A Charming Spell (Magical Cures Mystery Series)

by Kappes, Tonya

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “You are staying here tonight,” I said to Mr. Prince Charming who was sitting on my dresser. He knew that I was going somewhere and I was going without him. It was high time I had some alone time with Oscar, and I mean alone. No cat, no crystal ball just Oscar and me.

  The purple dress went perfectly with my black hair. I was even pleased with the way my hair turned out. I even put on my purple strappy sandals. If Oscar didn’t notice me in this outfit, then he was blind.

  “I’m out of here!” I grabbed my bag and took Madame Torres out. “You are staying here.”

  “Did you check out your Make-Me-A-Match profile yet?” Madame Torres asked.

  “Don’t need it. I have Oscar.” I put her on the counter and grabbed the keys to the Green Machine, my old green El Camino.

  “Don’t be so sure.” I ignored her comment, refusing to let her put doubt in my head and ruin my night.

  I made sure the door was locked. Suddenly I felt sick. Someone had to have known I had the “Mysteries and Magical Spells” book if they broke into A Charming Cure to steal it. What would I do if they tried to break into my house?

  I jumped into the Green Machine and gave her a good pat on the dashboard. “Okay, girl. Let’s go back to Locust Grove, but we have to stop at the police station first.”

  It wasn’t like my car could hear me, but I still treated her like one of the family. I eased the El Camino out onto Main Street with my eyes peeled out for Colton. He was standing next to Gandolf in front of Ever After Books, in the exact same spot where Faith had found Alexelrod.

  I pulled over and when Colton looked my way, I waved him over.

  “Where are you headed?” He stuck his head in the passenger window. He let out a little whistle when he saw my dress and raised his eyebrows.

  “Out with a friend.”

  “It must be a special friend,” he said.

  “Listen, I need you to do me a favor.” I looked over his shoulder and noticed Gandolf staring at us. “I don’t want anyone to know, but I’m going to Locust Grove for a few hours. Can you keep an eye on my house?”

  “Sure, but what are you doing in Locust Grove?” His voice was stern.

  “I told you, I’m going out with my boy…” I stopped myself. “My old boyfriend.”

  “Lucky guy.” He smiled and pulled back. His hands gripped the side of the door with his arms extended out. “I’ll be sure to watch out for you.”

  “Great.” I shifted the Green Machine into drive, waved bye and headed out of town.

  It had been so long since I had driven to Locust Grove, I had almost forgotten how pretty the drive was. Maybe it just was the fantastic mood I was in.

  Leaving the spiritual world behind, I turned my radio up, rolled my windows down and sang at the top of my lungs. This was going to be a great night.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “Here goes everything.” I looked in the rearview mirror and patted down my windblown hair. With a little dab of lipstick, I was ready to go.

  I felt a little ping of sadness when I looked over at the small house across the street from Oscar’s where I grew up. There were so many memories of Darla and Oscar. The house had long since been replaced with another family. Oscar had said they were good people. And Mac McGurtle’s place next door was also taken over by a new family.

  I snickered when I noticed that the charred remains of the shed I had burned down were still in a pile at the side of the house.

  “You look great.” Oscar stood at his door with a big grin on his face. He had on a pair of blue jeans, and the white v-neck tee looked great against his tanned skin and black hair. My heart skipped a beat. I did have on the perfect outfit for the perfect night.

  “Nothing but the best for my bestest friend.” I sashayed up to the house, making sure that I didn’t fall down and make a complete joke of myself in these heels.

  “Great to see you.” He grabbed me and gave me a bear hug. I started to return the favor when I looked over his shoulder and saw another woman.

  Her long brown hair tumbled past her breasts and her legs were a mile long in her blue jean mini romper. Her toenails were a perfect red and were slid into cute blue and khaki wedge heels.

  “I didn’t know you had company.” I didn’t take my eyes off her. She was smiling so big that I felt like smacking the grin off of her face but then thought maybe it was someone who worked with Oscar that didn’t realize I was his girlfriend and was coming over…was his girlfriend was the phrase that didn’t sit well with me.

