There was a blue armchair, matching blue sofa, and a brown recliner. Reggie and I sat down on either side of the sofa and waited silently for Melanie to return.
She came back a few minutes later with three mismatched mugs on a pine tray. There was also a blue plastic sugar container and a thing of powdered coffee creamer.
“Hang on, I’ve got cookies too,” she said after setting the tray down. I’d thought I’d smelled the scent of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies when we’d entered the house. Melanie came back a minute later with a plate full of them. “They are Dixon’s favorite. I figured it would cheer him up, but I always bake way too many.”
I was hesitant at first to take any of the cookies given that we were there to pry into her life with her ex, but they smelled too good to resist.
“Thank you,” I said and took two.
Reggie did the same.
“So, what are you ladies really here for?” Melanie said and looked at us with eyes that could pierce lead. She’d been through some things, and while it hadn’t dulled the light in her eyes, there was a worldly weariness around the edges.
“I don’t know if the sheriff’s department in Coventry told you about your ex-husband,” I said.
“They called here about Dixon, but no one told me about anything having to do with Stewart. They just said they couldn’t find Dixon, and I figured Stewart was up to his old tricks. Legally, Dixon can’t leave his visitation with his father unless his life is in danger. He’s getting older now, though, and has a mind of his own. A couple of times we’ve had to pick him up because he threatened to take off walking if someone didn’t get him. Stewart, of course, dragged me to court to have me fined or arrested. So far he hasn’t been successful, but you can tell the judge doesn’t like women. He’s getting to the point where he said he will find me in contempt if I don’t find a way to control Dixon. As if that’s ever going to make Dixon love Stewart again,” she said and let out an exasperated snort. “I’ve tried to warn Stewart that he’s ruining his relationship with Dixon forever, but he doesn’t listen. All he cares about is control and getting his way. As sad as it is to say, he doesn’t care whether Dixon loves him or not.”
“I understand,” I said as gently as I could. Nothing she’d said was a shock given what I’d witnessed at the Brew Station between Stewart and his son.
“Well, look at me just blabbering away. Guess I’ve told you my whole life story now,” Melanie said and looked down at the floor.
“It’s okay. We have that effect on people,” Reggie said and shoved half a cookie into her mouth.
“Who are you guys again? I mean… why are you here?” Melanie asked.
“I guess we should just tell you,” I began. “The sheriff that called you, Thorn, is my husband. I guess he probably wanted to tell you about Stewart in person, but I don’t know when he’ll have time to get out here to do it. Coventry was hit by a tornado, and things are a mess.”
“Tell me what about Stewart?” Melanie asked. “What’s going on?”
“He was killed,” I said. “The only reason I know that is because I was out helping look for survivors in some of the houses that were destroyed. I found him dead in his kitchen. That’s the reason the sheriff was looking for Dixon. The neighbors thought he was supposed to be with Stewart, and everybody panicked when we couldn’t find him.”
“Stewart’s dead?” Melanie asked and then held her breath.
“He is,” I said. “He was for sure dead.”
She let out her breath, and I could have sworn the corners of her lips played up into the tiniest smile. If nothing else, she looked relieved.
“He was probably murdered,” Reggie added, and I elbowed her in the side. I’d intended to find a more delicate way to say that part.
“That’s why we’re here,” I said. “I was hoping you could tell us who might have wanted him dead.”
“Besides me?” Melanie asked with an awkward chuckle. “I thought you said that your husband was the sheriff. Do you work for him?”
“I don’t,” I said. “I was just hoping you might talk to us about it. My husband and his deputies are swamped right now. I wanted to help.”
“I think our conversation is done,” Melanie said and stood up. “Thank you ladies for coming by and giving me the news, but I’m going to have to call my lawyer before I talk to anyone about this.”
That was our cue to leave, and I could see in her eyes she had no intention of backing down. “Come on, Reggie. Let’s go,” I said. “Thank you so much for the coffee and the cookies.”
“Thank you for…” Melanie searched for the right words, “changing my life.”
Chapter Six
When we got outside, Reggie and I found Dixon on the large front porch playing with Meri. The boy had a string tied to a stick, and Meri was going along with chasing it as Dixon let it dip down and then yanked it away.
“Hey there. I thought he was in the car,” I said.
“He talks,” Dixon said without looking at me. He was still intently playing with Meri.
“He’s a cat. He doesn’t talk,” I lied.
“Yes, he does. I heard him. I heard him talking to himself in your car. That’s why I let him out. I hope you don’t mind, but I was worried he’d gone bonkers.”
We were outside of Coventry, so the supernatural veil that kept people from noticing our magic was thin. It was nearly threadbare when it came to children anyway. So many of them could see right through it, but adults didn’t believe them. It didn’t really have to work on them because when they told people what they saw, the grownups thought they were making up silly stories.
