Free The Witch of Roan Mountain by Blaire Edens Page B

the way you like.”
    Granny took a long sip and smiled. “Tastes just like summer. Did you learn anything more about Delphine?”
    Maeve pulled her notebook from her tote bag and flipped to the most recent page of notes. “Campbell might be one of her descendants.”
    Granny’s eyes went wide. “She had a child?”
    Maeve nodded. “It sure looks that way. Reading between the lines, I’d guess she was pregnant with Jenks’ baby before he was killed. They held off on hanging her until she delivered the baby.”
    The old woman took a sip of her tea and looked into the fire. “Does Campbell know?”
    “He’s known for a long time. That’s why he doesn’t want anyone to mention her name.”
    “It’s a powerful thing. To be branded before you’re even born. To be related to someone who’s already brought shame on your name.”
    Maeve certainly understood that. She’d based her whole life, every single choice down to what color she painted her toenails, on being the opposite of her mother. Growing up in a tiny place, where not only everyone knew each other but were most likely related, a mother who was a drug-addict and petty thief was the kiss of death.
    As a teenager, Maeve had studied harder, practiced more, and dressed more modestly so that no one would ever compare her to her mom.
    “You know a little about how that feels don’t you, honey?” Granny had always been a fantastic mind-reader.
    Maeve nodded. “I do. It’s hard to grow up that way, but with Campbell, it’s generations back. No one could possibly care.”
    “It’s like a mustard stain on a shirt. Even if you scrub it out, every time you put on that shirt, you look for the stain. You think everyone is staring at the shadow of where it used to be.”
    “So you think it’s all in his head?”
    Granny nodded and placed her mug on the side table. “And yours, too.”
    “What do you mean?”
    Granny reached over and took Maeve’s hand in hers. “You don’t have to prove anything to anyone but yourself.”
    “It’s almost as if he’s scared that if I find out for sure that he’s related to her, he won’t be a good person anymore.”
    “That boy has a lot on his mind these days. You’ll have to cut him some slack.”
    Maeve shrugged. “Seems to me his life is pretty stress-free.”
    Granny chuckled. “It’s anything but. The love of his life is back after years of him wishing for her. That’s enough to make anyone crazy.”
    “I’m not the love of his life. We just dated in high school.”
    “Who are you kidding? I may be old, but I was young once. I see the way the two of you look at each other. My leg is broken. My eyes work just fine.”
    “It would never work between us.”
    “Keep telling yourself that. The two of you were meant for each other but you’re the only two who can’t see it.”
    Maeve had loved Campbell once. Now, she wasn’t so sure. There was plenty of heat. No doubt about that but her life was in Atlanta now. She wasn’t the same girl who’d left Avery County ten years ago. She’d changed into a career-driven woman who was focused on living an independent life. Maybe it wasn’t exactly fulfilling but she could change that if she could just find a thread to grab onto.
    She’d gone to Clemson to prove she was smart enough to get a college education. She’d gone to law school at Wake Forest to prove she could make something of herself. While she loved the research and the planning of a case, she didn’t love being a lawyer. Not really.
    “Sometimes I wish I’d just stayed here. Maybe gone to college someplace closer.”
    “You had to get out of here. I understood that.”
    “I should’ve come back sooner.”
    “You had to test your own mettle. I didn’t get to be eighty-five years old without knowing a thing or two about how people work. You needed to do something on your own. You did. Now you can decide what you really want in your life.”
    What do I really want?
    Maeve imagined going back to