  “I couldn’t wait for you two to meet.” Oscar reached out and I went to grab his hand, but he locked hands with hers.

  Instantly, the room began to spin and there was complete darkness.

  “Is she okay?” The woman’s voice, which I didn’t recognize, asked.

  “She’s fine.” The sweet sounds of Oscar’s voice filled my ears and I remembered where I was and what had happened. “She does this all the time.”

  “I should really check her out.” I felt the woman’s finger on my neck and I jerked up.

  I must have startled her when I jumped up, because she flung herself back but Oscar caught her fall and they laughed.

  “Are you okay?” Oscar’s attention was totally on her and not me. He had always made sure I was okay after passing out before, but not this time.

  My eyes narrowed as I zeroed in on her. She was everything I was not; feminine, and in Oscar’s arms.

  “Tend to her.” She smiled, pulled away from Oscar and brushed her hands down the front of her outfit.

  It was as if slow motion had taken over my world. Oscar kissed her. On. The. Lips. She didn’t smack him or pull away.

  My mouth dropped. Everything went black again.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  “How could he do this to me?” I screamed, questioning what had happened a few hours earlier once I had come to and realized my worst nightmares had come true.

  Oscar didn’t love me. More importantly, he had a girlfriend.

  “How did this happen?” My head was buried in my stack of pillows on my bed. I had put Madame Torres on my nightstand when I got home. I was desperate if I wanted her company. I flung a pillow off my face. I eyed Madame Torres. “Did you know about this?”

  “I told you not to expect anything.” She did seem to be loving the fact that she was always right. “And I told you to check out Make-Me-A-Match to see who responded to your profile.”

  “I’m not interested in anyone but Oscar.” I buried the pillow back over my face and sobbed. There was no way that I had spent all my life trying to get Oscar to love me and lose him to some, some…ugh! I hated that she was nice.

  “She… she…” I didn’t even recall her name. “She can’t be that nice.”

  The knock at the door caused me to jump up. I was sure it was Colton since I asked him to keep an eye on my house. I had forgotten all about the intruder and deep down wished the intruder would break in and put me out of my misery.

  I opened the door with Mr. Prince Charming standing next to me.

  “Oscar?”

  “Have you been crying?” Now he had a look of concern on his face. He stepped inside and put his hands on my arms. “Are you okay, June? You have been passing out a lot lately. Maybe Annie can take a look at you.”

  “Annie? Her name is Annie?” I rolled my eyes and jerked away. “What is Annie going to do for me?”

  “She’s a doctor.” Oscar stayed on the threshold watching me pace like some crazy cat. I pounded my head with my hand trying to get the image of Annie and Oscar kissing out of it.

  Hiss, hiss. Mr. Prince Charming darted back down the hall when he saw Oscar.

  “She can’t fix me!” I stomped my feet. “She needs to fix you!”

  “June, you need to calm down.”

  “I need to calm down?” I blurted through my tears. “You need to calm down and realize you are a sorcerer!”

  He jerked back and folde
d his arms.

  “Yea, a sorcerer! Like in magic!” I waved my hands around like I was doing some sort of spell. “We…” I gestured between the two of us, “are spiritualists. Your parents and my dad did some bat-crazy magic and I’m a real homeopathic Curist with intuitive skills. I know what people need and you don’t need Annie!”

  He continued to look at me as if I was a couple of cups of crazy.

  I continued to spill the beans.

  “You and I moved here and you were the sheriff before you decided to go to the Order of Elders and denounce your heritage because we were in love and you wanted to save me from going to jail!” I pointed between us. “We were in love. A couple. An item!”

  “Calm down.” He patted his hands toward the ground. “I really do think we need to go to the hospital.”

  “I don’t need a hospital, Oscar.” The tears were pouring down my face. “I’m the Village President here! I went to a special spiritualist school! Eloise is your aunt! You do not like Annie!”

