I wondered how the ghosts who had been cooking in the kitchen felt about it being used as house again. They probably hadn’t been thrilled to have workers appear. But I kept quiet about that as I tried to process the information Jasper was giving me.
“What do you think?” he asked. We had crossed the road and were now making our way up the driveway. There were still lots of signs of the construction out front.
“I’m sure that if your company is working on it, it’s going to end up being a beautiful house. As far as who is going to live there, I’m picky about my neighbors, so just keep that in mind,” I warned him.
“I most certainly will. Somehow I knew that. I also think that Paws would cause a lot of trouble if he didn’t like them,” said Jasper. Instead of sounding annoyed, he sounded amused. And I had to agree with him. Paws was difficult to deal with at the best of times. Annoying neighbors would never be the best of times.
“What about Hayview?” I asked. The old mall was another development that everyone in town was dying to know more about. The Wolf Corporation had purchased it, but no one had said what they planned to use it for. Various organizations were concerned.
Jasper cleared his throat. “It’s really for my grandfather to decide when he wants to make that information public. I’m overseeing the construction, but the project is his. His choices. I don’t think he’s ready to announce anything yet.”
Jasper led me into the house and I gasped. The large front room had a table set for two, with a white cloth and a couple of candles on it. Candles and lanterns were set artfully around the room as well.
I could smell delicious food, and when I glanced at the side table I saw chicken, a side of carrots and broccoli, some fresh bread, and a bottle of wine.
“Don’t get any ideas about me making this food. I ordered it. The closest I came was buying the chicken,” said Jasper, standing behind me and watching me closely.
I felt heat rising my cheeks. “What is all of this?” I asked.
He sighed. “You want to talk first or eat?”
“Maybe we should do both at once,” I suggested.
We spent the next few minutes sorting out the food and filling our plates. Everything smelled delicious, and I took extra helpings of each dish so I wouldn’t have to get up in the middle of our conversation. Jasper clearly had something important to say, and I couldn’t help but think it was about time.
Once we were settled into our chairs, he poured us each some wine.
I looked around and said, “I have to admit, I’m impressed. This is some date.”
I said the word more like a question. Jasper paused in the task of cutting his chicken and looked up at me. Apparently that gave him all the incentive he needed to put his fork down. “I was mad this morning. I’m sorry I was rude,” he said.
I swallowed. That wasn’t what I’d been expecting him to say. “I noticed. We both noticed. I figured it had something to do with the work. Did it?”
He sighed. “No. It didn’t. In fact, it had something to do with you. You see, I had heard what happened with Hansen. I knew about the dark witches. I knew that you had been in danger. I knew I hadn’t been there. We hadn’t even been talking. I could have helped,” he said.
There was a long pause.
“My heritage said that I could. I know, because I went to a Witch Hunter meeting recently. I can’t say I liked it very much. I went because my grandfather wanted me to. He seemed to think it would be good for me. He’s . . . done a lot over the years. I can’t say that he’s usually wrong. I respect his judgment, I respect his opinion. I always have, and that has been my guiding principle since I was young. But I’m starting to think that that’s my problem now. In this case, I do think he’s wrong.” Jasper was speaking quickly. I tried to follow, but the fact that he wasn’t looking at me made it difficult. It was if he was too nervous to look me in the eye, and that distracted me from his actual words. A touch of surprise went through me when he said he'd been to a Witch Hunter meeting, but now wasn’t the time.
“I think,” he went on, “that the Witch Hunters could do some good. I think that if they turned their attention to the Dark Witches, it would help you fight them. They talked about it. I’m not even supposed to be telling you that. Anyway, after I went to that meeting, I got to thinking more and more. I’ve been trying to make these decisions. I suppose you should know that I miss you so much I have a hard time breathing sometimes. When I’m busy it’s okay, but in moments of quiet, when I’m just at work and there’s nothing challenging going on, I find myself simply staring out the window wishing you were there.”
He glanced at me and then looked away. I found I didn’t want to speak or breathe or move. I did not want him to stop talking.
“My sister noticed. She’s always had an excellent sense of when something was off with me. It’s downright annoying. I told her so. I’ve always been perfectly happy when she goes back to the city and leaves me in peace. This time, I didn’t feel comfortable telling her everything that was wrong. She doesn’t know about you. She doesn’t know who you really are. I thought that was your story to tell. To be perfectly honest, though, I think she might suspect. She’s not an idiot. And she grew up with my grandfather. Anyway, I heard about what happened at the coven meeting. I heard that you were there, and that you saved Hansen. The whole story made me furious. It was so unexpected. I don’t know what I’ve been thinking this whole time. Maybe that your position never puts you in danger. I don’t really know. Maybe I thought that if I knew everything, it would go away. The solution would simply appear to me.”
“And it hasn’t?” I asked, my voice soft.
He ran his fingers through his dark hair. “On the contrary, you know the solution. That’s the problem. I have known the solution this whole time. It has been staring me in the face and I have just not wanted to see it. You should know, though, that I see it now. It is crystal clear. I always knew that I wanted to make you happy. No, that’s not right. I knew that I wanted you to be happy. It was so important to me. What I didn’t know was whether I was the one who should be making you happy.”
