right there,” I replied,
holding my palm out. “If you continue on with that sentence, I may
have to kill myself to cleanse my mind.”
Coming up beside me, she laughed and put her
arms around my shoulders, squeezing me to her. “I wasn’t going to
say anything that would scar you. Just that he’s really good.”
“Ugh, Mom. That’s plenty of scarring right
there and definitely more than I need to know.” I hugged her
back.
“You should be happy about that. All that
love created you.”
“By accident,” I added, knowing I was an
unplanned pregnancy.
“By accident or not, it doesn’t mean any
less love was used in your creation.”
Pulling away, I stared at her. “What was it
like to fall in love so young?”
Mom smiled. “It was both wonderful and
scary, and most certainly difficult at times. So many things were
going on.”
“If you had to do it all over again, would
you?”
“In a heartbeat. That’s what your dad
doesn’t understand. He feels he failed me somehow, that he took
away my life. He doesn’t realize that it’s because of him I have a
life worth living. He’s everything to me—my world—both of you. I
will always be perfectly happy as long as I have the two of you.
Vance mistakenly believes he owes me something—that he still needs
to atone for past sins. I disagree. Yes, we had some really tough
times, but we stood by each other and made it through. That’s all
that matters—that through everything that was thrown at us, our
love for each other never died. I don’t get how he doesn’t see
that.”
“Mom, I know you used to have a mental
connection with him, like he does with me. You should know, there
are times he lets his guard down—times I hear the thoughts he
thinks about you.”
“And what do you hear?” she asked, staring
softly into my eyes.
“Let me put it this way . . .
someday I hope a man will love me like that. He misses you, Mom—the
whole you, I mean. Guilt eats at him to the core. He hates that he
led you down a road that eventually resulted in the loss of your
magic. The feeling that was between you—that bond, both magical and
mental—healed something inside him. When he lost that connection
with you, he felt like he lost his stability.”
“Why has he never shared this with me?”
“Because he doesn’t know how to repair it,
and he doesn’t want you to think you’re somehow “less” in his eyes.
He still loves you as much as ever, but this wound inside him has
never healed and the pain of it only grows stronger. He loves you,
Mom . . . all of you. And wants you back—just the way you
were. I don’t think he can rest until he finds a way to make that
happen.”
Tears welled in her eyes. “I don’t want him
to hurt, Kenna. I want him to be at peace. The poor man has hardly
known a moment of calm in his life since he went on the run with
your grandma, Krista. I just want him to be happy—truly happy.”
“Then encourage him in finding a way to
reintroduce your magic to you. You know he would never risk
anything that would bring your demonic attributes back to the
surface. Plus, I think it would be fun to get to know my mother,
the witch.”
“I’ve always been a witch, just not one with
powers.”
“I know, but I want to actually practice
with you. Wouldn’t that be fun?”
Smiling, she hugged me again. “I think it
would be.”
~~~
“Dinner was delicious, Mrs. Mangum. Thank
you,” Seth said politely, folding his napkin and dropping it beside
his plate.
“Please, Seth, call us both by our first
names, Vance and Portia. We aren’t very formal around here.”
Seth cast a semi-nervous glance at my dad
who, in turn, was shooting daggers at my mom. She was obviously
unaware that Dad had insisted on being called Mr. Mangum. It was
hard not to laugh.
“Yes, thank you, Mom. It was awesome.”
Glancing between both my parents, I smiled. “I promised Seth I’d
show him around the house. Is that okay with both of
holding my palm out. “If you continue on with that sentence, I may
have to kill myself to cleanse my mind.”
Coming up beside me, she laughed and put her
arms around my shoulders, squeezing me to her. “I wasn’t going to
say anything that would scar you. Just that he’s really good.”
“Ugh, Mom. That’s plenty of scarring right
there and definitely more than I need to know.” I hugged her
back.
“You should be happy about that. All that
love created you.”
“By accident,” I added, knowing I was an
unplanned pregnancy.
“By accident or not, it doesn’t mean any
less love was used in your creation.”
Pulling away, I stared at her. “What was it
like to fall in love so young?”
Mom smiled. “It was both wonderful and
scary, and most certainly difficult at times. So many things were
going on.”
“If you had to do it all over again, would
you?”
“In a heartbeat. That’s what your dad
doesn’t understand. He feels he failed me somehow, that he took
away my life. He doesn’t realize that it’s because of him I have a
life worth living. He’s everything to me—my world—both of you. I
will always be perfectly happy as long as I have the two of you.
Vance mistakenly believes he owes me something—that he still needs
to atone for past sins. I disagree. Yes, we had some really tough
times, but we stood by each other and made it through. That’s all
that matters—that through everything that was thrown at us, our
love for each other never died. I don’t get how he doesn’t see
that.”
“Mom, I know you used to have a mental
connection with him, like he does with me. You should know, there
are times he lets his guard down—times I hear the thoughts he
thinks about you.”
“And what do you hear?” she asked, staring
softly into my eyes.
“Let me put it this way . . .
someday I hope a man will love me like that. He misses you, Mom—the
whole you, I mean. Guilt eats at him to the core. He hates that he
led you down a road that eventually resulted in the loss of your
magic. The feeling that was between you—that bond, both magical and
mental—healed something inside him. When he lost that connection
with you, he felt like he lost his stability.”
“Why has he never shared this with me?”
“Because he doesn’t know how to repair it,
and he doesn’t want you to think you’re somehow “less” in his eyes.
He still loves you as much as ever, but this wound inside him has
never healed and the pain of it only grows stronger. He loves you,
Mom . . . all of you. And wants you back—just the way you
were. I don’t think he can rest until he finds a way to make that
happen.”
Tears welled in her eyes. “I don’t want him
to hurt, Kenna. I want him to be at peace. The poor man has hardly
known a moment of calm in his life since he went on the run with
your grandma, Krista. I just want him to be happy—truly happy.”
“Then encourage him in finding a way to
reintroduce your magic to you. You know he would never risk
anything that would bring your demonic attributes back to the
surface. Plus, I think it would be fun to get to know my mother,
the witch.”
“I’ve always been a witch, just not one with
powers.”
“I know, but I want to actually practice
with you. Wouldn’t that be fun?”
Smiling, she hugged me again. “I think it
would be.”
~~~
“Dinner was delicious, Mrs. Mangum. Thank
you,” Seth said politely, folding his napkin and dropping it beside
his plate.
“Please, Seth, call us both by our first
names, Vance and Portia. We aren’t very formal around here.”
Seth cast a semi-nervous glance at my dad
who, in turn, was shooting daggers at my mom. She was obviously
unaware that Dad had insisted on being called Mr. Mangum. It was
hard not to laugh.
“Yes, thank you, Mom. It was awesome.”
Glancing between both my parents, I smiled. “I promised Seth I’d
show him around the house. Is that okay with both of
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