Vision of the Witch (Witches of Keating Hollow Book 10)

by Deanna Chase

  He frowned. “I thought that’s what you wanted.”

  “It was. I mean, I do,” she stammered. “I just don’t know what we are to each other except for the fact that we share this baby.” She pressed a hand to her abdomen protectively. “I get that you want to be here for your child. And while last night was… kind of intense for both of us, I don’t know where we stand.”

  “What exactly are you saying, Amelia? Are you asking if we’re in a relationship? Because if so, then my answer is yes. I have zero intention of dating anyone else. You’re… well, you’re you and the mother of my child. I’m in this with you.”

  She let out a chuckle and gave him a small smile. “I know. But I think we might be going too fast for me. Can we take a step back maybe? Use the next few months to get to know each other. Go out on some dates. And then if we’re both still on the same page, we can define whatever this is going to be?”

  Grayson let out a sigh of relief and gave her a chuckle of his own. “Yes. I’d love to date you. How about tonight? After I go home, shower and shave, find some clean clothes, I could take you to Woodlines or the Cozy Cave. Or even the brewery if you prefer.”

  The tension she’d woken up with in her shoulders immediately eased, and she nodded enthusiastically. “Woodlines. It’s my favorite. But don’t shave. I really love that beard growth.”

  His lips twitched into a half-smile, and he winked. “Got it. Sexy two-day beard it is.”

  Amelia meandered around her house, changing the sheets in the guest room, straightening the living room, and finally ending up in the kitchen making a banana bread with the brown bananas in her counter basket. She’d needed to keep busy, because after Grayson left, for the first time ever, Amelia’s sanctuary on the hill felt empty. She’d always enjoyed her solitude after growing up with a large extended family. But now? She missed the easy company of Silas, Levi, and Grayson.

  Grayson, she thought with a sigh.

  The dynamic between them had changed the night before. They’d been vulnerable with each other, and now she felt an emotional connection to him that had been missing. She now knew why he was so hesitant to get close to anyone, and she could understand why he’d run when they’d gotten too close. All she could do was hope that he meant it when he’d said he wasn’t going anywhere and that he wanted this family. She wasn’t expecting a marriage proposal, but she did hope they could start over and build some sort of stable life for their daughter.

  “Hello?” Holly called, startling Amelia out of her thoughts.

  “In here,” Amelia called from the kitchen. She rinsed her hands under the tap and wiped them with a towel as Rex and Holly strode in wearing wide smiles, their faces flushed from the cold.

  “Hey, Sis,” Rex said, kissing her cheek. “You doing okay after being holed up here for a few days?”

  “Of course,” she said, waving her hand dismissively. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  He glanced around and shrugged one shoulder. “No reason. I know you’re more than capable of taking care of yourself, but that doesn’t mean I won’t worry when I know you’re snowed in with no way off the mountain if things go south.”

  Amelia rolled her eyes, choosing to let his comment go. She was a full-grown adult who’d lived through her fair share of snowstorms. “How was your weekend at the inn?”

  Holly flushed bright red as she leaned into Rex, hugging him from the side. Then she turned shyly to Amelia. “It was a wonderful Valentine’s Day getaway.”

  “That’s good,” Amelia said softly, pleased for them both. Her brother had spent far too many years alone after his previous fiancée had screwed him over in the worst way possible. Rex deserved to be happy with someone like Holly. Someone who loved him deeply and didn’t have a cruel or ugly bone in her body.

  “I just wish you and I could’ve had more time together,” Holly said, moving toward Amelia with her arms outstretched for a hug. “I was really looking forward to spending some time with you and doing a lot more baby shopping to fill that nursery. Unfortunately, Rex needs to get me home so I can go into work tomorrow.”

  Amelia hugged the other woman fiercely. “I was looking forward to that, too. But we still have time. Let’s set a date to get together again soon.”

  “Definitely.” Holly kissed Amelia’s cheek and then disappeared from the kitchen, leaving Amelia and Rex alone.

