Page 84 of With This Witch
CHAPTERFORTY-TWO
Lachlan
Lachlan arrives home from his run, power flooding his veins. Pulling a towel from the closet, he wipes the sweat from his face and chest. As usual, with Petra out, the house feels empty, like it’s missing its heartbeat.
Victor is dead. The news from Selene is surprising. A part of him wonders how it happened. Who gets to claim the victory of finally ridding the world of him? At least, Lachlan assumes someone else did it and that it wasn’t natural causes. That monster had so many enemies. Living the way he did, it was bound to happen that his name came up on someone else’s list. It’s a testament to Viktor and his reach that it didn’t happen earlier.
Morris struts around the corner, brushing against Lachlan’s leg. He looks up at him with a look that says, “You’ll do.” Lachlan reaches down, scratching behind his ears the way he likes. When he stops, Morris looks disappointed, like he isn’t ready for this petting session to be over.
“Come on, little man. I’ll get you some treats.”
Morris takes off, bounding for the kitchen, his little paws sounding like a herd of hippos charging through the house. While he’s never had a cat before, Lachlan is under the impression that they are supposed to be light on their feet. With the way Morris moves about the world, he would not make a good hunter, that’s for sure.
Morris howls for Lachlan to hurry up. Rather than risk his life, he does as requested. Reaching the kitchen in record time and depositing a satisfactory number of treats on the floor for his majesty.
Leaving Morris to his snack, Lachlan showers and dresses in gray sweatpants and a white T-shirt. He makes a turkey sandwich on a bun with pesto and sliced tomato and brings it to the patio in the backyard. As he eats his lunch, he rolls through everything that has been weighing on him. He thinks about Petra and the upcoming decision, Selene and her offer, and that little nugget Selene planted that is quickly growing in his brain.
The idea of going back to the underworld being a guide for other members is not something he ever thought about doing. But Selene is right; he has managed to turn his life around. Darkness and danger no longer lurk at every corner. He no longer worries about tomorrow being his last day. He can finally say that he is fully happy. And helping to adjust to the underworld and supporting those who seek change sounds exactly like what he is meant to do.
He spends the rest of the afternoon going through more paperwork from the council and the bar, approving some requests, declining many more, and filling out order forms. As the afternoon light turns into the oranges and pinks of sunset, he hears the front door open. “Lucy, I’m home!”
Meeting her in the hallway, he says, “Lucy? Please, if anyone is Lucy, it’s you,” He kisses her gently. “I’ve missed you.”
“I missed you too,” she responds, smiling against his lips. She curls her arms under his and up his back, leaning into him as he wraps his arms around her. They stand, embracing, breathing each other in. The scent of cherry and vanilla fills his nose.
My heart.
When they finally release each other, Morris is heard bounding down the hall, coming to greet his preferred human. She leans over, scooping him up and nuzzling her face into his soft fur.
“Hello, my little man. Were you good for Daddy today?”
“Daddy, huh?” Lachlan says, smirking as he leans against the wall, arms crossed, watching their interaction.
“You effectively adopted him when you agreed to marry me. Thus, Daddy.”
“I like it when you call me Daddy,” he says.
She rolls her eyes at him, as usual. “I can call you some other things if you’d like,” she says, winking at him before going to the living room and flopping on the sofa with Morris in her arms. He wriggles free from her arms and curls up in her lap, content and demonstrating it is possible for him not to be an asshole.
Lachlan sits at her feet, lifting them to rest on his lap, his hands finding them as he massages her soles. “How was your day with Daisy?” he asks, running his thumb along her arch.
“Good. We gossiped, had a breakdown, figured out how to solve world hunger, you know, the usual.”
“What caused the breakdown?”
“We were celebrating ‘me’ after you sent the text about Grog, and I realized Gammy isn’t here to see me become Premier Witch,” she says, picking at the non-existent fluff on her shirt.
“Ah. That tracks.”
“Yeah.”
He tugs on her big toe to get her to look at him. He can see the watery layer begging to break free when she meets his eyes. She’s stronger than she gives herself credit for. “You know she is going to be so proud of you. She may not be here to see it in person, but she’ll be with you every step of the way, cheering you on and telling you when you’ve done something stupid. She already knew you were capable and was so proud of you. You should have seen how she talked about you when you were not around. She beamed as if you were the sun that keeps the world alight and she made sure everyone knew it.”
A sad smile forms on her face, the glisten in her eyes lessening. “Thanks for that. I know she’s proud of me, she told me all the time. The reality of her being gone hit hard today as I realized she won’t be here to see everything I plan to do.”
“I know. It’s hard to accept, especially when she’s been a big part of your life. But that woman,” he says, whistling, “she was tough. I would not be surprised if she refuses to leave completely and instead haunts us all.”
Petra laughs, the sound pleasant and amused. “That’s true. She would totally haunt us.”
