The Detective Wins The Witch (Nocturne Falls Book 10)

by Kristen Painter

  “Yes. Why?”

  He turned his head a little and tapped his ear. “Because I’m deaf on that side, remember?”

  She sighed and put a hand over her face for a second. “No, I did not remember that. I guess that makes both of us great listeners.”

  He barked out a short, sharp laugh, then pressed his lips together in a hard line. “I’m sure it was a great apology. Much better than mine.” He patted the empty seat to his right. “Want to join me?”

  “I should really get back to the—yeah, sure.” She plopped down. A couple more minutes wouldn’t hurt. Leah was probably back at the shop by now anyway.

  He turned around to join her at the bar, slanting his eyes at her. “So…are we good?”

  “I don’t know. Are we?”

  “I am if you are.”

  She nodded. “Okay. Good. I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean it the way it came out.”

  “I know. I just…reacted. I’m sorry for storming out.”

  She wanted to touch him. To put her hand on his arm or her head on his shoulder or something, but that’s what couples did. And they were not a couple. They weren’t going to be a couple.

  That made her inexplicably sad. She held her hand up for Bridget’s attention. “Can I get a half glass of cider?”

  Bridget smiled at her from the taps down at the end. “Coming up.”

  He couldn’t believe she’d come after him. It staggered him emotionally. They’d known each other for a day and a half. And yet she cared enough about how she’d made him feel to come after him and make things right.

  It felt like a light shining into the dark place in his soul. His chest constricted with an odd tightness he couldn’t explain.

  He sipped his beer. He didn’t really want it, but he couldn’t very well sit at the bar without ordering something and Howler’s was the only place in town he’d known to go.

  Then a new thought came to him. He looked at Marigold. “Weren’t you alone in the shop?”

  “No. Frank was there. Why?”

  “You know what I mean. You’re here.” Frank didn’t really qualify as an employee. As far as Wyatt knew, you needed thumbs to operate the register.

  “Yes, I am.”

  “Leah must have gotten back pretty quickly.”

  “No. I locked up.”

  He stared at her. “During business hours.”

  “Yep.”

  “Is that something you do often?”

  “Only once before.”

  “And that was because of your daughter, wasn’t it?”

  Her gaze narrowed. “How did you know that?”

  “Deductive reasoning.”

  “You’re pretty good at that. You might give Sherlock a run for his money.”

  He just nodded, because his head was spinning over what she’d done. For him. He couldn’t just walk away from a woman like this. He realized that. She was a rare individual. A gem. People like Marigold needed to be treasured.

  He wasn’t sure he was the man to do that. No one in his life had taught him how to take care of a woman this priceless.

  But he wanted to try.

  “No snappy comeback?” she asked. Then her brow furrowed. “You look deep in thought.”

  Fear crawled out of the darkness within him. The fear of putting himself out there. Of being abandoned again. Of being not good enough. He tried to swallow it down, but there was so very much of it. “I…I…”

  He could chase down criminals, put his life on the line, protect and serve without a care for his own well-being, but he couldn’t do this. Why should he? Why be hurt again? Why—

  “What is it?” She leaned in and put her hand on his cheek. “Are you okay? You look a little pale.”

  Her touch was enough to bring him courage. He closed his eyes and forced the words out. “I like you. I want to try.”

  Her hand left his cheek, but there was no laughter, no dismissive snort, so he opened his eyes. She was still staring at him, her gaze expectant.

  “You want to try what?”

  “Us.” The word caused a new wave of fear to rise up.

  She didn’t say anything for a moment. Then she leaned back. “I like you, too, Wyatt. But you don’t live here.”

  “I realize that. And I know long-distance relationships are hard, but we could at least try it.”

  She shook her head. “I can’t travel. Even to Atlanta. My life is too complicated for that kind of time off.”

  “I know. I’ll do the traveling. My job has some flexibility to it. When I’m not on a case, I’m free. I could spend that free time here.”

