Jessie took a long look at her friend. “You’re really happy, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I am. It’s a little frightening really,” Del said quietly.
Patting the bench next to her, Jessie waited as the blonde sat down. “What’s so frightening?”
“It’s always a little scary when you give so much of yourself to one person, knowing that they hold your heart in the palm of your hand like that,” Del answered. “It doesn’t help that everything that happened with that case only served to prove how fragile things can be. She was shot, Jess. She dove in front of a gun to save me and nearly died.”
Jessie’s face paled and she put her hand over her own heart. “You didn’t tell me that and I have to ask, is she really a witch?”
“She is. Raelin can do a lot of things most people can’t. There were a couple of times I was in danger, and Raelin used her magic to save me or protect me. Like with a lot of things magic like that comes at a cost. She traded a few years off the end of her life to use it,” Del replied. “She’s not a dangerous person Jessie, just protective of the people she loves.”
Jessie placed her hand over Del’s. “I know you wouldn’t be with anyone who was dangerous. So do you think you’ll be happy living here in this small town? I know you’re used to traveling around.”
“I’m used to traveling around because I couldn’t handle the emptiness of my apartment. I’m ready to settle down with a family. I’m not sure if I can explain this, Raelin is so much better at these kinds of things. Raelin and I have a very special connection. I can feel her inside me all of the time. When I get too far away from her, I can’t sense her anymore, and it’s quite possibly the most unsettling and terrible thing I’ve ever felt. I need to be close to her, just like you hate being away from Mike for too long,” Del tried to explain. “I can’t imagine my life anywhere else anymore. I only see me here with her and Rori for the rest of my life.”
Shaking her head, Jessie stood up and walked a few feet away before she turned back to her friend. “I don’t know if I like the sound of that, you needing to be near her,” she held up her hand, stopping what the blonde was going to say. “Hear me out. You say that if you’re not close to her, you hurt. You’re in pain?”
“No, it’s more like emptiness, deep in my chest. I need to be with her because I love her, not because she’s hexed me and bound me to her,” Del said a little defensively.
“I didn’t say that, Delaney, but now that you mentioned it. This is a sudden change, even for you.” The brunette crossed her arms over her chest.
“What exactly are you getting at then? I didn’t expect this when I came out here either trust me. You’re not the only one it took by surprise,” Del said evenly, rising up from the bench.
“Do you remember how you grilled me when I got together with Mike? Good grief, it lasted a week. Paybacks are a bitch, aren’t they?” She walked over to hug her friend. “I just care about you, Del, and I want to make sure that you’re happy, truly happy, not blinded by Raelin’s beauty or whatever.”
“He was a frat boy,” Del argued, but returned the hug her friend gave her. “Raelin’s beautiful, I’ll be the first to admit it, but I love her because she’s Raelin and no one else. She makes me feel safe and happy. That’s all I can ask of anyone.”
“Then I’m happy for you, but I’m still gonna give her the talk. It’s my duty as your best friend. She is awfully generous, by the way. I almost passed out when she said that she wanted to set up a trust for Ari.” Jessie went to sit back down on the bench.
“She’s remarkably selfless. She always puts everyone else ahead of herself,” Del answered, taking up her spot next to her best friend once again. “Raelin is many things, but stupid isn’t one of them. She’s well aware of my connection to Ari, and this is her way of taking care of her.”
“You didn’t warn her, did you? I saw her face as we walked up, and there was shock and some pain there.” Jessie reached back to gather her long hair and held it away from her neck. “Can we go inside for a bit?”
“Yeah, sure.” Del led them inside to the kitchen. “I didn’t purposely hide it from her. I forgot to mention it. I don’t think of Ariel as mine, so it didn’t cross my mind to tell her. You’re her mother in every sense of the word.”
“You and I know that, but still Del. Ari is your Mini Me period. Oh, have you introduced her to your dad yet?” They walked into the kitchen, and Jessie sighed as she sat down at the table.
Del gave her friend a look as she sat down. “You okay?”
“Darlin’, it’s a bit steamier here than it is at home. Speaking of which, what are you going to do with your apartment?” The woman gratefully accepted a glass of tea.
