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“Auntie, its dark out, and I have company.” Grabbing a robe from the hook on the back of the door, she shrugged it on. “Tomorrow is Sunday, I’ll come see you after mass.”
    “Tomorrow could be too late. I’ve done an awful thing, and we must work together to find a way to make this right. Death is after you, child.”
    She rubbed her forehead. Her aunt had always fancied herself a Gypsy and dabbled in the use of spells and magic. It was her ancestry, she’d claimed. Calista had never believed any of the hocus-pocus. However, she’d always loved her aunt dearly and indulged her, pretending to go along with her fantasies. But death being after her? Too much . “What are you talking about?”
    “You remember my friend Tobias?”
    “The street vendor?”
    “Yes. He told me of your two near misses with death, and so I have a confession to—”
    “They were accidents. That’s all. I’m fine, so stop worrying.” She peered down the shadowy hallway, the dark outline of the couch visible from the moonlight glazing the window. “Besides, I have my very own guardian angel.”
    “You don’t understand. I cursed your Ben. I used my gifts for evil, and now it is coming back at you.” She moaned, a dreadful sound laden with regret. “You are being punished for my wickedness. You must come to me, so I can protect you while I find a solution.”
    Anger surged along her nerves. Damn Ben for everything. “First of all, he’s not my Ben, nor was he ever. You should have stayed away from him. Second, I don’t believe in all this stuff, Auntie. I had two accidents. That’s it. Please stop this nonsense.”
    “Are you sure it’s nonsense, Calista? Have you had any other accidents in the past two days? Something you might have brushed off as a misstep?” A reproachful tsk-tsk snapped across the line. “And you do believe. I know you do. You have the gifts within you, running through your veins. If you’d only embrace them, you’d see the truth yourself.”
    She shook her head. This was an argument she wasn’t going to get into. “Just do what you can to reverse whatever it is you think you did. I’ll make sure to be careful. Goodnight, Auntie.”
    She hit the end button and tiptoed back into the living room only to find Andy sitting up. Reaching over, he clicked on the table lamp and leaned back into the cushions, arms crossed against his chest, eyebrow cocked.
    Well shit . “Everything was all on speaker, wasn’t it?”
    “Yeah, it sure was. So, your aunt is a witch or something?”
    Calista set the receiver on the charging unit and sat next to him. “Or something. She believes she and our ancestors were Gypsies. And that she has the ability to cast spells or, in this case, curse people. It’s all a bunch of hooey, but I’ve always put up with it because it’s easier than arguing with her.”
    “I see. So she believes she cursed Ben, and now you’re being punished for it by all these accidents?”
    Hearing his summation made the whole thing sound even more ridiculous. “Well, yeah, when you say it like that.” Heat crept up her neck, and trying to play down her embarrassment, she shrugged. “In a nut shell.”
    He nodded. “Guess I’d better watch my back when it comes to her, huh?”
    Calista’s heart stuttered. Would her crazy aunt be a deal breaker for him? Just my luck. I finally find a great guy, and wacky Aunt Nadya decides to start hurling curses. Great.
    “Hey, I was joking.” He stood, the blanket draped around his waist, and grabbed her hand. “Come on. Let’s get some sleep. We’ll worry about death later.”
    She followed him upstairs to her bedroom and joined him beneath the covers. Andy snuggled next to her, his arm warm against her hip. But as she lay there in the dark, listening to his slow, rhythmic breaths, worry crept up from the pit of her relationship abyss and picked at the frayed edges of her confidence.
    He probably would’ve found another excuse to walk away