Chapter 11

The evening airwas cool on Braxton's face as he climbed out of his truck. It was dusk and he was just getting home after spending the day at his store, catching up on paperwork he'd had left over from the day before. Dante could handle the customers and the point-of-sale system, but he hadn't yet been trained on closing out the receipts and preparing the banking deposits.

The day had been a nice one with the sun out and a very light breeze, which meant a steady stream of business. He'd skipped lunch and hadn't had a thing to eat since his breakfast with Lily that morning.

Lily.

He'd tried not to think about her all day. That had been a hard task to accomplish after her declaration that morning. It was far too tempting to imagine a life where he was free of his curse and was able to dive into a relationship with her. But he'd been down that path before. He'd once had all the hope and determination she did, but in the end, he'd just been left broken and still cursed.

Braxton prayed for her sake that she'd give up on her mission sooner rather than later. It would kill him to see her life in shambles because of him, even if it was something he couldn't control, no matter how much he wanted to.

A light shone from his front window, indicating that Dante was home, though he didn't see his friend's SUV anywhere. Braxton briefly wondered if he'd just forgotten to turn the light off when he'd left.

Walking in, he tossed his keys in the bowl on the table by the front door and headed straight for the kitchen. It wasn't until he heard the creak of the swivel chair in the living room that he paused and turned around, expecting to see Dante.

The small woman with bright red hair and rings on every finger was decidedly not his best friend.

Braxton froze, his entire body rigid with tension. "What are you doing here?"

"Now, baby, is that any way to greet your mother?" she said, pasting on a sickeningly sweet smile.

"I could have started with get the hell out. Is that better?" He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at her. "In case I wasn't clear, you're not welcome here."

His mother's smile crumpled, and tears filled her big green eyes.

Braxton was not moved. He'd witnessed Katerina Kirkwood turn on the waterworks more times than he could count. It was one of her best moves when she was trying to break down someone's defenses.

"Now, don't be like that, honey." She stood and walked over to him, and he noticed she looked thinner than usual. Her skin was unusually pale, and there was a hole in her tights that she wore under her brightly colored print skirt. Something was wrong, and he wondered if her life of crime was finally catching up with her. "I walked past your store today. It really is lovely. I always knew you'd make something of yourself."

A muscle in his jaw ticked. "You're not welcome there either. If you're here because you think the store is making me rich, you should just move on now. It's a new business, and I'm up to my eyeballs in debt. There's nothing to squeeze out of me. Go find another mark."

It was a lie. The truth was that the store had started to make a profit almost immediately. Befana Bay was a town that thrived because of the film industry. There were at least two shows that filmed there regularly as well as a rotating schedule of movies. Hollywood types loved Befana Bay due to the magical shield that kept paparazzi out of their town. It made it much easier to control the media narrative since they could release what they wanted the public to know instead of having to always respond to invasive photos and gossip. With Hollywood money always infiltrating the town, it made owning a shop there a solid business plan.

"I'm not here for anything to do with your store," she said, sounding frustrated. "Listen, honey, I know you're still mad at me, and you have every reason to be. I'm not denying that. I'm here to right my wrongs. Make it up to you. Start over. You know, be the mother you always deserved instead of the one you got."

Was Braxton hearing things? Who was this person standing in front of him? Sure, he'd witnessed her lie year after year, cry when needed, and make up pretty much any story to get what she wanted, but he'd never once heard her admit that she was a bad mother. Or that she'd been wrong to curse him. The last time he'd confronted her, she'd said he got what he deserved for abandoning Lucy and turning her in to the authorities. That all men were dirt, and he had to pay for the sins of his father.

With bad memory after bad memory plaguing him, he walked over to the front door and held it open. "You should leave."

The tears she'd been holding back streamed down her face.

Braxton remained indifferent to her emotions.

"I've given up the grifter life," she said through a sob.

