“Okay.” Gumbo stood, arching his back into a deep stretch. “What would you like to learn first?”
I took a moment to think about his question. I had hexes to undo and mistakes to rectify. But I wanted to be sure I did those right. I wanted something basic. A small win that would boost my confidence and help me understand myself better.
When the answer came, my entire body tingled with it.
“I know just where to start.”
CHAPTER 18
Outside the Magnolia, someone had mowed the small patches of grass on either side of our walkway. Either that or the house was able to keep it trimmed. From the board meeting, I had a vague recollection of Lydia or Lyra mentioning that House did the gardening. Maybe House was all-purpose.
Or maybe that nice, terrifying wolf with the hauntingly familiar eyes had done it.
Surveying the house much as I had on my first day, I found it hard to fight the urge to fix the entire thing. It needed a massive overhaul. But I didn’t trust myself to do that much.
“Brianne, you said I couldn’t see everyone in the lobby earlier, right?”
“That’s right.” She gnawed on her lower lip, her brow furrowing. “I think, maybe, you’re not trusted enough to see everything as it is yet.”
Ouch. I can see why she was nervous to say that. I rubbed at my heart.
“That’s fair, I suppose. I’ve only been here for like five days, and so far… I’m not off to a great start, am I?”
“You’ll fix it.” She linked our arms.
I wasn’t sure why she had so much faith in me, but I would take it. I needed all the faith I could get. In my head, I grabbed for one of my favorite songs, singing it to myself.
They said, "Babe, you gotta fake it 'til you make it" and I did.
Okay, Simone. It was time to fake it.
“So, what do you see in front of us?”
“The same thing you see, Simone.” Gumbo weaved through my legs with a soothing purr. “House is focusing all its magic inside right now. It’s barely covering the gardens.”
Hmm. So someone else was mowing the front lawn. I’d investigate that mystery another time.
For now, I wanted to focus my energies on the house, on something I could give it that would satisfy both of our needs at the moment.
“Last week when I first got here, I looked at the house with all this fear and the feeling of being overwhelmed and said something strange out loud.”
“What was it?” Gumbo ceased his weaving and sat near my feet, looking up at me.
“Something about clouds gathering but the sun coming out. I don’t remember it. I wasn’t paying attention.” I managed an awkward grin when Gumbo rolled his eyes. I had no idea a cat could roll its eyes.
“Anyway, I do remember saying that I would receive a sign that things would work out.” I dipped my head to Brianne’s shoulder. “Then you stepped outside and welcomed me.”
“Aww.” Brianne grabbed me into a fierce hug. How could I possibly let this woman down? The fear welled again, rolling in my stomach like I’d swallowed a million flies.
“Focus, Simone.” Gumbo batted at my foot to get my attention. “The most important part of accessing your ability is to focus it.”
“How did you know I wasn’t focused?”
“Let’s just say you should never play poker.”
I snorted. Jeff had always admonished me in public, telling me to turn down my face. Maybe I wasn’t as good at masking how I felt as I thought I was.
Gumbo pounced on a small ant traveling across the cobblestone, picking it up to inspect it between his tiny gold claws. With a flick of his tongue, the ant disappeared. He returned to me.
