The Dashing Witch (The Ward Witches)

by Lauren McMinn

  “Don’t forget dinner.”

  “I won’t,” Justin said, waving Seb away absently as he read the report.

  89

  CHAPTER SIX

  “You look like you're glowing,” Skylar said when she returned. “My plan worked.”

  “Indeed. Though there wasn’t a whole lot of talking beyond the beginning apologies.” He two giggled like co-consipirators.

  “I got a call from Seb. Looks like the two of them will be joining us for dinner.”

  “He wants me to move in with him at the Coven House.”

  “I hoped he would. You know me; now that I’ve found my husband, I want it to work out for everyone. Being close to him will only help the cause of love. Not that a little more of what I suspect happened this afternoon would not help the effort. Now what shall I cook?”

  “Can I help?”

  99

  THE DASHING WITCH

  “Do you have any experience in a kitchen?”

  “Only the bare minimum, most of which involved a microwave. I don’t even think you have one.”

  “I do, for emergencies. It’s stashed in the closet so I don't have to be reminded of its presence,” Skylar winked. “If you want to help, you’ll cut vegetables. I think I’ll make a nice hearty pot roast, and you’ll need to eat all the vegetables you can get out of the pot before the boys grab them, so chop a lot.”

  “You’ll show me how?”

  “Indeed. After all, if you cut yourself, I've forgotten where I put the band-aids. So be careful.”

  Skylar started the roast preparation, which would be going into the pressure cooker for expediency while Melanie washed the vegetables. Skylar took extra care to make sure Melanie was comfortable with the cuts before she handed over the knife.

  “What’s your favorite kind of cake, Melanie? Oh, don’t even worry about answering. We’re having carrot, because it remotely resembles something healthy.”

  By the time Skylar was slipping the carrot cake in the oven, having chopped those carrots and walnuts herself, Melanie was done with the pot roast vegetables, and it all went into the pressure cooker.

  “And that’ll be done by dinner time?”

  “You betcha. So,” and Skylar leaned up against the kitchen counter, “I remember when you were helping me that you worked in publicity, but you never said too much about it. What did you do before you quit?”

  “Account exec at KYR Publicity. I did a lot with public relations too.”

  Skylar whistled. “I’ve certainly heard of them. That’s a big job.”

  “That it was. It seems like there’s so many hours in the day now that I’m not working myself slowly to death. Even with all the exhaustion and needing to go slow, there’s still so much free time. I’m going to get bored soon.”

  Skylar laughed. “I know how you feel. I was head chef at a steak restaurant before I was, well, forced, to take a job at a greasy spoon. Then I moved in here, and I know what you mean that when you get rid of the high-stress job, life seems a lot different.”

  “What are you doing now?”

  “I'm finally done with that cookbook. I've spent the last few days vegetating on the couch, but I need a new project.”

  “I have an idea for you.”

  “You do?” Skylar stood up, an eager look in her eyes. “Tell me more.”

  “You started from scratch learning how to use your magic. I think it would be really enlightening for you to write a manual on how to do magic, the theory behind it, practice exercises and more.”

  “Kind of like a handbook for witches?”

  “Exactly like a handbook for witches. Think about it: with our family connections, you could get this to witches all over. You could make a difference in how magic is taught. And I'd bet there's techniques and skills that a lot of people don't know.”

  “I could reach out to the community for ideas on the book, and get everyone involved. Then when it comes out, people all over would feel like they've had a share in its creation. I love it on so many levels.”

  “You've also got access to experts through the proximity of the Coven House. You could do something amazing with your handbooks.”

  “Indeed I could. Thank you for the idea. I'll run it by Leo and Seb too, and I'll get their input as well. I just know they'll love it. So would you get offended if I asked you what you plan to do now?”

  “Nah, I’m not offended. I don’t have a lot of definite plans, but I’d appreciate if you’d keep the ones I have a secret.” Skylar opened her mouth. “And yeah, I know you’ll tell Leo, and probably Dymphna. But not outside them, and their secrecy, ok?”

  “You got it. I have to admit, that sounds promising.”

  “Even before I left to go back to LA, I knew I was in love with Justin. That’s part of what made that scene so hurtful. So when he proposed giving our marriage a legitimate chance, I jumped at the possibility. Even if I can’t get him to love me back, I want to give it an honest try. Then I can at least rest easy on the subject if I'm left alone with the baby.”

  “And if it works?”

  “I know we’ll have our problems, but I’d rather be able to move into Coven House. I'm working on a plan for the Coven's publicity and public relations. After all, the public knows about witches, but they don’t know much, and they don’t know whether to be afraid, accepting, or what. We can educate them. We can convince witches who have been leery of Coven membership to give it a try. We can at least come out from being that dirty secret in people's closet that they're related to a witch.”

  “That’s a great idea. So what would you do if it doesn’t work with Justin? Can you still do the PR?”

  “By the time I have the baby, it'll likely be working well enough that I could manage it from anywhere. So the question would be where I'd go if I'm not with Justin in another nine months. I’m not going back to LA. I know it’s a great place, but I don’t want to raise my child there. I’d probably choose someplace where there’s a semi-large city and live in the suburbs. Much like the Coven has here. Probably not as cold, though.” Both women looked out the window, knowing that October weather in Boston meant cold weather, and it was going to get colder before it got warmer.

