by Bella Falls
“Pfft, heck no,” Maybelline dismissed. “Things are just startin’ to get good around these here parts. I don’t want to miss out on a thing.”
“Well, you let me know if you change your mind,” Georgia offered. She turned to address the rest of us. “Big Mike’s got burgers on the grill for all of us, and the drinks are on me.”
After we filled our bellies, Nana, Mason, and I made a big decision. I approached Dash and Georgia to tell them goodbye.
“We want to go ahead and get back to Honeysuckle,” I said, putting my arm around both of them.
“You sure? It’s a long drive, and it’ll be late,” she protested. “Y’all can stay here tonight.”
“Or back at one of my cabins,” Elodie offered as she joined the group.
I shook my head. “I think I’ll take Maybelline’s advice and act on it right away. It’s time for me to go.”
Dash gazed at me with a little sadness. “I understand.”
It frustrated me a little not to be able to read any of his other emotions, but that was the way it was supposed to be.
Ginny, the youngest Whitaker sister, stopped her private conversation with Davis and came over. “Will you be coming back to visit anytime soon?”
“I’d like to,” Nana said. “It’s too bad that old lake resort is so rundown. I think this would be a great place for other supernaturals to come vacation.”
The three sisters glanced at each other. “You know,” Caro said after a long pause. “That’s not a half bad idea.”
“But you gotta have a staff to work the place, and we’ve got diddly and squat as our town residents,” Ginny pointed out.
Nana waved her hand in dismissal. “All you need to do is get the word out in the supernatural community that you’re looking for more people to come live here.”
“If you take out an ad, you might as well put in there that you help those who are broken,” Davis joked. “After all, Caro’s got her place where she takes care of the sick and feeble creatures, you’ve got me, a nonshifting shifter, and Big Mike, a disenfranchised troll. You might as well hang up a big sign in town that says, ‘Misfits Only.’”
Dash grabbed his little brother around the neck and ruffled his hair. “How many times I gotta tell you, you’re not broken. Nor are you a misfit.”
“It’ll still be a while, if ever, before I decide to move back to Rockville and be a full-time member of the pack. I love what you said and how you and Cam are changing things, but it’s gonna take a while,” Davis said. He stole Georgia’s drink from her hand. “In the meantime, I think I’ve got a good thing going here in Mystic. Cheers!”
“It’s bad luck to use someone else’s drink to make a toast,” the middle Whitaker sister grumbled.
I couldn’t help but laugh at all my new friends. “I’m sure we’ll be visiting your Mystic Mountain again real soon. And y’all are welcome to our side of the state, too. Then you’ll get to eat real barbecue.”
Everyone groaned. “Don’t start that argument again,” Dash pleaded.
“What?” I asked, blinking my innocent eyes. “I can’t help if our style of barbecue is better than the kind that’s made in the mountains.”
Mason grabbed my hand. “And on that note, we should say our goodbyes.”
Everyone walked us to our car. We passed hugs all around, but when I got to Dash, my heart broke a little.
“Don’t look like that,” he said, chucking me under my chin with his knuckle. “I still own property in Honeysuckle, so it’s not like we’re saying farewell forever.”
I sniffed. “I know. But things won’t ever be the same, will they?”
He shook his head. “Nope. But that’s the way life goes sometimes. But I’m sure glad we’ve been on this ride together this time.”
I rubbed the back of my head in jest. “Yeah, it’s been a real head-banging experience.”
“All our wounds will heal,” Dash promised with a sad smile. “It’ll just take time.”
Nana volunteered to drive the first part of the trip, and she encouraged Mason and me to ride in the back together. As we drove away, I strained against my seat belt to wave one last goodbye at everyone. Once we passed through the magical barrier of the community, everything that had happened while in the mountains hit me all at once, and my tears flowed freely.
Mason held onto me in silent solidarity, allowing me to cry out all my emotions until I had no more sobs left. Once even my sniffling subsided, he continued to rub the back of my hand with his thumb.
