As she walked up the porch steps, Connor sighed, burying his face in his hands.
I watched him pace. “I’m sorry. It’s just—you were really angry and you wouldn’t let go, and we now know how to undo the knot spell—kill the spellcaster.”
Connor’s jaw clenched. “Please stop talking, Willa.”
“OK,” I said, grinding one of my heels into the mud.
Connor straightened up, bracing his elbow on the hood of his truck. “First—and I thought this went without saying—you don’t need to be scared of me. Ever. I will always protect you. That is my job. It doesn’t matter how mad I am at you—and I am mad, Willa—I will never lay a hand on you.” Connor shook his head. “What kind of man do you think I am?”
“I would hate me if I were you,” I said. “I did something terrible, and I was never going to tell you about it.”
“Yeah, I know.” Connor rubbed his hand over his dirty hair. “That’s pretty bad. I’m not going to argue that.”
I closed my eyes and leaned my back against the truck. “So how mad are you?”
“I’ve never been so angry in my life,” he said quietly.
I widened my stance and faced him. “OK then. Get it out. Yell at me. I deserve it.”
He sighed, looking more defeated than angry. “I was going to. Then you got scared, so now I feel like a jerk.”
I gritted my teeth. “Fine, I’ll start. The other day on the couch—I made you kiss me. I was testing you to see if the spell was still in effect. Spoiler alert: it was.”
Connor’s hand curled into a fist. “How do you know that was the spell?”
“Because I made you do some other stuff that you’d never do, like apologize and talk about your feelings,” I said. “Didn’t you wonder why you said all those things? It’s the knot spell. That’s why your love life has been so sucky the last twelve years. That’s why you’re crying in public and googling my name at the bar.”
“Nice. Thanks for bringing that up.” Connor’s eyebrows lifted as he folded his arms.
“You’re a grown man,” I said. “At least try to keep it together.”
“Oh, give me a break!” Connor exploded, his temper back on full display. “Men cry, Willa. Did you know that? We get sad, and we cry. Sometimes, after a few beers. Sometimes, completely sober.” He narrowed his eyes. “And don’t act like you’ve never googled someone.”
I stuck my chin out. “I don’t cry.”
Connor slammed his hand on the hood of his truck. “Are you kidding me? You are the most emotional, obnoxious, frustrating person I’ve ever met.”
I looked down at the ground. “Sucks that you’re in love with me then.”
He took a step closer. “Look at me, Willa,”
“No.”
“Willa, look at me,” he said, an edge in his voice.
When I did, he said, “You’re going to fix this. You and your sister are going to undo this.”
“We’ll figure something out.” I chewed my lip, wishing like crazy I could have a do-over. “What do we do in the meantime? How do we work together?”
“We start over.” Connor held out his hand. “We shake hands. We agree to keep things professional. What happened before is never happening again. It was a mistake, and I regret it.”
“You mean the kiss.”
“Yes. The kiss.”
Just hearing him say that tore me up inside. He was right. We couldn’t be together. It was wrong, not to mention the fact that the guy couldn’t stand me.
“Deal.” I took his hand and gave it a firm shake.
Connor’s eyes slid down to my hand. “Your hands are freezing.”
“It is thirty degrees outside.” Sam’s witch fire had dried me off, but it was still cold out.
Connor slid his hand to the small of my back. “Let’s get you inside. We’re done here.”
He walked me to the door, just like he’d done in high school after a date. It was surreal.
I hesitated at the door, turning to face him. I reached for his hand. “Here. This is yours. Misty had it. Maybe you can undo it.” I pressed his raggedy old hemp necklace into his palm.
He held it up in the porch light, pinching the big overhand knot with his fingers. “I can’t believe I ever wore this.” Then he shoved it into his pocket. After another long pause, he asked, “Why did you do it?”
“You know why,” I said.
He folded his arms. “No, I don’t. That’s why I’m asking.”
