The Dashing Witch (The Ward Witches)

by Lauren McMinn

  Before Justin could come to any serious conclusion, they had taken a short break for lunch, which they didn’t have at the same time the other elements had theirs, and returned for the afternoon. Then, with Justin still miles away in his mind, they dismissed for the day.

  He and Melanie got into the car and drove over to Ward Manor in silence, as if awaiting an execution.

  “I’m so sorry!” Melanie cried out as Skylar opened the door.

  “Whoa. Come in first.”

  Melanie and Justin proceeded to the living room, where Leo and Dymphna were already listening. Melanie proceeded to tell the whole tale, hoping they wouldn’t judge her too harshly.

  “You lied,” Dymphna accused Justin.

  “Yes, I did. But don’t hold it against Melanie. She wanted to tell you, and I wasn’t sure. But eventually stronger minds prevailed.” She let him change history just a little. That was actually pretty sweet of him. “So here we are, asking you to be understanding.”

  Skylar looked up at Melanie, “I’m sorry you didn’t find a bond that you wanted. I know I was wary of it at first, but I at least consciously chose to do it. No matter what happened or happens between you and Justin, you’re still my sister.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I’m sure Seb already told you about our parents. If this bond isn’t what you want, then I don’t see any reason why you should stick together,” Leo added, nodding.

  “I had thought that this would finally change you,” Dymphna said icily. “But you never will change, will you Justin?”

  “Likely not. Now look, we’ve still got one day left in the summit. I go back to work on Monday. I’m sure Melanie will need something to do during the day.”

  “You’re foisting her off on us?” Dymphna asked, outraged. “You can't handle being married, so you're getting rid of her as soon as possible?”

  “Essentially. You know me, remember? I’m a selfish asshole. I don’t know what you expected, but you thought wrong!” Melanie thought about how incorrect that statement was. He may have thought and tried to project he was selfish, but over the last few days, she had come to see that he wasn't as selfish as all that. He cared about his family, his job, his Coven, and her. Where did that last one come from? Surely he didn't care about her, and she didn't want him to. Right?

  “I could use your help,” Skylar ventured, ignoring Dymphna’s glare. “I’m finishing up my cookbook here. Any help would be appreciated.”

  “I’d love to assist.”

  “Then it’s settled. I’ll come pick you up Monday morning.”

  “Tomorrow we’re going to do our paperwork,” Justin interjected. “We may not plan to stay together, but we do need to make this legal.”

  “Certainly.”

  “I’ll drop her off after that.”

  “I’m glad she’s like a small child,” Dymphna said, still glaring at her brother.

  “Lay off, D,” Leo said quietly. “It’s not our business.”

  “No, it’s not,” Justin agreed. “We’ll be going now.”

  They were quiet through the drive back to the Coven House, quiet through a movie, and quiet through getting ready for bed and falling asleep. The quiet was so strong it was nearly a physical presence in the room with them, and it pricked at Melanie the whole time.

  But in the morning, Melanie found herself in Justin’s arms again. Not willing to admit her weakness, she moved away softly and got into the shower.

  She wasn’t even aware of the last day of the summit really. She breezed through the first half of the day without really taking anything in. But when the second half of the day arrived, she really tried to pay attention.

  First, Seb was pleased to announce that the new Coven set up went through with a landslide vote. He introduced the new leaders of the Northeast Coven, and they looked pleased as punch. Then he displayed the new website and gave instructions on how to join the site, the email list, and more.

  Then it was over, and Melanie said goodbye to the others in her Coven, though the Waverly brothers still wouldn’t speak to her. She walked back into the Coven House with trepidation. But all that worry seemed to be for nothing.

  “Hey, Melanie, we’re celebrating the end of the summit with a movie marathon. Want to join us?” Seb asked, gesturing toward the main room of the House. It was a lot larger than the one at Ward Manor, and more crowded than the cozy atmosphere of the Manor.

