Page 16 of Rise of the Witch (Witches of Keating Hollow #17)

Melissa stood at the closed door of her guest room and knocked. “Kassie?”

Silence.

“Are you hungry?”

Melissa heard the creak of the hardwood floors and waited to see if Kassie would answer her. When she didn’t, Melissa let out a breath and added, “I’m making dinner. If you’re hungry, it’ll be ready in about fifteen minutes.”

Still no answer.

Well, okay then , Melissa thought. So much for trying to make her feel welcome.

King had dropped her off a few hours ago, and after Melissa had shown her to the guestroom, she hadn’t seen or heard from her since.

She padded back into the kitchen where a pot of tomato soup was simmering on the stove.

After giving it a stir, she pulled out the sourdough and the gouda she’d been saving just for this occasion.

As she fired up the pan to make her grilled cheese, her mouth started to water. It had been forever since she’d treated herself to the meal she’d loved as a kid. There was nothing better than a bowl of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich on a cold January day.

Her phone buzzed with a message from Sadie.

You‘ve got to go look at Kassie’s latest TikTok.

Melissa let out a groan. What now? After she got her cheese sandwich in the frying pan, she turned on the burner and then went to check out Kassie’s latest cry for attention.

The video showed Kassie in Melissa’s guest room. She was sitting on the floor next to one of her suitcases with clothes spilling out of it, and she had a look of dejection on her pretty face.

“Hello, friends,” she said with a sad smile.

“Here I am again. It’s been a bit of a rough day.

My housing fell through. Just completely out of the blue, the friend who’d said I could stay with him decided that lending me his spare bedroom was too much trouble, and he kicked me out with no notice.

So now I’m trying to figure out my next moves while I couch surf for a little while.

I’m not going to lie. This was a blow to both my creative spirit and my heart.

And now my wallet, too, as I try to find a place to stay that I didn’t budget for.

But I will persevere. You know me. I always pull through.

But if you want to help out, go to the link in my bio to buy me a coffee.

Every little bit helps.” She kissed her fingers and then blew the kisses to her audience before logging off.

The comments were filled with outrage that anyone would do that to her, and most of them said they’d sent her money to get that coffee.

Melissa texted Sadie back. I swear to the gods, I’ve never seen such an opportunist. She’s shameless.

That’s one way to put it, Sadie texted back. Good luck with that one.

I think I’m gonna need it.

Melissa flipped her sandwich and then heard shuffling behind her.

“What’s for dinner?” Kassie asked. Her tone was much more hesitant and subdued than it had been the few other times when Melissa had been around her.

“There’s tomato soup in the pot,” Melissa said. “I’m also making grilled cheese if you want that.”

“No cheese, but thank you. I will have some soup,” Kassie said.

“The bowls are right there in that cupboard.” Melissa pointed to the one to the right of the sink. “Help yourself. There’s sparkling water or wine in the fridge. Or water from the tap.”

Kassie helped herself without comment and then went to go sit at the table.

Not long after, Melissa placed her grilled cheese and soup on the table and then grabbed a glass of merlot before joining her.

Kassie eyed the wine with a look of longing.

“Want some?” Melissa asked as she raised her glass to her lips.

“I probably shouldn’t.” Kassie dipped her spoon into her soup and stirred but didn’t take a bite.

Melissa was sure she had her reasons, so she didn’t try to convince her. She just said, “Your choice, but if you change your mind, help yourself.”

“Thanks.” The other woman took a long sip of her water and then dug into her soup. When she was about half done, she looked up and said, “It’s been ages since I’ve had this. It’s delicious.”

“It’s one of my favorites that my mom used to make. The recipe was handed down from my great-grandmother,” Melissa said.

“I wonder what that’s like?” Kassie mumbled.

Melissa put her spoon down and picked up her grilled cheese. “Your mom didn’t cook much?”

Kassie snorted. “Not unless by cooking you mean microwave meals. She was always on a diet and only had those diet dinners in the freezer.”

“That’s rough. So you never learned to cook?”

“I can make a few things. YouTube is perfect for that,” she said.

“It’s fine. I rarely ever think about that.

It’s just when people talk about normal family things, I always imagine something like a Hallmark scene with mothers who care about more than auditions and fitting into designer sample sizes. ”

Melissa put her grilled cheese down and picked up her glass of wine. “That’s how you grew up? With your mom trying to break into the entertainment industry?”

