Dreams of the Witch

by Deanna Chase

  Something was seriously wrong, and he thought he knew exactly who he should blame for her abrupt personality change. Gia. She’d waltzed right in and stirred up a storm. The anger he’d contained before walking back into the hospital came roaring back, but he kept it buried. Faith already had enough of her own emotional baggage, she didn’t need to deal with his as well.

  “Even so,” he insisted, “don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything. Food, coffee, a ride, someone to talk to. I’m here for whatever you need.”

  “Thank you, Hunter. I appreciate that, but like I said, we’ll be fine.” She turned and walked back down the hallway, disappearing when she rounded a corner.

  He glanced around at the other Townsend sisters. Noel was standing by herself, talking on the phone, while Abby and Yvette had their heads bent together debating what they should do about their mother. It appeared that both Noel and Faith had said they weren’t interested in anything she had to say, but the other two wanted answers. Hunter knew he could fill them in on Gia’s life, but he also knew that wasn’t his place. Besides, if he was going to tell anyone, he’d tell Faith first, and she wasn’t in any condition to hear why her mother had abandoned them when they’d needed her most.

  With his head down and his heart heavy from not being able to do more, he left the hospital and headed home.

  It was late afternoon when Hunter pulled his truck into his driveway right next to a silver Honda SUV. His small cottage was all lit up with light flooding out the windows, and Hunter groaned. Did Vivian have guests? She hadn’t mentioned anything to him. He hadn’t even known she’d met many people yet other than Abby and Faith.

  Bone weary, he climbed out of his truck and reluctantly made his way inside. He’d expected to hear voices or laughter or anything to indicate there were people milling around his house, but he was greeted by silence. Not even the sound of Zoey’s feet on the hardwood since she wasn’t running to greet him like she usually did.

  “Vivian?” he called out.

  No response.

  “Zoey?”

  Still nothing. He hung his coat on the rack near the door and wondered if they’d taken a walk or were out with the owner of the silver SUV. Relief washed over him as he realized he must be alone. Good. All he wanted to do was grab a beer, a shower, and a sandwich—in that order—before sinking into his couch. But when he stepped into the kitchen, he spotted Vivian sitting at the table with her arms crossed over her chest.

  “Whose car’s outside?” he asked, glancing around.

  “Mine. I bought it today. Used. I needed something reliable to get me to Eureka and back.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  Her eyes were fixed on him as she said, “Hunter, I think we should talk.”

  Dread and irritation had him clamping his mouth shut as he reached for a bottle of beer from the fridge. Without acknowledging her, he popped the top and took a long fortifying swig.

  “Did you hear me?” she asked, a challenge in her tone.

  He turned around and leaned against the counter. “I heard you. What is it we need to talk about?”

  She eyed him and then his beer. “I think I could use one of those.”

  Hunter shrugged, grabbed another beer, opened it for her, and set it on the table in front of her.

  After she took a long sip of her own, she glanced up at him and said, “I can’t do this anymore.”

  “Do what exactly?” His insides turned into a mess of jumbled nerves, waiting to find out what she meant. Live in his house? Share Zoey with him? Stay in Keating Hollow? Every one of those scenarios made him uneasy. The thought of her taking Zoey away from him made him want to vomit.

  “Pretend we’re a family when we’re not.” She stared down at the table, nervously tracing the grain of the wood with her fingertips.

  “We’re family. We’re Zoey’s parents,” he said, glancing around for his little girl. “Where is Zoey by the way?”

  “She’s with Daisy and Olive at Olive’s grandmother’s house. Clay is going to drop her off after he picks them all up later.”

  He nodded. “That’s good. She’s making friends quickly.”

  But Vivian shook her head. “No, Hunter. It isn’t good. Not when I’m going to have to move her again.”

  “Move?” He put his beer down on the counter. “What do you mean move?”

  “I can’t do this. I thought I could, but after watching you take Faith out last night and then today…” She closed her eyes and shook her head slightly. “You spent all day with her at the hospital.”

