Too Hexy For Her Hat by Susan Hayes

16

Chad sat nextto the raggedy couch Luna rested on and waited for her to wake up. Now and then, someone would come to the door of the Watering Hole’s break room to check in or to bring him something to eat. Usually it was Luna’s parents.

They’d be here with him now, but everyone had agreed that the last thing Luna needed was another shock to the system. Waking up to find her long-lost parents staring down at her wouldn’t go well for anyone. His Luna was glorious, beautiful, sexy, and smart. She also had a temper so hot even the Goddess and Fate had answered when she called on them.

And she was all his.

Someone came up the stairs. “She’s still asleep,” he called out softly, not bothering to look to see who it was.

“She’ll wake up soon. That one never could stay still for long.” She paused. “May I come in?”

That was definitely not Luna’s mother. Persephone Storm was as direct and take-charge as her daughter—a fact he’d learned within the first ten seconds of her return. Looking like a slightly older version of Luna, she’d hugged him hard, welcomed him to the family, and then organized everyone within an inch of their lives, herding them back to the Watering Hole in record time.

Chad turned to see a stunning blonde woman standing in the doorway, her bright, boho fashions adding a splash of colour to the somewhat bland décor of the break room.

“Uh. Sure. She’s still out, though. I don’t know how long until she wakes up.”

“That’s fine.” The woman smiled and something inside his heart stirred in response.

“Uh, do I know you?” Her face wasn’t familiar, but her smile was. It didn’t make sense, but that was the theme of the day.

The woman’s smile faded as she entered the room. “I’m Desi. I took care of Luna for a time. I just wanted to see her.”

She was beside him before he realized she hadn’t answered his question. “Persephone said she’ll be fine.”

“Of course she will. You two have a destiny to get back to.” Desi squeezed his shoulder.

“You know about that?” he asked.

“I do.” Desi sighed and stepped away. “I’m so sorry, Chad. It wasn’t… I didn’t have a choice. We all have a part to play.”

He let go of Luna’s hand, rose, and turned to face Desi. “If you try to hurt her…”

He didn’t finish the sentence. He couldn’t. He had no air left in his lungs. Desi wasn’t Desi anymore. Her hair had darkened to a shade identical to his own and her face was younger… and familiar.

“Mom?”

She opened her arms to him. “Hi, tadpole.”

He grabbed her and hugged tightly, part of him afraid she’d vanish if he eased up even a little. “Why? How? Where?”

She hugged him back even harder. “There’s so much I couldn’t tell you before. I made a foolish choice, sweetheart. I thought I was getting away from what everyone else expected me to do. I didn’t understand the consequences of what I was doing.”

“I was a mistake?” That hurt, but it wasn’t a surprise. He’d always wondered if he was the reason she’d left.

“Goddess no! You were the best thing I ever did. Made. Had. Whatever. You were, and are, my wonderful boy. I am so proud of you. You made better choices than I ever did.”

“Then why did you leave? If you had to go, why didn’t you take me with you?” Shades and shadows, he sounded like he was a kid again, all whine and uncertainty.

“I couldn’t. It would have been…” she sighed. “I screwed up Fate’s plans. I had to do something drastic to put things right. If I didn’t, none of this would have happened the way it did. You. Luna. This town. And even then, all I could do was give you a fighting chance. You had to make the hard choices on your own.”

“I don’t understand. How did you screw up Fate’s plans? Why did that mean I had to stay with Dad? And how the flying foxtrot did you end up being Luna’s foster parent? What are the odds…” He stopped as his brain caught up to his mouth. “Odds had nothing to do with it. Did they?”

“None at all. I told you. I was fixing my mistake. It was a doozy.”

“What was it?”

“Choosing your father. That wasn’t part of the grand plan. I went my own way because I was young and angry and thought I knew better than my family.”

This still didn’t make sense. “How did your family know what Fate’s plan was?”

Fate didn’t walk into the room. She appeared in the middle of it like she’d been there all along. “Because I am her family. Great aunt on her mother’s side.”

“What?” Chad asked.

Luna stirred and opened her beautiful eyes to stare at his mother. “Desi. Dee-Dee, Destiny. You’re her?”

His mother smiled. “Not quite. I’m Destiny’s child. Chad is Destiny’s grandson.”

Chad let go of his mother and dropped to his knees beside Luna. “You’re awake!”

Her smile was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

“Have been for a while, tadpole. I just didn’t want to interrupt.” She reached out and touched his face. “You okay?”

