Chapter 15
CLOVER
As the sun sets, Mary and Hayes pack it up for the day.
“How much longer, do you think?” I ask, trying not to sound like thinking about leaving is stressing me out. FYI: It is. I’m not ready. I’ve asked a hundred times.
“I think it’ll be done tomorrow,” Hayes says. Beckett grunts. I can’t read what emotion he’s trying to convey with it.
Before they leave, Mary sends over a little bag. I had asked her to pick something up for me when they were here yesterday, and she came through, like she always does.
She is the best woman, and I’m lucky I have her. She really stepped up when my mom died. She never acted like I wasn’t her kid; I always just felt like part of the Hollis’.
Whoever marries into the family will be lucky to have such an amazing, loving mother-in-law. I stop my train of thought right there because I feel a twinge in my stomach. I’m not sure if it’s jealousy or anger . . . or longing.
We walk back up to the house, and Beckett goes to set up the camping stove without me even asking. One look at Lennon was probably enough to signal she needed to be cleaned up again. She’s been having the time of her life playing in the muddy creekbed.
We haven’t been using the generator much; it’s been days, and we didn’t have much gasoline left. When we come back in from Lenny’s makeshift bath, Beck isn’t down here.
I grab my phone, a glass, and a bottle of water on the way up to her room. After getting her into some cozy pajamas, I gently brush her hair. The spring of her curls makes me smile; it reminds me of brushing Brynn’s hair when we were little, but darker. Lennon is her dad’s copy-paste project.
When she yawns, I know it’s show time.
“Hey, wanna see something cool?” I whisper to her.
Her sleepy little eyes light up, and she nods.
I pull out the bag Mary sent me earlier and open the container. Turmeric.
“What’s that?” Lennon asks me quietly, still keeping up the super-secret magic vibe I was going for.
“This is called turmeric. Most people use it for cooking, but most people don’t know it’s also magic.” I put as much whimsy and mystery in my voice as I can.
I can’t help but smile as her gorgeous hazel eyes widen even more than they already were, and she gasps.
“Really?”
“Mhm,” I say as I nod. “Watch.”
I turn on my phone and hope I have enough battery to do this. I haven’t been charging it since we don’t have service right now, anyway. I check the status—five percent.
Let’s make it count.
I swipe down the screen and tap the flashlight button, illuminating the room. Lennon squints a little. It’s much brighter than the lantern we’ve been using. I place it face down on her beige carpet and set the glass over the light.
She’s wonderfully curious.
I twist off the cap of the water bottle and carefully pour it into the glass, then remove the plastic from the turmeric bottle. I check that it’s a shaker-style bottle and hand it to Lennon.
“Alright, Lenny. I’m going to let you have my magic so you can do it, okay?” I ask, my tone serious.
She nods her head like she’s swearing an oath.
“You’re going to shake a lot of this into the water. That’s it! That’s how you’ll do the magic!”
Her little hand wraps around the turmeric and takes it from me. She looks between the glass and me, so I nod encouragingly.
When she shakes a bunch into the water and sees the turmeric shooting to the bottom, making the area glow, she gasps, then squeals excitedly.
Mission accomplished. She is in awe of the golden glow.
“I thought that magic spell was reserved for kids who are at least eight,” a deep voice says from the doorway. I look over my shoulder, and Beck is there, his perfect teeth showing in a hell of a grin.
“Well, Beck, it seems like our girl here has enough magic to do it at six! Better watch out. She’s unstoppable with this kind of power.”
Our girl. I didn’t mean to say that. I also don’t mean to be getting as attached to this kid as I am, but I can’t help it. She’s quirky, witty, and clever as fuck for a kid her age, and her humor mirrors ours so perfectly.
“I can see that,” he says, sounding very impressed. “Unfortunately, though, even powerful witches have to go to bed.” He crosses the room and scoops her up into his arms.
I don’t know if he does it intentionally, but he runs his palm over the top of my hair before he gets her.
When he plops her down on her bed, he asks if she wants a song or a story. She chooses a story.
I stand up and start to make my way out of her room when I hear her call my name.
“Lovey? Maybe you can stay, too? Dad’s a really good reader, but sometimes he’s bad at voices,” she tells me.
Beckett scoffs. “That’s really unfair.”
She rolls her eyes and looks at me pointedly, like I get where she’s coming from. I clear my throat. “I’d love to, if it’s okay with your Dad.”
He grabs the book Lennon requested and sits down on the edge of her bed, patting the other side of her for me to sit down, too.
We take turns reading to her, and we decide to make it a bit silly by doing voices for each other. Lennon’s right, his feminine imitation could use a lot of work, but I could listen to her giggle forever.
After Beckett closes the book, he tells her that it’s his turn to go first. I’m confused about what’s going on, but I’m looped in quickly.
“Every night we say what the best part of our day was,” he explains. “You can do it tonight, too, if you want.”
Lennon insists I get to go first since I’ve never done it. It’s hard being on the spot, but I know what my answer is.
“My favorite part was when you did magic. You have a lot of inner strength.”
Lennon beams proudly, her confidence boosted.
Beckett goes next, saying his favorite part of the day was when Gram and Papa brought us all cheeseburgers, and Lennon and I agree that was, in fact, a very good part of the day.
We wait for Lennon’s answer, and she’s considering it very carefully. She chews on her bottom lip, and I swear I can see the gears turning in her head.
“My favorite part was right now, when we are all here to say goodnight to each other.”
My heart cracks open.