  “You have gone crazy.” Oscar shook his head. “I told you not to move to this village. I begged you, but you did it anyway.”

  He turned and walked out the door.

  I stomped after him.

  “Where do you think you are going?” I screamed at him in the dead night air.

  “I’m getting out of this crazy village and going home.” He stopped next to his car and turned around. “Good bye, June. And for the record, I do love Annie!”

  He got in his car and slammed the door. Never once did his break lights come on.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  “Hello?” I grabbed my cell off my nightstand before I even looked to see who it was or even the time. When Oscar left, I threw myself back under the covers wishing that I was next on the killer’s list. I even left my door unlocked, hoping to be the next victim.

  “Are you coming to work today?” Faith asked on the other end of the line.

  “What time is it?” I kept my eyes shut. My stomach sank when I realized I was still breathing. The killer didn’t want me either.

  “It’s past ten am.” There was some noise in the background. “I’m here and have opened the shop. You had a line of customers waiting at the door. What do you want me to do?”

  “I’m taking the day off.” I shut the phone off and put it back on my nightstand. I didn’t have the energy to help people when I couldn’t even help myself.

  Ophelia! I threw back the covers and threw on some sweatpants. There was one person that could help me. Ophelia Biblio.

  “Let’s go.” I grabbed Madame Torres and my bag before I bolted out the door and down the hill.

  The sun was so bright, like it was mocking me. Why couldn’t it have rained? At least that would have fit my mood. There was a line outside of A Charming Cure and I didn’t dare go in. I was in no mood to help other people. I had to help Oscar see that he was making a big mistake with Annie.

  Her name made me want to throw up. “She’s a doctor,” I mocked him in my best voice.

  “Who is a doctor?”

  “Oh!” I stopped before I realized I was at the steps of Ever After Books. Ophelia was on her knees in the colorful daisy bed with her gardening bucket next to her. “Can’t you just twirl your finger and make them grow?” I questioned her witching abilities. If she couldn’t grow daisies with her magic, she certainly wasn’t going to be able to help me.

  “I could, but I enjoy being out here and doing normal things.” She stood up and took off her gloves. “Who is a doctor? You look like you need to see one.”

  Her eyes scanned up and down, taking in a good look of what crazy looked like. Me.

  I looked around, making sure no one was listening to us, but you never knew in this place. “I need your help in a way that can never be spoken of again.”

  “Why don’t we go inside?” She suggested in her high-pitched voice and led the way up the stairs and through the bookstore to her office in the back.

  She shut the door once I was in. “Have a seat.”

  I let out a sigh of relief once I sat down. I was exhausted mentally and physically. The mirror on her wall confirmed it when I barely recognized myself. My eyes were red and swollen. My lips were bright red and chapped from my chewing on them.

  “I look awful.” I noted. “And for good reasons.”

  “What might those be?” Ophelia smiled, giving me a warm fuzzy feeling. I let her in on how I needed her help.

  “I need you to put a spell on Dr. Annie.”

  “A spell?”

  “Yep. One certified ugly witch spell.” That should cover it.

  “I’m a Good-Sider. I don’t do ugly witch spells.” She leaned up against her desk and folded her hands in front of her. “Who is Dr. Annie and why do we want to put an ugly spell on her?”

  “Because she stole Oscar from me.” There wasn’t much more to it than that. Well, maybe a little more. Ophelia wasn’t buying it. “Okay…” I paused before I led into the big spill about what had happened with Oscar from my past to the present. “So will you put an ugly spell on her?”

  “That is a lot to swallow.” Ophelia didn’t agree to do any sort of spell on Annie. “I can’t put a spell on her, but we can have some fun at her expense.”

  “Really?” I rubbed my hands together. “Like what?” I was anxious to hear.

  “You meet me here tonight around…” she tapped her wristwatch, “around seven. Leave all the work to me.”

  “Deal.” I stuck my hand out for her to shake on it.

