“You don’t think?”
“That maybe it has something to do with Brittany’s murder?” Annika’s eyebrow cocked up. “I thought you might pick up on that too.”
“I need to go talk to her. I think we have time before we have to start cooking. Just a quick trip over to the inn?”
“Yeah. I’m down,” Annika said.
I got my purse, and we went out to my car. The only problem was that when I turned the key in the ignition, it didn’t start.
“Well, that’s weird,” I said. “It was fine when I went to the store. Come on, baby, you can do this.” I waved my hands over the dash and focused my intentions on the car’s innards, hoping a little magic would get her going.
But when I turned the key again, nothing happened. I got out and looked under the hood, and as far as I knew, everything looked okay. Not that I knew anything about cars. I tried to subtly use a little magic again, but she still wouldn’t start.
“Going somewhere?” Grey startled me a little. I hadn’t heard him come up behind me.
“I just needed to go by the inn and talk to Cassidy. I wanted to do it before I started getting ready for the barbecue tonight, but my car decided to bite the dust.”
“I could give you a ride. It turns out I still owe her for a night,” he said. “We could kill two birds with one stone.”
“Sure,” Annika answered for me. “Thanks.”
Before I could say anything, Annika started for Grey’s van. “After you,” he said and waved in her direction.
“You sure you don’t mind? I wouldn’t want to take away from your work time,” I said.
“I don’t mind at all,” he said with a smile.
I was expecting there to be more, but Grey didn’t say anything else. Annika had already hopped in the back of the van and wedged herself between some of Grey’s equipment, so I got shotgun.
Grey opened the passenger door for me, and when I stepped inside the van, his hand brushed against my side. It sent a shiver down my spine, but I pulled away as if it burned me.
I was going to apologize for reacting that way, but he just shut the door and went around to the driver’s side. Buckled in and ready to go, I half expected Grey’s van not to start for some reason. But it did, and we were on our way to the inn.
Chapter Fourteen
“You know, I just remembered that I already paid the bill,” Grey said as we pulled into the parking lot. “I’m so forgetful. I’ll just wait out here for you, Brighton. Or I could give Annika a ride home and then come right back for you?”
“I’m going back over to Brighton’s place when we’re done here, but thanks,” Annika said as she cheerfully jumped out of the van.
“Did you just drive us here so you could spend time with me?” I asked when Annika closed the door.
“I offered you a ride because you needed one,” Grey said. “Though I don’t mind that I get to spend time with you.”
“You’ll wait here for us?”
“I will,” he said and patted my knee.
I was out of the van and walking inside with Annika before I realized that I hadn’t flinched when Grey touched my leg. It had almost seemed like a natural gesture despite the fact that my mind knew I should have been offended.
When we got inside, what we found was way more shocking than the whole Grey touching my leg thing. James and Cassidy were there speaking to each other in hushed tones and smiling.
From where I stood, they looked pretty cozy considering they’d had two altercations that required the sheriff in the past week. It was a strange thing that made me think that perhaps they were involved in the kind of relationship where people fought hard and made up harder. The kind of relationship that caused people to do horrible things in the heat of passion.
“Brighton, hello,” Cassidy said cheerfully. “What brings you in today? Hi, Annika.”
“Actually, we’re here because of this,” I said. “We’d heard rumors about the two of you having problems, and I came here as a friend to discuss it with you. I didn’t expect that James would be here too.”
“My being here is none of your business,” James said.
“We came here to talk to Cassidy,” Annika said.
“Well, you can talk to me or you can get out of here,” James snapped.
“Cassidy, is that what you want?” I asked.
“I guess it is,” she said with a shrug. “Because the only reason I can think of why you’d be here to talk to me about that is if you’re trying to say James and I killed Brittany.”
“I’m not saying it as an accusation. I just wanted to talk to you about it.”
“Now you’ve talked to me about it,” she said. “What’s going on between James and I is our business. So why don’t you get out of here before I have to call your sheriff boyfriend and have him drag you out.” Cassidy’s tone was spiteful and mean.
She’d never talked to me that way before, but there wasn’t anything I could do. Things might have gone differently if she’d been alone, but there was no way she was going to talk to me after that.
“Let’s go,” I said to Annika.
We walked outside and got into Grey’s van. “All done?” he asked as Annika and I settled in.
“Yep.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked.
“Not really.” I tried not to sound curt, but I didn’t want to discuss it with him.
“Well, you know I’m always here for you if you need me,” he said with a wink.
Once we were back at Hangman’s House, Annika and I went inside to start prepping food and Grey went back to work. Meri made his way into the kitchen for some lunch, and Brody hadn’t come back from the archives yet.
“Did you and Grey start spending time together or something?” Annika asked while she peeled potatoes.
“No. Why?”
“I don’t know. He just seemed overly familiar, I guess. The way he said that thing about always being there for you if you needed him. That’s something a friend says, and I thought he was just some dude building your garage. I mean, he’s a super freaking hot dude building your garage, but it’s not more than that, right?”
