Page 68 of Witch Please

“It’s certainly not a name I’d forget.” A certain darkness flickered in his expression; then he masked it with an adroitness that made her nervous.

“Come in, then. Or would you rather I send Clem out?”

“I’ll wait. She seemed amenable to grabbing a bite at the café around the corner.”

“Trust me, you’d know if she wasn’t.” With that, she went inside and found Clem wiping down the appliances they had for sale out front. “He’s waiting for you,” she said, not trusting herself to offer more.

Her cousin only nodded and slung her silver-mirrored tote over one shoulder. “I’ll be home late. Don’t wait up.”

Danica grabbed her phone and called Gram. Finally. It only made things worse when her grandmother let the call roll to voicemail.She never does this.It must be serious. Her own anger edged with fear, she called four more times but only left the one message.

Around five, the old witch finally called back, her voice overly sweet. “Something you need, dear? I was helping Gladys in the garden.” That was the name of the friend who’d rented a room to Gram for the summer.

That was probably a lie. Unlike Mom, Gram had less of a green thumb than Clem or Danica, and they were slowly killing all their houseplants with the best of intentions. She didn’t call her grandmother out because she couldn’t afford to aggravate her further.

“Do you have time to get coffee later?”

“What time?”

“After the shop closes. We can meet at Java House.” The café around the corner had simple meals, good coffee, and it was close.

“See you then,” Gram said.

This meeting might not be friendly despite Danica’s best intentions. She fretted about what would drive Gram to this level of anger until closing time. After rushing through the nightly security procedures, she hurried to Java House, where Gram had already gotten a table. Today, the older woman wore a light-gray pantsuit with a blush tank top, elegant as always, from her curled hair to her painted toenails.

“How’s Gladys doing?” Danica asked once she’d placed an order for a vanilla latte.

“She has rheumatoid arthritis. Vivimancers have helped some, but it’s not curable even with magic. That’s why I was in the garden with her despite my lack of proficiency.”

Maybe it wasn’t a lie after all. Gram would do anything for people she cared about. Danica had no idea how to bridge this subject without sounding hateful and accusatory, but without Gram’s interference, other witches had no reason to hex Titus.

They made small talk for a while until Gram finally said, “Something on your mind, dear? I suspect you didn’t ask me out for a simple chat, though I wish you had.”

Guilt flickered through her at the obvious hurt in her grandmother’s voice. She tried to soften the allegation. “I dispelled a hex today.”

“Yes, Ruby told me that things didn’t go as planned.”

Wow. I guess…I didn’t expect her to admit it right away.Hurt warred with anger within her, and the fire won out. “I can’t believe you tried to ruin Titus’s business! He hasn’t done anything wrong. He’s a good person, and you need to leave him alone.”There, that ought to be forceful enough.

A long silence followed. Gram stared, eyes wide. Likely she couldn’t believe Danica had spoken to her like that because she was always the soft, conciliatory one, while Clem offered more open defiance.

Finally her grandmother said in a soft, icy tone, “Well, that depends on you, dear. I found out that there’s a witch hunter in town, likely because of you. How long did you plan to hide the fact that your magic is malfunctioning?”

Oh shit.Danica had expected Gram to hear about the hunter, but her grandma had already learned Danica’s secret too?Nobody in the coven would’ve told her. How does she know?If Danica wasn’t sweating bullets, she would be seriously impressed with her grandmother’s information network.

Still, she tried to bluff. “What are you talking about?”

“Really, Danica. I can’t believe you kept something so important from me. I spoke to your mother, and you toldher, even though she’s two hours away and in no danger whatsoever. I can’t believe this is what we’ve come to. And we used to be so close.” Actual tears shimmered in Gram’s eyes.

She bit her lip. “You’ve never needed me to warn you about anything. I mean, you’re basically omniscient.”

Gram took a moment to sip her drink and compose herself. She wasn’t the sort of woman to cry in public. “Me having access to information and you caring enough to tell me are two separate issues. Or do you plan to argue about that as well?”

Is this why she flew off the handle and hexed Titus? She blames him for the distance growing between us? Maybe for my magical problems too.That wasn’t remotely fair.

“I don’t want to fight with you,” Danica said quietly.

“Then don’t. It’s quite simple. You’ll stop seeing him. And I’ll have no reason to harm the man. He’s just a mundane, after all. No one of any importance.”

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