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Chapter Nine

SUNNY

T he next morning, Sunny woke up feeling better than she had since she’d returned to Hecate’s Hollow. The sun was shining. It was the first day of May. While nothing was certain, the idea that she could do this was really starting to come together.

After getting out of bed, she got dressed and pulled up her long blond hair as she walked by her dad’s office.

Toward the end, he’d spend so much time holed up there. After spending the day before going through all the boxes of paper lining the dining room, she knew this room was probably full of even more boxes with garbage and important documents intermingled.

She tried to open the door, but it was locked. Strange.

The room across the way was her parent’s bedroom. Maybe there were keys in there. But that was a room she was not ready to deal with.

She went down to the dining room and thought she remembered seeing a screwdriver when she was cleaning. When she rummaged through piles, she came up on a flathead screwdriver.

After making her way back up the door, she fiddled with the lock until the door popped open. As she opened it, the radio from downstairs blared static, flipping through channels.

Her hands covered her ears as she made it to the stairs, and once again, “Coal Miner’s Daughter” filled the air.

She was starting to hate this song—and it had always been one of her favorites.

As she turned the corner of the hallway, a loud bang on the front door called her attention. Between the blaring music and the bang, she completely forgot about the wobbly banister as she held onto it for balance.

As her body hit the banister, it gave way, sending her and the splintering wood to the hard floor beneath.

A scream ripped from her mouth as she fell.

Just then, another loud bang followed along with a crackling of splintering wood as her front door flung open, revealing the face of an almost feral Asher and a very concerned Abe.

“Sunny!” he yelled, making his way to her. “Are you okay?” he called over the music.

As her gaze found his, she gave a shuddering breath as her eyes filled with tears.

He cupped her face, seemingly lost in the panic. “Sunny...”

Her hand came up, covering his hand as the music cut out.

“What happened?” Abe asked from the living room after turning down the music, but Lorette Lynn was still singing in the background.

“That radio has been acting funny since I’ve been home. It keeps turning on. It turned on full blast, and it startled me. I was coming to turn it off when you knocked on the door and then this,” she said, gesturing to the broken wood.

She moved to get up but was stopped by the searing pain in her ankle and leg. She winced and grasped it.

“Are you hurt?” Asher said, stilling her with a touch. “Don’t move. Did you hit your head?”

“No,” she said, giving her head a gentle shake. “I didn’t hit my head.”

“You could have broken something,” he said, stopping her from moving as she tried to get up.

She wiggled her toes through the pain. “No, I don’t think anything’s broken. Will you help me up?”

He cleared away some of the broken spindles and helped her.

She limped her way to the couch in the living room. “Will you turn that off?”

Abe nodded.

Asher knelt before her, checking her injuries. Her ankle was starting to bruise and swell, so he gently flexed her foot as she winced.

“I don’t think anything’s broken, just sprained,” Asher agreed.

“I can have Julie get you something for the pain,” Abe said, looking down at her.

“Is she a witch?” Sunny asked.

Abe nodded. “Yeah, she’s got a healing touch.”

She’d never seen Abe smile like that.

“Okay,” said Sunny. “I think I’ll be okay.” She tried to get up, only for Asher to almost growl at her.

“You’re hurt,” he snapped.

“I’m fine.”

“No. you’re not.”

“Asher. I’m fine, really.”

“What is it you were trying to do?” Abe asked.

“Oh, ummm... I was just going to go through some of the boxes in my dad’s office... but there are still a few in the dining room I could go through.”

Asher nodded. “Why don’t you just let us bring them to you? And we’ll fix that banister. That was at the top of our list... Well, that and the porch... and the roof...” He looked at Abe, who also nodded.

“Wait. What list?”

“Can I use your phone to call Julie? She’s working the lunch shift and can bring you something for your ankle on her way into town,” Abe said.

“Of course,” she said, gesturing to her phone. “But what were you talking about? What list?”

“The list of repairs this house needs,” Asher said.

“You guys are not fixing my house!”

“Well, you can’t live here in the state it is in,” said Asher, examining her leg.

“I’m fine, I can do it. This is my mess to fix.” She stood to move, but pain shot up her legs, causing her to wince and grab them.

“Sunny, be reasonable,” Asher said.

“Absolutely not! I can do it.”