“Not from my side,” I said.
“What does that mean?”
“It means he asked me out this morning.”
“You said no, right?” Annika turned away from her potatoes.
“I didn’t get the chance to because you rang the doorbell right as I was about to. Then we went to see Cassidy, and I didn’t want to discuss it with you there. It just seems like something I should tell him privately.”
“You’d better tell him soon. You don’t want him sniffing around at the barbeque tonight with Thorn around.”
“You think he’ll come to the barbecue?” I asked.
“Yeah, I think he will,” Annika said. “He seems to think you two are pretty close, so I imagine Grey assumes he’s invited.”
“I’ll talk to him,” I said.
“You could do it now?” Annika offered.
“I need to try and call Thorn again. I want to talk to him about Cassidy and James, but he hasn’t been picking up. Must be working hard somewhere.”
“Are you sure it’s not that you just don’t want to tell him no?” Annika asked. “You can tell me, Brighton. I mean, I can understand the appeal. He’s gorgeous. He owns his own business. What’s not to like?”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “He is gorgeous and seems like a nice guy, but I’m with Thorn. And if…” I stopped myself before I finished speaking the thought, but Annika picked it up.
“And if you weren’t with him, you’d be with Remy.”
“I didn’t…”
“It’s okay, Brighton. You’re my friend, and I’m not going to judge you for your feelings or for being confused about your feelings. I’m just glad that you’re still friends with Remy. It would have crushed him if you had decided not to have him in your life anymore, but he would have deserved it,” she sai
d.
“I don’t think he deserves that,” I said. “Besides, some of the stuff he did was creepy, but I don’t think it was entirely him.”
“I kind of thought that too,” Annika said. “But how could he have let himself fall under dark influences like that?”
“Because Remy, the real Remy, is kind, sweet, and he was sort of innocent,” I said.
“You mean naïve,” Annika countered.
“But that sounds so negative, and I don’t think it was negative. There’s nothing wrong with being sweet and innocent. It’s one of the things I…”
“You love about him,” Annika said. “It’s what I love about him too, and we have you to thank for him making a comeback.”
“Me?”
“Yeah, Brighton. You. He was so close to being past the point of no return. Even the aunties were ready to use the old ways to deal with him, but he fought his way back for you.”
“That’s pretty heavy,” I said, and I felt it in my chest.
“So what’s up with Thorn?” Annika abruptly changed the subject. “You’ve called him a few times. Does he usually not call you back?”
“No. I thought he’d at least send a text,” I said. “Maybe something happened with the case. I hope this doesn’t mean something bad for Brody.”
“Like what?”
“Like the FBI is arresting him today and Thorn is there helping out or something.”
“That’s easy to find out even if Brody’s phone is dead. Just text Remy. You know he’ll get back to you.”
So that’s what I did.
Hey, how are things going with my brother?
I waited a couple of minutes, and just like Annika said, he got back to me.
Great. We’re having a grand old time in these dusty shelves. We’ll come help with the barbeque set up soon. Promise. :-)
“Brody’s fine,” I said to Annika as I sent a text to Remy. Thanks. Looking forward to it.
“He’s probably just busy with work,” Annika said.
“What if something happened to him?” I thought out loud as I thought of the other time I couldn’t find someone. When Annika almost died.
You’re probably busy, but please just let me know you’re okay.
I sent the text to Thorn, and then went back to prepping the meat for the grill. A few minutes later, my phone chimed with a message.
I’m fine. Talk soon.
“Well, there you go,” Annika said from over my shoulder where she’d read the message.
“I suppose that’s better than nothing,” I said. “At least I know he’s okay.”
We went back to our cooking and food prep and both lost track of time. By the time I remembered I was supposed to go outside and officially turn Grey down for the date, it was nearly his quitting time.
“I’m going to go out and break it to Grey that I won’t be going out with him,” I said. “Maybe he won’t come to the barbecue if I reject him.”
“You want me to come with you?”
“Nah, I got this,” I said.
Except, I didn’t. By the time I got outside, he was already gone for the day. That meant that if he did show up to the cookout, I’d have to tell him there. Probably with Thorn around, and my boyfriend didn’t seem to be in a good mood.
Chapter Fifteen
When it was time for me to light the grill, it was still just me, Annika, and Meri. Brody and Remy were still getting their nerd on at the library, so I figured I’d get the cooking underway until someone else showed up and took over. I figured at least one of the men in my life would want to man the grill, but so far they were all no-shows.
That was until a familiar van pulled up in the driveway. It seemed that I was going to get to talk to Grey about the date before anyone got there after all.
“I was hoping I’d catch you before the party got under way,” Grey said as he strode up to me.
“It’s not really supposed to be a party,” I said. “Just a few friends getting together was my original plan.”
“Oh?” Grey said and cocked his head to the side. “I’d assumed it was a party when you came home with all that food earlier today.”
