To Love A Witch (A Novel Nibbles title) (10 page)

He looked over at the love of his life. She was
most definitely not a morning person. Her eyes were bleary and
barely conscious, and her hands had gotten stuck halfway through
her hair.

Perfect timing. “Want a job?”

“Sure. Can I have some coffee?”

Not just yet. He knew better than to wake her up
too fast. “I want you to work with me.”

Romy plunked into a chair at the table. “’Kay.
Does it involve food? And coffee? Begging.”

He brought over two plates of bacon and eggs and
went back for coffee. Then he sat down to eat and watch her wake
up.

About halfway through breakfast, her neurons
finally started connecting. “Awesome eggs, thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

“What’s the green stuff in them?” Then her head
snapped up. Uh, oh. “Wait. What job? What do you mean work with
you?”

He offered up his last slice of bacon as a peace
offering. “My Sentinel zone is suffering from forty years of abuse
and neglect. It’s going to take some time to clean that up, and I
can’t do it alone. We’re incredibly lucky we found Aylen when we
did. There are at least sixty other women out there Alvin passed
over.”

She looked at him for almost a minute. He tried
not to squirm. “This isn’t where I expected the conversation to
head this morning.”

Jake, you’re an idiot. He tugged her into his
lap, and kissed her. “Good morning. Last night was pure magic, and
I love you.”

Her eyes got all gooey. Yup, a total idiot. “It
was.” She took a deep breath and curled up into his chest. “I love
you, too.”

He stroked her wild hair. “Sorry. I think the
job thing was my backward way of saying I’d like to spend a lot
more time with you. Be with me, Romy. We can figure out what that
means, but just be with me.”

“Okay.” She tilted her head back and grinned.
“You know, this means I lose my bet with Darlene.”

That was out of left field. “Why?”

“She said you’d get me into bed by the end of
the month. You’re a week early.”

“You bet on that kind of stuff?” And she’d bet
against him, which was humiliating.

“It’s lesson number one on how to survive in
puke-green walls. And while I refused to contribute to the further
delinquency of my kids by joining their betting pool, I think Skate
won.”

Jake shook his head. “Sadly, he’ll fit right in
with Mikey’s crew in San Francisco. They bet on all kinds of crazy
shit.”

His front door slammed open and Jolie came
racing down the hall. “Hi Jake, hi Romy. We’re bringing Aylen and
Gracie home from the hospital, and we stopped so you could see her.
She’s totally gorgeous and she smiles at me and everything. Come
see her.”

Molly walked into the house holding a tiny baby.
Jake grabbed Aylen’s arm and helped her to a chair. “Can I get you
anything? Is it safe to let you out of bed already?”

Aylen smiled. “I had a baby. My ancestors only
stopped for a few hours on the trail when that happened. I wanted
to come say thank you. You saved our lives last night, both of
you.”

She looked down. “I didn’t know I had the magic.
My grandmother did, but she died when I was very small. Some things
happened when I was younger, and a man came to visit, but then they
seemed to go away.”

Jake cursed Alvin for the thousandth time. Never
again. Not on his watch.

“Gracie has the magic too,” Jolie said. “I think
it’s the kind like Jake, though, where she can fly.”

Aylen’s eyes went wide. “Grandmother flew with
the spirits.” She looked at Jake. “You will help my daughter, teach
her?”

Jake looked over at Romy, who was holding the
tiny baby girl. “I don’t think she’ll be flying for a while yet,
but yeah, I’d be glad to help.”

His voice sputtered out. Romy had looked up as
he spoke—love in her eyes, and a baby in her arms. His future was
suddenly very, very clear.

The ground hardly shook at all.

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