The Professor Woos The Witch (Nocturne Falls Book 4)

by Kristen Painter

  Marigold snorted softly. “Nope.”

  He looked at his father.

  Jack shrugged as if to indicate this was one more reason not to get involved with Pandora.

  “Excuse me.” Cole got up and went after her.

  She stood in front of the sink, staring out the window.

  “Hey, I thought you knew this whole thing was temporary.”

  She frowned and kept her gaze straight ahead. “Clearly not, but you don’t owe me an explanation.”

  “I feel like I do.”

  She finally turned toward him and smiled, but it was too bright and didn’t reach her eyes. “You don’t. And, really, this just makes things easier, doesn’t it?”

  “Pandora, it doesn’t mean—”

  She put her hand on his chest. “Yes, it does. I’ll help you with the house, and I’ll help you with Kaley as much as I can, but it would be silly to pursue anything between us. You’re a math professor. You understand being practical. And you and me? We’re not practical.” Her smile wavered. “And I don’t do casual.”

  He took a step back, his gut coiling like he’d been punched. “You’re right.” His voice sounded flat. It matched how he felt. But then, what had he thought? Well, he’d thought she’d grasped he wasn’t here for good. And he’d thought she was okay with that.

  The fact that she wasn’t…sucked.

  She turned back toward the window. “I’d like a moment alone now, thanks.”

  He knew when he’d been dismissed. “Okay.”

  He went back to the table. The joyous energy that had been in the room earlier was gone, replaced by whispers and long looks and tension. All of it caused by him. He made himself smile as he took his seat. “It’s all good.”

  Corette and her daughters smiled back like they knew that was a lie but they understood.

  Jack reached for the bread. “Excellent meal, Mrs. Williams. Haven’t had home cooking like this since my wife passed.”

  Another lie, Cole thought, but one that smoothed things out and restarted the conversation. He stared at his plate, not quite able to join in. He’d hurt Pandora. He hadn’t meant to, but he still felt terrible about it. Maybe she was right, though. Getting involved was risky for both of them.

  He’d spent this long not being anyone’s familiar. He could certainly live the rest of his life the very same way.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Marigold pick up the wine carafe and mention something about refilling it. She got up and headed for the kitchen. He hoped she was going to talk to Pandora. Comfort her. Commiserate with her. All that stuff that sisters did.

  That gave him some peace. If he couldn’t be the one to fix things, at least she had her family to lean on.

  The truth was, he didn’t feel that great about leaving now. It was the plan he’d made and it was the path that made the most sense. Leaving his job wouldn’t be a practical or smart decision. He was working on tenure after all. And his dad was in North Carolina too. The only other family Kaley had.

  But he also saw how much Kaley liked it here. He didn’t exactly hate the place. Sure, it was hands down the oddest town he’d ever been to with the strangest inhabitants, but he was one of those strange inhabitants now.

  The other thing that bothered him was leaving meant disappointing both Pandora and Kaley. That made him sad. Neither one deserved to be hurt like this. And he didn’t like being the cause of that hurt. But what were his choices? Practical things were practical for a reason. They made the most sense.

  At least on paper.

  He took a drink of his wine and tried to feel better about the whole thing.

  He failed.

  A wave of nausea hit Pandora with enough strength to make her close her eyes and hold on to the counter. She’d made a huge assumption about Cole. This was her mistake to get over, not his. Of course he had a house somewhere else. He was a professor on sabbatical. Had she thought he just moved himself and his daughter around the country willy-nilly?

  No. But she had thought he would stay. Especially with Kaley being a witch and needing a mentor.

  How wrong she’d been.

  And how could she hurt this much when she’d known him only a few days?

  Because she was being ridiculous, that’s how.

  She took a deep breath and tried to exhale the shock as she stood up a little straighter and gave herself a strong mental talking-to.

  Snap out of it. You’re acting like a silly teenager. You just met this guy. You’re not in love with him or anything. You just feel drawn to him because he’s a familiar and you’re a witch with wonky magic. That’s all.

