Page 16 of Starlight Witch

As we sauntered down to the barn, the chill woke me up and cleared my thoughts. Fancypants flew along beside us, now and then stopping to admire some of the vivid mums that were still blooming along the walkway.

“We’re going to create a sidewalk from the house down to the barn. And we need to re-gravel the entire driveway. You can see where the fire trucks’ wheels left deep trenches. We need to fill those in, and bring everything level again.”

“Gloria did a number on Bran, didn’t she? I can promise you that I will never be that crazy. Even if something did happen between Bran and me—something negative—I would never hurt him, and I wouldn’t begrudge him moving on. I want to set your mind at ease. I will never play the crazy ex-girlfriend. And I will never destroy your farm.”

May let out a chuckle. “That’s good to know. One crazy ex-girlfriend was enough.”

“Is there anything I should know? Any other exes I should know about? Or anything you can tell me that will help our relationship?” Once I had said yes to Bran, regardless of what happened with Faron, I was all-in, determined to make the relationship work as well as I could.

“No other exes, although he never wanted for girlfriends. But Bran wasn’t the type to get into casual relationships. I believe he’s had four serious girlfriends. The first one landed a job as a model. She left for Europe, and long distance didn’t work for them. The second—Cindy—wanted to get married right away and have a passel of kids, and he broke it off because he wasn’t sure he wanted children. You should know that in advance.”

“I’m not sure I want children either, so we have that in common. But yes, we’ll talk about it. What about his third girlfriend?”

“She was a sweetheart. They grew apart, though, and she didn’t want to settle down here. She craved life in the big city, and that was the last thing Bran wanted. She moved to New York City and became an investment banker. They still exchange Yule letters. She has a husband and two kids, and a nanny and a Park Avenue penthouse. And of course, the fourth—Gloria—well, you met her.”

I shuddered. “Yes, and hopefully we’ll never see her again. You know that I was engaged to Rian, and you know what happened to him. Other than that, I dated for a while, but never seriously. Rian was my first great love. I miss him, I agonize over what happened, but the more I’ve come to know myself, the more I realize that he wasn’t a good match for me. I need someone who can match my stubbornness and call me on my bullshit. And Rian never did that. But Bran does. And he doesn’t do it in a negative or critical manner.”

We were at the barn by then, and May took me inside to show me around. Bran was working on putting up drywall, and some of the other men were working on the floors and one was finishing up the new staircase up into the loft. Bran came over to kiss me.

“This is beautiful,” I said looking around. It didn’t look like the interior of a barn at all. Oh, the stalls were there, and the feeding troughs. But there was a staircase instead of a ladder, and the interior was being painted a creamy eggshell color.

“I’m glad you put in a staircase. I don’t like climbing ladders.”

“I can understand that,” May said. “I specifically asked them to install a staircase in place of a ladder because I’m getting up there. I’m still active, but I’m starting to think about age-friendly amenities.”

Bran showed me the rest of what they had done in the barn while May talked to the workers. The afternoon passed quickly, and Fancypants and I made our goodbyes. I kissed Bran and then, with the dragonette on my shoulder, headed down the path that joined our properties.

As the breeze grew stronger, biting through my jacket, I thought about how comfortable I was around May and Bran, and it occurred to me that I was as fond of May as I was Grams. They were all part of my family now, she would be my mother-in-law, and Bran and I were going to make it official.

It started to rain as we came out of the woods and headed across the yard toward my house. Fancypants took to the air, winging toward the house faster than I could run. As I joined him on the porch, I leaned my head against the door for a moment, processing the afternoon. My life was taking so many new twists and turns it felt hard to follow. But this time, I wasn’t afraid. I opened the door, and ducked inside.

CHAPTER SEVEN

The next morning, I received a text from Kyle.

faron asked me to text you to come over.

Frowning, I texted him back. what’s up?

i’m not sure, came the cryptic reply.

i’ll be over as soon as i finish breakfast. I wanted to ask whether Faron had started to remember me, but part of me was afraid of finding out. I scribbled a note for Grams, who was still asleep, telling her I’d be back later, grabbed my keys and purse, and headed out to my car.

On the way over to Kyle’s, I stopped for a triple-shot caramel latte and a breakfast sausage sandwich. Trying to keep myself from breaking the speed limit was difficult. All I wanted to do was to see Faron, to find out if he remembered me. As I drove one-handed, holding my sandwich with the other, I tried to keep myself calm. But inside, I was a bundle of nerves.

What would I do if he didn’t remember me? And if he did, how far would those memories go? And how should I react? And then, if he did remember our relationship, what would he do? I hadn’t been able to tell him how I felt before the attack, and he didn’t know that Bran and I were an item as well. In fact, most of my deeper feelings for Bran had developed while Faron was in a coma. Would Faron be able to accept another lover in my life? And what would Kyle do? He was so protective of his brother. There were so many variables that by the time I pulled into the driveway, my mind was whirling.

I jumped out of the car and, latte in one hand and purse in the other, I hurried up the steps and rang the bell.

Kyle answered the door, motioning me in. I set my purse and drink on the foyer table, shrugged out of my jacket, and handed it to him. He hung it up in the hall closet and then escorted me into the living room, stopping short before we got there.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“I’m not sure,” Kyle said, looking uncertain. “He’s agitated and we need to keep him as calm as possible, so please don’t say anything that might disturb him any further. Remember, the doctors don’t want him upset or excited. They want to keep him as calm as possible because the stress can affect his healing.”

“Why did you text me?” I asked.

“He asked me to text you. He wanted you to come over because he said he’s starting to remember more, and he said he remembered something about you. I didn’t want to refuse because he seemed so adamant.” Kyle was scowling, through, and I had the feeling that he would have ignored Faron’s request if he could have.

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