Chapter 18
GRANT
Waking up with my new girlfriend in my arms—dating means she”s my girlfriend, right? at least temporarily?—feels pretty fucking good. Not nearly as good as sex with her feels, but that would be hard to top.
After our nap, we went for round two about one a.m. Starting off her birthday the right way. Then somewhere around dawn, I slid into her from behind and we had slow, lazy sex that was no less incredible than the hard, fast sex we had last night.
It”s all incredible because Sirona”s incredible. We”re incredible together.
A growing part of me wishes I could find a way to convince her to come back to Chicago with me. But even if she could convince her mom and aunts to let her open some sort of satellite clinic in Chicago, she”d never leave her sisters. Her family. She”s as deeply rooted in Owl Cove as the giant oak tree I can see outside her bedroom window.
I pull away from her only long enough to check the time on my phone. It”s almost nine. I need to get moving. I”m supposed to meet Hank at ten, and I need to shower and eat something first. It seems a little silly to shower to go for a long, sweaty bike ride, but if I show up with bed head and smelling like sex, my brother-in-law will give me hell for it.
I get a mental picture of Sirona in the shower with me, her wet hair heavy down her back, her body slippery. I can practically taste her skin with the extra layer of water on it. My mouth waters.
I stop the fantasy before it can move on to the obvious place of us having sex in the shower. It wouldn”t work anyway. Shower sex is precarious at best, and with my hand being so weak, I wouldn”t trust myself to keep us safe. Plus, if I”m going to be on time to meet Hank and his friends, I need to get going.
Not to mention she”s expected back at the festival today. Though I”m sure her family isn”t exactly wondering where she is. I”m positive Bronwen knows what we were doing when we disappeared yesterday afternoon, from the looks she was giving me.
Against me, Sirona stretches and lets out a groan. ”Good morning,” she murmurs.
Instantly I”m hard. That”s all it takes.
I wrap my arm around her waist and scoot her even closer. Even though we won”t do anything about it this morning, I want her to feel what she does to me.
When my erection nudges at her ass, she moans. ”Good morning,” she repeats, her voice heavy with innuendo this time.
I kiss her shoulder. ”A good morning indeed. And happy birthday.”
She shivers as my breath tickles her skin. ”That feels good.” Her voice has gone breathy, which goes straight to my cock.
Why did I agree to go on this bike ride? I could be rolling her over and sliding inside her right now.
”I need to go. I”m sorry.”
She makes a whimpering sound that”s really damn sexy.
With great effort, I pull away from her. Swinging my legs off the bed, I sit up, back to her. Somewhere around here are my clothes. Another reason I have to go home: I saw Hank and Kelsey at the festival yesterday and I can”t wear the same outfit biking. Besides, it”s not really workout attire. And I”m enough of a biking nerd, I have special shoes.
I collect my clothes from where they”re scattered around her floor. For the first time, I take a moment to really take in her room. The ethereal purple motif is very her.
”This place is great,” I tell her as I pull on my boxer briefs. ”Your room, I mean. I didn”t really look at it much last night.”
”We were a bit distracted.” She”s rolled to her other side, facing me. But she makes no move to get out of bed. A lilac blanket drapes over her, but I can still see the creamy slope of her breast, her nipple just barely covered.
”What time are you meeting Hank?” she asks as I continue to dress.
”Ten. And I need to shower and change and eat something first.” I rake my gaze over the slopes of her curves, from her neck to her toes. ”I”m really sorry.” So sorry.
I like Sirona a lot. We have fun together, and she keeps me out of my head. Which is a grim place sometimes. I”m enjoying getting to know her, enjoying going on fake dates with her, having dinner with her family. This definitely isn”t just about sex for me.
But holy shit, the sex is incredible.
And if I keep thinking about how amazing it felt to have my cock inside her, I”ll never leave.
I round the bed to her side and she rolls over yet again. I consider sitting down, but then I might not get up for quite a while. So I bend down and brush my lips over hers. I kiss her temple, her forehead, the tip of her nose, then again on her lips.