  She crinkled her nose and shook her head. “Just get a shower and clean up.”

  With a plan in place, I left the office. Eloise, Petunia and Raven were sitting in a circle in one of the reading areas of the bookstore. Each of them had a copy of the book “Gone With The Ghost” in their hands.

  “Hey, guys.” I greeted them and sat next to Raven. “Did you start the book club without me?”

  Dang. First Oscar disses me, now my friends.

  “No.” Eloise tilted her head and gave me a strange look. “We all just happened to be in here at the same time.”

  “I was filling up my little free-standing baked goods display over there.” There was pride on Raven’s face. “Who knew that readers love their brownies and cupcakes as much as they love their books?”

  “I had to get away from those crazy animals.” Petunia still looked a little discombobulated. “I’m about to go off my rocker.”

  “They still aren’t talking to you?” It was so odd. I had never seen animals react to Petunia any other way than with love. Those animals were not into love what-so-ever.

  “No.” There was a deep-set sadness in her eyes. The hurt ran through her entire body and my intuition could feel it.

  “What is wrong with you? You are all...” Eloise brought a cautious eye.

  “I guess I should tell you since you think I’m going crazy.” For about a split second, I wasn’t going to tell them, but I couldn’t keep it bottled up any longer. “Oscar has a girlfriend.”

  They all gasped.

  “Turned out my dinner for two, was dinner for three.” I pointed to myself. “I ended up being the third wheel.”

  Eloise closed her eyes. Her chest heaved up and down. I put my hand on her leg.

  “Are you okay?” I asked, but knew the answer. It devastated her as much as it did me. There was always a hope that one day Oscar and I would have a family of our own, and our children would call Eloise their aunt.

  “We will always know the truth and his love runs so deep for you that he altered his life forever.” Eloise had the ability to always see the bright side, even as a Dark-Sider.

  “I call crap on that,” Raven said it like it was. “You have a right to be mad. He’ll be back.” Raven nodded.

  “It doesn’t end there.” I went on to tell them how I let him in on the little spiritual secret and how he ran off like wasps were chasing him. “He couldn’t get out of Whispering Falls fast enough.”

>   “I wish he would have taken some of those animals with him on his way out.” Petunia stood up. She was never great in the love department. She and Gerald kept their affair on the QT even though everyone in town knew about it. “Speaking of animals, Oscar included, I have to get back. I’ll start on the book. When do you guys want to meet?”

  “I’ll figure out a date and we can have tea at my house.” Eloise graciously offered her house for the book club meetings, which was fine with me. My house was still a disaster from me tearing it up looking for the spell book.

  “I have to get going too.” Raven stood up and held the book close to her. “June, come on by and I’ll send some Gems home with you.”

  “Sounds great.” I smiled. This little pity-party was turning out in my favor. Now there was only Eloise to deal with. I knew she was going to give me an earful exactly the way Darla would have. I turned toward her and held my hands out. “Go on. Scold me.”

  “I’m not going to scold you.” She gave me a sympathy look. “You have been through enough. I just hope the Elders don’t find out or you will be in trouble for telling him.”

  “I never thought about that.” In the heat of the moment I was so mad at him that I didn’t care what he heard.

  “I hope you understand that it isn’t his fault.” Although Eloise tried to make me feel better, it only made me feel worse.

  “I know.” There wasn’t one second that went by that I didn’t blame myself. “I did this to him, you and me.”

  “Are you two okay over here?” Ophelia turned the corner. She shuffled a couple of books on the shelves around and straightened a few more.

  “We have gotten everything we need to start our book club.” Eloise held up the copy of “Gone With The Ghost.”

  “Classic.” Ophelia tapped the cover. “A perfect pick for your first read.”

  “I’ll see you two later.” Eloise held the book to her chest. “June, don’t you worry. Everything is going to turn out exactly the way it should.”

  Ophelia and I watched Eloise walk up to the cashier. There was a line ten people deep.