Page 51 of Sweets and Sycamores

THEN COME BACK TO ME

“What’s stuck up your a—”

“Is Allie back there?” Brandon blurted out, wearing a preoccupied and grim expression instead of his usual grin. Dom’s spine stiffened as he picked up a vibe he did not like, but he nodded. “Can you make sure she stays there?”

“What’s going on? And why are you whispering?”

“Just answer my question,” Brandon hissed. Then he leaned over the counter and grabbed Dom’s arm, dragging him out to the floor.

“She’s frosting cupcakes for the next twenty minutes.”

Brandon stopped abruptly a few steps before the door. Dom knocked into him, his annoyance and heart rate increasing exponentially.

“Can you make that thirty?”

“What the fuck is going on?”

Brandon opened his mouth to speak, then sighed in defeat. He pushed Dom to the door, where he saw—

Four Witches stood on the sidewalk, red hair mingling with the auburn fall landscape around them.

“I found them roaming around Harp’s. They were looking for Allie, and someone told them she’s working here.”

“Fuck.” He’d find out who that someone was and give them a piece of his mind.

“What do you want to do?”

Dominic considered. The Witches were here for one of two reasons: one, they came to tell Allie not to bother coming back.

The thought made his skin crawl, even if the outcome worked in his favor.

The other option was that they were here to check on her power and take her back with them.

He had procrastinated asking Allie to stay in Sycamore Falls in hopes of asking during the festival, which might come and bite him in the ass.

Regardless of his efforts, it was ultimately Allie’s choice.

And as much as he wanted to run these Witches out of town, to not let them an inch closer to the woman he had fallen in love with…

Allie could hold her own with her coven.

“I’ll go get Allie,” Dom snarled against all his instincts. The words stung his throat as if he’d swallowed a hive.

“Are you unwell? What if they’re here to get her back to Pearls Fields? How can you let her get away?” His friend punched him in the chest.

“I’m not letting her do anything, Brandon. It’s her choice.” And it would hurt like hell if her choice was not him. Yet it was still hers to make.

“You’re finally happy—”

“Allie!” Dominic shouted, her name wringing a sweet pain inside his chest.

“Dom…” He avoided Brandon’s look, which, by the tone in his voice, was full of pity. Instead, he focused on the Witches, standing casually on his sidewalk, staring at the trees in his town, threatening to get his girl.

“What’s up?” Allie came out in a mild jog, wiping sticky hands on her apron. Her bun was messy, untamed strands running wild around her face. Dominic’s hand itched to tug the hair safely behind her ears, but he knew that if he touched her, he would never let her go.

His jaw clenched hard, teeth grinding together as he spat, “There’s someone here to see you.” Then he jerked his head toward the window and watched her mouth open, eyes growing wide.

He couldn’t bear not knowing what was going on in her head, in her heart. The stakes were too high for him to just…wait. Yes, it was her choice, and yes, he respected it. But he couldn’t possibly stand there without a fucking clue about his future.

So Dom Read her.

His magic was not back to its fullest yet after fixing the magic on the sycamores, but it was enough to get an idea of her feelings. Genuine surprise washed over him, mixed with curiosity, and… Was that fear?

Was Allie afraid of these Witches? Had they ever done anything to her? Dominic felt his body heating, breathing faster as rage took command of his own feelings.

Allie had nothing to be afraid of as long as he was by her side. As long as he was alive, nothing and no one would get past him.

“I’ll be right back,” Allie said and reached for the doorknob.

Dom acted without thinking. He grabbed her by the wrist in a swift movement, bringing startled brown eyes to his.

The rage was not targeted at her, so he inhaled for a long moment, dulling it, softening his features so she wouldn’t, gods forbid, be scared of him.

He gathered the courage needed to make this demand, to ask her to change the course of her life. For him.

It would only take one word. Or four.

“Stay.”

Allie froze. Not because of Dominic’s sudden touch. Not because his green, icy glare drilled into her like a sharp blade. But because she could see behind it, could feel that iciness melt the longer he held her hand.

“What do you mean?” she whispered.

“Stay here. With me.” His voice was loud and clear, not even remotely wobbly. The grip around her wrist tightened, and he pulled her to him, laying her hand over his heart, the frantic beats tickling her palm.

“I have to check what they want,” Allie tested him. She selfishly wanted to make sure Dom was asking her to stay here, in Sycamore Falls, not here, in the bakery. That he wanted her in his life.

He nodded once, brows furrowing deeper, creasing his handsome face.

“Go. Then come back to me.” The plea in his voice grabbed her heart with an invisible hand and squeezed it until Allie found it difficult to breathe.

Except nothing about this was difficult. Not at all. It was the easiest decision she had ever made. She rose on her tiptoes and placed a quick kiss on his jaw.

“I’ll be right back.”

The sigh that followed her outside the bakery felt like a gust of wind caressing the back of her neck. Yet Allie held back her smile, knowing what she would face. Who she would face.

“Lydia!” At the sound of her voice, the four Witches turned to face her. The Magistra was accompanied by Freya, who looked sick to her stomach, and Marla and Aurora, the elder Witches who openly disliked Allie. It was an interesting choice for a party, but Lydia didn’t do anything without a reason.