  “So? Her dad, my employer, is very sick. I was just there to—”

  “I know why you were there,” she said, her tone heated. “I’m not an idiot, Hunter. Or maybe I am. Because I was the one stupid enough to think that once we got here, once we were sharing a house and raising Zoey together, that you’d see me as someone more than Craig’s wife. That you’d start to see me as a woman again, one you might be able to share a life with. I don’t want a pretend family, Hunter. I want it all. And I foolishly thought that could include you.”

  He stared at her, stunned. “But I… we talked about this, Vivian.”

  “No, you talked about it.” She stood up, the wooden legs of the chair squeaking on the floor. “I listened and hoped you’d change your mind. But it’s obvious to me now that you’re completely into someone else. Of course you are.” She let out a hollow laugh. “Why else would you shut down the possibility of us becoming something more so quickly?”

  “We were only together for a month or so, Viv,” he said, still trying to make sense of everything. “I don’t understand how that translates to a ‘life together.’”

  “We have a child together!” she yelled, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I guess I foolishly thought it would be nice for her parents to be together. If I’d known back then that she was yours, I wouldn’t have let you go so easily. You have to know that.”

  “Whoa, hold on just a second,” he said, pulling out a chair and sitting down. He tugged her down into her chair and looked her straight in the eye. “You loved Craig. You guys were great together. Why would you say that?”

  She slumped into the chair and wiped her tears with one hand. “I did love him. I loved him with everything I had.”

  “That’s good, Viv. He loved you, too. Why would I have wanted to stand in the way of that?”

  “It’s not… Ugh! I just mean that I think parents should try to make it work. I was into you back then you know. Before Craig and I got together. If I’d known about Zoey, if I’d realized she was yours, I would have told you. And who knows what would’ve happened? You have to believe me, Hunter. I really had no idea.”

  He did believe her. They’d only found out that Hunter was Zoey’s father after Craig needed a rare blood type for a transfusion after his accident. A type that made it impossible for him to be Zoey’s father. Vivian had been just as shocked as he was. Craig died never knowing the truth. And for that, Hunter was grateful. Craig had loved Zoey with all his heart. If he’d found out later she belonged to Hunter, it would’ve gutted him.

  Hunter had been in denial at first. Zoey was small when she was born, small enough that everyone believed she’d come early. But in reality, she’d been a couple weeks late, and a blood test had proved it. Between Craig’s death, Hunter’s promise to him to take care of his family, and the revelation that Zoey was Hunter’s biological child, it had been enough to rock him to his core.

  But in the end, he’d done the only thing he could do—packed up his child and her mother and brought them home. Abandoning them was out of the question. Not that he’d wanted to. He loved Zoey more than he could’ve ever imagined loving another person.

  “I believe you,” he said. “And I understand what you’re saying, but I don’t think a child is enough to keep two people together. Not when they don’t love each other.”

  “I could’ve loved you.” She lowered her voice and added, “I think I did love you.
”

  Hunter’s heart was in his throat. What was he supposed to say to this woman, the mother of his child, his best friend’s widow? He hadn’t loved her. He’d liked her and found her attractive, but he had known from the start that she wasn’t the one. It was why their relationship had burned hot and flamed out fast. It was also why he hadn’t cared in the least when Craig started dating her. He’d been happy for them.

  Finally, he just said, “Where are you planning to go? And will I still get to see my daughter?”

  “Eureka. Most of my work is done there anyway trying to find clients for Faith and accounts for Abby. I checked out the schools. There is one on the north end of town that would be perfect for Zoey. It’s the sister school to the one here in town with the same curriculum.”

  Hunter hated the idea that he wouldn’t see Zoey every day, that he couldn’t tuck her in or read her stories, but what could he say? He couldn’t pretend to love Vivian just so she’d stay. At least she wasn’t going back to Las Vegas. “All right.”

  She sighed heavily. “You’re not even going to try to stop me?”

  He shook his head. “I can’t make you stay if you don’t want to be here. But I do want shared custody of my daughter.”

