Untamable Matriarch: The Witheridge Witches

Chapter 12

George

It was almost five in the morning by the time Maggie and I had finished tucking Marcello into bed after checking on his bite. We barely started settling in ourselves when we noticed the sound of gravel flying off the road and lights flashing through the windows. The two of us flashed each other a look before she held a hand up to me signaling me to wait.

She whispered, "Reçui moi" and disappeared, leaving me alone with a snoring Marcello.

Frustrated, I rush to the nearest window and peer out of it to see my dad's car coming down the poorly paved drive before Maggie pops back into the room out of thin air again.

"It appears to be your father by how similar you two look." she says.

"I could have told you as much." I say in response as I start pacing the small room, racking my brain for the best way to handle this. On our way here Maggie decided I'd take the lead on how to deal with my dad when he inevitably found us squatting in his cabin, but I had quickly run out of time to figure out exactly how to frame our spontaneous visit back home in a believable way.

I heard his battered old truck come to a stop and shot Mags a reassuring half smile, which she returned dimly in kind before I straightened to my full height and headed out to meet him.

His car lights illuminated the front of the cabin and I could clearly see the outline of his body and the shotgun he had pointed towards the front door, even though his high beams made my vision spotty, disorienting me.

"Dad. It's me." I say as I slowly inch my way further onto the porch with my hands up before my father's voice greets me.

"Son?"

I see the realization creep onto his face as he points the barrel of the gun down.

"You know you're never unwelcome, but what the hell are you doin here? That's not your car." he chastises as he jerks his body pointing to Maggie's car.

"How was I supposed to know it was you and not some addict coming to loot our place for some quick cash?"

"I know, I know. I should have called first, but it was kind of spur-of-the-moment thing."

"Yeah, you should have fuckin called. I could have shot you, kid."

He was wearing his typical outfit of worn-out jeans and a just as worn plaid shirt under his tan canvas jacket. They looked wrinkled. Disheveled.

He probably hastily put on his clothes from yesterday before coming down here.

"You know you don't need an invitation. This place is as much yours as mine, but why are you here? And at this hour?" he asks with a knowing tone in his voice. Usually, the only reason I came back here was because I was in a bad way.

Luckily for me, Maggie chose that moment to pop out behind me.

"Hello, Mr. Woods." she greets my father with more sweetness than I knew she was capable of.

My father's eyes dart from her to me and then back again before he clicks his tongue,"I see."

Of all the reasons why he thought I was here, it was clear me bringing a woman home wasn't one of them.

The hard lines in his face soften as he asks, "Who's this pretty lady, son?"

I take a breath and look back at her, giving her an out if she wants one, but she only nods, giving me reassurance in what I say next.

I turn to my dad and say, "My partner."

And it wasn't a lie. Because that's exactly what she was to me. Sure, we'd fucked once, but after what she'd done for me and now Marcello, I'd follow her into a fucking fire if she asked me to.