  “Sure.” She joined the party, noting that there were about twenty people there, all of them residents of the Coven House. She knew that the House had people who lived there, but she hadn’t really thought about it. Many of the residents weren’t even there.

  “A lot of people, huh?” Justin whispered in her ear.

  “That’s for sure. I can’t even hear the television.”

  “You’re not really supposed to. Come, let’s mingle.”

  Melanie paused to wonder why Justin had reattached himself to her side. After what happened at Ward Manor, she would have thought he'd drop her in a heartbeat. But there he was, hand on her elbow.

  She met so many people that her head began to swim, and she was certain that she’d never keep them all straight. But all of them were very nice and friendly. Melanie supposed that it had something to do with being near Justin, but she didn’t mind.

  Melanie went upstairs before Justin did, claiming a headache. She did have a headache, but that wasn’t the real reason for going up. Some of it was that she was uncomfortable with the number of people fawning all over Justin when she couldn’t really even talk to him. But really, she was evaluating the different aspects of her husband, comparing them against each other. She wouldn't have him for long, and maybe if she really thought it all out, she could figure out why he was so against a lasting relationship. Not that she wanted to change that, mind.

  When he was in public, he was a consummate entertainer. Everyone around him felt special and liked, and he seemed to be really enjoying himself. On the stage, he showed his serious side as leader of Coven Protection. Everyone there felt confident of his abilities and listened in closely. He may wear all kinds of different guises when in public, but each one had its purpose. But in private, he let those personas faded away, and he was just a man, funny, kind, and possibly even a little insecure. But very few people knew him like that, and Melanie was glad that she was one of those people, even for a short time.

  Melanie had been enjoying Justin’s company since they met, and she finally realized that she had made a terrible mistake given the situation: she had gone and fallen in love with him. Bond be damned, but that wasn’t the reason she had fallen for him. He was a genuinely good and kind man, and he made her happy. He made her wish that they had more time together. Ah well, it was no use wishing. No matter how much she loved him, she would stick to the plan. She would indeed leave, and even if she looked back, she wouldn’t come back.

  It was one thing to long for the man you loved from a continent away. It was an entirely different thing to hang around like a pathetic Justin groupie. Besides, he had plenty of those already. She didn't want to be that pathetic.

  The next week was all too fast for Melanie’s taste.

  On Monday, they looked into applying for their marriage license. Then they realized they couldn't do it without her birth certificate. Luckily, Lisa had a key to Melanie’s apartment and Fed-Ex’ed her birth certificate to her. Justin dropped her off at Ward Manor before he went to work at Coven Protection. From there, she helped Skylar organize and format her cookbook. Melanie proved to be an especially good asset because she knew publicity, and she could apply some of the general principles to the book. Skylar knew a lot about cooking, and even more about running a restaurant, but she was floundering when it came time to put all the pieces of her cookbook together.

  It took all day Monday and Tuesday, but on Tuesday afternoon, Skylar sent off all her materials to her editor. She gave a huge sigh of relief when the time came.

  “Now that's over, I don
't know what I'm going to do with my time.”

  “I've been thinking about how I can contribute to the Coven,” Melanie responded. “I quit my job back in LA. I had a certain amount of intuition that it needed to be done, so I did it. I think I'm now realizing why. Think about it: the Dark Order is in play and society in general largely doesn't understand witches. Witches have kept secretive for years on end, and maybe that's got to change. I've spent my entire career on publicity, and publicity is exactly what the Coven needs.”

  “You're a genius!” Skylar proclaimed. “Perhaps a little bit of good PR would increase Coven membership among the unaffiliated and help acceptance in the general community.”

  “That's what I was thinking. I'll need to talk to Seb about it tonight when I got back to the Coven House.”

  “That's an excellent idea. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help.”

  “Sure.”

  Justin called and asked if Skylar would bring Melanie back to the Coven House, which she was only too pleased to do. With Skylar's confident voice in her head, Melanie went to go find Seb in his office.

