Page 22 of Blue Moon Mistress

“You guys are all very different, strong personalities. Who knows how well ours will mesh outside of ritual sex?”

That wins Joshua over to my side, but I have a feeling Johnny is going to take even more convincing than Chase.

“Hey,” I hook a finger in Johnny’s waistband and pull him to me. “I’m not telling you to get lost, I’m just saying… you don’t know the baggage I come with, so don’t even think about asking me to move in.”

The way he bites his lower lip makes me think that wasexactlywhere his thoughts were headed.

He is the youngest of the four, and I have a feeling the world hasn’t beaten the fairytale magic out of him yet. I certainly don’t want to be the one to do it.

I get a tingling feeling at the base of my spine, and I wince. “I have to take this call.”

The sound of Ventura Highway echoes from the other room and I hurry in, digging my phone out of my bag.

“Hi Mom.”

“You’re not at home.”

“I’m sure you didn’t forget. It was Samhain… I was with friends. It made sense to not drive afterward.”

There’s a pause. The moment is dark and empty and I guess what she’s going to ask before she does.

“You haven’t joined another coven have you?”

It’s on the tip of my tongue to say “of course not”, but that quick of a denial will only make her think I’m going to come back.

“None of the local witches want the hassle. Too many ghosts fromallour pasts.”

And joining another coven would sever the last tiny strand that connects me to hers. And as long as my mother has that connection to me, she can protect me. At least… that’s why she claims she voted against my “removal.”

“Speaking of buried things.” My mother sighs and I feel the full weight of it through the phone. “I can’t get away today. Will you please go to the Carraway plot and make sure your grandmother is still sealed in tight? One of the canary feathers caught fire this morning.”

“Of course.”

The Carraway plot is in the middle of the forest, a short hike from the ugly golf course they’d built in the dunes years ago.

My grandmother was interred there for crimes I’d been warned against… without actually being toldwhatshe’d done. But if she woke, I’d guess—even if she’d been an innocent woman going in—she’d be hell bent on revenge, and a witch with a vendetta was the last thing any of us needed.

“Good. Thank you.” My mother’s short response tells me my father has come into the room. Any talk about his mother is officially over. “I know it’s months away yet, but please consider coming up for the Yule celebrations this year. Everyone misses you.”

“I’ll think about it. Tell papa I love him. I’ll let you know if anything’s… moved.”

When I hang up, I take a moment to breathe. The Carraway Plot is one of my least favorite places. And I’d rather not have to go there this close to such a powerful moon. But needs must, and family secrets are best kept buried.

When I get back to the kitchen, everyone’s at the table except Chase. He is arranging items on the island, beside a blender. “Do you eat eggs?”

“Occasionally.”

His face brightens. “Do you like pancakes?”

“Sure.”

“Good, because it’s the only thing I could think of that we had everything for in the house that wasn’t basically handing you cold cereal.”

He starts spooning dry ingredients into a small bowl, not using any measuring devices, and the liquid ingredients—along with bananas—go into the blender.

“He makes them all the time.” Joshua says, waving a fork with a chunk of stake on it at us. “I think he could measure it out without even looking.”

“Not going to try.”

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