“My being appreciated is more important to you than me,” I said. “It’s nice to be appreciated, but that’s not why I do what I do.”
“I know, but if you could work out in the open, things would be better for you.”
“In theory. They might be more difficult, too.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, what if things go really well and Steve decides to lean on me constantly because he finds out there are far more paranormal issues in this part of the state than he realized?”
Landon’s forehead creased. “I did not consider that.”
“We’re not the only ones fighting monsters. Scout is taking on her fair share—and then some—in Hawthorne Hollow. Stormy has gnomes coming out of her butt. Not literally or anything, because that would be weird now that we know Easton better, but she’s inundated with problems. From what happened with Charlie, we know there are other battles going on in other places.”
Landon nodded. “You’re worried that the people you love could be exposed.”
“It would be one thing for my immediate family to be exposed,” I conceded. “Mom, Marnie, and Twila aren’t anything more than they pretend to be. They’re kitchen witches who offer up the occasional helping hand in a fight.
“Thistle and Clove are a bit stronger, but they’ve been absent from a lot of the fights of late,” I continued. “Clove needed the break for Calvin, and I think she’ll be happy to dabble from time to time. Thistle is really hard to read right now because she has other things going on.
“Even if the two of them faced a bit of blowback, their magic isn’t fancy,” I explained. “As for Aunt Tillie…” I paused, licking my lips.
“She’s been putting on magical displays for decades and nothing can hurt her at this point,” Landon finished for me.
“That’s pretty much it in a nutshell,” I agreed. “She’ll be fine. Scout and Stormy are a different matter. What if me getting involved with the FBI puts them in danger?”
Landon was quiet for several moments. When he spoke again, his voice was even. “You’re assuming that the FBI doesn’t already know about them.”
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. “What are you saying? What does the FBI know?” My temper ratcheted up.
“Hey, no.” Landon grabbed my elbow and shook his head. “If they know something about Scout and Stormy, they’ve kept it hidden from me. I would not keep that information from you. Come on. You know that.”
I was contrite. “I’m sorry. That’s what I’m worried about. Right now, at least, Steve seems to think that everything is all white witches and dark demons. He hasn’t seen all the shades of gray yet. What happens if he learns the truth about Evan?”
“I noticed that he fled pretty quickly tonight,” Landon said. “He stayed long enough to make sure we were safe until Steve and Spencer arrived. Then he was gone … fast.”
“I don’t blame him.”
“I have no idea how we’d explain a vampire who has his soul thanks to pixie magic and can walk under the sun,” Landon said.
“Evan isn’t even our worst problem. We can cover for the vampire stuff if we have to, but Easton and the gnomes are a bigger problem.”
“I don’t think we should mention them to Steve,” Landon replied, his expression earnest. “For now, let’s focus on you. Let Steve get used to what you can do, because he really has no cluewhat you’re capable of. He knows that Aunt Tillie enchanted a bunch of Christmas decorations and clown dolls, and that you used magic to help with the changeling situation. He has no idea of the other things you are capable of.”
“Like order ghosts to do my bidding,” I murmured.
“That’s definitely something that would throw him,” Landon agreed. “The necromancer thing took me a bit of time to wrap my head around too.”
“And you knew a lot more about the paranormal world then.”
“So, maybe the answer is to keep it vague.” Landon tugged me in front of him as the guesthouse came into view and pressed a quick kiss behind my ear. “He won’t know if you’re keeping things to yourself, Bay,” he said in a low voice. “If you do something at some point that surprises him and he asks why you didn’t tell him, you can say you assumed he already knew.”
“Or we keep it much lighter when he’s around,” I said. “We don’t do any big magic in front of an audience. Locator spells and the occasional light show won’t freak them out. Talking to ghosts, creating an army of clown dolls, and controlling the weather are other matters entirely.”
“I would definitely keep the weather thing under wraps,” Landon agreed. “As for the rest of it, it’s a good idea to keep it vague, Bay. If we need to tell him more as things progress, we’ll take it on a case-by-case basis.”
I inserted my key into the lock, and we went inside. Landon immediately unclipped Winchester, who made a beeline for our bedroom so he could get his favorite spot on the bed. Landon followed me into the kitchen.
“You’ve had a rough night,” he noted, his fingers brushing against my cheek as I filled a glass with water. “Between bodies, new possibilities in law enforcement, and Margaret Little, I think you need a massage.”
