“Thorn…”
“Just tell me that you love me,” Thorn said. “We can put this all behind us. I think we’ve proven one thing, and that’s that we’ll never give up on each other. What more do you need to make a marriage survive?”
“Nothing,” I said. “I love you, Thorn.”
“I love you too, Kinsley. I love you both with all of my heart, and I will endeavor to do every day what is best for my family.”
“I know you will,” I said. “I believe in you.”
“Then I think it’s settled,” Thorn replied. “I bet I could go drum up a judge from this crowd.”
“A judge?”’
“To finish the wedding,” Thorn said. “I’m sure there’s a judge around here somewhere. Or we could go to Vegas.”
“Thorn, it’s a candlelight vigil for a murdered woman. I don’t think it’s a good idea to go looking for a judge to get married. Or to have these people act as our witnesses. And, we can’t just fly off to Vegas. You’re on duty,” I said with a chuckle. “Why don’t you just come home after you’re done working, and we’ll figure out something for tomorrow?”
I thought he would be okay with that, but I could see the sting in his face. Thorn was hurt and embarrassed at my rebuff of wanting to get married on the spot. I’d thoughtlessly stepped in it.
Again.
“Thorn, I didn’t mean…” I started to say.
“It’s fine,” he said, but his expression was grim. He swallowed hard, but his cheeks were still stained with red mortification.
He’d tried to make amends and offer me a grand gesture, and I’d just told him we could deal with it tomorrow. But he was the one who had walked out on our wedding, and of course, I couldn’t keep my mouth shut.
“You walked out first,” I said. “You left me at the altar, Thorn. You can’t get mad at me for this. I’m not turning you down. I just think there’s better timing.”
“Yeah, Kinsley. I get it. By the way, I thought we were going to put everything behind us and move on, but you just threw it in my face again.”
“It’s a pretty big deal,” I said. “You left me at the altar. I don’t think I’ve gotten quite enough mileage out of it yet.”
“You’re impossible,” he said. “And that… that was cruel. And it was rich too coming from the woman who married another man and got pregnant.”
“You’re… how dare you… I can’t…” I could feel my temper rising, and I couldn’t put together a coherent thought.
“You know what, you’re right,” Thorn said as his shoulders slumped. He looked suddenly defeated and as though he’d just aged ten years before my eyes. “That was wrong of me. We’re just getting angry and hurting each other. Now isn’t the time or place. I’m going to go now and get back to work. I don’t want to say anything else to hurt you. Maybe it’s too soon.”
He took my hand, squeezed it for a second, and then let it drop. I watched as Thorn turned to walk away, and I couldn’t believe what was happening again. We’d been so close, and I’d let my thoughtlessness ruin it.
What would the harm have been if we’d found a willing judge and finished the vows? Why had I blown him off like that? I’d been more worried about everyone else’s feelings and hadn’t even considered Thorn’s. How often had I done that over the course of the relationship? And yet, he kept coming back. He kept fighting for us. I was a fool.
“Please come home tonight,” I called out to him. “Please.”
He stopped for a second and turned halfway around. “You really want that?” He didn’t make a move to come over to me, but at least he’d stopped.
“I do. Please,” I said.
By then, everyone around us had grown quiet. I realized they were all watching us, and I’d made a spectacle all about me at the vigil. The thing I’d wanted to avoid. I’d done it anyway, and now Thorn was upset.
Before Thorn could answer me, a fight broke out on the other side of the square. Everyone’s attention suddenly turned in that direction.
“Go home now,” Thorn commanded, and the look on his face told me he meant it big time.
He rushed off in the direction of the fight and never answered me about whether he was coming home. While I was curious what the fight was about, I knew better than to disregard what he’d said. With a crowd that large, things could get ugly fast.
There were other witches around who could keep things from getting too bad, but I needed to go home. He was right. It was my job to put my baby first, and for once, I was going to do it.
So, I slipped away from the crowd and walked the long way around to my car. I’d hoped to catch another glimpse of Thorn before I left, but I didn’t. I drove home not knowing if I’d see him or not.
I waited up as late as I could, but when I started to nod off on the sofa, I dragged myself upstairs to bed.
“Go to bed,” Meri said.
“I want to wait up for Thorn,” I responded through a yawn.
“You don’t even know if he’s coming. Your back is going to hurt in the morning if you don’t go upstairs and go to bed.”
“I want…” I started to protest.
“Go,” Meri said. “Or I’ll turn you into a mouse and chase you up there.”
“You wouldn’t,” I countered.
“Try me, lady,” he said.
