“Can you turn this ability off and on?” I asked, laying my hands on Thatcher’s forearms. “Because that sounds like it could get overwhelming, sweetie.”
“I can, Mom. Or I will be able to. Wes is looking for help. He thought Rose might have someone in one of the BC covens she uses to train witches who are empathic.” He shrugged slightly and smiled. “For now, I put in my earbuds and listen to my playlists. Helps tune out what everyone’s feeling.”
“Awesome skills, little bro,” said Harper, pulling Thatch into a tight hug. “Your magic is all about stealth.”
Thatcher patted Harper’s back gently. “Yeah, but…”
“No buts. Own your magic. Wings are cool but they are a fucking pain in the ass, and they hurt. All the time.”
The boys decided they needed an evening of gaming with their online buddies. I waved them up the stairs. Christoph complained of aching joints and went to his room. I slipped my arms into a cardigan sweater with deep pockets and stepped outside.
The seasonal rains would begin soon, but for this night I could enjoy a cloudless sky filled with starlight. My feet found the circle of stones Tanner and I had uncovered and traced the path, one step at a time. I circled what would become one of the new herb gardens, then reversed my direction and continued back and forth like that until I had worked through the dilemma uppermost in my mind.
I wanted Tanner to be here with us—with me—for the strategizing and for getting me ready for dinner with Odilon. If any territorial male stuff came up, we would deal with it. To my thinking, if he and I were going to explore an intimate partnership, one built on everything my marriage was not, then we had to learn to work together. On pleasurable tasks, like fixing up my house and bringing the property to life again, and on challenging tasks, like digging deeper into the minds of Odilon Vigne and his clan. Because a hostile takeover of this island’s riches, magical and otherwise, was not going to happen on my watch.
I found myself leaving the circle of rocks and heading toward the bunkhouse. “Sallie? Azura?”
“Come in, Aunt Calli,” said my niece. At the edge of the doorless doorway, a hand grabbed the side of the big piece of fabric that had been hanging in Thatcher’s room. “We’re awake.”
I ducked under and hugged Sallie, then bent to circle my arms around Azura. My cheek came away wet. “Hey, what’s going on?”
“We’re sad.”
“Want to talk?”
They nodded in sync. Sallie unwound a wad of toilet paper, blew her nose, and snuggled next to Azura. “We’d like you to adopt us.”
“Sure,” I said. “You willing to scrub toilets, rake leaves, and bring me tea?”
They looked at each other, then at me, and burst out in tear-filled giggles. “That’s all it takes?” Azura’s eyes were red-rimmed and open wide.
“You’re both close enough to turning nineteen that legal adoption is moot. But if what you’re really asking is for a place to call home for now, then yes, I am willing to provide that for you.” I held up one finger. “Pending a family discussion with Christoph, Harper, and Thatcher. I know Thatch especially is concerned about you, Sallie. I also know they’d feel left out if we didn’t talk among ourselves first.”
“We totally get that, Calliope,” said Azura. “You don’t know much about me, but Sallie does. Our stories are kind of similar.”
“Tell me more,” I said, making myself comfortable on the nest they’d concocted out of pillows, blankets, and sleeping bags. The interior of the bunkhouse was redolent with fresh cut lumber and fresh starts.
“Sallie and I met in the homeschooling group. My parents took me out of the Victoria Academy for Magicals two years I think after Sallie left. My parents did the opposite of hers; I mean in terms of them being super controlling of her magic and mine being frustrated at my lack of development.”
“You’re referring to the collars?” I asked.
Azura nodded. “My parents were convinced I was holding back on them because whatever it was they thought I should be able to do did not include making snowballs on demand.”
“Where are they now?”
“Somewhere way north of Vancouver? I forget. They go where they’re told and when they left Victoria in June, I said I didn’t want to go with them. I had already completed all the requirements to graduate high school.”
“Are you supporting yourself?”
She nodded. “They deposit money in my account every month, but I supplemented that with catering gigs over the summer. Those’re kind of drying up now, but I’ve got enough to live on if I’m careful.”
I shifted position, sitting back on my heels. “Let’s keep talking about this. For now, this is your space. Keep it—” I looked around, noted the open suitcases “—neat-ish, okay? The bunkhouse is Christoph’s pet project and he wants to have it ready for the rainy season and winter. With your help he might be able to speed up getting the composting toilet and the outdoor shower set up, but that’s his domain, not mine.”
As I left the bunkhouse, Sallie and Azura were gathering their toiletries for the day’s last trip to the house. I veered to the right and unlatched the gate to my garden. Muted voices deep in conversation floated alongside the girls as they passed by, not aware of me at all. I sunk into my old garden chair, which was shedding chipped paint and was on its literal last leg. The commingled giggles of all four teenagers sounded from the window two stories above.
“I was hoping to find you here.”
I ran my hands down the tops of my thighs and grinned. “I was hoping you’d come for a visit,” I responded. I couldn’t see Tanner, or much of anything else on this side of the house, in the dark. He waited until Sallie and Azura