“Sell it…” Del answered, looking around the pantry, trying to decide what to make. She was glad her friend had seemed to have forgotten about her father for now.
“You can’t avoid the question Del. I know you’re good at avoiding him though. What are you going to do about your dad? You know he’ll start whining about money as soon as he finds out about Raelin.”
Del pressed both hands to the counter, leaning on them as she thought. “I don’t know. I’d rather not put Raelin through the ordeal meeting him will turn into. You know he wouldn’t be able to stay sober long enough to get through a dinner or anything with us. I didn’t mind helping him once in a while when it was just me, but Raelin doesn’t deserve to have to deal with that.”
The lawyer quietly asked, “Doesn’t she deserve to make that decision on her own?”
“She’s been through enough family traumas already. She certainly doesn’t need my family issues piled on top,” Del sighed. Over the next couple of hours, Del caught up on the comings and goings of people that she and the attorney knew and before they realized it was time for lunch. “What do you want for lunch anyway?”
Shaking her head, Jessie stood up to walk over and stand beside her friend. “Let’s look through your panty and see what we can whip up.”
“Honestly, I have no idea what Raelin keeps in here half the time. It’s about time the girls got up anyway, so let me go see if I can wake them, and we’ll ask Raelin what would be good.” Del smiled, thankful her friend had given her a break, but she knew it wasn’t the last she’d hear of it. “I’ll be right back.”
Del slowly opened the door to their bedroom and paused, a grin slowly spreading over her face at the sight that greeted her. Raelin had rolled to her back in her sleep, hair falling haphazardly over her face and the pillows. Ariel had curled tightly into the witch’s side, one hand fisted into Raelin’s shirt while she sucked on the thumb of the other. Rori had curled himself near Ari’s head, his body stretched along Raelin’s arm where it cradled the toddler against her side. Retreating softly, Del made her way back to the living room and grabbed the camera she kept with her laptop. She poked her head into the kitchen. “Come here. You need to see this.” They crept their way back up the stairs and snapped a few photos of Raelin napping with the child.
Peeking in around Del, Jessie gasped softly at the sight. “They are so cute. I want copies of those.”
“I’ll make sure you get a couple. Let me get Raelin up first, and then I’ll work on Ari.” Del laughed softly, setting the camera on the nearby dresser. She sat on the side of the bed next to Raelin and brushed some of the stray hair off her face. “Raelin, time to get up Darlin’. It’s lunchtime.”
“Je t’aime,” Raelin whispered as she slowly opened her eyes to see her wife’s face.
“Love you too. Ready to come back to the land of the living? You look adorable laying here with her.” Del smiled, kissing Raelin’s forehead.
“I wasn’t planning on going to sleep.” The witch turned her head to look down at the child. “That’s what you look like when you sleep.”
“Yes, and she wakes up just as cranky. So we better get her up now before we make it harder on ourselves.” Del laughed.
Chuckling, Raelin reached over and gently
rubbed the little girl’s back. “Ariel...it’s time to get up.” Moving her arm, she disturbed Rori who opened one eye and glared at Delaney.
“You had to come and disturb a perfectly good dream. Miss Ariel and I were catching salmon.” The feline got to his feet and stretched.
Del’s eyes widened. “You were sharing a dream with her?” She flinched when Ariel shot a hand out and whacked her side, protesting the disturbance.
The cat cocked his head, and looked puzzled. “I can’t answer that. I just know that she was in my dream.”
“Oh Lord,” muttered Del. She turned to the toddler who was desperately attempting to ignore Raelin’s effort to get her up. Adding her own hand, she tried to rouse the toddler. “Come on Ari. You’re going to miss lunch.”
Opening bleary green eyes, the toddler’s face scrunched into a scowl. “Don’t want lunch.”
Jessie approached, trying to spare the tantrum she could feel coming. She lifted the tiny blonde and tucked her against her shoulder. “It’s okay Ari. If you’re still sleepy later, you can have another nap, but you can’t sleep the day away,” Jessie placated, knowing that once the child woke up some she’d be okay.
