The Memory Witch (13 page)

I gathered up the dishes later that night to prepare the table for dinner. Stella was stirring a stew on the stove and the aroma was already making my mouth water. I had lucked out that she turned out to be an excellent cook. My mom’s twelve-hour shifts as nurse usually meant I was on my own for meals. Microwaved dinners were usually stockpiled in our freezer to feed me while she went to work.

I reached over to place a fork on the table and then froze my hand mid-air. The back door had opened suddenly and Mason strolled casually into the kitchen. His arrival seemed to surprise Stella and she stopped what she was doing to send him a sharp look.

“Did you eat yet? I though I would come over for dinner,” he said to his aunt. He kept his eyes steady on Stella as she regarded him with disdain. I wondered if he purposely avoided looking at me. He had been kind and open while his aunt was away, but I wasn’t sure if our budding new friendship would continue with her return. He kept his feelings close to the chest and I could never gauge what he thought of me.

“You never eat with me,” she accused. “You said you were too worried about me poisoning you.”

I giggled and Mason’s blue eyes finally moved in my direction. “Can you set me a place?” he requested ignoring his aunt.

“Sure,” I mumbled and resumed my task. Despite turning my back to him, I could still feel his watchful gaze. I became hyperaware of every move I made and I tried not to flush as I snuck past him to grab another bowl from the cupboard.

“What are you really doing here, Mason? You don’t have your sights on my young witch, do you?” My shrewd mentor missed nothing. I tried to hide my blush and gathered I was likely unsuccessful by the way Stella was carefully watching me out of the corner of her eye.

It was true that I had appreciated Mason’s physical attractiveness from the moment I met him. He was always considered off-limits though because of my relationship with Tanner. Being attracted to someone else wasn’t the same as acting on the impulses. With Tanner out of the picture, a major crush was forming. Even seeing him with another girl last night didn’t damper my physical response to him.

“Can’t I just be hungry? You did have me chopping wood all day,” he reminded her. The visual of Mason chopping wood was too delightful to not bring into my head. A shirtless and sweaty Mason using his muscular build to chop wood was too delicious to not daydream over.

“Fine,” Stella conceded. “Besides I do remember you saying you would never get involved with a witch.”

I understood the last comment was for my benefit and tried to keep a bland expression on my face. However, I was never one to conceal my emotions and blurted out, “Why is that?”

Now that I had proof of my abilities, this information annoyed me. What was so wrong with being a witch? Especially if all of the women of his family had been gifted with supernatural abilities. Mason shrugged at my irritation. “It’s true,” he affirmed. My eyebrows shot up with the unspoken question clear on my face. He elaborated, “Being with a witch means you can never trust anything about your relationship. I would always suspect that she had spelled me into feeling a certain way.”

He had a point, but I wasn’t about to let him know that. “Too bad you wouldn’t really have a choice if a witch wanted you as hers. She wouldn’t need your consent to charm you into falling for her.”

Stella’s laugher filled the kitchen. “Smart girl,” she said to me before turning to her nephew. “Quinn is too intelligent to fall for you. Especially after we witnessed the continuation of your trail of tramps last night.”

“So, you were watching me?” At least Mason’s tone wasn’t accusatory. He sounded merely curious. I took back every kind thought I ever had about Stella. She had a knack for humiliation like no one else I’ve ever met.

“I heard a noise and looked outside. I didn’t mean to pry. Stella saw me looking outside at you,” I explained hastily.

“Your love life isn’t that interesting that we have to spy on you,” Stella interjected.

“I’m getting the impression I’m not wanted here,” Mason said and looked ready to bolt.

Stella walked over to her nephew and reached up to touch his cheek. “You will always have a place here.” There seemed to be a deeper meaning I wasn’t picking up on her words. Mason’s eyes softened at her words and I suddenly felt like an interloper. Lightening her tone, she said, “Besides I made a special dessert. We’re celebrating Quinn’s first cast tonight.”

Mason took a seat beside me. “You did? What was the spell?”

“Your aunt decided to practically dismember her left hand and I healed it.” I didn’t conceal the pride in my voice. Honestly, I was feeling pretty badass about the whole thing. Being able to use magic opened up a whole world of possibilities. I wasn’t going to reveal anything to Stella, but it also presented the opportunity to regain my memories. One of my primary goals for this year was to solve the mysteries surrounding my father and my selective amnesia.

Mason snorted. “My aunt lives for the theatrics.”

“You’re not kidding,” I laughed. “You should see the getup she has me put on to meet with clients.”

“Don’t pretend that you’re no loving the adoration from the clients. Girls your age love their ego petted,” Stella argued.

“I have to see it now,” Mason insisted. “Will you try it on for me?”

“No way,” I retorted.

“Go put it on. We’ll see then if he can resist a witch,” Stella urged.

“What does she mean?” Mason inquired.

“It’s an enchanted headdress. Apparently I’m such a troll that your aunt has to use magic to make me pretty enough for her visitors,” I griped.

“The men look ready to hand over all of their worldly possessions after setting their eyes on her,” Stella said to Mason and nudged him, acting as if they were co-conspirators. “Go on, Quinn and put it on before we eat. I like Mason to see my handiwork.”

