Gigi sighed and took a drag off her cigarette. Took a drink of her coffee and closed her eyes as she savored the taste.
“I wish I knew,” she said. “But what it boils down to is that one of you is safe, and one isn’t. The magic of Julian’s sacrifice went into one of you, and the other I’ve been keeping safe by tethering a ritual of protection through me. The magic, it knows where to go. But it sure as hell doesn’t tell me.”
“It’s probably you,” Seth said, lighting one of Gigi’s cigarettes for himself and closing his eyes as he inhaled. He looked like a modern-day James Dean as he leaned his head back against the porch pillar. “You’re the one that loves this shit. Maybe that’s why. You’ve got all this extra power that’s been repressed for so long. You’re the one just waiting to be set free.”
“I love this ‘shit’ because it’s our family legacy. Because Gigi taught me. Because I’m good at it.”
“Exactly my point.” He shrugged, tapping the ash off. “You’re good at it. I’m not. I’ve always—” he started to say, but stopped himself with a look at Gigi. Sadie knew he was going to say he’d always hated it. She could just never understand why. “I’ve never exactly excelled at it,” he amended.
“It probably is me.” Her voice grew tighter as her hair burst from the rubber band that held it and coiled into curls.
“Sugar,” Gigi warned.
“No, I mean, why not, right? It would explain so much. Why my magic is so damn tetchy all the time.” She gestured at herself, and the tenuous peace they’d formed in the kitchen cracked like crème brulée. “I’m the one that’s been bleeding her dry ever since. Blame me. You always do. Maybe I’m bad at coming to terms with reality but at least I always take responsibility for my actions, my life, instead of blaming someone else.”
Seth looked at her. Controlling his temper as always. Curbing his words, as always. His eyes were cool as they studied her. Almost disappointed. He blew out a perfect ring of smoke before stubbing the cigarette out and announcing,
“I’m going for a walk.”
The moment he was gone Sadie collapsed next to Gigi in frustration.
“I’m sorry I never told you,” Gigi said without looking at her.
It took a moment for Sadie’s brain to track. To understand what her grandmother was apologizing for.
“You saved our lives. There was a price to pay for it, but I’d never, ever begrudge you for it. You know that,” she said in a softly remonstrative tone.
“You’ll forgive me for killing a man and sending your mother away for almost thirty years.” Gigi’s gravelly laugh made Sadie smile. “But you won’t forgive your brother for trying to find his place in the world for a year because he had the audacity not to tell you about it. You’re a Revelare through and through. Now help me to the couch, sugar. And stop borrowing trouble. Everything will work out, I promise.”
Wrapping a blanket around her shoulders, Sadie waited until Gigi had fallen asleep, one hand on Abby, who slept on her lap, and the other on Bambi, who rested beside her. The chocolate lab looked at Sadie with a question in his eyes, his head quirking up. Sadie shook her head, and the dog lay back down but kept his eyes on her. Sadie memorized every line of her grandmother lying there on the couch, wanting to imprint every moment on the lining of her heart until it was incorporated into the fabric of her skin. She was shocked how the threat death could make you miss someone before they were even gone.
She wanted to go back to the way things were. She wanted her brother before he’d abandoned her. Gigi before she’d shared her secrets. Jake before he’d broken her heart. Life before the threat of death.
And that’s the thought that kept snagging in her brain.
One or more of them was going to have to die.
Unless she could figure out a way to stop it.
Salted Cream Cold Foam Cold Brew with Earl Grey
The bergamot in Earl Grey helps to alleviate anxiety, and the caffeine gives a boost of energy. The salt helps to keep from being bewitched. See, even a simple cup of coffee can serve its purpose.
Ingredients
cold brew coffee
Earl Grey tea, brewed and cooled
skim milk
salt
maple syrup
cinnamon oil (optional)
mason jar
Directions
1.?Combine your preferred amount of skim milk with a dash or two of salt, a quick pour of maple syrup (or more if you like it extra sweet), and 1 drop of cinnamon oil, if you’re using it, into a mason jar. Shake vigorously for a minute or two.
2.?Fill a glass with ice, and then fill halfway with Earl Grey and the rest of the way with cold brew. Top with salted cold cream.
??7??
SADIE WOKE LATE THE next morning, having finally fallen asleep around five o’clock, the time she was usually waking up. Seth was nowhere to be seen, and Gigi’s PT Cruiser was already gone. She’d left a note telling Sadie to take the day off. There was no stopping that woman, even with cancer. Sadie knew she’d be kicked out of the café if she dared step foot in there, so instead she brewed a cup of tea, rolling her neck from side to side, trying to work out some of the kinks that had taken up residence there.
The quiet of the kitchen worked its magic, settling into her bones. The hum of the refrigerator and the creak of the window over the sink as she opened it to let in fresh air. She cut a few stalks of lavender and lilacs and arranged them in an old milk bottle on the counter. Normalcy, that’s what she decided she needed. Some good old-fashioned deep cleaning. Because Gigi was going to be fine. She had to be. Sadie could make everything okay. Seth was wrong. It wasn’t that she was running away from the truth. She was going to bend the truth to her will. Only a few more days until the herbs would be ready. Her notebook was nearly filled with scribblings. Ideas for spells and stones and talismans in case the first one didn’t work. After all, Gigi had done the impossible and saved two lives; why couldn’t Sadie save Gigi’s?
Sadie’s cleaning was interrupted with a visit by a group of ladies from church who were stopping by to check on Gigi, which devolved into a kindhearted interrogation about Seth, which morphed into a cascade of questions about Sadie’s love life.
“You’ve got to get back on that horse, honey,” said Maggie, the most outspoken of the group. Her long, curly brown hair was threaded through with gray and bounced as she spoke, her gold-toned eyes sparkling shrewdly. Everything always came back to dogs and horses with Maggie, who had used both to help her through her own bout of cancer a few years back.
“I don’t know, Mags. It’s been awhile since I’ve been in the saddle.”
“I think they’d be chomping at the bit,” Maggie said, grinning now.
“Is that your unbridled opinion?”
“Hay, what do I know?”
“This is all so spur of the moment. Hang on, hang on, I’m just reaching my stride.”
Maggie laughed and shook her head.
“Oh, come on, I could do this all day,” Sadie said with a smile. “Look, I appreciate everyone’s very misplaced concern over my love life, but I better get back to cleaning. Why don’t you ladies head to the café to check on Gigi? Tell her I sent you and to give you a coffee on the house.” Sadie bustled them out and leaned back against the closed door with a sigh. The grandfather clock let out a series of short chimes that sounded like a laugh.
“Keep it up, buddy, and I’ll turn you into firewood,” she said, and it immediately stopped its chuffing.
With the well-meaning women gone and her hands chafed from cleaning, she decided to bake. No sooner had she pulled down the ingredients than there was a knock on the back screen door. Jake stood there, gray through the old screen, and her heart, though she told it not to, still flipped inside her chest. He smiled timidly, like he didn’t know quite what kind of reaction to expect from her.