Holly’s hands shot up in the air defensively. “Please! Ms. Carlton! You don’t need to call security. We’re totally not here to hurt you!”
She struggled to keep her eyes glued to us while also dialing her phone. “How’d you get in here?”
“Through the back. The sliding door was unlocked,” I said, pointing over our shoulder.
“Goran, get in here now! There’s been a security breach,” she yelled into her phone. Hanging up, she stared at the group of us. “My security team will be here any second, so don’t try anything! I don’t understand how you managed to get past them. You must have climbed the fence or something.”
My brother stepped forward holding his hands out to show that he was unarmed, “Ms. Carlton, we’re so sorry for breaking in. But there’s an urgent situation that we needed to speak to you about immediately.”
Dixie looked my brother up and down. The look in her eyes suggested she liked the look of him but was too upset over our intrusion to respond.
“Listen, Dixie,” said Alba, creeping forward slowly, her hands out in front of her. “I know you’re freaked out, and we don’t blame you at all. But we’ve come a long way to speak to you, and this’ll only take a minute.”
“Stop right there!” Dixie bellowed as a team of security guards in brown uniforms flooded into the room.
One of the security guards grabbed Holly’s arm. “Please, Ms. Carlton,” begged Holly as he began to pull her towards the exit. “We swear we won’t hurt you.”
An oversized man with bulging arms and a mullet grabbed my arm and pulled it behind my back roughly. “Ouch!” I couldn’t help but squeal as the security guard jacked my arm up into a hammerlock behind my back, sending a searing stab of pain through my shoulder. “Easy!”
“Dixie, please!” begged Holly. “We’re students at your old school.”
“Take them away,” she hollered to the guards.
“We go to the Institute. We have important Council business to discuss with you!” I hollered just as the guard had me to the doorway.
Dixie’s head whipped around. “Wait! Andre, wait!” She looked at me. “Did you just say the Institute?”
I nodded. “Yes. You were a member of the Council last year. We have some very important questions to ask you. It’ll only take a second.”
She looked all of us up and down. “So, you’re all…” She glanced up at her security guards as her sentence trailed off.
We all nodded.
“Yes!” said Holly.
She cleared her throat and straightened her posture. Once composed, she gave a slight head tilt towards her apparent head of security. “Goran, thank you. But I’ll handle this. Please ask the rest of your team to let us be.”
“But, Ms. Carlton, I highly recommend—”
Dixie shook her blond head. “No recommendations needed. I’ll be fine. You may go.” She extended her arm and her fingers fluttered towards the door. “Oh! And, Goran, please send someone in to clean up this mess.” She glanced down at the glass and the spilled drink.
Goran didn’t look pleased, but he snapped his fingers and pointed to the hallway anyway. Andre and the rest of the security staff let all of us go and filed out the door like puppies with their tails between their legs.
“Thank you!” I said with a flourish, dusting off my shirt.
Holly rushed back inside the living room. “Oh, Ms. Carlton, you have no idea how thankful we are that you’ll see us! And we’re so sorry for breaking into your beautiful home and scaring you.”
Alba shot Holly a look that plainly read kiss-ass.
I nodded and walked towards her calmly. “Yes. Thank you, Dixie. Now, down to business. We’ve got an important Council matter to discuss with you.”
She held a finger up to her lips to silence me and pointed at the glass sliding doors. “Outside,” she mouthed before leading the way onto the patio. When we’d all filed outside, she shut the glass door behind us and then strode over to her lounge chair and sat down.
As I stared down at Dixie Carlton, in her strappy black two-piece that barely served to cover her important parts, it finally hit me that this was the woman I’d watched in movies and had seen gracing the cover of countless magazines. Dixie Carlton was a major celebrity and fashion icon, and it was no wonder. Even without makeup on, she was gorgeous. She was curvy, but toned. She had bleached blond hair, a deep golden tan, and a splay of freckles across the bridge of her nose that gave her a down-to-earth look, making her seem approachable and real. Her Instagram feed portrayed her to be the girl-next-door type. Always in plaid shirts tied high at the waist or off-the-shoulder crop tops, Dixie seemed to like her tall cowboy boots and her cutoff denim shorts.