I closed my eyes. “You’re really going to make me say it?”
“No,” he said. “I’m not going to make you do anything. I don’t want to control you. You and I are different that way.”
The guy sure knew how to pour lemon juice on a wound.
I blew out a breath. “I did it because I had a crush on you. I was sixteen. I didn’t think about what I was doing.”
“That’s it? You had a crush on me?”
“Everyone did,” I said. “You’re Connor McGregor.”
Connor leaned his shoulder into the doorframe, shaking his head like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “How do you feel now?”
“About what?”
“Me.”
“I have feelings for you. A lot of them.” I summoned my courage and forced myself to look him in the eye. “And it’s not because of some spell or because you have a deep voice or because you shave your chest. And yes, I noticed that. Seeing you again brings all of my feelings back, and some new ones, too. You’re something special. You’re so brave and good and… I wish you liked me back for real.”
His lips twitched, and his eyes crinkled as genuine mirth flickered. It vanished in an instant. “I understand. However, I can’t have your feelings compromising your judgement.”
“They won’t,” I said quickly. I wished I hadn't all said that, but I felt like I owed him complete honesty after lying to him for so long.
“I don’t want you to say things like that to me anymore.” Connor put his poker face back on. “We need to keep this professional. What we’re doing here—our work—it’s important. For me, it is the most important thing. Everything else comes after.”
“It doesn’t only have to be professional,” I said. “We can be friends. I’m pretty sure we can handle that.”
“We aren’t friends, Willa. We never were.” Connor rocked back his heels, hands in his pockets. “I intend to keep it that way.”
“Fair enough.” I folded my arms, feeling like Taylor Swift’s wadded up cardigan. “Whatever you think is best.”
“Don’t look at me like that,” he said. “You crossed a line, and that is unforgivable. I don’t care if you were only sixteen, or whatever sad excuses you come up with. I don’t trust you, I don’t respect you, and I certainly do not love you.” Connor jabbed his finger at me, his face reddening again. “I’m not going to let you mess this up for me. This job is bigger than you and me. We don’t get to have issues.”
“You could quit,” I said, before I could stop myself. “You could move to a new town or get a different job.”
Connor lowered his face until it was just inches from mine. “That is not an option.”
“I could make you quit,” I whispered.
Connors nostrils flared, his whole body vibrating. The anger in his eyes burned hotter than all the witch fire in the world. “Don’t. You. Dare.”
“I’m sorry.” I looked away. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
“Just stay out of my way.” His footsteps shook the porch as he stormed back to his truck.
The End.
Hi, I'm January Daphne, and I write about ghosts, witches, vampires and things that go bump in the night!
Don’t miss the next book in the Craven Sister Cozy Mystery Series, Bad to the Scone.
https://www.januarydaphne.com/books
And if you love Willa and Samantha, you’ll love Natalie Wilder and her supernatural friends on Wolf Mountain!
https://www.januarydaphne.com/b
ooks
Carolina Witch Book One
Snow Witch Book Two
Starstruck Witch Book Three
Fairy Witch Book Four
Ghost Witch Book Five
If you want to keep in touch with me, get on the list! You'll be the first to know about new book releases, cover reveals, and advance reader copies!
Here’s the link to get on the list!
https://mailchi.mp/64a2f067f7ec/januarydaphne
Follow January Daphne on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/januarydaphneauthor
and on Instagram!
https://www.instagram.com/januarydaphneauthor/
@januarydaphneauthor
You can also email me at [email protected]
www.januarydaphne.com
Also by January Daphne
Craven Sisters Cozy Mystery Series
Bake or Die
Bad to the Scone
Double Shot Hexpresso (Coming soon)
Bread Moon Rising (Coming soon)
Carolina Witch Cozy Mystery Series
Carolina Witch
Snow Witch
Starstruck Witch
Fairy Witch
Ghost Witch
Midnight Witch (Coming soon)
Bake or Die Page 19