The Willing by Lyn Hemphill

Author:Lyn Hemphill [Hemphill, Lyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781636790848
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2022-02-01T00:27:53+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

Kitty

Peter sits me down and interrogates me about my new job on Sunday morning after church. I feel awful lying to him again. I can’t help thinking about the last time I lied, what might have happened if I’d refused, if Matt had come out to his dad before it all happened. Connor’s drawn face keeps rising in my mind and Matt’s intangibility. But what can I tell him? He wouldn’t believe the truth, not this time.

“I’m so proud of you, Kitty,” he says, and I want to cry. “You’ve worked hard for you and Sam. I know you don’t like asking for help, but won’t you consider letting Sam sleep over when you have the late shifts?”

I bite my lip. “You already do so much for us, Peter.”

“I don’t,” he says firmly. “It’s not much at all. And it helps. Having you around.”

“Oh, Peter.”

He laughs, but I can see the tears threatening. “It’s stupid, I know. But it makes me feel like I am still a father. I know I’m not yours, and I would never want to take that place for you—”

I cut him off with a tight hug, tears already sliding down my own face. “You are still a father,” I whisper fiercely in his ear.

He chuckles softly and hugs me back. When I sit back down, we laugh at each other for being so wet. “Are you sure it’s not too much to ask?” I say.

“It’s never too much to ask,” he says.

I smile, and some of the concern I’ve had over leaving Sam every night drains away. At least at the warehouse, it varied, but the Society wants me on eight to one or eleven to four. There are no day shifts. “Thank you,” I say.

It’s a late one on Monday night. I catch the last bus down to the warehouse and kick my heels until eleven, when Shivam pushes the door open from the inside. “How long’ve you been waiting?” he asks with a frown.

“Not long,” I lie, hurrying in and blowing on my hands. “What’s on the agenda today?”

He bustles back with me through the long corridors, talking about how they’ve got a client lined up already. A young woman walks past, her hair up in a professional bun and heels clicking. I wave, but she doesn’t spare me a glance. It’s like I don’t even exist. She pushes a door open, and I scurry to catch up with Shivam. It’s worth it, I tell myself. This is my only chance to find out more about magic and bring Matt back.

I’ve only been here a few days, but I’m almost beginning to settle in. Work at the Society means minutes of breathless chaos when a “case” comes through, followed by hours of boredom, kicking my heels on the other desk while Shivam casts spells, muttering to himself, or types away at the computer, ignoring me. I fluctuate between relief that I don’t have to do anything but recover in between—these new spells

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.