But now he only had Prada for company, and while he was glad of her comfortingly furry presence by his side as he answered emails, he found he missed Beatrix even though she was just a few minutes' walk away.
"I'm getting soft," he said out loud to Prada. She tilted her head as if to say, 'you always have been'.
His phone vibrated, and he hoped that it might be Beatrix. Instead, it was his mother.
"Hi Mum," he said, sliding his thumb to answer the call. "How are you going?"
"Oh, I'm very well, darling," she said. "You know, I do like those serums you sent me. Beatrix is a very clever girl. I was paying hundreds of dollars for that Crème de la Mer, but what she makes is much better."
"Yeah, she's amazing," Jacob said, happy that his mother wanted to talk about Beatrix. "She's really amazing, Mum. I...I really like her. I'd like you to meet her sometime. I know that Dad has always hoped I'd meet someone with the right kind of background, but—"
"Oh, you know your father just wants you to be happy," Bethany said airily, as though Chuck hadn't been in his ear about finding a girl with a logistics family for the last few years. "And now with that deal on the table, well! I don't think it matters so much who you choose."
"He told you about that, huh?" Jacob screwed up his face. "They're supposed to be calling me to set up a time for a site tour, but I'm not sure I want to sell. Especially not to a company like Kappa. I mean—"
"Your father's very excited about this deal, Jacob," Bethany said. "I hope you know just how much it means to him."
"I thought he wanted me to decide what to do with Shepherd's Crossing," Jacob pointed out. "I thought he wanted me to make it a success."
"He does, Jakey," Bethany said. "But this deal would be a big thing for our family. I mean, the possibilities..." she trailed off. "I know you wanted to develop that site yourself, and I liked your idea of keeping that bit of bush, making a nature reserve. But you've got to be practical. An opportunity like this is rare. You know that."
"I do, Mum," Jacob said. "I mean, I'm thinking about it. We'll do the site tour. But they might not want to go for it. I mean, I'm sure they're speaking to lots of developers."
Jacob's hope, deep in his heart, was that Kappa would decide they didn't like the site. Maybe it would be just a little too far from the motorway turn off. Perhaps it would be more hilly than they were expecting, and they wouldn't want to put more money into levelling the site. Maybe they'd get a better offer somewhere else. After all, he wasn't even the only developer in Shepherd's Crossing.
"I just want you to understand how much this means to the family, Jake," Bethany said. "I know you want to do the best thing for us, don't you? You've always been such a good boy. So reliable, so conscientious. And you know how much we love you for that, even if your father does tease you. I know you'll do the right thing, sweetheart."
"I'll...I'll make sure I weigh up all the options," Jacob said, desperate not to lie again. "I don't know what will happen when they come for the site tour. If they do!" He laughed weakly. "I mean, you never know what will happen. But I'll do my best, Mum."
"That's my good boy," his mother said approvingly. "I know we can rely on you."
When the call ended, Jacob felt like he might throw up. He even pulled his wastepaper bin out from under his desk and held it in his lap, looking at the protein bar wrappers in the bottom of the bin. His stomach twisted sharply, but he didn't vomit. Not yet, not this time.
He did, however, sigh very loudly and push back from his desk, pacing the little office.
"What the hell am I supposed to do, Prada?" he asked out loud. "If I don't make this deal, Dad will never forgive me. But if I do, Beatrix will hate me forever. I can't win!"
"I just wish Kappa had never even heard of Shepherd's Crossing," he sighed, rubbing his hands over his face.
He knelt down, scratching Prada between her ears, and she jumped up, resting her tiny paws on his collarbone to give him a remarkably dignified kiss on the cheek.
"Thanks, girl," he said, stroking her gratefully. "I know you'll still love me no matter what I do. Just can't say the same for anyone else in my life."
18 Beatrix
Beatrix didn't open her eyes when she woke up. If she opened her eyes, she had to accept that the day had started. And she really didn't want it to. Maybe she could just stay here with her eyes closed and never face today. Avoid her responsibilities by sheer force of will.
She rolled over, expecting to find the warm and comforting bulk of Jacob's body beside her, but instead, she rolled into...nothing.
