Free The Accidental Witch by Jessica Penot Page A

in the country. Aaron reached over and grabbed my hand while we waited. I really didn’t know what to do. John had hated public displays of affection and Blake and I had always had to be very secretive due to the cheating and sleeping with your client aspects of our relationship. I looked at my hand in Aaron’s on the table and then at Aaron’s bright, smiling face. I wasn’t sure what to do at all.
    “Do you go to church?” he asked.
    “Not if I can help it,” I answered honestly.
    “Would you like to go with me this Sunday?” he asked.
    “Why?” I asked.
    “I’m gonna be honest here,” he said. “I really like you. I like you more than any woman I’ve been with in a very long time and I think we could make something of this. I think we could be together, you and I. I’m not big on commitment, so I can’t really even believe I’m saying this, but if we are going to be together, I think we should share our faith and our life.”
    “Okay,” I said. This was moving way too fast. I wondered if I could change the dose of a love spell. I had no idea what to do with a man asking me to go to church. John had been an atheist. I had always hated organized religion, not so much because I didn’t believe in God, but because my father and step-mother’s faith had become a form of torture in my childhood. Religion aside, this was our second date. On the other hand, Aaron was hot and probably the best thing that had happened to me in the last … my entire life. My track record with men had been terrible and Aaron seemed sane and normal, and church-going behaviors were usually a sign of some degree of mental stability.
    “Why not?” I said.
    “Really?” he asked.
    “Really,” I said. Our food arrived and he smiled at me. He was absolutely beautiful. It was possible that I would say yes to anything this beautiful man asked me. Would you like to join the Hari Krishnas with me? Sure. Would you like to join a Mormon polygamist cult? Of course.
    “I was afraid you would say no,” he said as he ate. “You have a bit of a reputation, you know.”
    Small towns. Everyone has a reputation in a small town. “What kind of reputation do I have?” I asked.
    “You know, everyone says you were better off in Chicago. They say you’re one of those big city folks that doesn’t believe in God.”
    “I believe in God. You’re not from here,” I said. “Aren’t you big city folk?”
    “My mother is from Wales. Wales is not London and I grew up here and my mom married an Alabama man and we still go to his church. My entire family does.”
    “Ohh,” I said. “So you’re an Alabama boy after all.”
    “Yep,” he said.
    “So, how’d I miss you in high school, then?” I asked.
    “My family lives in Haysville,” he said.
    “Oh,” I said, “so we are going to church in Haysville on Sunday?”
    “Yes,” he said. “And I would like you to meet my family.”
    Oh, crap. Crappity-crap-crap. This was way too fast. There was no part of me that wanted to meet his family, but then he looked at me with his blue eyes.
    “Okay,” I said.
    “I’m so glad you said yes,” he said and he actually stopped eating to kiss my hand. His eyes were filled with something that terrified me.
    I smiled and ate. Crap. I wondered if there was a diagnosis for me. We went home and he did things to me that would have made angels weep. It was hard for me to believe he was a good Christian boy. He fell asleep next to me in the bed and for some reason, I didn’t ask him to leave. I sat up wrapped in the sheets on my bed watching him. I touched his chest, his arms. I had always loved beautiful things. Finally, I put my head on his shoulder and fell asleep next to him.
    I didn’t sleep long. It was about two when I was awakened by an enormous crash downstairs. Aaron didn’t seem to notice the noise. He slept peacefully. I got up and looked out into the hall. Everything seemed quiet. I walked down the stairs and into the front parlor. A