“Fine. I’ll go put it on,” I seethed and marched out of the kitchen after Stella handed me the key to the back room. Without a look in the mirror, I settled the headdress on along with my cloak. As I heard voices carry from the kitchen into the hallway, I slowed my pace. Mason was speaking in an urgent whisper to Stella.

“This isn’t right…” Mason’s voice was low and argumentative.

Stella didn’t let him finish his thought. “This is my house and as long as I’m alive, you have no say in who I have stay in it.”

“She’s a young girl and you’re exploiting her for your own purposes. Let her leave and live her life,” Mason argued.

“She has too much talent to ignore. I haven’t seen raw talent like hers since your mother. She was able to cast only after a couple of minutes. Most witches have at least a dozen failures before they’re successful.”

“If you won’t let her leave, at least tell her the truth…”

“Don’t help her uncover her past. Trust me, Mason. We need to protect her from ever finding out the truth,” Stella said with conviction.

“What happened to her?”

“It’s none of your concern. You never had a problem before with how I conducted my business. Her mother owed a debt and Quinn is here to pay it. That’s as much of the story you need to know.”

A tickle in my throat forced a loud cough out of my throat. The noise halted their conversation and I continued walking into the kitchen as if I heard nothing. My focus on their discussion had me forget momentarily about my clothing. However, Mason’s inspective glare made me shift side to side and silently beg to disappear into the floorboards below.

“Isn’t she beautiful?” Stella breathed.

I looked at my feet and grimaced as I underwent his careful examination. I was holding my breath as he spoke. “I don’t like it. It makes her look unnatural. She’s much prettier the way she is.”

I could’ve cried. If Mason didn’t want me to fall for him, he was making it very complicated. A handsome, older and mysterious guy saying that I was pretty turned me into a ball of emotion. I wrung out my hands in front of me and didn’t dare meet his eyes. I wanted to hide the yearning he may find there. “Thank you,” I managed.

Stella looked put out. “I never said she wasn’t pretty. I just wanted her transformed into the beautiful witch that will enchant anyone who crosses her path.”

His aunt shot him an infuriated look when he winked at me. “You shouldn’t try to fix what isn’t broken.”

I was losing my inner battle to stop any developing feelings for Mason. In the span of minutes, he had my pulse racing in a way that I never experienced before. This was bad, I thought. Things with Tanner had developed slowly. If I were already dazzled in this manner by Mason, it would put me at even more of a risk of having my heart broken again.

After dinner, Stella ushered me and Mason out of the backdoor. She was sending him home with leftovers of the stew and the chocolate cake she had made. I balanced his trays of food while he carried a collection of packages that Stella wished for him to mail out the following day.

We moved silently across the backyard. I was trying to come up with something witty to say, but found myself at a loss. I still didn’t know much about him, which made most conversation starters awkward.

He did me a favor by breaking the silence. “My aunt is…”

“Crazy, irrational, mean-spirited,” I supplied for him.

“Yes, she can certainly be all of those things,” he agreed. “But she can also be swayed to see reason. If you’re uncomfortable with something she asks of you, don’t be afraid to say no. She won’t use magic against you or your family just because you disagree with her.”

“Thanks for the advice,” I replied as we reached his front door. It was hard to determine what Stella was capable of. Although there were brief glimpses of her humanity, I had little doubt that she would’ve made my mother lose her mind if I hadn’t agreed to come to her estate. “You know, you should come to dinner more often.”

“I think I’ve had my fill of Aunt Stella’s abuse for awhile now,” he said wryly. He ran a hand through his black hair and leaned his back against the door to his cottage. “Aunt Stella usually falls asleep early. When I was younger, I used to sneak out by putting a little bourbon in her tea. It conked her out for the night and when she woke up she was none the wiser of my exploits.” He laughed at the memory. He continued, “Anyway, it must be awful being stuck here all the time. If you want, you could come out with me one night.”

“Where?”

“My good friend is a bartender at a small pub in town. He’ll have no problem with you there if you’re with me,” Mason said.

I lowered my eyelashes and asked, “Are you asking me out?”

“Yes…as a friend,” he said and turned away from me to open the door. I frowned at his back and kicked myself for not being able to control my verbal diarrhea. I followed him inside and set the dishes on his counter. “I meant what I said about not dating witches. Besides, I’m not a good guy. You don’t want to be involved with someone like me.”

My awkwardness subsided and I giggled at his proclamation. “That’s like the worst thing to say to a girl you want to scare away. If anything it will make her want you more.”

“I mean it, Quinn,” he said. “It’s not good for either of us to pursue anything more. We’re going to be living together for the next ten months and a messy relationship would make things difficult.”

“Aren’t you full of yourself? I did just break up with my boyfriend. I’m not looking to get involved with someone else already,” I said and lifted my chin defiantly.

My answer satisfied him and he nodded. “Good. I want us to be friends. I actually never had a friend that’s a girl before.”

“Why is that? And what’s up with the one night stands?”

“It’s not like I can have a relationship. How could I introduce my aunt to anyone? If I told them she was a witch and I was her caretaker, they would think I was crazy. I couldn’t lie, too many strange things happen at Chadwick to explain away.” He shrugged and said, “It’s simply easier to not get involved.”