The Witch and the Dead by Heather Blake

from afar, you’d automatically think
soft
. Yet . . . I wouldn’t cross her. There’s something in her eyes, almost a warning. There’s steel beneath that softness. What do you think of her?”
    â€œI’ve never met her.”
    â€œThat’s surprising, considering how close Harper and Marcus are.”
    â€œShe travels a lot, and apparently she’s not a big fan of my family.” I explained what Ve had said about Penelope’s jealousy.
    He banged the spoon on the side of the bowl and grabbed a scraper. “I can’t see jealous. Envious, maybe. It probably stings for her to see your family living the kind of lifestyle she wanted and couldn’t have because of her parents’ interference. It’s easier for her peace of mind to keep her distance from all of you.”
    Leave it to Evan to look at the situation rationally.
    â€œAnd you’re going to meet her tomorrow,” he added as he grabbed a brownie pan. “She’s in your scenery crew. I thought I told you.”
    â€œNo, I’d have remembered that.”
    â€œOh. Well. Sorry.” He grinned, not looking sorry at all. “She’ll be at the scene shop helping paint sets tomorrow afternoon. She and Oliver will be in town until Samhain, so last time she was here she volunteered to help out once she learned I was running things.”
    Knowing I’d see her tomorrow gave me time to prepare. I’d see what I could find out about her and Miles beforehand, and hopefully she wouldn’t mind answering a few questions after the build session.
    â€œDid you talk to Nick about helping to build the sets?” Evan asked.
    â€œHe said he would. Between him and Hank Leduc, those are going to be the best sets the playhouse has ever seen.”
    â€œHank?”
    I waved a hand. “Long story.”
    He grabbed my hand and his gaze narrowed on my ring finger. “I don’t see anything sparkly yet.”
    I pulled out of his grip. “What? My personality isn’t shining through?”
    With a grin, he said, “What’s Nick waiting for? We all know he’s had the ring for months.”
    Mimi had apparently let that detail slip to a lot of people. “He must have a plan. I’m patient. I can wait.”
    â€œWell,
I’m
running out of patience fast.”
    â€œGood thing he’s not thinking about marrying you.”
    He laughed. “Our kids would have been so gorgeous, too. It’s a shame.”
    They would have been. Then I got to thinking about the kids I might have with Nick and my heart went all mushy.
    Evan carefully poured his batter into the brownie pan. “And I think the problem is that Nick
doesn’t
have a plan.”
    â€œWhat’s that mean?”
    â€œOh, I can see it,” he said, leaning the scraper against the side of the bowl. “He’s probably trying to plan this big to-do. Fireworks or skywriters or something like that.”
    I laughed. “Nick’s not a skywriter kind of guy, and I wouldn’t want him to be.”
    â€œ
We
know that, but does he? Because he’s waited so long, there’s this huge buildup happening. He’s probably feeling the pressure to do something big and bold. Do you want me to talk to him? I’ll talk to him. I’ll do it. Tomorrow afternoon, I’ll pull him aside, give him a stern talking-to.”
    I had the feeling he’d been talking to Harper. Laughing, I said, “Settle down, Dad. Nick will ask when he’s ready.”
    â€œYeah, well, we’ll see.”
    I was going to have to keep an eye on Evan, make sure he didn’t corner Nick tomorrow. I retied the pastry box and was glad I bought a dozen mini cupcakes. There were nine left, and I had the feeling I’d need the leftovers this weekend. “Speaking of tomorrow . . .”
    Evan shook the scraper at me. “You’re not trying to back out of helping me