Page 24 of Of Poison & Pumpkins (Of Witches & Men #3)

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Elias

A t my uncle’s farm, thousands of pumpkins in all colors and sizes, bob over our heads. As my mind reels about the situation I avoided last night, a bunch of random metaphors come to mind like how I hate my father more than kids hate broccoli.

“Do you want to talk about it?” I whisper to Rynn who still has bags shadowing her eyes from the lack of sleep last night.

After a sharp shake of her head, I give her a moment. She had paced for hours after we escaped a conversation with her younger sister and my father. The yuck factor makes me almost gag.

Rynn and I each hold one of Maya’s tiny hands as we all look up. We’ve both had to put on a brave, fake happiness in the little girl’s presence.

“Um, if I can balance on your shoulders, I might be able to reach that one,” Rynn says, her neck craned to the morning sun. “But you’d have to hold my feet to steady me.”

“I meant, do you want to talk about our family? What are we gonna do when we get back?”

I search her face for any clue of how she wants to deal with the news of my father sleeping with her sister. Not just that, they’re married . It feels practically illegal. Acidic bile rises in my throat, but I swallow it down before it reaches my lips.

Rynn’s eyes squeeze shut before she turns away, tugging our train of joined hands along. “They won’t be there when we return. I told Brooke to leave. Let’s focus on getting the seeds.”

“Auntie Wynn, I wanna go on the kitty swing,” little Maya says, pointing to a playground. “And look! I see a kitty slide!”

The metal playground set is made of cat shapes. The twisty ladder, bars, ramps, and net bridge all have a feline element. Whoever designed this masterpiece needs to make a throne for Goosie.

“We’ll swing soon,” Rynn says as she crouches to the girl’s eye level. “See those pumpkins up there?”

“Yeah, are they balloons?”

“No, hun, but we need to get seeds from that one before we play.”

“But it’s not pwetty like the others. That one has bumps and mold.”

I also stoop to meet Maya’s bright green eyes, more vibrant than an emerald.

Without much nurturing experience, I feel a strange comradery with this mini human.

Her sleek black hair falls to her waist and swooshes like a skirt whenever she dances.

Which is often. This girl never stops moving.

It’s like someone poured a pound of sugar down a tube straight to her stomach.

“You can pick whatever pumpkin you want, and I’ll carve it for you,” I tell her. “But first, we need to defeat the Vine Slayer. You’ll be the captain, I’m the knight, and Auntie Rynn can be the cat.”

“Hey! Why am I the cat?”

“Because you have long claws.” Maya points to Rynn’s chipped manicure, then her nose scrunches up tight as if she’s deep in thought.

“But you call him Tiger.” Rynn points to my chest, eyes rolling like when she was a teenager. “Tigers are cats.”

“Tigers are tigers, Wynn. Cats are cats.” Maya releases our hands and walks under the first row of pumpkins, studying them like a scientist.

I can’t help but smile. Tinsley must have her hands full at home.

I should know more about their friendship, but the past week has been so chaotic there’s barely been a chance.

Determined to learn more about Rynn’s social life, I file the questions away for later.

I lean closer to Rynn, accidentally inhaling her intoxicating scent once more. This woman will be my demise.

“Maybe we can break them up,” I whisper to Rynn. “Throw some hurdles their way or recruit one of their exes into the mix to throw their relationship off balance.”

“Lias!” Rynn gasps, gaze darting to mine. “I don’t get along with Brooke, but I won’t ruin her marriage. Promise me right now you won’t sabotage them.”

I kick at the dirt with my boots, then snap my suspenders against my chest. “Fine.”

“Oh, that reminds me, hold still.” Half her attention still on Maya, Rynn opens an app on her phone that brings up a measuring tape. She measures my suspender, pant to shoulder, then over my back.

“Uh, what are you doing?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Her stomach rumbles as she steps away.

“Okie dokie, Auntie Wynn and Mister Tiger, come up here. I know what to do!” Maya yells.

“Maya! Get down from there!” Rynn shouts.

I turn faster than a merry-go-round to spot Maya, who is balancing atop the highest cat ear, both arms spread wide like a plane. “Come up! You can weach that pumpkin up heayuh!”