“Yeah, I’m expecting it to turn into a party even though that wasn’t the original plan. Word travels fast around here, and I assumed people would show up. I don’t want to turn people away, so I’m prepared.”
“That’s good,” Grey said. “I was thinking of attending, and I’d hate for it to be an imposition.”
“Nope,” I said. “Everyone is welcome, but we do need to clear the air first.”
“We do?”
“Yes, about you and me. I’m not going to go out with you because I’m in a committed relationship, Grey. I appreciate everything that you’re doing building my garage at a discount and all that, but that’s the extent of our relationship. You’re welcome to attend the barbecue tonight because everyone is welcome, but there’s nothing special going on between us,” I said as plainly as I could.
“Brighton…” Grey’s voice was warm and inviting as he took a step toward me and closed the distance between us.
Before he could say anything else, another car pulled up in the driveway. I stepped past Grey and went around the house to find Remy and Brody had returned.
Something in my expression must have told Remy that I was flustered. “Brighton, are you okay?”
As he asked that, Grey stepped out from behind the house and stood next to me. “We were just having a little chat about the garage,” Grey said. “I’ll see you all later.”
“What was that about?” Remy asked as soon as Grey was gone.
“Nothing. He asked me out. I turned him down,” I said. “I think he was trying to save face.”
There wasn’t much time to get the food ready after that before people started showing up. Thorn still hadn’t made it yet, so I gladly let Brody and Remy man the grill together.
The really nice thing was that even though people were stopping in uninvited, they all brought a dish with them. Some brought their signature side or dessert while others brought drinks or plates and napkins. Soon we had enough food that I was confident we’d be okay even if the whole town showed up.
The whole town didn’t show up, though. It was mostly the humans and some of the younger Skeenbauer witches. Amelda and the aunties were noticeably absent.
Still, Meri busied himself patrolling the party to make sure that none of the younger witches revealed their magic to the humans. If he caught someone slipping, he’d use a little concealment or protection magic to cover it up. He also got lots of little bites of meat from partygoers who thought he was adorable. I could tell he hated it when people fawned all over him or spoke to him in baby talk, but he took their treats just the same.
Thorn finally arrived at the party about an hour after it started. He was dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, so I’d assumed he went home to shower and change after his shift. It had to have been a rough one. He looked tired and even when he wrapped his arms around me and gave me a kiss, it felt distant.
I wanted to talk to him about my thoughts on Cassidy and James, but it was never the right time. Thorn seemed to drift through the party making small talk with the townspeople, and he never stayed by my side for more than a couple of minutes. I was about to pull him aside when Remy approached me.
“You’re standing all alone at your own party,” Remy said and handed me a cold diet soda.
“Well, it wasn’t supposed to be a party,” I said softly.
“I would expect this anytime you have any sort of cookout that involves more than two people,” Remy said. “It’s not so bad, right? I even heard that Keisha might close the diner early so they can drop in.”
“That would be nice. I hope she’s not mad that we’ve probably taken some of her business,” I said and waved toward all of the people milling around my back yard eating barbecue and chatting.
“I think she’ll probably let it go,” Remy said with a smile. “So what’s wrong? I c
an feel your discontent from over by the grill.”
“I got some information this afternoon that led me to believe that Cassidy and James might have something to do with Brittany’s murder, but I just don’t know. I wanted to talk to Thorn about it, but he’s being distant,” I said.
“Well, I don’t know what I can do about Thorn, Brighton, but I do know what we can do about Brittany’s murder,” Remy said.
“What’s your idea?”
“Come here,” he said and motioned for me to follow him. Once we were on the other side of the garage and away from prying ears, he said, “We can do it our way. We’ll do a séance. If Brittany’s spirit is close, which it probably is given how she died, then we can just ask her to point us in the right direction.”
“I don’t know,” I said. “I’m not sure if we should be summoning spirits.”
“It’s worth a shot. The two of us together would make an impressive magical team.”
He was right, and I wanted to solve the murder and help Brody before it was too late. I figured it was probably worth the risk.
Remy and I decided on the basement to summon Brittany’s spirit. I didn’t want to leave home with the barbecue in full swing, and we thought the basement would be the place none of the people at the party would even try to go. We could have gone up to the attic too, but I was afraid the extra protection spells might keep Brittany out. The last thing I wanted to do was take those down and leave the Tuttlesmith book collection vulnerable.
I let Remy lead the summoning ritual. He was a more experienced witch, so I cast the circle and lit the candles.
Meri thought it was a bad idea to do summoning in the basement, but he thought a lot of things I wanted to do were bad ideas. When I wouldn’t relent on doing the summoning, he said he’d check in on us when he could. Meri had to stay outside with the party guests to ensure no witchcraft slips happened.
“Okay,” Remy began once we’d closed ourselves in the circle, “I’m going to bring her through the veil. I want you to use your magic to hold her. If you do that for me, then I’ll get her to tell us what she knows.”
Wicked Witches of Coventry- The Collection Page 34