The young woman, now reclining comfortably, pulled her sunglasses off her head and pulled them on over her eyes before exhaling a big puff of air. “There, that’s better.” She looked up at the group of us, all staring back at her. “Alright. Let’s start over, shall we? Exactly who are you, and what do you want?”
Jax, who had kept fairly quiet thus far, rushed forward with an extended hand. “Ms. Carlton, it’s so nice to meet you. I’m such a big fan of yours. I’m Jax. These are my friends. We’re all students at the Institute. Well, except Reign. He’s my cousin and her brother.” She pointed at me.
Dixie lightly shook Jax’s hand but dropped it the second she mentioned Reign. She quirked a brow and lowered her glasses so she could peer over them at him. “Reign, is it? Do you attend the wizard school next door?”
Reign shook his head. “Nah, I’ve never gone there. But my father runs the place.”
Dixie looked stunned as she bolted upright and peeled off her glasses. “Shut up! Merrick Stone is your father?!”
“You know him?”
“Well, of course I know him!” she said excitedly. “I went to the Institute, you know. That was many years ago, though. Back before, all of this…” She lifted her arms up to show she meant the big house and pool and whatnot. She shook her head. “I should have known you were related. You look just like him.”
“I’m his niece,” said Jax, her eyes wide. “Sorceress Stone is my mother.”
That seemed to shock Dixie. Her eyes widened. “Sorceress Stone had kids? I had no idea!”
Jax lifted a shoulder. “Well, just one kid. Me.”
Holly rushed forward next to shake Dixie’s hand. “Ms. Carlton, I would just like to say what a fan I am of your work,” she gushed. “And I had no idea that you were actually a witch. I mean, I’d heard the rumors, but I didn’t believe them.”
Dixie nodded. “Yes, that little nugget of information got released by a salty ex. After the breakup, he tried like hell to ruin my career. Thankfully none of my fans bought it. The public all saw him as being petty and flocked to support me. It was a win-win. Little did they know it was the truth. But I do like to keep that part of my life under wraps, so if you don’t mind keeping this to yourselves? People can be so judgmental.”
“Oh, of course! Of course!” said Holly.
Dixie pointed at her then. “Wait, are you wearing one of my shirts?”
Holly looked down at her top. It was a navy-and-white polka dot tube top that cinched her breasts together with a giant matching bow. “Yes! I ordered a few of your spring pieces, and they just came in the mail the other day! I think this one might be my favorite!”
Dixie nodded at her in approval. “It looks good on you. Very flattering.”
Holly’s eyes widened. She’d just gotten a compliment from one of her favorite celebrities. Knowing Holly, I was sure she was bursting with excitement. It was more than likely we’d hear about that compliment for the rest of our lives. “Thank you! Thank you so much!”
“Now, tell me—what kind of Council business is so pressing that you had to come all the way to Nashville to break into my house just to talk to me?”
“Well, Dixie,” began Alba, “we’re having this issue with the new Council.”
Dixie’s brows furr
owed. “An issue? What kind of issue?”
Alba glanced over at Jax, then back to Dixie. “Someone on the Council did something, umm, bad.”
“Bad? Like what?”
“I’m actually not at liberty to say right now. But here’s the situation. We just came to learn that all of the Council members are usually… well, they’re usually…” She paused as she tried to come up with the right word.
“Big names,” I supplied. “Like you. And the retired senator lady.”
“And the infomercial girl,” added Sweets.
“Ahh, yes, Avery Brooks. Her and I became good friends during our time on the Council together. She’s going to be in one of my new music videos.”
Jax smiled from ear to ear. “That’s so cool!”
“So, anyway,” said Alba, “we happened to notice that this new Council that was appointed by you guys isn’t exactly as big of a deal as most of the other Councils have been.”
