Magic & Malice

by Annabel Chase

  “No secret,” I said. “I take no credit for the marvel that is Marley. She’s her own person.”

  “Well, either way, it was above and beyond of her to bake that burstberry pie. I know Alec’s not a fan, but it’s always been one of my favorites. It took a little time, but I made my way through the whole thing and finally finished two days ago.” She placed a hand flat on her stomach. “I have the extra pounds to prove it.”

  I froze. “My daughter baked a pie? Marley?”

  Holly laughed lightly. “Do you have another one?”

  My head went fuzzy. “When did Marley bring you a pie?”

  “She stopped by after school about a week or so ago,” Holly said. “She seemed very proud of herself, but she told me some of her stumbling blocks, so I showed her a few baking tricks to help her the next time around.”

  “Thanks,” I said slowly. “That was kind of you.”

  “Oh, there’s Alec,” Holly said. “I’ll see you around.”

  “Enjoy yourselves,” I said.

  Holly intercepted him before he could make his way over. Despite the fact that they were out alone together, their body language seemed distant. To be fair, Alec’s always seemed distant, but Holly had a tendency to drape herself all over him. I tore my gaze away.

  “Something’s not right with them,” the sheriff said.

  “In so many ways.” I continued to sit there staring at my drink, while my mind reeled. Marley brought her a pie? On the one hand, Holly was right—it was incredibly thoughtful. On the other hand, I felt…betrayed. It was ridiculous, of course. Marley didn’t do anything wrong. I had no desire for her to dislike Holly, and Marley was still Alec’s biggest fan. I hated that I even had these feelings, especially when the sheriff was right here in front of me being his wonderfully open and adoring self. Great balls of complex emotions, Rhys Meridien was right. I needed help.

  “That was sweet of Marley to bake a pie,” the sheriff said.

  “Sounds like she did a good job, too,” I said. “Better than I would’ve done.” We all knew I didn’t exactly excel in the culinary arts. If I used the microwave without anything catching fire, that was a win.

  “You seem bothered,” the sheriff said. “Any particular reason?”

  Damn the sheriff and his investigative nose. “I’m just trying to figure out how my daughter would manage to bake a pie and bring it over to Holly’s without me knowing.” And why she wouldn’t think to mention such a nice gesture. Because she worried that it would upset me? “I’ll have to ask her about it in the morning when I see her.” She’d likely be asleep by the time I got home tonight.

  The sheriff swallowed the last of his ale. “If you’re sure that’s all that’s bothering you.”

  It was all that I was willing to admit. The sheriff deserved better than to be caught in the net of my emotional Ping-Pong. “Thank you for putting up with me. I know I’m not easy.”

  The sheriff glanced up in surprise. “Put up with you? Rose, there’s no such thing.” He reached across the table to take my hand. “If it weren’t for you, I’d be sitting here with Deputy Bolan and his husband right now. Trust me, it’s not the same experience.”

  My mood instantly lightened. Sheriff Nash always seemed to have a way of coaxing me out of whatever funk I’d created. “I’m lucky to have you, Granger. I mean that.”

  He squeezed my hand before releasing it. “I think we both know it’s the other way around, but I’ll take the compliment.” He raised his finger to signal for another drink. “Too bad Hattie didn’t have anyone special in her life. Could’ve prevented all that resentment and ill will.”

  “And her murder,” I added. “Let’s not forget that minor detail.” I took a generous sip of my cocktail.

  “If anyone ever offed me, I’d want the motives and opportunities to be so few that it’d be obvious who the culprit is,” the sheriff said. “Make Bolan’s job easier anyway.”

  “I think Aunt Hyacinth has taken Hattie’s murder to heart,” I said. “She seems intent on changing her life.”

  “Hattie’s storm cleared the path for someone else,” the sheriff said. “There’s a certain poetry to it, I think.”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of Alec and Holly, deep in conversation. For a brief moment, the vampire’s gaze flitted to me. If I didn’t know they were in a relationship, I would have thought they were conducting a business meeting. It seemed a far cry from all the yelling and stomping she’d been apparently been doing.

