Southern Belles and Spells Matchmaker Mysteries

by Amy Boyles

  Frankie scowled. My mind raced back to the black roses, the note, the cockroaches that crawled from the flowers, and I understood Frankie’s fear.

  She wasn’t convinced the hair dryer was an accident. Frankly I wasn’t either. This was either a very serious warning or attempted murder.

  I sighed. As much as I wanted Thorne to be away from Frankie, it looked like we might be needing him on set after all.

  My gaze darted around until it landed on him. I pushed through the crowd.

  “What is it?” he said. “The hot tub not the right temperature for her?”

  I shook my head. “No. It’s more serious than that.”

  His brow cocked to the sky. He was skeptical.

  Time to convince him. “I think someone just tried to murder Frankie.”

  “Well, I can’t say I’m surprised,” Mama said that night when I told her. “It’s not as if Frankie is loved by many. She’s mean, nasty and has used many people in her life.”

  “It could be that Frankie’s doing all this herself,” Rose offered.

  “Are you kidding?”

  “Not at all.” Rose picked up Pig and set the animal on her lap. The pig grunted happily as Rose rubbed her head.

  “Frankie,” she explained, “is the sort of woman who craves attention. I wouldn’t be surprised if she planted the roses and hair dryer.”

  I scoffed.

  “I’m serious,” she said. “Didn’t you say that Frankie asked you to walk her to the door?”

  “Yes.”

  Rose snapped her fingers, and a peach appeared in her hand. She fed it to Pig.

  “Peaches now?”

  Rose shrugged. “You keep saying chocolate is bad for her, so I thought I’d give her some fruit.”

  “Those pits are awfully big.”

  “She hasn’t choked on one yet,” Rose said.

  I wasn’t convinced that Rose had moved from one bad food to something better. In the end time would tell.

  “But it makes sense,” Rose said. “She asked you to see her to the door, where the roses were discovered. She also made sure you were with her when you walked to the hot tub, where it appeared Frankie had also been threatened.

  “It doesn’t take a brainiac to put two and two together,” Rose added.

  I bit my tongue, unsure of who the brainiac was in this conversation—Rose or Pig.

  There wasn’t time to ponder the question as Mama interjected. “I wouldn’t put it past Frankie. She’s always looking for attention.” She rolled her eyes. “It’s so annoying.”

  “Well, even if it’s annoying, it’s still possible that someone wants her harmed.”

  “Are you stopping the dating game?” Mama asked.

  My cell phone rang. I picked it up from the counter and glanced at the name. “It’s the mayor. I put a call in to her.”

  I excused myself and answered. “Mayor, there might be a problem.”

  “I’ve already heard about what happened with the hot tub,” she said, “and Charming, I don’t think there’s anything to worry about.”

  “But Mayor—” I argued.

  “There are no buts. I spoke to Frankie herself, and she insisted we continue with the show. She wants to find her soul mate the same as anyone else. Besides,” the mayor added, “this is great exposure for our town. Charming, you’ve helped so much. You broke much of the curse that plagued us, and now I need you to just make sure the rest of the dating show goes smoothly.”

  The mayor kept talking, not allowing me to get a word in edgewise. “All we’re talking is a couple of days. The hot tub incident was an accident. No doubt about it.”

  “Only no one admitted to throwing the blower in there.”

  She scoffed. “It probably just fell. Simple as that. Now,” Winnifred used her voice that meant she was wrapping up the conversation, “if we’re done talking, I have lots of preparations to make. India and I are meeting with the new PR people in the morning. We’ll have all hands on deck for the dating show tomorrow night. After what happened with the hot tub, I’ll be sure to be there. I’m not going to let anything get in the way of Witch’s Forge’s comeback, Charming. Absolutely anything. Is that loud and clear?”

  I sighed. There was no battling the mayor. She was a steamroller if nothing else.

  “I understand.”

  “Good. Now if that’s all you wanted to discuss, I wish you good night.”

  “Good night,” I said and hung up.

