The Windhaven Witches Omnibus Edition : Complete Paranormal Suspense Series, Books 1-4 by Carissa Andrews (graded readers txt) 📕

Wade takes a step toward me. “That’s good, isn’t it? I mean, it’s taken a while to prove his death and get things in order.”

“Yeah, it’s good, I guess,” I nod. “At least, it will be when it’s over.”

Wade’s eyebrows knit together. “What’s wrong then?”

I pause, thinking back to the conversation. “She was really pushy about my mom. She wants me to make sure she’s here.”

“Why is that so weird?”

“Because they’ve been divorced for more than a decade?” I say, leaning against the counter. “I mean, is it normal to want your ex at the reading of your will?”

“Well, he did share something pretty important with her,” Wade says, raising his eyebrows knowingly and pointing at me.

“Yeah, I know. I guess I didn’t expect to have to bring her here. She’s not going to like it,” I say.

“Do you think he left something in the will for her?” Wade asks.

I shrug. “Probably? Why else would she be so pushy about it?”

Wade chuckles, taking the last few steps to me. He kisses my cheek and says, “Good point. We can call your mom in a little bit and let her know. It’ll all be fine.”

Exhaling slowly, I tip my head. I seriously hope he’s right.

“I have to admit it’s kinda weird, though. It’s like the roles are totally reversed from when my grandpa died,” Wade says, returning to his chopping.

“Yeah, it does have a weird déjà vu vibe, doesn’t it?” I say, nodding and walking over to the pantry to grab spaghetti noodles. “Let’s hope things don’t go as sideways as they did after your grandpa died.”

“On the upside, his bones are already interred in the catacombs. I think it’s pretty safe to say you won’t find him in the middle of the yard as a revenant,” Wade says, stirring in the tomato sauce.

“Good point,” I nod, handing him the package of noodles.

After dinner, we sit in relative silence. My brain keeps dragging me back to the will, the reading, and telling my mom that she needs to be here. I know if I don’t get that call over with, my stomach will be in knots all night.

Wade studies me, his light eyes taking in my every move.

“What’s got you frowning?” he finally asks.

Pressing my lips into a thin line, I shake my head. “I need to call my mom. I just don’t know what to say.”

“How about, ‘Hi, mom. I got a call from the lawyer and they want to do the will reading next Monday. Any chance you can be there?’” he says nonchalantly.

“Easy for you to say. You didn’t grow up with her,” I mutter.

“Come on. She’s not that bad,” Wade says, chuckling. He stands up, reaching for my plate and placing it on top of his own. “Call her. I’ll get the dishes done and then we can hang out. Trust me, it’s not going to be as bad as you’re making it out in your head.”

“But I really should help,” I say, moving to stand up.

Wade sets the dishes down and puts his hands on my shoulders before I can get up. “Stop trying to postpone the inevitable. I’m not that bad at doing dishes. Yeesh.”

I fall back into my seat, and my gaze travels to my cell phone resting face down in the middle of the table.

“But…” I begin.

Wade leaves the room and yells, “Call her.”

Blowing out a puff of air, I reach for the phone and flip it over. Staring at the screen, it takes me another couple of minutes to build up the courage to call her over this. Any other time, for any other thing, and it would be no problem. But this is a double whammy — dealing with death and under supernatural circumstances.

I press Mom’s number before I have time to talk myself out of the call. The phone rings and as it cycles into the third ring, relief washes over me.

It’s abruptly cut off as the ringing stops and Mom says, “Hey, sweetie. What a nice surprise. Everything okay?”

My eyebrows scrunch in and I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Hi, Mom. Uhm, yeah, everything’s great.”

“Uh-oh. I know that tone. What’s up, young lady?” Mom says, obviously using her own superpowers, also known as motherhood, on me.

I clear my throat. “Well, I uh…” Taking a deep breath, I try to remember what Wade’s version sounded like. “I got a call from the attorney handling Dad’s stuff. He, uh… evidently, he needs you to be here for the will reading on Monday.”

There’s a long pause on the other end and I pull the phone back to see if we got disconnected. The timer is still continuing to log the duration of the call.

“Mom?”

“I can’t make it,” she finally says.

“Why?”

“I don’t want anything to do with that place. I know—” She sighs heavily. “I know it’s your home now, and I suppose it should be now that… But I don’t have the fondest of memories there.”

“But Mom—”

“Enough, Autumn. I’m sure that if the attorneys want to get ahold of me, they’ll find a way. Now, what about Christmas? Do you and Wade have plans yet?” she asks, adeptly changing the subject.

“No, not yet,” I say, getting up and staring out into the darkness beyond the dining room window. The moonlight sparkles across the snow, lighting the landscape in its silvery glow.

“Well, how about the two of you come here for a few nights. We can spend Christmas Eve and day together.”

“Okay, I’ll see what Wade thinks,” I say, nodding absently.

“Good. Let me know what you two decide, so I can put a plan together,” Mom says. “Love you, Autumn.”

“Love you, too, Mom.”

“Talk to you later, sweetie.”

“Okay, bye, Mom.” I end the call, dropping the phone to my side.

I hope she’s right about the lawyers because I’m pretty sure they don’t want to just see me. Shaking my head, I turn and walk into the