  She seemed to give that some thought, then her gaze dropped to her lap. “That doesn’t solve you not wanting a relationship.”

  “That’s what I’m trying to tell you. I think I do want a relationship. That’s what I want to try. With you. I’ve never wanted to try with anyone else until you, so that feels like a feeling I shouldn’t ignore.” He groaned. “I don’t think I’m making sense. I know what I’m trying to say, but this…stuff makes me dumb.”

  “Stuff?” There was humor in her gaze.

  He sighed. “Help me out here, will ya? You see me drowning. Throw me a life preserver.”

  “You want to try dating me and see how it goes. You’re willing to make the effort so that the long-distance aspect isn’t a deal ender. Right?”

  “Right.”

  “And if things go well, what then?”

  “Then…we keep seeing each other. Maybe I eventually move here. I could do that. I’m licensed in Georgia. I can be a private investigator anywhere in the state.”

  Some of the amusement in her eyes disappeared.

  He wasn’t sure why. “Was that not the right answer? It felt like the right answer.”

  “Are you going to change your mind about marriage?”

  They hadn’t even decided to start dating and she was talking about marriage. But he understood what she was asking. She needed some sense of what the future was going to bring. But no one ever knew that, did they? Still, he wanted her to feel good about this. “I think that I could. And I’ve never even said that before, so you’re clearly having an effect on me.”

  She nodded. And looked very thoughtful. But stayed silent.

  He could wait. He’d been on stakeouts. Nothing taught you patience like a good stakeout. Except…this was Marigold. And he needed to know what she was thinking. He said nothing, just cleared his throat.

  She smiled at him. Mouth closed, lips pressed together, and the expression only half reached her eyes. That told him everything. She wasn’t sure.

  He understood. A little. He’d presented himself to her in one very specific way, and now he was trying to backtrack. She had reservations. Who wouldn’t?

  With all of that in mind, he made himself stay positive. “What aren’t you sure about?”

  She laughed a little, like she was surprised he’d picked up on what was going through her head. “I just need a little thinking time.”

  “Okay.” Stay positive. “That’s wise.” She was cautious. He understood that. “How about we take a breather? Say, until tomorrow night’s auction?”

  “That would be good. That would give me some time to mull this all through.” She started to reach for him, then pulled her hand back. “I haven’t had a man in my life since Saffron’s father walked away from us. You have to understand what a really big step you’re asking me to take.”

  “I do. I get it. I want you to be comfortable with all of this.” He also understood she’d been hurt before. In a big way. His world had upended when he’d lost his parents. Hers had upended when she’d become a parent.

  Somewhere in the middle of all that, there had to be a place for them to meet, didn’t there?

  “Are you sure that’s right?”

  At Leah’s question, Marigold’s thoughts came back to the work at hand. “What?”

  Leah pointed overtop of the arrangement she was creating. “You put a ranunculus wher
e a sprig of lavender was supposed to go.”

  “I did?” She looked at the centerpiece in front of her. “I did.”

  She sighed as she pulled the wayward stem out. “Good thing you caught that.”

  Leah shrugged. “I don’t think anyone else would have noticed.”

  “I would have. At some point.” There was an art to flowers, even when they were meant to be a little wild and carefree, as was the case for Pandora’s wedding. Marigold took her art seriously.

  They both went back to work. Frank sauntered in for a bite to eat. The sound of him crunching on kibble broke the quiet.

  Then Leah spoke up. “Wyatt?”

  Marigold sighed. “Yes.”

  Leah nodded as if that explained everything. And maybe it did. “You like him.”

  “I do.” Marigold added a bloom in exactly the spot where it belonged. “And he likes me. Enough that he’s changed his mind about being in a relationship. As in, he wants to try it. He’s even willing to do the traveling back and forth from Atlanta since there’s no way I can with the shop and Saffie.”

  Leah sat up a little straighter. “That all sounds good. Like, really good.”

  “It does.” She picked up a peony.

  Leah squinted at her. “But?”

