by Cindy Stark
Hazel worked to slow her pulse. “Excuse me, but Peter is not a whim. He’s the man I love, and the man I intend to spend the rest of my life with.”
Polly seemed shocked that she was still arguing. “At the expense of the coven?”
Hazel closed her eyes and exhaled before she focused on Polly again. “I think we’re done here.”
That seemed to annoy Polly even more. “You should at the very least take some time to consider my words. You owe us that much.”
“Fine,” she blurted out. Anything to get the horrible woman out of her store. “I’ll take it under consideration.”
Polly held her gaze for an eternity of seconds before she gave a curt nod, turned, and strode out of Hazel’s shop.
Hazel couldn’t help but wonder if her mother was involved in Polly’s visit. Or Victor.
Or worse.
Perhaps she’d worn her panties correctly to begin with that morning and, now, she’d cursed herself with more bad luck. That seemed the most likely scenario.
Either way, Hazel wasn’t about to let her new sisters make life decisions for her, even if she did want to impress them. She loved Peter, and she’d never let him go.
If she was such an all-powerful witch like Polly had suggested, she didn’t need the rest of the coven anyway. She’d managed just fine on her own up until that point. She could continue in the same vein and figure out how to stop the witch-haters in town all on her own.
The best way she could think of to do that was to get her hands on the secret library books Timothy fought so valiantly to protect.
She lifted her phone and dialed the library’s number. She’d volunteer to take a shift, maybe several, a selfless act to help her community while the librarian visited his mother.
Nine
By the time the next evening rolled around, Hazel was on edge. She been anxious for her date with Peter because she had a few things she wanted to tell him but wanted to do it in person. His suggestion for a walk along the beach gave her the perfect chance.
She hoped none of her topics would ruin the evening.
She slid onto the passenger seat in Peter’s truck. “You don’t know how amazing an evening at the beach sounds.”
He grinned and shut her door. Once he’d claimed the driver’s seat and started the engine, he turned to her. “Actually, I do. This has been a heck of a week, and I need a break, too. I’m just glad your curse or omen that’s been bugging you is gone.”
“I’ve been doing what Cora said, and it seems to have worked.”
He shifted a quick glance in her direction. “The rocks and acorn?”
She scrunched her features in embarrassment. “A couple of other things, too.”
“Like what?”
She hesitated long enough that he cast another glance in her direction. “I’ll tell you, but you can’t laugh.”
He chuckled. “Okay. I’ll try to behave.”
She lightly punched his arm. “You’re already laughing.”
His grin warmed her insides. “With the introduction you’ve given me, I can’t help it.”
She rolled her eyes and chuckled. “I can’t help laughing, either. It sounds so completely ridiculous.”
She exhaled. “Here goes. I am making sure I get up on the same side of the bed that I got in the night before, and…I’m wearing my underwear inside out.”
A snort of laughter burst from his mouth. “Inside out underwear?”
She tried to frown but couldn’t. “Told you it was crazy. But it seems to be working.”
He continued to grin but lifted a shoulder and let it drop. “I guess we can’t argue with that.”
“Exactly. I can’t tell you how relieved I am. It’s awful to feel like I can’t step outside my house without worrying.”
He reached over and squeezed her hand. “You know I’ll protect you.”
She snorted. “From flailing pies and tumbling towers of toilet paper?”
He slid a sideways, serious glance in her direction. “From anything.”
She smiled, loving his sentiment. If only it was that easy.
Twenty minutes later, Peter helped her from the truck.
Fresh, salty air filled her lungs and cleansed her soul. A breeze off the ocean teased her hair and danced across her skin, leaving her feeling lighter than she had in days. “Oh, goodness. That’s lovely.”
He released a long exhale. “Yeah. Exactly what I needed.”
He took her hand and led her toward an uneven, sandy path that wound through waving beach grass. A few people wandered the evening beach, but no one was close to them.
They reached a distance far enough from the water that the tide wouldn’t get them, and Hazel slipped off her shoes. Peter did the same.
She flashed him a happy smile and took his hand, tugging him toward the water. He complied without question.
They picked their way through a small stretch of rocky area until it flattened, and they reach the soft beach sand. They took several steps closer to the ocean, and a playful wave of water rushed toward their bare feet. When it covered her toes and ankles, she sucked in a surprised breath. “I forget how cold it can be.”
He chuckled. “Some say cold. Others say refreshing.”
She agreed with a nod. “Definitely refreshing.”
An idea popped into her head, and she turned to face him. “I want to try something. Close your eyes.”
He narrowed his gaze in friendly suspicion.
“Come on. Don’t you trust me?”
He grinned. “Some say never trust a witch.”
She shot him a teasing, sarcastic look. “Do it, or I will curse you.”
He squeezed her hand and closed his eyes.
She reached for his remaining hand and then lifted them both until his arms were straight out to his sides. “I’m going to let go of you, and I want you to open your palms toward the breeze.”