  He looked tired, but smiled when she entered. “Nice to see you, Melanie. How can I help you?”

  She closed the door behind her and sat in front of Seb's desk. “I think it's more about how I can help you.”

  At that, Seb looked curious, and not nearly as tired as he had mere minutes before. Excited, Melanie began to lay out her plans for Coven PR. Seb made a number of comments, and they worked together to mature her ideas and sketch them out on paper.

  “I tell you what. While I'm at Ward Manor over the next few days, I'll type up a proposal based on what we've discussed here and bring it over. I should be able to handle all this from LA with just a few trips up here to Boston.”

  “If you think you can, I'll believe you. If you wanted your own quarters away from Justin here in Boston, I'll help you find that, too.”

  “Thank you, Seb. I'll have that to you before I fly back.”

  On Wednesday, Justin brought her to get their marriage license. Through the previous Duke's legal work, witches could apply for marriage and be considered married the same day. She changed her name at the Social Security office, and planned to do the same for her driver's license when she got home.

  “You really didn't need to change your name,” Justin said. “All things considered.”

  “I wanted to. I'll be a married woman whether I'm in LA or Boston.”

  He looked at her strangely, but didn't ask again.

  Back at Ward Manor, Skylar was anxious to hear about Melanie's meeting with Seb. She laid it all out, scribbling notes on paper.

  “You think you can do all this?”

  “I know I can do all this. I've got to lay out a formal proposal for Seb and present it to him before I go back home. Will you help me?”

  “Of course. Just point me in the right direction.”

  By Friday, Melanie was sure that she had a solid plan and a strong course of action. Skylar drove back to the Coven House, and Melanie did what she could only term a great presentation. At the end, Seb clapped.

  “Excellent work, ladies. You're right, Melanie, this is just what we need.”

  “I'm sorry I won't be around to present it to the rest of your team. But when I get back home, I'll get video conferencing set up and we can continue like that.”

  “Alright. Keep me posted.”

  “Thank you.”

  When it was over, Melanie could feel herself glowing. At least until the nerves finally caught up to her and she politely excused herself to be sick in the bathroom. Skylar looked askance when Melanie ran down the hall to get to the bathroom, but she didn't comment, for which Melanie was grateful.

  Friday afternoon, Justin was playing with his new wedding ring. It was awfully thoughtful of Melanie to get Skylar to drive her for a ring. He wasn’t really sure how he felt about that, but he wasn’t in a position to talk, having bought her a fancy diamond ring. And she took his name, of all things.

  He heard a knock on the door and yelled for the person to come in. In sauntered Kelsey, wearing a skin tight red top that displayed her ample cleavage and a short black skirt. He had dated her for a while before getting bored and moving on to the next woman. If he remembered correctly, she was the only one he had stayed with longer than a week. She lasted two. After all, he liked women, and lots of them.

  “Hey Justin,” she drawled, playing with her hair. “How’s it going?” It wasn't an attractive gesture, and he turned his attention back to his computer. How had he thought she was so attractive when everything from her attitude to her hair color was fake? As a plastic surgeon, Leo would nearly take offense to how bad that boob job was.

  “I’m working right now. Is there something you wanted to talk about?” He knew he didn’t want to hear it. He knew Kelsey had always wanted to get back together with him, but he wasn’t interested. Especially now.

  “I met her, you know,” Kelsey stopped twirling her hair and looked at him seriously. “Your new hussy.”

  “She’s not a hussy; she's my wife now.”

  “She won’t hold your attention for long. She’s plain with no sense for fashion. You have better taste in women than to be with her.”

  Justin thought about that for a moment. Melanie may not wear anything beyond jeans and a t-shirt, but she was quite pretty. Certainly not plain. When she had dressed for that club, she was downright sexy as hell. He hadn't seen that kind of clothes again, but if she ever did, he might drool so it was just as well. “Does it matter? She’s still my wife. We bonded, and it's forever.”

  “That doesn’t mean much. Plenty of bonded people have extracurricular activities.”