“Yes, that’s true,” agreed Dixie. “Some of the Council members were concerned about that. I, personally, didn’t see the big deal.”
“So we were wondering if you could tell us who appointed all of the new members?” said Reign.
Dixie adjusted herself on her chair. “Well, I know that I appointed Daphne Fletcher. I know she’s not nationally famous or anything, but she’s very well known in Texas. She’s a member of the Texas Army National Guard, and it just so happened that she single-handedly saved the house I grew up in from a particularly bad hurricane. To this day, my parents still live in that house, and we’ve all got Daphne to thank for it. So when I found out that old Council members get to appoint new Council members, I was adamant that she be my appointee, especially after she got sick this past year. I thought it would do her some good to get out after she’d holed herself up for so long.”
Alba nodded. “What about the rest of the Council? Who appointed them?”
“Umm, I’m pretty sure Harlow appointed the rest of them.”
I pulled the folded-up list out of my back pocket and scanned the list of names. There was Dixie Carlton, Avery Brooks, Sally Murtaugh, Jill Dennisen, and Harlow Smith. Harlow Smith. Where had I heard that name before?
Dixie drummed the fingers of one hand on her temple. “If I recall correctly, the rest of the Council was super hesitant to appoint some of the lesser-known names. They thought doing so undermined the role we played in the paranormal community. Like the club they were in would become less exclusive if just anybody could get appointed. Harlow told us that we all sounded like a bunch of snobs. She said that was an outdated tradition, and that we needed to put together a Council that was more relatable. Of course the Council balked at the idea, but Harlow suggested they could compromise by appointing more local celebrity types. Like Poppy Ellabee was one we all knew well. She’d been a teacher at the Institute for years, and everyone knew and loved her.”
“So then the Council just let Harlow finish appointing the rest of the members?” asked Alba.
Dixie nodded. “Pretty much. I mean, she had a list of ideas and they were all pretty good ones. No one had a reason to reject any of them, so with my one appointee, and her four appointees, it made quick work of the selection process. Which was fine with me. I had a movie shoot to get to that day, so leaving early really helped me out a lot.”
Libby shook her head. “I’m sorry. My sister and I aren’t from America, so maybe this is a stupid question, but who is Harlow Smith? I’ve never heard of her.”
Jax nodded too. “It’s not just you, Libby. I’ve never heard of her either.”
I was glad that Libby had asked, because I’d been wondering the exact same thing.
“Harlow is the daughter of Wade and Delores Crandall,” said Dixie as if that explained why she was considered a “big name.”
Libby wrinkled her nose. “Who are Wade and Delores Crandall?”
“Yeah, I’ve never heard of them either,” said Alba.
“I’m sure you’ve heard of the Crandall Hotel Group?” asked Dixie.
Several of us nodded, myself included. “They own lots of big-name luxury hotels and resorts, don’t they?”
Dixie nodded. “Yes. They’re huge. They’ve slowly been buying out other hotel brands and adding them to their extensive list of properties. Anyway, Wade and his brother Ernest own the company. So Harlow is—”
“An heiress to millions,” breathed Holly.
“Yes. And when she was younger, she came out as a paranormal in the media. She kind of went through this wild and crazy phase, like so many children in the public eye do. Her parents sent her away to the Institute to take care of their problem child, and she ended up refining her skills and making something of herself.” Dixie shrugged. “She’s been working for her father’s company ever since.”
Reign pinched the back of my arm discreetly. “Hey, sis, can I talk to you privately for a second?”
Dixie pointed at me. “This is your sister? And that’s your cousin?”
Reign nodded.
“Wow, this really is a family affair.”
“Yeah. I just need to talk to my sister privately for a moment, if you’ll all excuse us?”
While Reign pulled me aside, Holly, Jax, Sweets, and Libby took the opportunity to ask Dixie for autographs. Alba and Cinder didn’t like being out of the loop, so they followed us over to the other side of the pool.
“What’s going on?” asked Alba.
Reign looked down at me. “Do you recognize that name?”
I shook my head in confusion. “Which name?”