He did as she asked, and the sight of him opening himself to the amazing energy that surrounded them tugged at her heart.
“Take a deep breath, and as you exhale, try to open your senses to everything around you.”
She studied his handsome features as he did, and slowly, a smile crossed his face. “Do you feel it?” she asked.
He nodded and sucked in another breath. “It’s incredible.”
Happiness bubbled inside her. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his waist to hug him. He chuckled and pulled her tighter against him.
She lifted her gaze to him and smiled. “See? You can access that power, too. It will always be there for you if you need it. You should try it in a forest, too. You could use the one by my house. The energy that will infuse you and clear out all the muck is amazing.”
He tilted her chin up and placed a light kiss on her lips. “We should live by the beach.”
“Or in a forest that butts up against a beach.”
He touched the tip of her nose. “I like the way you think.”
They turned and strolled along the edge of the water with their hands linked, slowly making their way across the compacted, wet sand.
Peter nudged her with an elbow. “I need to thank you for contacting Anya about the dogs. She was thrilled to take them, said if everything worked out, she’d like to adopt them.”
The thought warmed her heart. “That makes me really happy. I think she’ll love the company.”
“But now that I have those two squared away, we’ve had an issue with a couple of the others. They somehow managed to escape their foster home and are running free again.”
“Let me guess. Is one of them the German Shepherd?”
He assessed her with an intrigued gaze. “You guessed it. He’s a wily one.”
“He is. The day I saw them running, that German Shepherd seemed to be having the time of his life. I figured he’d want more of that if the opportunity presented itself.”
“Unfortunately, it did. They’ve been knocking over garbage cans and making a mess.”<
br />
She gave a mock pout. “They’re hungry.”
He snorted. “Then they should have stayed where they were.”
“True. If I wasn’t worried about them getting hurt, I’d cheer on their race to freedom.”
“Yeah,” he said thoughtfully. “But don’t worry. My guys will round them up soon.”
She hoped so. “I wish your officers could figure out who Amanda is and round her up, too, for questioning.”
“No luck with Katelyn?”
Oh, she’d had luck at the store. Just not good luck. “I did speak with her. She was the one who helped me pick up the toppled toilet paper, and she’d heard of Amanda.”
“Really? That’s great news. What did she say?”
“She said Valerie had had an affair with Amanda’s husband, Bran. But that’s the only information she could give me. She didn’t know last names. She’d never met Amanda, though Bran had come into the hair salon. That’s how he and Valerie met. Maybe you could look in Valerie’s appointment book and see if she has any times reserved for Bran. Maybe Brandon, Brantley. I wonder if the roses signed BW were from him.”
“Possibly. If Bran’s name isn’t on the pages left behind, that could be a great lead. We’re also working on getting impressions from the pages still intact. If someone presses hard enough when they’re writing, it can transfer to the page below.”
“Yes, I’ve heard of that.”
“Our problem is the pages are so thin and impressions from many pages have gone through to others, making them a jumbled mess. It will take some time, but I believe we’ll get there. In the meantime, we’ll look for Bran’s name.”
Hazel focused her gaze on the rhythmic waves hitting the shores, and then looked back to Peter. “Why do you think someone would rip out pages as opposed to taking the whole book? That seems more logical.”
“Logic isn’t always at the forefront of a murderer’s mind. That’s usually why they get caught.”
That was one answer. “Maybe an appointment book was too big to slip beneath one’s shirt, too obvious and would be noticed as the hypothetical person rode her bike through town.”
He chuckled. “Still think it’s Liesl?”
“I haven’t found anyone to replace her at the top of my list.”
“What about this Amanda person? Murder in the name of love can often be complicated and unpredictable.”
She slipped him a sideways glance and a hint of a smile. “I haven’t ruled her out, yet. Have you?”
His lips curved into a charming smile. “You know my philosophy. People stay on my list until I can prove otherwise.”
She couldn’t disagree that it was a thorough way to search.
When the sun fell low enough to hide behind the trees on the bluff above, they turned and headed back along the beach. She envied those who spent their days this close to the ocean and had the chance to turn over their cares to the wind and the waves.
A seagull squawked overhead. She lifted her gaze and watched it soar out over the water. “If only we could do this every night.”
“That would be all right with me.”
Unfortunately, her conscience butted in on their pleasant evening and reminded her she had things to tell him, things she wanted to say while they were together. Things he may or may not like to hear.
Ten
Hazel inhaled a deep breath of salty sea air to fortify her nerves and then prepared to update Peter on several points that might cause contention between them. Love and life weren’t supposed to be this hard. Though she supposed every couple had their challenges.
She pasted on a bright smile and prayed the calming ocean would temper his responses. “Guess what I did. I signed up to cover a shift at the library while Timothy is out of town.”
He twisted his lips into an approving smile. “That was nice of you.”
She really didn’t want to tell him the rest, but she needed to. “I’m not exactly doing it with an altruistic heart, Peter. I intend to search for his special books and perhaps other information on the Sons of Stonebridge.”