  Rex stared at his sister, his blue eyes troubled.

  “Just ask me whatever it is you need to ask me,” Amelia said with a sigh.

  “I’m just worried about you.” He took her hand and led her to the table where they sat down.

  “Why? I’m fine. I do know how to handle a snowstorm, you know.” She couldn’t stop the irritation from coming through in her voice. But when she saw the hurt look on his face, she softened her tone. “I’m not fifteen anymore, Rex.”

  “Of course you aren’t. But you’re my baby sister, and I can’t help worrying. What happened with Grayson?”

  She knew he’d ask. He was, after all, the person she’d run to after Grayson had left her in December. “We talked. He wants to be a part of our lives, so tonight we’re going out to dinner to try to start over.”

  “Start over? You mean you’re dating again? Just like that?”

  “You don’t have to sound so judgmental,” she said, rolling her eyes.

  “I’m not being judgmental. Dammit, Amelia, I just don’t want to see you get hurt again.”

  She reached over and squeezed his hand lightly. “I know you don’t. I don’t want that either, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take. Because the truth is, he’s my baby’s father, I still love him, and he wants to be a part of our lives. So what choice do I have other than to give this a try?”

  Rex let out an impatient grunt. “You trust too easily.”

  “And you don’t trust enough,” she said, not unkindly. “But I think Holly might be helping with that.”

  He glanced past her toward the hallway where Holly had disappeared a few moments earlier. “She’s one of a kind.”

  “She loves you.”

  He smiled and his expression went soft in a way that Amelia had never really seen on her brother before. He was with his ex for years, but he’d never been as happy with her as he was with Holly. “I just got lucky and found my one.” His smile vanished as he stared at his sister. “I’m worried that you’re attaching yourself to someone who doesn’t deserve you.”

  Anger rose up from the pit of her stomach and she stood, suddenly feeling both insulted that her brother didn’t trust her and offended for Grayson. “You don’t know him, Rex. I do. Maybe you could trust me and stop acting like no one deserves a second chance. Didn’t you leave Holly before coming back and begging her for forgiveness?”

  “That’s not fair,” he said, standing to stare down at her. “I came here to figure stuff out and then went right back. I didn’t leave her for months while she was pregnant!”

  Amelia glared at her brother and then without another word, she turned on her heel and left the kitchen. When she was halfway down the hallway, Holly stepped out of the small laundry room with a pair of gray sweats and a sweatshirt.

  “Amelia?” she asked with a teasing tone in her voice. “Just who exactly do these belong to?”

  “Oh. Grayson of course. He must’ve forgotten to collect them before he left.” After his day in the snow with Levi, he’d dumped them in her washer.

  “Grayson was here?” Rex said from behind her.

  “Yes,” she said impatiently. “He brought me home and we ended up snowed in together. I told you that.”

  “No you didn’t,” they said in unison. Holly’s tone was full of interest, while Rex’s was just irritated.

  “I didn’t?” Amelia frowned. “I could’ve sworn that when I texted, I told you we were snowed in together.” She waved a dismissive hand. “It doesn’t matter. We used the time to work through some things.”

  “I bet.” Holly’s eyes sparkled as she grinned
.

  “Stop,” Amelia said, laughing, pleased at least one of them wasn’t being an overbearing jackass. “Levi and Silas were here most of the time, too. Nothing happened.”

  “If you say so,” Holly said, eyeing Amelia’s abdomen with a smirk.

  “Well, not this weekend anyway.” Amelia chuckled, enjoying having someone on her side. “Tell my brother to chill out, will you?” she added. “I think he’s getting ready to have an aneurysm.”

  Holly laughed, handed Amelia the clothes, and then took her man by the arm. “Come on. Give your sister a break and help me pack.”

  “I’m not going to have an aneurysm,” he grumbled, but he let Holly guide him away.

  Amelia sent her friend a silent thank you. She knew her brother was just protective, but that didn’t mean she was going to let him walk all over her. Her mind was made up. Grayson deserved another chance and that was exactly what he was going to get.

