“I gave her a fake date. It was just habit. I didn’t mean to lie,” Finn explained as she walked to her room with Mia by her side.
“Fix it now.” Mia smiled. “First, let’s see if the card’s signed and we’ll go from there.”
They walked into Finn’s room and Finn headed straight to the flowers. “The card isn’t signed, but the florist is next door to the coffee shop. Do you mind driving me over so I can see who sent them?”
“Not a problem.” Mia needed another cup of coffee anyway. The potion from Cleo this morning was wearing off and she wanted to go back to sleep, but she didn’t want to sleep her life away either. “Let me grab my keys from the apartment and we can go.”
When they arrived at the florist, the woman who had taken the order was gone to lunch. Mia looked at the clock. “It’s almost time for her to be back. Just come over to the coffee shop and I’ll buy you a coffee while we wait.”
Marsha Fieldstone’s face burst with joy as they walked inside Magic Brews. Mia waved. She’d been so excited to get any information, she hadn’t looked at who was supplying it. The coffee shop was empty, so after they ordered the coffee, Mia took a chance and asked Marshaabout the flowers. “Does the list of new witches also give you details like their date of birth? How did you know when to send Finn flowers?”
Marsha jerked at the question and spilled coffee on her hand. She grabbed a towel to sop it up. “No, the entrance/exit report just says that. Who’s in and who’s out. How did you know about the flowers?”
Mia smiled as she walked through her guess. “You gave Finn a dragon statue. You talk about her like she’s amazing. And you almost glowed when we walked in here today. On her birthday. You don’t have much of a poker face.”
“As a level five, your intuition is on high alert all the time. You’ll find this happening more and more now.” Marsha turned to face Finn and took a deep breath. “I’ve always known Finn’s birthday because I’m the woman who gave her up for adoption. Finn, I’m your biological mom. I know you don’t have any responsibility to talk to me, but I just wanted to tell you how proud I am of you and the woman you’ve become.”
Finn stared at her. “You’re my mom?”
Marsha shook her head as she answered. “I know your adoptive mom gets that title. I’m just hoping we can develop some kind of friendship. I never wanted to give you up, but things were complicated.”
Mia and Marsha were floored when Finn went over and hugged Marsha. “Thanks for telling me. Now, my witch talent makes more sense. Thank you for the flowers.”
“You’re welcome. It was the least I could do. Does this mean you might want to continue talking?” Marsha looked at Finn with hope pouring out of her.
Finn looked up at her with wet eyes. “As long as you’re fine with it. I know having me show up after all these years is probably a shock.”
“More for you than me.” Marsha hugged her again, then stepped back behind the counter. “We all need coffee.”
CHAPTER22
After the coffee was made, Marsha went over to the door, locked it, and turned the sign to close the shop. When she sat down at a table with Finn and Mia, she took a sip of coffee. “Do you have any questions for me? I’m not going to push to be part of your life; I just want you to know I’m here.”
Finn focused on her drink, but then looked into Marsha’s eyes. “Who’s my dad? Why did you give me up?”
Marsha sighed. “I got pregnant in high school. Ken Forney. He was a beautiful boy. We were just kids, experimenting with emotions we should have locked up for years. It was summer at the lake and things went too far. By the time I knew about you, he was off to college and I was a pregnant high school junior. It was a hard year, but I knew I wanted to have you and give you the best shot at a great life that I could. So I gaveyou up for adoption. Ken signed the papers when he came home for spring break, and that was the last time I saw him. He was killed in a motorcycle accident on his way home from college the next year.”
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Mia said, trying to keep the conversation going.
Marsha shrugged. “We were too young to fall in love and know what it meant. You look like him, Finn. Dark hair, dark eyes. He was a beautiful boy.”
Finn didn’t say anything.
Mia looked over at Marsha. “Not to change the subject, but you told me that Brandon already knew about Finn coming to town. How did he find that out?”
Marsha leaned back, tapping her finger on the table. “I’ve been thinking a lot about that since you brought it up. I don’t know. He shouldn’t have known unless he looked at the in-and-out book. I’m supposed to be the only one who has access, but maybe that’s not true. Maybe the leadership has at least one access spot. That’s all I can think of. Nationals is very clear on why this assignment needs to be a nonleadership position, but I don’t think they check.”
“Brandon has been breaking the rules quite a bit lately.” Mia texted the information to Abigail. “One more question: Did you file a complaint about my original level three ranking?”
“No. Why would I? I’m a level three, and I chose to stay there, officially. I’m sure if I retested, I’d be ranked higher, but who wants the headache of being a higher level? A lot of people just stay with their original level so they don’t have to deal with the bureaucracy ofcoven life.” Marsha smiled at Finn. “Any time you want to talk or just hang out, let me know. I know you’ve had a lot thrown at you this year.”
“Let’s see, I’m a witch, I’ve signed up for culinary school, my van died, Mia invited me into her circle, and I found out I’m an excellent chef. Oh, and the library is haunted, but it likes me.” Finn shrugged. “You being my bio-mom sounds about par for the course. I need some time to think about what we are to each other, but I’ll start by coming in for coffee once a week or so. We can chat then.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Marsha glanced at her watch. “Classes are just getting out. I need to reopen so I don’t miss the after-school munchy and coffee crowd.”
Mia stood. “Thanks for talking with us. About everything.”
Trent texted as soon as they left the coffee shop.