  Marigold took in a long, slow breath. “He’s still human. And I’m still a witch. Neither one of those things is going to change.”

  “It really complicates things, doesn’t it?”

  “Hugely.” She slipped the peony in between two roses.

  Leah lifted one shoulder. “You could tell him.”

  “I’m pretty sure the coven has rules about that. So does the town. You know humans aren’t supposed to know the truth about Nocturne Falls. That’s the whole point of the spell in the water.”

  “Yeah, but this is a different situation.”

  “Is it?” Marigold asked. “What if I tell him and that’s the end of it? He could think I’m crazy. Or worse. Then what? He tells everyone? And I suffer the consequences? I have a lot to lose. My whole life is here. I can’t jeopardize that.” Especially not with Saffie’s powers coming on so young. Saffie was going to need the coven and Harmswood more than ever.

  Leah bit her lip. “You do have a lot at stake. Maybe…you could put him under some kind of spell that would allow you to do a test run.”

  Marigold thought that over. “That’s not a good idea. For one thing, I’m just not sure what kind of spell that would even be. For another, putting him under a spell for my benefit like that seems…shady. No, I have to figure this out another way. If only I could scry his future and see if it includes me, but my scrying doesn’t work that way.” Which reminded her, she still needed to do some scrying about Newt.

  “You’ve helped your family whenever they’ve needed it. Why not ask for their help now?”

  “Now that’s a good idea.” Marigold picked up her shears to trim another stem. “I need to talk to my mom. She’s the coven secretary. If anyone can tell me where the coven stands on telling normies the truth, it’s her.”

  “Go now,” Leah said. “You’re not getting anything done here anyway.”

  “Hey! I’m working.”

  Leah shrugged. “Yes, but you’re also super distracted.”

  “All right, fine.” Marigold put her shears down and started to clean up.

  “Leave it,” Leah said. “I’ll finish that one up as soon as I’m done with this birthday bouquet.”

  “Okay.” Marigold smiled. “Thanks.”

  She whipped up a quick bunch of white calla lilies, blush roses, peach dahlias, a couple sprigs of lilac scabiosa and baby’s breath, added some greenery, then wrapped the whole thing in florist paper and taped it up.

  Wouldn’t do to go empty-handed when she needed help.

  And boy, did she need help.

  Marigold couldn’t remember when she’d been out of the shop so much during the work day. Certainly never when she had a massive wedding order looming. But this situation had to be settled. She needed advice now. She walked into Ever After, hoping to find her mom free.

  Thankfully, Corette was just finishing up with a bride.

  While Marigold waited, she checked the arrangement on the front table. Her mom got fresh flowers for the shop every week, along with a daily delivery of nibbly things from Delaney’s Delectables.

  It was a great way to subtly sell brides on where to get their wedding flowers and wedding cakes.

  The bride left, and Corette came over to greet her daughter with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Hi, honey. How are you?”

  “I’m good.” Very conflicted, but good.

  “It’s a lovely surprise to see you.”

  Marigold handed over the flowers she’d brought. “For you. For your office.”

  “They’re gorgeous. I’m going to put them on my desk.” Corette brought the blooms to her nose and smiled as she inhaled. “They seem very much inspired by your sister’s colors.”

  “They are.”

  “How’s that going, the flowers for Pandora’s wedding?”

  “Great.” Okay, not exactly great, but now was not the moment to delve into that. “Do you have a little time to talk?”

  “I have an hour before the next appointment, so plenty. Want to go into the office?”

  Marigold nodded vigorously. “Yes.”

  “Come on.” Corette linked her arm through her daughter’s, and they walked back together.

  Corette went to get a vase for the flowers, then returned. She unwrapped the stems and put them in the water, arranging them just so. “All right. What’s the matter? I can tell by the look on your face that something is troubling you. Honey, do you need extra help with Pandora’s wedding flowers?”

  “No, it’s not that.” Although that wasn’t the worst idea in the world. “It’s…a guy.”

