Eldora narrowed her gaze, her smile dropping as she reassessed Paige.
“My daughter nor myself will be here for instruction. If you really want to help, you will meet us at our home and I will set up a place where we can learn without killing everything in sight.”
Blinking, Eldora stood. “If those are your terms.”
“They are.” Paige turned to leave.
Eldora had seemed surprised that her negotiations had failed.
But as a woman who kept her family alive through submissiveness, wouldn’t that make her a pretty good actress? Because that woman wasn’t weak.
So, if her plan all along had been to send Derrick to the Whiskey home for some training, what might she have him plant?
They’d need a new plan. And fast.
She wasn’t ready to swim in witch infested waters. Too many intrigues. Too many things that could go wrong.
She needed to play smarter.
Paige had coordinated with Dexx via text about who was going to pick up the kids. That was their source of romance.
“I love you enough to go pick up the kids so you can go talk to creepy witches.”
“Okeydokey. Okay. Love you. Bye.”
Not quite like that, but close enough.
The driveway to the Whiskey house was full.
It wasn’t a driveway. Not really. It was more like a small parking lot.
Whatever. She was still going to call it the driveway because calling it a parking lot—in front of her house—seemed pretty dumb. She grabbed her bag and trudged into the house, already flinching from the chaos she knew resided on the other side of that door.
With people she loved.
But…it would be nice to have a quiet night. Just once.
Mandy met her at the door, a sour expression on her face.
“Whoa,” Paige said, closing the door. “What’s wrong with your face?”
“Nothing.” Mandy narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips so hard, it was hard to believe that nothing was wrong.
“I’m your aunt, remember?” Paige set her bag down beside the door and took off her boots. “You can tell me anything.”
“Except,” Mandy said with a frustrated toss of her head, “you wouldn’t understand and you’d side with her.”
Whoa, shit. “And by her,” Paige said, mimicking Mandy’s headshake and tone, “you mean Mom. Right?”
Mandy glowered and folded her arms over her chest.
Paige stopped thinking forward for a moment and just looked at her niece, trying to put herself in Mandy’s shoes. “You’re mad about the move.”
“Then, I’d be mad at you.” She looked away, her lips pressed tighter together.
Blessed Mother. Teenagers. Were they put on this earth to torment parents? “Okay, so you are mad at me.”
“No, Aunt Paige.” Mandy flung her hands away from her body and turned her full attention on her aunt. “I understand why you moved us out here. I don’t like it, but I’m not mad at you.”
Right. “Okay? Then, why are you mad at your mom?”
Mandy stewed for a long moment.
Paige let her. She remembered—kind of, sort of, not really because her teenage years were real hazy and almost fifteen years ago—that sometimes, she’d had to really let things burst out of her before she could speak. She’d learned to get over that. Kind of. Sort of. Not really.
“She got a job!”
Paige kept her expression carefully open. “Yes. That’s what parents do.”
“Except my mom. Okay? My mom never got a job. She was always here. With us. Like, if we were sick or whatever, we knew she’d be there. Or she’d be there when school was over. And now we’ve gotta stay there at that school for hours.” She drew out the last word.
“Wow, so it’s almost as if you’ve got to stay at school for as long as a normal adult human being in functioning society has to stay at work. You’re right. That is tough.”
“See?” Mandy slapped her hands against her thighs. “I told you you’d side with her.”
That pissed Paige off. She took a step toward the niece she loved more than all other nieces in the world—likely because she only had the one. “Here’s your dose of reality, kid.” She lowered her voice. “And you listen well.”
Mandy dropped her hands to her sides, straightened almost to attention, her eyes wide.
“Before you, your mother had dreams. She was going to work in a biology lab and she was going to change the world. She was going to find a cure for cancer. Do you read me? Cancer.”
Mandy frowned and blinked.
