Page 3 of Waltzing With Witches

I cross my arms. “Are you a witch? Was Mom?”

Lou mirrors my move but props her elbows on the tabletop. “I never spoke with your mom, or anyone, about Rainbow. I don’t know if she was a witch, but I’m not. I got tested plenty while I was there. Gerald, the gnome I hit, was certain I must be, but I’m not. I’m just a human.”

“Don’t be like that, Louanna,” Dirk croons. “There’s nothing ‘just’ about yeh, about any of yeh. All are welcome here, human and monster alike.”

She gives him a soft smile. I’m surprised she hasn’t corrected him for using her full first name. Then again, Dirk seems to get away with about ten times as much bullshit as anyone else in town.

A snort from Shepherd breaks the silence. “What are you, Dirk, the new Ever welcome committee?”

Dirks grins, revealing two rows of pearly white teeth. “Jest being friendly, Protector.”

“I need a minute to process this,” Wren deadpans, green eyes flicking to mine. “Your turn to talk, sis.”

I inwardly groan as I slump into my chair, picking back up with the ketchup art.

After a long, awkward silence, Lou reaches across the table and pats the back of my hand. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, Mor.”

I look up and around the table at the well-intentioned but curious looks from my sisters and Shepherd and even Dirk, whose typical self-satisfied smirk has disappeared.

“Breakfast was a bust,” I admit. “We sat down, and the castle called him due to a ward alarm. He left right after we got to the table.”

Wren sighs. Lou purses her lips together.

Thea’s grip on my thigh tightens. She looks up at me with sorrowful blue eyes. “So he never came back or anything?”

“That’s a Keeper for yeh, to be honest,” Dirk breaks in. “The training does zap ’em of some empathy and emotion. It’s unfortunate.”

“So everyone has said,” I repeat for the millionth time. I’m sick to death of everyone making an excuse for why Ever’s de facto mayor has been so cold to me since I arrived in town. Especially considering he fucking called us here in the first place!

When I say nothing else, my companions move on to a different topic. But I’m lost in thought, staring out the window and wondering if he’ll walk past again.

He doesn’t, though.

A torturous half hour later, we’ve paid for dinner and Lou and I are walking up Sycamore Street toward the Annabelle Inn, our current home. Birds sing softly in the trees above us, the sky a myriad of swirling blues. Like always, the temperature is perfectly balmy. It’s like this year-round in Ever due to magical wards that protect it from the outside human world.

Lou says nothing as we walk, her long sweater pulled tight around her small frame. I’m a full head taller than her, but somehow she’s always been a big presence to me—my slightly older, much cooler aunt.

When we cross over Main Street, she slips her arm around my waist and pulls me close. It’s such a motherly move, even though she’s only a few years older than me. A hard lump appears in my throat. I struggle to swallow around it, tears pricking my eyes.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Gerald or Rainbow,” Lou says softly. “I thought I was doing the right thing by keeping them a secret. You three were so busy and doing so great in your lives, I couldn’t see a reason to upset the apple cart. Not with everything else going on.”

Somehow I know her excuse is logical, but it still stings.

“I still would have thought you’d tell me,” I admit, crossing my arms. “You’re my best friend, Lou.”

Lou sighs. “I probably should have. I never could have foreseen you’d end up in a haven surrounded by magic anyhow. Or that you’d be a witch, all three of you. And I wish so much that Caroline was here so I could pepper her with questions.”

Hearing my mother’s name sends me headlong into a spiral of emotions. I miss her so much. A tear slips down my cheek. Lou senses it, even though I don’t notice her look up.

“Mor, how are you, honey? You seem…well, you seem pretty fucked-up, if I’m being honest.”

How am I? It’s a complicated question these days.

“I’m shitty,” I say when I find my voice. “The Keeper called us here, Lou. Thea and Wren are happy. They’re mated, and they’re never leaving. I don’t even want them to. But how am I supposed to deal with the fact that the Keeper announced to the whole fucking town that I was his mate, like, on day one, and he’s barely said two words to me since?”

She remains silent, and I glance down, nudging her with my elbow. “You’ve been to Rainbow, I guess. Was there a Keeper there? Is it true they’re all kind of emotionless and shitty?”

She cocks her head from side to side as if considering her answer. After a moment, she sucks at her teeth, then looks up at me, whiskey-brown eyes soft. “Rainbow has a very wild and adventurous Keeper. He’s an odd figure for sure, but yeah. He has a habit of saying whatever the hells he wants regardless of emotional impact. I’ve never met any other Keepers, but I’m told that’s pretty standard.”

---