Dead and Dusted by Lily Webb (most recommended books .TXT) 📗

“I see Oliver’s given you another gift,” Thorn said, and reached up to push a stray lock of hair away. Goosebumps raced across my neck and back as his fingertip grazed my skin. “For what it’s worth, I wouldn’t care if you were dodging work; Lilith knows you more than any of us could use a break.”

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were calling the rest of us lazy, Thorn,” Jadis said with a mischievous look.

“Well, if the robes fit,” Thorn fired back, and Jadis’ jaw dropped. She opened her mouth to sling a response, but Aunt Kiki raised her hands.

“Now, now, kids, we don’t want this devolving into a food fight, do we?” she asked, and Aunt Blair chuckled at her.

“Oh, could you imagine wasting such wonderful food on something like that?” Flora asked.

“It would be a crime against humanity,” I said, to laughter from everyone. “Emile would never forgive us.”

“Exactly, so why don’t we eat before we’re further tempted?”

“You don’t have to ask me twice,” Thorn said and pulled out a chair for me. “After you.”

“Aw, such a classic gentleman. Who says chivalry is dead?” Jadis teased as she sat down on my other side. Normally, I would’ve reacted to the comment, but as Thorn sat down and reached under the table to slip his hand into mine, it was all I could focus on.

I flashed him a smile, and his face flushed. Somehow, I didn’t think I’d ever tire of watching that happen — and I hoped it never would. I didn’t know or understand how, but I seemed to have some strange power over Thorn, one that reduced a normally confident, headstrong young man into a lovesick little boy. I didn’t think it was something I’d ever say, but I had to admit that I enjoyed it.

For months, I’d been so afraid of letting Thorn — or really anyone besides Jadis — get too close to me. Before meeting Aunt Blair for the first time and coming to Starfall Valley, my life had been such a disaster. I’d dropped out of nursing school, gotten disowned by my parents for it, and was sharing an apartment with Jadis and two other girls who worked at the same coffee shop as me. I truly thought my life was going nowhere, and that everything that’d happened to me was what I’d deserved, which made me highly suspicious of anyone who wanted to get close. What could they want with a loser like me?

But Thorn was different. He still didn’t know about all that baggage, and I wasn’t sure I’d ever tell him, but that was because I didn’t think it would matter to him in the slightest — and because, amazingly enough, I felt like I’d finally moved on. Thorn, unlike so many other people I’d met, saw me exactly for who and what I was, and rather than scaring him off, what he saw attracted him to me. If that couldn’t make me believe I was worthy, then nothing ever would.

I stole another glance at Thorn as Kiki and Blair set down the dishes and unwrapped them, filling the air with the smell of all kinds of delicious food. As lovely as the moment was, and as much as I appreciated my newfound family, I couldn’t help wondering what it would be like to have my parents be part of it all. Their rejection had stung much more than I’d let on, and I wasn’t sure we’d ever be able to repair our relationship — especially after I learned about how they’d treated Aunt Blair all those years ago and left her hanging too — but part of me still wanted to try.

Surviving the avalanche had really made me step back to appreciate all that I had because I’d gotten so close to losing it, but it also reminded me that there were people and things I’d already lost. Was there some way that I could bring these two disparate worlds together? And if there was, would they gel? The line of thinking brought me back to the oreads, and the fragile balance between humanity and nature I’d recently come face-to-face with. If we could maintain that equilibrium, why couldn’t I also find a balance between my old life and my new one?

As I glanced at the table and people around me — Aunt Blair, Aunt Kiki, Jadis, and Thorn — I couldn’t imagine what my parents would think of it all. The thought of the two most conservative, uptight people I knew one day sitting down to dinner with my ragtag band of witches, warlocks, fairies, and vampires was so absurd it made me laugh. So why did I want it so badly?

“Something funny?” Blair asked.

I hesitated, unsure whether sharing what I’d been thinking about might dampen the mood, but ultimately gave in. “I was thinking about my mom and dad joining us for something like this someday.”

“Ha! That is funny,” Blair said. “Could you imagine Lacy and Michael here? I think seeing all the magic around would break their oh-so-rational little brains. You know what? Actually, now that I think about it, I’d pay to see something like that.”

“Do you think they’d actually come? I mean, if we invited them?”

Blair raised an eyebrow at me. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think you were serious about this.”

I shrugged. “Why not? The avalanche has got me thinking.”

A warm, understanding smile bloomed on Blair’s face as she sat down across from me and rested her hands in her lap. “I suppose there’s only one way to find out, love.”

“So you’re okay with it?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? I haven’t seen my sister in twenty years. It would be nice to catch up. That said, I don’t want you to get your hopes up, Selena. They may or may not accept, but even if they do, I don’t want you to set your expectations too high. I know from