Chapter 42

EZRA

I stared out the window, taking in the pre-dawn light as the smell of coffee brewing grew stronger. There was a slight chill in the air, just enough to remind me that fall wasn't too far away. Hopefully, it wouldn't get too cold this winter. I wasn't so sure the heat would work without burning down the house.

Taking in the dark aroma of coffee, I fought to keep it from turning into a sigh. John was already out in the garden, his thin frame hunched over working with the plants.

After what happened in the warehouse with his father, and Nathan at the Ackland manor, he and I agreed that going back to his family was a bad idea. The Witches didn't handle betrayal well, and I didn't want to see what they'd do to John. But in the past few months that he had been staying with Avery and me, I'd noticed a change in him that certainly wasn't for the better.

He was quieter and spent most of his time alone working outside around the house. The most s