The Professor Woos The Witch
Pandora smiled at Kaley. “Sure will.”
Kaley tipped her head toward Cole. “Dad, can we?”
Pandora turned her gaze back to him as well. “I think my family could be…helpful.”
He appeared lost in thought a moment longer. “I guess so.” Then he addressed Pandora in a softer voice. “I don’t like this.”
“I know.” Pandora made herself smile. He also really wouldn’t like it if he knew the ghost of the witch who’d owned this house was still in it.
Kaley dropped her half-eaten slice of pizza on her plate. “I’m done. Can I be excused?”
“Yes.” As Kaley took off, Cole seemed relieved that he could stop pretending. He laced his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling. “What am I going to do?”
“You’re going to take it one day at a time. I’ll help you.”
He dropped his hands to lean on the table, closer to her. “What does this mean for my life? Why didn’t my parents tell me?”
“You’ll have to take that up with your dad.”
“I plan to.” He shook his head. “Let’s say I am a familiar, which still makes no sense to me, then what does that have to do with me being a raven?”
“Familiars are traditionally animals. I guess for human familiars, it means you can shift into that form. Yours just happens to be a raven. Birds are definitely one of the more popular types of familiars with witches, although cats are high on the list too. Hmm. You being a raven shifter might explain your dislike of cats.”
“And why yours tried to eat me.”
“Pumpkin did not try to eat you.”
“I felt teeth. Look, if I’m a familiar, why haven’t I been chased by witches all my life?”
Pandora thought about what he’d told her about his ex-wife. “I think you have been. At least once.”
“What do you mean?”
“You said Lila claimed to be a witch. Based on what I’ve observed in Kaley, I’d say that’s true. Kaley had to get it from someone and it sure wasn’t you. Did Lila also claim to see auras like Kaley does?”
“Yes.”
“That explains it then.”
“Explains what?”
“You said that in the early days, she treated you like a king.”
He nodded. “So?”
“She saw your aura and understood exactly what you were. I think she was trying to get you to bond with her. Or at least reveal yourself as a familiar. When that didn’t happen, she split.”
Cole swore softly. “She was using me. I guess I always kind of thought that, especially when she left Kaley behind, but hell, I never knew to what extent.”
He sighed and pushed his glasses back. “Is Kaley really a witch?”
Pandora nodded. “Yes. And seeing auras like she can? That’s pretty special stuff. A lot of witches claim they can, but most just see vague colors. Kaley seems to be able to read them with the sort of clarity that’s rare.” She hesitated. “Gertrude could read them too, I think.”
“You mean the old woman who used to live here?”
Pandora rolled her lips together, wondering if she should say more.
“What?” Cole asked. “You’re not telling me something.”
“I don’t know how much more you can take.”
He laughed. “You’re a witch. From a family of witches. My ex-wife is a witch. Apparently literally and figuratively. Plus my kid’s a witch. And I am probably some kind of animal shifter. All that, and I’m still upright and functioning. I don’t think there’s anything you could tell me that would break me at this point.”
She kept her mouth shut.
He reached out and put his hand as close to hers as possible without touching. “C’mon, Pandora. What is it?”
Goddess help her, she wanted to touch him, but she didn’t want to throw him into that weird shifting fugue state again. She sighed. “Gertrude is still here. Sort of. I ran into her ghost in your attic.”
He swallowed. “You’re sure?”
Pandora nodded. “She’s the one who told me what you are. Your great-uncle Ulysses was a familiar too. It’s in your bloodline. And based on what Kaley said about your dad’s aura, he’s also a familiar.”
Cole pulled his hand back and took a deep breath, exhaling before he spoke again. “You think your family can help? Not just me, but with Kaley?”
“Yes, absolutely, to both.”
“Good.” He smiled with weak resignation. “We’ll come to dinner tomorrow night. I don’t know how I’m going to live with this. And Kaley’s going to need guidance I’d never be able to give her.”
He stared at Pandora’s hand, then slid his back across the table toward her. “I like you, Pandora. I feel…drawn to you in a way I’ve never felt with another woman. If that’s whatever’s inside me responding to who you are, so be it, but I don’t like being afraid of touching you.”
He raised his head to meet her eyes. “I don’t think I can stop feeling this way either.”
She lifted her fingers, her instinct to lay them on top of his, but she stopped herself and dropped them back to the table. “I’m okay with that. I feel drawn to you too, despite the fact that I don’t really like you much. Didn’t really like you much.”
“I’m sorry about that. I’ll work on being more likable. I swear.”