After the Summerland (The Witches of Spring Hill Book 1) (19 page)

Chloe, Rowan, and
Kaiden look at each other trying to remember if they did. Finally Kaiden says,
“Well, we asked them directly but instead of answering us, Cian asked us what
we know about ourselves. We started talking about trust…”

Suddenly remembering
the conversation, Rowan adds what she clearly recalls, “And that was when
Xavier said he wasn’t sure if he could be trusted, remember?”

They all look at each
other, waiting for someone to say something. Finally Chloe says, “If he wasn’t
on the edge, he wouldn’t have said that, he wouldn’t have said anything. We
have an opportunity here.” Chloe suspects that her dad will now say he is
against the idea, and she is already planning her rebuttal when he surprises
everyone, probably even himself, when he says, “Well, let’s save him, then.”

“What should I do?”
Rowan asks nervously, in a rare moment of looking to Chloe for guidance. “How
can I help?”

“Well, I think you made
the first step today, Ro. I think you need to be kind to him. Remember we don’t
exactly know what he’s going through so all we can do is try to be nice. Be
yourself. Try to get him to open up to you. All we can do is set a good example
and hope that he comes around,” Chloe says, hoping that her plan will work. “I
think if we can really connect with the three of them, then the six of us will
be unstoppable — in a good way, of course,” she adds, smiling.

Marcus and Peter decide
that although they want to stay, they shouldn’t be here when Liam gets back
with the Silvans. “It seems like we are ganging up on them and that just
doesn’t seem right if we are trying to convince them we are being friendly,”
Peter says, grabbing his overnight bag. “Let’s go, son,” he says to Marcus.
Marcus looks worried, especially for his favorite granddaughter. He wishes he
could ease the worry in her heart, but all he can do is encourage her. “Don’t
worry, Ro. The boy is probably already in love with you,” he says as he hugs
her goodbye.

“Thanks, Gramps,” Rowan
replies automatically and then stops to consider what he said. She suddenly
realizes that the best way to deal with Xavier Silvan is the same way she deals
with any boy in school. Pssh, she thinks, flipping
her hair — this should be a breeze.

Once Grandpa Marcus and
GG Peter left, Rowan, Chloe, and Kaiden began preparing for their visitors.
They decided to talk in the kitchen, the most welcoming room in the house. They
briefly discussed taking them out to the clearing, but that idea was nixed when
they all agreed that it was way too soon for that.

The idea came to Chloe
to feed the Silvans food from the garden. She read in one of the books that
people in town used to think of the Scotts’ sisters food as magical. If ever
magic was needed, it was now. Although she had never taken any interest in
cooking or baking before, she went out to the garden to gather some fruit and
vegetables. She pulled out the recipe for the Scotts’ famous chocolate chip
cookies and looked in the grimoire for a spell she could cast over the food. For
her first time in the kitchen, Chloe baked with a newfound confidence. She
sang, danced, and chanted while she sifted, stirred, and mixed. The only other
time she had so much fun was when she was first learning how to garden.

After everything in the
kitchen was prepped and ready, they showered and primped. At
8:10, they anxiously watched the clock, knowing that Liam would be back anytime
with their guests. The show is about to begin, Chloe thinks as she wanders into
the family room with Rowan. She can’t help but second-guess herself, as she
wonders if they’re doing the right thing. She knows if anything happens to her
family after tonight, the fault lies with her.

Chloe and Rowan kneel on the couch, looking
out the front window and watching for headlights in the driveway. It is pitch
black outside and the longer they look, the more nervous they become. Finally,
after what seems like forever, they hear the jeep coming up the hill. Chloe
jumps up and runs to the side door to wait for them. Rowan checks her
reflection one last time in the mirror in the hallway. Kaiden ambles casually into
the kitchen, grabs a chocolate chip cookie from the plate on the table,
then
drops into one of the chairs.

“Chloe, these cookies are amazing,” Kaiden
says, reaching for another one before he’s done with the first. Chloe swats his
hand away before he can grab it and tells him to wait.