  Soft footsteps filled the kitchen, followed by Marigold’s voice. “Hey, are you okay?”

  Pandora did her best to keep her voice steady. “No. And it’s absolutely stupid of me to feel like this.”

  Marigold put a wine carafe on the counter, then slipped her arm around Pandora’s waist. “It’s not stupid. You like him, and you just found out he’s basically a tourist. A long-term tourist, but still. Whatever you’re feeling is perfectly okay.”

  Pandora smiled without too much effort. “Thanks. But I’m fine. Really.” And then she meant it a tiny bit. Like saying it had made it so.

  “Are you sure?” Marigold wiggled her fingers. “I could cast a little happiness spell over you.”

  “No, I’m good. I swear.” She leaned her hip against the counter. “Mom told me I shouldn’t get involved with him anyway. All this stuff about what happens if we bond as witch and familiar but end up not working as couple. It’s just bad news. And I want no part of it.”

  Marigold looked skeptical. “If you say so.”

  “I do.” She gave her sister a quick hug. “And now I’d better get back out there before it gets any weirder.”

  Marigold handed her the carafe. “Fill this and take it out. It’s good cover.”

  It wasn’t actually, but Pandora appreciated the gesture. She topped off the carafe and went back to the table. Marigold rejoined them a minute later and instantly went to work keeping the conversation going.

  Pandora poked at her food, now lukewarm. She took a bite. Nothing had any taste.

  She sensed Cole sneaking a look at her, but didn’t react.

  “You okay?” he whispered.

  “Great,” she muttered back. Enough already. Time to shift his attention to other things. Like his daughter. “So, Mom, Kaley needs some tutoring in the craft, seeing as how she didn’t grow up with witches around her. You have any suggestions? Other than a mentor, obviously. Which might be tricky with them leaving.”

  “I don’t know if a mentor is completely out of the picture,” Corette said. “True, most witches expect it to be a long-term relationship, but there might be someone who’d be willing to do it for a couple months.”

  Corette turned to Kaley, who had stopped chatting with Saffie at the mention of her name. “Why don’t you come with Pandora to the coven meeting tomorrow night? You can meet some of the other witches in town and get a feel for what a meeting is like. We can talk about mentoring some more then. How does that sound?”

  “Epic,” Kaley said. She looked at her father, her questioning gaze mixed with accusation and expectation. She wasn’t happy with him so he’d better allow her this much. “Can I, Dad?”

  “I guess.” He looked at Corette. “What time is it?”

  “Six thirty. And it won’t go past eight. I know there’s school the next day.”

  He glanced at Kaley. “I guess we can go.”

  Corette laughed softly. “Oh my dear. A familiar at a coven meeting? I don’t think so. Only witches allowed.”

  Cole’s father harrumphed, like a witches-only meeting was underhanded business of some sort.

  Cole ignored the noise and looked at Pandora. “Are you willing to take her?”

  “Absolutely.” Kaley was the innocent party in all this.

  “Okay.” He nodded at Kaley. “You can go.”

  “Yay!” She fi
nished with a reluctant and slightly snide, “Thanks, Dad.”

  Stanhill pushed his chair back. “Are we about ready for dessert?”

  He got loud yeses from Kaley and Saffie.

  He laughed. “You two are getting chocolate cupcakes with vanilla cream filling. As for the rest of you, I hope you don’t mind being guinea pigs. Delaney sent me over with a test cake. It’s a triple-layer chocolate bourbon cake with maple frosting. She assures me we won’t need after-dinner drinks with it.”

  Marigold, Charisma and Pandora all answered him with oohs and aahs. Corette stood up. “I’ll put some decaf on, then.”

  She and Stanhill went into the kitchen.

  Charisma stood and picked up her plate, but directed her attention to Saffie. “You and I are on table-clearing duty, love bug.”

  Kaley jumped up. “I’ll help too.”

  She and Saffie went to work picking up plates. Pandora smiled, and it wasn’t lost on her that Cole did too.

  Kaley fit in well here. Too bad her father was going to take her away.