Our mouths linger. Cling. I feel her smile against mine.
”Come to the festival after?” she murmurs when I finally pull away and stand.
”Of course.” It occurs to me that it”s Sunday. ”No family dinner this week, I assume?”
”No, it’s tomorrow instead. It’s always Monday on festival weeks.”
Thanks to the witch community and Goode Witches, our town has several festivals similar to this one. I recall five or six from when I was growing up. May Day, Samhain/Halloween, and Yule are the other big ones.
Maybe I”ll come home around Halloween, if my schedule will allow. My dad did let my mom take us to the Halloween/Samhain festival and that one was always a lot of fun.
A pang of something uncomfortable settles in my chest. What”s that about?
Ignoring it, I trail my finger down Sirona”s shoulder, then her arm, until I can squeeze her fingertips. ”See you later.”
The smile she gives me is soft, sexy, and devastatingly beautiful. I am so wild for this woman in a way I haven”t felt in... possibly ever. Certainly not for a long time. And it”s best to focus on now, not our inevitable expiration date.
“Oh, hey,” she says as I step away. “Would it help if I do the pain spell before you go?”
I’ve complained to her about how much braking hurts. “That would be great.”
By now I’m used to the tingling sensation in my arm as she works her magic. Too soon, it’s over and she releases my hand.
With a tired smile, she says, “Enjoy your ride.”
Reluctantly, I head down the stairs. When I get home, I take a fast shower, pull on biking clothes, eat a protein bar, and load up my bike in the back of my truck. For good measure, I slather the pain salve over my hand. I get to the head of the trail where I”m meeting Hank and his two friends at 9:58.
Hank, who is chronically early, is waiting, helmet already on. Within a few minutes,Drew and Patrick arrive and we set off. Like a lot of people our age in Owl Cove, Drew and Patrick grew up here. I don”t know them well, but I know who they are.
We get on our bikes and head north. The path is part of the Ice Age Trail that winds all across southern Wisconsin. If we wanted, we could eventually work our way to Milwaukee. But that”s a full day in the other direction.
It feels good to be on a bike again. This new one is now two months old, and if I”m honest, I was nervous about going out again. The idea of biking alone, like I used to, makes me feel panicked. So I haven”t done it. I should, I know I should. I have to get past the fear. But for now, I”m only riding with other people.
My thighs and calves ache as we push further. They remind me how out of shape I”ve gotten. All my physical exertion in the past eight months has been about my hand. Therapy exercises to strengthen it and get some mobility back. They haven”t helped much, and they hurt like hell.
Now my legs hurt like hell too. More reasons I need to get back on my bike. I”ve been running some, but that doesn”t work the same muscles as biking.
Maybe I”ll get a stationary bike at home.
You know, like a chickenshit. I need to just suck it up and ride by myself.
Enough grim thoughts. It”s a gorgeous day, and there”s a breeze in my face and amazing scenery. I need to focus on that.
It takes us two hours to reach the end of this branch of the trail. We park our bikes and find a picnic table to rest at for a few minutes.
I greedily suck down some water. Not too much; I don”t want to give myself a cramp. But enough to keep hydrated. I eat another protein bar and offer them around to Hank, Drew, and Patrick. The three of them get a conversation going and I mostly just listen. Patrick’s wife is pregnant with their first kid and Hank is giving him husbandly advice. Not something I can relate to. I have no idea if Drew is married, single, with someone. But he isn”t participating in the conversation much either.
”How”s the adoption process going?” Hank asks, turning the conversation to Drew. So that answers part of my wonderings.
”Slow.” Drew sighs. ”Tom isn”t handling it well.”
And that answers more of them.
”You”ll get there,” Patrick assures his friend.
They chat more about how much paperwork is involved in adoption and my mind drifts.
There”s only three more weeks until I go back to Chicago. Right after Fourth of July. One of the other residents in my class, Leslie, has a big party every year for the Fourth, and since my surgery is that week, she”s been texting, asking if I”ll make it.
A month ago, no question I”d have been there.