  Skylar hugged Melanie. “I hope it works out. I really do. Besides, I like having a sister, and two is even better.”

  Melanie laughed. “As an only child, I hardly know what to do with this many new family members.”

  “You’ll figure it out. Now we’ve got to get you off your feet again.”

  Melanie discovered that it was awfully pleasant to have someone who not only wasn’t from work, but who was also a witch, to talk to. She'd never really been close to the others in her Coven. They didn't take well to knowing she could read their minds, even though she promised not to. And being a substantial bit more powerful than everyone else led to resentment or pandering. With the Wards, all the siblings were among the most powerful in their field, as was Skylar. It was a powerful family that led the National Coven, as it would need to be.

  She barely even noticed the passage of time before the doorbell was ringing. Skylar left Melanie on the couch to escort Seb and Justin back to the living room. Justin immediately rushed to her side, much to Melanie’s delight. He took her hand, and she could feel his magic wash over her as he checked to make sure everything was alright.

  “I’m fine,” she smiled. But she didn’t try to push his hands away. “The baby’s fine.”

  “You’re right, of course,” Justin said, and his hand lingered past when he stopped using his magic. “But I wanted to check.”

  “You’re pregnant?” Seb gasped. “Justin said he had a secret, but wouldn’t tell me.”

  Melanie smiled. “I am. It was as much a surprise to me as it is to you.”

  “Congratulations to you two. The first of the new generation of Wards…” He looked at her with an expression of awe.

  “She’ll be moving in with me,” Justin said defiantly.

  “Of c
ourse.” Seb nodded. “Are Leo and Dymphna on their way?”

  “Yeah,” Skylar said. As if called, Leo’s voice rang through the entryway announcing his return and the pressure cooker timer beeped. Justin and Seb got up to greet Leo while Skylar ran away to check the cooling of the cake that had been taken out some time ago and the status of the pot roast. “Have you heard from Dymphna, my dear?” Skylar called out as she managed the progress of dinner.

  “Before I left, I went down and yelled at her to not forget dinner.” Leo and Dymphna worked in the same building. She was a lawyer in a small firm, and he was an accomplished plastic surgeon who just took on a partner so he'd be able to have more time at home. “She should be alone shortly. So what’s going on, Seb?”

  “My family keeping secrets from me. After knowing Justin this long, I can practically smell a secret on him.”

  “Oy!” Justin responded.

  “Well now you know, how do you feel about it?” Melanie asked tentatively.

  “I couldn’t be happier for you,” and he gave her a brotherly hug before turning to give one to Justin too.

  Right about the time the pot roast was served out on the table, Dymphna arrived. Not missing a beat, Skylar laid out another serving, and her sister immediately sat down behind it. “Smells good.”

  “There’s a carrot cake for dessert, too,” Melanie contributed.

  “Skylar’s going to make me fat,” Dymphna bemoaned her fate, but she barely even waited for the others to sit down before she dug in.

  “Your metabolism would be better if you’d eat lunch.”

  “Ah, well, some things don’t change.”

  “I also feel like in our surprise at her appearance, we may not have told Melanie how glad we are to have her in the family,” Seb said.

  “That’s why he had me make a cake for tonight. To informally celebrate a wedding. We weren’t sure if you’d want a big party or not. Earlier, things had been so tense between you and Justin that we weren't sure if we should be celebrating something you didn't want.”

  Melanie’s eyes teared up. “No, no, this is perfect. Thank you all so much. My own father has told me never to contact them after he found out about Justin and the baby, but you guys wanted to welcome me. I’m so grateful.” Everyone smiled at her, and she felt more than ever before that her relationship with Justin could really have a chance. With such a loving family to show them how it's done, they'd have a better chance than with a family like Melanie's that would fight against a relationship.

  “You won’t be avoiding a big baby shower like you're avoiding a wedding shower,” Skylar warned her. “I’ve got time on my hands, and you’ve given me a motivation.” The others nodded.

  “Again, thanks.”

  The others seemed to sense her emotions about to boil over into full on tears, and they changed the subject to Melanie's idea for Skylar's project. The others were delighted, and agreed that it could be a great way to both promote unity among witches and train new witches, or those who newly discovered their powers. When the conversation moved on, Melanie tried to listen, but didn’t hear much as she marveled over her acceptance into the Ward family. All that was left was to get Justin to love her.

  After dinner and dessert, Melanie fell asleep on the couch and didn’t wake up until she was in Justin’s bed at the Coven House.

  “Welcome home,” he said, and kissed her cheek. “Feeling better?”

  “Much, yes.”

  “We’ll have to watch you carefully to make sure you’re not overworking yourself. I know you want to help Skylar and Seb told me about the publicity campaign, and I think that’s great, but just try to keep as much of it in a chair or a relaxed environment as much as possible.”

  “You got it.”

  “After you fell asleep, Skylar said she’d call around ten to see if you’re ready to be picked up. She mentioned you were having your car shipped, so you won't need her rides soon.”

