Ring of Light (20 page)

Cooper started to say something and stopped. She opened her mouth, trying to think of some smart retort. But she couldn't come up with one. The fact was, T.J. was right. She
was
afraid. But no one had made her say it, and she'd been hiding behind her usual shield of bravado and self-righteousness.

“I'm afraid it won't work,” she said finally. “I'm afraid that I'll get into it again and it will all spin out of control like it did before.”

“If someone told you that it wouldn't, would you do it?” he asked.

Cooper thought about that. For a while Wicca had been the best thing in her life. Doing rituals with Annie and Kate. Attending events with the members of the coven. Even the first frightening encounters with Elizabeth Sanger's ghost. They had all changed her life in dramatic and wonderful ways.

“Yes,” she said. “I would.”

“Then like I said, you're being a coward.”

“But no one can promise me it won't go bad again,” Cooper countered.

“No one can promise you that
anything
won't go bad,” said T.J. “No one can tell you that your music will be good, or that you'll always be able to write lyrics, or that you and I will always be together. But you took chances on those things. Are you going to give up on them now because one day they might not work out the way you expect them to, or the way you want them to? Because if you are, then I don't see much point in us making music or in us being a couple.”

Cooper didn't respond. She just stood there, staring at T.J. and thinking about what he'd said. It made sense. There were no guarantees in life. She had turned her back on something because it hadn't worked the way she wanted it to, because for a couple of hours one night she hadn't been in control and that made her angry. It wasn't the magic she was afraid of; it was of not being one hundred percent in control of everything that happened to her. But that was stupid. She didn't need to give up something that had been important to her just because her pride was wounded.

“I hate it when you're right,” she said.

“And that's why I like it even more,” replied T.J., grinning at her.

“You know, if I'd known this going-out thing was going to mean you get to lecture me, I would never have signed up,” Cooper commented.

“You can always back out,” he said. “I mean, if you want to be a coward and all that.”

“Nah,” Cooper replied. “I think I kind of like having a guy who stands up to me when I'm being an idiot.”

They spent a couple of hours playing. Now that Cooper had made up her mind about what to do, she found that everything was a lot more fun. The weight she'd been feeling had been lifted, and she saw for the first time just how much she had really missed the idea of practicing Wicca with Annie and Kate. She just hadn't let herself admit that until T.J. had forced her to.

When they were done, she packed up and told T.J. she would call him later on. “I've got something I need to do first,” she said, giving him a kiss and leaving him in the garage.

She drove home, parked the car, and went inside to her room. Taking a deep breath, she picked up the phone and dialed Kate's number. As the phone rang and she waited for someone to answer, she looked at the statue of Pele sitting on the table.

“I suppose you knew all along this would happen,” she said.

Someone picked up the phone at Kate's house. It was Kate's father.

“Hi, Mr. Morgan,” Cooper said. “Is Kate around?”

“Kate?” he yelled. “Phone for you. It's Cooper.”

There was a pause as Kate came to the phone. Then Cooper heard her say, “I've got it in my room, Dad. You can hang up.”

The second phone clicked as Mr. Morgan replaced it in the cradle.

“Hey,” Cooper said, suddenly unsure of what to say.

“What's up?” Kate asked, not sounding particularly excited to hear from her.

“I've been doing some thinking,” Cooper began. “Actually, I've been doing a lot of talking. To T.J.”

“T.J.?” Kate said.

“Yeah,” Cooper said. “We're kind of going out.”

“What?” Kate exclaimed, suddenly sounding more like her old self. “
You
have a boyfriend?”

“Well, yeah,” admitted Cooper. “But I didn't call you to talk about that. I wanted to apologize.”

“You don't have to,” Kate said. “I understand how you feel.”

“I didn't understand how I felt,” said Cooper. “That was the problem. I was all freaked out about what happened up in the woods. But it wasn't about the magic. It was about me. Me not being in control. That's why I bailed. I didn't like not being in charge, you know?”

“That sort of makes sense,” Kate told her. “And T.J. helped you realize all of this?”

“Amazing, huh?” Cooper answered. “And you thought Tyler was the only cool guy left. Anyway, I want to talk to you about the ritual.”

“What about it?” Kate asked hesitantly.

“Can I still help?” asked Cooper.

Kate paused. “Are you just back for this, or for everything?” she asked.

“I haven't quite decided,” Cooper admitted. “I think one step at a time is the best way to go.”

“And you're doing all of this because of T.J.?” said Kate.

“Not just him,” Cooper told her. “I had a dream about you, too. I didn't say anything before because I still wasn't convinced it meant anything.”

“What kind of dream?” Kate said.

Cooper told her about the nightmare she'd had. When she was done Kate said, “You and your dreams. But if it made you think twice about giving up on us, I'm glad you had it, even if you did let me plummet to my death.”

“Sorry about that,” Cooper apologized. “So, do you still want me?”

“More than ever,” said Kate. “We've missed you. Besides, I think we're going to need all the help we can get on this one.”

“Have you told your parents yet?” asked Cooper.

“That's next on my list,” said Kate. “I think I'd rather tell them that I'm pregnant.”

“Just tell me what you need,” Cooper said.

“I'm not even sure they'll go for it,” said Kate. “So right now just think nice thoughts about them not going through the roof when I bring it up.”

“Good luck,” said Cooper. “Give me a call when you know what's going on.”

“I will,” said Kate. “And Cooper?”

“Yeah?”

