Total Eclipse of The Hunt: A Cozy Paranormal Mystery (The Happily Everlasting Series Book 5)

by Mandy M. Roth

  “Sure. We’ll go with that.”

  Strange response.

  “Okay, why am I in Everlasting?” asked Kelsey.

  The ball fogged once more and then the horse-man re-formed. “Bummer. It’s stuck on the horse-man loop.”

  Wil chuckled. “No. It’s answering you.”

  “By showing me a horse-man?” she asked, confused but still impressed with the gizmo. “Why aren’t these for sale? There has to be like thirty or more here.”

  “It’s best they stay here,” said Wil, still against the doorframe. “We’re the keepers of the past, present, and future, Kelsey. Always remember that.”

  “Uh, okay,” she said, touching the crystal ball once more. “What else does it show?”

  The fog returned, but this time a horse-man didn’t form when it cleared—the pendant she had in her bag upstairs did. It showed clear as could be, making her gasp and step back quickly.

  “What is it?” asked Wil, standing straight but remaining in the doorway.

  “N-nothing,” she said, unsure she wanted to reveal the truth about the pendant, how it matched the ring that had been taken, or how the pendant had come to be on her person.

  The crystal ball changed again, this time showing the faces of Mr. Reyes, Ellswerth, and the man with the army coat with the piercing blue gaze.

  How could it do that?

  She stepped back more and turned to find Wil right behind her. She’d never heard him approach.

  He touched her shoulders and grinned. “That’s probably enough of a tour for the day. I’ll bring you down here again later in the week and you can help me with inventory. Sound like a plan?”

  Kelsey wasn’t sure she wanted to be near the crystal balls again. She still didn’t know how it had shown her all of that. How could faces of people she’d just met be programmed into it? And what about the pendant? It was all so strange that it left her unnerved.

  Will pointed to the door. “Let’s head on up to the shop.”

  Kelsey followed behind, slightly shaken by what the crystal ball had shown her. She wanted to ask Wil more about it and how it worked, but she didn’t want to get into the entire story of how she’d come to be in Everlasting just yet.

  Wil shut the door to the basement behind her and then went over to a shelf with vases on it. “These are going on sale this week, so you’ll want to brush up on them. This one here is a Chinese Cloisonné vase.”

  It was turquoise with white chrysanthemums on it. “It’s beautiful. How old is it?”

  “Late nineteenth century, so it’s not quite as valuable as most of them here,” answered Wil, handing her the vase to hold.

  Then she spotted the tag on it and realized it was just over five hundred dollars. If the vase was that much and on the cheaper end, just how expensive were the other ones? A pang of worry hit her. “Do I have to dust those?”

  The edge of Wil’s mouth turned upward. “Don’t worry. My granddaughter isn’t the most graceful of people, and she’s managed to make it just fine in here without an incident.”

  Kelsey relaxed slightly, listening as Wil explained the finer points of the other vases on the shelf. He knew exactly how old everything was, what it was worth, what, if any, the symbolism on each stood for. She couldn’t believe how much the man knew about history. He was a walking book of knowledge. An encyclopedia of information.

  And she could listen to him for hours.

  She loved everything to do with history.

  He set a red vase on the counter and paused. “Am I boring you? Hugh says I ramble.”

  “Oh no. I love hearing about each piece,” she said, standing near the counter. “Back in Boston, I was working on my degree in history. I couldn’t afford to go full time and still be able to work and keep a roof over my head. I was going part time and had made a good dent in my degree.”

  He pulled out a board that was covered with felt on one side. He placed it on the counter and set the vase on it. “What made you stop?”

  “I didn’t get much choice in the matter,” she confessed, emotions welling in her throat. “Everything sort of snowballed all at once for me. Now I’m here.”

  “There is a university not too far from here,” he said, his gaze warm and understanding. “About a thirty-minute drive. You could look at taking courses there. I’m sure Penelope will work with you on your schedule, to see to it that you’re free for classes. She loves history as well.”

  “She already hired me on the spot and had me start today.” Kelsey touched the red vase lightly. “You’ve both been incredibly kind to me—a perfect stranger. Thank you.”