After we stopped off to get gas and grab a snack to eat on the road, Mason volunteered to drive the rest of the way. Nana dug through her purse to pay for the fuel and gasped. “Oh, I forgot I had these.” She pulled out two envelopes. “Here’s your mail.”
I waited until we were back on the road to open the first one. The card looked old and a little worn, as if it didn’t belong in this century. A painted scene of three black birds in different poses covered the front. When I opened it up to read the message, I snorted.
“What does it say?” my grandmother asked from the back seat.
“Two words,” I said. “‘You’re welcome.’” Passing it back to her, I shook my head in amusement.
“It’s not even signed,” Nana exclaimed.
“It’s from the Gray sisters. I’m guessing that’s for their little gift to me.” If I followed good ol’ Southern etiquette, I should be the one sending them a thank-you note. “And maybe that means I won’t be saddled with the power of premonition anymore. Although it did come in handy.”
“If you want to learn how to fight, I’d be happy to teach you,” Mason offered. “You don’t need magic from some weird old ladies to properly defend yourself.”
My fingers worked the second envelope open. “I might take you up on that.”
I pulled out a piece of hotel stationary and read the hastily written words more than once.
“Who sent you that?” Nana asked.
I frowned. “It’s from Abigail. She says I need to be careful and that they’re watching.”
My grandmother stuck her hand out, demanding to read the note. “What does that mean?”
I stared out the front of the car into the darkened night lit only by our headlights. “It sounds like my biological family isn’t done with me yet. And that I need to find my cousin and get her to come to Honeysuckle.”
Nana gave me back the note and rubbed my shoulder. “When we get home and after you’ve had a chance to rest, we’ll gather all your friends and pool our resources to help. If somebody wants to come after you, they’ll find themselves in a whole heap of a mess. Remember, just because they’re related by blood—”
“It doesn’t make them family. I know, Nana,” I reassured her.
Mason placed his hand on my knee and squeezed. I knew who my real family was because I had no doubts on who I chose to care for and who loved me back. If Abby’s warning was right, then her note gave me time to prepare for what might be coming.
And after what I just went through, I felt a little more ready for the fight.
Dear Reader -
Now that Charli’s headed back to Honeysuckle Hollow, how will she deal with the threat from her biological family? Find out in Grits & Ghosts: Book 8 by preordering your copy now!
And don’t worry! The Whitaker sisters—Caro, Georgia, and Ginny—along with Dash, Davis, and other friends are waiting for you to visit them in the mountains! Be sure to sign up for my newsletter and join my reader group to find out when the Mystic Mountain Cozy Mystery series is coming out!
Thanks so much for reading Preserves & Premonitions! If you enjoyed the book (as much as I did writing it), I hope you’ll consider leaving a review!
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Series Order
Southern Charms Cozy Mystery Series
Magic and mystery are only part of the Southern Charms of Honeysuckle Hollow…
Suggested reading order:
Chess Pie & Choices: Prequel
Moonshine & Magic: Book 1
Lemonade & Love Potions: A Cozy Short
Fried Chicken & Fangs: Book 2
Sweet Tea & Spells: Book 3
Barbecue & Brooms: Book 4
Collards & Cauldrons: Book 5
Red Velvet & Reindeer: A Cozy Short
Cornbread & Crossroads: Book 6
Preserves & Premonitions: Book 7
Grits & Ghosts: Book 8
Series Order
Southern Relics Cozy Mysteries
A little sweet tea and a whole lot of spells won’t always put out the fire…
Flea Market Magic
Rags To Witches
Pickup and Pirates
Vintage Vampire
Bargain Haunting
Bait and Witch
About the Author
Bella Falls grew up on the magic of sweet tea, barbecue, and hot and humid Southern days. She met her husband at college over an argument of how to properly pronounce the word pecan (for the record, it should be pea-cawn, and they taste amazing in a pie). Although she’s had the privilege of living all over the States and the world, her heart still beats to the rhythm of the cicadas on a hot summer’s evening.
Now, she’s taken her love of the South and woven it into a world where magic and mystery aren’t the only Charms.
bellafallsbooks.com
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