“Welcome back.”

CHAPTER  16

Kate sat on the couch, trying to figure out the best way to say what she had to say. She held her hands in her lap, the right one clutching the left one tightly so that she wouldn't rub them together nervously. She wanted to appear as calm as she possibly could.

Her parents sat across from her, waiting for her to speak. She'd asked them to sit and talk to her for a minute, and she knew they were wondering what she had to say. Kyle was there, too, leaning against the doorway to the living room. While normally Kate would be thrilled that he'd decided not to go back to his summer job for at least another week, she sort of wished he wasn't there.

“I want to talk to you about Aunt Netty,” she began. “I have an idea for something that might help her,” she said.

“Kate—” her mother said.

“Just listen,” Kate interrupted. “I know I'm not a doctor or anything, but just hear me out. Something Dr. Pedersen said to me the other day got me thinking. She said that sometimes patients who aren't responding well to medical treatment can do better if they have some more spiritual help.”

“Spiritual help?” Kyle said, sounding confused. “What do you mean?”

Kate sighed. It wasn't going the way she'd hoped. She was having a hard time explaining to her family what she was talking about.

“She said that sometimes people respond to things like prayer,” Kate tried.

Her mother nodded. “We're all praying for Netty,” she said. “You know that. Father Mahoney includes her in the prayers every week.”

“I know,” said Kate. “But this is something else. I was thinking of doing a kind of ritual.”

She stopped, waiting for a reaction from her family. But they just stared at her blankly.

“What do you mean, a ritual?” asked her father. “Like in church?”

“No,” Kate said. “We could do it right in her hospital room.”

“Honey, I'm afraid I just don't understand,” said her mother.

Kate shifted anxiously. This was the part she'd been really afraid of. “I know these people,” she said. “Sometimes they do rituals to help people get well.”

“What kind of people?” her father inquired.

“They're sort of New Agey,” Kate said. She couldn't bring herself to say the word
Wiccan
in front of her parents and her brother. She knew that would just frighten them off.

“New Agey?” her mother said skeptically. “How do you know them?”

“Does this have anything to do with that time your friend Cooper got mixed up in that kookiness about ghosts and some girl?” her father asked, sounding irritated.

Kate nodded. “They were the ones who helped her then,” Kate said.

Her father groaned. “Those kind of people are just nuts, Katie,” he said. “What kind of junk has Cooper been telling you?”

“It's not junk, Daddy!” Kate said angrily. “They're nice people. They're good people. Why can't you just listen to me for a minute?”

“We are listening, sweetie,” said her mother gently. “But you're really not making a lot of sense.”

Kate calmed herself. “These people do rituals,” she tried again. “They help people heal themselves. It's not weird or kooky or anything like that. They just use positive energy to encourage the person's body to get better.”

“Sounds like a lot of nonsense to me,” commented Kyle. “Cooper listens to these people? I thought she was smarter than that.”

“How do you know so much about what they do?” her father asked pointedly. “Have you been to one of these whatever you call them—rituals?”

Kate didn't know what to say. Should she lie to her parents and tell them she didn't know anything about Sophia, Archer, and the rest of her friends? She knew they would believe her if she did. But that would be like betraying Cooper, Annie, and everything they were working for.

“No,” she said, feeling terrible even as she said it. “I've never been. But Annie has, and she said they're really great.”

She knew as soon as she said it that she'd made a mistake. Her parents exchanged a look, and then her father said, “So Annie and Cooper go to these things with these people?”

“You're making it sound like something dangerous!” Kate protested. “You don't even know these people. They're really nice. And they want to help Aunt Netty.”

“I don't think Netty needs that kind of help,” her father said. He started to stand up, signaling that as far as he was concerned the conversation was over.

“Well, Netty wants them to help,” Kate said.

Her father sat down again. “You mean you told her this garbage?” he said. He sounded angry.

Kate nodded. “She said it's all right with her. She'd like all of you to be there, but if you won't come she's doing it anyway.”

Her mother groaned. “Kate, how could you do this?” she said. “Netty's scared. She's looking for answers. Of course she'd say yes.”

“She's willing to try it,” Kate said, maintaining her composure. “If she is, why can't you?”

“Because it's ridiculous,” said her father. “That's why. I don't know what these weirdos have been telling you, or why someone with your intelligence would fall for it, but I'm telling you it's crap.”

“How would you know?” Kate shot back. She'd never yelled at her father in her life, but now she was furious at him. He was passing judgment on people he didn't even know, and on things he'd never even experienced.

“I've had enough of this,” he said, glaring at her. “This conversation is over.”

He stood up again, but before he could leave the room Kate's mother reached up and took his hand.

“Wait a minute, Joe,” she said.

Kate's father paused, waiting for her to continue. Mrs. Morgan was silent for a moment, then looked at her daughter.

“I can't pretend to understand everything you're talking about, Kate,” she said. “But I've never heard you be so passionate about something. If you think this will help, and if Netty has agreed to it, I'm willing to give it a try.”

“Teresa—” Kate's father said.

“Joe, this is my baby sister we're talking about,” Mrs. Morgan said softly. “She's probably dying. Whatever the doctors are doing isn't working, at least not right now. Netty is in pain. I think you know what it feels like to see someone you love hurting.”

Mr. Morgan glanced at Kyle, and Kate could see he was thinking about the time her brother had been injured. When he looked back again, the anger that had filled his eyes had changed to a look of compassion.