“No. Let us help you,” Abe said in his deep voice, silencing Sunny’s dissent.

Sunny’s gaze shifted between Abe, with his arms crossed over his big wall of a chest with a stern but not unkind expression, and Asher, with his long dark curls pulled back, his hands in his pockets, uncertainty clouding his face.

“After everything I did, you still want to help me?”

Asher just stood there and pinned her with a look before turning on his heel and heading out.

Sunny closed her eyes. It was what she deserved... better than she deserved if she was being honest.

Sunny bit her lip and looked at the worn living room carpet.

“Hey,” Abe said from the doorway. She looked up at him, and there was more softness in his eyes than she was used to. “The way I see it, you’re family. We welcome you back. Give him some time to come around.”

She nodded.

Abe walked into the dining room carefully around the mess. He came back carrying a box and put it in front of her. “Are these the boxes you need to go through?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

He nodded. “I’m going to call Julie, then we’ll get to work.”

By the time he left, Asher was already working, carrying out broken spindles and bringing in lumber.

The Black brothers got to work, and she did the same. She went through another box of papers to the sound of hammers and saws, and it was oddly comforting.

About an hour later, the two masculine voices outside were joined by a feminine one.

She moved to stand and hobbled her way out to the porch. Asher was at the back of the truck, working a saw, while Abe was talking to the new waitress at the cafe with a smile she’d never seen.

Then the woman turned and looked at her with a big smile and waved before heading over to her. Next thing Sunny knew, she was opening the door, inviting her in.

“Hi, I’m Sunny. I believe we met briefly at the diner.”

“We did. I’m Julie.”

“It’s nice to meet you.”

“Likewise. I heard you took a nasty tumble this morning.”

“It wasn’t too bad... but yeah.”

“Well, I brought a salve to help with swelling and some willow bark extract for the pain.”

“Willow bark extract?” Sunny asked, smiling.

“Yeah, it was in Abe’s mother’s grimoire. I’ve found it very useful.”

“Oh, it is,” Sunny said, taking the vial from her. “I’m prone to hurting myself. I grew up on this stuff.”

“You grew up with them, didn’t you?” Julie asked as she came and sat by Sunny.

“Yeah, we go way back. My mom was best friends with Asher’s mom, and from what I can tell, you know about the mountain?” she asked carefully.

“Are you asking if I know about magic?”

Sunny nodded.

“Then, yes. I found out in October when I got here, and Bridget and Abe helped to keep me safe from a warlock.”

Sunny’s mouth fell open. “There was a warlock in the Hollow?”

Julie nodded. “Oh yeah, I don’t know if you knew Dale down at the motel on the edge of town.

He was a warlock, and apparently, he knew I was a witch before I did.

Luckily, Bridget found me, and being who she is, she already knew Abe was my mate, and both of them kept me safe and took care of him.

Well, I guess the woods took care of you, but I’m sure you know all about that. ”

The nervous energy Julie spoke with wasn’t lost on Sunny, but she seemed nice—which was good because if she could fix things with Asher, it meant she would probably be spending lots of time with her.

“Wait. Bridget was there? I don’t think I’ve seen her since I was a little kid.”

Bridget was one of the most magical people Sunny had ever met. There was something otherworldly about her that was undeniable. She had a mischievous edge to her magic Sunny always enjoyed.

“Oh, yeah, she’s living on the mountain now. She should be back sometime next week. She just went to work a ren faire.”

“Wow. It will be so good to see her. Hopefully, she’s not wanting to work the Midsommer Festival... Her card readings are way better than mine.”

“Are you a witch, too? I mean, I know you Asher’s mate, but—” Her stare flew up to Sunny like she regretted saying that.

“Yes, I’m a witch, too. I’m a seer. It is not quite the same as white and black magic. And, yes... I’m Asher’s mate. Don’t feel bad for bringing it up. It is what it is.”

“I’ve never heard of that kind of magic. I’d love to learn more, but...” She looked at her watch. “I need to head to the diner. I’ll stop over when I’m done and bring you some dinner. How does that sound?”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“It’s okay. I was going to bring dinner for the guys anyway.”

“Oh, okay, then. Thank you. It was nice to officially meet you. Thank you for this,” she said, holding up the bottle.

“Of course.” She turned to leave.

Sunny took some of the tincture and got to work on the box.