He groaned and came to a stop. “I would highly advise against that, Miss Hardy.”
Frustration gnawed at her. “I’ll never get a better chance without drawing attention to myself.”
“Those books are protected library property.”
“And as librarian, even if only for the day, I can access them.”
His determined expression didn’t waiver. “Hazel. He locks them up. You would have to break in.”
She shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. “I have my ways.”
“Magic.”
“Peter, I’m only looking in a few books, not breaking into Fort Knox and stealing gold. I’ll wear gloves so that I don’t hurt the pages. It will be fine.”
He sighed and shook his head, not convinced. “You’re asking for trouble.”
“No, I’m looking for things to protect my kind and help prevent trouble.”
“That’s not how Timothy will see it.”
“That’s because Timothy has a closed mind.”
She recalled what the truth candle had said about him not being her enemy. “Maybe one day, he’ll educate himself and change.”
He challenged her with a lifted brow.
“It could happen.”
She turned and began walking again. They had more pleasant things to discuss. “Guess what else I did.”
He snorted and eyed her with a warning look. “Do I need to lock you up for your own good?”
She smiled and waved away his concern. “Of course not. You might approve of this one. I set an appointment with a wedding planner. Her name is Audrey. She’s Fiona’s sister and has taken over her business now that Fiona is no longer with us.”
Peter tugged her back from an oncoming rogue wave so that it only hit mid-calf. “I thought we’d agreed on a small event.”
She’d expected his reaction and smiled in response. “We did, and we still are. But we need someone to keep an eye on everything, and without supportive family around, we don’t really have anyone.”
He cast a sideways glance in her direction. “Still not planning to invite your mom?”
She turned toward the horizon and watched the setting sun glint off the waves. “Nope. Are you inviting your parents?”
He shrugged. “Why bother? I doubt they’d come.”
Out of the two of them, Hazel probably had the better parental relationship, which wasn’t saying much. “I really like the idea of just having our friends here in Stonebridge celebrate with us. The trick for me will be to keep Victor from mentioning it to my mother.”
He looked at her as if she’d lost her mind. “You’re not planning on inviting him, are you?”
“Uh…never. But he seems to hear about everything. I’ll have to threaten to hex him.”
“Next time I have a problem with someone, I’m going to call you in for a hex.”
She laughed. “Can’t go around hexing everyone, Chief Parrish. I’ll have Karma knocking at my door, or worse, another owl with an omen.”
“Speaking of…” He dug in his pocket and pulled out a small, gold envelope. He opened the end and dumped the contents into his hand. A tiny, gold four-leaf clover and accompanying chain shone bright in his palm despite the fading light. “I got this for you, for luck.”
She placed a hand over her heart to contain the emotion welling there. “Oh, wow. That’s so beautiful.”
“Turn around.”
She did as he asked, and he slipped the chain around her neck and secured it there. The tiny clover landed snugly between her breasts. She lifted it to look at it again, enjoying the soft energy buzzing from it. “I’ll wear it always.”
He placed a soft kiss on her lips. “Hopefully, it will help protect you when I’m not around. Sounds like you’re going to need it even more so now.”
The thought of bringing up her conversation with Polly and ruining the mood after this thoughtful gift seemed like a cr
ime. It wasn’t until they were back in the truck and she recognized her time was running out that she forced herself to talk.
Once they were settled in the truck, she turned to him. “So…there’s one more thing I need to tell you that you aren’t going to like.”
He flashed her with a look of disbelief. “What is this? Test my love day or what?”
She sent him an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry. You’ve been so busy, and these aren’t things that I wanted to discuss over the phone. I needed to see you in person. And this one isn’t technically bad but something you should be aware of.”
He opened his hands palms up. “Let’s have it then.”
She took one of his hands and buried it between hers. “Our favorite person, Polly, came to pay me a visit.”
“I thought you two didn’t like each other.”
“We don’t. Not really. But we’re stuck together in the coven, so I’ve been determined to make it work. Dissension between us only weakens the group.”
“I’d agree with that. Good of you to try to make things better.”
She nodded. “Except I’m not so sure it will work. When she came to see me, she told me that she and other members of the coven had heard of our engagement.”
“And?” he prompted.
Dang, she hated this. “Are you truly sure you want me to tell you everything? Some things, like this, might be better left unsaid.”
He fixed her with a firm stare. “Would you like me to hide things from you?”
There was only one answer to that. “No. I’d want you to trust that I could handle whatever life handed us.”
“Exactly. So, spill.”
“Some in the coven, and I think I know who, feel it would be in the coven’s best interest if I chose to marry and have children with someone within the witch community. They are afraid marrying outside will taint Clarabelle’s line and that it will take years to repair the damage.”
After a few seconds, he frowned. “They don’t think I’m fit to be the father of your children? Is that discriminatory or what?”
“It’s a load of crap is what I think.”
