Fifi and Darla were both childless, Libby was trapped in the fifties and wouldn’t have any advice that I couldn’t get from a rerun of Leave it to Beaver. Taliyah had two sons of her own, true, but she was way too new to the supernatural world to offer any reliable advice about teenage boys and their budding magical powers. And she was also too busy trying to master her own.

  Marty? As a human, I didn’t think he’d be able to understand either.

  And then the answer hit me.

  I froze, a licorice rope caught between my teeth.

  There was one person I could call.

  True, he didn’t have children, at least as far as I was aware, but he was good with kids, intimately familiar with Magicians, their powers, and the risks that might go along with them.

  Andre.

  Chapter Five

  I had to swallow down my heart which leapt right up into my throat.

  And then I had to really ask myself if this was just an excuse to call him, to hear his voice… Or could he really help me?

  As much as I wanted to hear his voice, I knew that wasn’t my driving reason to contact him. He could help me. And he could help me more than anyone else could. It was just the icing on the cake that he happened to have the deepest voice with the most melodic English accent...

  I tugged my phone out of my pocket, scrolling through the contacts until I reached the number he’d given me, but then I hesitated again. Was it really the best option to reach out to a man I’d only met once for advice on my son? A man who had left town five months ago, and I hadn’t seen a single hair of since? A man who hadn’t bothered to get back into contact with me…

  But this was for Finn.

  If Finn was going to keep going with his magical progression, and it seemed like that was pretty much inevitable at this point, (short of grounding him until he was thirty), then Andre was my best chance at keeping Finn as safe as he could be.

  Without giving myself a chance to think twice, I dialed Andre’s number.

  My heart hammered in my chest as I listened to the first ring. What if he answered? What if he didn’t?

  By the third ring, I was mentally preparing the least cringey voicemail I could think of, when the tone was interrupted by a smooth voice.

  “Poppy?”

  The sound of that familiar accent made my entire body tingle with anticipation, the tense muscles in my back and shoulders easing out. In spite of all my worries, I couldn’t stop the smile from curling my lips. It was silly, really. I’d only known the man a few days. But from the moment we’d met, I’d been struck by this kind of innate sense of rightness where he was concerned. Like some part of me had met his eyes on the street that day and just said, ‘ah, there you are,’ like he’d just come home after a very long trip. I knew, deep down in my heart, in my soul, that I could trust him.

  And yes, it didn’t hurt that he was extremely nice to look at, and that his accent made my spine light up like the fourth of July. But I tried really, really hard to ignore both of those things.

  “Hi, Andre”

  I thought I’d done everything I could to keep my voice light and friendly, but there was a pause over the line, and the background sounds quieted, like he’d stepped away to go somewhere more private.

  “Are you alright?”

  I couldn’t help but smile at the thought that he could read my mood with two simple words.

  “I’m,” I started and then had to bite my lips as the tears returned anew.

  “You sound upset. What’s wrong?” His voice was low, intense but soothing.

  And just like that, the tears leapt from my eyes and started rolling down my cheeks. I didn’t want to cry over the phone and especially not to someone who was little more than a stranger.

  But that was the real draw. It wasn’t just that I felt connected to Andre, that I knew him from his blue eyes to the way his lips curled when he smiled, or that I felt deep in my bones that I could trust him with anything. No, the thing that brought me to the edge of crying again was that he knew me just as well, or so it seemed. Two words from me, as neutral as I could make them, and he knew I was upset.

  Yes, it sounded crazy. Yes, it sounded completely implausible. But there it was.

  I wrapped my free arm around myself and rested my hip against the counter. When I spoke again, I made sure that none of the tears could be heard in my voice. I had to keep myself together.

  “No, I’m fine. It’s just…” I cleared my throat and closed my eyes, willing the tears to stop. “I wanted to talk to you about… Finn, if you have a minute.”

  “Of course. I always have time for you, Poppy.”

  I had to breathe in deeply at that because a fresh wave of tears suddenly popped up. “I appreciate that.”

