Page 27 of Starlight Witch

“We’re heading to Port Townsend. My cousin killed himself last month and my aunt needs somebody with her besides my mother. I’m looking forward to it about as much as I’d look forward to another hole in my head. But you know, family.” I paused, wrapping the towel around my shoulders, and then asked, “What are you and Warren doing?”

“We’re hosting a Friendsgiving. A number of our friends don’t have supportive families, so my mother and Warren’s parents come over, and they help us host a huge spread every year. They act as substitute parents for a lot of our younger queer friends whose families have deserted them. In fact, my mom and Louisa—Warren’s mother—host a meet-and-greet games night once a month for all of us.”

“That’s wonderful,” I said. “I’m glad you have supportive parents. I don’t think my mother would be as accepting if I were gay. Hell, I’m looking at possibly having a poly relationship, and she’s not going to like that.”

“Well, you do you, boo. Don’t ever let anybody or anything try to talk you out of being who you are.” He suddenly noticed the ring on my finger and grabbed my hand. “This is one hell of a rock. When were you going to tell me?”

I laughed. “Bran asked me to marry him and I’ve accepted.” Over the preceding weeks, I had talked to Jon a bit about my situation. He knew that I’d been in Kyle’s hospital room week after week, waiting for him to wake up.

“What about the wolf?” Jon asked. “Has he remembered anything?”

“That’s a long story. I’ll tell you later. I still don’t know what the outcome’s going to be. Anyway, I won’t be at the gym the rest of the week. And I tell you right now, I plan on eating my fill of mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving. So no scolding me next week.”

“Honey, we’re all planning on eating our fill. I have another client coming in now, so have a good Thanksgiving and I’ll see you next week, Tuesday morning, bright and early.” He waved at me as I headed into the showers.

As I was driving home, a text came through from Bran. It was pouring rain, though, and I hadn’t hooked up my phone to the hands-free device in my car, so I gritted my teeth and made myself wait to look at it. Once I pulled into the driveway, I parked and—leaving the car running to keep the heater going—I unlocked my phone. Holding my breath, I glanced at the text.

i finished talking to kyle. it got ugly, but i stayed hands off. faron heard, and i’m afraid that the doctors were right. he’s at the er right now. i’m heading there to wait with kyle. it’s the least i can do. i don’t recommend showing up here. it would only compound the issue.

I groaned, leaning my head on the steering wheel. are you sure i can’t come to the hospital?

i really think that kyle would lose it. i shouldn’t have shown up at the house this morning. you were right—it was a bad idea and i regret it. kyle thinks you sent me and i told him no, but he won’t listen. he’s on the warpath now, and he’s practically foaming at the mouth. i’ll text you when i know more.

I turned off the ignition. Crap and more crap. This was bad—so bad. I needed to do a reading, but I was too close to the situation. Gathering my purse and my gym bag, I ducked out into the pouring rain and raced inside, trying to keep myself from getting too wet. I prayed Grams would be home. I needed her now more than ever, but even as I dashed up the steps, I had the feeling that there weren’t going to be any easy answers.

Grams glanced at me as I tossed my purse on the kitchen table and slumped in a chair. “Are you all right?”

“No, not really. I got a text from Bran while I was driving home.” I sighed, then looked up at her. “Things are bad.” I told her what had happened. “I was wondering if you’d do a reading for me?”

She leaned back in her chair. “I can’t. Even as you asked it, I heard a distinct no echo in my head. This has to play out however it will.”

I walked over to the counter and stared out of the window as I rinsed out my water bottle and refilled it with ice and sugar-free lemonade. “I was afraid of that,” I said with a sigh. My phone rang and I glanced at the caller ID. It was Bran.

“Hey,” I said, answering. “What’s going on?”

“Kyle asked me to leave. Faron’s going to be all right, but the doctors say that anything could tip the scales and send him back into a coma. I left. I don’t want to make things worse. I feel bad enough as it is.”

Numb, I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Don’t blame yourself,” I said. “It wasn’t your fault. Faron overheard you and Kyle. You didn’t know he was listening. What did you say, anyway?”

“It was mostly Kyle, to be honest. I showed up, and told him I wanted to talk about you. He let me in, but then started yelling at me, telling me he knew that you put me up to it. I defended you—I told him, no, but finally, he shouted that Faron would never be allowed to be with you, that the elders were firm on this, and he forbade you and me from setting foot in his house again. That’s when Faron came around the corner of the room, looking confused. He stood there a moment, then collapsed. It was quicker for us to take him to the hospital than to wait for the paramedics, but once we were there, Kyle asked me to leave. I decided it was best if I do.”

“Kyle’s the one who hurt his brother. If he hadn’t shouted at you, Faron wouldn’t have overheard.” I knew Bran blamed himself, but the whole situation was just fucked up.

“Well, either way, Kyle’s not likely to be friendly to you. If you can convince him you didn’t send me over, that would be good. But I’m not sure how easy it’s going to be.” He sighed. “I would love to come over, but I have to get back to work. It’s not going to be an easy day.”

“What else is going on?”

“Half my crew didn’t show because they want the entire week off, and the other half don’t want to work at all. Seriously, it’s hard to find good help lately. Some of these guys are so lazy that I’ll never hire them again.”

“Do you think you’ll get done this week?” I wanted to talk about anything except Faron right now.

“I think that if we push it, we should be able to finish by Wednesday. Which means I can go to Thanksgiving without worrying about what kind of a mess I’m coming back to. I resorted to offering them more money if they get their asses in to work and if they finish by Wednesday night. It sucks. My mother taught me a strong work ethic when I was young, and I suppose I expect others to abide by the same behavior.”

“Yeah, that does suck. I feel the same way. Although my mother wasn’t the one who taught me my work ethic. Anyway, I found out more about my father—I read the rest of the journal. I’ll tell you about it when I see you.”

“Okay. I love you. I’ll text you later to see how you’re holding up.”

Grams and I went shopping for the last of the food we needed. I stopped by the frozen pizza aisle. Grams gave me a long look, but I defiantly opened the freezer door.

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