Swinging her legs off the other side of the bed, Raelin reached for a brush to straighten her hair. “Why don’t I go downstairs, and we’ll see what we can find to eat?”
“I was hoping you’d say that. I have no clue what you keep in that pantry of ours.” Del laughed, kissing the top of Raelin’s head as she stood.
Jessie carried Ariel out of the room, keeping her somewhat mollified and Del smiled as she left. She gently took the brush from Raelin and started running it through long dark hair. “Seems Rori isn’t the only one who’s good with kids.”
“She’s easy to get along with.” Raelin leaned back her head, and closed her eyes. “I love it when you brush my hair.”
“She’s stubborn and rarely takes to people so easily. Give yourself a little bit of credit,” Del chuckled, letting her fingers massage Raelin’s scalp as she brushed.
Turning her head, Raelin looked at her wife. “Well, I know how cranky you get when you’re not fed on time, so we’d better get downstairs and get her something to eat.”
“Yes well, the food grumbles she gets from her father.” Del laughed. “I’ll bet you anything Jessie is down there trying desperately to wake her up enough for her to be of the living.”
Turning around to embrace her wife, Raelin smiled. “Just tell her to kiss Ariel’s tummy. Wakes you up, one way or the other.”
Blushing, Del choked on her own chuckles. “You’re bad. You’ll get yours later,” she pressed a quick kiss to Raelin’s lips and stood up from the bed, pulling Raelin with her. “Let’s go eat before I start getting grumbles.”
Following the blonde downstairs, Raelin walked into the kitchen and started lunch. Taking a pot, she filled it with water and set it on the stove to boil. “How does spaghetti with meat sauce sound to everyone?”
Both Del and Ariel perked up at once. “Perfect.” “Yummy.” Came the two voices.
Smiling, the brunette took fresh tomatoes, herbs, and spices over to the counter to start her sauce.
j
Kasey emptied all of her pockets and dumped them into the bin as instructed, watching as Jenny did the same. They’d driven out to the state penitentiary to visit Jenny’s mother. Jenny had gotten the phone call from her mother late yesterday requesting a visit. Her mother was currently serving an aiding and abetting charge in a minimum security facility.
Jenny quickly finished with the prison officer and they were led to a private visiting room where they sat on one side of the table. She looked at her girlfriend; Jenny’s face gave nothing away. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” Jenny reached out to entwine their fingers together. “I’ll be fine.”
Kasey was about to say more when she heard a buzz and Amelia was led through a second door, wearing an orange jumper and loose cuffs. She was sat at the table across from them, smiling at her daughter. “Jenny, I’m so glad to see you. I miss you every day.”
Not releasing Kasey’s hand, Jenny swallowed and replied, “I find that hard to believe, Mother. After all, you didn’t even bother to check with AJ to see if I was with the missing girls.”
“Jenny, that’s not fair. I didn’t know what to do. If I’d gone to them, and they didn’t have you, they might have come after me. I figured if you were with them that AJ would at least keep you safe. He’s your father. I have a hard time believing he would let harm come to you,” Amelia replied.
Leaning forward, Jenny snarled, “He didn’t care about me. He never did. He didn’t even bother coming out to the camp to see if I was there, and he only called Del because he and Regina wanted to throw the blame on someone else.”
“Jenny, please. I’m your mother. I love you. I always have. Can’t we please move on? I just want to know how you how you are doing,” Amelia pleaded. “It worries me to see that you are still under the watch of Agent Spaulding.”
Jenny turned to look at her girlfriend and smiled. “Kasey isn’t an agent anymore. She’s the Deputy Chief in Leroy and she’s my girlfriend.”
“Wait...what?” Amelia asked, catching the blush on Kasey’s cheeks.
“I’m in love with Kasey, Mother. We’re going to be living together, and we’re very happy.” Jenny sat up straighter and faced the older woman.
“Living together? Not in my house you won’t be. It’s not even legal in this state. I knew I shouldn’t have let you hang around Raelin so much,” Amelia ranted. “Aside from the fact that it’s completely unnatural, you’ve always dated boys. You don’t even like women.” Amelia snorted.
