Page 61 of Henhouse
“This is stupid,” she ground out.
“What’s got you so on edge tonight? It’s not just the bike.”
“It’s nothing, leave it alone.”
The rest of Effie’s feelings demanded the stage as her blood vibrated in her ears, years of stuffing down her anger surfacing with the rage of a long-dormant volcano. She stalked down the street again, but Theo caught up to her and grabbed her wrist to slow her down. “Effie . . .”
She looked him in the eye, his worry and affection so evident she nearly melted. But her anger burned hotter, roiling in her gut at how wrong her mother was. Effie tensed, ready to spill. Theo encouraged her with a nod. She huffed a little growl and dug the pads of her fingersaround the base of her neck. It didn’t matter that Pamela wasn’t there to hear it, Effie yelled, “Not all men are disappointing, Mother! Not all of them let you down! Some of them are fantastic and never had a fucking chance to prove you wrong because they dumped their motorcycles and became roadkill!” Effie shook now, her rage and grief reaching a boiling point she’d never dared allow as she speared Theo with a glare. The venom in her eyes did nothing to quell the tears.
His arms were around her in an instant. She collapsed into him, burying her face in his chest. He gripped the back of her head and held her like he could keep the pieces of her soul from cracking apart. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea . . . you never. You never told me how he died.” She cried even harder. Theo held her beneath the streetlights, taking in each crashing wave of her emotions.
“I wish you could have known him,” Effie whispered. “Maybe then we’d be halfway down the coast right now.” She clutched him closer, as silent tears pushed the receding tide of her grief back into calmer waters.
Theo kissed the top of her head. “What else?”
Effie caught her breath and pulled back, but Theo only slackened his grip, refusing to let her go entirely. Her tears were brushed away with a thumb. Theo took a deep breath. Together they exhaled and Effie felt lighter. “Well,” she said, sniffling, “Hope is so sad that she and Brayden aren’t together that I can’t tell her how stupidly happy you make me.”
“The evidence for that is thin tonight,” Theo teased as he swept another fat tear from her cheek.
Effie huffed a laugh. “Under normal circumstances. When you’re not daring me to feel my feelings.”
“So feeling your feelings, not for you?”
Effie considered. Though she needed to touch up her mascara and was in desperate need of a tissue, hoping she didn’t leave a snot trail on Theo’s shirt, she had to admit it felt better to uncork. “It could be good if I didn’t wait so long to let it out . . . this was, pent up, I think.” Effie looked at him, bashful behind her damp lashes. She didn’t need to voice everything that had gone into her rant. Though it was obviously more than what transpired in the last half hour.
“Does the night feel ruined?” Theo asked in earnest.
“No,” Effie admitted. If anything she was falling even harder for Theo. He cupped his hand around her cheek and looked straight into her heart.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
Effie shook her head, no. She leaned forward and sank into a kiss. He wrapped his strong arms around her, and Effie knew it was safe to feel everything with Theo. “Thank you,” she mumbled.
He tucked a stray curl behind her ear. “Anything for you, sunshine.”
The Book and Bar was bedecked with faux candles, midnight-blue streamers, and a plethora of poster-size versions of the cover ofMagic Ensnared,the final installment of Hope’sWeb of Realmsseries. The family-style tables were covered in hors d’oeuvres and postcards with Hope’s author portraits. The QR code on the back gave access to special bonus chapters as an incentive to come to the live events. This one was the closest and the one Hope always planned on attending, but a few others were happening in Boston, Portland, and Burlington asher most recent novel was anticipated enough for a midnight release and parties to match across New England.
Hope hadn’t ever let the success of her debut series go to her head. She knew that one series did not a career make, and she intended to keep proving herself to her readers. She kept it humble as she grabbed a cookie from the platter before her. It was shaped like Kiernan’s sword, while others depicted the Goddess Arachnia and Dominique’s family sigil. Effie had uncharacteristically allowed the bookstore to pay her for themed baked goods, and she’d truly outdone herself. She told her as much as Effie sidled up to her, glass of champagne in hand and Theo on her arm.
“Well, remind Grams of that when she discovers all the food coloring I couldn’t get out of her favorite tea towel.”
“Is she going to be here tonight?” Theo asked hopefully. Hope didn’t bother to comment on how she’d watched Effie strategically avoid the Thatchers present since they’d arrived, and would likely manage it the rest of the night.
“Sadly, midnight releases are too late for dear old Grams. But she did send this.” Effie paused to wrap Hope in a hug. “And this.” A peck on the cheek had Hope smiling wide. Effie looked at Theo like she realized a grave error. “Sorry. Hope, Theo. Theo, Hope.”
Hope laughed. “Yeah, we’ve met.”
“Briefly before she whisked Schilling away for his birthday dinner,” Theo added before reaching out a hand to shake Hope’s. His gaze never strayed from hers as he offered his sincerest congratulations. “On the launch and the baby.”
“Thank you,” Hope said. She couldn’t help the flood of curiosity that hit her.What did he know about Brayden? Would he be coming?Did Theo think she was awful?
Hope wasn’t certain what her face revealed, but Theo leaned in while Effie was distracted with Basil and said, “He told me he was coming. He’s excited to be a dad, Hope. I’m glad he’s doing this with you.”
Hope’s shoulders eased. She gave him a terse nod but didn’t dare show any more emotion. She didn’t want Brayden to think she rallied his friends to their cause to try to win him back. Across the room, Heather waved Hope over. “Excuse me.” Theo cleared from her path. She looked back to catch him placing his hand affectionately on the small of Effie’s back. The jealousy that rang through her was unwelcome, but she felt it nonetheless.
“Hope! I just got off the phone with the rest of the midnight release venues. We’re going to stream your reading so they can all have that book launch experience with you.”
“Sounds great,” Hope said, a little surprised at the redundant information. They’d decided weeks ago that it was only fair since she couldn’t make an appearance at every event. But Hope knew Heather. She was easing her into something.
