Page 3 of Whiskey & Witches

Tears stung his eyes, and he pressed his lips together. Why didsheget to visit him when his mother couldn’t? The witch who was his mother’s sister. Aunt Meg had never been nice to him in the past unless she wanted something, and he had no reason to trust her now.

A soft light entered her sorrowful eyes, and she reached out a hand as if to stroke his cheek.

Jerking back, he scowled and slapped her hand away. He wouldn’t be fooled by her, and he didn’t want her fake kindness. Didn’t need it when he hadrealfamily to look out for him. Turning away, he scooped up his toys and raced for the front door.

“Aeden?” she called, and there was unhappiness in the sound.

He paused just as he reached the entrance to his home, something in her voice compelling him to turn around.

“I can help you.” Her smile was hesitant. “If you’d like.”

He didn’t want her help.

Didn’t deserve it.

Hewas the reason his mother wouldn’t wake up. But he couldn’t tell her that. Couldn’t tellanyone.

Aeden ran.

Roisin Byrne-O’Malley sighed deeply.For the sixth time in a month, she’d come to insist Carrick use her magical services to help Aeden. She’d have done it after waking from her coma, but her husband hadn’t wanted to tax her strength. Maybe he’d be more receptive to her cures after so much time had passed. Sure, and she wasn’t back to one-hundred percent, but her magic was stronger than it had been, and she was desperate to get their lives back to normal.

Without a doubt, they needed to discuss revealing the truth to Aeden. Their son grew more surly by the day, and he still rejected her overtures as Meg. Granted, her sister had been a raging bitch to him, and posing as her wasn’t a comfort to him. Aeden had seen through her sister when she’d been alive, and it appeared he didn’t believe she’d had a change of heart now.

Movement in an upstairs window caught her attention. As if she’d conjured him with her thoughts, Carrick appeared. He stared down at her, his corded arms crossed over his impressive chest and a dark scowl on his devastatingly handsome face. Today, he only wore a simple navy-blue t-shirt. Even from this distance, Roisin could see how the material loved his body, conforming to all the well-defined muscles.

Oh, how she remembered the beautiful contour of his chest and abdomen!

Damn, but the man was grand. Always had been, always would be.

Too bad he had no place in his life for her anymore. She felt a literal pang in the region of her heart, and she imagined she could hear another crack as it fractured further. They’d grown distant since she’d woken from her stasis, and separate households didn’t help their relationship. It only served as a constant divide as the weeks, then months flew by.

She gave a tentative little wave, causing his frown to deepen to a scowl. Without meaning to, she grinned, mostly to annoy him and cover her heartache. But her cheeky smile disappeared when he ran a hand through his thick black hair and turned away in dismissal. Tears welled up, and she violently wiped them away. Hers was a family she couldn’t have anymore, and she was an eejit for thinking she could change things. For wanting everything back the way it had been before that fateful day.

A tingling in her face was the only indication her glamour spell was wearing thin. She released the clip holding her hair and arranged the thick layers to shield most of her scarred visage. Careful to keep the ravaged side away from oncoming foot traffic, she traveled the short distance until she came to the dirt path leading to her cottage. The remainder of the glamour dissolved, and her hair morphed from a smooth strawberry blonde to a wild mass of golden curls. Thank the Goddess, her place was as close as it was; anyone witnessing her transformation would be in for the shock of their lives.

She’d only been home five minutes or so when the banging on her front door commanded her attention.

Carrick.

It had to be. No one else would dare be that demanding of the Witch of the Woods. Not in her own home anyway.

“Open the door, Roisin!”

The challenging tone grated on her nerves. Who the hell did he think he was?Hehad rejectedher. Now he thought to come here and what? Take her to task for talking to Aeden on an unscheduled day? For trying to reach beyond their poor child’s pain and help him heal? For giving in to her need to see her son?

“Go away, Carrick. I’m not accepting callers today,” she hollered from the other side of the wooden panel.

“Jaysus, woman, you’d try the patience of a saint!Open the fecking door!”

A little devil danced on her shoulder. “Only if you ask me nicely. I’ll be expecting a please from you, I will.”

She imagined she could hear his teeth gnash together. To be sure, she heard his frustrated exhale.

“Please,” he gritted out.

Suppressing the bubble of laughter was difficult, but she managed. She didn’t know why she found his irritation amusing these days, but she’d take her jollies where she could get them. When she could speak without inflection, she said, “Please, what?”

“I swear to the Goddess,” he muttered. Raising his voice a hair louder, he called, “Please, open the bleedin’ door!”

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