Mother May I (Knight Games Book 4) by Genevieve Jack Read Free Book Online

take you on a picnic.” I left, remembering my first date with Rick, a picnic on Monk’s Hill that had ended in lovemaking. I hoped tomorrow would end in precisely the same way.

Chapter 6
    Wine O’Clock
    T welve hours later, I shouldered my front door open, finished working the hospital shift from hell. I didn’t close the door behind me. The stench in my house was stifling, and I needed the fresh air. My entire place reeked of roses, Tabetha’s roses. The witch was exacting her revenge by way of a vine of red blooms eternally coiling around my banister. I’d succeeded in containing the roses to the stairwell, but no matter what spells I tried from either of my magical grimoires, I could not keep the flowers from growing or blooming.
    I tossed my keys toward the kitchen island from the foyer. They didn’t make it. With a clang, they hit the wood floor. No way was I bending down to pick them up. I hit the couch. Face first. In my scrubs. And started blubbering like a kid who dropped their ice cream cone.
    With my head buried in a floral pillow, I heard rather than saw Poe fly down the stairwell and land on the sofa arm.
    “Who died?” he asked sarcastically.
    Asshole . I looked at him out of the corner of my eye. “My father.”
    Poe gasped in disbelief. “What happened?”
    “Nothing. Dad is fine. But it serves you right for being so sarcastic about my emotional breakdown. What if it was serious?”
    “But it’s not, is it?” He rolled his black eyes. “That was not funny! I’ve grown quite fond of your dear old dad. We live in dangerous times. You shouldn’t joke about such things.”
    “Bite me.” I buried my face in the pillow again.
    “What has your undies in a bunch?”
    I sat up and rested my feet on the coffee table. “Not only do I have to face my mother tonight, a woman who happens to be a vengeful goddess responsible for at least one witch’s death, but I have not slept or eaten a decent meal in over twenty-four hours. On top of that quagmire, I was written up today and threatened with dismissal for being late. You know why I was late? Because I was poisoned by a goblin and almost bled to death. A girl has to take a shower after that, Poe.”
    “You could be fired?” Poe fluffed his feathers in alarm.
    “Yes, and if I am, I can’t take care of you in the manner you’ve grown accustomed. Sure, the house is paid for, but there is the problem of food and heat. It wouldn’t be such a big deal if I’d married Rick as planned. He had quite the nest egg. But as that plan is on permanent hiatus, I need this job. Only, I can’t take a night off because Rick can’t shift or do magic to defend the ward.” I ran out of breath near the end of my tirade and had to take a long and noisy inhale. Once oxygen was accounted for, I banged my head against the arm of the sofa.
    “Special delivery!” I looked toward the open door to see Logan staring openmouthed at my headbanging. The Valentine burger I’d ordered on the way home was in a brown paper bag in his hands.
    “Why do you look like someone just died?” he asked.
    “It was her father,” Poe said without hesitation.
    All the blood drained from Logan’s face, and he dropped the bag.
    “Poe is being an asshole. My father is alive and well. I’m upset because I almost got fired today.”
    “And she almost died last night,” Poe added.
    I waved my hand in the air. “That too. Near death, bloody battle, blah, blah, blah. You’ve heard it all before.” I stood and retrieved my dinner from the floor. “Thanks for bringing this. You have no idea the fucking day I’ve had.”
    “Geesh, language, Grateful. There are ravens who act like children in the room.” Logan shot Poe an angry glance. “Now, tell Uncle Logan what happened.”
    I kicked the door closed behind him. “Okay. Come in. Sit down. I gotta eat, and we are definitely going to need wine for this.”
     
    * * * * *
     
    Two bottles later, Logan stared across the table at me in