  Wil patted her hand gently. “You don’t feel like a stranger to me.”

  Her somewhat somber mood lightened. Wil and Penelope didn’t feel like strangers to her either. She felt as if she’d always known them. Like she was meant to be there in Everlasting.

  Wil’s face hardened as he looked out of the huge front windows of the shop. An SUV with the word “Sheriff” sprawled across the side was pulling up to the parking space in front of the shop. “Look what the cat is about to drag in.”

  When Kelsey got a good look at the man in the SUV, she realized he was the same one she’d seen on her way into town, on the bus. The one who had been at the service station. She’d thought he was sexy then; seeing him closer and getting a full view of his face made her cheeks heat.

  The man was drop-dead gorgeous. The kind of man that made women stop what they were doing just to watch him walk by. His skin was tanned and he was smooth shaven, bringing attention to his chiseled jawline. His hair was ink-black and had a slight curl to it, stopping just below his ears.

  Oddly, looking at him made her think about the horse-man she’d seen in the toy crystal ball. She could easily imagine the man in the SUV having a ripped upper body, just like the horse-man had.

  She bit her lower lip to keep from moaning.

  “Kelsey?” asked Wil, amusement coating his voice.

  She snapped out of her lust-filled trance. “Yes?”

  Wil glanced past her at the SUV out front. His smile grew, looking almost devious. “See something you like?”

  Kelsey yelped and pointed to the red vase. “That. I like that.”

  Wil chuckled.

  NINE

  JAKE PARKED in front of Hunted Treasures Antiques & Artifacts Shop. He cut the engine and was about to get out of the SUV when he noticed two older gentlemen sitting on a bench down in front of Witch’s Brew Coffee Shop and Bakery. He didn’t recognize either of them, which wasn’t surprising. With the holidays upon them, Everlasting tended to burst at the seams with tourists.

  What was strange about the men was that they were staring very keenly at the antiques shop, as if watching it.

  Unable to shake the feeling that something was off, Jake headed in their direction. One was wearing a jacket with a patch that identified him as a bus driver for a popular line that made a stop in town once a day. It tended to show up like clockwork and had already made its way through town.

  What was the bus driver still doing in town?

  And where was the bus?

  The bus driver stood and put a hand on the bench, watching Jake carefully.

  “Good day to you, Deputy,” said the other man sitting on the bench as he put a hand on a brown bag next to him, his palm sliding over the leather in an almost protective manner.

  Pressing a smile to his face, Jake did his best to appear amenable. “Bit on the cool side.”

  The men nodded in unison. “That it is,” said the man.

  Jake turned his attention to the one in the bus driver’s jacket. “Where’s the bus that goes with that?” he asked, motioning to the tag on the man’s jacket.

  The man with the bag laughed softly. “Old Ellswerth there had to pull it over just up a ways.”

  Ellswerth put his hands in his pockets, jingling change as he did. “Yep. It was acting up. The mechanic said she’d be by in a bit to take a look at her. In the meanti
me, we all decided to stretch our legs,” he said, leaning partially against the bench. The man pulled a pipe from his jacket and went to work packing tobacco before lighting it. He took a few puffs before blowing the smoke in the opposite direction. It curled up, making the strangest shape that reminded Jake of an infinity symbol.

  Ellswerth puffed on the pipe and looked Jake over, as if sizing him up.

  Jake liked to think he could take the man, who looked to be in his early sixties, but he’d recently had his backside handed to him by Wilber Messing, who also looked that age but was actually closer to two hundred. It had been a hard lesson in not judging a book by its cover.

  In Jake’s defense, it wasn’t like Wilber was an average, everyday guy. No. He was a retired (or so he claimed) supernatural hunter. And hunters weren’t to be toyed with. Case in point, Jake ending up gagged and tied to a chair in a remote cabin.

  The bus driver tapped the back of the bench rhythmically with one finger as he continued to puff on his pipe. Something about Ellswerth reminded Jake of Wilber. That wasn’t necessarily a good thing. While he and Wilber had come to a truce, Jake never forgot what the man was capable of.