“I’m fine. Are you? And you cannot use that nickname again. Ever. Only my mom calls me that and we’ve already had that conversation.”

Luna laughed. “We have. And I’m fine. Tired. Ravenous. Beaker was supposed to tell you I’d need fudge.”

“Shit! I forgot. Things got a little weirder than I expected.” He snapped his fingers and the platter of fudge appeared on the rickety crate the staff used as a coffee table. “We’re in the break room of the town pub. The party is going full swing downstairs, but they’re missing one of the guests of honour.”

“You mean two of them. You helped, too.” Luna sat up slowly and then immediately went for the fudge. “How long was I out?”

“Just a few hours. Your mo… one of the others said you’d need to rest and that we weren’t to wake you.”

“So instead you tried to reunite with your mom without me being awake? I’m part of your life now. We share everything.” Luna smiled up at Desi, or Dee-Dee. “Including a mother figure… and her.” Her voice went flat on the last word. She was glaring at Fate.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m a bitch. You hate me. Free will for all, blah blah.” Fate stuck her tongue out at Luna. “Bite me. You did what you needed to do even when you thought it was your own choice.” She winked one silver eye. “It was your destiny.” She laughed and vanished into thin air.

“You’re related to that?” Luna asked.

“Apparently.” He was still trying to wrap his head around that concept.

“We are,” his mother crouched beside them, a hand on both their arms. “Goddess I have missed you both. And I’ve waited for so long for this moment. I wish I could have been there when you met.”

Luna narrowed her eyes. “Wait a second. When we met? Were you the one who sent Cupid?”

“I did. I don’t have a lot of power, but I have enough to ask for the occasional favour.” She kissed Chad’s cheek. “I gave most of my power to you before I left. I just kept enough to pass as an average witch.”

“I have your powers? What powers?”

“Magic, sweetie. And a little something more. Now you’ve claimed your new role, you’ll have to learn how to wield it. I’ll be here to help you.”

“You will? Good.” Mom was staying. That was better than good. It was… “Wait. What new role?”

“You’re a guardian now, one of the coven who protect this place.”

“But there are only three guardians. Breeze, Fern, and Luna. That’s how it’s been for generations.”

“Times change. Now there will be four.” His mom smiled and rose to her feet. “I’ll go tell the others Luna’s awake. I know a few folks who can’t wait to see her. I’m not going anywhere, tadpole. I promise.”

“You better not.” Hissy had been napping on the windowsill, apparently soaking up the conversation as well as the sun. “Do you have any idea how tough it’s been to be a single parent all these years?”

“Thank you, Hissy.” Dee-Dee walked over and picked up the snake. “You can tell me all about it while these two get caught up. I owe you so much.”

“You do,” Hissy grumbled. “But it was worth it.”

The second his mother was out of the room Luna jumped into his arms and tumbled them both to the floor. “So we did it? We won? And that’s your mom? Is everyone else okay?”

“We did it. Well, you did. You called down some serious firepower, and they dealt with Frank. The Goddess zapped him, Fate lassoed him, and apparently Baba Yaga transported him to a warlock-proof prison somewhere. It’s over.”

“Thank the Goddess! And Baba Yaga and Fate, too… I suppose. One day someone is going to have to explain to me why they didn’t just deal with that asshole themselves.”

“I know someone who can probably help explain that.” He needed to tell her about her parents coming back, but instead, she narrowed her eyes and stared intently at him.

“Hey! Your eyes are the same colour again!”

“They are? What colour are they?” He hadn’t done anything but zap a few vicious geese. He’d been trying to be good, dammit.

“Not black,” she said quickly. “That’s gone. They’re both blue. I like it.”

He exhaled in relief. The taint of darkness was gone. “I like you, period. You kicked ass today. I heard all about it. In fact, I’ve seen video.”

“Yeah? Can I see it? I don’t really remember much except I was royally pissed off and ready to take the world apart so I could get back to you. I thought…”

“I know. Being the hero hurts more than I expected.” And he’d do it all over again every day for the rest of his life if it meant he could be with her. “I’ll show you the video later. There’s something I need to do first.”

“Yeah? What’s that?”

“Kiss you. It’s been a very lonely few hours for me, my little lunatic.”

She made a happy little sound and snuggled into his arms. “I can’t believe we survived. And it’s over!”

“It’s over, yes. But we have only just begun.” It was corny as hell, but he meant every word. Then he kissed her and nothing else mattered anymore. He had his happily ever after right here in his arms, and he was never letting her go.