Home (7 page)

Jack growled
and pushed into Alastair’s personal space. Eli managed to hold him
back. He knew it wasn’t the time, but he really wanted to rip this
man’s head off.

“
A will sort
this problem, one way or the other!”

Tavish shot
them a look as the two of them stomped out of the open front
door.

7

OPENING UP

“
Hey, have you
moved everything in?” Jack asked as he bit into the
bagel.

Clay grunted
his response.

“
I guess that
could be a yes... or a no.”

Clay grunted
again.

“
He needs
coffee,” Eli kindly informed him as he strolled into the
kitchen.

Clay nodded as
he poured his coffee.

“
He must have
stayed at yours. What the hell is wrong with your coffee?” Jack
asked Eli.

“
It ran out. We
had beer instead.”

Cora chose
that moment to walk into the kitchen wearing soft grey trousers and
a fluffy beige jumper. She ruffled Clay’s hair and kissed Eli’s
cheek as she passed them, and then her warm brown eyes turned to
him. His heart stammered. It happened every time those eyes latched
on his. Every time he heard her laugh, the brush of her hand in
his. His heart simply took flight.

“
Morning,” she
whispered as she slid her arms around his waist.

“
Morning,
beautiful.”

Her lips
brushed up against his. Soft at first. She sighed as he deepened
the kiss. Her fingers slid into his hair sending currents zipping
over his skin. She pulled him closer, meaning he could only oblige
by grabbing her waist. He felt the need pulse inside him. A need
he’d held back because of everything that had come up. If she
continued to greet him like this, his resolve would
melt.

Eli coughed.
“Do you want us to leave?”

“
They have a
room, send them to it!” Clay chortled.

They never had
the quiet they needed. They were never alone. Jack felt Cora’s
reluctance as she pulled away from him.

“
You heading to
work now?” he asked her, whilst pouring himself some coffee. He
could do with something stronger but it was early, and Eli would
try to kill him.

“
Yeah, the
Christmas trade is really starting to get busy. Plus we are closing
for longer over Christmas. Tabitha needs to get rid of our
stock.”

“
No appearance
yet?” Clay mumbled.

He was
referring to Alastair, who usually walked into their home before
the birds even woke up. He never knocked.

He would take
matters into his own hands and start plotting. There had to be some
trap he could set up. Perhaps the film
Home Alone
could give him some ideas.
“No,” Jack responded to Clay.

“
He will be at
the shop, waiting for the bump to appear.” Cora shook her head.
“I’m not a person anymore, I’m just a walking talking oven,
carrying a VIB.”

Clay looked at
Cora quizzically. “Very important baby,” she informed
him.

Jack smiled,
“If he is at the shop, text me. I’d like to come by and visit
you.”

“
Jack...” she
warned.

“
What? I’ve got
to get my kicks somewhere.”

“
And there is
bound to be a kicking!” Clay said with a cheer.

“
Are you okay
moving the bed?” Cora asked as she took his cup and stole a small
sip.

“
Yeah,” Jack
chuckled, “It will take five minutes, tops.”

He’d been
happy she’d come around to using her mother’s bedroom. It had felt
weird to him too, but after a lick of paint and new furniture, it
felt more like theirs. Cora had painted the feature wall a deep
green; the other walls were a soft egg white. He liked it, despite
it being a little girly. At least his woman didn’t like
pink.

They were
lucky that money wasn’t an issue for them because of their parents.
If they wanted to, they wouldn’t have to work a day in their lives.
Jack didn’t need to, but Cora loved the social element of the shop.
Mrs Rogers being a personal favourite with the two them.

“
Are you going
to tell me what is bothering you so much?” Cora mumbled.

Jack jerked
without meaning to. How had Cora known something was wrong? He’d
thought he’d been handling it well. “I’m...there...” Jack
stuttered, not sure what to say to her, or how to say.

“
Tell her,”
Clay instructed.

“
Tell her
what?” Eli asked. “Actually, tell me what is bothering
you.”

Eli looked at
Jack, concern evident in his eyes as the blue and green danced.
Clay nodded, suddenly looking more alert.

“
Okay,” Jack
sighed. “Cora, take a seat, please.”

“
Oh, dear,”
Cora murmured as she sat. It made Jack smirk, despite what he was
going to tell them.

“
When Alastair
made me and Clay disappear last time, we had some
visitors.”

“
Yeah, the
Corenthio Coven, they’ve appeared before, correct?” Eli
questioned.

“
Correct, and
yes, they were there this time, but...”

“
It was a
little different this time,” Clay muttered.

Jack watched
Cora and Eli look at Clay. He saw Clay’s comment sink in, the
question already popped up into their eyes.

“
Who was
there?” Cora whispered.

Jack
swallowed. “Your mum.”

Cora’s hands
fisted on her knees. Her knuckles turned white from the pressure.
Jack admired how well she held it together. He wanted to pound
something, to get the rage and anger out of him so he could be
there for Cora.

“
Did she say
anything?”

Jack looked
down at the floor, then looked at Clay who nodded. Christ! Would
this ever end? “She asked after you... she wanted to know if you
were okay.”

He saw Cora
swallowing, trying to push her tears back.

“
Cora, it
wasn’t real,” Clay urged

But hell, it
had felt real at the time. He’d touched Laura’s hand. Had seen her
eyes. Jack was happy Cora hadn’t seen her. That would have been a
major step backwards.

“
I know it
wasn’t her,” Cora agreed, sighing as if she was blowing out her
anger.

“
Be mad. Get
even. He wants you to break!” Clay stormed.

