Their hope was that if they spent the night at Mother Hattie’s Inn, they might accidently catch something. Since they weren’t going to do any active ghost hunting, I didn’t think I needed to babysit them overnight. I also understood why they didn’t want to be in the house. It seemed like Kurt’s death was finally beginning to sink in for many of them.
It was an uneventful night for me too. I sat by the fire reading while Meri curled up next to me. Remy stayed the night too. While I sat reading, he did the same on the other end of the sofa. It was a quiet night of comfortable companionship.
Brody took Annika out to see a movie. They both insisted it wasn’t a date, but who was I to judge? My own love life was a mess. If they could be happy, then who was I to stand in the way? I thought it was too soon after Brody’s loss, but maybe he and Annika could have something real. I knew that sometimes, that’s the only thing that can soothe the pain.
I woke up the next morning and there was a heaviness in my chest that I hadn’t expected. Before I could even pick my head up off the pillow, I was in tears. The weight of everything that was happening with Thorn hit me hard. Kurt’s death had kept me from thinking about it too much, but when I was alone in the early hours of the morning, I couldn’t hide from it anymore.
Something was broken, and I knew it couldn’t be fixed. I wanted to rip the Band-Aid off as fast as possible, so I decided that while everyone was sleeping, I’d do a reverse love spell on myself. It felt like the only way to heal.
There was a note in the kitchen from Remy that he’d left early to get ready for work. It was nice of him to be so considerate. He didn’t have to leave me notes telling me where he was and telling me he hoped I was able to have a wonderful day. I checked my phone, and sure enough, there were no messages from Thorn.
How had I been so stupid?
Tears ran down my cheeks as I thought about how I should have known better. He pulled away whenever there was the slightest bump in the road, but I’d believed his sweet promises. I’d cared more about the chemistry between us than the reality in front of me.
I gathered the candles, salt, herbs, and oils I’d need to do the spell. When I had it all, I grabbed a chunk of rose quartz and another of black tourmaline.
All I had to do was decide where to do my ritual. I wanted to be outside in nature even if that meant it would be harder for me to cast a salt circle. I couldn’t get the images of Kurt in the front yard out of my mind, so I went to the back instead.
It occurred to me that I could probably make a circle with fallen tree branches, so I picked up some of those and made myself a small magic ring. Once they were in place, I sprinkled a little bit of salt around the edges. I didn’t want to kill the grass, so I didn’t use much.
I figured it would be okay since I wasn’t summoning anything. After I stuck the long candles into the dirt, I lit them and anointed my forehead with gardenia oil and my wrists with dragon’s blood oil. I began the chant I’d made up to reverse my love for Thorn.
Set me free
Was the last thing I remembered…
Next thing I knew, Remy was standing in front of me shaking me. Meri rubbed up against my back and then both of my knees. Remy’s face was a mask of fear and anxiety. Meri began to wail a mournful sound.
I could see them and hear them, but it was as if I were looking out at them through glass windows instead of my eyes. I was there but not there.
“Come on, Brighton. Come on, baby,” Remy said and shook me again. “You can’t do this to me. I need you. I know I said I’d stay back and let you figure things out for yourself, but I shouldn’t have done that. I shouldn’t have left you adrift. Please. Please wake up.” He turned to look at Meri. “How do we get her back? Help me.” Remy sounded so desperate, it made my heart hurt even more.
So I tried to get back to myself.
“Wait, she moved,” Meri said. “Look.”
Just then, I was able to slide back into myself just enough to take Remy’s hand. My other hand slid over Meri’s soft head and scratched behind his ear. He instinctively began to purr.
“Yes, baby, yes!” Remy exclaimed, and then his lips made contact with my forehead.
The sensation was like a bomb going off inside of me, and when the dust settled, I was back.
“What happened?”
Instead of answering, Remy scooped me up into his arms and began to carry me toward the house. I felt completely rung out as if I’d just run a marathon, and I let my head loll onto his shoulder.
“I’ll put the candles out,” Meri said. “I’ll be right in.”
The next thing I remember was waking up on the sofa with Meri staring at me. “That was dumb,” he said.
“Where’s Remy?”
“He was in the middle of doing a favor for the mayor when I had to go get him to save your butt. He ran back to the courthouse to deliver the files he’d promised. He’ll be right back. I’m here to keep an eye on you.”
“A judgmental eye,” I said and sat up.
“Well, I mean…”
“I know. I just wanted to end it.”
“What?” Meri was shocked.
“Not like that. I meant end my feelings for Thorn. I’m so tired of it. I know what’s good for me, but it’s so hard to do the right thing with stupid feelings in the way,” I said.
“So you were trying to do a reverse love spell?” Meri asked. “On yourself?”
“Yeah. I was hoping to leave Remy out of it which is why I was doing it while he was at work. Why didn’t you get Annika or Brody?”
“Not that your brother would have been much help, but he sleeps like the dead. Annika is with Amelda, and it was easier to get Remy,” Meri said.
“Yeah, I can see that,” I said.
“Brighton, are you okay?” Brody said as he came down the stairs.
