Page 5 of Starlight Witch

“He will be, we think. But…he’s lost a lot of his short-term memory and he… Bree,” I said, letting my confusion and hurt out, “he doesn’t remember me. I mean, he does, but he thinks we’re just acquaintances. He doesn’t remember that we…”

“Canoodled?” Bree strove for a smile, but then she sighed. “I’m sorry. Did you tell him?”

“That’s the thing. I can’t tell him. The doctors say any stress might cause problems. I had to smile and play along and act like…like nothing. Like I was visiting a sick friend. He thinks Kyle and I might be involved.” Defeated, I stirred the whipped cream into my mocha, then took a long sip.

“Ouch. I’m so sorry. What did Kyle say?”

“He wants Faron to heal up. He practically begged me to keep my mouth shut. I mean, I would have anyway, until he said it was okay. I know that the doctors think it’s dangerous to upset him. So I wouldn’t have said anything. But this hurts.” I lifted my head, holding her gaze. “I love him, Bree. I love him. I love Bran. I love both of them, and I haven’t a clue what to do about any of it. I don’t know if I can choose.”

Bree let out a sigh. “I’m sorry to be blunt, but the choice about Faron might not be yours to make, if he doesn’t remember you. Did they say how long it would be before he gets his memory back?”

We stopped while Taisy brought our order. After she left, I shook my head and picked up one of the breaded calamari. “No. Even worse, they’re not sure it will return. Or when, if it does. There are so many factors involved. Evan hit him so hard that we’re lucky we didn’t lose him. I’m so grateful he’s alive, but I hate this. He’s the King of the Olympic Wolf Pack. He can’t rule from a place of uncertainty. He’s not a man who hesitates…and now, he has to.”

“Geez…” Bree stared into her cup. “I feel responsible. You were helping me?—”

“Stop. You’re not to blame. We wanted to help you, and it was a good thing we did, considering how fucked up Evan Taylor was. I wish we’d never met him in school.”

“At least my stalker didn’t come over from France like Bran’s. People are so fucked up, aren’t they?” Bree looked so depressed that I brushed aside my own worries. I had to do something to pull her out of it.

“Okay, we’re both moping. Want to come over and have a girls’ night? Movies, ice cream, whatever else we can find to eat? You haven’t seen Gem and Silver for a couple weeks. They’re growing like weeds.” I bit into a fry, then the calamari again. “I suggest we dive into the retro vault. Real retro. Like, Marilyn Monroe retro?”

Bree laughed. “I like that idea. Mind if I bring Atlas and Oscar? They can stay outside.”

“You can’t leave them out in the rain. They can sleep in the living room. I’ll put the cats in the bedroom.” I stretched, then went back to the calamari.

“Oscar’s a husky, he loves the cool weather. And Atlas has a waterproof vest. He’ll be fine. You have a covered patio, now.”

Bran had enclosed the patio so that it was sheltered from the elements. It had a concrete floor and it wasn’t heated, but we could put down a couple blankets for the dogs and they’d stay snug against the weather.

“True. Okay, sounds good. So you’re in?”

“I’m in, and leave me some of that calamari.”

We moved on to other subjects, avoiding the holidays, Faron, and anything else that stressed us out.

By the time I stopped at the store, it was early afternoon. Grams was going to have to accept a girls’ night’s dinner—spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread, ice cream, and one of my favorites—frosted animal crackers. I also added some cat food, a box of milk bones for Oscar and Atlas, tea for Grams, apples and bananas, and lunch meat for sandwiches.

As I came around the corner, heading to the cashier, I ran into May, Bran’s mother. They were my neighbors, and we hung out a lot. Grams was teaching me the deep magic of the earth, and May was helping me fill in the blanks on the basics of kitchen witchery. I had learned how to coax worms out of the soil, how to use crystals to start a fire, how to move small things like pencils by manipulating the magnetic force that surrounded everything in the world. Everything in the universe, actually. And May had helped me hone my skills with herbs and sachets and she even promised me a mandrake root to work with when I was ready for it.

“May! Hey, how are you?” I leaned in for a hug.

The white-haired, spry woman returned my hug. She was about fifty years younger than my grandmother. May was thrilled over Bran and me being together, though I wasn’t sure she felt too good about Faron. But she was kind and caring, with a spine made of steel, and she and my Grams had become good friends.

“I’m picking up a couple of steaks for dinner, along with some mushrooms. It seems like a night for meat and roasted vegetables. We’re due for a windstorm. I can feel it in the distance.” She was also good with predicting the weather. “How’s Fancypants doing?”

“He’s good. He’s reached a new stage where he’s turned into a couch potato. All he wants to do is watch TV all day.”

“Dragnet’s love information and knowledge. He’s probably soaking up everything he can, though I’d be cautious what you let him watch. We don’t want him picking up bad habits.”

“True, though with his manners, it’s hard to imagine. He’s the politest thing…I still can’t believe he chose me.” Dragonettes bonded with their humans, and that I’d been called out into the woods in the middle of the night to discover his egg seemed like a million-to-one odds.

“Oh, it wasn’t chance, my dear. It was fate. You and I both know it. Do you have plans with Bran tonight? I was hoping he could tackle some chores around the house?—”

“No worries. Bree’s coming over for a girls’ night. She’s got the holiday blues, and I need someone to talk to about…stuff.” I didn’t want to tell May about Faron. Not yet. I had the feeling that, although she’d be sorry for me, she wouldn’t be all that sorry in general. Faron was Bran’s rival, in her eyes.

“Oh? Yes, that’s right, her brother died around this time of year. All right, then, I’ll ask Bran to fix the cabinet and then work on putting a new shelving system together.” She kissed me on the cheek and turned down the next aisle.

I pushed the cart up to the checkout counter and, as the cashier rang up my purchases, I pulled out my credit card, my mind right back on Bran and Faron.

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