Chapter eighteen Nat #2
“I know.” Nathaniel nodded. “I warned him to take care of our Aunt Genie, so I’m hoping he’ll listen, and we won’t have to beat him up on her behalf at some point.”
“I don’t know if we could beat him up, even if we tried,” Roan admitted. “Have you seen the man fight?”
“I have not had the pleasure,” Nathaniel said.
“He’s helped me with a few brawls in the past. He’s a beast.”
“I hope I’ll never have the pleasure of witnessing it,” Nathaniel said with a laugh.
“I hope so, too,” Roan said. “I’ve been trying to cut off the usual culprits before they get to the point of starting a fight. It works...some of the time.”
Nathaniel grinned. “You, cutting people off? You must have matured.”
Roan grunted. “I just got tired of dealing with it. I’m getting old.”
“That’s basically what I said,” Nathaniel pointed out.
Roan sighed. “I could use some help here if you ever decide you want to come back.”
Nathaniel shrugged. “I may need to help Thea,” he said.
“So you two have mended things?” Roan asked, trying to sound casual.
“I still don’t know if I will be successful,” Nathaniel admitted, “but I’m trying.”
“She deserves better than you,” Roan said, shoving him.
“I know,” Nathaniel said softly. His brother may have been teasing. He wasn’t. “She deserves someone who would have gone after her all those years ago. I let myself be convinced to stay here for far too long. She paid the price.”
“I’m sorry,” Roan said quietly. “I know you would’ve gone, were it not for me.”
Nathaniel shrugged. “I could’ve gone anyway. I didn’t. I wasted too many years, and I won’t do it again.”
His brother clapped him on the shoulder. “You’re a good man,” Roan said. “I hope nothing but happiness for the two of you.”
Nathaniel smiled. “I wish the same for you,” he said. “Abigail seems pretty special.”
“She is.” Roan’s eyes lit up at the mention of her. “I don’t know what I’d do without her now. I could never have imagined I’d find someone like her.”
“I hope she knows how lucky she is,” Nathaniel said. “You may have your faults, but you’re a good man, too. And I wish you all the happiness.”
Roan threw the stick for Beastie again, smiling, then looked back at his brother. “I can’t wait to tease Tom,” he said, roughly changing the subject—which Nathaniel didn’t mind. That had been enough brutal honesty for one day.
“I should get back,” Nathaniel said, reluctantly. “Tell me how it goes?”
“I will,” Roan promised.
And Nathaniel found he couldn’t wait to hear from his brother—which was somewhat disconcerting… and incredibly welcome.
“I’ll see you later,” he told him before letting himself back into the tavern, waving goodbye to Abigail as he made his way out—back to the café.
Nathaniel found Thea sitting on the floor in the café, an odd look on her face.
“What is it?” he asked, sitting next to her.
“I’m just wondering… What happens if we truly can’t break it?” she said.
“What happened to ‘we’re not allowed to think that way’?” he asked, keeping his voice lighthearted.
“I know,” she said with a sigh. “I’m trying.”
“You and I will be fine,” he said. “We can get through anything together, even if it’s a curse. Although I will warn you—I’m about to say no to any more potions. Those were truly the most vile things I have ever tasted in my life.”
“You already told me that,” Thea said, but she smiled, which was his goal in saying it—so it had worked.
“I just don’t know what else to try,” she said.
“Well, if Guinevere isn’t sure yet, and she’s known about magic her whole life, I don’t know why you expect yourself to be able to come up with an answer to it,” he said gently. “We’ll figure it out eventually, but it doesn’t have to happen right now.”
“Are you saying you’re okay with turning into a cat again?” she asked skeptically.
“Okay with it? No,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m not okay with anything that keeps me from your side for even a moment longer.”
Thea’s sigh softened, and she leaned over to rest her head on his shoulder.
“However,” he said, “you and I have fought through worse, and I know that no matter what it takes, you and I can find our way to each other again—no matter how many times I turn into a cat, no matter how many times we think we’re being pulled away from each other.
I refuse to lose you again. Not even to a curse. ”
“You’re good at this motivational speech thing,” Thea said, looking up at him. “You should do it more often.”
“Hopefully I’ll never have to give a motivational speech about turning into a cat ever again,” he said, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
“I hope so, too,” Thea said softly.
Ginger padded over toward them and sat on Thea’s lap.
“Hello, kit,” she said, smoothing her hands over Ginger’s back.
Nathaniel’s nose twitched. “Is it bad that I’m jealous that she’s sitting in your lap right now?” he asked.
Thea rolled her eyes.
“It might just be the feline instincts, but right now I just want you to rub my head.”
She let out a wry chuckle, but she reached out to pat his head and said, “You’re a good boy,” which made Nathaniel guffaw.
“That felt strange,” Thea admitted. “I’m never doing that again.”
“I think that’s probably wise, because otherwise you might get too used to doing it.”
Thea simply rolled her eyes again.
“Do you want to scratch under my chin?” Nathaniel teased as she began to do the same to Ginger.
“No,” she said, shaking her head at him. “You are the strangest man I have ever met.”
“I bet I’m the only one you’ve ever met that also turns into a cat,” he pointed out.
“That would explain a lot,” she said, but there was affection in her tone.
“I know,” he said with an unrepentant grin, “and you fell in love with me because of it. So really, whose fault is that?”
Thea sighed and continued to pet Ginger, so Nathaniel reached over to do the same. Their hands touched on her back, and where Thea would’ve once pulled away, she paused and let him cover her hand with his.
“I love you,” he said simply, looking deep into her eyes, “and I always will.”
“I love you, too,” she said, leaning in for a kiss.
Their lips met, and to Nathaniel’s horror, his nose started twitching.
“Not again,” he groaned, pulling away from her just in time for his body to transform into the now-familiar orange cat.
“Interrupted, again,” Thea said with a sigh.
Nathaniel let out a grumpy meow, which made Thea giggle.
He reached out and put one paw on her leg, then looked up at her.
Thea sighed but grinned as she said, “Yes, you may sit on my lap.”
Well, at least there was one benefit to this situation. Nathaniel jumped into her lap next to Ginger, who snuggled up to him as he curled up and began to purr.
If he had to be a cat, at least he could be a cat with Thea.
But the purring stopped as he realized that he’d had less time as a human this time around. What if his time as a human got shorter and shorter until eventually he was only a cat?
The thought was unbearable. He wanted more. He wanted a future with Thea. He wanted children of his own.