  “What’s going on with Finn?” His voice hardened, turning more intense. “Is he alright?”

  “He’s fine… I think. I mean… nothing’s happened. I just…” I blew out a sigh, feeling a bit silly. Now that I had Andre on the phone, I was having trouble articulating all the tangled worries knotted up in my head. “I’m just… I’m worried about him and I feel like… like maybe I’m not handling this whole Magician thing like I should be.”

  Okay, that was a little more honest than I’d planned on being. Blood rushed into my cheeks and brow. I was a fair skinned blond, so when I blushed, I tended to go scarlet to my hairline. Luckily for me, Andre couldn’t see me, and it was too early for many customers.

  “Okay,” he started and sounded a little confused.

  “I just mean,” I stammered, rushing ahead, and trying to cover my slip up. “That I wanted to give Finn a chance to grow up like a normal teenager, you know? Not up to his eyeballs in the supernatural, surrounded by danger, and curses, and monsters. He should just be happy like any other kid his age.”

  “Well, he’s not really a kid though is he, Poppy?”

  I breathed in really deeply. “I guess that’s my problem number one. It’s just hard to… realize he’s not a kid anymore.” I exhaled just as deeply. “But, regardless, it’s still my job to keep him safe and I just don’t feel like that’s in my control any longer.”

  The silence on the other end of the line sounded thoughtful instead of hollow.

  “Why don’t you feel like it’s in your control?”

  After a moment, I found my words again. “I worry that I was wrong to move him here—like bringing him to Haven Hollow has done him more harm than good. If we’d stayed in California, or gone somewhere strictly mundane, he wouldn’t be involved in all of this… stuff.”

  I went quiet again and closed my eyes. I could hear Andre breathing down the line, present and listening. There was a strange level of comfort in that.

  Eventually, he spoke up. “Have you considered that it might just be the opposite?”

  I frowned. “What do you mean?”

  I heard a rustle of fabric across the line, like Andre had shifted slightly. “I mean, if you’d never moved to the Hollow, and gained familiarity and knowledge of various monsters, Finn might have lived his life in fear of ghosts. He almost certainly wouldn’t have been able to cultivate his gift as a Magician. Our magic requires hope to work properly. Fear and despair are the fastest ways to strangle that potential.”

  I couldn’t help but remember Regina Rose, the woman who had become Magicless when her hope was crushed. The way she’d tormented Finn and his classmates, trying to grind the hope out of all of them, to fill them with despair and misery to rival her own. The broken way she’d sobbed when Finn had healed her, and brought her back to herself.

  The idea that my son could have turned to that path, that fear might have driven him into the shadows, even the thought of it made my stomach flip over in revulsion.

  “You’ve raised an amazing young man, Poppy.” Andre’s voice was steady, an anchor to hold on to. “But the truth of the matter is, you can’t protect him from everything. That’s a fact that every parent needs to come to terms with. Your circumstances are just a little more… unusual than most.”

  How much worse would it be if we were both mundane? Would it be like little Alicia’s parents, taking their shattered daughter to therapy, trying to help her put the pieces back together again, all the while never even knowing what had really happened to her? I shuddered.

  “I just want to protect my son,” I whispered, miserable.

  “I know you do,” he said quietly. “But if you hover, if you’re anxious, it will make him anxious, too. You need to have a little faith, my dear. You’ve raised him right. Now it’s time to let him take the reins, at least a little.”

  Somehow, Andre’s words made me feel better and worse at the same time. “I’m terrified he’s going to burn himself out at the rate he’s going.”

  “At the rate he’s going?” Andre repeated. “I don’t quite understand.”

  “I don’t understand it either but suffice to say, we’re in the middle of some faerie prank war, and mundanes keep getting injured.”

  “A faerie prank war,” he repeated, sounded somewhere between amused and concerned. “Hmm, interesting… and how is Finn involved?”