Chapter Six
My phone ringing woke me up from a dead sleep. It was Reggie’s number, so I picked up instead of sending it to voicemail. She never called me early, so seeing her number made my stomach knot with anxiety.
“Hello?” I said when I picked up.
“Ursula’s gone,” Reggie said breathlessly.
“What? Like she’s dead?” I shot up in bed and kicked the covers off. “How?” If I’d been thinking straight, I would have realized that if Ursula were dead, someone from my Coven would be calling me instead of Reggie.
“No, she’s not dead,” Reggie said, and I could almost hear her eyes rolling through the phone. “She ran off. Last night. With some billionaire rancher from Montana. Get this, Kinsley, he’s a werebear.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked as I tried to figure out if I was still asleep and dreaming.
“The guy she met online. He’s a werebear billionaire rancher from Montana. Or Wyoming. One of those states where billionaire ranchers live on their gorgeous ranches with the huge houses and sunsets and all that. Anyway, she ran off to Vegas last night and married him. She’s not coming back. She left me a voicemail, Kinsley. A voicemail. She’s moving to his ranch when they are done with their honeymoon in Bali. So, I need you to come in and work at the shop. I’m sorry. I know you wanted to be on maternity leave, but I can’t handle it by myself. This warm weather is drawing out tourists like crazy. Maybe we can hire someone else, but for now, I need you,” Reggie said.
“Of course,” I said. “You don’t even have to ask. Let me grab a quick shower, and I’ll be in to help you open.”
“Thank you so much, Kinsley. I’m so sorry,” Reggie said.
“You don’t have to be sorry, Reggie. This isn’t your fault.”
After we hung up, I took the world’s fastest shower. I probably should have slowed down because I got shampoo in my eye and had to stumble out of the bathroom in a towel, half blinded and have Meri heal me.
He did, but he also laughed at me the entire time. When I was recovered, he skittered out of the room and down the stairs, laughing hysterically the entire way. I would have taken my time getting down there and feeding him breakfast, but we were in a hurry.
I fed him a can of tuna and I drank some chocolate milk while he ate. There wasn’t time for me to make my own breakfast, so we were making a pit stop at the Brew Station.
Fortunately, I got there after the morning rush was over. My shop still didn’t open until the first haunted history tour was over, so it wasn’t exactly early in the morning. That meant a short line at Viv’s.
“Your hair’s kind of sticking out,” Viv said wi
th a chuckle when I got to the counter. “You look like you have antennae.”
I’d put my wet hair up in a bun, and apparently, two big sections had escaped. And decided to levitate. And Meri hadn’t said a word.
“I like the new color too,” she said.
“What?”
But when I pulled a strand to see what she was talking about, it became obvious. Since I’d left the house, my jet black hair had morphed into hot pink. Like super-hot pink. It even had a touch of glitter… if that was possible.
“Wow,” I said. “That’s something.”
“It sure is, but it suits you. You’re always beautiful, but this is fun. I take it you’re feeling better?”
“I am,” I said, and then something hit me.
I’d been rushing around so much that morning I hadn’t noticed it, but my brain finally caught up. There was a pillow and folded blanket on my sofa.
Thorn had come home.
He must have left early in the morning to get into work, but he’d been there. I hadn’t looked at my phone other than to answer Reggie’s call, so while Viv got my latte and prepared my order, I took it out and checked.
There was a text from Thorn. I hope this doesn’t wake you. Had to go into the office. Job’s never done. I love you, Kinsley. If I don’t see you before, I’ll see you tonight. I promise.
My heart did a backflip. I love you too. I can’t wait to see you. I texted him back.
Can I ask you something? Another message came in from him right away.
Sure. I responded.
Do you think we can learn to work out our differences without using words to hurt each other? I worry because a child isn’t going to understand that we just have tempers. To them, the things we say will be real. His text cut right through me. Did I believe we could do that?
I think we can. We can come up with rules too. Like leaving the room before we say something rash, I responded.
I love you. We can do this. I have faith in it. I gotta work.
Love you too. Was my last text to him.
“You’re smiling,” Viv said as she pushed the bag and drink tray across the counter to me.
Instead of trying to explain, I handed her my phone and let her read the exchange.
“You guys are going to be great parents,” Viv said.
“You think so?” I asked as she handed me my phone back.
“From my observation, both of you tend to get off track sometimes, but you’re both learning and growing. I can see it. And the best part is that you guys seem to be growing together. That’s more important than anything that’s happened in the past, Kinsley.”
I left the coffee shop with a skip in my step and a full order of extra bacon for Meri. I also had coffee and breakfast for Reggie and me. Going back to work at the shop even seemed fun.
