Chapter 5

Kate

I’m refreshed and perky the next morning when I arrive at the cafe to meet my friends, sliding into one of the chairs outside with a grin on my face.

Georgia, Tacy, and Fernanda are all here, and so is … the guy with the van. Jared? Pretty sure his name is Jared. He removes his headphones just long enough to greet me, and then goes back to blissful ignorance.

“I can’t believe you brought them again,” Georgia says, loudly enough that I’m sure the men are supposed to hear. They’re inside though which is a huge improvement over last time. Granted, their table is directly against the wall behind me, so we’re only like ten inches away from each other, but it’s something.

“Tacy brought Jared,” I say, gesturing at him. He pops one headphone off his left ear and raises a brow.

“Yeah?” he asks, but Tacy just waves her hands at him and he shrugs, returning to his music.

“Tacy is allowed to go places without Jared. He’s not the problem.” Georgia is tapping her fingers on the table. Fernanda sits next to her, a paperback open and lying on its pages. The spine is cracked, shattered really. She put it down as soon as I got here, which is a habit I’ve never seen before.

“You three were in the Witchwoods. You can understand why we can’t be separated, right?” We all glance over at the bushes. There’s a massive toad sitting there, bigger than Flick. Its vocal sac expands, and it lets out this piercing trill that causes all four of us to cringe.

It’s the third giant toad I’ve seen today, and I just got up an hour and a half ago.

“We’ve given thought to the coven thing,” Georgia continues, turning away from the toad. “We want to wait and see if you guys can close the gate.”

We all stop talking as the waitress brings out our drinks.

The special today was a honey-rose iced latte with real rose petals floating on the top. I’m pleased with the presentation. I’m pleased with yesterday. It was like an adult sleepover with three really hot, really attractive, really hung men. Naturally hung, not magically hung. I snort into my coffee, and my friends look at me like I’ve lost my mind.

“What?” I ask, taking a sip of my drink and loving it so much that I’m already prepped to order another.

“What the fuck happened to you?” Georgia sounds scandalized.

“Oh, don’t be like that,” Fernanda protests, grinning at me and fixing her glasses. “Kate is happy. This is the happiest I’ve seen her since she broke up with Nathan. I was all in for the coven thing, just so you know.”

I nod. I expected that. I also expected that Tacy and Georgia would outvote her.

“We stayed in yesterday, watched the rain.” They took turns on me, so we could triple the size of our mattress. We watched a movie ( Practical Magic, the guys were amused). I practiced the four sigils—north, south, east, and west—until my finger was raw. I sat in the kitchen with the back door thrown wide, and I played with my potted plant until its green tendrils took over the table, the floor, and the refrigerator. “I’m just in a good mood.”

“No,” Georgia tells me, and I gape at her as Tacy sighs. “You’re in love.”

“What?” I hiss the word out, acting like I’m not aware of the window behind me. I’m sure the boys can hear us, and I don’t want to talk about this. I’m not going to fall for them first. I refuse. That’s a vulnerability that I won’t allow.

Too late.

“So what if she is?” Tacy replies, sitting up straight. “The … magic you used to form the coven, it’s sort of permanent, right?” I nod and toy with my straw. “Okay then. The men aren’t going anywhere, so Kate might as well enjoy them.”

She’s not wrong. It’s just … I hope the guys are starting to like me beyond the confines of the coven. Pretty sure they are. I know that, the more I get to know them, the more I like them.

“What is it that makes you like Jared?” I ask, and I can feel this ache in my chest that warns me against being vulnerable. I’m opening my rib cage up and asking Tacy a question that exposes the soft, squishy heart underneath. “With Nathan, I liked that we grew up together. Had core memories that we shared.”

I try to think of other things. He’s good looking, for sure. Casually athletic, but not obsessed with sports. Smart. That’s … that’s it.

“Jared is peaceful,” Tacy replies, surprising me. She leans back in her chair and looks up at the redwood trees that tower over the small cafe. “He’s gentle with everything—ants, spiders, cats, dogs, people. That’s what I like about him. If the entire world were populated with Jareds, we’d never see another war or another murder.” She shrugs one shoulder, as if that wasn’t profound and helpful as fuck.

I take another sip of my drink.

If the entire world were populated with Witchwood Boys … I let the thought trail off.

Tanner didn’t bring the two cops back to the cottage for his own sake. We didn’t cast a spell of fear on the Witch’s Tree to protect ourselves.

And we’re not here having breakfast with my friends because the guys are having a good time.

I smile.

“She’s dick drunk,” Georgia whispers to Fernanda, but it doesn’t have quite the same effect on our kinky bookworm friend as it has on me or Tacy.

“I’m honestly so happy for you, but also a little bit jealous.” Fernanda winks and reaches out, putting her hand over mine. “Dick drunk is not a bad place to be.” She gives me a loving pat and then returns her hand to her mug, resting it on the side of the warm porcelain.

“Is Jared good in bed?” I ask Tacy, stirring my drink. I realize that not only am I curious to compare her responses with my own, I’m just curious in general. I want to know how Tacy is doing. If she’s brought Jared to multiple breakfast meetups, then she must really, really like him.

“We’re working on that,” she says with a slight smile, glancing his way. He’s so into his music, mouthing words we can’t hear and scrolling on his phone, that he has no idea we’re discussing his bedroom skills. Or lack thereof. “We’re learning and growing together.”

“Sounds healthy,” Georgia says, peering at me. “How about you? Are you learning and growing together with your stalkers?”