“It’s not your house, Amelia...it never was. It was the Kingsley’s, but now it’s Raelin’s. And don’t you dare say anything bad about her. She was a mother to me more than you ever were. She stood up for me; she sheltered me when all you did was sleep with a married man. And yes, I dated boys, but none of them made me feel protected and loved the way Kasey does.” Jenny had waited a long time to say all of this, and she wasn’t going to sugar coat it for this woman.
“Now, I know you think you love her, but that’s probably just a bit of hero worship, wouldn’t you say? She protected you and kept you safe. That happens sometimes, but it doesn’t mean you’re in love with her,” Amelia grumbled, serving a hard glare Kasey’s way.
Jenny started to stand up but a slight squeeze from Kasey had her keeping her seat. “What would you know about who I love or who my friends are? Raelin took more interest in me that you did. Without her, I would have never been accepted to Julliard and would have ended up like you. I love her Amelia, and there is nothing you can say or do to change that. We’re going to be very happy, and you can’t do one damn thing about it.”
“There’s plenty I can do about it. I’m your mother, and as long as you live under my roof, I’m not going to allow that sort of behavior. I raised you better than that,” Amelia growled. “Besides, it’s going to be awfully hard to support yourself at Julliard without your mother’s help, wouldn’t you think?”
“Like I said, Amelia, it’s not your house. Raelin owns it and she has given it to me. And even if I had decided to go to Julliard, which I’m not, I have my own money now,” Jenny shot back.
“You what? You might want to explain yourself before I lose my temper with you, young lady. While you’re at it, you can stop using my name like that. I’m your mother, you show me some respect,” Amelia said, her tone of voice carrying an obvious warning.
Kasey perked up at the intent in Amelia’s voice and instinctively tensed up in case she needed to protect her lover.
“No, you’re my mother no longer. You did not do anything while I was missing, and I will never call you mother again. As for the house, once again, it was never yours. It belonged to Arthur Kingsley Senior. You remember him, my grandfather. Well, he passed away, and he left everything to Raelin, his daughter. And she gave the house to me and g
ave me a trust fund. So you see, Amelia, there is nothing that I need or want from you,” Jenny spat back.
“Raelin is Arthur’s daughter? He slept with Quinlan Montrose?” Amelia shook her head. “My sentence was reduced, Jenny. I’m not going to be here much longer. She better not be in the house when I come home.”
Kasey scowled. This woman refused to get the point and it was pushing her buttons. She unconsciously squeezed a bit where her hand was now resting on Jenny’s thigh.
Leaning forward, Jenny’s voice was as cold as steel. “If you try to come into my house without my permission, I will have you arrested for breaking and entering, trespassing, and anything else that is legal. You are not welcome in our home, and I don’t think that you’ll be welcome anywhere in Leroy. I’m an adult, Amelia, and you can’t tell me what to do anymore.”
“Jenny, do you realize what you’re saying? I’m your mother. I was the one who changed your diapers, kept you fed, made sure you got to school every day. Not to mention I was the one who got you to your piano lessons every week. I raised you, and I had no one’s help,” Amelia replied just as coldly.
“And you’re the one that had an affair with a married man, kept quiet about a human trafficking ring, didn’t even try to find her daughter when she went missing, and then just to save her ass, turned on her lover to get a reduced sentence. They should have thrown the book at you, and if I find out that you did anything else illegal, I’ll make sure to turn it into Kasey. She’s Leroy’s new Deputy Chief. Delaney Delacroix is the new Chief, and boy, has the town improved.” Jenny stood up and turned to Kasey. “I’m ready to go home.” Glaring back at the older woman, she growled out, “Don’t show up at my door. You are not welcome.”
Kasey stood, sad that her lover was in so much pain. She took Jenny’s hand, pausing she turned to say something to Amelia, but thought the better of it and followed Jenny out the door they came in. They gathered up their belongings in silence and once they got to the new truck Kasey had bought she stopped, pulling Jenny around to look at her. “Are you going to be okay?”
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