Page 77 of Hallows End

“Don’t do that.” He takes one of my hands and kisses the palm. “Don’t promise something you don’t know for sure will happen.”

“Icanpromise that,” I insist. “Let’s go to the shop and dig in. And, as I said, if something is off, we’ll come back here.”

“We’re all going with you.”

I turn to find the aunts watching from the doorway, holding their brooms.

“I think I can use all the help I can get.”

Delia is waiting when we arrive, sitting on the top step of the shop’s porch.

“I hope you haven’t been waiting long,” I say as I stand on the sidewalk and gaze up at the old, puritan-style home I bought several years ago with the express intention of using it as my homeandbusiness.

And now, I’m half-afraid to go inside.

But, with Jonas at my side, along with my aunts and cousins, I lift my chin and walk up the steps to meet Delia.

“You okay?” she murmurs as she hugs me.

“I’mfantastic.” I smile and then approach the door, keying in the code for the locks before opening it wide. “We’re going to leave this door open, along with the windows, while we clean. I’m warning anything inside that shouldn’t be, you’ll want to take your leave. Now. I’m done being fucked with.”

“We didn’t raise our girls to be timid.” Astrid smiles proudly. “Come on, witches, we have work to do.”

Jonas doesn’t leave my side for a moment all afternoon, and it helps to soothe my frayed nerves to have him close by. We sweep, clean, and laugh the afternoon away, and then, once all the trash has been taken out, we restock the shop’s shelves, and I go out into the garden to pick some fresh herbs for the ovens.

All the while, the property feels calm.

It feelsclean.

The cold nights have begun to kill off some of the plants for the season, so I trim things back and prepare it for winter before walking into the greenhouse, smiling at the sight of all of thegreen.

“Hello, pretties.”

As usual, the leaves all seem to sit up as if to say hello.

For the next fifteen minutes, I tend the plants in the greenhouse, pick some flowers, and nudge the calendula along with the wiggle of my fingers.

“There you are,” Breena says from the doorway. “You always did like wandering off to play with your plants.”

“It soothes me.”

“I know. Everything’s pretty much done inside. I think we’re all going to head out now.”

“Oh, I’ll come in and thank everyone.”

I grab my already full basket and walk with Breena inside, where everyone is gathered in the kitchen.

“I just can’t thank you enough for helping me today.”

“There was nowhere else we’d be.” Delia checks the time. “But I do have a hot date, so I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you!”

I’m hugged and kissed, and Hilda makes me promise to call if I need anything before they all leave Jonas and me with Nera. I sit, listening to the stillness of the house.

“There’s nothing here.” I sigh and look up into Jonas’s blue eyes. “Whatever was here before is gone now. I don’t know how I know, I just do.”

“I agree.” He drags his knuckles down my cheek. “And I’m glad for it.”