Page 42 of Love’s a Witch (The Scottish Charms #1)

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE Sloane

I missed Knox.

I was surprised just how much I’d come to rely upon him, in such a short time.

By Sunday, I wanted nothing more than to strip myself out of this pink ski suit, curl into a cozy blanket, and read a book by the fire.

Blue missed me, as I’d made the decision to let him stay with Henry over the weekend, keeping Haggis and Oswald company.

From what I was told, he was having the time of his life, but I was ready for him to come home.

I hadn’t spent another night at Knox’s, despite his attempts to take me home after the festival because I was nervous about being seen going home with the town’s shining knight.

It was one thing to ingratiate ourselves by doing good for the community, it was another thing entirely to be taking one of the most-loved bachelors in town for my own.

To my surprise, Knox not only handled my rejection well, he also called me once he got home to video chat with Blue.

We ended up talking for hours, curled on our sides in bed, hashing over all the experiences we’d had each day.

It was nice. And a part of me had ached to be next to him.

I could see it, already: our days winding down curled up in bed, having these talks face-to-face.

I wasn’t so sure that I wanted just a trial run with him anymore.

Restless, I went downstairs, ready for a cup of tea before bed, needing to unwind from a whirlwind weekend. I hadn’t thought much about work in the past few weeks, having finished my last major marketing gig a few weeks before we’d arrived to Briarhaven.

But I realized after meeting so many people this weekend that I wanted to do something else.

I wanted to tell their stories.

It was really just an offshoot of marketing, wasn’t it?

Working on helping a brand showcase themselves was simply storytelling.

And I’d met so many fascinating and deeply magickal people over the weekend that my hands itched to work the tidbits and snatches of what I’d heard into something more. Something tangible.

At the very least, it gave me some direction for the first time in ages.

Being back in Briarhaven, my creative energy was starting to come alive again.

At some point, I needed to speak to the woman at the bookstore—I suspected she could tell me if anyone was cataloging the stories of Briarhaven’s people.

“I’m knackered,” Nova said from where she and Lyra were sprawled on the couch. Broca snoozed quietly in her chair, the festival having knocked everything out of her.

“Me too. But I think we did good, didn’t we?”

“Did you know that Marcie at Mystic Munchies weaves spells into her baked goods? She has an entire holistic section that is specific to certain needs.” Lyra waved a finger in the air. “I need to see if she’ll share some of her secrets.”

“Maybe you could apprentice there,” Nova suggested, and Lyra perked up, slapping Nova’s arm.

“That’s not a bad idea.”

When a knock sounded at the door, I glanced at the clock on the wall as I veered toward the door. It was a bit late for a visitor.

I opened the door and froze.

Snow swirled inside, blisteringly cold, and the streetlights shone weakly against the intensity of the storm.

My father offered me a tentative smile.

“Dad? ” Tears pricked my eyes.

“What?” Nova shrieked from behind me.

“What… what’s wrong? What’s happening?” Broca screeched, waking up from her nap.

“Best to come in,” I said, stepping back, feeling… nothing. Nothing at all. It was like my emotions had gone totally numb inside me, and I stood back and watched as my sisters crowded around him.

Time slowed, and my magick unfurled, simmering on low. I realized Broca was staring at me, not at my father.

“Put it away, Sloane,” Broca ordered, her voice quiet but firm.

“I’m trying,” I hissed, easing closer to Broca’s side.

My one constant.

“Try harder. Now is not the time.”

I’d been so good all weekend. Broca had taught me a spell to lock my magick away.

At any times of stress, I’d recited it to myself, visualizing my magick as a glowing little ball locked away in a box.

It had helped, and there hadn’t been a single mishap the whole weekend.

I was proud of myself for that, but now, as I tried to hide from the pain of seeing my father again, the lock on that box of magick jiggled, threatening to fall open.

Nova, the youngest of us, hugged my father openly.

Lyra and I had shielded her from the brunt of our parents’ fights, and she had a much shinier view of our father than I did.

Lyra stood back, a welcoming smile on her face.

At her heart, Lyra wanted to believe the best in everyone.

I knew, without a doubt, that she wanted to give our father a chance to explain himself, at the very least.

I didn’t know what I felt.

Since coming back to Briarhaven, some of the shades had lifted on my memories.

I now understood that my mother was a toxic and unreliable witch, one who leaned into the chaos of her magick.

I also now understood that she and my father were a horrific match, and never should have been together long enough to conceive three children, let alone raise them into their teen years.

I was well aware of how I felt about my mother, but I still wasn’t sure where that left me with my father. Years of resentment had built inside me and were now clogging my throat. I stood with my arms crossed, studying the man who looked past my sisters to me.

If he’d wanted to, he would have. I reminded myself of this, hardening my heart against him. People either showed up or they didn’t, and he’d quite literally disappeared into the hills.

He’d aged, but we all had, and he was still a handsome man in his own right. Gray threaded his hair and beard, his eyes were the same shade as mine, now with lines tucked at the corners. He looked healthy enough, though a bit worn around the edges, and he held his cap in his hands.

“Sloane,” Dad said.

I shrugged one shoulder, not sure what to say.

“Well, then, Russell. Best to come in. I suspect you’ll have some explaining to do.”

I kept silent. It was a tool I’d learned years ago. People weren’t comfortable with silence, and often the best way to find out their true intentions was to remain quiet and let them speak.

Nova looked between me and him. Her face twisted.

“Are you going to push him away? When we’ve just found him again?” Her pain was real, and I turned to her.

“No,” I promised. I wanted to. I wanted to slam the door in his face.