Liam climbs out of the
jeep first and walks toward the side door. Cautiously Xavier, Cian, and Brianna
follow him, still in utter shock at Liam’s friendliness. The night is so dark that
it is impossible to see anything beyond the light shining from the windows. A
fire burns somewhere nearby as the smell of smoke fills the air. Xavier
automatically looks up to find the billowing smoke, but is immediately distracted
by how many stars fill the sky.

Since moving to North
Carolina he has been drawn to the stars. In California, light pollution made it
difficult to see any stars, so actually finding the constellations was
impossible. Up here on the hill in the pitch black night, the sky is so filled
with stars that he has to search among the millions of shining lights for the
constellations he is familiar with. After a moment, he finds the Big Dipper,
the Little Dipper, and Orion’s Belt, before being nudged by his sister. He
looks at her and she nods toward Liam who is watching him closely. Somewhat embarrassed
by being observed by Liam and remembering that Brianna probably heard every
thought in his head including his desire to just lay in the grass and observe
the night sky, he nudges her back and catches up to Liam who waits by the side
door.

Liam looks up at the
sky and says to Xavier, “I was in awe the first night I saw the stars up here,
too. It’s hard not to be. You must know that your craft is stronger during
celestial events, which explains your fascination with the sky.” With that Liam
opens the door and welcomes Xavier, Brianna, and Cian into their home.

Walking into the warm kitchen,
they are bombarded with comforting sensations. A fire burns in the hearth and
several beeswax candles burn bright on the island, giving off the sweet aroma
of honey. The scent of freshly baked cookies lingers in the air, reminding them
of their childhood when their mom had cookies waiting for them when they got
home from school. A large bouquet of fresh flowers sits in the middle of the
table along with a plate of fruits and vegetables, chips and dip, and of course
the cookies that were responsible for the mouthwatering aroma in the air. The
kitchen is warm, cozy, and comfortable and by how relaxed Chloe, Rowan, and
Kaiden look, it is evident that they are welcoming Cian, Xavier, and Brianna
into their home with good will. Walking into this homey scene certainly helped
to eliminate the anxiety they were feeling in the jeep on the way up to the
house.

Chloe gets up and walks
straight to Cian, embraces him, and says, “Welcome to our home. I’m so glad
you’re here.”

“Thanks, Chloe. We’re
glad to be here,” Cian responds looking only slightly uncomfortable to be
hugging her in front of Liam. He says hello to Kaiden and Rowan, who is
surprisingly warmer than the last time he saw her.

Picking up on that same
vibe, Xavier walks toward Rowan with his arms outstretched, “What, Rowan? No
hug?”

She smiles, both a
little disappointed and happy that he called her by her name and not Red, but she
quickly shakes her head, “No, Jet. I’m not quite as nice as my sister — as I’m
sure you already know, but c’mon over here and have a seat next to me,” she
says indicating the chair on the end of the table right next to her.

Kaiden gets up and
gives Cian and Xavier a bro hug before they sit down and then walks over to Brianna.
“Hey, Brianna. Welcome,” he says sweetly.

Brianna blushes and
says, “Hi everyone. Thanks for having us.”

Liam, uncomfortable by
all the teenage awkwardness in the room, shakes his head, grabs a cookie and
says, “I’ll leave you guys to talk. I’ll be in the family room; holler if you
need me.”

After everyone settles
in their chairs around the table, Chloe looks around at how comfortable
everyone seems with each other. Feeling emboldened by the spells she cast
earlier she says, “We wanted to get together tonight because we want to tell
you everything about ourselves, in the hopes that you will do the same.”

Xavier, Cian, and
Brianna agree to tell them what they know about themselves and their abilities.
Xavier realizes that before anything is said, he needs to explain what he meant
at the library when he said he is not sure he can be trusted. “Before we start,
I need you to understand why I’m not sure I can be trusted,” he says. “First, I
want
everyone to trust me, and it’s
not that I’ll do anything to break your trust intentionally, but I can’t be
sure that what you tell me is safe from my Aunt Selene.”