“She dropped those dreams because during that time, a woman had to choose. She could only be one or the other. Only be a working stiff or only be a stay-at-home mom. Not really, but that’s the way society presented it to her. Working mothers—like me?—were looked down upon and, sometimes, in extreme cases, had their kids taken from them. Because they got a job and were responsible enough to take care of the brats they spat out and that was bad.”
Mandy pulled her ears back, narrowing her eyes.
“Your mom is rediscovering who she is. She isn’t the woman who sits around waiting for you to need your nose wiped, or your belly fed. She’s isn’t the woman who has to cater to your every whim. She has dreams. She has plans. She has skills this community needs.”
Mandy dropped her gaze.
“And what do you have? Huh?” Something inside of Paige whispered that she was being too tough. The rest of her snuffed that out as she pulled back, a look of disgust on her lips. “A whining, teenaged girl whose only real gift is that she can start fires.”
Mandy jerked back like she’d been hit.
Well, she kinda had been. Paige relaxed her expression. “Reality. You’re only the biggest cheese in your own world, kid. And your mom? She hasn’t been a big cheese to anybody.”
“She’s been the biggest cheese to me,” Mandy whispered, her voice choked with tears.
Paige nodded. “Yup. And she still can as soon as you see that magnificent woman in there for who she is instead of being the tit you need to suckle from.”
Mandy stared at Paige, tears swimming in her eyes. “Why are you being so mean? I thought you loved me?”
“I do.” Paige let out a long sigh and pulled her niece into a bear hug. “And that’s why I’m being mean. Do you have any idea what your mother’s had to deal with today? The kind of courage she had to bring with her to work today? She’s doing something utterly insane. Insanely awesome.”
Mandy pulled away slightly to look up at her aunt. “She’s opening a wine and soap shop.”
Paige smiled, so insanely proud of her sister. “No. She’s opening more than that. Yeah. It’s going to start off as that, but it’s going to grow into an apothecary. She’s going to help heal the people of this community with knowledge of herbs. She’s bringing back that old dream of curing cancer, but on a smaller scale, a scale that will help people on a daily basis.”
“My mom?”
Paige nodded. “You should have seen her, Mand. When she was in school, she would go on and on and on about biology and how cool it was and some of the things she’d discovered and the things she’d been able to do. She loves helping people—from behind a microscope, but whatever. This is her calling.”
Mandy relaxed and the tears fell quietly as she stared at the front door. “What would she be like if I’d never been born?”
“Different.” Paige chuckled and tucked the girl’s head under chin. “But that question won’t get you far. You know that, right?”
“I’m just a stupid, teenage girl who starts fires,” Mandy said into Paige’s shoulder.
“I believe I said hormonal, but you’re right. That’s really all you are.” Paige pulled away. “Right now. You decide what you’re going to be and what you’re going to add and how you’re going to help. You’re the only one who can.”
Mandy nodded, scrubbed the tears off her face, nodded again, her expression set in determ
ination. “Maybe I could help out at the store.”
“On the weekends? Sure. Remember, your mom is still your bus and she needs to be at the store. And that school is pretty cool, right?”
Mandy shrugged with one shoulder, a slight smile blooming on her face. “Yeah. It’s probably the coolest school I’ve ever gone to. It’s like something you’d read in a book.”
“So weird, right?”
Mandy’s smile grew. “Right.”
“Okay.” Paige swatted at Mandy’s butt. “I love you. Get your keester to the kitchen to see how you can help.”
“Yes, Aunt Paige.” She headed down the hall as directed.
“And, Mandy?”
“Yeah?” She turned, her expression still light.
That really was a great kid. “Don’t be an asshole.”
Mandy tucked one corner of her cheek in and frowned at her. “Words.” She giggled and headed to the kitchen.
Teenagers. Speaking of teenagers, she needed to check in with her own.
“And this is my favorite,” Dexx said in that sexy tone of his that meant he was either talking about guns or cars. “Desert Eagle, 40 cal.”
Paige stepped around the row of bookcases to see what was going on.
Dexx had set up a table in the living room. He had several of his handguns lined up. He pulled the slide back, checking the chamber. “I call her my slut. She shoots straight for anyone.”