“Ha! If only. No, she was a stage mom. Always taking me to auditions, singing lessons, dance. Open calls, calls for extras, whatever might help me get credits on my resume that might attract an agent or manager.”

There was a bitterness in her tone that Melissa hadn’t expected. Kassie was clearly chasing fame, but Melissa had to wonder if she really wanted it or if Kassie was still just trying to please her mother. “It looks like it worked. You got a record contract.”

“Yeah. It did.” She stared down at her half-eaten soup. “Now it’s all I can do to make sure I don’t lose it. If I do…” Kassie bit down on her bottom lip and then gave Melissa a half shrug. “It’s stressful. That’s all.”

“Is that why you’re always making those engagement-bait videos?” Melissa asked. “Because you’re afraid you’ll get dropped from the label if you don’t get enough streams of your music?”

Kassie stiffened and then fixed Melissa with a steely look. “It’s expected for artists to run successful social media channels.”

“King doesn’t,” Melissa challenged. He had fans in all corners of the internet and yet, all he ever posted about was his music or his scheduled appearances.

“That’s because he doesn’t have to,” she said, sounding angry. “He got lucky having all those internet stalkers and then all that media attention.”

“Lucky?” Melissa asked. “I don’t think being harassed everywhere he goes means he’s lucky. That’s no way to live.”

“It might be annoying, but it keeps his fans and the general public engaged. People know his name. He doesn’t have to post about his day or embellish to get clicks because people are already hungry for information about him.

Don’t tell me he’s not lucky when he doesn’t have maxed-out credit cards and a load of debt because he has to take care of not only himself, but his mom, too.

” She stood suddenly and stalked out of the room.

Melissa stared after her. Kassie might change her tune about how ‘lucky’ King was if she had any idea that his mother had blackmailed him and cursed Sadie.

But it wasn’t Melissa’s place to tell her anything.

That one conversation had shed so much light on why the singer did the things she did.

It also sounded like she was supporting her fame-whore of a mother.

No wonder her credit cards were maxed out.

If Melissa hadn’t been so annoyed about how Kassie had treated Briggs she might have even feel a little sorry for the woman.

But Kassie had barged into Briggs’s life and made it a living hell ever since she’d arrived. It was hard to have compassion for someone like that.

Regardless, Melissa did feel like she understood the woman a little better. Knowing what made her tick would help while living with her for the next few weeks.

After she finished her dinner and cleaned up the kitchen, Melissa walked through the house, locking doors. Just as she started up the stairs, she heard Kassie’s voice and paused.

“No, don’t come here,” her houseguest said, sounding annoyed. “I’m telling you I have it handled.” There was a long pause, and then she continued. “I know what I said, but I’m fine. I just need to get this record made.”

Her voice faded out as a door closed, and Melissa assumed she’d gone back into her room.

What was that about? Was Kassie’s mom giving her a hard time? Or was it someone else? Melissa shook her head and climbed the stairs to head to her own bedroom. Once she’d completed her nightly routine, she got into bed and texted Briggs.

Are you home yet?

Her phone rang almost instantly. “Hey,” she said.

“You haven’t murdered Kassie yet, have you?” he asked.

“Yet?” Melissa laughed. “No, I haven’t. Not even close.”

“Good.” He let out a sigh of relief and then yawned. “Sorry. It’s been one hell of a long week.”

“It has. Did you get the painting finished?”

“We did.” He paused and then added, “I wish you were here right now.”

“You read my mind,” she said, smiling. “But you probably could use a good night’s sleep.”

“I’d sleep better with you beside me,” he countered.

“I bet.” Melissa chuckled softly. “Talk to you tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow,” he promised.

The line went dead and Melissa snuggled into her bed, missing Briggs’s already familiar touch. She let out a groan and hugged a pillow as she rolled over, wondering what she’d been thinking when she’d insisted that Kassie should stay with her.

Oh, that’s right. She’d been trying to keep Briggs from destroying anything else.

She just hoped he found a way to control his magic soon, otherwise she could be babysitting the budding pop star for weeks.

That would mean that any hope of finding herself in his bed again would be nonexistent. And that would be unacceptable.