“
He’s right,”
Eli agreed. “I can understand how you feel Cora, but this is
Alastair trying to get at you, trying to force distance in the
coven again. He wants you to crumble.”

Cora sucked in
two steadying breaths. Her knuckles relaxed. Her eyes were sharp
and fierce as they looked back at him. For a millisecond, Jack felt
sorry for Alastair because he was unaware of the shit storm that
was about to hit him.

“
I’m fine. He
won’t win this way, I ask one thing though...”

“
Anything...”

“
We can’t tell
Ayden. He doesn’t think clearly when it comes to Alastair, and if
he knows about what was done to her, it could turn ugly, or uglier
than it already is.”

Jack nodded,
agreeing with her. “I won’t say anything... but Cora, if things
change, if something happens, we tell him. I’ve tried to keep
things from him before and it didn’t feel right. That puts the
cracks in our coven too.”

Cora sighed.
“I know, you’re right. Okay, that is the best we are going to get.
I’m going to work.”

“
Don’t
take it easy on him,” Jack grunted, which received
a sexy smirk.

He knew Cora
would verbally hit Alastair. It was a shame he was here.

*

Cora stormed
into the shop. The image of her mother was placed firmly in her
mind. She noticed that Mrs Rogers was already here. She also caught
a glimpse of Alastair sat at the table. Leaf green eyes sent
questions her way. Cora nodded.

“
Mrs Rogers,
how about I make you a lovely cup of hot chocolate? I’ve got some
new samples in the back that might be of interest to
you.”

Cora waited
while Tabitha guided Mrs Rogers into the little tea room. Tabitha
smiled at her as she shut the door. Cora let her element fly,
knocking Alastair off his chair.

Alastair
stumbled and sneered at her as he stood. “A see yer huv been
talkin’ tae the young Jack?”

Cora didn’t
answer. She continued to walk towards him, her hands held in front
of her. She waved her hands from left to right, the whole back wall
full of books, flew at Alastair. His body was hounded by book after
book, piles of them falling heavily on him.

The shop door
opened and Jack came running in, breathless. He grinned, “I’m
sorry, I had to come and see.”

“
So did we!”
Clay added.

Cora smiled as
Alastair struggled to his feet. “Do you think it is wise to piss me
off?!”

“
A can do whit
A want!” Alastair snapped.

“
Not when it
comes to those I love...you can only push me so far, and I will
snap!”

Cora allowed
her element to build. The tornado burst out of her, lifting
Alastair off the floor and wrapping him in high pressure wind. He
gasped, but his face still held hints of his ghostly
grin.

“
I think you
don’t take me seriously. I can handle you.”

“
A could use ma
element on yer!” Alastair shouted.

“
Do it. I
really want to kick your ass today!”

“
A...A”

Cora laughed.
“Struggling to breathe? Let’s make this a little more
interesting!”

“
I need to
record this for Tab!” Clay cheered.

Cora didn’t
turn but she knew that Clay had pulled his phone out and was now
recording her.

Within the
tornado, Cora had picked up all the books and was now moving them.
They were uncontrollable. Alastair turned, the books hit him. There
was no controlling it. Cora growled as she pushed it. The wind
twisted, turning the tornado in another direction, taking the books
with it. With one final burst, she lifted her hands and let her
whole element fly at him.

He crashed
against the wall, the books falling with him. He groaned, pushing
off the books as his blue eyes glared at her, but he kept his mouth
shut. Cora nodded as Jack laughed.

“
That was worth
holding off on the bed!” Jack bounded to her, lifted her and then
planted a loud kiss on her lips before he left.

Cora smiled,
glared at Alastair one last time and made her way to the little tea
room.

8

WHO INVITED THE GRINCH?

“
Why are you
leaving it so late for a tree?” Ciaran asked as they opened the
back door.

Cora shrugged.
“I didn’t realise what date it was. Everything just gathers into
one big blur now.”

“
Are you being
serious, Cora?” Ember chastised.

“
Is it bad that
I’m starting to understand what Cora means?” Ciaran moaned. “I’m
spending far too much time in your company.”

“
It is two days
before Christmas, lovely, and now you want not just one tree, but
two of the chuffing things. We can’t even blame it on the pregnancy
brain.”

Cora smiled.
“I know. I’m sorry.”

Jack rubbed
her shoulders and headed outside. Other than forgetting that
Christmas was just around the corner, Cora had never felt better.
Winter was good for one thing, the jumpers. She didn’t have to show
her bump as much and that meant she could hide the fact that it
hadn’t grown in recent weeks.

Cathella
hadn’t been by to assess the situation, so the situation had
remained the same. This pleased Cora because she could cope with
this kind of bump. It was small, manageable.

No one had
seen Cathella since the first baby scan. Cora assumed Cathella was
holding the fort back at home, what with Tavish always permanently
by Alastair’s side. Ina hadn’t been seen nor heard of since the
meeting. Tabitha and Eli had their theories. For example, Ina was
dead; they believed that Alastair had killed her. Cathella was also
missing, presumed dead.

Cora wondered
how tightly bound the Scottish coven was, because it appeared as if
it could be crumbling. Nothing pleased her more.

“
Where do you
want this first tree?” Clay grunted, holding the weight by
himself.

“
Okay, that
first one goes in the living room, it is the biggest. Ayden, the
one you are holding can go in the dining room.”

Ayden smiled
and headed that way. He was handling this Christmas better than she
was. It would be the first Christmas without her mum which made her
heart ache to the point of cracking, but she had to think
positively. She had to remember this time of year for different
reasons, hence the elaborate trees. Cora breathed deeply, the smell
of fresh pine was already permeating the rooms.