Chasing the Witch (Boston Witches) (2 page)

“Of course, Car, take as much time as you need. I know how frustrating this has been for you. Do you think you’ll get through to him this time? He didn’t seem to take you seriously when you packed up your stuff.”

“I don’t know. I hope so; I’m so ready to just be done with all of this.” They all headed to the table and dug into the pasta and salad.

“How was the happy family when you left?” William asked.

Caroline smiled. “They were great. Em looks so happy, motherhood definitely suits her. Camille is too cute; I couldn’t get enough of her.”

“I know, Emily really is over the moon,” Jilly said. They finished dinner and she and William cleaned up so Caroline could arrange her travel plans for next week. Once they were finished, they curled up on the couch and watched TV. Jilly turned to him an hour later. “I want ice cream, would you like some?”

“If you get a big bowl I’ll have some of yours.”

“No thank you, you know I don’t share my ice cream,” Jilly said with a laugh.

“In that case yes, I’ll take some.”

She sat forward and said a quick spell and two bowls of ice cream appeared in front of them, chocolate for her and mint chip for William.

“So what do you want to do this weekend?” William asked as they ate their ice cream. He was so proud of her. Jilly had really grown into her power in the past few months. The simplest spells were conjured with only a thought. It was funny to think it had taken William’s psycho ex-girlfriend, Sabine, to help unleash the magic within her.

“I have to work Saturday morning until about eleven, but after that I’m free for anything you want to do. Did you have something specific in mind?” She licked the ice cream from her spoon.

“I was thinking we could maybe take my boat out for a while. What do you think?”

“Sure, that sounds nice; maybe we can do a picnic or something.”

He stood up, “I think I’m going to head out now. I’ll call you tomorrow sometime. I’ve got some stuff to do around town for most of the day. Are you working tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I’m off at five. I’m taking some of Em’s clients while she’s on maternity leave; so I’m going to be slammed all day. I’m so ready for the weekend, it’s been such a long few days.”

“Well you only have like a day and a half and then we can relax on the boat.” He kissed her goodbye and left.

The next afternoon William sat in his car waiting for Caroline to show up. A few minutes later, she pulled in next to him with a knowing expression on her face as she eyed the sign for the store.

“Sorry I’m late, I couldn’t find my keys,” she said as they walked into the store.

“It’s ok. I only just got here, too.” They walked around for a few minutes looking at all of the display cases. Caroline got googly-eyed over all the sparkling diamonds.

A salesperson came up behind them as they looked. “What can I help you find today?”

“I’m looking for a ring,” William said. Caroline squeezed his arm, squealing with delight. They perused the rings for a while and William narrowed it down to two choices. The first was a two-carat cushion cut solitaire on a narrow platinum band covered with pave diamond. The second was a three stone round cut on a thick white gold band totaling a little over two and a half carats.

“Which one do you think she’d like best? I’m leaning towards the solitaire, but I’m not sure.”

“I honestly think she’d like the solitaire best. It looks more her style,” Caroline said. William nodded, happy that she reaffirmed what he’d been thinking.

“Ok, I’m going to take this one,” he said to the salesperson. “How long will it take to be sized?” The gravity of the purchase he was making began to sink in. The rest of his life with Jilly could not come soon enough. He was ready for all of it.

“We have a jeweler on site, so I can actually have it done in a few hours and you can pick it up before closing.”

William turned to Caroline. “What size is she?”

“I’m a seven. But her hands are smaller than mine, so I would say a six.”

He paid for his purchase and they walked back to the cars, together..

“I’m so excited for you guys,” she gushed. “When are you going to pop the question?”

“I’m taking her out on the boat, tomorrow; so I think I’ll do it then when we’re out on the water.”

“Oh, that’s so romantic,” she said, putting a hand to her heart.

He looked at his watch; it was only 2:30. “Do you want to grab some lunch before you head to work?”

“Yeah, I was just going to ask if you were hungry. Plus, I can grab Jill something because I know she won’t have eaten.” They drove to a small deli down the street from the salon and grabbed a couple sandwiches, sitting outside in the sun to eat.

“This place is so good, it’s almost like being back in New York,” Caroline said.

“Do you miss it? This must be a big change for you. You lived there for six years, this must seem so quiet.”

“I miss parts of it, like being able to get any kind of food I want at any hour of the day. But I grew up here, so it’s not that much of an adjustment.”

“It’s probably nice to be with family again, too.” William said between bites.

