Chapter 12
“Mateo called,” Braxton said when Dante arrived at work the next morning. “Said he’s having trouble getting in touch with you.”
“Really?” Dante pulled his phone from his back pocket and noted a couple of missed calls from his brother. After checking his settings, he realized his ringer was on silent. “He didn’t leave any messages. Did he say what he needed?”
“Nope. Just that he was looking for you.” Braxton sat back in his office chair and eyed Dante. “Did you stay with Prim again? Or did you move on to that woman who insisted on the kayak lesson yesterday?”
Dante scoffed. “I most definitely did not move on with McKenna. That woman is lucky she didn’t drown out there in the bay yesterday.” After quickly filling Braxton in on the kayak lesson debacle, he added, “So yes. I was with Prim. And we’re dating now.”
“Dating?” Braxton raised both eyebrows.
“Yep. Exclusively.”
Braxton leaned forward, staring his friend in the eye. “You’re dating Schlong Pox Girl? You, of all people, after everything that happened back in Salem?”
“Don’t call her that,” Dante snapped. “And she didn’t do that on purpose. It’s not the same.”
“Of course it isn’t. And, sorry, I didn’t mean to disrespect Prim. She is Lily’s sister after all. I was just trying to make a point since I thought you were done with witches.”
“It’s not my fault you moved to a witch town,” Dante said as he plopped into a chair. “You could have chosen anywhere, and yet, you’re here. And since I followed you after… everything, I suppose unless I’m determined to become a monk, my options were limited in the dating department.”
“I’m guessing after the last few days, you’d definitely fail monk status,” Braxton said, his lips twitching with amusement.
“None of your business,” Dante said as he rose. “I’m going to go open up. I’ll go see Mateo at lunch and see what he needs.”
“Sure thing,” Braxton said with a salute. “And congrats on your non-monk status.”
Dante ignored him but couldn’t help chuckling as he got to work.
As Dante made his way up the walkway of Gothic Books, the pathway came alive with chirping birds and a handful of butterflies.
The birdsong and butterflies were an echo of what he’d experienced at Prim’s place that morning as they had coffee on the back porch.
A pleasant calm washed over him as he silently praised Indigo Easton for her spell work.
Just before they’d opened, she’d spelled the pathway to show patrons scenes from their favorite childhood books.
The last time he’d been there, he’d witnessed Jack climbing a giant bean stalk.
But now it seemed like she’d adjusted the spell to remind patrons of a pleasant experience. It helped to keep changing things up so that the residents of Befana Bay were motivated to come back more often.
He was really happy with the progress he and Mateo had made with the combination bookstore-library.
Dante had been looking for a house to purchase after moving to Befana Bay, but when he found out the majestic old library had closed, he’d been compelled to bring it back to life and used his savings for that instead.
It had been an impulsive decision, but one he didn’t regret even if it had wiped out his savings.
His brother Mateo managed it, freeing Dante up to keep working as Braxton’s assistant manager at The Enchanted Outdoors until he was able to rebuild his savings to a comfortable level.
“Hello,” Dante called as he stepped into the store. Candlelight flickered from the candelabras in the entry, making the space seem cozy and inviting.
“Dante?” Mateo called. “I’m stocking books in the cooking section.”
“Okay,” Dante called back and made his way through the main space of the store, which was lit with soft lighting aimed at the books and furnished with comfortable overstuffed chairs.
Periodically, the spine of a book would light up, indicating that it was a book that Dante would be interested in.
The spell was ingenious and had proved to be a real money maker.
Normally he’d stop to see if any of the titles were newly stocked, but today he ignored them as he searched for Mateo.
“Over here,” Mateo said.
Dante turned and found him rearranging the section so that he had more room for a new shipment of a book called Fall and Harvest Recipes for the Modern Witch.
He didn’t doubt that it’d do well later in the summer as Befana Bay ramped up for Samhain.
“Hey, brother. Sorry I missed your calls. What’s up? ”
Mateo put a stack of books down on a cart and shoved his hands into his pockets, looking nervous.
Dante frowned. “Something happened.” It wasn’t a question.
“Not something. Someone.”
“Who?” Dante asked, but he already knew the answer.
Gwen. He should have known when she disappeared the other morning that she’d gone straight to Mateo.
But why had she flooded his apartment first?
He’d avoided asking himself that question because he had just been relieved she was gone.
But if she wasn’t gone, then it was time for answers.
“Mom said she came to see you,” Mateo said.
“Yeah. She’s also the one who destroyed my apartment,” Dante grumbled.
“She did?” Mateo looked confused. “Why?”
“You tell me. You’re the one who spoke with her. Is she at your place now? Or did she just call asking for money?”
“She hasn’t asked for any money,” Mateo said, not bothering to hide his annoyance. “I already told you that I don’t give her money anymore.”
Dante nodded, not wanting to fight. His brother had told him that a few months ago, but Dante hadn’t believed that Mateo would be able to hold strong if Gwen came calling.
He never had before. He supposed that maybe it was true.