“Harlow Crandall?”
“I mean, I thought the name Harlow sounded familiar, but I couldn’t remember where I’d heard it before.”
“Yeah, it took me a minute, but I finally remembered where I’d heard it. Remember when we went back in time and you and I were hiding on the front porch of our grandparents’ house and listening to their conversation? They were talking about a Harlow Crandall then.”
I could picture Reign and me looking in the window, but I had to squeeze my eyes shut to recall what they’d been talking about. That was when it hit me. “Harlow Crandall! That was the name of the woman that Samson Smith left Auggie Stone for!”
Reign nodded and pointed at me. “Bingo.”
38
“I can’t believe this,” breathed Jax as we rushed back to the time machine. “So my grandfather remarried Harlow Crandall after divorcing my grandmother? I have a step-grandmother I’ve never met before?!”
I looked at Jax in surprise. “You mean you’ve met your grandfather before?”
Jax’s eyes widened. “No. Why? Have you met him?”
“No, I haven’t met him! Just the way you said you have a step-grandmother you’ve never met before made it sound like she was the only one you’d never met.”
“Oh, no. I haven’t met either one of them. I don’t know anything about my grandfather. Or really my grandmother, for that matter. My family is so tight-lipped about everything.”
“So, Harlow Smith is Sorceress Stone’s stepmother,” said Alba. “This is an interesting development in our case.”
“Interesting development in your case?” Jax looked around curiously. “What case?”
I stared at Alba. I couldn’t believe she’d practically spilled the beans.
Alba looked like a deer caught in the headlights. “Oh. Nothing, just this Council case we’re helping out with. It’s no big deal. Really.”
“Plus, Jax, you weren’t going to ask any questions,” chided Sweets.
“Darn it!” said Jax. “I keep forgetting. I’ll try and keep my mouth closed from here on out, I promise!”
“I think our next stop should be getting to know Harlow Smith, don’t you?” Cinder asked Alba.
Alba nodded. “I was just thinking that. Okay, everyone in the sauna. We’re headed to Samson and Harlow Smith’s home!”
The crickets chirped with reckless abandon as we stood on the sidewalk across the street from Harlo
w and Samson Smith’s home in the early hours of the evening. When we’d arrived in the quaint hillside village, it had only taken us stops in three different shops before we’d found someone who recognized the name and was able to point us to the right home. Though we’d neglected to ask for the current date, we were able to judge by the cars and the clothing styles and predicted with confidence that we weren’t in the current decade. It was more than likely that we’d landed ourselves several decades in the past, only how far in the past, we weren’t sure.
I was thankful that darkness had already started to fall around us. This gave us an opportunity to snoop without it being obvious. The house we stared at was a two-story Tudor with an attached carport on one side, fronted by a wooden trellis covered in climbing red roses. Parked beneath the carport was a light blue hatchback that looked straight out of an old movie. Between the parked car and the lights in the house being on, we felt confident that someone in the Smith family was home.
“I can’t believe this is my grandfather’s house!” said Jax, sucking in her breath excitedly. She looked up at Reign. His face was solemn, showing us all just how indifferent he felt. “He’s your grandfather too, Reign. Aren’t you excited?”
Reign lifted a shoulder. “I don’t think excited is the word. He left our grandmother and our parents when they were little kids, Jax. I guess that’s not something I condone.”
Jax lowered her head. “Yeah, I guess,” she whispered.
Reign put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a little squeeze. “But I’ll admit, I am curious.”
She smiled lightly. “Yeah, me too.”
Alba turned her eyes towards the lit-up house. “So, are we just gonna be Peeping Toms again? Or are we gonna try to get inside the house this time.”
“Alba!” said Sweets in surprise. “You don’t seriously want to break into their house. We’ll get in trouble!”
“Yeah, but only if we get caught,” said Alba. She pointed at the carport. “There’s gotta be an entrance on that side. Back in the day, people in these little communities never locked their doors. I’m willing to bet that one’s unlocked.”
The Witch Within Page 28