Leah took the gun from him, her blue eyes wide with fright, her lips set in determination.
“What did I say?” Dexx asked.
“Always treat a gun as if it was loaded until you’ve checked for yourself.” She pointed the gun at Paige, looking for the mag release.
Dexx gripped the barrel and pointed it to the floor. “And?”
“Never point it at another person.” Leah smiled apologetically at Paige. “Sorry, Pa—Mom.”
Still with that. Paige sighed and joined them. “We’re not teaching you how to use the guns, Lee.” She glared at Dexx, giving him the veto. They’d talked about this. “But you are going to learn gun safety because there are guns in the house.”
Leah grunted, barely listening as she tried to pull the slide back.
“You’re a girl, Lee.” Paige took the gun from her. “When you’re strong, you can do as Dexx does, tucking the gun to his chest and just racking it back, but until then, you use the muscles you have and let gravity work with you.” She pointed the gun to the floor with her dominant hand, gripped the slide and pulled in opposite directions with both. “Chamber cleared.”
Leah nodded and took the gun back from her mother.
Paige raised her eyebrows at Dexx. “You’re not teaching her to shoot.”
Dexx tipped his head to the side. “I learned young.”
Paige hadn’t. Alma’d had guns, sure. But they’d been up in the attic and the ammo had been in her workroom. “I don’t care.”
“Fine.” Dexx smiled sweetly. “Then, I’ll teach her how to defend herself with a ball point pen.”
That frelling man. Paige returned his smile. “Fine. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” he said just as tightly.
“Neither of you sound like it,” Leah muttered. “Gun safety first. Then, you can teach me how to kill someone with a ball point pen.”
Crap. If anyone knew the conversations going on in that house, they’d all lose their kids.
The party was in the kitchen, as always.
“Paige!” Someone flew at her, wrapping her in a hug. The smell of lavender wafted up Paige’s nose. “You’re home!”
“Roxxie,” Paige said, returning the hug. “You’re not a dog.”
Roxxie grinned and pulled away, tipping her pink-tipped pig-tailed head to the side. “And that’s why I didn’t greet you at the door. How was your day?”
Paige chuckled. “Fine. We got a lot of new cases today. I realize that’s bad, but it feels good. We’ve got work and it’s not all homicides and death.”
“Homicide is death,” Alma said from the stove.
“Not really,” Barn said from the dining room table. “Death can be peaceful. Homicide rarely is.”
“Well said, Barn.” Paige walked around the table.
Barn stood and gave Paige a warm hug.
“How are you doing?” Paige asked, stepping back.
“Good.” Barn flared his hands, a semi-crazed look on his face. “But being here, in your house?” he whispered. “It’s crazy. Right? It’s crazy.”
Paige chuckled and leaned in as he regained his seat. “In what way?”
“Everyone hugs here.” He ticked his reasons off on his fingers. “Everyone asks how everyone’s day is.”
“It’s not always like that, Barn.” She patted his shoulder. “Today was just a good day.”
He widened his eyes and turned back to his game of solitaire—real card solitaire—on the table.
Paige walked to the kitchen sink and washed her hands. “What’s for dinner, Grandma?”
“Shit in a pot,” Alma said gruffly.
“I love shit in a pot.” It was different every time, but it always came out good. “What do you need me to do?”
Alma pointed with her chin to the cutting board.
Carrots, spinach, kale, and broccoli lay around it. “What size?”
“Chunky.”
“Got it.” Paige picked out a knife and started cutting vegetables. “How much were you able to see when I was setting up the wards at the station today, Grandma?”
Alma pushed out her wrinkled lips. “Not much. Why?”
“Eh. No reason.” Lots of reasons. She needed to talk to someone who knew more about magick than she did, but Alma had proven many times in the past that she wasn’t always the best resource. Paige loved her grandma, but she was still plenty pissed about some of the shit that woman had pulled in the past. “What did you do for the rest of the day?”