"Why?" he asked, unable to contain his intense curiosity. He figured there was a less-than-zero chance that she was telling the truth. She knew there was no way he'd let her stay with him while she was running scams, and there was also a high likelihood that everything coming out of her mouth was a lie.

"About a month ago, I had a brush with the law. The person I was with was taken into custody. He was caught red-handed, and there's no doubt he'll serve serious time. He wasn't a good person, Brax." She rubbed at her arm as if soothing an ache. "When I realized I was free of him, I had an epiphany of sorts. I realized that if I didn't get out of that life, I was likely going to wind up in prison. Either that or I'd end up with someone else just like him, and I just… I can't. I won't survive it. I want to get out of the life."

"And you thought this was the best place to come?" he asked incredulously. "You think I'm going to help you after everything that's gone down between us?"

"You're the only person I know who isn't in the life," she pleaded. "Please, Braxton, if you help me, I'll reverse your curse. You'll have your life back. I swear."

Her words froze him in place. He nearly stopped breathing as a tiny thread of hope wound its way around his heart. Lily's smiling face flashed in his mind, and in that moment, he felt he'd do just about anything to have a chance with her.

Anything but believe his conniving mother.

"You told me you couldn't reverse it. That you tried and failed."

"I lied," she said, her voice meek. "I was angry, baby. You'd turned on me, and I lashed out."

He wanted to believe her. He was desperate to, but he'd been burned too many times. "Why should I believe you now? You've lied to everyone your entire life. How do I know you aren't making that up just to get me to go along with whatever you have cooked up now?" He took a deep breath and continued before she could answer. "If you were really sincere, you'd reverse the curse first. You wouldn't be asking for anything in return."

"I would. I swear, baby." Her panic was even more pronounced as she started shaking, and Braxton had to reluctantly admit that he'd never seen her quite like this before. "It's just that I need to either find Lucy to help with the curse, or I need to team up with a powerful coven. I can't do either of those things if I'm struggling to find housing and my next meal. I swear, if you let me stay, the first thing I'll do is work on reversing that curse. All I need is a place to sleep and a good meal or two. I swear, no scams, no bullshit. This is just me trying to do something right for a change."

Braxton stared at her, trying to see past the mess of a woman in front of him and deep into her soul. Could he trust her? The answer was decidedly no. But the temptation of being free of the curse was just too much for him to deny.

His mother stared at the floor, a sure sign of defeat. Did she think he was going to say no? It sure looked like it, and it was on the tip of his tongue to do exactly that. But then he thought of Lily. If all that was at stake was his desire for her, then he'd be able to slam the door in his mother's face. But it wasn't. Lily was determined to help him, which put her right in the line of fire.

"You can stay in the apartment above the garage," he finally said.

Her head popped up, her eyes full of surprise. "Really?"

"Yes, but if you don't get started working on this curse right away, or if you do anything that even remotely looks like you're grifting again, I'll have you run out of this town so fast it'll feel like your ass is on fire. Got it?"

She held her hand up. "Got it. I promise. No more selling shady potions or curses or anything like that. I'll find a job somewhere in town and pay rent just so you know I'm not trying to take advantage of you."

"Reverse the curse first, then we can talk about rent." He gestured for her to head back out the front door. Then he showed her to the small garage apartment. "It isn't much, but it has a wall heater, a bathroom, and a small kitchen."

"It's perfect," she said.

It wasn't. The linoleum was peeling in the kitchen, there were hard water stains in the sink, and the walls looked like they hadn't been painted in twenty years. But it was better than sleeping under a bridge.

"I'll bring you some dinner later," he said as he was leaving.

"I can come make us something," she said, sounding hopeful.

He turned around, gave her a flat stare, and said, "No. I don't think we're ready for that. And for the record, you're not welcome in the house. You can stay here, but if I find you digging through the house, all bets are off. Got it?"

"I suppose I deserve that," she said. "I understand."

He gave her a quick nod and then closed the door softly behind him. Braxton stood at the top of the apartment stairs and felt his entire body sag with fatigue as he wondered what he'd just done.