Loch

“Any chance you can astral project to wherever the Maiden has a corporeal form and knock some sense into her?”
Keller’s brows shot up. “Wow.”
“Garret?” Loch called. “How about some of that tea? A keg’s worth, if you have it.”
“Tea isn’t going to help,” Holly snapped.
She pulled away from Keller and Loch and looked around the room. Walls on all sides. Even the beautiful floor-to-ceiling windows didn’t offer any relief.
Her chest felt tight. She tried to draw breath, but nothing happened.
What’s happening?
“Holly?” Loch reached for her again, but she drew away.
“Don’t touch me,” she rasped. “I can’t breathe.”
From the corner of her eye, she spied the door to the deck. As her vision began to darken and tunnel, she launched herself across the room. Luckily, her hand landed on the door handle instead of going through the glass.
Crisp, fresh air rose up to meet her as she stepped onto the deck. Her vision narrowed down to a single pinprick of gray light. Her hands found the banister as she took in ragged, greedy gulps of air. It felt like she was swallowing ice shards, but she didn’t care. It was a change.
“Holly?”
It was Garret.
Holly bit down on the inside of her cheek and tried to reel in whatever it was that was happening to her. “Not now,” she pled.
“I know you need space, but I’m not about to leave you alone on the deck while you have a panic attack. One clumsy step and you’re plummeting.”
“Garret,” she wheezed.
“If you think that’s helping your case, it’s not. Please, sit down.”
Holly felt two strong, steady hands grip her arms and lead her away from the balcony. The backs of her knees hit one of the deck chairs. She sat with a hard thump.
“You couldn’t have picked one of the cushioned chairs?”
“Moving you when you don’t want to be moved is harder than you think.”
“My butt is planted. I’m not a falling risk anymore. You can leave.”
“I’m not leaving.”
Now that she was off her feet, her vision began to return to her. She fixed Garret with what she assumed was a withering stare. Moving her face muscles took way too much effort while she was still this out of breath.
“You can snarl at me all you want, but I’m not going anywhere until this panic attack passes.”
“That’s not what this is.” Holly tried to look casual, but she couldn’t even muster a fake laugh without choking on it.
“Feel your heartbeat for me, will you?”
Holly glanced at Garret from the corner of her eye.
“Humor me,” he pressed.
She put her hand over her heart. It was beating so fast she was surprised it hadn’t broken a rib. Or maybe it had. Her chest ached like a bitch.
“How does it feel?”
“Not great,” she admitted. “I might be having a panic attack.”
“You don’t say.”
“Shut up,” she snapped. “How do I make it stop?”
“Slow, deep breaths,” Garret coached.
Holly tried to suck in a breath, but her lungs still felt like they were in a vice grip.
“It’s not working.” Another wave of panic hit her.
Garret appeared at her side, kneeling beside her chair. He placed a hand on her back and rubbed in small circles. Slowly, the circles got bigger. When they were as big as he could make them, he made them smaller again.
Holly focused solely on the movement of his hand. She used it as an anchor, letting it bring her back to reality. Soon, she was able to take full breaths. When she felt better, she leaned back against the chair.
“Thank you.” She reached for Garret’s other hand. “You’re good at that. Why are you running a hardware store when you should be a psychologist or something?”
“Because psychologists don’t give backrubs.” He chuckled.
“Then what’s the point?”
“I think you’re looking for a masseuse.”
“Will a masseuse prevent panic attacks?” she asked dryly.
“No.” Garret paused for a moment. “But I think I know something that will help?”
“You have my attention.”
“How about a day on the town?”
Holly lifted her head. “What?”
“Let’s go into town today,” Garret repeated. “I think it’ll do you some good. I’ve never been away from the store for this long, either. I need to give the store managers some peace of mind. I promised my pop I wasn’t going to become one of those business owners that sat at home, raking in profits others made for him.”
“That…is a lot to unpack.”
“You have no idea.” Garret chuckled. “What do you say?”
“I say yes, but what will the others say?”
“I don’t care. This is about your well-being and my business. We’re the only two people who have a say in those things.”
“You sold me.” Holly lifted her hands and let them drop listlessly on the wooden armrests of her chair. “When do we leave?”

CHAPTER NINE—Holly
“If you want me to roll down the window, you can stick your head out,” Garret said.
Holly removed her face from the glass to look at him.
“Honestly? I’m tempted. I’ve never been so excited to go for a ride in the car.” She chuckled. “You said there are wolf shifters, right?”
“Depends. If I say yes, are you going to make a played-out joke about sticking your head out the window?”
“Yes.”
“Then no, there is no such thing as wolf shifters.”
Holly playfully pushed his arm. “Spoilsport.”
“Come up with an original joke, and maybe I’ll change my answer.”
“Cut me a break. My brain’s fried from my panic attack.”
“That excuse is only going to work for twenty more minutes, so make it count.”
“I need to stop in a clothing store because I’ll have another panic attack if I have to wear the same three outfits for another week.”
“Didn’t you have stuff