Free The Dashing Witch (The Ward Witches) by Lauren McMinn

me here in LA, really. I would be of more use to the Coven's publicity campaign there too. I might as well make another plane reservation and come back out there in a few days. I’ll just need to pack up stuff and I suppose ship it out to the Manor for the next nine months.”
    “ Indeed. Carol, can you give her enough magic to make it until she can get here?”
    “ Certainly.”
    “ Then that’s settled. I’ll tell Skylar, and I need to get back to work. Is there anything else?”
    “ No. I’ll call you and Skylar when I have made the flight plans.”
    “ Excellent. I’ll see you soon. Carol, good to hear from you.”
    “ Likewise.”
    After the conversation, Carol had Melanie lay down on the couch.
    “ Go ahead and put something good on the television. I’ll want you to be still for at least two hours while my magic takes effect in you. Are you hungry or anything?”
    “ No, I ate recently. Let’s go ahead and do this thing.”
    Melanie got comfortable, and Carol crouched beside her, laying her hands on the belly that hadn’t even begun to swell yet. “This should make your symptoms better for a few days. If I were you, I’d take that chance to get on a plane back to Boston. Don’t use too much energy if you can help it because the borrowed magic can only go so far and will only help the baby. Remember, the key to this whole thing is to take it easy and be careful.”
    “ I already feel cossetted. That’s only going to get worse, isn’t it?”
    “ That it is.”
    Carol closed her eyes to enter a meditative state, and Melanie could feel her skin heating, radiating from the other woman’s hands. It wasn’t long before she fell asleep, not even able to see Carol out.
     
    After dinner, Justin drove out to Ward Manor to get some answers. Skylar opened the door, and he could already tell this was going to be a hard sell to get any information. Skylar, who was never angry with anyone, was looking thunderbolts at him.
    “ Can I come in?”
    “ Sure.”
    Dymphna shut off the television and stood up as he came in, and suddenly Justin was surrounded by three semi-hostile faces.
    “ Come on, guys, we’re family...”
    “ Do you want to take this chance to explain what happened?” Leo asked gently, also standing. Justin sensed Leo would be his only ally.
    “ Yeah, fine. Kelsey came into my office, annoyed that I had thrown her over for Melanie. I hadn’t, because there wasn’t anything between us anymore anyway. But she pressed for a physical advantage just as Melanie walked in. Now you are my family, and you know me, so I’m not going to lie. I don’t know what to do about Melanie or how I feel about her or what happened, but I’m not a cheater. I’ve always called it off before I moved on. We planned to separate, and you know that. But you should also know that I’d at least wait until we were separated to have a relationship with another woman. Again, I’m not going to pretend that even now I know what I’m going to do with the marriage. But I at least want to talk to her and tell her what happened.”
    “ She was really hurt, Justin,” Skylar said, patting his arm. She wasn't pleased, but slightly mollified. Skylar couldn't stay mad for long.
    “ So where is she?”
    “ She went back to LA.”
    “ She didn’t even say goodbye?” Sure, Seb had told him she was gone, but somehow it stung again when Skylar said it. It was a misunderstanding, and he wanted it cleared up. What happened after that didn’t matter, but he wanted to clear his name. When they all nodded, Justin continued.  “Then at least tell me how I can contact her.”
    “ These two think with their hearts before their minds,” Leo grumbled. “My darling wife promised for all three of us that we wouldn’t give you her contact information. I don’t disagree with her. Melanie is a sweet woman, and you hurt her, inadvertently or not. We’ve been in contact with her, and all three of us are trying to get her to reach out