Now? Now I want to spend every second I can with Sirona. I don”t have to be in Chicago until the sixth, for my surgery early morning on the seventh. I will be leaving after dinner on the sixth. Not a moment sooner.
My chest aches just thinking about leaving. Not just Sirona, but Owl Cove. Everything I have here that I don”t in Chicago. Sure, Leslie will go biking with me sometimes, but no one else. Hence all the biking I did alone. And city biking just isn”t the same.
”How”s the hand holding up?” Hank”s voice cuts into my thoughts. For which I”m grateful.
”Starting to hurt some.” A mmild throb starts up every time I need to use my right brake.
”Don”t suppose you can do the same spell on me that Sirona does?”
Hank gives me an apologetic look. ”Sorry. I don”t know any healing magic.”
I nod. Didn”t think he did, but it was worth asking. I have Sirona”s magic salve in my pack, and I”ll use more of that before we head back. But her literally magic hands are yet another reason I can”t wait to get home to her.
The realization of my thought hits me hard.
Home. All day—hell, all year, I”ve been thinking of Owl Cove as home. Not Chicago, but here. My cabin is home. This town is home.
Sirona is home.
Well shit. What am I supposed to do with that?
SIRONA
”Happy birthday to-oooooo-oo yo-oooo-u!” Grinning down at me from the stage, Sapphire finishes singing with a vocal flourish. ”My cousin, Sirona, everyone! Thanks for helping me make her birthday something special.”
Laughing and clapping, I yell ”Thank you!” to my cousin. Excitement bubbles around my chest. I lean into Morgan, who has her arm around my shoulder.
Celestial Academy is performing this afternoon, and we”re in the very front: Bronwen, my other cousins, my aunts, and me, all one big Goode family cluster. Even Chessie is here, leaving her restaurant in the hands of assistants. Something she almost never does.
”Love you, babe!” Sapphire calls out to me. Then, with an energetic strum of her guitar, she, Garnet, Amethyst, and their drummer—the only non-family in the band, a guy whose name I didn”t remember—launch into a new song. It”s one of their biggest hits, so the crowd around us goes wild.
Four songs later, after dancing and yell-singing with my sisters, I need a break. ”I”m going to go check on Nana,” I whisper-yell into Morgan”s ear.
Still dancing, she nods at me as I start to weave my way to the edge of the crowd.
It”s too bad Grant couldn”t be here for this. I wouldn”t say he”s a huge fan of the band, but he seems to like them.
Besides, it”s my birthday and I want to spend time with my boyfriend.
My insides feel all squishy when I think the word boyfriend.
But his ride is only a few hours. He promised to meet me here before dinner. And tonight... well, I have every intention of having a multi-orgasmic birthday.
I make my way over to the small tent set up near the center of the festival grounds. Nana is at her table, directing people from her makeshift office. She”s not mobile enough to spend two days on her feet, walking all over to find the people she needs. So she sits in the shade and directs everyone over her headset.
There are two other metal folding chairs at the table with her, so I sit on one. ”Hey, Nana. How are things going?”
She smiles at me, her dark eyes shining. ”Very well. We do better each year, and this is no exception.”
My hands are on my lap, and she pats them. ”And I heard your cousin sing you happy birthday. That was lovely.” She squeezes a little, then puts her hands back in her own lap.
”It was.”
”I”m a lucky grandmother to have such talented, wonderful grandchil—No, the goats go back to Lavender”s assistant. They”ll put them in the truck and transport them back to Lavender”s... Yes, thank you.” She looks over at me. ”Sorry about that.”
”No problem. Goes with the job.” I couldn”t do what she does. Honestly, I”m not sure my mom or aunts could either. I hope Nana”s been training one of them to take over soon. She doesn”t have many years left where she”ll be able to chair the whole festival.
But that”s not why I came to talk to her. Maybe it”s not the best time, what with the festival winding down and her probably having a dozen interruptions. But it”s on my mind and there”s a time factor. I can live with interruptions.
