The Witch's Promise Read Online Free PDF

two-inch strips of well polished oak, covered with an occasional throw rug. Dark, 4-by-4 beams lined the white ceiling. The beams appeared to be of the same material as the window frames. Each doorway and hallway from the main room was framed in the same material, but the dark accents didn't make a dark house. The ceiling and walls were bright white with more than adequate indirect lighting provided by low-watt brass lamps, spaced regularly throughout the main room.
     
    The left and right walls had two exits each. He'd been in the kitchen and dining room on the right. A hallway on the left probably led to the bathroom and bedrooms.
     
    John heard footsteps in the kitchen and the characteristic beep of a microwave while he sat on the couch and investigated the magazines on the coffee table -- a news magazine and a journal on herbs. He surveyed the room again for plants and noticed quite a few -- potted, live plants as well as small bunches of dried leaves, which he assumed were herbs of one sort or another. That seemed to account for the pleasant smell.
     
    "Okay. All ready," Jillian said as she came back bearing a casserole dish full of some kind of layered bean dip.
     
    He escorted her to his car, but since she was carrying the casserole dish with both hands there was no use offering her an arm. He opened the door for her and she smiled.
     
    Well that's a good sign, anyway, he thought. 
     
    "John," Jillian began in that voice that says, "I have something hard to tell you and I've got to start by just blurting out something, like your name," to which John replied, according to custom, "Yes?," and then waited -- knowing that this was the worst part; the indeterminate wait after the initial syllable.
     
    "A friend of mine named Sean is going to be at this party tonight, and I want you to meet him," she began.
     
    An ex-?, John wondered. And why do I have to know this ahead of time?
     
    "He's a friend, and has been more than a friend, and ... well, I want you two to get along."
     
    John reached across the seat and took her hand.
     
    "Hey. Don't worry," he said. "Why shouldn't I like the guy? Is he still interested in you or something?"
     
    "No. Well, ... yes and no. We parted amiably. Different visions of the future, that's all. It's complicated, but the gist of it is that no matter how much we like each other, we have irreconcilable differences."
     
    "I guess it's better to find that out before it involves a judge," John said, and then suddenly wondered if he'd assumed too much. Maybe it was an ex-husband. And he really didn't like the idea of the ex- who wasn't completely ex-.
     
    Don't get ahead of yourself, he warned. You're not marrying this girl. Worry about it when it matters.
     
    As they approached their destination, John realized he had no idea what kind of an event this was. It could be a jousting tournament or a Tupperware party for all Jillian had told him. It seemed – or at least now John realized – that the only thing that mattered was that Sean and John would both be there. Obviously this meeting meant a lot to Jillian. But why? Was his presence supposed to scare the guy off? Was the break up one-sided?
     
    They arrived at the house. John pulled the car into the driveway and, with his hands poised to stop the engine, said, "I have to admit that I'm feeling a little weird about this."
     
    Jillian glanced at his hands, still holding the keys, the engine still running, and then she looked nervously at the house. There was something like a calculating look to her face, John thought. But then something seemed to click in her mind and she turned back to John with an expression that seemed to teeter between betrayal, remorse and compassion.
     
    "I'm sorry, John. I guess I hadn't considered this from your perspective, and I'm sure it's a little awkward. Relax, okay. It won't be a big deal." She leaned across the seat and kissed him on the cheek.
     
    She turned to open her car door, then hesitated,