  “And I’d bet you’re always up for those,” he said wryly.

  “Of course. But you know it’s you I want. You who I’ve always wanted,” she purred. Kelsey noticed the bulge in his pants that had come from thinking about Melanie, that club outfit, and what he’d like to do with her and Kelsey misinterpreted. “I see I’m not alone in that.”

  “I just got married two days ago. This isn’t appropriate, even if I were interested. Which, let me make this clear, I’m not.” He scrubbed his face, still concentrating on the computer monitor rather than even look at her.

  “You just forget,” Kelsey said, gliding over to him. “Let me help you remember. There are things I can do for you that no other woman can.”

  Before he could respond, she sat on his lap, using one hand to massage him through his pants and the other hand to grab his head and force his mouth to hers. He was stunned that she would try this, and didn’t react as quickly as he could have hoped. Then he heard a gasp and a moan.

  Justin kicked Kelsey off him, glaring at her before he turned his eyes to see who had slipped into his office without him hearing it. Shit. It was Melanie, looking horrified as she covered her mouth with her hand.

  “How could you?” She took in everything, from Kelsey looking flustered, her lips extra red from kissing to the bulge in his pants that he couldn’t help. “How could you?” She accused angrily.. “We just got married! I had heard you were a womanizer, but this is beyond the pale. You move fast, don’t you? How many others since we met? Or do I even want to know?”

  Justin wasn’t sure how to respond. He hated that she was accusing him unfairly, and he didn’t feel that he should be made to apologize. She should trust him, for god’s sake. He hadn’t given her any cause not to, and if she hadn’t been able to tell that Kelsey was forcing her kisses on him, then she didn’t really see what was going on. But why should he explain himself when she made assumptions when she didn’t know the facts? It didn't help that Kelsey looked supremely proud of herself.

  He looked up at her, glaring daggers. Screw her. If she was going to accuse him like that, he might as well go all the damn way. “You didn’t even knock before coming in my office. You know who I am: my siblings told you. Did you really expect me to change so readily? You don’t even
like me.” He regretted the words as soon as they came out, but he couldn’t change them now.

  “I thought I knew you, but I didn’t know who you really were. I do now. Have fun with your floozy, Justin,” at which Kelsey appeared only slightly miffed, “because I’m going to Ward Manor for the rest of the time I’m in Boston, which won’t be long.”

  “Good. Don’t call, or try to reach me again. Remember what we set up before.” He knew it was a bad idea to keep going. He wasn't doing himself any favors by continuing to provoke her. But why would she jump to such uncomplimentary conclusions when he thought he'd shown her his best side. He had put himself out there for her, and this was how she thought of him?

  “I’ll remember, that’s for sure. And the same goes for you.” Melanie stormed out, and Justin only had the slightest of urges to follow her. She didn’t trust him, so he shouldn’t go chasing her down to tell her that all was not what it seemed.

  “I knew you’d get tired of her,” Kelsey purred in his ear.

  “None of your business. Don’t you think you’ve done enough for today? Now leave. I know where to find you if I need you.”

  “Don’t be so harsh on what we have here. But I’ll leave. For now. You'll be mine, though; I'll just have to wait a bit longer I suppose. Remember, I'm not good at waiting.”

  “Get out!”

  Justin ran his hand through his hair. He had something with Melanie, or so he thought. How had it all gone so badly?

  Melanie ran from the room into the nearest bathroom, where after locking the door, she let the tears come. She loved him. She loved him even still, but now she really knew that he didn’t return her feelings. It was just as well she hadn’t told him.

  She cried so hard she made herself sick. Luckily, she was already in the bathroom. She called Skylar, who could barely understand her because Melanie kept releasing little sobs. But she was able to convey that she needed a ride to Ward Manor as soon as possible. Skylar agreed immediately, and said she’d call as she pulled up. Melanie got her bags ready from upstairs, thanking any deity listening that she made it that far without seeing Justin again.