”Nana, do I know all the healing magic there is? Have you taught me everything?”
She looks at me, surprise wrinkling her already-wrinkly forehead. ”Why do you ask?” There”s something guarded in her tone.
Which immediately makes me think the answer is no, I do not know all the healing magic.
I swallow my frustration and say, ”There are so many people I feel like we can”t help. And lately, it”s been getting to me more. It”s frustrating to sit across the desk from so many people, and all I can do is give them a salve or a potion to reduce their pain. They come in with so much hope and I... I kill it.”
My chest starts to ache with my words. Like I might cry. Which is definitely not what I intended.
”Hazel is taking a ten-minute break. You lot can survive without me.” Nana takes off her headset and lays it on the table, not meeting my gaze.
She sighs deeply, her frail shoulders rising and falling. Finally, she looks at me. ”This is about your new man. Grant. And his hand.” They aren”t questions.
”Yes, but also no. I mean, of course it”s partly about him. I would give anything to help him fix his hand and get his career back.” Even though that means I would lose him. Which I will anyway.
More ache in my chest. ”But it”s not just him. I seem to be getting more and more clients scheduled whom I simply can”t help. And it”s frustrating. I guess I feel like there are so many incredible things we can do with magic. So why not alter bigger diseases? It”s all just energy, right?”
Nana studies her hands, which are back in her lap. ”Yes, it”s energy. But it has to come from somewhere.” She”s quiet a moment. ”Tell me, where is this coming from? And why are we discussing it here?”
I sigh internally. My timing is terrible, and I should”ve known to wait. ”Something happened. I got some knowledge from the deities.”
That gets her attention. Her eyes snap up to my face. ”What did they say?”
”Grant”s surgery isn”t going to be successful. It won”t fix his hand. No amount of medical intervention will.” The words feel heavy on my tongue. And so wrong. As much as I want him to stay in Owl Cove to explore what”s developing between us, I certainly don”t want it at the expense of the career he loves.
”Oh, sweetheart.” Nana again covers my hands with hers. ”How did he take that news?”
My cheeks heat. ”I haven”t told him. I don”t know how to.” Before she can scold me, I rush to add, ”I know I need to. But I”m so tired of watching the hope go out of people”s eyes. I don”t want to be the one who does that to him.”
”I understand.” She nods, her expression full of the sage wisdom that comes from being a powerful witch with nearly eighty years of experience. ”And that”s why you came to me first. To see if I know a way to heal him, so that when you tell him, you can present him with a new solution.”
I smile despite the anxiety and tension in my chest. ”You”re so wise, Nana.”
”I know.”
I chuckle. She grins at me.
A breeze winds through the tent, blowing our hair into our faces. I”ve seen pictures of Nana when she was young, before she went gray. She was a redhead like me. Of all the grandchildren, I look most like her. It”s a pleasant yet eerie feeling to look at yourself fifty years down the line.
She tucks her hair behind her shoulders. ”Now isn”t a good time to get into specifics. But I might be able to help him. After dinner tomorrow, we”ll go to my spell room and talk.”
Hope blooms inside me, warm and exciting. ”Thank you. Thank you so much.”
Her expression is more serious than I would expect. ”But Sirona, I have to warn you. These larger, more powerful spells, they”re not without their costs.”
I nod. It”ll be fine. I”ve done spells that use a huge amount of energy, that wipe me out for a day or two after. We all have. I have a rest and recovery routine that works well. I”m certainly willing to take a day or two out of commission if it means helping Grant.
Nana”s face turns quizzical. ”You really do love him, don”t you?”
”I...” Do I? ”The curse is still in place, as far as I know.”
Nana nods. ”That”s true.” She taps a finger against her lips. ”That”s curious. Because I could swear you really do feel love for him.”
Her assertion sits funny in my belly. I honestly haven”t taken time to sort out my feelings for Grant, beyond like and lust. Perhaps it”s time to do that.
”Do I have to fully acknowledge I”m in love before the curse ends?”
She shakes her head. ”I don”t know. I guess we”ll find out.”