“Alecsandra.” Lydia twirled the ends of her red ponytail between her fingers as she looked Allie over like she was a prize calf.

“Such an…interesting choice.” Allie crossed her arms over her chest, raising an eyebrow.

“Sycamore Falls. New magic? I thought you didn’t like being around it.

” Allie felt as though a blunt arrow punctured her throat.

“What?”

“You thought I didn’t know about your life in Green Creek? How you ran away from it?” Lydia scoffed. “It is my responsibility to know everything there is to know about a Witch who joins my coven.”

Allie straightened her spine, willing some of that initial confidence into her voice. She would not let them intimidate her.

“And you took me in knowing that.”

“I don’t care whose bed you warmed before coming to the manor, Alecsandra. I only care about your power. An elemental Witch is a great addition to the coven.”

“Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

“It depends. Were you the one who almost set the town on fire?” Her burgundy-painted mouth twisted into a challenging grin.

“Are you high on potion steam?”

Before Lydia turned her sour grimace into words, Freya spoke.

“It’s why we’re here. To…to check on you, make sure you’re fine.

” She rushed the words, yet Allie didn’t miss the lies.

Lydia threw her a menacing look that shut the Witch up.

Freya was kind but spineless, and even if there was some truth behind her words, it was only she who was interested in Allie’s well-being.

The others… They genuinely came to check if her power was so out of control that she was the reason Brandon’s farm caught fire. They came to laugh in her face, to prove to her they had been right to kick her out.

Allie heard the doorbell ring but resisted the urge to turn around. She felt a warm, comforting presence at her back and imagined Dom standing by the door, arms crossed, glaring at the Witches in front of her. A smile slipped onto her lips.

“What are you simpering about?” Lydia barked. “Did you, or did you not, start that fire?”

“She didn’t, you bitch.” Allie looked to her right and saw Mia crossing the street. She was next to her in a few strides, grabbing Allie into a side hug.

“What did you just call me?” Lydia’s face was fully red by now, a prominent vein pulsing along her temple.

“Witch,” Mia said innocently. “Not only did Allie not start the fire, she was the one who put it out.” Allie held in a laugh at Mia’s exaggerated pride.

“You’re joking.” The Magistra’s enraged expression morphed into a stupefied one. She studied Allie as if it was the first time she had laid eyes on her. “You can control your power?”

“Show them,” Mia hissed.

Allie did not want to make a spectacle of herself in Sycamore Falls. Yet now that everyone knew she was an elemental Witch with power over fire, and they had finally welcomed her, maybe she could show off. Just a little bit.

Allie focused on the warmth in her chest, grabbing the magic in a strong grip and weaving it into a thread around her and Mia. Her friend didn’t even flinch when a string of fire surrounded them both like a bow.

Lydia’s eyes grew impossibly wide, and Allie pulled her magic back with an easy thought.

“Don’t be so surprised, Lydia. I just needed a little help.” Allie leaned into Mia’s embrace, and her friend hugged her tighter.

“Hmm. Well.” Lydia smoothed the skirt of her dark blue dress.

“I suppose you can come back to the manor now.” She found something interesting on which to fixate on the ground, while the other three Witches stared at Allie with their mouths open.

Freya’s eyes held a spark of joy, but her mom’s sisters simply looked stunned.

“If only any of you had bothered enough,” Allie went on her own tangent. “All you did was come up with excuses. Why should I go back with you now?”

“Because it is your place. You’re still a Silverbark as long as I have your broom,” Lydia said with bristling pride.

“My place,” Allie said, doing her best to replicate one of Dom’s glares, “is not with you.” As if summoned, the Mage came to her other side, placing a hand on her hip.

Brandon shuffled next to Mia, arms crossed.

Warmth filled her chest, different than the magic one that hummed steadily in her heart.

This one was sparkly and wild and so, so beautiful.

Allie was surrounded by her friends. Her family.

In fact, she should thank Lydia for kicking her out.

It was the reason she had walked into her fate and ended up in Sycamore Falls.

Petra had always warned her not to live a lonely life, but she had never urged her to live in a coven.

Allie knew she would be infinitely happier here, for as long as she stayed in Sycamore Falls.

And even if life happened and she left, Allie had gained the confidence that she would be all right. She did not have to settle for a life in a sweltering town, surrounded by people who didn’t care for her, just out of fear of being alone.

“Thanks for stopping by. I’ll come pick up my broom soon.”

“What—”

“Get the fuck out of my town,” Dominic growled. “While I’m asking nicely.”

The wind picked up around the four Witches while Allie and her friends stood shielded, facing them.

Lydia watched them with horror through wild strands of red hair, moving her eyes between Dominic and Allie, and had the good sense to shut her mouth.

She muttered something that might have been a curse, turned on her heels, and walked away, the other Witches trailing behind her.

“Does this mean you’re staying?” Mia asked and clapped her hands. Allie turned to look at Dominic, at the man who had done so much for her, who had helped her gain the confidence she exuded today. He stood there frozen, emerald green eyes burning into hers.

Allie decided to end his suffering.

“I’m staying.”