Free After the Summerland (The Witches of Spring Hill Book 1) by Patricia Proctor Page B

time.
Sometimes she thinks she has given him too much confidence and power. Cian and
Brianna acted just as annoyed and wouldn’t say much about their day; those two were
as thick as thieves, as usual.
    Instead of making
dinner, she decided to make them fend for themselves — just to show them not to
cross her. From her room she can hear them talking, but rather than listen in
like she usually does, she ignores them and turns the water on in the tub. A
nice long soak is just what I need to relax, she thinks. And, they better be working on a plan
for tomorrow or I might just have to take matters into my own hands. She sinks deep
into the steaming tub, bubbles soaking away her cares until she feels the mask
of pleasantness slip off her face. Secrets are so hard to keep, she thinks, and
pretending to care about people is even harder.
    Cian and Brianna are quietly
talking about Chloe and Kaiden Alexander, but occasionally they say something
completely irrelevant a little louder just so their aunt won’t really know what
they’re talking about. They know she eavesdrops on their conversations and
lately Xavier has been doing the same.
    “He is actually
nice
and
normal
,” Brianna whispers, talking about Kaiden Alexander, with a
look that Cian has seen before.
    Cian worries about his sister. Brianna has a tendency to fall hard and when
she does she usually ends up getting hurt. She doesn’t take the time to get to
know someone to see if he is actually worthy of her time; she just dives right
in. She has a tough exterior and so people think that she can handle anything, but
really she is as insecure as any teenage girl, only made worse by an aunt who
demoralizes her at every opportunity. Cian tries to stick up for her whenever
their aunt starts in on her, but this usually ends up causing more trouble in
the long run.
    “I’m meeting Chloe at
the library this weekend,” Cian whispers.
    Brianna raises her eyes
in shock. “Does Xavier know?” she asks, even though she knows the answer.
    Cian shakes his head,
“And I intend to keep it that way. If I tell him, he’ll tell Aunt Selene and
then she’ll tell me what to say to pump her for information and I won’t do it.
I actually have a good feeling about the Alexanders and especially Chloe.”
    “If only Xavier would
stand up to her,” Brianna says to Cian, “then we wouldn’t be in this mess with
the Alexanders.”
    Xavier sits in the
kitchen listening to them talk on the other side of the wall. He won’t tell
their aunt about Cian meeting Chloe this time, but he is glad he knows. He
wishes he could go in and commiserate with them and then they could all laugh
and hang out like they used to. But, things have changed since their dad died
and as much as he hates to admit, the changes are not for the better.
    Before their dad died, Xavier
challenged their aunt at every opportunity. He questioned her motives,
behaviors, and most importantly, her mental health, especially when she took
greater risks that would expose their abilities. Their dad always seemed to
rein her in, but since he’s been gone, Xavier has had to take on the role of protector
of the family. This means that in order to keep the peace he does whatever Aunt
Selene wants without challenge, or so he lets her think anyway. Now it falls to
Cian to challenge her and he only does it when she pushes too hard, like she is
doing with the Alexanders. Luckily though, Xavier has a backup plan for
everything, including what to do about the Alexanders.
    Thinking about Rowan
Alexander has him wondering what it would be like to get to know her better. He
loves a girl with attitude and Rowan has it in spades. Even though she acted
like she wasn’t interested or even remotely curious about him, he caught her
watching him more than once during the day.
    When she passed him in the hall
after lunch, he caught just a glimpse of a grin. He smiled a big old sloppy,
puppy smile at her, which made her put her mouth back into that