Read Putting on the Witch for Free Online

birthday,” Dorothy reminded him. “You have to go.”
    He kissed the side of her face. “I never go to their parties. I’d rather just go out to dinner with you.”
    â€œOh.” She smiled softly, her usually pale cheeks taking on a pink hue. “Thank you. But I couldn’t do that and take you away from your family.”
    â€œPlease. Take me away. I haven’t celebrated a birthday with my parents since I was five. And if you’d ever been to one of their birthday balls, you wouldn’t want to go again either.”
    â€œSo it wasn’t your idea to invite us?” I asked, wondering whose idea it was. His family had no love for us and had actively tried to keep Brian from being part of our coven. We weren’t worthy of the Fuller name.
    â€œNo,” he denied. “I wouldn’t do something like that to you.”
    Mike grinned at his words.
    â€œI think the rest of us would be very disappointed if we didn’t go.” Dorothy glanced at Elsie and me. “We’ve never been to a ball at a castle. It’s very exciting.”
    â€œAre you ashamed of us, Brian?” Olivia asked and I echoed.
    â€œNo—them! They’ve obviously put some thought into this. It scares me that they invited you when I think we all know how they feel about you.” He frowned. “Sorry. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.”
    â€œOh, Brian,” Elsie remarked. “I don’t care how they feel. I just want the champagne and the castle!”
    He shrugged. “Okay. If that’s what you want, you go this time, but you won’t ever want to go again. Believe me.”
    â€œA ball at a castle?” Mike nodded. “Sounds fun. I think you should all go.”
    â€œWhat do you have in mind?” I asked him quickly. “You’re a little too eager to get rid of me.”
    â€œJust some pizza and friends, since Dad is working a case. Nothing much.”
    â€œThat’s fine,” I told him. “Just don’t wreck the house. Or clean it up if you do.”
    He laughed. “Like Isabelle would let me do that. When I have friends over, she gives us these dirty looks, and I can just imagine her reporting back to you! See you later.” He hugged me and flopped down in front of the TV as we walked into the kitchen.
    â€œYou don’t think . . . ?” Olivia suggested.
    â€œNo. Mike isn’t a witch,” I answered. “We’d know by now.”
    â€œThere was Jerry Doffin’s daughter that he swore didn’t have magic,” Elsie said. “At her twenty-first birthday party, she levitated her cake across the room! He could still be a late-blooming witch.”
    I thought about it, glancing toward my son. “I’ve never known anyone that late blooming. Mike doesn’t have any magic. As I said, we’d know by now.”
    â€œWe could test him,” Brian suggested.
    â€œThat would mean telling him that he could be a witch,” I replied. “I don’t think so.”
    He jammed his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Just saying.”
    â€œIf we’re done with that, on to the shopping!” Elsie said. “I’m not sure about trying to create an entire ensemble with magic. I’ve been doing pretty well lately. But I don’t want to walk into the ball and have my gown fall on the floor.”
    â€œAre you going, Molly?” Dorothy asked.
    It wasn’t exactly something I’d always wanted to do, but my coven was part of my family too. Dorothy and Elsie might decide not to go if I didn’t. I wouldn’t want them to miss out if it was something they really wanted to do.
    â€œOf course.” I smiled as though I’d never considered not going. “I suppose this means a visit to Madam Tunis’s Beauty Mark.”
    â€œMadam Tunis!” Elsie was in raptures. “I haven’t been there since I was