“Yanis?" It was a tired voice, but she seemed to stir.
"Are you up for visitors, love?” The nurse asked. She moved so the rest of us could filter into the room. Fern stared at Ethan and me, as if trying to place us.
"Yeah," Fern said, seeming to have gotten more oriented to the situation.
"Call us if you need us," the nurse said, her voice warm. "If she becomes too much, let us know. Sometimes she can get a little agitated."
Yanis nodded, but the action looked more polite than anything else. I had a feeling that wasn't the case for him.
"Hello," I said, feeling the awkwardest of all awkward turtles as she looked at me.
Fern was an older woman, probably in her late 50s, but her hair was still shiny and brown and her eyes were kind.
"Sam," she said, her face delighted.
I turned to look at Yanis, who was standing where he was, a faint smile on his face.
"Did you tell her?" I asked, almost tripping over my words.
"Nope," he said, his hands tucked in his pockets. "Didn't tell her anything.”
I moved towards Fern, standing next to her chair. "You called me Sam?" I asked, my voice low.
She stood up and hugged me, stronger than I'd expected. "I miss you," she said, her voice choked with emotion. "You look so much like your mother."
"She's alive," Yanis said with a nod towards Ethan.
“So she is.” Ethan seemed surprised but amused. Maybe it explained some of Vance’s behavior, maybe it didn’t.
“It’s so nice to see you, Sam.” Fern was gripping my hands tightly now. “How is your Mom? Have you talked to her?” Her eyes clouded, half sadness and half confusion. “Oh no, I’m not supposed to mention that.” She let go of my hands and sank down onto her chair.
“I’m sorry,” I said, feeling helpless. “I missed you too.” I didn’t know who she was or how she knew me, but it seemed to be the right thing to say. Her eyes brightened up and I could see a tear roll down her cheek.
“I knew you would come back,” Fern said, power in her words. “I knew it.” Her eyes shifted to Yanis, and the smile she gave him was different, deeper. Like he knew her in a way no one else ever would.
Then Fern glanced at the clock, wiping her tears away. “I’m afraid I have bingo,” she said. “But you’ll come back?”
I glanced at Yanis, who nodded. "Of course," I said, still trying to figure out everything that had happened.
"We’ll let you get some rest," I said, dreading every step I took out of her door. Fern waved goodbye, and there was a smile on her face that hadn't been there when we arrived.
Once we were outside, away from the nurse and away from the rest of the staff, I fixed Yanis with a skeptical glare. "You knew," I said harshly. I didn't care that I was speaking loud, louder than the others, loud enough that Wren and Theo stopped what they were doing. Even Vance was listening. "You knew that she would know who I am.”
Yanis shook his head, not at all raising to my level. "I had a suspicion," he said. "But she’s never met you, so how would I know?"
I had to give him that, as much as I didn't want to. “Sorry," I said, and I even meant it. “That just –"
“I know," he said with a nod. "It's hard seeing her like that.” His smile was faint. "Even worse when you knew who she was beforehand."
“What was she?" I asked.
"She was a nurse at one of the local hospitals.” His smile was enigmatic now. Now I wanted to shake him until he gave me all the answers.
"What department?"
“Emergency," he said. I could see he had more answers from the way he was watching me, but he wasn't going to give them.
"Why?" I said, and although Theo and Wren looked confused, I could tell he understood.
“You're not ready," he said, and then he glanced down at Mocha, who was sitting on my foot. “And don't smite me, young one."
Mocha eyed him, clearly not thrilled with what he said.
"I'll call you young one," I heard her mutter.
Yes, that was the problem.
"The picture holds a key," he said, and he reached out and gripped my shoulder, squeezed it gently. "We'll talk again," he said. He glanced at Vance before leaving us behind.
"I'll see you later," Vance said to Ethan, stopping to give him a brief kiss.
Ethan watched as they left, and then turned back to me. "What was that about?" he asked.
"I don't know," I said, because that was about half the truth.
Was the photo Mildred's kid? Or was it something else, more related to me? How did she know that I was Sam's daughter? Or – did I just look like Sam? I shook my head, trying to shake out some of the thoughts that were running through it like caged hamsters.
“Let's get going," Wren said, linking her arm through mine. "We have a surprise of our own.”
I glanced at her, mildly apprehensive. “Does it include fire?"
“That’s next time,” Wren said confidently.
When we got back to my coffee shop, which was now almost officially my coffee shop, there was a large banner hanging on the front it. I saw Miles standing there, Sarai up on his shoulders. From the way she was beaming, I could tell the banner was hers.
That, and it read ‘congratulations on not going to jail’.
I couldn’t stop laughing. Was this what my life would become? Not that it was necessarily a bad thing.
"I worked on the banner all night," Sarai said happily. "Do you like it?" She gave me that assessing look, like she would know if I was lying.
"I do." I meant it genuinely, too. “It's probably the best banner I've ever gotten."
"Of course," she said. She hugged Miles around his neck, and then tried to get down. "I told you she'd like it."
“Nope, you’re staying here.” He gripped her tighter, even as she started to squeal and kick.
"What's going on here?" I asked, glancing around. Inside the coffee shop I could see Lettie and Lizbeth, and Ella, and the random other people I’d met during my time here, including Sally from the police department, and Addie.
"It's a housewarming party," Wren said, her eyes fond. "Sounds like you're staying here."
I glanced at her, surprised, but it was easy to quash the knee-jerk part of me that was worried about it. "I am," I said, and the words felt right on my tongue. "I am."
Wren reached out and gave me a hug, Theo joining in. "Welcome home," Wren said, "and now let us throw you a party."
"No fire," I said.
"What's with you and fire?" Theo said good-naturedly.
"I’ve got a story for you," I said. I followed them inside, my heart feeling light. I was home.
Hi Reader!
Thank you for reading Deja Brew! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it. I would love to hear from you, dear reader - my email is [email protected]
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You can also read the other books in the series!
Grounds for Death (book 2)
If you haven’t read them yet, I highly recommend my Witches of Pine Lake series!
Mountains and Magic (book 1)
Summits and Spells (book 2)
Chasms and Charms (book 3)
Highlands and Hexes (book 4)
About the Author
Natalie Summers grew up in Washington and then decided Arizona was a smart career move. While she has not yet turned into a shriveled husk after four summers, each summer she is certain it will be her last. Natalie can most often be found in Starbucks, sipping frappuccinos and enjoying free A/C as she types away at her latest novel, plotting creative and magical ways to murder (fictional) people. She can also be found at home, obediently entertaining her two beagles, who enjoy seeing how much trouble they can get into and
how many grey hairs they can place on her head.
For stress relief, Natalie enjoys watching true crime, reading about magic, and jotting down notes for thousands of stories she would have to clone herself to write. Why weren’t humans born with four hands?
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Deja Brew Page 31