A gust of wind hits her tiny body and she wobbles. My breath is stolen from my lungs at the same time as Rynn lunges forward. Miraculously, Maya doesn’t teeter to the ground.

There’s no chance I could ever have a child. I’ve known her for mere hours and my heart is outside my body, at the whim of a six-year-old’s balance.

“Elias! Get under her!”

Rynn’s command snaps me out of my trance. I jerk into action, jumping under Maya’s precarious position while Rynn scales the side of the cat castle faster than an auctioneer can speak.

“Don’t move, Maya!” Rynn calls as she cautiously steps one foot at a time on the thin bar.

Flamin’ tamale! I’ll have to catch them both. Palms sweaty, heart racing, I don’t dare blink. Rynn’s foot slips and she slams down onto a bar, thighs straight to metal.

“Fuuuuu-luhluh! Ouch!” She winces, eyes not leaving Maya. “Sit down, honey. Nice and slow.”

“But, Auntie, the pumpkin is so close!” She hops, and in slow motion, her foot veers to the side. Maya’s entire body plummets. A knot of limbs zoom straight towards my head. Stretching, I catch her the second before she collides with the earth.

Never have I been so grateful for my long arms. A relieved sigh comes from above as Rynn rolls off the bar to hang like a gymnast, then drops the rest of the way, landing with a thud.

At the sight of her shaking hands, I lay mine on hers and squeeze once.

Not taking her eyes off Maya, Rynn kisses the girl’s forehead.

“Maya, I will play Vine Slayer with you on the ground while Mister Tiger gets the pumpkin, okay?”

“Okay, Wynn!” She springs out of my hold and races to the swings.

I blow out a deep breath as Rynn’s head leans against my chest. Neither of us dare look away from Maya. She’s not even a relative, yet that little girl has stolen my heart. I’d ambush an entire spaceship for her, not half, the whole darn thing.

“Thank you.” Her voice shakes a little.

“How do you survive with such cuteness in your life? If she were my niece, I’d be spoiling her with fudge brownies every day. Not to mention, your store would be out of stock because I’d fill her room with purple-everything.”

Rynn half-laughs. “Well, you’d be her new bestie because purple is her favorite color this week.” She studies my face, a question in her gaze.

Rynn attempts to stand, but I pull her back onto my lap, completed with her “umph” as I hold her tight.

I slowly brush my lips under her ear, where I’ve discovered one of her sweet spots. “Ask me what you’re wondering. I can see a question in your eyes.”

As my tongue sweeps her neck, her body’s tense posture finally eases into a pile of soft Play-Doh. “Have you ever wanted kids? Or maybe you already have one? I haven’t asked, I should’ve.”

“I don’t have any yet,” I say without skipping a beat.

“No one should allow me to take care of something so fragile. But sometimes I have dreams about a daughter. She’d be creative with a wildly ferocious love of animals.

I’d braid her hair before school every morning and let her sleep in my bed when it storms. We’d have a secret handshake that her mom would never see. ”

She goes so still I’m worried that I was too honest, too quickly. It’s obvious she’s attracted to me. If only I could peel back the armor she uses as a shield, then I’d know her true feelings.

“I’d make sure they know they’re loved,” Rynn says. She’s focused on Maya, not meeting my gaze. Her cheeks flush an adorable shade of pink. “I want to be the best version of myself before I raise a kid. Do you have anything you’d change about yourself?”

And then, she’s looking straight into my soul. This is it. Right now is the make or break moment. The next sentence out of my mouth could determine our future.

“Of course. I wish I could accept myself fully, just the way I am. But if given the chance, I’d change my need for approval.

It’s exhausting lugging around the fear of disappointing everyone, not meeting expectations, not living up to who they need me to be.

” I inhale a deep breath and try to keep my voice steady and low.

“Back when we were in high school, I was so afraid of being ridiculed and gossiped about that I became fake. I could fit in with the band members, and the rugby team, and the scholastic honors kids because I wasn’t real with any of them.

It was like walking around wearing a mask.

Sure, everyone liked me, but no one knew me.

My dad definitely never knew me, that’s for sure. ”

Her face shifts through a dozen emotions, from pity to frustration, settling on understanding.

“I want to know the real you,” she whispers and leans forward.

