The Hidden Grimoire by Karla Brandenburg (pride and prejudice read TXT) 📕

Mommy comes home and when you have a new baby sister to play with.”

Georgia laid back, smiled, and closed her eyes. “I love you, Aunt Bwinn.”

“I love you, too, Georgia. Anytime you need me, all you have to do is think about me, okay?”

She nodded, tucked her thumb in her mouth and drifted to sleep.

The clouds came to transport me home.

My eyes were filled with tears when I opened them, back in my workroom. As I wiped them dry, Kyle came into focus seated across from me.

“Where were you just now?” he asked.

“Right here, as far as I know.”

“I tried talking to you, but you didn’t hear me. Or did you?”

“No.” I sighed. “How long have you been there?”

“About five minutes. I almost called an ambulance, except your breathing seemed normal. Like you’d fallen asleep.”

I nodded. “I was dreaming.” I surveyed the worktable. The grimoire was gone.

“You were dreaming the other night, too. I should have gotten up with you. Do you want to talk about it?”

“That was different.”

Kyle remained on his stool, watching me closely. “You know I’m here for you.”

“The other night, I dreamt about the fire.” I stopped to gather a deep breath. “I still have nightmares.”

“You should see someone about those. Talk them through.” He studied me a moment longer. “And this time?”

How could I explain? I took another deep breath. “I suppose this one wasn’t REM sleep.”

“I’m not sure what that means. Narcolepsy?”

Even if he did understand, even if he did accept my gifts, I didn’t feel comfortable talking about them. “It means I’m not sleeping well.”

He checked his phone. “Let’s go to bed. It’s after ten.”

I shook off the last of the clouds that lingered. “Probably should.”

“Wake me if you have another nightmare. Maybe I can help.”

I slipped off my stool and reached for his hand. “It helps knowing you’re here.”

We wandered toward the staircase opposite the workroom door. I stopped and glanced toward the kitchen. “Hang on. I need a drink of water before I go up.”

“Want me to get it for you?”

I leaned in and kissed him. “You’re sweet, but I’ve got it.” I dropped his hand and crossed the great room while he mounted the steps.

I took a glass from the kitchen cupboard and filled it with water from the refrigerator, then took a long drink. As I set the cup in the sink, I glanced out the window. An orange glow in Kyle’s house caught my attention.

“Kyle!”

Chapter 15

Footsteps pounded down the staircase to match the thundering of my heart.

Kyle appeared by my side a moment later. “What is it?”

I pointed out the window and his shoulders slumped. He turned me to face him, and pulled me close. “You’re shaking. Oh, Brynn. It’s not a fire. They’re nightlights so the house isn’t so dark when I go home to change in the morning. I’m surprised they’re visible from here.”

“Are you sure?” I croaked, clutching my throat.

“Yes. We can walk over and I can show you if you like.”

I shook my head. I didn’t want to get close to anything remotely resembling a house fire again.

Kyle’s voice was quiet, soothing. “Breathe.”

I slumped into him.

“I know you don’t want to, but you really should talk to a doctor about this,” he said. “They can help.”

I straightened and drew a deep breath. “I’ll think about it.” And probably wouldn’t do anything beyond think. I needed time and space. A month, nearly two, wasn’t enough time to get past the trauma.

“Come to bed,” he coaxed.

I glanced over his shoulder, toward the dimly lit living room. “I think I want to work for a while, make a candle or two. Between the scents and working with my hands, it calms me down.”

He stared at me, uncertainty in his eyes.

“Go to bed,” I told him. “You can even sleep across the street if you’d rather.”

He drew his brows together with a frown. “That’s not going to happen. Not now.”

“Really, I’ll be fine,” I said, not at all sure I would be, but knowing I needed time to myself.

I laid my head against his chest, listening to the reassuring, steady rhythm of his heart. I was alive. He was alive. The world had gone into hibernation for the winter, but in the spring, the earth would renew itself with new growth, a new cycle of life. “May,” I whispered.

“May?” he repeated.

“May will be the perfect time to get married.”

His chuckle rumbled against my face. “You never cease to surprise me.”

I pulled away and leaned up to kiss him. “Go to bed. I’ll be along soon.”

Kyle caressed my face. “I can sleep on the couch until you’re ready.”

“No point in being uncomfortable.”

When he hesitated, I took him by the hand and led him to the staircase. “Go on. If I need you, I’ll holler.”

His thoughts reflected in his face, from uncertainty to resignation, before he climbed the stairs.

I flipped the lights on in the workroom and I searched out dried flowers to press into a wax pillar, but couldn’t find any. Instead, I took a bundle of rosemary from the ceiling, held it under my nose and breathed in. Combined with lavender, the smells would relax me while I molded and designed the candle.

I hummed while I greased the pillar mold and strung a wick, turned on the burner and melted the wax. I added the lavender essence, poured a coating inside the cylinder and sang Soak Up The Sun quietly as I cleaned rosemary sprigs to press into the setting wax.

While I worked, a creeping sensation tickled my back. Georgia stood behind me, thumb in her mouth, sock monkey in her hands—Georgia, but not Georgia. She had a glow about her, and I could see through her. An astral projection?

Ash sauntered into the workshop and flopped down beside Georgia’s image, the way she would have if the little girl had actually been there.

“I’m right here, honey.” I hopped off my stool and crouched beside Georgia’s projection. “Were you having a bad dream?”

She glanced around the