When no one replies, he
continues, “I am pretty sure my Aunt Selene can read my mind. I’m not sure if
she cast a spell on me making my thoughts transparent to her, or if it is just
one of her abilities, but on more than one occasion she has replied to
something I thought to myself. I don’t say anything when she does it so she
won’t know I’ve noticed her ability and I have tried to find a way to block
her, but so far I haven’t been successful. And honestly, I’m not sure if I even
should block her because it would just tip her off that I’m trying to keep
something from her, which would only make her more aggressive.”

Cian looks over at
Xavier,
relieved that he is acting like his old self: open
and honest. Cian isn’t sure what changed with Xavier but he hopes that what he
just admitted won’t ruin the conversation that needs to be had here tonight.

Chloe looks at her
brother and sister, trying to decide if they should say anything after all, but
before she can say anything, Brianna says, “You should have told me about this,
Xavier. I know what you need to keep her from invading your mind. I have it at
home and I’ll give it to you as soon as we get back. She won’t be able to read
your mind unless you want her to, which really, why would you want her to?”

“Won’t Aunt Selene become
suspicious if all of a sudden she’s unable to read Xavier, though,” Cian asks
his sister.

“At this point,
if
she says something to him, Xavier can
say he is practicing blocking spells because he suspects the Alexanders are
attempting to read his mind. Since he is the closest to Selene, it would make
sense that he would want to protect what he knows,” Brianna replies.

“I like it,” Xavier
says, grateful that his sister has a solution.

Looking at Chloe, Cian
adds, “I’ll make sure he gets what he needs; don’t worry.” Chloe nods, trusting
Cian completely.

Rowan starts where they
left off at the library, again explaining that it wasn’t until recently that
they learned about their history. As Rowan repeats what was said earlier, Cian
returns his gaze to Chloe, who seems more confident and more beautiful than
ever. He doesn’t know if it’s the power of the land or just being at home that
makes her eyes a little brighter and her confidence a little stronger, but
whatever it is, he can’t stop looking at her. He was a bit surprised at her
boldness in hugging him in front of Liam. Even if it wasn’t the first time they
hugged, it was the first time they hugged in front of their families.

The first time was Friday
at school when they were just walking to Spanish together and suddenly he
couldn’t resist her pull a moment longer. In the middle of the hallway, he
stopped, turned toward her, and wrapped his arms around her tightly. They were
both pleasantly surprised at the full body electricity that moved between them.
It took everything for him not to kiss her right then and there, but he did not
want their first kiss to be in the middle of the hallway. No, he wanted to wait
until they could be alone together, but he can’t wait to taste her lips and wonders
what kind of electricity will pass between them then. Their connection is
getting stronger and Cian can’t help but notice that the more time he spends
around Chloe, the stronger his abilities are getting. He wonders if the same
thing is happening to her.

Chloe feels the
butterflies start up in her stomach when she notices how Cian is looking at
her. She has to ignore it for now, although she can’t help but recognize the
desire she has for him. Just being near him reminds her of the feeling she gets
when she sinks into a hot bath when she’s cold. The warmth spreads over every
part of her body, awakening her senses and bringing her back to life. She knows
that it is not natural to feel this way for someone she just met, but her soul
recognizes his soul on a much deeper level that transcends the human
experience. It is as if her soul recognizes him from times before and has only
been waiting to meet up with him again.

She comes back to the
present when she hears her sister ask, “Chloe? Do you want to take it from here?”
She knows Rowan was going to explain how they recently learned about their
history, and even though she has no idea what her sister just said, she begins
telling them about the Scott sisters who lived in the house before them. She
continues the whole story just as her GG Peter and Grandpa Marcus explained to
them. She waits for their reactions before continuing with what they discovered
in the books and grimoires left for them.

Brianna is the first to
respond, “Wow. That is… amazing. I have never even heard about the
Summerland before now and we’ve been doing this for five years. Have you guys?”
she asks Cian and Xavier.

They are both surprised
at their sister’s admission of practicing for five years, but shake their heads
no and Kaiden asks, “Well, why do you do what you do? What motivates you?”