, a.