But it wasn’t my choice to make. My sisters were adults now, as they’d taken to reminding me, and I could shelter them no longer.

They would need to make their own choices when it came to our father. I wouldn’t stand in their way. “Tea?”

“Ah, please.” Dad bobbed his head, and Broca waved him to the dining room table. He sat, Lyra and Nova across from him, while I put the kettle on.

“Where have you been?” Lyra asked the million-dollar question on everyone’s minds, and I busied myself with getting cups out, wondering if he was going to lie.

“The hills.” His voice was rusty, like he didn’t use it often. “I had, have , a job to do. One that I stayed away from while I raised you girls.”

The kettle popped, and I poured the tea, my mind mulling over what kind of job would call him to the hills.

Away from his family. As matriarchal witches, we carried both the MacGregor name and the curse, and I wondered if it had all become too much for him.

Carrying the tray to the table, I sat down and wrapped my ice-cold hands around my cup of tea.

“They deserve an explanation.” Broca’s words were sharp.

“You let her take us.” I held my father’s eyes, challenging him.

“I had no choice. You were already gone.” Dad looked around at each of us, his eyes sad. “She took you when I was… away. She didn’t return my calls, and I had no way of tracking you.”

“And you didn’t have a cell phone?” I’d always wondered why I couldn’t call him.

“They never last. At least in what I do.”

“At the very least, be honest with them. These are your daughters, who have grown into some pretty remarkable and resilient young women,” Broca said.

“Ah.” Dad looked us each in the eyes. “This is a family secret, but you should know, as it runs in your blood, though we won’t know if any of your magick manifests in this way. It’s hard to say, but even so, it’s a powerful magick to have access to.”

“What does that mean?” Nova pushed her lower lip out.

“The reason I disappeared on so many trips when you were growing up, why I can’t have cell phones, and why I live in seclusion in the hills, is that I’m a keeper. A keeper of dragons, to be exact. I care for them, protect their home, and see that their royal bloodline will never be extinguished.”

“Dragons,” Lyra breathed, her eyes lighting up.

“Aye.” Dad bobbed his head, taking a sip of his tea.

“I wonder if that’s why you conjured a dragon,” Broca said, and Dad angled his head toward me.

“Is that right?” He looked at me with a considering light in his eyes.

“And it’s why you can have Blue.” Broca nodded to me.

“I heard. An emberwolf. Quite rare to have as a familiar but not unusual for our bloodline. The dragons know their own.”

“But… how? Mum never once mentioned this,” I asked, confusion filling me.

“No, she wouldn’t have. She resented me, my connection to this town, and my absolute refusal to leave with her. For a while I thought we had a fighting chance of staying here, if we both could compromise.”

“Mum doesn’t compromise.” Nova snorted.

“No, she doesn’t at that.”

“So instead of a fighting chance you just… fought?”

“Constantly.” Dad nodded, his finger tapping against the teacup. “It was the best and worst time of my life. And I’m sorry that you three were collateral damage in that.”

“Are you?” I asked, uncertain if I could believe him. “Are you really?”

“Sorry? Aye, I am. I had no choice but to let you go. She knew that too. I can’t leave here. Just like you three can’t stay. It’s an awful curse, and we were the wrong people to meet, to fall in love. A fire that burned too hot, consuming everyone around us.”

“And there was no way to reach us?”

“No. While your mother’s magick was unreliable, it was still strong. She blocked me. But when I heard you were back, I came here to give you this. It doesn’t make up for not being around, but I hope it’s a start.”

Only then did I notice the bag at his side. Unzipping the backpack, he pulled out an accordion-style file folder and slid the top open.

A pile of letters spilled out.

“What are these?” Lyra picked an envelope up. “December 2022.”

Nova picked another one up. “June 2021.”

“Letters. I wrote you all a letter each month, even though I had nowhere to post them. In my own way, I hoped you would one day know that I cared, and still care, about all of you.”

My heart twisted, and something warm and hot rose in my throat. I stood up, uncertain what to do, but knowing I needed space.

“Sloane.” Dad looked at me as I turned to walk away. I paused, looking down at him as he held out a hand to me. “I know you dealt with the worst of it, and for that, I’m sorry. I can’t give you your childhood back, but I hope I can give you your father back. If you’ll have me.”

“I don’t know,” I answered honestly, even though his face fell. “It’s going to take time. I’m not saying that I can’t get there, but I can’t just pretend like we are suddenly one happy family.”

Dad nodded, accepting my words. “I hope you’ll stay and we can make that time.”

I nodded once more and then disappeared upstairs, my misgivings churning in my gut. If I didn’t tamp down on my feelings, I might blow the entire house up.

And when Knox video called to show me Blue at his side, he took one look at my face and knew something was wrong.

“I’m coming.”

“No, no, it’s fine.” I waved him away, but the screen was already black. I shouldn’t have answered. I should have known better.

A tap at my window five minutes later had me blinking into the storm in surprise. There, Knox hovered in the air, Blue in his arms. Sliding the window up, I pulled him inside, shocked.

“You can fly?”

“Hover for short bursts as needed.” Knox collapsed on my bed, and Blue launched himself at me, deliriously happy. “Things looked intense downstairs, so I thought to bypass whatever had put that look on your face.”

“You didn’t need to come,” I said, trying to look everywhere but at him as Blue licked my face.

“Yes, I did, lass.” Knox patted the bed next to him. “Come here, love. Tell me about it.”

“I…” I paused as I realized that instead of hiding it all, pushing it all down as I usually did, I genuinely wanted to tell Knox about it.

Plopping down on the bed, I curled into his side.

And told him everything.