“Yeah, just a bit of a mishap with a spell. Nothing I can’t handle, thanks to Meri,” I said.
“Well, I’m going to go out for a jog and then pick up some lunch and take it to Annika,” Brody said. “She said she wasn’t going to be able to get out for lunch today because of a meeting with her family this morning, so I figured I’d take her something.”
“I’ll see you later then,” I said and offered a wave.
“Probably not until tonight. After lunch with Annika, I’ve got to go to campus and meet with my advisor.”
When he was gone, Meri jumped down and headed for the stairs. “Be right back,” he said.
“Wait, I thought you were supposed to watch me,” I said.
“Well, if you must know, I need to make a trip to the litterbox,” he said. “I’ll be right back.”
“Oh,” I said. “Sorry.”
My throat was parched, so I got up and went into the kitchen to get myself a Diet Coke. As I was passing the table, I noticed there was another note on the table on top of Remy’s.
Hey, Brighton. Chris here. Sorry I just came into the house, but I knocked and no one answered. I saw you out in the backyard and figured you were busy. I’m downstairs in the tunnels. I found something I think you really need to see. Please come down as soon as you get this.
“Well, that’s odd,” I said and put the note down.
I didn’t really want to go down there by myself, but I was worried about the Ghost Seekers being in the house, and in the basement, without me.
After I grabbed a flashlight, I headed down but left the door open in hopes Meri would know I was down there.
“Hello,” I called into the tunnel.
No one answered, so I went further in. I could hear what sounded like someone moving around much further in, but no one would answer when I’d call out.
When the tunnel came to a fork, I strained my ears to hear which direction they were in. I thought I’d picked up the sound of them moving around in the tunnel fork to the right, so I went that way.
I’d only made it a few feet into the tunnel when I felt a hard thump to the back of my head. As I was reaching m
y hand up and trying to figure out what had happened, I was hit again.
“Hey,” I said, but my vision began to swim.
Then, my eyesight started to go out. It turned black around the edges first, and then it was like the tunnel closed around me. My knees went weak, and I slumped to the tunnel floor.
“Really, Brighton,” I heard Meri say. “I had to save you again? It’s been like fifteen minutes. I just needed to use the litterbox. Jeez.”
I sat up and rubbed the back of my head. It was tender, but there wasn’t a knot or anything. I’d expected to find one after being hit so hard, but as I started to feel better and better, I realized that Meri had used a healing spell on me.
“Now that you’re awake, can you please call Thorn,” Meri said.
“For what?”
But as I asked, I could see Bobby and Rachel tied up in the tunnel a few feet ahead of us.
“What’s going on?” I asked. “Where’s Chris? Why are Bobby and Rachel tied up?”
“Just think about it for a second,” Meri said.
Chapter Eleven
As it turned out, the note from Chris was a fake. Bobby and Rachel had snuck into the house and left it while I was in the backyard being catatonic. Meri and Remy had left the door open when they came running through the house to get to me. Whatever I’d done when I’d failed the reverse love spell had weakened the protection wards on the house too.
When I called Thorn, he took them in. While they hadn’t confessed to the murder, it looked awfully suspicious that they’d broken into my house. That coupled with the fact that they’d attacked me was enough to encourage the coroner to take another look at the cause of death.
While that happened, they weren’t going to get out on bail since they’d been caught in my house. No one questioned how I’d managed to tie them both up. The only issue was that they might not stand trial.
Since they kept raving about how the cat had tied them up using magic, there was the possibility they’d be found incompetent. Whether they went to jail or ended up in a psychiatric facility didn’t matter to me. I just wanted them off the streets. It would have been nice to know there’d be justice for Kurt, but public safety was better than nothing.
Chris, Toto, and Link all came by after the arrest. They couldn’t believe what had happened. While it was pretty obvious to them, at least after the fact anyway, that Rachel had been cheating on Kurt with Bobby, no one thought it was possible that they’d kill him.
“So that’s what you think happened?” Chris asked me. “You think they strangled him and then hung him in the tree.” He shivered after he said the last part.
“It seems that way,” I said. “I’d almost be willing to put money on it.”
“But why try to kill you?” Link asked.
“Because I was investigating it? I wouldn’t let it go. They probably thought the only way to get away with the whole thing was to get rid of me,” I said.
The part I didn’t say was that they didn’t know I was a witch and had a powerful familiar. That part had to stay between me and my Coventry family.
“I think I’m going to stick around in Coventry,” Link said.
“You are? Why?” I felt bad because the question sounded like I was being short with him. “Sorry, that came out wrong. I’m just curious.”
“I don’t know,” he began. “It feels like home? I think I can get at least a part-time job slinging hash at that Dumbledore place. And I was also a carpenter before. I’m pretty handy with a lot of things.”
“Oh, cool. Coventry could probably use that.”
“You seem like you could probably use it to.”
At first, I couldn’t fathom what he was talking about, and then I remembered the garage Grey had left half finished. He was right. I knew it would be nice to have someone finish building it rather than let the half-completed structure sit there to rot.
“You’re absolutely right,” I said. “Welcome to Coventry, Link. I’m happy to be your first customer.”
