Page 99 of At Her Will

“Neil knows better,” Cyn said, but agreeably rose, Mick’s hand sliding over her hips to help her to her feet and enjoy the contact. She shot him a heated look and half smile from under her tangle of brown curls and came to sit next to Vera. Ros strolled over to the grill to lean against the rail next to Lawrence, hips brushing as she sipped her drink.

Cyn nodded at Rev. “He handled himself well today.”

“He’s comfortable with people. He works with kids during the day, and is a leader in his church.”

“I thought his cousin was the preacher.”

“Yes. But Rev…I think he’s the talent. The real deal that strengthens the faith of the congregation.”

“He’s the sales guy.”

“No. I wouldn’t put it that way. Not the way you’re meaning it.” Vera nudged her. “What’s going on? I thought you had made peace with some of this.”

“Yeah, and no. It became less important. I think he’s just rubbing me the wrong way.”

“Him or his faith?”

“Are the two separate? They don’t seem like it.”

“When you do it right, they’re usually not. I follow the Wiccan faith, and it speaks to me, guides me in my choices. You know that about me, and it doesn’t seem to bother you.”

Cyn took a swallow of her drink. “I’m just able to accept your version of the spiritual hoodoo because it’s more like Halloween than Easter, and I like Halloween.”

“That is an insulting oversimplification of two very powerful and complicated spiritual paths.”

“I aim to offend. It’s my reason for getting up in the morning.”

“It used to be.” Vera glanced at Mick, who’d picked a soda out of the cooler and taken a seat in a chair near Neil and Tiger. “I think you have other reasons for getting out of bed.”

“Uh, no. He’s my reason for stayinginit.”

Vera tapped her bottle of water against Cyn’s. “What you believe in, deep in your heart, what helps the world make sense to you, that’s a big part of your personal fabric, right? Your love for Mick, no matter how you shrug it off, is your spiritual compass.”

“Spiritual compassandfuck toy. They go hand in hand in my one-woman church.”

“Are you planning to expand the congregation?”

“Not if I can help it. It makes arguing about dogma a lot easier.” Cyn sobered, her eyes on Rev. “I have my own shit about it, Vera, but be careful. Just because he has his head on straight, doesn’t mean his family does, and their dislike for you oozes out of their pores. Lawrence gets some serious weird vibes off the aunt, and after the hospital, I agree.”

“You think an elderly church woman is going to jump me one night while I’m leaving my favorite coffee shop?”

“Someone’s beliefs can make them do stupid, violent shit, no matter how harmless they seem.” Cyn’s troubled dark eyesturned to Vera. “I know you can handle yourself, as long as you don’t forget to watch for a threat. But what I worry about more is how they might mess with his head, so he breaks your heart.

“I know I’m impulsive,” she added, “but my gut doesn’t lie to me. I like him, I do. I just wish he didn’t come with all the rest.”

Vera couldn’t deny Cyn’s perspective made her uneasy, but she kept her tone light. “Do we know any man worth the trouble who doesn’t come with baggage? And would we like to turn that mirror on ourselves?”

Cyn made a face. “Stop pointing out stuff that makes sense or I’ll start calling you Mom again.”

“And I’ll do what I did last time you tried that. I’ll have Skye leak doctored pictures of you at a Taylor Swift concert, wearing a sparkly rainbow unicorn shirt.”

Cyn’s grin ended the conversation’s serious tone. “I love it when your inner sadist comes out to play.”

Rev was aware dinner was an audition of sorts. Casual lovers were not brought to this. Only family.

He thought of what Lawrence had told him at Progeny, that his job wasn’t to worry about what they all were thinking. It was to care for Veracity, what mattered to her, what she needed. This was an opportunity for a deeper understanding of that.

He was different from the other four men. In one way or another, they had the heightened awareness of their surroundings and keen attention to detail that came from dangerous career paths.

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