  The man on the bench opened his bag, and Jake tensed, ready to do whatever might need to be done. Far too many strange things happened in Everlasting for him to ignore his gut reactions.

  When the man pulled out knitting needles and yarn, the tension in Jake’s shoulders eased.

  Ellswerth chortled. “You and the knitting, Irwin.”

  “Calms the nerves and it’s relaxing,” Irwin said, wrapping yarn around his forefinger. “And you’re just sore that you couldn’t get past the cast-on step.”

  “Pfft,” snorted Ellswerth, his gaze going to the antiques shop once more.

  “Want to give it a try, Deputy?” asked Irwin, never once looking up from his work.

  Jake glanced at the man’s partially open bag without being too obvious. It was sitting just right so that the contents couldn’t be seen.

  Ellswerth cleared his throat. “We probably shouldn’t say anything, but there was a suspicious looking fellow over by that antiques shop not too long back. We didn’t see him break any laws or anything, but there was something about him that struck us as odd. We thought it best to keep a lookout.”

  “Can you give me a description?” asked Jake.

  Ellswerth nodded. “Sure. Looked to be in his twenties maybe. Everyone looks young to me anymore.”

  The man with the bag laughed. “Ain’t that the truth?”

  Jake snorted. He could relate to a certain degree. “Anything else about him?”

  Ellswerth touched his chin. “Had dark hair and he was wearing an old jacket. Green one. Real shifty character.”

  “Thank you,” said Jake satisfied the men were harmless. He offered a smile and tipped his head. “Enjoy your time in town while the bus gets serviced. You should try one of Anna’s scones at the coffee shop there. Delicious. And her coffee will warm you right up.”

  “Gonna be a cold one tonight,” said Ellswerth, gaining a nod of agreement from his friend.

  Jake turned to head back to the antiques shop and spotted the always-eccentric Polly Crawford (Aunt Polly to nearly everyone in town). “Ma’am,” he said with a smile and slight wave.

  “Hello, Deputy March. Beautiful day for a walk, isn’t it?” she asked as she held her pet lobster, Herman, under one arm. Jake had stopped thinking the act was strange some time ago. He also gave up wondering how it was a lobster managed to live out of the water as long as Herman did. Basically, nothing about the lobster was normal. Then again, it was Everlasting, which meant anything was possible.

  Weird was kind of Everlasting’s thing.

  Polly strolled right past the men and paused for a second, her gaze lingering on them, before she continued into the coffee shop her niece owned and operated.

  Jake waited for a second longer before crossing the street for the antiques shop. When he neared his SUV again, he reached up to his shoulder and spoke into his radio’s handheld transceiver. “Randall, it’s Jake. I’m over at Wilber’s checking on a possible theft.”

  Randall Osteen had been a part-time dispatcher with the department for years—starting before Jake was hired on. Jake couldn’t be sure, but he highly suspected the man was related to someone in a position of power in Everlasting, because Randall was basically useless as a dispatcher. It was a wonder he could even work the computer and the radio. Jake had given up long ago on ever getting Randall to understand police radio codes.

  Jake really wished Judy was working today. She wasn’t exactly winning any awards for Dispatcher of the Year, but she had a basic understanding of what the job entailed. Randall did not.

  “Okay, tell Penelope I said…hi,” Randall returned, his voice muffled, sounding like he was eating and talking.

  He probably was.

  Jake sighed. There would no doubt be some sort of food item all over the keyboard on the main computer when he got back to the station. Last time Randall had eaten while working, he’d spilled soda on the keyboard and somehow managed to accidentally put out a request to Bakersville police department to lend an assist with an escaped fugitive. Everlasting had been descended upon by well-meaning officers, expecting to hunt a man at large. There was no fugitive. Only Randall and his lunch.

  Shaking his head at the memory, Jake walked in the direction of the entrance to Wilber’s shop. He was just about to open the door when he peered through one of the panes of glass and spotted a woman behind the counter.

  Not just any woman.

  The single most beautiful woman he’d ever seen in his five hundred years.

