Cindy finished getting dressed after Chris left the room to go start preparing breakfast. She was tired and hadn’t slept well. She was restless, and she knew it was because of Sally and the magic in the necklace her daughter wore.
Cindy took a deep breath and pushed out all the negative energy that had gathered inside of her. Sally needed her. Whatever the girl had gone through, or was still going through, was bad enough that she’d left a host of powerful, magical beings to come home to her family, who she believed to be human. It was time for Sally to know the truth. Cindy owed it to her daughter. The woman squared her shoulders and gave herself a mental shove as she left her bedroom.
Everyone was gathered around the table eating the breakfast Chris had made for them when Cindy finally gathered her nerves. “Sally, I was wondering if we might have a girls’ day.”
Sally nodded. “That would be great.” She turned to Costin and narrowed her eyes on him. “A girls’ day means you stay here.”
Costin smiled innocently. “I wouldn’t dare invade on girls’ day.”
Cindy chuckled. “For some reason, I don’t believe him.”
Sally pointed her fork at her. “First rule of thumb when dealing with Costin, err on the side of caution when it comes to taking his words at face value.”
“Ouch, beautiful,” Costin said, putting his hand to his heart. “Give it a final twist and just finish me off.”
“I don’t want you finished off, just weak enough that you can’t boss me around,” Sally retorted.
Chris was shaking his head at them. “I can tell Jennifer has been rubbing off on you.”
Sally smiled. “She helped me fine my inner Jen.”
“Of course, she did.” Chris grumbled.
Cindy stood and began gathering the empty plates. “We’ll leave in ten minutes, Sally,” She called out over her shoulder. She was growing more and more anxious. It was past time she cleared the air, and Cindy was ready to have the burden of her secrets removed.
After washing the dishes and wiping down the already clean counters, she rubbed her hands together and forced herself to quit stalling. “Let’s do this.”
Sally rubbed her face against Costin’s chest as he hugged her. Part of her really wanted to just crawl up in his lap and not move. Ever. But that just wasn’t a possibility. She released him and turned to open the door of her mom’s car. Costin pushed her arm away and pulled the door open for her.
“Are my arms broken?” he asked her with a smirk.
“Not yet.” The sharp comment was meant as a joke, and she could tell Costin took it that way, but the emotion behind it wasn’t lighthearted. It felt vindictive. She didn’t like saying something like that and not meaning it in a completely playful way. It wasn’t in her to be snotty for no reason, and yet, she had been.
“Hey.” Costin placed a finger under her chin and lifted her face to look at him. “It’s okay, Sally mine. You’re going to be okay. I’ll be with you all day. But I’ll respect your privacy and not listen in. I just need to feel you. I need that connection.”
“Okay,” she said, not even addressing the whole it’s going to be okay, you’re going to be okay comment.
Costin leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips and then stepped back so she could get in the car. She closed the door and gave him a small wave as her mom pulled out of the driveway.
They drove in silence. Her mom seemed just as lost in thought as Sally. She wondered what could possibly be bothering Cindy Morgan so much to cause her not to attempt to ease the awkwardness of the moment like she was always prone to doing. Normally, Sally might do the same, but now she was afraid she would emotionally vomit all over her mother and sound crazy at the same time. Explaining to her mom that her husband was a werewolf wasn’t at the top of her bucket list.
It wasn’t until her mom turned off onto a dirt road that Sally was able to stop trudging through her dark thoughts. She sat up and looked around. They were surrounded by forest, well, as much forest as you could get in South Texas.
“Um, Mom, what are we doing here?” she asked.
Her mom didn’t answer until she’d come to a complete stop with the car completely surrounded by trees. Wait, Sally looked behind them. Where on earth had these trees come from? They weren’t here a moment ago. Was she still dreaming? That must be it. She was dreaming and only thought she had woken up that morning.
“I’m going to explain everything, Sally. Would you please come with me?” Her mom opened the door and slipped out of the car. She moved with a smooth grace that was familiar to Sally, but only because she’d been living with supernatural beings for so long. Dream or not, she had to know what was going on. It beat dwelling on her own messy life.
She climbed out of the car and followed her mom, who was several yards away. Cindy was standing in front of a tree that was growing larger before their very eyes.
“What in the actual heck, Mom?” Sally said slowly as her eyes widened, and her mouth dropped open. The tree trunk began to split until there was an opening large enough for a person to walk through.
“I know you’re confused, but I need you to trust me.”
“Said the wicked witch who handed Snow White the poisoned apple,” Sally muttered under her breath even as she walked toward her mom who now stood inside of the trunk. Sally entered the huge tree and felt warmth envelope her. Her skin tingled, and a sense of rightness flowed through her.
“Sally?” Costin’s worried voice filled her mind.
“Nope. Can’t talk. I’m in a tree, and the reception is bad.” She locked down her end of the bond so Costin would only be able to feel her emotions but not enter her thoughts. He would definitely have something to say about that later.
She took a few steps and emerged back into the trees, but she certainly wasn’t in the same forest as before. “We’re in another realm, aren’t we?” she asked.
Her mom nodded.
“How do you even know about such things?”
“That’s what I need to talk to you about,” Cindy answered. She turned and began walking again. A small cottage appeared, seemingly out of nowhere.
“Okay, now I know I’m still asleep,” Sally said. “I have to be.”
“You aren’t dreaming,” her mom assured her.