  “We’re going to have to tell her,” Vivian said.

  “I know.” They’d decided to hold off on breaking the news to Zoey. She’d just lost the father who’d raised her, and her whole life had been uprooted. They’d both decided it was better to wait, but the longer they waited, the harder it was going to be on all of them.

  “I’m going to look for a place tomorrow,” she said. “We’ll tell Zoey tomorrow night when we’re both home. Does that work for you?”

  It didn’t. Not at all. He wasn’t ready for Zoey to move, and he had no idea how they were going to explain that he was her biological father. But he found himself nodding anyway. What else was there to do?

  She patted his hand, grabbed her beer, and disappeared into the room she shared with Zoey.

  He grabbed his own beer and headed for the shower, praying either the hot water or the beer would wash away the tightness in his chest.

  Chapter 19

  Faith hadn’t slept more than an hour the night before. Between worrying about her dad and fuming about Hunter and her mother, she’d tossed and turned until she’d finally rolled out of bed at a quarter to five.

  With nothing else to occupy her mind, she showered and headed to the spa to catch up on admin work. The first thing she noticed when she fired up the computer was the appointment calendar, and her eyes nearly bugged out. Her personal schedule had been cleared for the day, but the rest of the week was booked solid with massages, facials, and mani-pedis. More than half were highlighted in blue, indicating that Vivian had secured the appointments. She wanted to call Vivian to express her appreciation, but it was still way too early. Instead, she made a note to do that later and tackled the unpaid invoices.

  She was knee deep in the financials when her cell phone rang. The number indicated it was coming from Eureka, and she answered it immediately. It was the doctor at the hospital. Her father was awake.

  Faith quickly stopped at Incantation Café for sugar and caffeine and then got on the road immediately. But the traffic was so bad that it still took her over an hour to get there. By the time she arrived, Clair, her father’s girlfriend, was in the waiting room pacing. She’d come to the hospital late the previous evening and had still been there when Faith had left. Faith imagined that she hadn’t gotten much sleep either.

  Faith gave her a quick hug and asked, “What’s going on?”

  Anger flashed in Clair’s eyes, something Faith rarely saw, and she spat out, “Gabrielle is here again. After twenty years, what makes her think she can just stroll right back into his life? I can’t believe she convinced the nurses to let her in. I’m just so mad I could spit. Here I am waiting, while she’s in there doing… I have no idea, but he doesn’t need this stress. She needs to leave.”

  Faith couldn’t agree more. “I’ll take care of it.” She hugged Clair one more time and took off down the hall to her father’s room. She stood in the doorway and glared at her mother, who was sitting beside Lin’s bed, holding his hand. “I thought we told you your presence wasn’t welcome,” Faith said. “You should leave.”

  “Faith, it’s okay,” Lin said, his voice raspy.

  Gabrielle Townsend rose from her chair but didn’t release Lin’s hand.

  Faith’s eyes narrowed as she stared at their connection. How dare she? She strode over to her father’s side. “What are you doing here, Gabrielle?” she asked, deliberately not calling her Mom. “What do you and Hunter want from us?”

  “Hunter?” she asked, confusion swimming in her blue eyes. “He doesn’t know I’m here.” She let out a humorless laugh. “If he did, he’d likely be here tossing me out.”

  “Maybe I should give him a call then,” Faith said coldly.

  “Faith,” her father said again.

  She turned her attention to him and felt the anxiety she’d been carrying around since the day before start to drain away. His eyes were bright, and his cheeks were rosy. But more importantly, he no longer looked frail, as if he’d break at any moment. “You scared us, Dad.”

  “I don’t mind telling you I scared myself, baby girl.” He reached for her hand. The moment his skin touched hers, she felt the difference. The dread, anxiety, and unease had vanished, and all she felt was extreme fatigue. He wasn’t completely out of the woods, but the meds had worked, and her dad was in the process of getting better.

  “Don’t do that again,” she ordered and pressed a kiss to his cheek. When she straightened, she looked at her mother and again asked, “What do you want?”