  Part of me struggled with this change in circumstances. Maybe Marley was right—maybe I was afraid of making a ‘wrong’ choice. I shrugged off the thoughts. No. I’d vowed to walk through the door that Granger had opened and leave Alec behind and I planned to stick to it. I deserved better than what Alec had offered me, which was nothing more than furtive kisses and longing glances. That wasn’t a relationship.

  The server brought the sheriff another ale. “You plan to nurse that drink all night, Miss Rose?” the server asked. She gave me a friendly wink.

  “I think I am,” I admitted. “I’ve got a busy day tomorrow and I don’t want to be dragging.”

  The server nodded and moved on to her other table.

  “That sounds awfully responsible, Rose,” the sheriff said. “Are you feeling okay?”

  “I’m planning to go to the library,” I said. “I’ve asked Delphine to help me find books on magic manifestation.”

  He gave me a knowing look. “And reasons why it doesn’t, I guess.”

  “The therapist is a good start,” I said, “but if there’s anything else I should be doing, I want to do it. This is the most important thing in the world to her….”

  “I think you’re mistaken on that,” he said. “You’re the most important thing to her in the world.”

  “Well, okay, but you know what I mean.”

  He tapped the side of his pint glass. “And what if there’s nothing to be done? What if she does take after her father? At what point do you stop trying so that she doesn’t feel bad about herself?”

  “Believe me, Granger, I don’t mind either way,” I said. “It’s Marley who wants this and, as her mom, I want it for her.”

  “Tough job, being a mom,” he said. “Wanting everything to be perfect for your kid.”

  “I don’t want everything to be perfect,” I argued. “I only want her to be the best Marley she can possibly be, and if that Marley is meant to have magic, then, by Elvis, I’m going to do everything in my power to make it happen.”

  His mouth quirked. “You show those proud broomstick mamas how it’s done, Rose. Holly’s right—you’re doing a remarkable job.”

  My thoughts turned to Holly and the burstberry pie and, suddenly, I wasn’t so sure.

  I woke up the next morning, ready to get to the bottom of the burstberry pie mystery. I even made waffles to sweeten her before I began my interrogation.

  Marley appeared in the kitchen doorway, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “I smelled waffles.”

  PP3 trotted in behind Marley. He took his place under the table and awaited for the inevitable scraps to fall. His version of pennies from Heaven.

  Marley poured herself a glass of milk and sat at the table. “My birthday’s passed. Why are you making waffles?”

  “Can’t a mother decide to make waffles for her amazing daughter?” I set a plate and the bottle of syrup in front of Marley.

  Marley peered at me. “What’s going on? Is this because you feel guilty about my magic?”

  I brought my own plate to the table and joined her. “I thought we’d enjoy a chat over a nice, leisurely breakfast.”

  Marley slowly lowered her fork to the plate. “What’s up?”

  “I’d like to talk about the burstberry pie,” I said.

  Marley’s guilty expression said it all. She wouldn’t last two seconds under the sheriff’s scrutiny or Deputy Bolan’s well-perfected scowl for that matter.

  “What burstberry pie?” she
asked. An ineffective stab at innocence.

  “The one you made for Holly and Alec, except you already knew that Alec didn’t like burstberry pie, so you knew he wouldn’t eat any.”

  Marley fiddled with her fork. “I was trying to do something nice.”

  I folded my arms. “Nice is not how I would describe what you’ve done.”

  Her gaze met mine. “Not nice for her, Mom. For you.”

  The expression on her face was so sweet and sincere that my ovaries nearly exploded. “Marley Rose, I would never, ever want you to harm anyone for my sake.”

  “I didn’t hurt her,” Marley said. “She’s fine.”

  “Her relationship with Alec is imploding. Everyone in town is talking about her behavior.”

  Marley lowered her gaze back to the waffles. “People gossip here all the time.”