“Well, I have to take him home now. Thank you for keeping him company. I’m sure he appreciates it,” I said.
“My dad’s dead, isn’t he?” Dixon said without missing a beat.
“I…”
“I heard you talking to my mom,” Dixon said and stopped moving the string. Meri looked defeated.
“You hear a lot,” Reggie said.
“I do,” Dixon said without further comment.
“I’m sorry you had to hear the news that way,” I said.
“I’m not,” Dixon said. “I mean, I never wished he was dead or anything, but now I don’t have to be afraid anymore.”
“I’m glad that you don’t have to be afraid anymore,” I said. “I’m sorry that it took this for you to feel safe.”
“Miss Olivia said that if he ever hurt me again, she would kill him herself,” Dixon said as he knelt to scratch Meri under the chin. “Maybe now that I don’t have to go to dad’s house anymore, I can get a kitten of my own. I will be able to take care of it all of the time.”
“That’s not the reason I wouldn’t let you have another kitten,” Melanie had opened the front door and was standing there listening. She’d been as quiet as a mouse, and I hadn’t heard her. “I don’t mind helping you take care of a cat. That’s not why…”
“Dad killed the cat we had before mom and I left him” Dixon said matter-of-factly. “Even mom said that’s not what happened, but I know.”
“Dixon come inside, sweetie. We can talk about getting you another kitten, okay?” Melanie shot us a look.
I grabbed Reggie’s arm and pulled her down the steps. I was pretty sure she was angry with her dead ex and not us, but it was me and Reggie that were in her sights. I knew better than to stand around waiting in the path of a mama bear about to charge.
“Hey,” Reggie protested.
“Come on, we need to go.”
Chapter Seven
“You don’t really think Olivia killed her neighbor, do you?” Reggie asked as we drove back toward Coventry.
“I don’t want to believe it, but I don’t know her well enough one way or another,” I said.
“We’re going to talk to her, aren’t we?” Reggie asked.
“Do you have somewhere else you have to be?”
“We should go check on the shop,” she offered.
; “Well, that gives us a good reason to be back in the square. We’ll check around for Olivia first, and then we’ll go to the shop,” I said.
“Do you really think she’s still there?”
“If she’s not, then we can find out where she went. Was her house okay? Or do you think she had to go to the shelter?” I asked.
“I can’t remember,” Reggie said. “All of that is kind of a blur.”
“Maybe they are all still hanging out at the Brew Station,” I said. “That will make things easier.”
“It’s only been an hour,” Reggie added. “They might still be there. Or over at the library.”
And then I got a cramp.
Except it was unlike any cramp I’d ever experienced in my life. My entire abdomen seized like I’d been hit with an electrical current, and I nearly fell over.
“Are you okay?” Reggie asked as she instinctively shot out an arm to steady me.
Water pooled at my feet.
“I think my water just broke,” I said with a nervous chuckle. “Either that or I peed myself.”
“That’s impossible, Kinsley. You’re not due for a couple of months,” Reggie said as her eyes went wide with horror.
“Well, you tell the baby that, and she’ll get back to you about her schedule,” I said with another nervous chuckle. My attempts to keep things lighthearted and prevent myself from panicking were making me sound deranged.
“What do I do? Where do we go? I should call your mother,” Reggie said. “Aren’t you doing this at home? We should go there.”
“Well, given that this isn’t supposed to be happening and also the state of magic lately, I’d say the hospital,” I answered. “Something’s off, and I need to go to the hospital.”
Before Reggie could say anything, the tornado sirens went off again. Just under the blaring sound of the sirens, I could hear my phone ring.
Again…
I couldn’t remember hearing them before. I told myself it was because the tornado was too loud, but I didn’t know.
In the middle of that thought, another contraction hit me like a train. My knees buckled, and I almost fell over. Reggie held me up until it was over.
“I need to call Thorn,” I said.
“You need to get in the car. I’ll call Thorn and tell him to meet us there,” Reggie said.
I wanted to argue, but I didn’t feel right. My stomach felt like a sinking stone, but my head was light. My pulse pounded in my temples, but it felt like it was a million miles away.
“Something isn’t right,” I said softly as Reggie waited for Thorn to pick up.
“Thorn, she’s in labor. Something’s wrong. I’m taking her to the hospital. You have to meet us there,” Reggie said and then was silent for a moment. “No. Absolutely not. I can handle it.”
“What is it?” I asked, but she just patted my arm.
“Okay fine,” Reggie said. “Fine. I’m serious, Thorn. I promise I’ll wait,” she said and then hung up.
“What’s going on?” I asked. My head was swimming and the siren felt like it was drifting away.