  “Nothing… I just wanted to explain, to make amends, I guess.” She turned her head, averting her gaze.

  “Faith,” her father said gently. “Can you give me and your mother a few minutes? There are a couple things we need to discuss.”

  “But…” Faith shook her head. Her mother had broken his heart. Broken her four girls’ hearts.

  “Please,” he said. “It will only be a few minutes.”

  She wanted to scream, but she wasn’t going to argue with him. For today, it was enough that he was awake and beating the infection. “All right. But Clair and I will be waiting.”

  “I know Clair’s out there. At least I hoped she was.” He gave Faith a chagrined smile. “Tell her not to be too angry with me. She’s still the only one I’ll let steal my morning coffee.”

  Faith chuckled. “I’ll tell her, but I’m not sure your charm is going to work. She’s pretty annoyed.”

  “Don’t worry. Clair will forgive me.” He kissed the back of her hand and let go. “Five more minutes.”

  Gabrielle just stood there, staring at her feet.

  Faith was disgusted, and the primal anger that had overtaken her earlier in the week came roaring back. She wanted to scream, cry, break things. But she didn’t. She kept her head held high and walked back out to the waiting room, where she relayed her dad’s message to Clair.

  Clair, to her surprise, threw her head back and laughed. “Oh, he knows he’s in deep. Share his coffee indeed.”

  “Inside joke?” Faith asked.

  “Something like that.”

  “So, you’re not mad at him?”

  Clair frowned. “I was never mad at him, but I’m furious with her. This was not the time for her to just show up out of nowhere. It was already stressful enough for you girls. You don’t need her drama, too.”

  The anger that Faith had been holding down started to fade. Clair was right. They didn’t need Gabrielle’s drama right then, and Faith had no obligation to spend any energy worrying about it. She leaned back and closed her eyes. In seconds, she was asleep.

  “Faith, wake up.”

  A sharp pain seized Faith’s neck as she jerked awake. “Oh, ouch,” she said, pressing her hand to her neck as she stretched from side to side. “Tha
t was a bad idea.”

  Clair nudged her and pointed to Gabrielle, who was standing at the nurse’s station. She was wearing a long, flowery, faded blue and white skirt and a white fleece jacket with a pair of very worn leather boots. She was neat and clean, but it was clear her clothes were several years old with many miles of wear. And for the first time, Faith could really see how rough her mother’s life had been. Hunter had told her, but she hadn’t fully understood what that life must’ve meant for her as well as Hunter.

  “Looks like run-away-mommy is done,” Faith said, getting to her feet. She glanced at Clair, “Are you coming?”

  Clair stared at Gabrielle and shook her head. “You go along. I have something to take care of first.”

  Faith watched as Clair rose and walked across the room to Gabrielle. After a few words, the pair walked down the hall toward the exit. “Well, that’s interesting,” she said to no one as she headed back to her dad’s room.

  He was sitting up, carefully sipping from a paper cup when she returned.

  “Hey, baby girl. Come sit with me,” he said, patting the edge of the bed.

  She did as she was told, and as he draped an arm around her shoulders, she snuggled into him. “Feeling better?”

  “Better is an understatement,” he said. “The energy potions in this place make me feel eighteen again.”

  “Is that why you let Mom stay? Nostalgia for the good old days?”

  He snorted. “Hardly.”

  Faith dropped the teasing pretense and looked up at her father. “Then why? It’s been twenty years. Why should we listen to what she has to say?”

  Lin Townsend brushed a lock of hair out of his daughter’s eyes and gave her a gentle smile. “Baby girl, I didn’t let her stay for her. I let her stay for me. I wanted answers.”

  “Did you get them?” she asked.

  He shrugged. “Some.”

  “Did it make a difference?” Faith understood wanting answers, but she was dubious that Gabrielle’s revelations would heal any of the wounds her mother had inflicted on all of them, especially her dad, who’d loved her and would’ve done anything for her.