Begrudgingly, she opened her eyes to find a clearly Jacob free bed. That sucked. She had been hoping to at least have morning snuggles (and perhaps more) to take her mind off the impending arrival of her mother.
Pulling on her robe, she made her way to the kitchen. What she saw made her smile.
Jacob, wearing only navy-blue boxers, was frying bacon on the stove, his every moved watched by Gumbo and Prada.
"Morning," he grinned. "Aren't you a vision of loveliness?"
Beatrix grimaced. "Is my hair doing that thing?"
"It is," Jacob said, still grinning. "And it's freaking adorable, you know that?"
"Always such a charmer," Beatrix said, wrapping her arms around his waist and kissing him softly.
"I need to be, meeting your mum tonight."
"About that," Beatrix frowned. "I'll have to see what kind of mood she's in, you know?"
Jacob was silent for a moment, flipping the sizzling bacon slices and looking thoughtful. "It's okay if you'd rather I didn't meet her, Beatrix," he said finally.
"That's not what I meant!" she said quickly. "Really. It's not that I don't want her to meet you, it's..." She sighed, reaching down to scratch Gumbo between his ears. He gave her hand a quick lick of reassurance before returning his attention to the bacon, his snout quivering. "It's kind of that I don't want you to meet her. She's so... I'd hate it if she was horrible to you."
Jacob let out a breath and turned off the gas, pushing the pan to the very back of the stove where even Gumbo couldn't reach it. "She's not a fan of us Ordinaries, huh?"
"It's not like that," Beatrix said. "She's fine with Ordinaries, just not—"
"Dating her daughter?" Jacob finished. "I get it. I mean, my parents can be tricky. And it can be hard to deal with some of the stuff they pull. Especially when you still love them."
"Yeah," Beatrix said. "It's..." she shook her head. "I just don't want to put you in a position where she's mean to you."
"Well, if it helps," Jacob said, "I'm a big boy. Really, I can cope. So long as she doesn't hex me, we're good."
Beatrix sighed and took a piece of bacon from the pan, nibbling it even though it burned her fingers. Gumbo almost lost his mind with excitement, and Prada let out a shrill yip. "You make it sound so easy," she said, liking the way that Jacob wrapped his big arms around her, rubbing her back in slow circles.
Jacob laughed. "I know it's not," he said. "Not with my family, anyway."
Beatrix sighed and reached for another piece of bacon, but Jacob took her hand, holding it back. "You'll regret eating it all," he said. "Wait until the eggs are done, huh?"
Beatrix made a face, but she backed off from the bacon pan. "Fine," she said. "Deprive me of one of life's simple joys."
"Never," Jacob said, laughing. "Always want to make you happy, Beatrix."
His words made her smile, but there was something not quite right. Something that made her think that he wasn't being entirely honest with her. She groaned, looking at the expanse of his muscular bare back. Maybe she was wrong. Jacob had always been honest with her. There was no need to start second-guessing him now.
✽✽✽
"You're quiet," Beatrix said, putting a cup of coffee down in front of Jacob. "You haven't even mentioned Onyx's new necklace."
"What can I say? Human teeth aren't the weirdest thing I've seen lately."
Beatrix wrinkled her nose. "I guess that's fair."
"Heard from your mother?" Jacob said, looking up and taking her hand.
"Nope," Beatrix sighed. "She... Well, she'll be here when she gets here. She's not into clocks and timekeeping. Unless it relates to moon phases or tides. Then she's like freaking Big Ben."
Jacob laughed. "Sorry, I know you're anxious about her coming, and I'm not being a very good boyfriend." He sighed. "It's just, I've got a lot on my mind. A few clients coming to see the site this week, and I want to be ready." He looked away, shaking his head.
"It's okay," Beatrix said, looking at him affectionately. "I know you have a life of your own. I can't expect you to revolve totally around me."
"Wish I could, though," Jacob said. "It would be way more fun than property development. Just spending all day making you happy." He took her hand between his, raising it to his lips and kissing her palm. A tingle of desire went through her, and Beatrix wished that she could kick out both Shauna and Onyx right now and let Jacob do all sorts of filthy things to her right there on the table.
"You say the sweetest things," she smiled, and for a moment, everything was perfect. Those green eyes fixed on her, open and honest.