  Pandora tried to ignore that thought. That path wasn’t going to take her anywhere good.

  Marigold shifted in her seat to face Jack now that there weren’t two children between them. “What line of work are you in, Mr. Van Zant?”

  “Please, call me Jack. I’m a warehouse foreman for Greenway, the big grocery store chain. I run the number fifteen facility in Wilmington.”

  Cole nodded. “He’s been there for twenty years.”

  “Twenty-one,” Jack corrected. “What business are you in?”

  “Twenty-one years is impressive. I run the little florist shop in town,” Marigold said.

  “It’s not that little,” Pandora corrected. She looked at Jack. “She does practically all the weddings in town.”

  “Funerals too?” Jack asked.

  Pandora smirked. “Considering who lives here, we don’t have many of those.”

  Jack lifted his chin. “No, I suppose you don’t.”

  “We have some.” Marigold smiled. “Thankfully, not that many.”

  Stanhill and Corette walked back in. Stanhill carried a tray laden with small plates and big slices of cake. Corette had a silver coffee urn. Charisma and the two girls followed with cups, saucers, creamer and sugar.

  Cake and coffee were distributed, and everyone dove in.

  Pandora glanced over at Kaley and Saffie and laughed. “Stanhill, those are not cupcakes. They’re big enough to be the top tier of a wedding cake.”

  Cole looked up and raised his brows. “I’d say. Those are huge. Kaley, maybe just half of that.”

  Stanhill put his coffee down. “Delaney has a hard time with moderation. Being a vampire means calories don’t count.”

  Charisma pointed her fork at him. “They do for the rest of us mortals.”

  Kaley’s eyes rounded. “This was made by a vampire?”

  Stanhill nodded. “Yes. Does it taste any different?” he teased.

  She took another bite. “Just extra awesome.”

  “Yeah,” Saffie said. “Extra awesome.” She laughed and made a face, and the two of them went back to stuffing their faces.

  Pandora tucked her head to hide her smile as she leaned toward Cole. “I think Kaley has a not-so-secret admirer in Saffie.”

  “I see that.” He paused, his head bent to match hers, his voice so low and husky it sent a shiver over her skin. “She’s not the only one with a not-so-secret admirer.”

  She stilled. That was not fair. He couldn’t flirt with her and pretend nothing had changed when he was leaving.

  She sat up and dug into her cake, putting a big forkful into her mouth so there would be no polite way to answer him. The cake was all that was right in the world. It would mean extra time on the treadmill tomorrow, but right now chocolate and bourbon seemed like the answer to everything.

  Stanhill noticed. “What do you think of the cake, Pandora? Delaney will want to know.”

  She finally swallowed. “It’s perfect. I mean, chocolate and booze?” She paused to gesture dramatically with her fork as the need to jab back at Cole rose up within her. “With cake this amazing, who needs a man?”

  Cole gave Pandora her space for the rest of the evening, which thankfully wasn’t much longer. After dessert, she seemed very ready to go. And very ready to be away from him.

  On the way home, he let Kaley ride up front while he sat in the back with his father. Kaley did exactly as he’d hoped and kept up a steady salvo of questions about the coven meeting.

  Jack was staring at him. Cole could feel it. Finally, he turned toward his father and lifted his brows in question.

  Jack took the opening. “Good meal.”

  Cole nodded. “Very.”

  “Nice family, too.” In other words, Jack no longer thought Pandora or her family was out to get him.

  “Yes.”

  “You probably should have brought more than wine.” Translation: The wine hadn’t been enough to make up for upsetting Pandora.

  “I didn’t know what else to bring.”

  Jack hmphed and turned to watch the scenery out the window.

  Cole caught Pandora looking at him in the rearview mirror, but as soon as he made eye contact, she snapped her gaze back to the road.

  They pulled into the driveway five minutes later, although it felt like the trip had taken an hour. Cole jumped out and opened Kaley’s door. As soon as she vacated, he leaned down. He had to say something to Pandora. “I’m sorry about tonight. I really am.”