I want to see you tonight. – The text from Thorn caught me off guard.
I don’t know. I’ve had a rough couple of days. Maybe we should meet for lunch tomorrow or something. – was my response.
Please, Brighton. I’m so sorry. I want to bring Dani to meet you too. I hate to tell you this over text, but I’m ready to get our lives started.
You’d have thought I’d have been over the moon about that revelation, but there was just something sitting in the pit of my stomach about the whole thing. It made me uneasy, but perhaps that was just nerves. I hadn’t had much time to think about becoming a stepmother.
Can you come alone at first? I’d like to talk to you before I meet Dani. I think that’s best for everyone.
Yes, of course. I can work that out. See you after work, then?
Sure thing. – I said and put the phone aside.
Either way, I did want to meet Dani. She was Thorn’s little girl after all, but we had a big discussion to have before that happened. Expectations needed to be managed.
I was a ball of nerves and spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning the house until it gleamed and baking a dozen cupcakes. When it was getting close to being time for Thorn to get off his shift, I went to the fridge to see what I had to make dinner.
Before I could open the fridge, my phone dinged again. I had a feeling I needed to check it before I got my hands dirty.
Sorry, something has come up with Dani and her mom. I won’t be able to make it for dinner. Call you later.
Of course.
I felt like I’d given him so much leeway. I thought I’d been understanding. Had I not been super understanding and as supportive as possible?
“I’m going over there,” I said.
“Why?” Meri startled me.
“Because this is how I rip the Band-Aid off. Not by casting spells on myself or waiting around for a man to bless me with his appearance to eat the dinner I would have cooked for him.”
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea, but you go get’em, girl,” Meri said.
“Whatever.”
“Whatever,” Meri retorted. “Hey, could you feed me first, maybe?”
I did. I fed Meri, and then I jumped in my car, that started, and drove over to Thorn’s house. I pulled into his driveway behind his cruiser and called him because I was too afraid to ring the doorbell.
“What is it, Brighton? I said I’d call you later.”
“I’m in your driveway.”
“You’re what?”
“I’m in your driveway. You need to come talk to me.”
“Brighton, this is crazy. I’ll call you later.”
“I’m in your driveway. I’ll be here until you come talk to me,” I said and hung up the phone,
Two minutes later, Thorn came out the front door. He was dressed in one of his black t-shirts and a pair of jeans that hung perfectly from his hips yet strained against the bulge of his strong thighs. I said a prayer to the goddess for strength. He was a good-looking man, and it made me a little weak. But I was on a mission.
I got out of the car as he made his way down the driveway. My butt leaned against the driver’s door after I closed it, and I pushed back a bad memory about one of the times I’d found the strength to stand up to Donnie.
“What is this about?” he asked, but he looked back over his shoulder.
I followed his line of sight and saw a woman close his front curtain quickly. “You’re not alone with Dani,” I said.
“I’m not. Her mother is here.”
“Then why couldn’t you meet me for dinner? Is Dani sick or something?”
“No, she’s fine,” Thorn said.
He rubbed the back of his neck and refused to make eye contact. I bit my bottom lip to keep from crying, and it worked. I was sad, but not as sad as I’d expected.
“You’re getting back together with her, right? That’s what this has been about. You trying to decide. You pick me and then you change your mind.
So you’ve been doing it to both of us?”
“Brighton.”
“Don’t Brighton me,” I said more forcefully than I expected. “And don’t even sweat it, Thorn. I didn’t come here to beg you to pick me or anything like that. I didn’t invite you over for dinner to work things out in our relationship either. That ship sailed. I wanted to meet your daughter, but I wanted to do it as your friend.” It felt good to say it. “Because that’s all we’ll ever be.”
“I don’t even think we’ll be that,” he practically whispered. “We’re leaving town.”
“What?”
“Sadie, Dani, and I are moving back to the city. Sadie still has her place there, and I called my old boss. I’ve got a job waiting for me.”
“You were just going to leave?”
“I would have come talk to you first. The move is just happening soon, and we had things we needed to work out.”
“She’s making you leave town fast, so you don’t change your mind. Whatever, Thorn. Not my circus.”
“Brighton, wait,” he said, but his voice held no urgency.
“Wait for what? I’m done waiting.”
I got in my car and pulled out of the driveway. He was already back in the house when I hit the gas to drive away. As soon as I was out of sight, the tears came. I cried so hard that I had to pull the car over once, but then something miraculous happened. By the time I got back to my house, the pain had begun to subside. One good cry, and I felt cleansed.
And then I saw it.
Saw him, rather. As I pulled into my driveway, I saw Remy sitting on my front porch waiting for me. It was just like he said, and I felt my breath catch in my throat.
The tears started again as I got out of car, but they were tears of happiness and relief. “Oh, baby, are you okay?” Remy asked. He stood up and rushed to me before pulling me into his arms. “I’m so sorry,” he said as he kissed the top of my head. “I should have done more to protect you. I’ll never let you down again.”
Wicked Witches of Coventry- The Collection Page 45