"I'd better get back to the office," Jacob said, standing up. "I've got to make some calls. And you're too distracting."
"You didn't even finish your coffee!" Beatrix objected.
"You have it," he said, looking down at something on his phone as he left. "I'm... I've probably had enough caffeine today."
Beatrix frowned as she watched his retreating form disappear between the double doors.
"Does he seem off to you?" she asked as Shauna opened the jar of biscuits and retrieved a large chocolate one.
Shaun shrugged. "Well, he knows your mum's coming, doesn't he? Maybe he's nervous about the whole 'meet the parents' thing."
"I guess," Beatrix said, reaching for a biscuit too. Something about the impending arrival of her mother made her crave sugar.
"I'm a little nervous, I must admit," Shauna said. "Your mum, she's not too keen on us Ordinaries knowing about magic."
"Well, no," Beatrix conceded. "But she's had a long time to get used to the idea. She won't do anything to you."
"I wasn't worried about that," Shauna said, raising her eyebrows.
"Sorry," Beatrix said, spraying biscuit crumbs onto the table as she spoke. "I... My mum makes me really nervous. I'm always so defensive around her. I feel like I'm a teenager again. I don't like how I am with her."
"You'll be fine," Shauna said reassuringly, wiping away the biscuit crumbs with a tissue. "You're a grown woman with your own home, a thriving business, and a lovely boyfriend. Any parent would be proud."
Beatrix grimaced. "Not her, though," she said. "She's... Well, she's got different priorities."
"Then maybe she needs to learn to meet you halfway," Shauna said. "Learn to love the daughter she's got."
"Maybe," Beatrix said, frowning. But her thoughts were interrupted.
"Be honest," Onyx said, taking off his headphones and standing in front of them. He indicated the necklace made from human teeth around his neck. "With your mum coming, is this too much?"
Beatrix looked at Shauna, and she couldn't help it. She dissolved into giggles.
"You know what, Onyx?" Shauna said, stifling her own laughter. "Go with your gut."
✽✽✽
Beatrix sensed her mother's presence long before the truck pulled up. It just gave her more time to worry.
"She's here!" Shauna called out, looking out the window at the truck.
"Right," Beatrix said, closing her eyes and gritting her teeth. "Right, I'd better go out then."
She made no move to go outside and stood there a moment longer, wondering if she could just freeze time by standing very still. It seemed like an excellent idea, if she could pull it off.
"Aren't you going to go out?" Onyx said, adjusting his necklace and pulling up his artfully ripped black jeans. "I mean, it's your mother."
"Of course," Beatrix said, snapping back to reality. "Yeah, I'm going to..." she swallowed hard and pushed her way through the double doors. Gumbo was wagging his tail excitedly, watching as Agnes descended from the truck like a queen leaving her throne to bestow her magnificent presence upon the peasantry.
"It'll be okay," Beatrix said to herself. "It will definitely be okay. And if it isn't, well, she can't stay forever."
"Beatrix!" Agnes called. "Come and help me! What are you just standing there for? Come and get these bags!"
Breaking her trance, Beatrix ran over and allowed the farmer to pass her an enormous bag full of canvas and tent poles. It must be the yurt, she thought.
"Hi Mum," Beatrix managed to say, her mouth as dry as the morning after drinks with Tom. "How was your trip?"
"Ghastly!" Agnes said, sighing deeply. "Hours spent in that confounded gas-guzzling contraption, the fumes making me ill."
"Oh," Beatrix said, noticing that her mother had absolutely not thanked the driver of said gas-guzzling contraption for the lift. "Sorry to hear that."
Her mother looked the same as she always did, Beatrix thought. Hair that was even redder than her own loose around her face, adorned with a crown of what Beatrix knew was ivy. That same narrow nose, those same blue eyes that she saw in her own reflection. But unlike Beatrix, Agnes's skin was a mass of freckles so dense that she looked deeply tanned. Beatrix had talked to her mother about the wonders of sunscreen, but Agnes wouldn't hear of keeping the blessed sun's righteous rays from her skin. Agnes was dressed in what looked like a green sack, belted at the waist with jingling bells, and cut low enough to show off her somewhat wrinkled cleavage. That must have been for the benefit of the farmer, Beatrix thought grimly.