  “I told you, it’s no big deal.” She was flip and casual and completely on the defensive. “I’ll be by around six fifteen tomorrow to pick Kaley up.”

  She shifted the car into reverse, ready to go.

  He exhaled. She obviously didn’t want to talk. Or listen. “Okay. See you then.”

  “Yep.” She stared straight ahead.

  He shut the door, but stood in the driveway as she reversed and pulled away through the gate. She’d be back tomorrow. He knew that. But he couldn’t get past the fact that her leaving right now felt like it was forever.

  Kaley was in the house already, but Jack stood on the porch. “Let her go.”

  “What’s it look like I’m doing?” Cole knew the tone in his voice was less than respectful, but he was angry and didn’t care. He strode up the drive to join his father on the porch.

  Jack shook his head. “This is for the best. Trust me.”

  “Maybe Pandora and I wouldn’t both be so upset right now if I’d known what I was before she and I met.” Cole faced him. “Still think my not knowing is what’s best?”

  Jack’s eyes narrowed. “I’ll tell you what you need to know when you need to know it, and yes, it’s what’s best for both of you. Plus, you have a house, a job and a life back in North Carolina. You going to give all that up to move here on the chance things might work out between you? What kind of teaching job are you going to get living in a town where pretending every day is Halloween is the main industry? Pull yourself together, son.”

  “Hard to do when so much in my life has been upended.”

  “And you think Pandora’s going to fix all that?”

  “No, but that’s not her job. What if things did work out between us?”

  Jack grunted. “All I know is you have a daughter to provide for.”

  “I’m well aware of that.” A daughter who wasn’t all that happy with him right now. What else was new? He tried to focus on that and not the burgeoning ache in his chest. He had no right to feel this way about Pandora anyway. They’d kissed a few times. That was all. “I should go talk to Kaley.”

  “They seem like good people, but—”

  “Dad, I really don’t want to discuss it anymore. It’s late. I need to talk to Kaley, and then I’m going to bed. This house isn’t going to remodel itself.”

  Jack held his hands up. “You got it. I’ll be on the couch tonight and out of your hair in the morning.”

  “Dad…” Cole
took a breath. He didn’t want to leave things like this with his father. “I appreciate you coming down. I’m still not happy about you and Mom not telling me the truth, and I don’t agree at all with your decision not to tell me much now, but I guess I get that you were doing what you thought was right to protect me.”

  “You’d do the same for Kaley.”

  “Yes, I would.” He took his glasses off and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I’ll get you a blanket and a pillow.” He headed into the house, his father behind him, and went for the stairs. “Tomorrow morning we can go out for breakfast. There’s a diner in town that looks good. Kaley’s been wanting to go there.”

  Jack smiled. “Sounds like a plan. You want me to talk to Kaley?”

  “No, but I appreciate the offer. I need her to understand that impulsive decisions can have negative consequences later on. Moving here permanently on a whim…it’d just be…impractical.”

  Jack nodded. “She’s a good kid. She’ll understand. Maybe not tonight, but she will.”

  “I hope you’re right.” Cole ran upstairs, got his dad a blanket and pillow and tucked them under his arm. He knocked on Kaley’s door.

  “Yeah?”

  “Can I come in?”

  “Yeah.”

  He opened the door. She was already in bed. One earbud dangled free while the other was still in her ear. “We’re going to try that diner in town for breakfast tomorrow. Sound good?”

  She shrugged and stared at the screen of her iPhone. “I guess.”

  He sighed. “I know you’re mad at me.”

  No response.

  He came in and sat on the edge of her bed. “Kaley, we can’t stay here. I know you like this place, but I have a lot of years invested in my job at home. I can’t just walk away because this place seems like fun.”

  She cut her eyes at him. “You could get a teaching job here.”

  “There aren’t any colleges in the area. And a high school isn’t going to pay what I’m making now.”

  “It’s not all about money, you know.”

  He laughed. “You think I found that iPhone in a cereal box? You’re right that money isn’t everything, but it is important. We need a certain amount to pay our bills and eat.”