Hope stared at her mother with her mouth open as she thought through what kinds of things her mother had heard in her mind. At eighteen, Hope had been head over heels in love with Lucas. They’d been dating for about six months, and he’d been her first for almost everything… oh, hell, she thought and felt her face heat with embarrassment. She could only imagine the thoughts and images that had been going through her mind.
Angela nodded. “You needed your privacy. I needed to give you that gift while dealing with my own mental health.”
Hope narrowed her eyes at her. “Why didn’t you just tell me? Maybe then I wouldn’t have spent the past twenty-eight years resenting you.” There was no reason to not voice what she was thinking. It was just starting to sink in that her mother would hear her thoughts anyway.
“I was trying to protect you. I didn’t want you to go through the anxiety and turmoil that I had. Why tell you and let it take over your life before it kicked in? I wanted you to lead a normal life that I didn’t get to have. I did it to help you.”
Help? Did it help that she’d thought her mother abandoned her? Did it help when Lucas left and she felt like there was something wrong with her because the people she loved most kept leaving her? She stared at her mother, seeing her pain reflected back at her, and she knew her mother was reading her thoughts.
Tears filled Angela’s eyes, and Hope knew she should say something. Anything to acknowledge that she understood her mother hadn’t meant to intentionally hurt her. That while she didn’t agree that it was better to keep the truth from her, Hope could at least understand her mother’s reasons. But she couldn’t force the words out. Instead she just felt numb.
“I can’t do this right now.” Hope pushed herself out of her chair. “I just… I need to process.”
“I understand.” Angela reached out and grabbed Hope’s hand and squeezed it lightly. When Hope didn’t return the gesture, Angela let go and sighed. “I’ll be here when you’re ready to talk.”
Hope nodded once and disappeared into her room.
She leaned against her bedroom door and closed her eyes, wondering if there was a spell for turning back time. Just a few weeks ago she’d been perfectly happy with her life. She’d been casually seeing a man who’d wanted the same thing she did—to have a good time. No commitments. No expectations. Then Lucas had walked back into town and she’d suddenly lost interest in her fling. And now her mother was there, ready to talk for the first time ever. It was too much, and both Lucas and her mother were wreaking havoc on the life she’d created for herself just by being in Premonition Pointe.
“Nope,” she said, shaking her head. “Not today. Not tomorrow. And not next week.” It didn’t matter why they were in town or if she could read minds now. She wasn’t going to let them or anything else knock her off her game. After fishing her phone out of her pocket, she hit Benji’s number.
“Hey, gorgeous. Long time no talk,” he said.
Hope could hear the smile in his voice, and it put her at ease. Benji was a cool guy, and she always had a good time when they saw each other. “It’s been a little busy here. What about you? I haven’t gotten a call either.”
He chuckled. “You know me. Just following the waves. I spent the last few months in Hawaii. But I’m back now.” His tone was flirty and suggestive.
“Are you free this weekend? Saturday night?” she asked.
“I’ll pick you up at seven.”
“I’ll be waiting.” Hope ended the call, expecting to feel more like herself. Instead, all she felt was a faint sense of unease. “Dammit,” she muttered and flopped onto her bed, scattering the mountain of pillows.
Chapter Three
Hope whipped her Toyota Highlander into the last available parking spot and then ran a across the lot through the light drizzle to the Liminal Space Day Spa. After watching reruns of Golden Girls until two in the morning, she’d finally fallen asleep and woke up twenty minutes after the spa salon opened. After some serious begging, Lance had agreed to fix her hair but only if she came in right away.
“I’m here,” she called as she rushed through the door.
Lance, who was busy giving Gigi Martin a blow out, turned and let out a gasp so loud it was audible over the blow dryer.
“Oh, stop. It’s not that bad,” she cried, bringing both hands up to pat her runaway curls.
Gigi met Hope’s gaze in the mirror and grimaced. Gigi was relatively new in town. She’d left her abusive husband and purchased one of the haunted houses Grace had been tasked to sell when she first started working for Landers Realty. Gigi was dressed in a white sundress and had sun-kissed skin. Her honey blond hair practically glowed, making Hope feel even more like a swamp creature.
“Crap. It really is that bad, isn’t it?” Hope slumped over the front counter, hiding her face.
“Don’t worry, Hope,” Lance said soothingly. “You’ve come to the right place. I’ll turn you back into a swan.”
She glanced up at the big beautiful black man and gave him a weak smile. “You’ve got your work cut out for you.”
“Oh, honey. If I can turn a six-foot-four drag queen with a five o’clock shadow into a supermodel, then there’s no need for you to worry. I’ll tame those curls and take care of your whiskers.”
“Whiskers?” Hope squeaked.
He tapped his chin and then winked at her. “It happens to the best of us, darling. But that’s why you’re here. Uncle Lance has got you covered.”
“Whiskers?” Hope heard Gigi ask him, and she took a seat to wait for her turn in the chair.
“It’s nothing you need to worry about, Ms. Gigi. At least not for another ten years or so.” He went to work on styling her hair, and ten minutes later, he helped her out of her chair.
Gigi moved with the grace of a ballet dancer toward the front counter. She glanced over at Hope. Great skin. I wonder what products she uses.
“Hazel’s Witching System,” Hope said automatically.
Gigi blinked at her. “What?”
Hope repeated herself and added, “My skin routine. You asked about it.”
“I did?” Gigi gave her a strange look and then let out a nervous laugh “I honestly didn’t realize I said that out loud.”
Oh, hell. She probably hadn’t. But since Hope didn’t want to disclose that she’d just heard another person’s thoughts, she just shrugged. “You can get it at the health food store a few blocks up.”
“Good to know. Thanks.” Gigi smiled at her. “Good luck with the hair. I’m sure Lance will work his magic.”
“From your lips to the goddess’s ears,” Hope said.
“You don’t need to worry about that,” Lance said as he waved Hope over. “I don’t know what happened here, but by the time you leave, you’re not going to even recognize yourself.”
Too late, she thought. Ever since she’d started hearing people’s thoughts, she felt as if her mind had been snatched and replaced with a defective unit.
These witches and their beauty spells. I’m amazed her poor hair didn’t fall out.