Page 28 of Rise of the Melody
“Lorna?” the woman whispered.
“Oh, my goodness,” Aunt Lorna whispered back. “Motifa.”
At the same time both women rushed to the end of the counter and embraced. I looked at Ron, who explained, “They were best friends.”
My heart sputtered. Aunt Lorna had many associates and acquaintances in New York, but I’d never seen her hug anyone like that. I couldn’t believe she’d left Shehan—left a boyfriend and best friend—and not had any contact with them all this time. I couldn’t hear all the words they were murmuring to each other, but the way they grasped hands and wiped their eyes, I knew they were reconnecting. Aunt Lorna pulled the woman over to me, never letting go of her hand.
“Letty! This is Motifa, my very dearest friend. Mo, this is my niece, Letty.” The woman immediately rushed forward to hug me, smelling like pastries and spices.
“It’s so nice to meet you,” Motifa said.
“You too!” I beamed at her open face, feeling so thankful to this woman for accepting my aunt back, knowing she’d probably left her with no notice, like Ron.
“Apparently,” Aunt Lorna explained, “Motifa married a man named Leon…”
She glanced at Motifa, who added, “Chastain.”
“She married Leon Chastain, and they opened this coffee shop together.”
“That’s amazing,” I said.
“Leon and I are both Nature Shamans, but he’s from New Orleans and I’m originally Haitian. He has a son about your age in school in Louisiana.” Motifa peered over at the group of teens watching us and gave me a gentle push.
“Go on and be with your friends. I’ll come over to the house soon so we can all catch up.”
I thanked her and gave my aunt a smile. The tears in her eyes were unmistakable. Despite the crappy reason we had to come to Shehan, I was thankful she was getting to reconnect with people she’d cared about.
I felt strangely embarrassed walking to the back table while my aunt and the Sheriff were ushered by Motifa to a small two-seater in front.
I stopped in front of the group of four, awkwardly holding my drink as they stared up at me.
“Um, hey.” I waved. So dumb. “I’m Letty.”
“Shani,” said a girl with a short, black, sleek bob haircut, wearing a red poppy summer dress as if it weren’t fifty degrees outside. Based on their resemblance, this must’ve been Chrys’s sister.
I smiled and nodded. “Hey.”
“I’m Vanora,” said the girl beside her with a thick, blonde braid over her shoulder. “But everyone calls me Nora.” She wore shorts and a tank top, showing toned, muscular arms and legs. Strong was the new pretty, and she was the kind of gorgeous that could kick a guy’s butt.
“Do you do CrossFit?” I asked, and then felt dumb when everyone laughed.
“Idowork out,” she said. “But I mostly climb trees.” I stared, wondering if she was BSing me, until she explained. “I take after my mother, a Welsh dryad. Father’s heritage is Danishseidhr, which is old Norse magic, but we don’t practice anymore.” She held out her arm. “Feel.”
I ran my hand over her forearm, which looked completely normal, but felt rough and dry. I couldn’t hold back a little gasp of surprise, which made her smile.
“I can blend with oak.” She sat back and took a sip of her drink, watching as I gaped at her. Dryads were forest nymphs.
“That’s just…wow.” I shook my head and everyone laughed again. I couldn’t even pretend to be unfazed.
“It’s a lot, right?” Chrys asked, leaning back in his chair.
“Yeah, but it’s so amazing.” I looked around at their summertime outfits. I was practically shivering in my shorts. “Aren’t you guys freezing?” I asked.
They all looked at each other and laughed. Inside joke, apparently.
“This weather is warm to us,” Teague explained. “The minute winter is over it’s summer.”
I gave a small smile. “I think I’d die if I took off this sweatshirt.”