  “He keeps trying to get in the middle of it—trying to help everyone, to heal them, and it’s too much for him. He’s just… exhausted, and he’s pale.”

  “Can you further explain this fae prank war?”

  I let my head drop back and leaned harder against the counter. “The fairies have apparently been subjecting mundanes, mostly tourists, to a dancing plague which makes them dance for hours on end—usually until they collapse from exhaustion or hurt themselves. The last lady was dancing for hours. She was so exhausted that she ended up tripping off the curb outside my store and falling into the street. Finn and I managed to patch up her injuries, but it could have been so, so much worse.”

  “That does sound concerning.”

  I tugged at a strand of my hair, frustrated. “We’re not even sure who’s doing it. Or why. But people are getting hurt, and trying to keep Finn out of the middle of it is getting harder and harder.”

  Andre made a little considering hum. “Well, how about I come and lend a hand?”

  I felt my mouth drop open because whatever I’d expected or hoped for when I’d called him, I never imagined in a million years that he’d offer to help us. I never imagined I’d actually get to see him again. I swallowed hard.

  “I wouldn’t… I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you,” I started.

  “It’s no inconvenience,” Andre responded immediately and there was a little lilt to his voice. “I can help you keep an eye on Finn, make sure he doesn’t extend himself past what he’s capable of. And I can explain to him how he can use his powers in ways that don’t exhaust him. I might even be able to help figure out who’s behind your little prank war.”

  My heart leapt at the suggestion, and mainly at the idea of seeing Andre again. I had to tamp it down, trying not to let the eagerness creep into my voice. I’d embarrassed myself enough already, dumping all of my problems and complaints into his lap when he probably thought it strange, considering I didn’t even really know him. “I feel like I’d be asking too much.”

  He chuckled. “You aren’t asking anything. I volunteered.”

  “I know, but I—”

  “Unless you don’t want me to come?”

  “No,” I answered immediately, shaking my head on reflex. “No, of course I’d love it if you could.”

  “Then it’s all settled, my dear. I’m actually not even that far away.”

  “You… you aren’t?”

  “No, I’m doing a show in Portland. And last I checked, wasn’t Portland a hop, skip, and jump to Haven Hollow?”

  I laughed. “A hop, skip and two jumps.”

  “Two jumps?” he asked, his accent sounding somehow thicker with his laugh. “Now that’s asking too much.”

  We both laughed and then there was quiet on the line. “Thank you, Andre,” I said in a soft voice. “You don’t know how much I appreciate this.”

  “I do know because you just told me,” he answered and I could hear the smile in his voice. “And I’m always glad to help you, Poppy.”

  His voice got a little bit lower when he said my name, and my breath caught in my throat for an instant before coming out in a shaky exhale.

  Rein it in, Poppy, I told myself sternly. You’re a grown woman, and you have a boyfriend.

  Marty. Right.

  Andre cleared his throat and suddenly sounded all business. “Ah, yes, well. I will see you quite soon. Take care, Poppy.”

  I murmured my own goodbyes and hung up.

  For the rest of the day, I moved around the shop like I’d drunk one too many fizzy potions. My feet barely touched the ground. And while my worries weren’t gone, they did feel lighter, and, strangely, I couldn’t seem to stop smiling.

  Chapter Six

  Finn was still in a bad mood when I picked him up after school.

  He got into the car without saying a word, buckled himself in, and then stared out the window with the kind of surly silence that only a teenager can manage.

  Andre had arrived in Haven Hollow a few hours before and was set to meet us at home, but I didn’t mention anything to Finn. Instead, I just let him be, figuring the surprise of seeing Andre and Ouire again would do more for his bad mood than anything I could think of. It still made my heart hurt, that Finn was so upset with me. But I didn’t think I was wrong for worrying about him.

  The tension in the Jeep was as tight as piano wire, right up until I pulled down the long driveway to the farmhouse, and we both caught sight of Andre and Ouire who were waiting on the porch swing. The book’s red satin bookmark was wagging furiously like the tail of an excited dog.

