Page 52 of Extra Witchy

“Thanks for a fun night,” Leanne said.

Danica and Titus walked them out, and everyone swapped hugs. Trev offered to drive, and his wife smiled as she slid into the passenger seat. The other couple stood in the farmhouse doorway as he backed out onto the quiet country road. This far from St. Claire, the sky was ablaze with stars since it was a clear night. If he thought it would do any good, he would wish on one of them.

Don’t let this end. Don’t let me fuck it up.

“Did you have fun?” he asked.

“I did. Obviously, I’m close to Danica already, and I can imagine us being annoying couples who go on vacation together.” The light from the dashboard illustrated the most beautiful smile he’d ever seen.

He cut her a look, surprise warring with warmth in his chest. “Wow, really? You like Titus that well already?”

“How could I not? He’s your best friend, and he caressomuch. Tonight, he did everything but a backflip to make sure I had a good time.”

There was no arguing that. In fact, in high school, people made fun of Titus for that tendency, while Trev had been one who never put effort into anything. Not because he wanted to be cool, but he just couldn’t see the point since no matter what he did, it was never enough. His grades would never be as good as Tanner’s even if he studied every waking hour.

“Where would you like to go?” he asked.

“For what?”

“Our first vacation. Not necessarily with Titus and Danica, though you can include them if you want.”

“Oh. I hadn’t even thought about it, but…off the top of my head? Fiji. I’ve always wanted to go. I hear it’s gorgeous. Or maybe Macao. Ethel went a few years ago…”

Her quick answer took his breath away. Trev lost the thread as she repeated a story about the older woman who was in her book club, an amusing adventure Ethel had in Macao. Before, he hadn’t goneanywhere.Or done much of anything. After he’d dropped out of college, the years blurred together, partly for lack of funds, but the problem went deeper, and it wouldn’t get better until he faced up to it.

“Or maybe you’d prefer somewhere closer to home to start,” she said eventually.

“Maybe Aruba or the Bahamas?” Geography wasn’t his strong point, but he thought he remembered one of Wade’s friends saying he’d taken the boat from Miami. “I’ve always wanted to do a boat trip.”

“A cruise?”

“Oh, hell no. I wouldn’t want to be trapped on it long term. But it would be cool sailing somewhere, you know?”

She touched his arm with a gentle hand. “That might be doable. We could travel by boat to Freeport. Would you settle for a day trip by boat and a beach vacation to start?”

“Absolutely. It’s fun to think about,” he said, deflecting from the fact that it seemed unlikely they’d ever go anywhere else together. And he shouldn’t be sad about that. He’d already gotten more than he could reasonably expect from Leanne.

“Something wrong?” she asked.

“Not at all.” Quickly, he changed the subject and told her about the courses he’d found online, asking her opinion about the ones she thought were most important or worthwhile. “I was thinking about learning some web design as well. That way I could eventually offer a full-suite of freelance services.”

They chatted about that for the rest of the drive, and once they got home, she insisted on checking the descriptions herself, then she bookmarked the ones she assessed as the most useful. Since she’d done this sort of work professionally for years, her opinion carried weight, and he appreciated her honest appraisal.

“You’re better at this than I am,” she said matter-of-factly. “With me, it’s training and experience, but you’re ahead in terms of instincts and the way you relate to people.”

He ducked his head, embarrassed but pleased. “I can’t get used to you randomly saying nice things about me.”

“You deserve only the best. Do you mind if I shower?” She kissed him lightly on the lips after he shook his head.

As Leanne headed to the bathroom, her phone vibrated on the kitchen counter. He picked it up to see if it was urgent, possibly related to the campaign, and a message from Junie popped on the lock screen. He didn’t set out to read it, but the message practically leaped out at him:

We need to talk. It’s about your father. Lunch tomorrow?

While he didn’t know all his wife’s secrets, he understood she had a complicated relationship with her mother and that she’d had a rough time growing up, complete with a bunch of stepfathers.Wonder which one this is about, or if it’s about her biological dad?Whatever bomb Junie was about to drop, it would likely put Leanne on her ass when she could least afford to be distracted.

He had Junie’s number in his own cell, and he knew the code to unlock Leanne’s phone from watching her. Maybe he shouldn’t do this—No, fuck it. I’ll protect her even from her own parents if I have to.Quickly, he keyed Leanne’s pin and deleted the message from Junie, then he texted his mother-in-law from his own cell.

Leanne is busy with the election. Will you talk to me first? I’ll help you break the news, whatever it is, but let’s time it for when it won’t mess with her head.

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