Page 73 of Big Witch Energy

“Look, I think there’s some old stuff coming up here,” Ben said, shaking his head. “The Mina conversation is obviously bringing up hurt feelings that are very clearly still left over from when we were kids.”

“Well, that’s on you,” Caroline said, her voice so hard and cold that she barely recognized it. “If you’re going to freaking ambush me like this, when I was just trying to help your daughter, throwing around historical bullshit you haven’t bothered to bring up until now, I don’t know if this is going to work.”

Ben deflated. She didn’t know if it was the glacial flint in her tone or the fact that she’d already picked up her purse and her shoes. But there was a finality to what had just happened. She wasn’t sure exactly at what point she’d lost control, but it felt like there was no coming back from it.

“It probably won’t,” Ben said, nodding.

“So we should probably just stop now before we do something that means we can’t speak again,” Caroline said, swallowing thickly. “I’m gonna go.”

“Caroline, please—”

But she was already out the door.

***

Caroline did the only thing she could think to do, being this upset. Riley’s house was right there, next door, and she ran to it like a sanctuary. How had it gone so wrong so fast? Ten minutes before, she had been quietly contemplating her life with the kids, and then she and Ben had a relationship-wrecking fight and tore it all down.

Maybe this was better. If it could fall apart so easily, maybe they shouldn’t have tried at all. Ben could go back to raising his kids, finding someone better, someone who knew what they were doing with adult relationships and healthy connections with teenagers. And she could go back to her casual weekend relationships. They didn’t hurt.

Shaddow House’s front door swung open before she’d even reached the porch.

“Thanks,” she muttered, though she still wasn’t sure to whom. Riley was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, in her robe, looking very confused. Mina was pacing and wringing her hands. Plover seemed to be hovering behind her by two steps, looking equally distressed. Around them, various haunted objets d’art were rocketing around the room.

“I’m so sorry,” Mina said, her cheeks streaked with tears. “Dad doesn’t get mad like that. And he never sent us out of the house with my mom, even when it was really bad—”

“No, no,” Caroline said, putting her hands around Mina’s arms. “Honey, there is nothing for you to apologize for. This is a conversation that probably needed to happen a while ago, OK? It’s adult stuff—old, wet, unstable conversational TNT. It wasn’t caused by you. You just happened to be in the room when it went off.”

Mina sniffled and buried her face in Caroline’s shoulder. The haunted bric-a-brac settled onto their various shelves and surfaces with a clatter. Plover was not pleased—emphatically.

“Explain this, Miss Caroline,” he demanded. “What has upset Miss Mina so thoroughly?”

“Ben and I had what people of our generation would call a…” Caroline said.

“Epic ‘burn it down to the ground’ fight?” Mina suggested, wiping at her eyes.

“You weren’t even there,” Caroline reminded her.

“I listened at the door,” Mina said, her mouth drawing back at the corners.

Caroline gaped at her. “Mina!”

Mina flung out her arms. “He sent me after bear claws! What was I supposed to do?”

“Is that a modern euphemism?” Plover turned to Riley. “Miss, I request that you take my mail tray next door to Gray Fern Cottage so I might have a discussion with Dr. Hoult.”

Riley chuckled. “Plover, you know that wouldn’t work. The locks keep you in place here.”

“Well, we didn’t think the children were going to be granted magic before, did we?” Plover exclaimed. “We haven’t tried taking my object out of the house!”

Caroline smiled sadly at him. “It’s sweet that you’re worried, but I can handle this myself.”

Plover grumbled to himself in a distinctly British tone. “I’m not worried. I am…put out with the doctor.”

“My dad never got this mad when he fought with my mom,” Mina said. “Because he’d given up on her a long time ago. So, if I were you, I would consider that a good sign?”

“Grown-up business, Mina,” Caroline told her.

“Fiiiine,” she sighed.

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