Maybe that was why Gwen had come to Dante first this time. “What did she want then?”
“To reconnect,” Mateo said. “She wants to start over.”
“Sure she does.” Dante wanted to exit this conversation.
It was always the same. Mateo wanting to try again with their mother and Dante ready to sever contact completely.
“She’s just using us, Mateo,” Dante said.
“It’s always the same pattern. She says she’s changed.
Wants a relationship. That she’s not using her money for illicit concoctions to get drunk or high.
That she’s not wasting her money at casinos or bars or lending it to random men who say they want to take care of her.
Hell, she’s even claimed she’s going back to school, but it always ends up the same.
Money gone from our wallets and our mother disappearing when she couldn’t take the realities of real life.
I’m done with it. Done with her. Especially after this week. ”
“I don’t think she’s the one who flooded your apartment,” Mateo said.
Dante stiffened and had to tamp down a bolt of frustration that made him want to lash out. “She stayed at my place the night before. Of course it was her!”
Surprised flashed in Mateo’s dark brown eyes before it was replaced by a jolt of anger. “You knew she was here, and you didn’t tell me?”
“Dammit,” Dante muttered and ran his hand through his hair.
“Yes. She showed up earlier this week and needed a place to stay. Said she didn’t plan ahead, thinking she could stay at the inn, but it’s all booked up.
I let her stay there while I went to Prim’s house.
The next day my place was flooded. You do the math. ”
“You should have called me. Gwen could have stayed at my place,” Mateo said.
“I didn’t want you to get hurt.” Dante glanced away, knowing he shouldn’t have kept Mateo in the dark. He was a grown man after all. It was just that Mateo didn’t have good boundaries when it came to her.
“When are you going to stop protecting me!” Mateo thundered. “I’m not that scared five-year-old anymore, Dante. I’m a grown man who can make my own decisions.”
“I know, man. I just… I’m always gonna be your big brother.
I can’t help it.” A year after Dante’s father died, a police officer who was killed in the line of fire, Gwen had married John Silva, Mateo’s father, a man who had addiction issues.
Mateo, who hadn’t ever known his own mother, had latched onto Gwen, the one woman who’d ever shown any interest in him.
John had adopted Dante, and Gwen had adopted Mateo, making them a complete family.
And a couple years later, when John got high and accidentally fell off a bridge and died, Gwen and Dante had been the only family Mateo had left.
It was after John’s death that Gwen had really leaned heavily into her addiction, but the trauma of losing both of his biological parents had never really healed, and all these years later, Mateo still sort of had a savior complex when it came to Gwen because she’d been the one constant adult presence in his life.
It didn’t matter how much Dante tried to get him to see that Gwen didn’t really want their help, only their money, Mateo always had hope that she’d turn her life around.
Dante admired him for it in a way, but he also saw firsthand the damage it caused, and he freely admitted he had his own savior complex when it came to Mateo.
“You should have told me,” Mateo said again.
“You’re probably right,” Dante said, just to end the fight. “She was here for the night, stayed at my apartment, and then flooded it. I haven’t seen or heard from her since. That’s all I know.”
“Well, I have.” Mateo leaned against one of the shelves as he shook his head. “And I really don’t think she flooded your apartment. She wants to move here and try to be a family again. Why would she do something so destructive if that’s her goal?”
Dante ground his teeth together then said, “Who knows why Gwen does anything? Maybe she was high when she did it. Maybe she was angry that I wasn’t receptive to her and punished me for it but now realizes she can’t make it on her own and has gotten you to try to smooth things over?
I don’t know. But I’m out on anything that involves her or restarting a relationship with her. I’m just done, man. I can’t do it.”
Mateo looked disappointed but nodded anyway. “I get it, brother. I really do. But you should know that she showed up last night, and I’m letting her stay at my place.”
What was Dante supposed to say to that? He couldn’t say he was surprised, but he was just as disappointed that his brother welcomed her with open arms as Mateo was that Dante flatly refused to give her the benefit of the doubt.
“Good luck, brother. If it gets bad and you need a place to crash, my door is open. Though it’s without a bed or couch at the moment. I’m hoping to rectify that soon.”
“Thanks.” Mateo forced a smile and then held his knuckles out for a fist bump before adding, “Brothers forever.”
Dante bumped his fist and repeated the words. There were three people in this world that he trusted more than life itself. Braxton, their friend Niko, and his brother Mateo. He wasn’t about to let Gwen come between them, even if they disagreed about how to deal with her.
They both stood there awkwardly for a moment until Mateo cleared his throat and said, “I hear you have news about a certain blonde. Care to share?”
Dante chuckled softly. “Only that we’re dating. That’s all you’re getting.”
“Dating? That’s unexpected.”
“I suppose it is.” Dante shrugged and said, “I’ve got to get back to work. Call if you need anything.”
“You, too, brother.”
Dante gave Mateo a tight hug and then strode out of the bookstore, trying not to think of the many ways that Gwen was going to mess up their lives.