Page 19 of Oohs, Ahhhs, and Orbs

She glanced between us and took in the scene with a raised eyebrow before pulling a bottle of ketchup from her apron pocket, along with two sets of rolled eating utensils. “Okay, friends. Enjoy.” She paused before leaving, then spoke to Logan, her tone serious. “I swear to the Gods, Storm. If you run this one off, I will never forgive you.”

He gave her a confident smile. “No worries, Char. I just told her who my mom is. It came as a little bit of a surprise, I think.”

Charlene glanced back at me, then shook her head. “Men are so dense sometimes.” Then she walked away, still grumbling to herself.

“She’s nice,” I said while stifling a laugh.

“Yeah, she is. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. It never came up, but I should have said something.” He looked genuinely apologetic.

“I just don’t know what to say. I mean, I guess it makes sense. You never batted an eyelash at my shop or what I am. Most people don’t believe in witches or think we are somethingwe aren’t. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked if I worship the devil.” I picked up the roll of silverware and opened it to get to the knife. I began cutting the deliciously smelling burger in half. “What I don’t understand is why you didn’t go to your mother for information about your case. Why me?”

I picked up my burger as I eyed him suspiciously and took a small bite. An explosion of flavor hit my tongue, and I closed my eyes and moaned in pure, rapturous delight.

“Good?”

I just nodded my head eagerly, ignoring the wry tone that came from the man across from me. I took an even bigger bite and didn’t even care when I felt juice from the meat roll down my chin. It was too good. So good it should have been illegal.

When I could finally concentrate on more than just the hamburger I was devouring, I finally glanced up to see Logan sitting there with his own burger nearly gone, but with his eyes glued to my face. I had the impression that the look of heated hunger he was wearing had nothing to do with his meal.

With red cheeks, I carefully set what remained of my burger onto my plate, and with the grace a queen would envy, I smoothed out my napkin and dabbed at my chin. A glass of ice water appeared in front of me, and I glanced up to see a tall man who looked too much like Charlene to be anyone but her father.

“You must be the witch my daughter was telling me about.” He was handsome with longer dark hair that had streaks of silver threaded through his full head of hair. He looked as if he could single handedly clear out a rowdy bar with his firm muscles showing under the dark T-shirt he wore.

I held out my hand. “That’s me. Are you the one who cooked this delicious food?”

He grinned, showing one chipped tooth that didn’t take away from his appeal one single bit. He took my hand in his much larger, calloused one. “That’s me. I take it you enjoyed it?”

“You’re lucky more people don’t know about your food. You’d have a line of cars waiting up and down the highway. You’d be trapped behind your grill without a break and never breathe fresh air again.”

He threw back his head and laughed, making all the heads in the bar turn to look. When he finally slowed to only chuckles, he slapped Logan on the back. “My girl’s right. This one’s a keeper, Storm. Don’t fuck it up.”

Logan smiled at me when he answered. “Don’t plan on it.”

Chapter

Eleven

LOGAN

“So,” she asked as she picked up her glass of water and took a dainty sip. “You were explaining about your mother.”

I nodded, pushing my nearly empty plate away so I could rest my arms on the table. “There are two reasons why I didn’t ask my mother for help. The first is because though she is a witch, she doesn’t have much training. My grandma wasn’t a witch and was a bit bitter that the line had skipped her. She shunned the rest of the family, taking off as soon as she could, so my mom never met them. Most of my mom’s life, her training came from books she hid so her own mother wouldn’t get upset. I don’t know if her power is a result of that, but she doesn’t seem to have much.”

Bridgette frowned. “I could help her learn more if she is willing. My own mother didn’t get the gift. I’m thankful she was never bitter the way your grandmother was. She encouraged my learning. Instead, since she couldn’t teach me herself, she made up for it by teaching me what she did know. My grandmothertaught me magic, and my mother taught me how to be a proper southern lady.” Her laughter was soft and lit up her beautiful face. “She would have had a fit if she saw me digging into that burger the way I did. So, what’s the second reason?”

I picked up my beer bottle and downed the last of the dregs before I spoke. “Even if my mom was the most knowledgeable witch in the state, I still would have asked you instead. The moment I heard your voice, something inside me came to life.”

I saw more than heard her quiet intake of air. “The mate call is a powerful thing. I felt it too.”

“But you’re scared.” I stated it as fact because even now, it was unmistakable. There were two parts to Bridgette. One was open and ready for the idea of a mate. The other half wanted to run far away from me and never look back. I was going to do everything within my capabilities to convince her I was safe to trust.

Bridgette nodded, and my brave girl didn’t break eye contact when she started to speak. “My grandmother had a mate, of course. They had a whirlwind romance, the way mates often do. The pull towards each other is so strong that most are unable to resist.” She eyed me knowingly, and I nodded my understanding. “When she told him about two weeks later, when they finally came up for air, that she was a witch, well, he freaked. He called her terrible names and accused her first of lying, then he accused her of being a devil worshipper,” she shrugged one shoulder as if it weren’t a big deal, even though I could read the hurt in her eyes for the pain her grandmother had gone through. “You know, the usual insults and accusations. When she tried to explain that they were mates, a gift of fate by the Goddess, he laughed in her face. Then he packed all his stuff and left town. She never saw him again. She realized she was pregnant with my mother about a week later.”

Rage burned in my gut at what the man had done, not only to her grandmother, who must have been heartbroken and devastated, but at the aftereffects that led to his granddaughter being scared to love. “I’m sorry that happened to her. Do you have his information? I could look him up. Find out where he’s been and what he’s been doing all this time.” I wouldn’t contact him. The fucker didn’t deserve to know this gorgeous woman in front of me.

Bridgette was already shaking her head before I finished asking. “No. Grandmother made it clear years ago that he’d missed out on a wonderful life with what could have been his family. He doesn’t get to pick up the pieces after all these years. And she has no desire to know what he had been up to after he left her pregnant and broken.”

“Good,” I grunted. “And your mother? What happened with her and your father?”

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