  “That's right. When I found out I'd be here until I had the baby to get Dymphna's magical help, I figured I'd just move all of my life out of LA.”

  “Do you need to rest some more?”

  “No, I think I’m fine for now.”

  “Then come with me.”

  Melanie just grinned while Justin showed off his fancy entertainment center out in the living room of his suite. “I know you've seen it in action, but I never really got bragging rights on how I built it all. I’ve also never been one to bring people back here, so I've never gotten the chance to show the whole setup off. Now you can come sit.” He settled in on the couch and gently pulled her to rest her head in his lap, one of his arms draped protectively over her shoulders.

  “What are we watching?”

  “Up to you.” He passed her the remote. “Now that thing’s sacred, so be careful with it,” Justin joked. “I know you like The Terminator, but I don’t know much about your tastes beyond that.”

  “I think tonight I’m in the mood for a documentary tonight. Preferably one that I don’t have to pay much attention to. The more I can ignore the words, the better, so I'll get one of those nature documentaries with the great footage.”

  “I don’t want to wear you out like earlier,” he objected softly.

  “Don’t worry so much. I’d like to know more about you, and not just in bed. So talk.”

  “About what in particular?”

  “I remember the story of your names, but you really didn't talk about your childhood past when your mom died.”

  “Going for the hard stuff first, huh?”

  “Might as well. I'm curious. It's better than prying into your mind, right?”

  He laughed. “If I tell you, you're going to have to do the same.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “As you remember, my mother drowned herself with her magic. Our father didn't deal with it well, and he buried himself in work to an extent to not have time for us. It meant that the four of us grew really close. We had a variety of witches taking care of us, but there wasn't much consistency beyond me and my siblings. To be honest, if I regretted anything, it’s that I haven’t stayed as close to my siblings as I was. Leo and Dymphna went off to college, and Seb and I stayed here to run the Coven.”

  “You’re still young enough to change that.”

  “You’re right. I just have to figure out how.”

  “I think you’ll be fine.”

  “God, here I am, spilling my soul. Hope I’m not boring you or anything.”

  “Nothing of the sort. People say I’m a good listener. Somewhere between that and my air magic, people will tell me a lot more than they necessarily intend to. I like listening to people.”

  “That’s good.”

  “Served me well in publicity.”

  “I'll bet it did. I never asked: what did you do about your job?”

  “I quit. With the Coven Campaign, I won't have time for one thing, and for another, I decided it was time to move on with that stage in my life and get out of LA. I've got enough money saved up that the baby and I will be fine for long enough to get things sorted out.”

  “That's good. But you've neglected to think that I'll be here for you. Even if things don't work out between us, I'll still help support you and the baby.”

  “Thanks. I appreciate that.”

  “Hell, it will be nice to have something to spend money on besides an entertainment center that no one sees anyway.”

  “So I guess the Coven pays well?”

  “Hell no. When my father was Duke, my mother managed to frivolously spend all the saved resources before anyone even realized the money was gone. People tithe to the Coven, but not that well.” He paused, as if he was going to stop there.

  “Well? Tell the whole story. I'm interested now.”

  “It was clear that there wouldn't be enough money for Seb and me to go to college from the outset. Of course, when our father died, we had to take on greater responsibility and wouldn't have been able to anyway. But when we were six
teen, Dad gave us a challenge. He said that some people have to make their own way in the world without a college degree to back them. His idea was to give us a thousand dollars apiece, and the challenge was to see who could make that amount increase the most. The winner after one year would get an extra thousand to help their project. He saved as much money as he could to finance our project, and that made a difference in how we approached it too.

  “Seb and I talked, and we even considered doing something together. But in the end, we decided to play the stock market. We did our research and based purchasing decisions on that. Seb was not allowed to use his air magic to influence his choices unfairly.”

  “So what happened?”

  “We made a killing, considering that we were teenagers relying on newspapers and good luck. At the one year mark, I was winning, but I had enough that I could turn down the reward money, instead donating it to Coven needs. Since then, we try to keep current with the news as much as possible considering our jobs, so we're not as active in trading anymore. But we've got enough of our shares in enough different companies that we're doing very well financially. We don't take a salary for our work in the Coven, and we actually contribute quite a bit to operating costs.

  “I've made a cool couple of million with savvy trading over many years, and if spending it on my wife and child isn't a worthwhile way to spend my money, I don't know what is.”

  Melanie tried to soak it all in. “That's an amazing story. You must have worked really hard to get that kind of success.”

  He smiled. “I did. But it was also a lot of fun. Now it's your turn. I've spilled my life story, and you promised to do the same.”

  “You're right; I did. I like to think I was born to a normal family. My mother and father were bonded and had one child. Then for some reason, my mother left. My father wouldn't tell me why, and to be honest, I don't really care anymore. She wasn't in my life, and I made my peace with that a long time ago. My father was lightly involved in the Coven. He went to meetings occasionally, and he started taking me along when I turned ten. They tested me there, and one thing led to another. It quickly became apparent that I was the most powerful air witch in America.