The Professor Woos The Witch
“I don’t curse.”
“Why not?”
Because her magic was broken, and a curse from a witch’s mouth, however casual, could still mean something. “I’m a witch and witches’ words have power. We have to be careful.”
“Witches.” He shook his head in plain disbelief.
Pandora considered the facts. If his daughter was a witch, and considering her lineage and ability to see auras, there wasn’t much question about that, then he needed to face the truth. If Kaley didn’t get a mentor to teach her, she’d never learn. Or she’d learn the hard way, and that was a dangerous path. “Well, I am one. My mother’s one. So are my two sisters. And so was the woman this house once belonged to.”
“Get out!” Kaley’s eyes rounded. “That is so cool.”
Cole stared at Pandora with obvious unhappiness in his eyes.
She shrugged and spread jam on her toast.
He took a long slug of coffee before finally putting his cup back down. “How can you make that claim?”
“Because it’s true.”
Kaley nodded, smiling. “See, Dad, I am a witch. Also, like, is that all the bacon there is?”
“Kaley, give us a minute, honey.”
“Yes,” Pandora said. “Let me educate your father, then you can worry about bacon.” Pandora made a face at him. “You inherited this house, right?”
“Yes.”
“So how can you not know your own family? Gertrude Pilcher was a witch. And a fairly well-known one, too.”
“I’m not related to her. I’m related to Ulysses. He was my great-uncle on my mother’s side.”
“Why didn’t your mom inherit the house?”
“She passed away five years ago. Cancer. I might have met Ulysses and Gertrude once, at a family reunion when I was a kid. That was it. And I don’t remember it.”
“I’m so sorry about your mom.” She couldn’t imagine losing her mother. Pandora’s heart ached for Cole. And for Kaley, who’d lost her grandmother. “That must have been hard.”
“It was. Still is.”
She was quiet for a minute. Then she spoke softly. “Related or not, your distant great-aunt was a witch.”
Cole got a look on his face like he suddenly knew how to put an end to the conversation. Pandora recognized the look because it was one witches got from normies a lot. Normie was what witches often called the non-magical. The younger generation had kind of glommed on to muggle, though.
“You honestly believe you’re a witch.”
“I know I’m one.”
“Then prove it.”
And there it was. The challenge that always came from the disbelieving. Turn my ex into a frog. Make a million dollars magically appear. Show me your broom. “No.”
“Because you can’t.”
“I could if I wanted to, but I don’t want to.” Because her magic never worked right. Sometimes, it went horribly wrong. And neither was a humiliation she enjoyed. She put her fork down. “Time for me to go.”
“Dad!” Kaley grabbed Pandora’s arm. “See? Now you know what I’m dealing with. Please don’t go.”
The legs of Pandora’s chair squeaked across the tile as she got up. “Sorry, kid, I have to get to work. Have a good day at school.”
Then she looked at Cole. Pretty, pretty, naïve Cole. “You have a good day, too. You and your small little mind.”
She turned and stormed out before he could say another word. He was damned lucky too, because at that moment, if she’d been capable of it, she totally would have turned him into a frog.
A sullen, angry Kaley sat across from Cole as their front door slammed shut. He’d known that would be the outcome of his challenge, and while he wasn’t happy Kaley was upset with him, it was better she understood now what was real and what wasn’t. He sipped his coffee. “Eat your breakfast. School’s in twenty minutes.”
She glared at him. Probably wishing she could do witchcraft. “I’m not hungry.”
“You will be later.”
More glaring. Now with sighing. “Did you do the same thing to Mom?”
He looked up from his plate. “What do you mean?”
“Make her leave too, because you didn’t believe she was a witch.”
His turn to sigh. “Your mother left because she wasn’t—”
“Ready to be a mother and she had to work on herself. I know all that. But why did she really leave? You made her, didn’t you?”
“No, Kaley, I didn’t, but the truth is, your mother wasn’t a witch any more than you are or Miss Williams is.”
“You didn’t give her a chance.”
“Who? Your mother or Miss Williams? Actually, I did. Both of them.”
“It wasn’t nice what you did to Miss Williams. She was going to teach me things. She was going to help me find a mentor.”
“Kaley, she’s a real estate agent. Not a witch. It’s all just a gimmick because of this town. People like to pretend they’re something more than they are. That’s what they do here.”
“It’s not just a gimmick.”
“Yes, it is. This town makes its money on the idea that every day is Halloween. Honey, I know you’re disappointed. But being a teenager is hard enough without trying to be something you’re not. Now, please eat your breakfast.”