Her lips meet mine, tender and soft and slow. This kiss is different than before. A quiet promise. A priceless commitment. We pull away a knowing moment elongated between our shared breath.

Rynn leans her back against my chest, and I support her. She can rely on me, no matter what we face when we return home.

Both of us face Maya again and watch her do cartwheels in the grass.

“If I could change something about myself, it would be the inability to let go of pain,” Rynn says. “Now that I saw Brooke, I can’t help but hope to forgive her for how she treated me before.”

“You’re a better person than me, Rynnlee. I simultaneously want to hug and murder my father right now.”

“Murder? Then we’d both be inmates,” she jokes, but her voice is strained.

My fingertips trail up and down her forearms. “I won’t let them arrest you. If it comes to that, I’ll confess to the Dazed curse.”

“You will not.”

“I will.”

“Then I refuse to be your girlfriend,” she says sarcastically, but I can hear the smile in her voice.

This might be my new favorite position. I love how she fits against my body; her back resting against my chest. When her head accidentally rubs the metal clasp of my suspender, I pull it off my shoulder so she’s more comfortable.

Her fingertips find my legs and graze my thighs.

Back and forth. Soft and sweet. A caress meant to reassure each other.

“My girlfriend would agree to wear matching themed costumes on Halloween.”

“Not this again.”

“We could be Batman and Batgirl, or Hercules and Meg, or Maleficent and Hades.” I poke her side where she’s ticklish.

“Hey!” She jerks up and out of my embrace, making me instantly regret the choice. I dart to my feet as she jogs off, laughing. I chase after, ready to wrap her in my arms again, but she hides behind Maya as a human shield. “No shenanigans! Now go get that pumpkin, Sir Tiger.”

“Actually, it’s Mister Tiger, if you please.” I bow to the ladies. “And yes, I’ll catch that Vine Slayer even if it’s the last thing I do!”

“Yay!” Maya claps her hands. “Don’t fail!”

Failure. That’s my fear. Disappointing people. Making my dad proud shouldn’t be this important anymore. It’s been my core purpose for so long, I’m unsure how to let it go. Once Pumpkins goes viral, he’ll finally respect me. It’ll be the first time I’ll shake his hand, knowing he approves.

First things first: Rynn needs the seeds. I pull my suspender away from my chest and snap it against my shirt. “I’m prepared for battle!”

At the base of the magnificent castle, I salute my brave cat and knight. It’s a blessing there’s no rain because this ladder would be more slippery than a con artist. I climb the cat tower, one careful foot at a time, thanking my dedication to rowing that has kept me in shape.

“It’s good you not afwaid of heights!” Maya yells from below, with a massive grin on her face.

The only way to grab the closest Futsu pumpkin is to rise on my tiptoes. The structure shakes beneath my weight, and I freeze. All that reinforces me is a metal bar under my sneakers. If I fall, I’ll twist my ankle. Fabulous. My entire body tense; I slowly ease onto my toes. Strain. Stretch.

“Just a little higher!” Rynn calls, stress lacing her tone. “You almost got it!”

I groan, grope the air again, finally grasping Tugging it down, I grab the ugly pumpkin and quickly lower to sit on the monkey bar.

“You did it!” Maya sings and runs below. “Drop it. I’ll catch it.”

“Doesn’t your Tiger deserve a trophy?” I smile and snap the pumpkin off the vine, then toss it to Maya.

“Yup! Unless you gonna live up theyuh fohevuh.”

I lower myself to hang, then drop the few remaining feet.

Unfortunately, when I hit the ground, I stumble and fall onto my butt.

Dirt flies in all directions. Maya attacks me, launching her little body into my chest. The momentum throws me onto my back until we’re both laying in the dirt, laughing.

When she sits up, her cheeks are smudged dark, but her green eyes still sparkle.

“Mister Tiger, now you work for the queen.” Maya uses a twig and taps both my shoulders like she’s knighting me. “And guess what? The cat is the queen, so you help Auntie Wynn.”

From the ground, I look up at Rynn, who has a halo of light around her head as the sunbeams shine down.

“Gladly. I’ll serve my queen till the day I die.”

Her smile lights up my world. With another ingredient in our possession, and because Rynn is looking at me like I’m her favorite dessert, I have all the confidence in the world that we’ll figure out all our problems.