  She was around five-seven, with long, medium-brown hair braided over one shoulder. She was laughing at something Wilber was saying, which made Jake pause. Wilber wasn’t exactly known for humor. Jake had never seen him be warm to anyone outside of his granddaughter and Jolene. And he was pretty sure Wilber and Jolene had a thing for each other, but neither seemed to be at a point where they wanted to admit as much out loud.

  The young woman with Wilber glanced at something to the right, and Jake caught sight of her expressive green eyes.

  His breath hitched. And that wasn’t the only response his body had. Suddenly his uniform pants felt like they were several sizes too small in a certain area.

  Heat shot through his body and for a split second, he was positive he was on fire. At the very least, he realized he had on far too many layers, between his undergarments, his bulletproof vest and his uniform. A random worry rushed through him as he tried to remember if he had on deodorant. Not that he made a habit of forgetting it or anything, but rational thought had all but left him.

  All he could think about was the woman in the shop. She was stunning. Beyond stunning, even. She had the kind of face that poets wrote about and wars were waged over.

  Surprised by the intensity of his reaction to the sight of the woman, Jake backed up fast and bumped into the red gumball machine that stood near the entrance to the shop.

  He twisted quickly, drawing upon his enhanced shifter speed, and caught the gumball machine before it would have hit the ground and broke. He let out a slow breath, trying to calm his nerves and gather his senses. Suddenly, he was acting like a teenager. With as old as he was, he’d forgotten what it was like to go through those awkward years.

  Apparently, not much had changed.

  He set the gumball machine upright, only to then bump into the newspaper machine next to it. He nearly knocked it over as well. Jake wasn’t known for being all thumbs.

  He turned to find Wilber Messing, holding the door to the shop open while arching a brow.

  “Deputy March, want to tell me what you’re doing with my gumball machine? Is it under arrest for something?”

  Jake cast Wilber an annoyed look. “Funny.”

  “I try,” said Wilber, stepping back to allow Jake entrance into the shop. “What can we do you for today?”

  “Jake!” yelled
Hugh as he and Curt walked down the sidewalk from the direction of the marina.

  Wilber grunted but continued to hold the door open. “Oh goodie, it’s my grandson-in-law.”

  Until Hugh had mated with Wilber’s granddaughter, Penelope, Hugh had made it a point to stay as far away from Wilber Messing as he could. Even going so far as to cross the street to avoid walking too close to the antiques shop. No one had ever said much to the alpha male about it, understanding that his family had an ugly past with the Messing hunters. While Penelope and Hugh were still newly mated, Hugh had stopped avoiding the older man and had taken to annoying him as often as he could.

  Hugh put his arms out wide. “Hey, Gramps. Miss me? Let’s hug it out.”

  “Not in the least, and don’t even think about touching me,” supplied Wilber, his gaze lethal, as a hunter was known to be. Everyone knew he wouldn’t really hurt Hugh. The wolf-shifter was slowly growing on the man. “Tell me again why you’re friends with him, Warrick. You could do so much better.”

  Curt pushed Hugh’s upper arm and chuckled. “Someone has to keep him in line.”

  Wilber shook his head and looked at Jake. “In or out, Deputy?”

  “In,” said Jake, his gaze flicking to the window, and to the woman inside the shop. The compulsion to go to her was strong. So much so, it was off-putting. Jake had never felt a draw to a woman like that before. He was thankful Jolene wasn’t around to witness it or she’d get it in her head to try to fix him up with the woman in the shop. Though the idea had merit. “Okay, maybe out…for now.”

  Wilber’s grin was a mocking one. “Take your time, March. Let these two see how suddenly ungraceful you are when you see a pretty girl.” He went back into his shop and to the counter area, near the woman.

  “He gets on my nerves,” said Jake.

  “Join the club,” added Hugh with a sigh. “At least you don’t have to sit down to weekly family dinners with him. I do. Every time he cuts his meat, he eyes his knife then me, like he’s debating carving me up instead. Be happy he’s just teasing you about a pretty woman. He could be plotting your demise.”