“I’ve learned about bukkake in real time” I admit, and that gets Fernanda and Tacy laughing. Georgia looks mildly confused.

“Wait. Isn’t that when a group of dudes …” Georgia stops talking and then uses her phone. Her eyebrow twitches. “Okay, yeah it’s exactly what I thought it was.” She lifts her gaze to mine, and I just bust out laughing.

“They’re super romantic, I swear.” My mind goes to Brooks and last night and how incredible he was. I opened up to him, and I didn’t regret it. Not one bit.

“Jerking off in a circle and coming all over your … coven member is romantic? No wonder people say that romance is dead.” Georgia sips her tea, glaring over my shoulder. I can feel those naughty witches behind me, separated by a thin sheet of glass that might as well be air. They’d kick right through that window to access me if needed. “How about missionary position in front of the fire, gazing into one another’s eyes? I love that old-fashioned shit.”

I choke on my drink just in time for the waitress to appear with our orders.

I chose waffles this time. Felt like a sweets sort of morning. It’s gray out, but not actively raining. Across the street, the children have just come out to play, and I wonder how long summer school goes for. If my siblings knew me better, I’d walk across the street to say hi instead of sitting here and staring like a creeper.

“Is there a reason you inhaled your coffee?” Georgia asks as a glowing spider drops down from the shade umbrella above us and dangles over our table. We all rear back, but Jared can’t help us because Jared can’t see it.

Tanner appears as if summoned, pinching the web of the spider and then moving it to a nearby bush. He says nothing, just winks at me and then disappears back inside the cafe.

The girls all stare at me, but Jared is peering in Tanner’s direction with a slight frown. I can only imagine how that looked, Tanner pinching the web of an invisible spider.

“Missionary, in front of the fire. I did that last night.” My mouth twitches. “See? I told you they were romantic.”

Fernanda sighs and spoons up a bite of chia pudding with berries and toasted coconut.

“Well, whatever they are, if they don’t treat you right, you’ll tell me? Coven or no coven, we’ll figure it out together.” Georgia cuts into her massive breakfast burrito, and stares at something behind me. Probably Brooks. She makes a face and goes back to her food.

“I promise.” I cut a piece of waffle and put it in my mouth, thinking as I chew. “The vows we made as a coven … I felt those in my heart. We were promising to try our hardest with one another, to put our all into learning to love one another. I did not, however, promise to stick around and be mistreated. Trust me: I learned my lesson with Nathan. I’m not going to stay with anyone—lover or friend or even family member—out of obligation or loneliness.”

“What are you staying for then?” Georgia asks as a brand-new fern unfurls from the side of the cafe, jewel-like purple flowers catching the sun. A hummingbird that looks like it’s made of glass hovers in front of the Witchwoods flower, drinking from it.

“Happiness. Comfort. Love.” I grin at them. “Like what I have with you guys.”

“Just minus the bukkake?” Fernanda asks, and she even manages to get Georgia to laugh.

“You guys don’t have the equipment necessary for bukkake, so … guess not?” I tease. Georgia looks longingly at my waffle, so I cut a piece off and put it on her plate. “Otherwise, I would totally invite you out for Friday night bukkake in the woods—ladies night.”

“Hilarious, Kate. I’m glad you’re enjoying this witch thing as much as you are.” Georgia finishes her mountain of food off within minutes. She rock climbs and does extreme sports—for fun. She needs all the calories she can possibly get. “This …” She gestures at my hat and sighs. “With the teeth, it’s … well, it isn’t even pleasant to look at let alone put on your head. ”

Georgia says that, and she doesn’t know the half of it. My hat ate a banana slug off the porch railing this morning, and I could taste it. Maybe I should keep that to myself?

“Georgia might not like the witch stuff, but I love it. And Tacy is struggling to fully believe it.” Fernanda shrugs, and then turns a private smile to me, like we really understand each other. I smile back because we’re a lot more alike than I’ve always thought. “Can we … talk about the sex tape?”

“Fernanda!” Tacy whispers, slapping Fernanda on the shoulder with her spoon. Fernanda gives her friend a look. “We agreed not to mention it at all.”

“What? I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Kate.” Fernanda looks back at me, and I laugh. “See? She thinks it’s funny. She wants to talk about it.”

“People traveling to Humboldt County because of us, because of the Witch’s Tree, that’s a problem. The sex tape … I’m upset about it for so many reasons. But mostly, it’s an issue with popularity. The legend is trending again.” I stab my waffle in frustration, but my hat steals the next bite like the monster it is.

“You think more people have gone through the gate?” Georgia asks, like she’s surprised to hear that. “How many?”

I shrug.

“We have no idea, maybe none, but there’s also no way to check. If anyone else goes in there before we close it, they’ll be trapped with no way out.” I finish off the first of my waffles, and try not to let the enormity of that statement hurt me as much as it does.

Whatever happens, I’ve already committed to condemning two people to the woods.

I make myself smile at my friends.

“Our spell might not work, you know that, right? If it doesn’t, will you change your minds about the coven thing?”

“I’m already in for the coven thing,” Fernanda assures me again, glancing over at Tacy.

“Maybe.” Tacy will agree if Georgia does, so I don’t worry about her.

“If I have to, I’ll do it, but it’s a last resort sort of thing for me.” Georgia squeezes my hand again, and then steals my second waffle. I let it go with a smile, and we settle in to talk about nothing for forty-five minutes.

And it feels great.