  Hours later, Rex and Holly still hadn’t left Amelia’s house on the hill. Rex had one excuse after another, starting with shoveling the snow off the roof and ending with checking her generator just in case there was another storm.

  “You do realize the snow wasn’t so thick you needed to shovel it. And if I have a problem with the generator, I can call someone, right?”

  “I just want to make sure my sister is safe. I don’t want you to worry about anything other than that baby you’re carrying,” he said.

  Holly snorted. “Don’t buy any of that, Amelia. He’s just waiting around to talk to Grayson when he comes to pick you up.”

  Amelia had guessed that was why Rex had become so helpful, but she’d been hoping that if she ignored him, he’d give up and go home. “Rex, Holly has to work tomorrow. Take her home, please.”

  “I just want to have a word with him,” Rex said mildly as he filled a glass of water from the pitcher on her counter.

  “Why?” Amelia asked, getting frustrated. “There’s nothing to say.”

  Holly sighed. “I had a vision and made the mistake of sharing it with Mr. Buttinski.”

  “What vision?” Amelia focused on her.

  Holly closed her eyes and shook her head as if she didn’t want to get into it. But when the silence became too heavy in the room, she let out a curse and said, “I saw him leaving this house with a suitcase. He had a plane ticket to New York City in his hand. You were… not happy.”

  Amelia let Holly’s words sink in. There was no doubt that it worried her. Holly’s visions were solid. Much more reliable than the ones Amelia had been having since she became pregnant. But it wasn’t as if Grayson would never travel again. Who was to say that his trip had anything to do with leaving Amelia? If she was going to try to trust him, she needed to give him a chance and not write him off because of visions with no context. She turned to her brother. “Didn’t Holly have a vision of you here in Keating Hollow in my nursery that made her believe that you weren’t going to stay in Christmas Grove?”

  “Yes, but—” he started.

  “That’s all I needed to hear. This conversation is done, and you two need to get on the road. I won’t hear another word about it,” Amelia said with her hands on her hips.

  Holly nodded, stood, and grabbed Rex by the hand. “I think she won that round.” Smiling at him, she added, “Let’s go home. I’m ready to try that thing again. You know… the one we tried after the wedding?”

  “La, la, la, la!” Amelia said, covering her ears with her hands. “There are some things a sister should never hear.”

  They were both chuckling as they hugged her goodbye and promised they’d be back soon.

  Amelia let out a slow breath, still unsettled by Holly’s vision, and then tried her damnedest to put it out of her mind.

  Chapter 10

  Grayson could hardly wait to get back to Amelia. He spent the day trying to go over some spreadsheets of his sales accounts, but the work had been fruitless. He hadn’t been able to concentrate. Instead, he’d daydreamed about what it might be like to live with Amelia and the baby in the house with the gorgeous view of the valley. It amazed him how his outlook on life had changed in just a few days. But here he was, headed back up the hill with flowers on the passenger seat and his heart on his sleeve.

  He wanted Amelia. There was no doubt about that. He’d always wanted her. He just hadn’t felt free enough to give all of himself. He was past that now, and more than that, he wanted the life she promised. The one that had been so cruelly taken from him when he was just a young man.

  Light flooded from the front porch and the wide picture window of her home. He smiled to himself as he put the Toyota in park, grabbed the bouquet of white daisies, and jumped out of his SUV.

  Before he could even stride up the steps, the door opened and Amelia stood in the doorway, her natural brown curls framing her face as she smiled at him. She was wearing jeans and a blouse that hugged her breasts, showing off her enticing cleavage. “You look gorgeous,” he said, handing her the bouquet.

  “Gorgeous is a little over the top, but I’ll take it.” She turned and glided back into the house and straight for the kitchen.

  Grayson followed her, eyeing the curve of her hip, his fingers aching to touch her there. But he kept to himself and waited until she got the flowers into water.

  “You remembered,” she said, arranging the flowers so that they were evenly spaced.

