The Promise (The Coven Series) (9 page)

“I
don’t know,” he answered me thoughtfully.
 
“Some of the stuff I’ve seen is…I just don’t know.
 
What’s your favorite flower?”

“Daisies.
 
What kind
of stuff have you seen?”

Maybe
something like what I thought I’d seen earlier at the cafe?
 
It had been fuzzy and blurred, but definitely
something.
 
It’d almost looked
like…someone.
 
That couldn’t be right,
could it?
 
Or was it?
 

I
frowned and looked at Ethan.
 
He’d shown
up right after it appeared and Billy had stared at him like he was a freak show
for a second or two.
 
It couldn’t have
anything to do with him, could it?
 
No.
 
I was being ridiculous.
 
Ethan was real.
 
I wasn’t so sure about the shadow.

Then
the conversation with Mrs. Anderson and Mrs. Johnson popped into my head.
 
They’d been shocked at what I’d done.
 
What had I done?
 
The more I thought about it, the more I began
to think I might have caused that shadow to appear.
 
It would explain everyone’s reaction and the
conversation I overheard.
 
But if that
was true, then I needed to reevaluate my whole nonsense theory.
 

“You’re
doing it again, Cassie,” Ethan sighed.
 
“You’ve got that expression that says you’re thinking really hard.
 
What’s going on in that head of yours?”

“Just
wondering…if maybe…I’m the one that’s wrong about it being nonsense?”

“Only one way to find out.”
 
He offered me another bite of my burger.
 
“Go to one of the meetings.
 
They’re holding an induction Saturday night.”

“It’s
for Jeff’s little sister,” I said and took the offered bite.
 
I sighed in pleasure.
 
Lucy’s burgers were s-o-o-o good.
 
I took two more bites before I let him put it
down.

“Favorite
band?” he fired off and filched one of my fries.

“Fall
Out Boy.”
 
I slapped his hand.
 
I wanted my fries.
 
“Yours?”

“Kings of Leon.
 
Why
don’t you believe in it?”

“I
just never did,” I told him.
 

“But why?
 
You grew up
with it more than even I did.
 
I just
don’t understand.”

How
could I explain it to Ethan when I was finding it harder and harder to explain
it to myself?
 
“It’s like a fairytale,
Ethan.
 
Magic only exists in books.”

“You
don’t sound quite so sure of yourself.”
 
He laced his fingers through mine.
 

“Not
anymore,” I sighed.
 
His hand felt so
warm.
 
His eyes…goodness, but his eyes
could make me melt from the inside out.
 

“Then
come with me Saturday night and find out if it’s all just nonsense or if there
really is something to it.”
 
He pulled my
fingers to his lips and brushed a kiss across my knuckles.
 
“Please, Cassie?”

Butterflies
took flight in my stomach.
 
His lips were
like a little electric shock.
 
“Let me
think about it, okay?”

He
smiled that heart-stopping smile and leaned in to kiss me.
 
An explosion of fire went off.
 
I felt it all the way down to the tips of my
toes.
 
When he pulled back, we were both
a little breathless.
 
“Take all the time
you need to think about it.
 
What was the
last movie you watched?”

“That
last Transformers movie.”

“You
like action movies?”

“No,
I like Shia
LaBeouf
.
 
He’s cute and he can act.”

He
grinned.
 
“You always amaze me and never say
what I expect you to.”

“What
were you expecting?
 
Some
chick flick?”

“You’re
not at all what I thought you’d be,” he frowned, his smoky eyes guarded.
 
“I almost wish you were that girl.”

Now
what the hell did that mean?

“But
I’m glad you’re not.”
 
He gave me his
best cocky smile.
 
“I like this girl
who’s sweet and loyal, but has a temper to match all that fiery red hair.”

I
smiled at his words, but something niggled in the back of my mind.
 
It wasn’t what he said, but his tone of
voice.
 
A sliver of alarm crept up my
spine, but I pushed it away as he leaned over and kissed me.
 
My arms found their way around his neck and
he deepened the kiss.
 
Curse the Fates,
but the boy knew how to kiss.
 
I never
wanted it to end.
 

All
too soon, he pulled away.
 
His forehead
pressed against mine and all I could see was his eyes.
 
They were the color of molten steel, almost
silver, and stared into mine with an intensity that made me blush.
 
He grinned at my reaction.
 

I
took a shaky breath and tried to disentangle myself.
 
I needed distance to think straight.
 
His touch could make me forget almost
everything.
 
I winced when my wrist
connected with his shoulder.
 

“I
think that’s our cue to get you home, Cassie Jayne Bishop,” he sighed and
started repacking everything into the basket.
 
I watched his muscles ripple with each movement, amazed at the grace in
every action.
 
He helped me up and then
grabbed my bookbag and the picnic basket in one hand and took mine in the
other.
 
We walked in silence until we
reached my house.
 

I
was thankful the parental units weren’t home yet, but they soon would be.
 
Ethan had a look that said he very much
wanted to meet my father.
 
Uh, no.
 
Not gonna
happen, at least not yet.
 

“Thanks
for the picnic,” I said.
 
“It was very
thoughtful.”

“Are
you trying to get rid of me, Cassie?” he asked with a grin.

“Yup,”
I nodded.
 

“I
should be hurt,” he purred, “but I can see the panic in your eyes.
 
I promise not to say anything to your father,
okay?
 