I cleared my throat and sat on my hands. Somehow that felt like a good way to keep myself from talking or telling him outright that no one else could make me happy but him. I simply kept staring at him.
Now he looked up at me. His mint eyes warmed and I felt myself flush again. “I’m sorry I left you alone to deal with the coven.”
“What is the solution?” I whispered.
“The solution is for us to be together. Openly. I don’t care where I come from. I don’t care what you are. I love what you are. I’m not going to pretend that it isn’t going to cause every problem we can think of, and a whole lot more that we haven’t. I’m sure that it is; it’s going to be a crazy life. Still, there’s no one I would rather have a crazy life with than you. Anybody who thinks a small town is boring never tried dating a witch as a witch hunter.” He smiled a little at that.
I was now officially overwhelmed. I still would have appreciated his attempt at humor, except that what I actually felt like was crying. “Are you certain?” I asked.
He nodded, two confident tilts of the head. “I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life. I had already started to think about it. Like I said, my sister sat me down and talked to me. But when I heard that Hansen had found out and there were problems, I couldn’t think about anything else. I was so furious with myself for leaving you alone. I never want to feel that way again. I never want you to be alone again. Not unless you want to, of course,” he finished with a wry smile.
“I do have roommates. We do give ourselves some space sometimes,” I said reasonably.
He smiled at my lame joke, but his face subsided back into seriousness right away.
“Tell me about what happened. Tell me what’s going on. I need to know,” he said softly. “I was so mad when I heard that you were in danger. . .” He trailed off and waited.
Chapter Six
teen
So I told him everything. I told him that the coven had been attacked. I told him that I didn’t think Rosalie had meant to do much against Puddlewood before the attack happened, but that now she might be more motivated. I told him that I had talked to Scarlett and Josephine and they had given Hansen the all-clear. I told him that Paws had led a some of the attacking dark ghosts away from Hansen, so he and I could flee. I had felt a little bit guilty about that. Paws was more capable than he acted, apparently. It was something I shouldn’t have been surprised at.
Jasper listened to all of it intently and without comment. He didn’t ask any questions, he just focused on what I was saying.
Meanwhile, even as I told him my own story, I wondered what exactly had been discussed in the Witch Hunter meeting he’d attended. I wondered if they really could be of help in the fight against the Dark Witches. Was it possible that mortal enemies’ needs could align? Could Jasper’s and my relationship make that happen? It was an interesting idea, and one that I hadn’t thought through before. Rosalie would be resistant to any such proposal, but maybe the others could be persuaded.
“You had hoped that Ellie was going to leave Mintwood alone. Now you’re sure that isn’t the case?” Jasper asked.
“If Wendell is to be believed, she still has her heart set on taking over my town. The only trouble is, she is not going to get it,” I said.
Jasper smiled, but his eyes were still serious. “Of course not. She’s amassing a dark army, though, and they’re getting bolder. No one else in the coven was hurt?” he asked.
“No. Definitely not. But I don’t think they were really intending to attack us. That had not been the plan,” I said. “And I don’t know what happens next. I suppose that’s the scary thing. I keep ignoring this threat, but I don’t think that works anymore.”
“Maybe you wouldn’t have ignored it if you had felt supported by me,” Jasper sighed. “I feel like I haven’t been there for you when you needed me.” He stared hard at his plate as if guilt was consuming him. I reached across the table and took his hand. It was cold to the touch, and I squeezed his fingers.
“Usually my hands are the ones that are cold,” I said with a small smile.
He squeezed my fingers in return. “Apologies for the cold hand. I’ve been so upset all day I haven’t known what to do with myself. I should have taken you away this morning and talked to you right then, but I needed to think everything through so that I could say it clearly. I wanted to sound as sure of my words as I felt. Now I do,” he said.
I took a deep breath. “What do we do?” I asked.
“Whatever we do, we’re going to do it together. From now on, I can’t stand to be confused. I am not confused. If my grandfather doesn’t like it, I no longer care. Deacon will be thrilled to hear it anyway. You and I being on the outs has really stressed him out. He told me he almost took up meditation because of it. Almost,” he said with a smile.
I threw my head back and laughed. Deacon was not the type to sit around and relax. Especially not to get his head on straight. He was more the type that would play football and hit opponents to relax.
“Well, after tonight it sounds like we can go to him with good news?” I said.
Here I was again, asking Jasper what he wanted. I didn’t begrudge him the time he had needed to think. His grandfather was a huge figure in his life, some might even say overbearing. I knew Jasper didn’t want to disrespect his family. The problem had come up when his heart wanted something that was inherently disrespectful. This would be the result: he was making a choice that I knew was hard for him. I was relieved that even though the choice was hard, he was making it look easy. That was why he taken all day to think about how to tell me. He didn’t want me to have any doubts as to his feelings, or where his loyalties lay.
Now I could honestly say that I had no doubts. Jasper and I were together. Even if he couldn’t help me with the witch situation, he could help me fight against those who wanted to harm Mintwood and the ghosts I was tasked with caring for.
