Page 58 of The Trouble With Spells
“What are you doing home?” I demanded, completely put out that they had interrupted my impending orgasm.
“Daphne had a feeling you were in trouble,” Mom told me, crossing her arms over her chest.
Gran poked her head around Mom. Fortunately there wasn’t an inch of Michael uncovered, and only my head poked out. “Isadora had a premonition too, so we came home. We thought you needed us.” She waved a hand under her nose. “Smells like sex in here. He’s fine.”
My mom’s eagle-eyed gaze landed on the white bandage on my forehead that my hair didn’t quite hide. “He’s not fine, Mom! Callum, what happened?” She moved closer, her hand gently moving my hair so she could get a better look.
“I’m fine, Mom,” moving my head out of her grasp, I gave her what I hoped was a reassuring smile. “Promise. It’s nothing.”
Daphne, having recovered from the sight of walking in on Michael and me, snapped her fingers loudly. “I think the better question is who is he hiding under those blankets.”
Gran snorted, “Oh, that’s the Endicott boy. The one he was all moony over in high school.”
All our heads swiveled in Gran’s direction, eyes big.
“What?” Gran shrugged.
Narrowing my eyes, I couldn’t believe my family had barged into my room like this and werestill standing here. God, we all needed better boundaries. Or just boundaries in general. “How do you know that?”
Gran snorted, “Tilly told me, of course.”
“Mrs. Hawthorne?” I croaked.
“Mom, when did you talk to Tilly?”
“When Callum read her cards this week,” Gran told us nonchalantly. “Monday? Tuesday? Callum, what day did you read her cards?”
Shaking my head, I plucked at a thread on the blanket. “Monday, I think.”
“Mom?”
“What?” Gran sounded put out.
Mom had her hands planted on her hips, tapping her foot. “We were all supposed to turn our cell phones in when we got there. I saw you turn yours in.”
Gran looked annoyed. “You saw me turn inacell phone, Sarah. But not myonlycell phone. That rule is stupid, and dangerous, and I decided I wasn’t doing it. And I’m eighty, I don’t have to do a damn thing I don’t want to.”
Was I the only one that was wondering why my eighty-year-old Gran had more than one cell phone? Apparently so.
Daphne crept to the other side of my bed, and before I could stop her, she yanked the blankets down to Michael’s chest. She probably would have yanked them further, but he grabbed at them with quick hands. There was a brief tug-of-war between them before Michael’s brute strength finally prevailed, though Daphne put up a good fight, I’d give her that.
“Michael?” she stared down at him, her mouth a tight line of disapproval.
“Uh, hi,” he gave a wave with one hand, while using the other one to keep the blanket firmly in place and coveringall his bits. “You’re probably wondering what I’m doing here.”
“Looked and sounded like you were doing my grandson,” Gran chortled, while my mom screeched, “Mom, not helping!”
“Helping what, Sarah?” Gran demanded, “They were doing just fine before we showed up. They don’t need our help. Though,” she tapped her lip with one blunt fingernail, “I see why Callum was all heart-eyed over this one.”
“Out!” I made a shooing motion at them all. “Get out!”
“So, you don’t need me to break that binding spell, then?” Daphne shrugged, moving towards the door.
“Wait!” Michael shouted. “We do. Need it broken. Please.”
Mom gave me another one of herMomlooks, and I kept my eyes rooted firmly down at my blanket covered lap.
“Callum?” she said very slowly, “Were you spell casting while we were gone?”
