Page 51 of Demon Loved
She had to believe he did. Maybe she’d dated a couple of scumbags over the years, but none of their kisses had felt anything like Bill’s, and she wanted to believe he cared about her just as much as she cared about him. If he was faking the connection between them, then someone needed to give that man an Oscar.
A few customers came and went. Not many, because it was a Tuesday and even when the weather was as lovely as it was today, you just didn’t get as many visitors to Jerome as you did on a weekend or holiday.
But then the bells on the shop door jingled, and Bree was surprised to see her mother walk in.
“Hi, Mom,” she said, and began to stuff the unsorted invoices back into their original manila envelope. There was no way she would have been able to sort them all in one day, anyway.
Her mother looked beautiful and breezy as always, her long blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail and tied with a scarf in happy shades of green and yellow and blue. “Hi, Bree,” she said. “I was just down at a meeting at Helen’s, so I thought I’d drop by and see how you were doing.”
How her mom managed to stay in the same room with Helen Doyle for longer than ten minutes and not want to pull her hair out, Brianna had no idea. But Hayley McAllister was passionate about preserving Jerome’s history — maybe even more passionate than some of those who’d been born there — and Bree supposed her mother simply bit her tongue when necessary and reminded herself that she was working for the greater good.
“Didn’t you just have a meeting last week?” she asked. After all, that was the whole reason why Helen had insisted on having her new painting hung right away — so it would be in place when the historical preservation society showed up for tea that afternoon.
“We did,” Hayley replied, looking unperturbed. “But that was just our usual monthly meeting. This time we were getting together to discuss the rummage sale.”
Right. Time had been slipping by so quickly that Bree had almost forgotten that the society’s famous rummage sale would be happening in less than two weeks. Jerome’s residents unearthed an astonishing collection of treasures from the attics and basements of their vintage homes, and people came from all over the region to shop for that one special antique they needed to complete their collections.
“That’s a lot of Helen in a short amount of time,” Bree said with a grin.
Her mother only shrugged. “It’s fine. And this year’s sale is going to be even bigger and better, so we’re all willing to put up with a little pain to make it happen.” She paused there, head tilted to one side as she regarded her daughter. “But that’s not really why I stopped by.”
“It isn’t?” Brianna responded. She kept her tone light…but she also had a feeling she already knew the reason for her mother’s visit.
“You know we’d never tell you not to date a civilian — ” Hayley began, but Bree didn’t let her get any further than that.
“I do know,” she cut in. “Because I’ve already done it several times.”
“Yes,” her mother said. “I can’t help thinking this situation is different, though. I’ve heard this Bill Garrett isn’t even from Arizona?”
She made the comment on a slightly upward inflection, but Bree had no doubt that her mother already knew a whole lot about Bill.
Small town living, she thought, and held back a sigh. It was hardly worth wondering who’d been blabbing, although she did it anyway. Tally, down at Bocce? Lila, who worked part-time at the Grand Hotel?
Word always got around, no matter how careful you were.
“He seems very nice,” Hayley continued.
“But?” Bree ventured. Since Bill had already told her that he’d bumped into her parents at the folk festival, she couldn’t be surprised to hear from her mother that they’d met. “I mean, I assume there must be a ‘but.’”
“Just that long-distance relationships can be difficult,” her mother said.
“How would you know?”
All right, that question sounded more than a little hostile. Still, Brianna thought it was fair enough. Her mother had met her father right here in Jerome, and they’d never been separated since — not for more than a few hours at a time, anyway. The only things Hayley McAllister could have possibly known about being in a long-distance relationship would have been whatever she gleaned from books and movies and maybe online magazine articles or blogs.
It seemed her mother must have been thinking about the same thing, because she didn’t look angry at her daughter’s confrontational tone, only worried. “I don’t have any personal experience with it, true,” she said. “But still, it complicates things. And that’s not even taking into account the whole witch/civilian thing.”
“Maybe I’m just amusing myself,” Bree suggested, but her mother only gave her a smile that was somehow sad and knowing at the same time.
“You know you don’t do that,” Hayley said. “Most of us don’t. It’s just not in our natures. We want to be with the person who’s our other half, and we don’t waste time on anyone who isn’t a real possibility of being ‘the one.’”
Since her mother was only speaking the truth, Brianna knew there weren’t many arguments she could present that would make a lot of sense. Sure, here and there you’d find the odd witch or warlock who seemed okay with casual dating and hook-ups and wasn’t looking to settle down, but they were few and far between.
And she’d never been like that. She hadn’t been as set on being with civilians as her brother, but she’d gone out with a couple when it seemed as if the pool of Wilcoxes or safely distant McAllister cousins was starting to feel a little shallow. Although she knew she would have bristled at being called romantic, she knew she was, deep down.
She wanted to believe she would have the kind of happily ever after that her parents had enjoyed…the same thing that most of the witches and warlocks of her acquaintance shared.
Was it possible to have that with Bill, despite his being a civilian and from somewhere far away? During their last talk, he’d almost made it sound as if he was all right with picking up stakes and leaving L.A. behind. Not in so many words, true, but she couldn’t blame him for being the slightest bit cagey, considering how new their relationship was.