  I took her hand. “Marley, listen to yourself. You’re better than this. Much better. Besides, you know that I’ve decided to give my relationship with the sheriff a real chance.”

  “But I thought that was only because of Holly,” Marley said. “That if I got rid of her, you’d change your mind and try to make things work with Alec.”

  She wasn’t completely wrong. I had considered it. “Alec doesn’t know what he wants, sweetheart, and I would never want to be someone’s second choice. If Alec decided to pursue a relationship with Holly for whatever reason, then I accept that.”

  “What about Sheriff Nash?” Marley asked. “He’s your second choice. That’s unfair to him.”

  Ooh, snap. Marley wasn’t taking any prisoners in this conversation. “Granger has entered this relationship with his eyes wide open and that’s his decision.” She didn’t need to know any more than that. “Now tell me what you did to the burstberry pie.”

  “I went to a potions shop that some of the kids at school go to sometimes because he sells to non-magical minors,” she said. “Devil’s Claw. I bought a pre-made potion.”

  “When did you manage all this?” I asked. And where had I been?

  “It was the day before I stayed home sick from school,” she said.

  “No wonder you felt sick that day,” I replied. “Now I understand. What did the potion do?”

  Marley used her fork to swirl the syrup around on her plate. “You can probably guess. Got Holly fired up over the littlest things. The potion is called Knee-Jerk. A friend at school used it on her mom’s boyfriend to prove what a jerk he was.”

  “But that doesn’t prove anything,” I said. “It was the potion.”

  Marley shrugged. “She got rid of her mom’s boyfriend, so she got the result she wanted.”

  I slumped in my chair. Marley was only eleven. The teenage years in a paranormal town were going to be harder than I anticipated.

  “And you were hoping to get a similar result,” I said.

  “I knew Alec wouldn’t like her anymore if she was angry and unpleasant all the time. He’s too even-tempered. Then they’d break up and she’d leave town.”

  “Well, she hasn’t left town,” I said. “And I saw them out together last night.” Although things definitely didn’t appear rosy.

  Marley looked disappointed. “I’m sorry.”

  “Sorry that you used a potion on her? Or sorry that your plan failed?”

  She gave me a sheepish look. “Can it be both?”

  “You have to confess what you’ve done to Holly,” I said. “Let her patch things up with Alec. If he knows her behavior wasn’t really her, I’m sure they’ll be fine.”

  Marley shifted in her chair. “Do I have to confess why?”

  I glared at her. “You’d better not or you’ll be in even worse trouble.” I scraped back my chair and stood. “Finish your waffles and we’ll get ready to go.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Less than an hour later, we were on Holly’s doorstep. Marley and I barely spoke on the ride over. I didn’t have much experience being disappointed in my daughter and I was struggling with my own reaction. It wasn’t the type of incident I could discuss with anyone either, not without explaining why Marley would go to such lengths. It would have to be our secret.

  Holly answered the door, looking bedraggled. She didn’t seem embarrassed to have visitors. “Well, this is quite the surprise. Come in. You’ll have to excuse the mess. I’m in a bit of a packing frenzy.”

  “Packing?” I echoed.

  We stepped inside the apartment and I noticed the boxes lined against the wall. There was a suitcase placed across the sofa cushions and a pile of clothes draped across the arm of the sofa.

  “Starry Hollow is a wonderful town, but my time here is up,” Holly said good-naturedly. “My lease was only temporary anyway, and I had to make a decision.”

  So she and Alec hadn’t worked it out. I felt terrible. As conflicted as I felt about Alec, Holly’s kind and genuine nature had won me over.

  “That’s a shame, Holly,” I said. “What about Alec?”

  The nymph began folding clothes from the arm of the sofa and placing them inside the suitcase. “We weren’t meant to be. It’s not a surprise, really.”

  I nudged Marley forward. “Holly, my daughter has something important to tell you that might change your mind.”

  Holly smiled at Marley. “You do? What’s that, honey?”

  Marley struggled to speak. “I…I may have added something to the burstberry pie I gave you.”