  I returned to the kitchen and slumped against the wall. Broom rushed up to me and swept the floor at my feet.

  “The mayor says we keep going.”

  “If it makes you feel any better, Rose and I can come along,” Mama said. “You know, to be an extra set of eyes and ears.”

  As much as their presence would have been helpful, I shook my head. “No. It’ll be fine. There are plenty of folks around who can help if something happens. I convinced Thorne to come back tomorrow, too, just in case we needed police presence.”

  Mama quirked a brow. “Isn’t that dangerous? Putting him so close to Frankie?”

  I shook my head. “No. He asked me out. He’s not interested in her.”

  Mama and Rose exchanged a charged look. Pig snorted. Broom bounced up and down.

  “What?” I said, confused.

  Mama’s face split into a wide grin. “Oh, I just knew it! I knew the two of you would finally come together.”

  Rose plumped her white curls. “I just can’t believe Thorne was able to resist my maturity, is all. You must have something special, Charming.”

  I scoffed. “It’s only dinner.”

  Mama rose. She took my hands and spun me around. “But dinner can often lead to more dinners and then the first thing you know, you feel special about someone and then, well, wonderful things happen.”

  “Is that how it was with you and Dad?”

  Her bright smiled faded. Mama slowly nodded. “It was.” She snapped her fingers. “Wait here.”

  She disappeared from the room. Rose patted Pig. “But I think you should take Pig with you tomorrow, if nothing else.”

  “Pig? Why?”

  “Well, if she can sniff out a truffle buried under the ground, then I’m sure she can sniff danger.”

  I nodded. “You think so?”

  “Oh, I know so. No doubt about it. Take Pig and if there’s someone who means to harm Frankie, this here swine will find them.”

  Might as well play along even though this was the craziest idea Rose might have ever had. “And what will Pig do when she finds them?”

  “Oh, she’ll attack for sure.”

  I frowned. “What?”

  “Pig,” Rose said, “show Charming what we’ve been working on.”

  She settled Pig on the ground. The little potbellied creature glanced uncertainly at Rose.

  “Go on,” Rose said, trying to pump some courage into her. “You can do it. Get ’em!”

  Then out of nowhere, Pig launched herself at a stuffed teddy bear that lay on the floor. She got it between her teeth, shook it side to side and then tossed it in the air.

  Then Pig hovered over the teddy bear and growled something fierce.

  This little piggy had the meanest look on her face, and it was the absolute cutest thing I’d ever seen. It was nearly impossible not to laugh, but I somehow managed.

  “Wow. Pig is something. But I’m not sure I can take her with me.”

  “Oh, I insist,” Rose said. “Pig will go with you, and she’ll help out. I promise you won’t regret this decision.”

  Honestly I found that part hard to believe. I figured I would definitely regret something, I just wasn’t sure what.

  Mama swept back into the room carrying a glossy cedar box. She settled it on the counter and smiled at me.

  “What’s that?”

  “This,” she said mysteriously, “is what I wore on my very first date with your father. I’ve been saving it for you, waiting for the right time to give it to you. You
never dated, and I think there’s something special about Thorne.”

  She raised her hand to stop me from protesting. “Not that I’m saying you’ll get married or anything, but I believe y’all have a connection.”

  I stared at the box, and the weight of my mother’s words fell heavy on me. She’d saved whatever lay inside for me. Waiting until the right time.

  Our relationship hadn’t always been perfect. For most of my life I believed my mother considered me worthless as a witch, but over the past few weeks I’d come to realize that she loved me very much.

  And I loved her.

  “Thank you,” I said. “That’s very kind.”

  “I hope you like it.”

  She slid a golden bar from the lock and lifted the lid. Inside lay an aquamarine heart. The pendant had been slid over a delicate silver chain.

  My breath hitched. It was an exquisite piece of jewelry.

  “It’s gorgeous.”

  “I knew you would like it.” Mama pulled it from the box. The heart dangled heavily on the chain. “I should have waited until the night of your date, but I just couldn’t.”

  I smiled at her and lifted the box. “You can give it to me then. I won’t take it now.”