I felt more confident knowing that Jasper would be standing beside me. I felt more confident in the idea that we might be able to get the hunters on our side, maybe even for a temporary truce.
But all of that would be a conversation for another night. Tonight I simply wanted to bask in how happy I felt. How utterly happy. Looking at Jasper across the table, I felt entirely comfortable and at ease, and no longer the least bit awkward. This man I had known for so many years was sitting there smiling, telling me I was the most important thing in his life. It was nice to hear, because I knew for a fact that he was the most important thing in mine.
I looked down at our entwined fingers. “There,” I told him with a smile.
“I want to say I’m sorry on last time,” he said, following my gaze. “I know you’re going to tell me that’s silly, but I don’t think it is. I am so sorry for taking too long to figure this out. Like I said, it was a lot. I don’t know that that excuses what I didn’t know. The time we lost. The time I wasted. But now you aren’t alone,” he said.
“Sometimes being alone is a good thing. It gave me time to think and discover what was really important to me,” I said. “Paws isn’t good company, though. Or at least, he’s not a substitute for . . . someone else.”
Jasper and I stayed at the Manor Portrait house for a long time. I had never felt so happy. My chest swelled with it until I felt like I might burst. I kept looking across the table and breaking out into a wide smile at the heavy weight that had been lifted off my shoulders. The memory of pain and frustration was still there, but I felt lighter and taller than I had just a few hours before. It was as if I could rise even higher because of how low I had sunk.
The night was cool and crisp, but brilliantly clear, as we walked back to the farmhouse. I told Jasper to head inside while I took a minute to speak to Paws. A thought had been nagging at me ever since the coven attack, and I needed to deal with it. Not that I wanted to think about evil witches right now, but time was of the essence.
“You have fun? Good evening?” Paws asked. For once he acted a bit agitated, and I told myself that as soon as I wasn’t so preoccupied, I would ask him why. For now I just told him that we’d had a lovely time. That must have been obvious enough, since he could see that I was smiling from ear to ear.
“Did you come to gloat? What do you want?” he demanded.
“I’ve been thinking that there’s something we have to do,” I said. “But we’ll need help.”
Suddenly alert, Paws considered me with the same look a cat might use when considering which mouse hole to stalk. Next he’d start sniffing.
He knew I was talking about work and not my love interest. “What is it?” he demanded again.
“I think we have to go check on Puddlewood,” I murmured. “I don’t think there’s any other way to find out just how dangerous this dark ghost situation is. It’d been a long time since I saw the place, and even then I didn’t get a good look. The dark ghosts won’t be as strong if we go during the day, so we might have a chance of getting in and getting away without a fight.”
“If you go during the day you won’t have as much help, either,” Paws pointed out. “The only people I could get to assist us quickly would also be ghosts. We might need to go at nighttime to have any chance at being effective.”
I nodded my head. I had been afraid that’s what he’d say. I had already sent the letter to Harriet, but who knew when she’d get it, or if she’d come home in time to help us. I also didn’t know if it made sense to take more witches or fewer along on this excursion.
More would mean we might at least have a chance of fighting our way out of a jam. Fewer would mean we were less likely to be detected. Both options had their problems and advantages.
“Think about it,” I said. “We can talk more tomorrow. There’s also the mystery to investigate. It is going to be another busy day.” I sighed.
“I’ll get some rest. Or try to,” said
Paws.
I said good night to my darling ghost cat and went inside.
Chapter Seventeen
Jasper had a lot of work to do, as usual, so he left early the next morning. I told him I’d try to stop by the barn at some point during the day, though when that was going to happen in the midst of everything I had to get done I had no idea. The first thing on my mind was to take a look at the morning papers. We hadn’t heard of any emergencies from Hansen, so there was at least one worry off my mind. I was relieved that he was alive and well.
When I went downstairs, Charlie was already in the kitchen, looking at the eggs as if she was wondering how much she could burn them and still eat them.
“Are you going to cook?” I asked.
She looked up at me in surprise. “Sorry. Lost in thought there. No, I think I’ll just have cereal.”
The farmhouse could stand another day.
“Me as well,” I said. We got our breakfast of cereal and coffee ready and sat in the corner nook. Greer was still sleeping, as she usually was at this hour.
“Did you stop by and see Hansen last night?” I asked Charlie. She had been determined to check on him, all the more since the last time we had gone a day without hearing from him it was because he’d been kidnapped. This time Charlie hadn’t trusted anything but her own two eyes to make certain he was all right.
Charlie said that yes, she had gone to his office to see how he was doing. “I might have gotten into a bit of a spat with Toil. That man is insufferable. He thinks terribly well of himself and he has no regard for the rest of us. He thinks he’s the only one who can discover a good story. It’s downright ridiculous,” she grumbled.
“How do he and Hansen get along?” I asked, pouring milk into my bowl.
She rolled her eyes at that as well. “Hansen doesn’t like him, or at least I don’t think he does, but they tolerate each other. You know Hansen, he’s always a professional. But it’s pretty clear that Toil wants Hansen’s job. That would be tough under any circumstances, but it’s all the worse with Hansen having been gone for a few days. Hansen really thinks he needs to have a break on this case,” said Charlie.
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