Page 4

Chapter Four

A cool spring breeze blew through Sunny’s window as a knock sounded at the door.

She popped up and ran down the stairs because, there, standing at the screen door, with a big grin on his face, was Asher Black.

He was tall for his age, with dark-brown eyes, a mop of dark curly hair, and a smile that warmed Sunny to her very core.

“Hey, Sunshine, wanna take a walk?” he asked, holding up a small picnic basket.

“Asher, is that you?” her mother called from her parlor. “Come in.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said as he opened the screen door.

Sunny’s mom Laura stepped out of her parlor, carrying a small bottle and a brown-paper-wrapped bundle.

“I’m out of willow bark tincture, and your mom said she would fill this up for me.

I also picked this up for her at the Sun & Moon Herb Shoppe when I went to Charleston yesterday. Could you give it to her?”

“Sure thing,” he said with his easy, confident smile, taking them from her and slipping them into the basket.

“What are you two up to this afternoon?” she asked as she leaned against the doorframe.

Behind her was the parlor full of magic Sunny loved.

There were crystals and books and tarot cards and all kinds of little trinkets that held so much meaning to them.

Her mother was a seer just like she was.

While Sunny didn’t have much control over her gift like her mother did, she wanted to be just like her someday.

People from Hecate’s Hollow would come to her with their problems, and she would help them.

Being able to help people in the community like her mother was something Sunny looked forward to doing when she got older.

“I thought we might go on a little picnic... if Sunshine wanted to,” he said.

His eyes tentatively found hers, looking for the answer.

Of course she wanted to. She wanted to do anything where Asher was concerned. He was her best friend. He was everything to her.

“What do you say?”

“I’d love to.”

“Be back for dinner. You’re invited, too, of course,” she said to Asher.

“I will be,” said Sunny as she bent down to slip on some shoes.

Before long, they were making their way down the worn path that connected her house to the mountain where the Black family lived.

Not only was it walked by Asher and Sunny almost daily, but Asher had two older siblings who Sunny was close to, and their mothers were best friends.

It was a charmed existence here on the mountain at Hecate’s Hollow.

It wasn’t like Sunny had been to many places, but she understood there was something very special here.

Part of the mountains lived in their very bones and biology.

The women in his family wielded magic to protect the mountain, and the men were given animal forms to protect that magic.

Even though gender wasn’t a hard and fast rule, Asher had a great aunt who could turn into a peregrine falcon.

Sunny had a magic all her own. She was a seer. As she and Asher got older, he was called to protect her, just as he was called to protect all the witches in his life.

At first, it all kind of sat a little weird with Sunny, but the more she was with him, the more it felt natural. Here, walking down the path hand in hand, felt natural. Everything between them was always easy. That’s just the way Asher was. He was easy to be around.

As they walked, they came to the stream separating their properties. She was expecting them to sit and have a picnic right here, in one of their favorite spots. But as she slowed, Asher turned to her with a mischievous smile.

“I found an amazing field full of wildflowers. Would you like to see it?”

Sunny nodded, returning his grin.

“Okay, this way,” he said, guiding her over the stepping stones to cross the creek.

The path on the other side was rougher, having not been walked as much.

But Asher was ahead of her, holding back branches and knocking down spiderwebs.

Asher took her hand and helped her up a small climb, where the exposed roots of the tree acted like a ladder.

Sunny was more than capable of doing it herself, but Asher liked to help her.

He was becoming more and more protective of her.

Afterward, they came to a beautiful clearing.

“Oh, Asher, this is beautiful! When did you find this?”

Before them was a field of soft yellow and purple flowers. In the center was a gnarled old oak tree that looked to be older than she could even comprehend.

“I’ve been exploring on my own a lot more since the shift. I’ve found some really cool spots, but when I saw this one, I knew I had to show you.” He bent down, plucked a purple flower, and tucked it behind her ear.

Asher’s shift transformed him into a beautiful black wolf. The first time Sunny had seen him in his wolf, she was terrified until the big animal trotted right up to her, licked her cheek, and laid his huge head in her lap. All he really wanted was scritches.

“Come on,” he said, taking her by the hand and walking them over to the tree before he flicked out the picnic blanket.

She followed him and dropped down on the blanket, gazing out over the field. A breeze forcing the flowers and grass to curve into a technicolor wave.

“My mom made these,” he said as he brought out a Tupperware container filled with crispy marshmallow treats. “But I made these.” He pulled out two waxed-paper-wrapped sandwiches.

They sat together in silence and enjoyed the meal, the mountain, and each other.

Somewhere in their friendship, things had started to turn into more. Even though they were young, having Asher in her life filled her with a bone-deep sense of peace.

“I had another vision last night?”

“Oh yeah?” he said as he ripped off a piece of his sticky treat.

“Yeah, when I was getting ready for bed, I looked out my window. When I looked up in the sky, I could see an older woman in the moon. Then all the shooting stars started shooting off around her.”

“Do you know who it was?”

Sunny shrugged and shook her head. “My mom thought it might be an ancestor or maybe even Hecate herself.”

Being this young, she didn’t have much control over her visions. Her mom had told her that was something she would get in time and practice using her gift.

“There’s only one more week of school. What do you want to do this summer?” Asher asked.

“I don’t know... but let’s do more of this,” she said as she laid back on the blanket, looking up at the clouds.

“Sounds good to me.” Asher laid next to her. He took her hand as a sweet-smelling breeze blew around them.

Yes, if her summer was filled with more moments just like this one, it might be the best summer ever.

“Sunny...” Asher said, turning to look at her with careful eyes.

Sitting up, she tucked her hair behind her ear.

He fiddled with the edge of the blanket. “I was wondering if... Well... would it be alright if...”

“What is it?”

He turned back to her, mere inches away.

The air shimmered around them as a warm breeze blew a long strand of hair in front of her face.

Asher tucked the tendril behind her ear. “Can I kiss you?”

Her breath caught in her throat with anticipation as she nodded.

He cupped her jaw as he moved closer, pausing, allowing her time to change her mind.

But she was not changing her mind. She was about to have her first kiss with Asher in this magical place. It was like a dream.

Slowly, Asher continued to close the space until he tentatively pressed his lips to hers. Magical was the only word she had to describe what happened next. A warm breeze whirled around them as Asher cupped her jaw and slid his hand into her hair.

When he broke the kiss, he leaned his forehead against hers and took a deep breath. “Wow...”

“Yeah...” She opened her eyes, and he was right there, gazing at her like she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

Looking around the meadow, she could swear there were even more flowers than there was before the kiss.

“This is our spot,” she said as she leaned into his side.

“Yeah, it is.” He slid his arm around her waist and pulled her close.