  “I see.” Corette’s always perfect brows rose ever so slightly. She sat to face Marigold, who’d taken the opposite chair. “Is the guy that nice Wyatt that stopped by to introduce himself to me?”

  Marigold had to take that in for a second. “Wyatt came to see you?”

  “Yes. He’d just been in Guildman’s getting some clothes and wanted to introduce himself to me since he’s apparently your date for the wedding. That I knew nothing about. He seemed very nice. I thought so, at least.”

  “Wow.” Marigold sat back. What a sweet gesture. And he hadn’t said a word about it. “So you like him?”

  “I do. Granted, we only spoke for a few moments, but my initial impression was that he’s a nice, polite man who’s trying very hard to impress you. And your family. Nothing wrong with that.”

  “No, I suppose not.”

  “So what’s the trouble, then? Or don’t you like nice, polite men? Pandora told me you turned down her offer to introduce you to Phil Crenshaw.”

  “Mom. Phil Crenshaw is an insurance salesman. Which is fine. But we don’t click. At all. And I’m pretty sure his idea of a fun night out is a meeting of the local actuaries association. Of which he’s probably a founding member.”

  “Everyone needs insurance, Marigold. It’s a solid industry.”

  “He’s not my type. And I like nice, polite men. That’s not the problem.”

  “Then what’s wrong with Wyatt?”

  Time to lay it out. “He’s human.”

  Only by the slight widening of her mother’s eyes did Marigold know that Wyatt’s humanity presented an issue. Corette didn’t immediately say anything, though.

  Marigold thought that was answer enough. She sighed. “I know, Mom. I know. It’s not ideal.”

  “No, it isn’t. But then Tim was a second-degree wizard and look how that turned out.”

  “True. Wyatt’s also the first guy who’s paid any attention to me in, well, forever.”

  “That’s not exactly true. Dennis Prescott? James O’Neill? Carlos DeMarco? Phil Crenshaw?”

  Marigold rolled her eyes. “Okay, Wyatt’s the first guy who’s paid att
ention to me who I actually want to pay attention back to. He’s funny and kind and deeply scarred in ways that will break your heart, and I think I’m falling for him.”

  Corette pursed her lips. “He’s also movie-star handsome, but I suppose you hadn’t noticed that.”

  “Oh no,” Marigold said with a big grin. “I noticed.”

  Corette’s smile was thin, but Marigold understood. Her mother had raised them to look beyond a person’s exterior, which Marigold was. But it really had more to do with Wyatt being human.

  Corette folded her hands in her lap. “Tell me about the deeply scarred part.”

  That took the grin off Marigold’s face. “Mom, he was in the foster system. Lost his parents at four, then the aunt who took him in passed from cancer a year later. In thirteen years, he was in eighteen different homes.”

  Corette gasped softly and put her hand to her throat. “That poor baby.” She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them and took a breath, regaining her composure. “I’m surprised he confided all of that in you. Speaks very well of how he’s dealing with it all.”

  “He did tell me about some of it, but the details came from Birdie.”

  A sharp light entered her mother’s eyes. “Spying is a rather dubious way to start a relationship, don’t you think?”

  “It wasn’t exactly spying. And there were special circumstances.”

  Corette’s expression said she remained unconvinced. “Such as?”

  Marigold filled her in on Newt’s warning. “I didn’t know what else to do. And I haven’t had a chance to scry for more information yet.”

  “For Saffron’s sake, I’d say what you did was understandable. But at some point, you need to tell Wyatt you know more. Things like that have a way of coming back to haunt you.”

  “Does that mean you think I should pursue a relationship with him?” That surprised Marigold. She’d expected her mother to balk at the idea of a human mate.

  “I don’t know. His being human is one thing. But his meeting Saffron is another.”

  “And he will meet her at the wedding. There’s no way around that. So what do I do?”

  Corette thought for a moment. “You could tell him your truth.”

  “That’s part of what I wanted to ask you about. Wasn’t there just something in South Carolina about a witch dating a normie that went badly? Where does our coven stand on that?”