  Holly blinked. “What do you mean? You used the wrong ingredients?”

  “Sort of,” Marley croaked, and I knew she was about to cry. “I bought a potion and added it to the pie.”

  Holly still wasn’t catching on. “What kind of potion? To make it taste better? You didn’t trust your baking skills, huh? I totally understand.”

  Oh, bless. Holly was adorably naive.

  “To make you angry,” Marley blurted. “To make you a horrible nymph to be around.”

  Holly stood perfectly still with a pair of pants in her hand, registering the confession. “Hang on a second. You were responsible for my crazy behavior?”

  Tears streamed down Marley’s cheeks. “I’m so sorry. If I could take it back, I would. I’ve never done anything like that before, but I was so….” She cut herself off, unwilling to throw me under the bus.

  Holly offered a sympathetic smile. “Jealous?” She dropped the pants and reached over to stroke Marley’s hair. “Listen, honey, I should probably be super upset with you, but I was your age once. I remember what it’s like to have a crush on an older guy.” Marley opened her mouth to protest, but Holly carried on talking. “His name was Giorgio and he had the most magnificent silver hair.” She clasped her hands against her chest. “I was far too young for him, though I didn’t realize it at the time. I thought we were written in the stars.”

  “What happened?” Marley asked. I couldn’t tell whether she was playing along or genuinely interested in the outcome.

  “He was married, with children younger than me,” Holly replied. “I didn’t understand that what I felt was just a crush, part of my emotional development.” She pinched Marley’s cheek. “I forgive you, dear heart, though I should warn you that Alec isn’t the right guy for you. He’s far too emotionally stunted. Wait for someone with less baggage. I should’ve known better than to fall for a vampire. When you live that long, you’re bound to have issues.”

  “Is that why you’re leaving?” I asked.

  Holly nodded, and resumed folding the clothes into neat squares. “I should thank you, Marley. It was a wake-up call, really. I was so caught up in the whirlwind romance, that I didn’t stop to see the real Alec.”

  Tension spread throughout my body. “Who’s the real Alec?”

  Holly placed a pink cardigan twin set in the suitcase. “The one who doesn’t communicate his feelings. The one who devotes ninety percent of his time to his work. Even when he wasn’t at the office, he was in his home office, writing another book. He’s so busy living in the fantasy world of his own design, he’s missing out
on living in the real world.”

  “He likes to immerse himself,” Marley said. “It shows in his work. You feel like you’re there. You smell the exotic spices and picture the stone castles.”

  Holly rolled up her thong underpants and I averted my gaze. “You view him through spell-tinted glasses and that’s fine. You’re too young to understand.”

  I knew that remark would enrage Marley. To her credit, though, she stayed silent.

  “Alec can be considerate and generous,” I said, feeling defensive on his behalf. It didn’t matter that what Holly said was true; I couldn’t help myself.

  “Can be is the key part of that sentence,” Holly said. “He can be sweet and affectionate and loving, too. Most of the time, though, he’s a major downer.”

  “How’s he taking you leaving?” Marley asked.

  A truncated breath escaped her. “Who knows? We discussed it at the Whitethorn last night. He was his usual stoic self. He agreed that we probably jumped too quickly.” She laughed to herself. “Which is ridiculous. Now that I know him better, I can’t understand how this even happened. Alec Hale doesn’t jump quickly at anything. He’s slow and methodical and thinks everything through a thousand times before he acts.”

  “Sounds about right,” I said.

  Holly met my gaze. “I suspect he’s had his heart broken. It’s made him overly cautious.”

  “That doesn’t explain you,” Marley pointed out.

  “It does if the heartbreak was recent.” Holly returned her focus to the suitcase. “You’d know, wouldn’t you, Ember? Maybe you noticed something in the office in the months before he met me?”

  I tried to disguise my discomfort. “It’s hard to read Alec. If his heart was broken, he certainly didn’t share that with me.” In fact, he would’ve taken great pains to hide it.