More than you know. I was so alone without Jilly. I couldn’t understand her closeness to our mom and I felt left out, so I closed myself off from her when we were teenagers. I know she needed me after our mom died, but I didn’t know how to bust through the wall I had put up. As much as I hate Jack right now, he gave me back my sister. With us working together at the salon and my weekly magic lessons, we’ve never been closer or more connected. I know now, what I gave up all those years ago when I left...” Her voice cracked with emotion and she quickly wiped a tear that had slid down her cheek.

William reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “I wasn’t with her before, but I know how happy she is to have you back, too. She’s told me that she feels like she can really start living again, now that you’re back. As close as she is to Emily, it’s not the same as it is with you guys.”

“It means a lot to hear that, thank you. I will say this to you, William, if you ever hurt her, you’ll have me and Emily to answer to and you don’t want to mess with us.” She said the last part lightly, but he could feel the seriousness in her voice.

“I have no intention of hurting her, believe me. She’s the best thing to happen to me in hundreds of years.”

William had just finished picking up the supplies for tomorrow’s outing when he got the call that the ring was ready. After picking it up, he drove to the harbor to drop off the food and speak to the captain. Ten minutes later, he was walking up the ramp to his boat. He always called it a boat, which made Jilly laugh. Calling it a boat was the same as referring a Rolls-Royce as simply a car. In reality, it was a one hundred and fifty foot luxury yacht, complete with every amenity known to man. William bought it shortly after meeting Jilly, thinking that they could make use of it together in the future.

“Hey Rick, are you here?” William called as he walked through to the galley.

“Will?” a voice called from the top of the stairs.

“Yeah, it’s me. I have to drop some stuff off in the galley and I’ll be up in a minute.” Rick was an old friend of his who was a retired crab boat captain. He had hired Rick five years ago to take charge of his fleet of boats and hadn’t questioned that decision once. He had a gruff no-nonsense type of personality that suited him well. William thought he was around sixty, but he had never asked and Rick had never offered it up.

“What can I do for you, Will? I’m a busy man,” he said as William came through the door. William grinned at him.

“I’m going to propose to Jill, tomorrow. I want to take the boat out and do it on the water.”

“That’s wonderful, Will! It’s about time you settled down,” Rick said as he clapped him on the back. “I’ll tell the crew to make this place shine by tomorrow.”

“Thanks, I knew I could count on you. Hey, there’s a bunch of extra steaks and stuff in the fridge for you guys. Have a nice dinner on me in thanks for tomorrow.”

Rick smiled. “I’m sure the crew will appreciate that. Now get out of here so we can start getting ready.”

“Ok, ok, I’m going. I’ll see you around one,” he said as he walked through the door.

Jilly pulled her car into the driveway at 6:30 with a sore back and feeling exhausted. All she wanted to do was eat dinner and soak in a hot bath until her skin turned into a raisin. She heard the phone ringing as she climbed the steps to the door. She didn’t get to it in time and heard William’s voice on the machine.

“Hey Jill, it 's me. I think I’m going to stay in tonight. We’ve had a long week and I figured you’d be tired after your day. You can call me later if you’d like. Love you.” Jilly smiled, he really did know her. She went into the kitchen, grabbed some leftover soup from the fridge and popped it in the microwave. Picking up the phone, she punched in his number while she kicked off her shoes.

“Hey, love, I just got in. I’m so tired. Today felt like it went on, forever.”

“I know I had a long day, too. I was running errands getting stuff for tomorrow.”

“I think I’m just going to take a bath and go to bed. I can’t wait until tomorrow; I’m so ready to relax.”

“Well, get a good night’s sleep. We can relax for the rest of the weekend after you get off. I love you.”

“Love you too, sweetie, bye.” Jilly snagged the soup out of the microwave and gulped it down while standing over the sink. After cleaning up her mess, she climbed the stairs to her room. Walking into the bathroom, she tied her hair up in a knot and turned on the tub. She undressed and took a book from her nightstand and hopped in the tub for a nice long soak.

William looked at the clock as he headed out the door. It was 6:45 and the air was cold on his skin. He tightened his scarf, pulled up his collar and started into the night. Within thirty minutes, he was walking through the gates of the cemetery. Fog rolled along the ground, giving the place an eerie white glow. With quick steps, he headed straight back to the tombs. Leaves crunched under his feet as he walked. Stopping in front of the last one, he got the metal folding chair he kept behind the bush next to it and sat down.