The War on Witches Read Free Page B

thing she wanted to do was be a nag. At least one of the Halliwell sisters should be having fun with her family. But Phoebe’s impromptu vacation would come with an obvious cost that Paige was somewhat surprised Phoebe hadn’t already seen. “Yes, Disneyland could be fun,” Paige said. “
Or
you could pop over to the other side of the world and visit a certain sister who recently made a miraculous recovery from being dead.”
    Phoebe finished off her glass of wine looking anywhere but at Paige.
    Paige took the empty glass out of Phoebe’s hand and placed it on the bar. “Piper’s wine glasses here are big, but not big enough to hide behind. Also? Clear glass.”
    Phoebe swirled her finger around the rim of the glass. “I don’t want to take away from Piper’s time with her. Growing up, it was always the two of them with me tagging along. I’d feel like a third wheel.”
    â€œYeah, well, Piper could stand to spend a couple hours at her restaurant,” Paige said. “I’m drowning in paperwork and personnel issues. Besides, I know that Prue would love it. She always asks about you when I pop in to get Piper’s help with the latest crisis here or at home.”
    â€œYeah, but Piper was always closer to Prue—”
    â€œAnd you were a complete stranger who had no relationship with her whatsoever?” Paige finished her own glass of wine as she eyed her sister. It was long past time for them to talk about the former demonic elephant not in the room. “You’re making excuses. We both know it has nothing to do with Prue.”
    Phoebe grabbed the bottle and poured herself a second glass. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    â€œYou know
exactly
what I’m talking about.” Paige grabbed the bottle. It was way too early in the day for that kind of drinking. “Tall, dark, and undead.”
    â€œYou say that like he’s a zombie.”
    â€œYeah, well, he’s not exactly breathing,” Paige said. “Look, I know I’m the last person in the world to extol the virtues of Cole Turner, but he’s back in our lives whether we want it or not. The Elders saw to it when they made him Prue’s guy Friday. There has to be some method to their madness.”
    â€œThere isn’t usually,” Phoebe said.
    â€œI’ll grant you that.” Paige gave in and poured herself a second glass as well. Aside from it being early in the day, she probably shouldn’t be drinking on the job, but what was the point of having a fully stocked wine cellar if one was not going to use it? “But the powers that be wouldn’t go to the trouble of setting you up with Coop—something they’ve never done before—only to tempt you with your ex a few years down the line.”
    â€œMaybe that’s exactly their plan,” Phoebe said. “Maybe it’s a test. Maybe they want me to be tempted.”
    â€œAnd maybe they just want to give Cole his shot at redemption, like they said,” Paige replied. “Cole was always at his best when he was with you. Well, at least he tried to be. And don’t think it’s not killing me to admit it. Pretty sure no one on this planet has been a harsher critic of the guy than me.”
    â€œOkay, but—”
    Paige’s hand clenched her glass to the point of almost breaking as the sound of crashing pots and pans emerged from the kitchen. It sounded like half the metal contents of the shelves had come cascading down in there. Paige was afraid to find out the cause, but the screams that followed indicated that a person was more likely to blame than a loose screw. The loudest of those voices belonged to Jackson.
    Paige looked back at her sister, grabbing her arm. “How about we pop in on them right now?”
    Phoebe tried to pull away. “I thought you had a million things to do here?”
    Paige held tight.