Page 73 of Rafe

“And I’m his mother, Ilsbeth.” The witch strode toward Skylar’s mom and offered her hand.

“Ilsbeth and I met in New Orleans. She’s quite the talented m—” Skylar’s mouth gaped open as Ilsbeth interrupted.

“Witch.” The High Priestess offered a cool smile, her shoulders back with a perfect posture.

Skylar’s stomach dropped. She glanced to Rafe who grimaced.

“A witch? How interesting,” Her mom stood and shook Ilsbeth hand. “Well it’s lovely to meet you too. Would you like a glass of wine? What brings you to Port Townsend?”

“She’s a psychic. You know, mom. It’s New Orleans.” Skylar looked to Rafe, who nodded.

“Oh honey.” her mom replied with delight. “We’re so happy to meet Rafe’s mom. What a wonderful job you must have. A witch. Amazing.”

“At least someone appreciates my gift,” Ilsbeth replied blithely.

“I invited her to come here. They were in the area. And well, they only have a few minutes to stay.”

“What business are you in?” Her dad nodded towards Sebastian and Greyson.

“Modeling,” Sebastian replied without missing a beat.

“Mom. Dad. I know you must have a million questions, but I really need to show Ilsbeth the yard. They, uh, they actually have a flight to catch. Sorry I wasn’t expecting you’d be back. It was kind of a surprise nature blessing kind of thing.”

“I know you’ve been in New Orleans for a few years, but I didn’t think you’d become so involved with the occult.” Her father appeared otherwise unfazed. He stabbed at a piece of cheese and turned to her mom. “Patty, do we have any frozen meatballs?”

“I think we’ve got some in there from last month. I’ve also got some gnocchi. They’ll go perfect with the olive oil we brought back from Croatia.” Her mom turned to Rafe, who slid into the chair next to her. She placed her hand onto his forearm. “You sure you can’t stay for dinner later?”

“No.” Both Rafe and Skylar said at the same time.

With her heart pounding in her chest she gestured toward the sliding glass door. “We can go out back. We’d love to have you next time you’re in town. Mom, they’ve got to catch a flight.”

“Lovely meeting you,” Ilsbeth waved.

“Truly a pleasure,” Sebastian gave a bow and winked at Skylar’s mom.

“No flirting with my wife, pretty boy,” Neil growled.

“Thank you. We’ll be in and out, I assure you. Like she said, we’ve got to go. Definitely next time, I’d love to try your meatballs.” Greyson nodded with a smile and filed outside to the yard.

Skylar rushed behind them and closed the door. She gave her mom a wave through the glass. She turned away, concealing her facial expressions from her parents. No longer able to act, Skylar’s nerves came undone like a ball of yarn.

“Oh my God. Modeling? Seriously?” She sighed and shook her head. “I mean not that you both aren’t good looking. Okay, yeah, I guess you could be models but really? I am not that good of an actress for this.”

“Your mother is lovely. She has a positive aura,” Ilsbeth replied. “Especially for a human. She definitely has a toe into our world.”

“I assure you she does not. She just retired from teaching five years ago, enjoys things like going to lunch with her friends and traveling. She lives here not New Orleans.”

“Oh dear. You’d be surprised.” Ilsbeth set her bag onto a bench and looked to the water. “Take you for instance.”

“There is nothing woo-woo about me,” she countered.

“But you are my son’s human. You’ve done more than dip a toe into the magick of our world, but this can be discussed later. Right now. I set the wards.”

Skylar wove the strands of her damp hair into a thick braid and tossed it over her shoulder. Emotion swirled in her chest, her heart heavy with guilt. She recognized love when she saw it, and her parents were, without a doubt, in her mind crushing hard on Rafe more than she was. And through all the insanity of Ilsbeth coming to ‘bless the home’, showing up with two extraordinary gentlemen who appeared swift to charm them as well, she’d resigned herself to leaving the safety of home once again.

She reached for the moisturizer, dripped the lotion onto her fingertips and applied it onto her face. What could she possibly tell her very human mother about what was really happening? She suspected her mom would be more likely to adapt to the paranormal. At least she’d had her cards read one time when she’d come to visit her. Her dad would never understand. Mumbo Jumbo is what her dad would call it.

It had been painful to lie to her parents about why she had to leave. Yet Rafe’s witty conversation and plentiful compliments appeared to bewitch her parents, convinced they’d both return once they’d had a few days to relax. He’d told her parents that he’d hired her as a consultant of sorts, that his eccentric ‘mother’ had a rare book collection he needed Skylar to assess. The tale grew longer and more convincing, so much so it made her curious as to what treasures Ilsbeth held within her Garden District mansion. Within minutes, her parents had forgotten their disappointment and Rafe had agreed to come to Thanksgiving dinner.