It had long been suspected that I only chose opening the shop because I felt like I had to do something, but perhaps that wasn’t the case. Maybe I was drawn to the idea because it’s what I truly wanted to do. It wasn’t like I couldn’t run my store and do some writing part-time for Dorian.
Maybe things were going to come together for me after all. I ran out of time to contemplate it as soon as the store opened, though. The seventy-degree weather in early November brought in a flood of tourists and witches alike. People were out and about enjoying the lovely weather while they still could.
The day flew by in a haze of happiness for me. I got lots of compliments on my hair, and it felt good to be working side by side with Reggie again. I didn’t realize how much I missed it until I was in the thick of it.
Of course, at the end of the day as I was locking up the shop and preparing to go home and make a special dinner for Thorn, Meri struck again.
“You never asked me what I overheard the other day. Pity because I thought you were interested,” he said as he sashayed his tiny butt toward the car.
“You heard something, and you didn’t tell me?” I asked.
“You didn’t ask,” he snarked. “It’s probably nothing anyway.”
“Spill, cat,” I said and stopped in my tracks.
“Whatever. Okay,” he said and plunked down on the sidewalk in front of me. “So, the Peppermint chick was dating a guy named Tucker Garrison. But the cops don’t really suspect him all that much. They hadn’t been dating long, and I guess things weren’t that serious. They were going to check it out, but they didn’t have the kind of relationship that indicated he might be one of those the significant other did it suspects.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“I don’t know. You people are weird, and I don’t always get you,” he said. “Can we go home now?”
When I looked up, I saw Pepper again. She was down the block peeking around the corner at me. As soon as I realized it was her ghost watching us, two tourists walked right through her, and she evaporated.
“No. We can’t,” I said.
“Oh, gawd,” Meri said, but he knew good and well his little revelation would set me off. So, I ignored him.
“Just a quick pop over to Pepper’s place and we’ll see if we can get in and look around without breaking and entering,” I said.
“Yeah, right,” Meri groused.
“You didn’t happen to catch where she lived while you were listening in, did you?” I asked.
“If I don’t tell you, can we go home?”
“No, if you don’t tell me, I’ll have to figure it out myself. It will just take longer,” I said.
“Fine,” he retorted and then told me her address.
I was standing outside Pepper’s apartment trying to figure out how we could go in without it counting as breaking and entering when a door down the hall opened. I was turning to scurry off when a guy stepped out into the hall and called out to me.
“Can I help you?” he asked and started walking towards us. “Are you a friend of Pepper’s?”
“I am,” I said.
“I’ve been waiting for someone to come by. Seems like her family isn’t too interested. I tried calling some of them. Are you here to go through her stuff? I could help pack things up,” he said. “My name’s Josh. Josh Haven to be exact. Uh, I’ve got a key if you want to go in and get started.”
“Thanks,” I said.
I felt terrible lying to the guy. He seemed so earnest and helpful. He also had a key to her apartment, and if he let me in, it wasn’t breaking and entering.
“Where do you want to start?” he asked as we walked through her front door.
Josh pushed a lock of his dishwater blond hair out of his face. He then used a middle finger to push his black glasses up his nose. Behind them, his gray-blue eyes were soft and kind.
“Well, I just came by to survey tonight. I’ve got to get home and get dinner started. But, if you don’t mind, I’ll take a look around and start formulating my plan.” The lie slipped out like melted butter. “Thank you so much for letting me in.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll just hang back and you can let me know if you need me,” he said.
“You don’t have to hang around,” I offered. “I’ll come knock on your door when I’m done.”
“Are you sure?” he asked.
“Yeah. I’ll be fine. I shouldn’t be too long. I just need to figure out how many boxes I’ll need,” I said.
I wanted him to leave so I could stop lying to him. I felt really bad about it, but I figured I could make up for it by hiring a company to come pack up her things. If she didn’t have anyone to do it for her, then at least I could help in that way.
“Okay, I’ll be around if you need me,” he said and then walked out of her apartment, leaving the door wide open.
I took Meri out of my bag and let him roam around. The apartment was small. It was one bedroom if you could call it that. The bedroom wasn’t much bigger than a large closet, and Pepper had a twin-size bed with no headboard pushed against the wall. On the other side of the bedroom was a narrow closet with a plastic accordion door.
There wasn’t much in it. A few outfits hung on the rod, and the shelf above contained an extra pillow and a few old blankets.
A pink shoebox on the floor caught my attention, though. I picked it up and put it on the bed before removing the lid. Inside were dozens of letters.
Yule Be Magical (Familiar Kitten Mysteries Book 8) Page 6