  She gently placed the heart atop the lined surface. The chain pooled around the stone. “I will.”

  I gave Mama a hug. When we parted, Rose pointed to Pig. “So what do you think, Charming? Will she be your new attack pig?”

  I grimaced. Part of me didn’t want to hurt Rose’s feelings. Heck, all of me didn’t want to hurt Rose’s feeling.

  I nodded toward Pig. “Sure. I’ll take her with me to the set tomorrow night. Maybe she can catch whoever’s threatening Frankie.”

  Pig grunted in pleasure. I gave her a light tap on the head before going up to bed.

  Chapter 7

  The hot air balloon flew overhead, its bulbous fabric fat and full. Though Watts had said he wanted to do the hot air balloon ride with Frankie, the mayor had insisted on putting Tex in the hot air balloon, for ratings.

  “How are things going, Charming?”

  Mayor Winnifred Dixon sauntered up, followed by India, who shuffled behind.

  I shielded my eyes to get a better look. “Looks good from here. Nothing strange happening yet.”

  The mayor nodded. “Good, good. Let’s hope it stays that way.”

  Pig pranced up to me, her nose high in the air. “What on earth is that pig doing here?” she said.

  “Oh, she’s a police pig. Can smell out bad people.”

  Gosh, I hoped that stupid excuse work. The mayor appraised Pig and appeared impressed. “Well, sounds good. Make sure if anything strange happens that she’s on it.”

  “Will do.”

  The mayor turned to India. “Come, India, we must go talk to Vic. See if he’s interested in doing another dating game show after this.”

  “Another one?” I said.

  “Charming, the ratings are through the roof! If we could do a special once a month, with your expertise, of course, we’d rake in the tourists and the dough. After all”—she leaned in conspiratorially—“what’s good for Witch’s Forge is good for all of us.”

  “Sure,” I said numbly, unconvinced.

  I pinned my gaze back on the balloon. Frankie and Tex had been up there for about fifteen minutes. They were supposed to do thirty, tops.

  A large shadow fell over me. “Beautiful afternoon.”

  I glanced up to see Thorne looking casual in jeans and a button-down. His mouth curled into a relaxed smile.

  I couldn’t stop a smile from spreading over my face. “It is a beautiful afternoon.”

  “I hear tomorrow’s supposed to be gorgeous, too.”

  “Is it?”

  “Mmm hmmm. Thought maybe we could spend it together.”

  “Are you off then?”

  “I am.”

  I folded my arms and pivoted toward him. “What if Witch’s Forge needs you?”

  He bumped me playfully with his shoulder. “I think for one night the other guys can handle it. Besides, you’re off too, right? Frankie doesn’t have her date with Watts until day after tomorrow.”

  I tapped my lips as if considering his offer. “That is true.”

  He cocked a brow suggestively. “So what do you say?”

  “Are you pinning down my schedule for our date?”

  “I am.”

  Butterflies flitted in my stomach. “Okay, then. I say yes.” Before Thorne could say anything else, I pointed to the sky. “How’re you enjoying watching Frankie date another man?”

  “I’d rather she sink her claws into someone besides me.”

  “She thought your date went well.”

  Thorne raked his fingers through his hair and scowled. “I get the feeling Frankie would think almost any date went well as long as she was in control.”

  “Ouch.”

  He shrugged. “She’s not my type, okay. I’ve already made that clear.”

  I watched as the hot air balloon swayed. “What the…?”

  “What is it?”

  I pointed. “Look.”

  “That’s not supposed to happen.”

  “No, it isn’t.”

  The basket suspended from the balloon swayed again. I pushed the talk button on my walkie-talkie. Static crackled from the speaker. “What’s going on up there? Is everyone okay?”

  No one replied. I shot Thorne a concerned look. “Can you fly?” I asked.

  He shot me a pointed look. “I’m a vampire, not Superman.”

  I shrugged. “I’m sure I don’t know the extent of your powers.”

  “Vampires can’t fly. How’s that? You have a better chance of that than I do.”