“Thorn said the sirens are going off prematurely. They just got them back online. Apparently, there was a glitch or something. Whatever. Anyway, there is a tornado, and it is close. The storm is moving into a position between here and the hospital. He said he’d be here as fast as he could, and he’s driving you there.”
“Reggie, I don’t feel very good,” I said and crumpled to the curb.
My pants were already wet, so I didn’t mind sitting on the damp pavement. The fact that my feet were in a puddle several inches deep wasn’t exactly pleasant, but since I was at least sitting down, I didn’t mind.
“Let’s get you up,” Reggie said.
She started tugging under my arms trying to help me stand. “No, I want to sit for a while. I’ll get up when Thorn gets here.”
Reggie tried to lift me again, but I didn’t move. “I should have called an ambulance,” she said.
“Thorn will get here faster,” I said.
“Do you have any healing magic you can use?” Reggie whispered to me. “Anything at all?”
“I can’t,” I said. I felt so drained, and then another contraction hit me. All I could do was grip my belly and try not to scream too loudly. We’d already attracted a small crowd. “Meri,” I said.
He came sprinting down the street. Apparently, he’d wandered off to investigate something. Probably trying to figure out how close the tornado was. That’s what I told myself.
Wordlessly, he pressed himself against my back. The pain lessened a bit, and I felt strong enough to stand up.
As Reggie helped me to my feet, Thorn’s cruiser pulled up and its tires squealed to a stop. “Get her in,” he shouted when he was halfway out of the car.
He rushed around and helped Reggie get me in the car. As soon as they had my feet inside, Thorn buckled the seatbelt across me.
“I’m coming with you,” Reggie said.
“No, it’s too dangerous. Just go home and get to your shelter. The storm is still possibly coming in this direction. You can come to the hospital after it passes,” he said and shut my door.
I looked out the window, and Reggie was standing there looking at me. She contemplated it for a few seconds before nodding her head and taking off for her car. I noticed that the sirens had stopped, but the sky was turning an inky shade of black.
“We shouldn’t be going anywhere,” I said as I stroked Meri’s fur. He’d managed to jump into my lap before Thorn shut the door.
“I know that,” Thorn said. “But looking at you, I can see that we have to try.”
“We could stay here and call my family. Call the coven together,” I said. “Maybe together they can…”
“No,” Thorn said as he pulled away from the curb. “Maybe before the magic went wonky, but no. Not now. I can’t put you in the hands of… It’s just that there might not be enough magic…”
“To save me?” I asked. Suddenly, I wished the cruiser had a vanity mirror. “Do I look that bad?”
“You just look like you don’t feel well, sweetie,” Thorn said. He squeezed my hand, but his eyes didn’t meet mine.
We drove out of Coventry and off toward the hospital. The rain kicked in again, but at least some of the flooding had partially receded.
“We don’t have to cross any bridges, Well, one, but that one’s not close to the water. We’ll be all right,” he said as if he’d read my thoughts. “At least in that respect.”
I wanted to ask him what he meant, but I already knew. The sky was as black as night, and it looked like it was boiling. Hairs on the back of my neck stood at attention, and I knew we were in a bad place.
Thorn hit the gas and began to drive much faster than I ever would have expected him to go with me in the car. When I turned to look out my window, I saw why.
Off in the distance, I couldn’t tell exactly how far, was a tornado. The wedge was a sinister scene, and it was so close to us. Too close for me to feel safe.
“Thorn,” I choked out.
“I know, sweetie. I know. Hold on,” Thorn replied.
“Should we turn around? Should we go back? I don’t know if you should try to outrun it,” I said.
“It’s not heading right for us,” he said. “I can make it.”
I was about to argue when another wave of contractions hit me. I squeezed my eyes shut and prayed to the Goddess.
By the time I opened them, we had passed the tornado. As long as it didn’t change directions, we were in the clear.
“We should be there in about five minutes,” Thorn said as we drove into the city. “I’ll call ahead and let them know we’re on our way.”
His words sounded far away. The sky was still bubbling and black above us, but there didn’t seem to be any tornadoes. The rain wasn’t very heavy either. I recalled reading somewhere about dry super cells, but the memory was as fuzzy as the rest of my thoughts.
The pain was nearly u
nbearable, and somehow, on the short trip to the next town, the contractions had accelerated. They felt as though they were right on top of each other. I couldn’t catch my breath. All I wanted was a few seconds of rest.
But more than that, I was worried about my baby. If I wasn’t getting enough oxygen, then she wasn’t either. I tried to tell myself I was just panicking, but it really did feel like I couldn’t fill my lungs all the way.
“Kinsley?” I heard the terror in Thorn’s voice as we pulled up under the awning that covered the emergency room doors. “Kinsley, sweetie? We’re here. Baby, please,” Thorn pleaded as he squeezed my hand.
Stormy Sky Magic (Familiar Kitten Mysteries Book 9) Page 6