“I set your number to important so I wouldn’t miss your calls,” Carly said, her voice sounding tired. “I wanted to be available if you had another vision.”
“That was smart thinking.” Joy hadn’t even known that was an option on the phone.
“Did you see Harlow again?” she asked. There was profound sadness in her tone that made Joy want to cry.
“No. I didn’t see Harlow, but my coven helped me do a finding spell, and I saw the house.”
Carly sucked in a sharp breath. “You know where she is?” she asked in a low whisper.
Joy hated to disappoint her, but there was no getting around it. “I’m sorry, Carly. I saw the house, but unfortunately, I have no idea where it is. The street name wasn’t visible, and I couldn’t even see a house number.”
“Oh. Well, I’m not sure how that helps, but thanks for—”
“I have a drawing of it,” Joy said, cutting her off. “I was going to text it to you in case it’s familiar or you want to give it to your private detective.”
“Really? Well, it’s a step in the right direction, I guess. Thank you. Hopefully he can do something with it. I’ll send it over to him ASAP.”
“Sure. And I’ll make a copy and drop it off with Detective Coolidge tomorrow,” Joy said.
“What? No, I can’t let you do that,” she rushed out. “You’ve done so much already. I’ll take care of it.”
Joy actually found herself slumping with relief. She’d been going nonstop for days and was ready to let go of everything. “That would be great. Tell the detective to call me if she has questions.”
“I will. Thanks, Joy.”
“You’re welcome. You know I’d do anything to help. I’m praying Harlow comes home soon.”
“Thanks.” The line went dead, and Joy sent the text. Then she folded her arms on the table and put her head down for just a moment.
“Mrs. Lansing?”
The familiar voice jerked her awake, and she quickly sat up. Pain shot down her neck again and she cried out, “Ow!”
“Whoa, are you okay?” Jackson sat in the chair next to her and reached out as if he was going to massage her neck but then dropped his hand at the last moment.
“Yeah. I’m okay. I guess I fell asleep, and now my neck has seized up. A bath—uh, ibuprofen should help.”
He glanced down the hall toward Kyle’s bedroom. “How long have you been here?”
She shrugged one shoulder. “Not sure. Forty-five minutes or so.”
Silence fell between them until he cleared his throat. “I came over to give Kyle a hand.”
“Sure.” She glanced away and felt like an idiot that she couldn’t look Jackson in the eye. There were just some things mothers shouldn’t know. “How is he?”
“Better now that he’s had a bath,” Jackson said. Then he laughed and looked down at his shirt. “I guess he managed to give me one, too. It was a little perilous getting him out of your tub. It’s so deep. But the shower in the hall bath was out of the question because of his cast, so he asked me to help him in and out of the tub. Can’t say that’s something I thought I’d be doing, but when your… um, friend, needs help, you do what you gotta do, right?”
“You’re rambling,” Kyle said from the doorway of the kitchen. He was propped up on his crutches, his face freshly scrubbed and his hair still wet.
Joy glanced between them and didn’t miss the panicked look on Jackson’s face. Although, curiously, Kyle just looked amused. Joy rose from her chair and walked over to her son. She placed her palms on his cheeks and asked, “How are you doing, really?”
He smiled at her, and she was pleased to see it was his easy smile, like he was relaxed and not in constant pain. “Better. Can we go sit in the living room? I think we need to talk.”
“Sure, baby. Do you want anything? Water? Tea? Coffee?” Joy reached for the kettle, intending to make herself a cup of tea.
“Water for me,” Kyle said. “Jackson will have tea. Herbal, no caffeine.”
“Hey! What if I want caffeine?” Jackson protested.
“It will keep you up all night and then you’ll be falling asleep at the espresso machine tomorrow,” Kyle said easily. “It’s either herbal or decaf for you.”
Jackson rolled his eyes, but his lips were curved into a tiny smile. “Herbal, I guess.”
“I’m on it,” Joy said, happily. “Jackson, help Kyle to the living room. I’ll be right out.”
Kyle shook his head. “I don’t need help to go twenty feet, Mom.”
“Just let your boyfriend help you, honey,” she said and reached for the tea box. Silence filled the room, and it took her a moment to realize what she’d done. Joy dropped the tea tin on the counter and spun around, horrified at her slip. She’d been waiting for him to tell her when he was ready. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I’m tired and it just slipped out.”
Kyle and Jackson shared a long look. Then Kyle held his hand out to Jackson. Jackson bit his lower lip but moved to stand next to him and take his hand.
Joy felt tears sting her eyes, and she smiled at them tenderly. “I love you both. You know that, right?”
Kyle nodded.
Jackson swallowed hard. “Thanks, Mrs. Lansing.”
“Stop that Mrs. Lansing crap right now, Jackson. Haven’t I already told you to call me Joy a hundred times? You’re family for god’s sake. There’s no need for formalities here. Now go into the living room and I’ll bring the tea and water in a moment.”
Jackson let go of Kyle’s hand and watched him for a moment as he crutched his way to the couch. Then he turned to Joy, strode over, and gave her a tight hug. Joy wrapped her arms around the young man who’d been in her son’s life since childhood and whispered, “I’m happy for you both.”
When Jackson pulled away, he quickly wiped at his eyes and said, “I heard you before at the hospital, but… you know my mom doesn’t agree with my ‘lifestyle.’ And to see how you handled that, well, I’m both very happy and also a little sad because I’ll never get something like that from my own mom.”
Joy wrapped her arms around Jackson one more time, held him tightly, and said, “You’re a treasure, Jackson. Remember that. I’d be proud to be your mother if you weren’t dating my son.”
He let out a choked laugh and let her go. “That would be creepy, wouldn’t it?”
“Just a smidge.” She grabbed a glass from the cabinet and handed it to him. “Get Kyle his water while I finish up this tea.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He winked at her and did as he was told.
A few minutes later, Joy handed Jackson his tea and sat in one of the armchairs across from the couch where the two young men were sitting together. “Okay, here I am. What do we need to talk about?” she asked easily.
“Um…” Kyle cleared his throat. “Well…” He glanced at Jackson, his eyes pleading.
Jackson laughed. “She already knows. Why is it so hard to say it?”
“I don’t know,” Kyle said hotly. “I’ve never had to do this before.”