Chapter 43

Forty-Three

Johnny's bed is deliciously warm, and I know he didn't leave it long ago, but I can't luxuriate in it this morning.

Since Aphrodite died, I can't bring myself to leave them alone for long.

They don't seem to mind.

I slip from the bed, grabbing one of Johnny's t-shirts and pulling on a pair of socks. Then, I follow the sweet smell of blueberry pancakes out into the kitchen.

Pausing in the doorway, I watch them as they work around each other. Anyone else would think they were back to normal, but I see the signs that linger after Aphrodite's spells.

I hate her for them.

"Good morning," Thomas sweeps me up into a hug, kissing me sweetly before setting me back down on my feet.

I stay there just long enough for Joshua to have his turn, and then Johnny and Chase.

But Chase doesn't let me down.

"Happy Yule." He nods to the pile of greenery on the far counter. "We haven't decorated yet."

"This is sweet, but you're a week or so early."

"That's okay. We still want to give you a gift."

"We didn't really know when to give you this…" Thomas pulls out a box. "Since you don't celebrate what we'd consider traditional Christmas."

He pops it open, and a ring glitters at me but it's Joshua who takes it from its velvet cushion and slides it on my finger.

My right ring finger.

"We didn't think you'd accept the other yet." Thomas says as if he senses the sliver of disappointment that tumbles through me.

The ring is a dark pewter band, holding four faceted pieces of lemurian quartz. And it fits perfectly.

"We asked your mom so that we knew the stones were right." Johnny says, taking my hand and slipping the ring from one hand and onto the other. Meeting my eyes, he winks. "Just checking."

He puts it back where Joshua had originally placed it and his fingertips slip from my wrist… from my truth-telling pulse.

"I love it."

"We have other surprises planned, you may not celebrate our secular Christmas, but we've never held back."

I look around the house. There are some decorations up, but not a ton. But that, I suppose, might just be a consequence of their ordeal more than anything else.

"I look forward to being awed."

My phone buzzes and for a moment I wonder what has my mother texting so early, but it's later than I thought.

You're welcome to come up for any Yule festivities you'd like, but you're not required.

Thank you. I'm going to spend time closer to home this year.

Good.

I know they aren't going to propose, but you don't need to marry any of them in order to give me a granddaughter.

Love you too mom. Have a blessed sabbat.

"No bad news, I hope." Joshua isn't so bad that he's jumping at shadows, but he hates the sound of my phone.

"None. It's not allowed for the rest of the year."

"Can we disallow it for the rest of our lives?" Johnny asks, grumbling.

"That would be nice." I kiss him and he shoos me to the table.

The pancakes are stacked high, and Joshua pulls me into his lap. "I hate to say it, but you are going to have to go home, eventually."

"I go home."

"Yes, but you don't stay home. And it's starting to affect you." He draws a line down my forehead, stopping between my eyebrows.

"I don't want to leave you."

"Then we'll find a way to make staying at your place work."

They feed me and suggest ways to make my—much smaller—home work for the five of us. And when we're all done eating and the dishes are done, they try to lure me into the living room with promises almost too good to pass up.

But there's one thing I need to do before I can settle into the comfort of their warmth.

From the back window, I see Mrs. Miller head down to her car with an enormous bag of coats, no doubt for donation at her church.

Perfect timing.

I peek my head into the living room. "I'm going to take a walk next door, see how the girls are doing."

"We'll be here waiting for you."

"Plenty of incentive to make it fast."

Pulling on the quick change of clothing I've left in the kitchen for "just in case", I slip out the door into the brisk morning.

I open the back door to Mrs. Miller's home, and pause in the semi-silence. She's decorated her living room with colorful lights and small handmade baubles. It's a familiar and comforting sight, even if it is a stolen one. I don't bother to call out or knock until I get to the door that leads down to the basement.

When I do, Charity calls out to invite me down by name.