"Where would you like me to take these?" Beatrix asked politely. "Would you like to set up near my place, or—"
"Under the trees, of course!" Agnes said, shaking her head like Beatrix had said something extraordinarily stupid. "The Earth will provide shelter for me, Beatrix."
"Right," Beatrix said. "I just thought you might want to be near a bathroom, but–"
"I have no need of such things," Agnes said, dismissing her with a jingle of bells. Beatrix tried very hard not to picture her mother squatting behind a tree.
"Right," she said again. "Um, would you like to see the workshop? Meet my staff? Shauna's made an apple cake. All organic, of course. The apples were locally grown."
Beatrix watched her mother's face and saw that gleam in her eye at the mention of the word 'cake'. For all her talk of the earth's bounties, Beatrix knew her mother had a distinct preference for refined sugar.
"I suppose I had better get it over with," Agnes said, throwing her hair back off her shoulders grandly. "Do you still have that boy here, from town?"
"You mean Onyx?" Beatrix said, raising her eyebrows as her mother walked beside her, looking at the powerlines leading into the workshop with distaste. She and Onyx had been friends more than fifteen years. When she had started high school in the small town near the commune, he had been the only one willing to talk to the girl from that weird hippy camp in the second-hand uniform that reeked of onions.
"Is that what he calls himself?" Agnes sniffed. "Ridiculous!"
"I think it suits him," Beatrix replied neutrally, even though she had laughed at Onyx's chosen name more than once. She took a deep breath and pushed the workshop doors open.
"Onyx, Shauna!" she called. "Come and say hi to my mother."
Onyx and Shauna appeared promptly, standing up very straight like little kids in the front row at a school assembly.
"It's an honour to see you once more," Onyx said, crouching into a kind of half bow, the teeth around his neck clicking horribly.
"Agnes, is it?" Shauna said, seeming far less star-struck. "I've heard lots about you." She stuck out a hand, and Agnes studied her for a moment before accepting it.
"A maternal figure," Agnes said as she looked at Shauna's plain, ruddy face. "I see. Beatrix must keep you around for that reason."
Behind her mother's back, Beatrix mouthed "sorry" and made her face as apologetic as she could.
"How about some tea and cake, Mum?" Beatrix said hurriedly. "Come over and sit down."
She led her mother over to the recycled timber table, but before she could get her safely seated, her mother spotted the contents of one of the glass-fronted freezers.
"Oh Beatrix, you can't!" she said, rushing to the glass door. "Oh, how could you? Those mushrooms ought never to be frozen artificially! You must wait for the first frost of winter to bring out their clarifying power."
"I can't wait for the first frost, Mum," Beatrix objected. "I need them ready year-round."
Agnes looked like she felt genuine pain on the mushroom's behalf. "Beatrix, nature has her own way of doing things. You cannot impose your will on the Earth's bounty."
"It's been fine," Beatrix shrugged and uncovered the cake, hoping the sweet smell would distract her mother. "Never had any problems with the mushrooms, have we, Onyx?"
Onyx jumped as though startled at being addressed.
"No!" he said, but when Agnes looked at him, he seemed to shrink. "Er, not yet. I mean, it would be wonderful to wait for the first frost, but um, it's a key to one of our most popular products and so–"
"I will take tea, thank you, daughter," Agnes said, ignoring Onyx's explanation entirely. "And cake. I'm weary from the journey, and once I have consumed this sustenance, I will rest."
"Sure," Beatrix said, a little too quickly. "Whatever you need, Mum. You can rest as long as you want."
"I would have thought you'd be more eager to spend time with your mother," Agnes said, and Beatrix cursed herself for falling into what ought to have been a very obvious trap. Her mother always did this, making you feel like an asshole for agreeing with something she herself had said.
"I am!" Beatrix said quickly. "Just want to make sure you can recover."
Agnes took an enormous bite of apple cake, and for a moment, her eyes closed, a look of bliss coming over her face. Beatrix wished briefly that Shauna had spiked the cake with vodka. Or sleeping pills.
Witch Way Now: A Paranormal Romantic Comedy (Raising Hell Downunder Book 4) Page 18