  “Ouire and Andre!” Finn’s hands pressed against the window, and I could see the reflection of his wide smile in the glass. The expression melted away the years and made him look like a little boy again. He barely waited for me to stop the Jeep and put it in park before he threw the door open, and pelted towards the front steps.

  I took my own seatbelt off slowly, watching their reunion with a little smile as Finn gave Andre a big hug, then pounced on Ouire, scooping the book into his arms, before clutching it tightly against his chest. When he put the book down again, it bounced around the porch at Finn’s feet, before bolting down the steps to roar around the front lawn, and Finn chased after it, laughing as he went. They kicked up leaves until it looked like they were playing in an autumn themed snow globe.

  I couldn’t help but smile as I came around the front of the Jeep, watching them play. It was still a bit weird how very much like a dog Ouire managed to be, when he was actually just a spellbook—but a seemingly sentient, alive one. Regardless, Ouire obviously adored Finn. And the book also didn’t shed, so I had to give it that.

  Still smiling, I shook my head and turned towards the front porch where Andre was waiting for me and even though I’d done my best not to notice him, because I didn’t want to appear too… well, too much of anything, when I finally turned my eyes on him and found his already on me, it felt like all the air had been sucked right out of my lungs.

  After he’d left Haven Hollow five months ago, it had been easier to forget, or at least not dwell on, how very handsome he was. His black hair was just barely touched with the frost of age around his temples, and his blue eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled. His teeth were straight and very white—he had a Colgate smile if ever I’d seen one and his lips were full yet still masculine. His face was oval with a pronounced jaw and chin, now covered with a light shadow, as if he hadn’t shaved for a few days. I swallowed hard as I took in his charcoal turtleneck sweater which hugged shoulders that were surprisingly broad for an otherwise lean frame. Paired with the turtleneck were black slacks—one thing Andre definitely wasn’t was casual.

  I remembered he was tall but as he started towards me now, taking the porch steps two at a time, I’d definitely forgotten just how tall he was. Even with the air taken right out of my lungs and the fact that I couldn’t pull my eyes away from him, I still couldn’t shake the feeling that having him here, facing me, was like having an amputated limb suddenly returned to me. One I hadn’t even realized was missing.

  “Poppy,” he said once he reached me and then leaned down, kissing each side of my face as I stood there and looked a little shell-shocked, I was sure. “It’s a pleasure to see you again.”

  “And you,” I answered, once I could find my voice. “And thank you so much for coming out. I… I really appreciate it.”

  “I’m glad I happened to be close by,” he responded and then we stood there, a little awkwardly for a moment, just staring at each other.

  Luckily, Finn ran right between us as he chased Ouire on the lawn, kicking up fallen leaves as they went. He stopped running and then bent over with his hands on his knees as he caught his breath. When he looked up at Andre, there was a huge smile on his face. It made my heart clench.

  I couldn’t blame Finn for being attached to Andre. He hadn’t had a father figure growing up. At least on the subject, Andre was right in that the Hollow had done some good for my son. At the very least, there were a lot of good male role models in this town, though some were better than others. Lorcan was very nice, but I didn’t want my son to learn from Lorcan when it came to wooing women. Lorcan and Wanda’s romance was the stuff of legends, true, but the cautionary kind, where everyone usually winds up dead. RJ and Henner were great, and always willing to spend time with Finn, though they were both a little caught up in their personal obsessions: technology for Henner, and, strangely, Bigfoot for RJ.

  And then there was Marty.

  My throat got a little tight, thinking about my boyfriend. Marty was a really great guy. He was honest, trustworthy, hardworking, if maybe a little boyish and immature, considering he was forty-eight. But he really cared about Finn and Finn really cared about him and that was something. But a role model? Hmm… Though Marty was human, he was also a Null. His abilities as a Null kept him safe from most magic, but he didn’t have any supernatural gifts of his own and, thus, couldn’t guide Finn, or even really give him advice on his magic.