“Helped your sister with her wards, then made soap with her.”
“That’s good.”
Alma grunted.
Paige didn’t know how to handle the Alma situation. She was learning a new place in the family just like, well, they all were, and Paige didn’t have a lot of sympathy for the woman. She loved the old bat, but…Ah! Just…ah! “Has anyone talked to you about possibly helping out at the school?”
“I don’t want to be surrounded by a bunch of yapping kids all day.”
Paige was glad she wasn’t facing her grandmother so she was free to widen her eyes and clench her teeth before saying in a chipper tone, “But it wouldn’t be all day every day. It would be whatever days work best for you. Whatever times. You have a lot of good knowledge you could share, Grandma. You didn’t really share it with us. Maybe you could share it with your great-grandkids.”
Alma whacked the spoon against the pot forcefully.
The backdoor opened and Faith walked through. She searched the room, her gaze settling on Paige.
Paige’s hackles rose instantly. Annoying. Faith was a good person. She was a very helpful person. And Paige needed to get over this. Whatever this was. “Hey, Faith. What brings you by?”
Faith stood on the other side of the island, her expression grim. “I came to check on your sister.”
“Oh. Uh, okay.”
“How is her wound?”
“Uh.” Paige pulled up the images of the last time she’d spent with her sister and shook her head. “Good, I guess. She wasn’t wearing a bandage, so, yeah. Good.”
Faith’s expression tightened.
“What?” Paige set down the knife. “That girl wasn’t an alpha, so the bite is nothing.”
“No.” Faith lowered her head, placing her hands on either side of her on the counter. “But she has the makings of one.”
Paige lowered her voice, leaning in. “What do you mean? What’s going on?”
Faith didn’t answer immediately. Finally, she expelled a breath and looked to the side. “Have you been in conversations wi
th your spirit lately?”
“No.” Paige licked her lips. “Still radio silence.”
“Well, he hasn’t been silent so much as not there.”
Paige frowned. “Then, where has he been?”
“Meeting with the other alphas.” Faith raised her dark gaze to meet Paige’s. “He wants to invite more of you into our circle.”
What?
“Starting with your sister.” Faith straightened, her lips flat.
Faith stayed just long enough to check Leslie out, then left.
Paige didn’t know what to do with that helpful bit of information. Be afraid? Be excited? What? She hadn’t really gained much on the shapeshifter front. Not really. Cawli had healed her soul, the whole door to Hell thing being closed now, thanks to him. But she couldn’t shift and she didn’t really have that much more power.
Or did she?
She’d been more powerful after her gifts had come back. That was certain.
But after she’d bonded with Cawli?
Yeah. She was a hell of a lot more powerful with elemental magick. She hadn’t even tested the boundaries, the extents of her abilities. What was she even capable of now?
Who knew?
And did it matter?
Yes. It mattered. Anything that could make her more powerful would matter.
But what if it was something that could make Leslie more powerful, too? What powers would she gain?
The ability to talk to all the ghosts?
She had to stop downplaying her sister’s gift. It was a gift, not something to be trivialized.
And what if she could shift? Who was it that had said that a witch who was also a shifter could shift into any shape? What if Cawli had been lying to her when he’d told Paige she couldn’t? What if Cawli had been working to gain her trust, or was trying to see if he could trust her and, so, had been holding back?
Well, he wasn’t telling her anything right now, and she had a feeling she knew why. Part of him was there. Yes. Sealing her soul shut, keeping Hell at bay.
But he’d been elsewhere, talking to the other animal spirits—however that worked—trying to get more people to understand that they needed witches on the shifter team. Great.
Would it really be such a bad thing? Really? As near as Paige could tell, the shifters weren’t a bad lot. They were pretty decent allies. They’d helped with the family, the house, jobs, getting set up. And they weren’t causing a lot of drama. Okay. There was the thing where all alphas except for Chuck annoyed the crap out of Paige, but so what? That was small potatoes compared to everything else she had going on.
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