Page 56 of Oohs, Ahhhs, and Orbs

“I want you to think back. Back before that night at your mom’s house. Back before the affair and divorce. Sweetheart, we weren’t happy.”

My words had her jerking back and spluttering a denial. “No! No, that’s not true! We were in love! We were happy.”

I slowly shook my head. “You wanted someone I wasn’t. Someone I could never be for you.”

Shame crossed her features, and she looked away. “I really did love you, Logan.”

I squeezed her hand gently. “I know you did, Kristy. But we both know that it wasn’t meant to be.”

She smiled sadly and nodded. “You’re right. And, I’ve seen the way you look at Bridgette. You never looked at me the way I see you staring at her. She’s your whole world. I’m happy for you. I want you to know that.”

The sounds of two people coming up the stairs had both of us turning to look at the doorway. When Marlene appeared next to Bridgette, looking like an avenging angel, ready to slay all of Kristy’s demons, I bit back a smirk and stood to my feet. Holding out a hand, Bridgette came to me and let me wrap my arms around her.

Kristy jumped to her feet and ran into Marlene, who immediately hugged her close. “Oh, honey. I heard what happened. Are you okay?”

Kristy gave a jerky nod. “I’m fine. I just want to go home and sleep.” She paused, as if thinking about her words. “Oh my god! I don’t have a home anymore! Jake made me move in with him. What am I supposed to do now?”

“What the hell do you mean?” Marlene chided gently. It was the softest tone I thought I’d ever heard from her. “You will come to live with me, of course. You’ve always been welcome at my home. You know that.”

“But you’re allergic to dogs,” Kristy said, then turned to me. “Logan, I should never have kept Sammy from you. Would you…”

Bridgette pushed forward before I could answer. “He’d love to.”

Kristy smiled and nodded. “Okay. I’ll drop her off along with her things later.”

“That will be great!” Bridgette beamed, and I couldn’t help but hold her closer, so thankful for the beautiful little witch I was blessed with.

Marlene wrapped an arm around Kristy’s shoulders. “Come on, honey. Let’s go get your things and get you moved in.” She stopped at the top of the stairs and looked back at my girl. “Thank you for taking care of her.” She glanced down at Kristy, her expression full of raw, painful longing, until she looked back up, the hard mask she had always worn since I knew her firmly back in place.

Bridgette inclined her head in acknowledgement, and Marlene did the same, a show of mutual respect, though I doubted the women would ever be friends.

As soon as the sound of their footsteps faded, Bridgette tilted her head as she stared at the empty doorway. “Huh. I didn’t see that one coming.”

“Yep,” I replied.

She turned to look at me out of the corner of her eye and squinted. “You knew,” she accused.

I shrugged. “I suspected. Marlene has hated me since the moment we met and has always been by Kristy’s side. She’s always done all she could to stay close to her.”

“That’s so incredibly sad. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to see the person you love fall in love with someone else. She had to watch her get married. I bet she was even the maid of honor.”

I nodded. “Maybe things can be different this time around,” I said quietly. With them living together, maybe Kristy will see what she’s been blind to all this time.” I shrugged. “Maybe not. But there’s a chance for them now. It’s up to Marlene to show her.”

I turned to my little witch. “So, do you want to tell me what really happened with Jake today?”

She grinned and shrugged. “I just showed him the error of his ways. I don’t think he’ll be hurting any more women in the future.”

I eyed her suspiciously. “Isn’t there a rule about harming none, or something like that?”

“There is,” Bridgette nodded. “But there’s also a rule about not hurting the innocent. The Goddess doesn’t like it when women and children are hurt. When it’s a pregnant woman, she gets really furious. Sometimes she will use a witch as her hand to deal vengeance.”

“I bet you hated every second of being the tool of vengeance for a Goddess,” I remarked dryly.

“Oh,” she said, all mock seriousness as her eyes twinkled with mischief. “I was so distraught.”

I pulled her in and kissed her forehead with a chuckle. “I just bet, you little troublemaker. What do you want to do now that the drama is over?”

Bridgette bounced on her toes and clapped her hands excitedly. I couldn’t help but let my eyes drift down to enjoy the sight of her breasts bouncing. What could I say? I was a fucking man. “Can we go get burgers? And you can tell me why you’re here in the middle of the day.”

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