  Frankie’s voice suddenly pierced the speaker of the walkie-talkie. “Charming? Is that you?”

  “I’m here. What’s happening?”

  “There’s a wind. Some sort of magical wind. Oooh! It’s battering us. Came out of nowhere. We’re coming down.”

  “Do you need to be whisked out?”

  But Frankie didn’t answer. I watched as the hot air balloon slowly and turbulently sank until it reached the landing spot. As soon as the basket was secured, Frankie stormed out.

  “I will never go on one of those again. Was that your idea of a joke?” she shot at Tex.

  Tex’s face burned red. “No, ma’am, it was not. I had nothing to do with that occurrence up there. Now why don’t we sit and have a nice meal?”

  The cameras still rolled while Frankie looked like she wanted to kill Tex. Her hair was a mess, and fire flared in her eyes.

  “I don’t know why you’d want to harm me. But I think this date is over. I’m not sure you’re my soul mate after all.”

  Tex’s face fell. “Please, Frankie. Can’t we have a nice dinner? I didn’t have anything to do with that balloon acting all wonky.”

  Frankie eyed him disdainfully. After what seemed like a full minute of her studying him, she finally relented.

  “Okay. We can have dinner. But no hot tub.”

  “Lucky guy,” Thorne murmured.

  My gaze darted to him. Our eyes locked, and we shared a quiet laugh.

  When the date was over, I spent a little bit of time going over the details of Frankie’s next date with Watts.

  She sat at her makeup station taking off her eyeshadow.

  “And the mayor wants to make sure this date goes well so we’re going to start with dinner, like you did with Thorne, and then maybe a drive through the country before the hot tub scene.”

  Frankie stared at her reflection.

  “Does all that sound okay?”

  She continued to stare.

  “Frankie?”

  Her lips trembled. “Charming, someone’s trying to kill me.”

  I pursed my lips. “I mean, we’ve all been worried about you; that’s why Thorne was here tonight, to make sure nothing happened. Of course then the balloon went haywire. I’m sorry.”

  “Ther
e have been attempts before,” Frankie said, “but none so insistent. The roses, the hot tub, the balloon. Charming”—her lower lip trembled—“I’m almost afraid to go through with it. To finish the show.”

  My stomach tightened. The mayor was breathing down my neck about all the great PR the show was giving the town. The last thing Winnifred Dixon wanted was for this entire situation to blow up in her face.

  But I was a matchmaker and my loyalty lay with Frankie, even though no one liked her—at least Mama didn’t like her, and that counted for a lot.

  “If you don’t want to go forward, you don’t have to.”

  She plucked a makeup cloth from a container and wiped off her eyeliner. “When you saw my matches, did you see that any of them would want to harm me?”

  “No, of course not.”

  She turned to me. “Do you think you could?”

  I smiled sadly. “No. I only see matches.” She was very worried, so I sat in an empty chair beside her. “Do you think it’s one of them?”

  “Tex was with me when the balloon started swaying.”

  “That’s true.”

  She didn’t say anything for a moment, and when she did, Frankie said, “If I die, there’s something I want you to have.”

  “You’re not going to die.”

  She fired off a look that nearly made me wither. “I’m asking if you’ll take something.”

  Mama had warned me not to take gifts from witches because of a prophecy. I already had water, air and earth magic. If I gained fire, it would be the death of all magic; that’s what had been foretold.

  But there was also a thing among witches—if you were offered a gift, you had to take it. There were no two ways about it.

  So I was cornered. Darned if I did and darned if I didn’t.

  I figured I’d play it safely. “Mama doesn’t allow me to take gifts from witches.”

  It was true and the only card I had to play. Frankie stared at me a moment before throwing her head back and laughing so hard people looked over.

  “Oh Charming, that is something else. Come. There’s no need to be shy. There’s something I’d like for you to have in the event that anything happens to me.”

  Crap. This would be harder to wiggle out of than a pit of rattlesnakes. “Isn’t there anyone else in your life you’d rather give it to? Stepchildren, for instance?”