"I see you've got a handle on your boundary spell." I say as I take the creaking stairs down into a basement that's so brightly lit, it feels like walking into a different plane entirely.

"Yes, but only that one. I'm starting to feel like that old dog, new tricks adage really is true. I'm not sure I'm ever going to get a handle on this."

"You will. I have faith."

The three women have transformed the basement of their grandmother's house into a beautiful little home. Each has an altar hidden in plain sight near their bed. And they've managed to create a space that is perfectly witchy… without being obvious to anyone outside of our community.

Their rug is pulled back, revealing the usually hidden pentacle on the floor, and Victoria has her tarot cards out from the pretty pink box that usually keeps them out of sight. Mrs. Miller is, after all, a good Christian lady with a healthy dose of fear of the devil.

She scowls down at the cards, a book spread open in front of her as she tries to determine their meaning.

"There's a diviner in town. I'll introduce you to her after the new year."

"That might be best. I've read so many different things about each card, I can't figure out what's right."

"Reading the cards is often about what they feel and how they come to you more than it is about textbook information." I nod toward the spread in front of her. "They're telling you it's going to take you time."

"Are they?"

"Yep. But patience and respect will reap its reward."

The space around me feels a little like a college dorm. Each of them sitting on their beds with random clothing slung over footboards and stuffed under a desk in the corner.

"How is the reading going?" I look at the enormous stack of books on top of their shared dresser. "Is that the to-be read, or the finished pile?"

"Oh, they're all mixed up now." Bethany smiles at the stack. "We'll get through them all eventually. "Like you said, patience will reap its reward."

"Speaking of…" Charity is on her feet and at my side in a heartbeat, she captures my hand, bringing it up to her face so she can study the ring. " This is gorgeous and I think I know exactly who got it for you."

"That's the band Thomas picked up at that antique store Aphrodite made me trap him in front of…" Victoria drops back onto the bed with a heavy sigh, "Oh to have four hot men to buy me jewelry."

"Oh to have one hot man with a house he doesn't share with his crotchety old dad."

I look at Charity and ask, "Do I want to know?"

"I went out with the sheriff on Friday. It's probably a good thing neither of us could take the other one home."

"Probably. Just remember. He's not familiar with witchcraft and he's got some inbuilt prejudices."

"Don't we all?" Victoria sweeps up the cards and puts them back in their velvet bag. "You should probably get going. Gran's going to be back in a few minutes and we know how that would go."

"She's still holding out hope that you'll take off with Chase and leave the other three for us." Bethany shakes her head at the ceiling. "You'd think she'd maybe ask us if we had any interest, because we don't."

"I'll try to ruin them in her eyes. If I can muddy their reputation enough, she'll clutch her pearls and leave you alone."

"She'll just switch her attention to someone else."

"Good luck. Call or text any time, no matter what you need, no matter how late, or how early."

Charity walks me up and stops at the back door, holding it open for me. "You'll have to tell us how you got them." She glances across the small gap between the houses.

"Find out where your limits are, be a little reckless, and if luck is in your favor…" I don't have any real advice for her because I'm still a little confused about how I wound up here.

"In case I don't see you for a while, I hope you three have a blessed Yule."

"We'll see how we can balance that and Gran's Christmas."

"I promise it won't be hard."

It would be easier than the short walk I took between their home and mine.

Thomas is waiting for me in the kitchen with another cup of tea.

"Thank you," I reach for it, but he shakes his head. "You get the tea when you drop the pants, young lady."

The laugh that drives from my lips is a strangled sound. "This is the thanks I get for saving your life?"

"Oh no. The ‘thanks' comes after the pants are off." He watches me for a second, blowing on the tea and then turns away. "We'll be waiting for you when you're appropriately dressed."

He winks at me as he disappears through the doorway.

I consider going to them as I am now, but I can play whatever game they've come up with, so I slip out of my pants and switch back to Johnny's shirt. And once I've folded the clothing I don't need inside this house, I go back to them… a bright and beautiful feeling burning in my chest.