  “I remember everything, Amelia.” He reached out and caressed her jawline. “I would have gotten sunflowers to go with them, but the shop was fresh out.”

  She grinned. “Now that would’ve impressed me.”

  Pride swelled in Grayson’s chest. He vividly recalled when she’d told him that her favorite flowers were daisies, followed closely by sunflowers. Then she’d said that if she ever had a garden, she was planting both so that she never had to choose. “Come on. Time for dinner.”

  They made small talk on the way to Woodlines. It was a fine dining establishment in downtown Keating Hollow and Amelia’s favorite restaurant. When they walked in, the host immediately sat them near the front window.

  “Best table in the house,” Amelia said, staring out the window at the twinkling lights strewn up and down Main Street. The Valentine decorations had been removed, and now the town was glinting in white twinkle lights and bathed in moonlight. There was an elegance and charm that had won him over the first time he’d stepped foot into the valley.

  Grayson reached across the table and took her hand. “Thank you for coming out with me tonight.”

  “Thank you for inviting me. Though considering I’m carrying your child, it feels like you’re being awfully formal.”

  He laughed, but his mirth quickly died as he envisioned taking her to bed again. It had been months since they’d been together, and seeing her sitting across from him, her body lush and her face glowing, all he wanted to do was take her home and worship her for as long as she’d let him. But they were on their date to get to know each other in a way they hadn’t before. So instead, he said, “Did you know that Hope took Levi in and gave him a place to live before they found out they were brother and sister?”

  Amelia raised her eyebrows. “No. That’s… amazing.”

  He nodded and went into details of the story about how Levi had been a homeless teen, and Hope had known firsthand what it felt like to have no one to count on and offered him a place to stay. Weeks later, they found out they shared a father. “It’s astonishing how sometimes things just work out.”

  “Kind of like how we both ended up living in the same town,” she said, eyeing him with suspicion.

  Grayson laughed. “Sort of.”

  “Out with it. Give me the truth,” she demanded, though there wasn’t any anger behind her words. Just a desire for honesty, which he had to agree that she deserved. She opened her menu and studied it as she waited for his answer.

  “The truth is that I took the job out here before I knew for sure you were in Keating Hollow. I needed to get out of New Yo
rk for my own sanity.”

  “When you say before you knew for sure, does that mean you had a vision that I was out here?” she asked without looking up from her menu.

  “Yes.”

  Her head jerked up, and she stared at him as if she hadn’t expected him to answer honestly. After swallowing, she asked, “What did you see?”

  Grayson twined his fingers with hers. “I saw you everywhere. The spa, the brewery, Shannon’s wedding, the bookstore, and even the farmer’s market. And also, the sign that leads to Keating Hollow. So while I had a good idea that you were here, I didn’t know if it was permanent or that you’d taken a job with the fire department. I guess you could say that I took my job on a leap of faith that you’d be on the West Coast. You could have just been visiting for all I knew.”

  “Something told you that I was here though, right? The spirit witch intuition?” she asked.

  He couldn’t deny it and nodded.

  “So it might be safe to say that you didn’t exactly leave this meeting up to chance?”

  Grayson laughed. “What are you getting at, Amelia?”

  She put the menu down and closed it. “I wanted to be clear that this—what we have between us—isn’t the universe working in mysterious ways. You missed me and deliberately found a job that meant we might have a chance. You knew I was here, and you took steps to make sure that you were, too. This reconnection isn’t just something that happened to us. You manifested it.”

  Well, damn. When she put it like that, it wasn’t as if he could deny it. She was speaking the truth. It was time to lay it all out there and make sure she understood how he felt about her and that it wasn’t just about the baby. “You’re right. I did do that. I regretted walking away from you, and I won’t do it again.”

  Her lips curved into a pleased smile. “Good. Just remember that when the baby is screaming at three in the morning and it’s your turn to feed her.”

  Warmth spread through his chest at the idea of 3:00 a.m. feedings. A few months ago the idea would’ve been ludicrous. Now? He couldn’t believe this was his reality.