Page 13 of Starlight Witch

“Love can be infinite. I don’t think I could handle you having three husbands or paramours on the side. But if Faron remembers what you had, and he’s willing to try a poly relationship, then I will welcome him as your second husband. All I know is that I want to marry you, and if it’s a package deal, then I am willing to sign on for it.”

I slowly removed the ring from the box and handed it to him, holding out my left hand. He slid it onto my ring finger. It fit perfectly.

“You are a rare and precious man, Bran Anderson. I accept your proposal with all my heart. If Faron doesn’t remember who I am, or rather what we had together, I won’t attempt to force the matter. And if he’s not content with a polyamorous relationship, then I’ll let him go. I’ll marry you either way. Bran, you’ll never be second in my eyes. You’re right, love can be infinite. And I have enough for both of you. So yes, I will marry you.”

Bran’s eyes misted over, and he slid out of the booth, crossing to my side to kiss me. “I will always make sure that your happiness comes first.”

I gazed up into his eyes, raising my hand to stroke his cheek. “I want an equal partnership. Your happiness matters as much as mine. I won’t ever let you regret choosing me.”

At that moment, the waitress appeared with our appetizers. Bran hurried back to his side of the booth as she looked at us, quizzically. I held up my hand, grinning from ear to hear as I flashed my ring at her.

“Congratulations! I take it this is a special night?” She set our food in front of us. “Dessert is on the house. So save some room. And if you can’t fit it in after your dinner, we’ll give it to you to take home. Let me know what you’d like.” As she hurried back toward the kitchen, I called out a thank you, hoping she heard me.

“I don’t want to overshadow this moment, but I have a request.” I toyed with one of the mozzarella sticks, biting into it after I thought it cooled enough.

“What is it?” Bran looked concerned.

“I know that you plan on being with your mother for Thanksgiving. But can you come with us to Port Townsend the day before? You don’t have to stay for the holiday, I wouldn’t ask you to leave your mother alone. In fact, I’d invite you both to come up and stay for the holiday except my mother’s so bossy and demanding that…”

“What’s going on? Something is bothering you.” Bran offered me one of his stuffed mushrooms.

I shook my head. “Thanks, but I’m not fond of them. As to what’s bothering me… Okay, here goes. My aunt found my father’s journal and sent it to me. He started writing in it a few months before his death. As I’ve told you before, there’s a lot of speculation that he killed himself. I’ve read a few entries into his journal, and I’m thinking maybe that’s not the case. I’d like to look into whether he was murdered.”

“If I can help, you know I’ll be there.”

I dipped one of my mozzarella sticks into some barbecue sauce. The savory explosion of flavors woke up my mouth. “I’ll read more before we go. Maybe something will change, but it looks like he found a secret room, and whatever was in there is tempting him to turn on his friends and…I don’t know. Do something to his clients. Maybe scam them? I’m not sure.”

“That’s odd,” Bran said.

“I know. Apparently, he was afraid the fallout would land on me, because he noted that he enchanted all my clothes to protect me. I was five years old at the time, so I don’t have many memories. But if he was trying to protect me from somebody, I’d like to know who it was. I believe this may have something to do with the Port Townsend Witches’ Guild.”

Bran set back in his seat, frowning at his plate. “While there is a national Witches’ Guild, most of the regional, city, and state guilds are autonomous and the national division has no power over them. There’s no higher-up to go to. I mean, we could go to some of the elders, but they may not have jurisdiction over any one particular guild. Do you think it’s dangerous to look into this?”

“That’s what Grams is concerned about. Frankly, I don’t know. But I want to find out what really happened to my father. It won’t change anything, but I just feel like I need to know.”

“I understand. I had my father a lot longer than you had yours, so I knew a lot more about him. It’s natural to want answers.” Bran cleared his throat as the waitress brought our entrées. “Of course I’ll go with you. And if you’d like us to help run interference, I’m pretty sure my mother wouldn’t mind skipping slaving away in the kitchen for one Thanksgiving. Do you want me to ask her? Or do you need to ask your mother first if she’s open to having extra guests?”

“I’m pretty sure that Catharine would jump at the idea. Extra hands means less work that she has to do. Thank you, I appreciate this.” I stared at my dish, my mouth watering. My appetite had come back with a vengeance, once Bran said he would go with me. And the ring on my finger made me inexplicably happier than I expected it to. I pushed aside my worries over my father’s death and dove into the meal, changing the subject to how Bran’s farm was doing, and how the rebuilding of the barn was going.

As soon as I arrived home, I rushed into Grams’s room and flashed my finger under her nose. She let out an excited cry, pulling me down on the bed next to her to give me a hug.

“Bran is a wonderful person,” I said. “And I made sure that I’m being fair to him. I just want you to know that.”

“I can’t imagine you doing anything but the right thing. Your mother may not have been the best influence, but you brought yourself up well. Now tell me about the proposal.”

Fancypants joined us, sitting on the edge of the bed. Gem and Silver were asleep on the rug near us. I unlaced my boots and set them to the side, then crossed my legs on the bed as I sat facing my great-grandmother. I told her about the conditions of our marriage.

“If Faron doesn’t remember in a couple months, then Bran and I will start planning the wedding at that point. If he does remember, we’ll go from there. But I promised Bran that I wouldn’t choose Faron over him. If Faron can’t live with a polyamorous lifestyle, if he can’t accept Bran as part of my life, then I will marry Bran and let go of my bond with Faron.”

“That sounds fair enough,” Grams said.

“Oh, by the way. I invited May and Bran to come with us for Thanksgiving. He’s going to help me search for the letter, and for whatever other clues we can find. I want to finish reading the diary before next week, so I know everything I can about what I’m getting myself into.”

“I think that’s a good idea. I doubt that your father will spell out anything directly in it because it sounds like there was too much for him to lose should anyone find the journal. But…Elphyra…my dear, I don’t want you to be too disappointed if we can’t locate the letter. Promise me, you won’t let this ruin Thanksgiving for you.”

I stood and yawned, stretching my arms wide as the weight of the day hit me, and I realized I was falling asleep.

“I promise. I’m going to bed now. I love you.” I kissed her on the cheek, then turned and headed toward my bedroom. But my dreams were active, and filled with shadows and cobwebs and hidden secrets that I couldn’t catch. It wasn’t until about four in the morning that I fell into a deep sleep, and I didn’t open my eyes until nine a.m.

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