Chapter 45
45
SUMMER
“There’s space over here for you,” Grace said to Desdemona, gesturing at the empty seat that Tess would usually occupy.
Desdemona bustled over, but instead of sitting, she picked up the chair and carried it around the table, placing it between me and Kennedy. Heather left and returned with a plate, which she set in front of her unexpected guest.
Desdemona angled herself toward me and beamed. “Felicitations on your new relationship.”
“Thank you.” I looked at Grace. “You didn’t mention you’d told Desdemona.”
“She didn’t,” Desdemona said.
Grace shook her head, silently confirming that. Her eyes were as wide as mine. We both knew Desdemona claimed to have psychic abilities, and maybe we even believed she had a powerful intuition, but surely, she hadn’t simply woken up this morning and somehow known the Braddocks were holding a brunch to announce the fact Asher and I were dating.
That was too specific.
Heather gestured for brunch to begin, and we all reached for the bowls and platters stationed along the center of the table. I grabbed a Danish and then ladled fruit salad into a small bowl.
On one side of me, Asher piled bacon and eggs onto his plate, while on the other, Desdemona only poured hot water onto a tea bag that smelled faintly of lemons.
“So, Summer,” Desdemona said as she set the kettle back down, “I had a dream last night, and for some reason, I’m called to share it with you.”
“Okay.” I tore off a piece of Danish and popped the flaky pastry into my mouth. For some, this might seem a strange conversation starter, but I’d heard about many of Desdemona’s dreams over the years. “What did you dream about?”
She gazed into the distance somewhere over Grace’s shoulder and shivered. “I was surrounded by white, and cold to my bones. The kind of cold where you feel like you’ll never get warm again.”
I frowned. “Do you know where you were?”
“No.” She wrapped her hands around the cup of tea, as if needing to chase away the chill still lingering inside her. “Just that it was white. It could have been a white room, or a cloudy sky, or even somewhere in the mountains. All I know is that it’s connected to you.”
I shredded the Danish, my fingers moving automatically, acting out a nervous habit. “How?”
She shrugged. “I wish I could say, but I have no idea.”
Weird.
“Well, you’ve passed along the message,” I said briskly, hoping to put her at ease even though I was anything but. Something about this made me anxious. But perhaps I was overreacting because I was already in an emotionally fraught situation.
“I have.” She twined her fingers together, not looking any more satisfied than I was. “I’ll try to remember more, but it’s like there’s a wall in my mind, blocking out the details.”
I wiped my fingers on a napkin and used a fork to gather up some of the smaller fragments of Danish. “Don’t stress yourself out about it. I’m sure if it’s important, it’ll come to you.”
She gazed down at her tea, as if she hoped she’d find answers in the bottom of the cup.
I leaned closer to Asher. “How did it go with my brothers?”
He glanced around, checking whether anyone was listening to us. “Better than I expected.”
“That’s good, right?”
“Yeah.” But he didn’t sound certain. “Toby seemed fine with it. Max too. Connor and Nate threatened me, but I expected that.”
My lips pressed together. “And Liam?”
“Hard to tell.”
“Hmm. For what it’s worth, Grace and Kennedy are both happy for us, and they don’t seem surprised at all.”
“Was Bailey?” he asked.
“No,” I admitted. She’d squealed and clapped excitedly when I’d broken the news over the phone yesterday, but I hadn’t expected any different. Whether it was temporary or permanent, I had my dream man. I’d squeal just as loudly for her if she ever successfully wooed Max.
We finished our breakfast, fielding questions from Toby and my parents about how we’d gotten together. I’d already spilled the beans to Kennedy and Grace, and I suspected that my other brothers would gladly not know, given the option.
“Desdemona, I’ve been practicing with the tarot deck you gave me,” Kennedy said, loud enough for the whole table to hear. “Will you help me do a reading while you’re here?”
“Of course.” Desdemona opened her deck of cards, which had been resting beside her elbow on the table, and began to shuffle them. Once done, she passed the deck to Kennedy.
“I need a volunteer,” Kennedy said.
“You can use me as your guinea pig,” Max said good-naturedly.
“Thanks.” She cut the deck once and then handed it to him. “Can you cut this again, and then I want you to place cards out in a cross formation.” She explained how she wanted the cards, and in what order, and then dragged her chair over to sit beside him.
One by one, Kennedy turned over cards and flipped through notes on her phone, attempting to interpret them. Every now and then, Desdemona corrected her.
“I think this one means that a change is coming.” Kennedy glanced at Desdemona. “Is that right?”
“Partly.” Desdemona smiled at her fondly, then gave her attention to Max. “You will face a change that you’ve been resisting. The only way forward is through.”
For his part, Max didn’t seem bothered by this.
“Change is just part of life,” he said. “It’s inevitable.”
Desdemona’s mouth curled slyly. “That doesn’t mean we have to like it.”
He chuckled. “I suppose not.”
Movement in the corner of my eye caught my attention, and I looked out the window.
“It’s snowing again,” I exclaimed.
“I’ll make hot chocolate,” Mum said, getting to her feet.
I stood too. “I’ll get the Baileys.”
Kennedy winked at me, even though we both knew she wouldn’t be having any. Not while pregnant.
Mum and I were quiet while we prepared the drinks. We loaded them onto a tray, but just before we took them out, she wrapped one arm around my shoulders and gave me a quick hug.
“Good job, sweetheart,” she murmured. “You got your man.”
My cheeks heated. “Hopefully, I’ll keep him.”
She ruffled my hair. “I have faith in you both.”
“Me too,” I whispered, emotion stinging my eyes.
Perhaps I was afraid to believe in us. I didn’t want to get my hopes up and then shatter them. But I honestly thought we could have something special.
I cleared my throat, and between us, we carried the tray of hot chocolates out, being careful to avoid spillage. We drank while watching the snow fall in fat white flakes. I smiled at Asher, and his eyes crinkled in the corners, warmth swimming in their depths.
When we’d finished our drinks, the men cleared the dishes away while the women relaxed in the living room. By the time the men joined us, Finn was starting to fuss, so we decided it was time for everyone to head home. Those who had jackets donned them and we exited through the front door as a group.
As we drew near to the road, I frowned at a car parked a couple of hundred yards away. The Braddocks lived in the country, so there shouldn’t be anyone else in the area. Unless perhaps these were tourists who’d pulled over while they looked up directions.
As I watched, the car tore off the grass and careened up the road, fishtailing when it passed over an icy patch and nearly taking out a street sign.
“What the hell was that?” I asked.