I believe you.”

A
long, drawn out sigh escaped.
 
He
believed me?
 
Really?

He
sat my bookbag down on the porch with the basket and pulled me into his arms,
careful of my hand.
 
“Trust me,
Cassie.”
 
He lowered his head and gave me
another one of those mind blowing kisses.
 
“See you tomorrow,” he told me when he broke the kiss.
 
He grabbed the basket and walked back down
the lane.
 

I
couldn’t stop thinking about his parting words—trust me.

Did
I trust him?
 
Maybe, but something told
me not to.
 
How weird was that?

Chapter Seven

The
rain woke me up as it pounded against the house.
 
I cracked an eye to check the time.
 
9:47 am.
 
With a groan, I burrowed under my blankets.
 
Mom would be by any minute to demand I leave
the warm cocoon of my bed.
 
Ten o’clock
on a Saturday was her limit to sleeping in.
 
I was a little shocked she hadn’t been in here at the crack of dawn to
roll me out of bed. She’d drafted me last night to help decorate for
Halloween.
 
The rain must have hampered
her plans.
 

Rain.
 
It was
raining.
 
A smile tugged at my lips.
 
Megan would be ecstatic.
 
Rain was the best possible omen for her
induction ceremony tonight.
 
It
represented the purification process as one passed through the various stages
of life.
 
Today, for Megan, she would
pass from novice to apprentice and become a part of the circle.
 
She deserved for her induction to go well and
the rain could only add to all of her blessings today.

“CJ!
 
Time to get up!”
 
Mom
knocked sharply on the door.

“Give
me five more minutes, please?”

“CJ!”

“I’m
up!” I grouched at the door and threw back the covers.
 
I bit back a curse as my feet hit the cold
floor.
 
I gave my bed one last look of
longing and then headed for the bathroom.

Thirty
minutes later, showered and fed, I dragged myself up to the attic.
 
Mom was bent over one of the trunks on the floor
throwing costumes out of it.
 
Goodness,
but she’d pulled out everything.
 
And I
do mean everything—boxes, trunks, and storage containers were open with their
contents strewn over every inch of the floor.
 

“Mom,
you do have a plan, right?” I asked and surveyed the mess with dread.

“No,
I don’t have one,” she said with a frustrated sigh.
 
“I seem to be uninspired this year.
 
Or it could just be the Parkers have the most
amazing scene I’ve ever seen set up.”

“I
could go flirt with Jeff and get him to sabotage it,” I offered with a
perfectly straight face.

She
burst out laughing.

“I’m
serious here, Mom.
 
We lost last year to
their stupid headless horseman display.
 
I am not above using my wiles to lure him to our side.”
 
I wiggled my eyebrows at her.

“Stop,
CJ,” she pleaded between giggles.
 
“I
might be tempted to let you if you don’t.”

“I’ll
bet for a kiss I could even get him to trash the yard right before the judges
showed up.”
 
Wet, slobbery lips…
shudder…it would be worth it for Mom to win. With the fifteenth coming up, I
didn’t want her anymore unhappy than necessary.
 

“That’s
terrible, CJ,” she grinned at me.
 
I
smiled back.
 
Maybe today wouldn’t turn
out to be so bad after all.
 
Mom and I
hadn’t spent a lot of time together recently.
 
I’d missed her.

“Oh,
look at this!”
 
I scooped up my favorite
witch’s hat and put it on.
 
“How do I
look?”

“About
twelve,” she laughed and donned a hat of her own.
 
“Now, back to this kissing
business.
 
Are you and Jeff Parker
dating?”

“Uh, definitely not.”
 

“He
likes you, though.”
 
Mom pulled out a
jumbled mess of orange lights.
 
“I told
your father not to just throw these lights in here!”

“Just
make Dad untangle them,” I told her and opened a container with more
lights.
 
She was right.
 
Dad had made a mess of them.
 
No way was I going to sit here all day and
untangle these things.

“So
who were you kissing on the porch Tuesday afternoon then?”

Huh?
 
I dropped the tombstone I’d just picked
up.
 
How did Mom know about that?

“Mrs.
Avery next door took great delight in telling me all about it.”
 
Mom laughed at my shocked expression.

Damn
that nosy old woman.
 
I was sure it was
all over town by now.

“It
was nothing, Mom,” I hedged.
 
“Don’t
worry about it.”

“Kissing
a boy is nothing, CJ?
 
Mrs. Avery said
you were a bit involved for a minute.”

Damn,
damn that nosy old biddy.

“Ethan
Warren,” I told her reluctantly.

“Ethan’s
back?” Mom paused.
 
An expression of
shock morphed into one of extreme excitement on her face.
 
“When did he get back?”

“Back?”
I asked, confused.
 
“He’s been here before?”

She
nodded.

“But
he told me his mom wouldn’t let them visit.”
 

“No,
she wouldn’t, but his father always made sure he and Ethan visited for at least
a day every summer.”
 
She pulled her
phone out of her pocket.
 
“I’ll be back
in a few minutes, CJ.
 
I need to make a
call.”

What
the hell?
 
I gaped after her rapidly
retreating backside.
 
Why did Ethan’s
name cause her to get so worked up she looked ready to burst at the seams with
excitement like a kid on Christmas morning?
 
Oh, hell no.
 
She was going to
explain this.
 
I started after her.