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

I met over the summer, a friend of Nora’s.” I handed him the mug. “As for Jason, he is still my cousin. Considering he has no idea what kind of person I am, I’d like him to set aside his preconceived notions. If he still doesn’t want to own his family after he’s had a chance to know me, I’ll concede, but his wife wants her children to know where they came from. I think she deserves that.”

“She’s pregnant. When a woman is building her own family, it’s normal for her to want to reach out, but life doesn’t always play out the way they hope. This promises to be one of those instances.”

I set a hand to my hip, frustrated with him. Of all people, he should understand. He’d struggled with family issues growing up, too. Wasn’t he trying to use Thanksgiving as a family building block? “So I shouldn’t try? Is that what you’re suggesting?”

“I don’t want you to be disappointed.”

The way I didn’t want him to be disappointed if family holidays didn’t turn out the way he pictured them. I pursed my lips, holding back my opinions.

“And if it’s about that cute little girl...” He arched an eyebrow at me.

Suggesting he wanted to discuss having children again? “Kyle...”

He held a hand up to stop me. “I know. And no, children won’t make or break my feelings for you, but I have to say, until I met you, I’d never considered having kids. But creating something that was a part of you, a part of me, something we made together...” His breath caught. “It’s a heady thought. Knowing we could have children. Knowing you’re the one I’d want to have children with.” He wiped his forehead. “Does that make sense?”

So much sense. His confession made me giddy. I imagined little Kyles running around, or an adorable little girl like Georgia of my own—minus the special talents, because those were overwhelming enough without the added worry of mentoring.

I gave him the best response I could, given the moment. “Nora’s of the opinion I might not be able to have children, whether I want them or not. But if I could, if we could...”

Kyle set his mug on the counter and pulled me close. I held on, tight in his embrace, listening to the beat of his heart in rhythm with mine. When he sniffled, I pulled away. His eyes, that beautiful slate-blue color, welled with tears. With a nervous laugh, he wiped away the tears before they fell and cleared his throat, his voice thick with emotion. “I’m sure you have things to do before you head to work.” His deflection acknowledged we didn’t have to talk about this now. With his feelings plain to see, I feared I’d disappoint him, regardless of what he said.

The tug on my heart told me I’d be disappointed, too, but Nora had a sense about things. If what she said was true, the decision was out of our hands. Even though I’d come to terms with my gifts, times like this made me yearn to be more normal.

Kyle cocked his head. “I’m headed across the street to get some work done. You want me to walk you into town when you go?”

I shook my head, not trusting my voice.

He nodded and rested his forehead against mine. “I’ll stop in at lunchtime to say hello.”

“Sounds good.”

He grabbed his coat and left. The rigid set of his shoulders telegraphed his effort to trust me to take care of myself and not smother me with his overprotective streak. He kept his head down and didn’t look back until he’d reached the door of his house. With an equally stiff wave, he disappeared inside.

The shop didn’t open for another couple of hours. I retreated to my workroom, took a deep breath and glanced at the cupboard that held the grimoires. “What will I need today?” The cupboard doors didn’t open. No books appeared on the table. “All right, then.”

Apparently, it was going to be a quiet day at Windfall.

Cassandra and I arrived at the same time. With a laugh about serendipity, I let her unlock the door and followed her inside. Early November snow began to fall in earnest, which meant foot traffic would be sparse.

Cassandra settled in at her sewing machine in the front window to do alterations, and I made myself a cup of hot chocolate. Ash curled up on my lap when I sat on the stool behind the counter.

“No visit from your favorite policeman to make sure we opened safely?” Cassandra asked.

“It’s his day off.”

“I guess I did see Roxanne making the rounds this morning, but I’m surprised he didn’t insist on walking you to work anyway.” Cassandra might be the one person in town who wasn’t convinced I’d made the right decision when I’d taken Kyle back.

“He’s making an effort to scale it back,” I told her.

“He’s a cop,” Cassandra replied. “Not sure you can overcome that training.”

Which wasn’t exactly what she’d said to me yesterday. What had changed her mind? “We live in Hillendale, for heaven’s sake. It isn’t as if murderers or villains run rampant.”

“Seems as if you’ve seen more than your fair share of trouble.” She lifted the presser foot with an exaggerated clunk and pulled the garment she was working on to cut the trailing threads.

“What’s got you in a mood today?”

She sighed, set the garment on her sewing table and twisted in her chair to face me. I waited, but whatever she had to say wasn’t forthcoming.

I cocked my head and raised my eyebrows. “Cassandra?”

“Okay, here it is. Lucas Ford asked me out.”

I laughed. “And that’s a problem why?”

“So did Toby Dexter.”

“First world problems,” I teased.

“No, I mean like a competition or something. What the heck, right?”

“Still not seeing the problem,” I said. “You like Lucas, right? No contest.”

Her pale complexion flushed with color. She glanced out the front window.

“Okay, first things first,” I said. “When did they ask you out?”

“At the bakery, getting coffee.”

I laughed.