“We can still cancel,” he said in a low voice, sliding into the open chair next to her. “We don’t have to go through with it. We were very careful when drawing up the contracts to make sure we had an out.”
The glare she shot him was withering. “We can’t back out. If we do, news will spread that we’re not reliable. That will kill our business.”
“It will,” he agreed. “You’re obviously upset, though. I don’t like seeing that. I would rather lose business than have you upset.”
“I wouldn’t.” She blew out a sigh and rubbed her forehead. “I’m sorry. I just ... freaked out when I saw the invitation. There are going to be a bunch of psychics here in a few weeks, and it’s possible they could figure out what I am.”
“You mean a witch?” Cooper’s mouth hitched at the corners. “Baby, I hate to break it to you, but that’s going to excite these people. They’re not going to look down their noses at you.”
“No, but ... what if they somehow get into my mind and see what I did to Becky?” Her lower lip trembled, but she held it together. The fear in her eyes was real, though.
Ah, Cooper realized. That’s what she’s so upset about. Becky Gibbons was one of Casper Creek’s former workers. In addition to that, she was a member of the coven that toiled under the town’s banner. Weeks before, Becky had been taken over by a malevolent force. Technically, she’d let herself be taken over for revenge. To save the town, to save random residents, Hannah killed the thing that had taken over Becky ... and in the process ended her own worker. She was still struggling with the outcome, even though she recognized she had no choice in the matter.
“You have three weeks,” Cooper noted, choosing his words carefully. “Jackie and Danielle can teach you how to shutter better in that time. By the time they’re done, nobody will be able to see inside your mind.”
Hannah’s face lit with hope. “Do you think so?”
He nodded, solemn. “I know so. It’s going to be okay.”
She chewed on her bottom lip and nodded. “What if it’s not, though?”
“Then we’ll get through it together. It’s going to be a good thing, baby. I won’t let anything bad happen to you ... including whatever it is you think these psychics might do. It’s going to be okay.”
Hannah wanted to believe that more than anything. “It’s still three weeks away,” she said, turning back to the invitation. “Things will be better then.”
Cooper’s heart gave a long, slow roll. “Things will be better,” he agreed. “I promise you don’t have anything to worry about. We’re going to get through this.”
“Yeah.” Hannah forced a smile for his benefit and then leaned her head against his shoulder, smiling as his lips brushed against her forehead. “Everything is going to be okay.”
Two
Three weeks later
“This isn’t what I was expecting.”
Maddie wrinkled her nose and glanced around the rather unimpressive hotel room.
Nick grunted in agreement as he lifted her suitcase onto the rack at the end of the bed. “It does have a little too much in common with a motor inn on the side of an abandoned highway, doesn’t it?”
Maddie nodded as she glanced around. “I was hoping for something a little more romantic.”
Nick’s lips curved. “Romance is a state of mind, Mad.”
“Yes, but moonlit strolls over pretty grounds and gorgeous views help,” she argued. “Also ... good food is a must.”
Nick cringed at the mention of food. They’d both eyed what the hotel laughingly called a restaurant on their way in. Without saying a word, they agreed they would be finding nourishment elsewhere.
“There have to be other restaurants, Mad.” Nick was the pragmatic sort and that was on full display now. “I promise to find something befitting my queen.”
Maddie snorted and rolled her eyes. “How did I know you were going to say something like that?”
“Because we’re soulmates and that’s how we roll.”
Maddie laughed, as he’d intended, and allowed him to drag her into his arms. “I guess I’m just nervous.” It wasn’t easy for her to admit. Nick knew her better than anyone. He understood that she was a fearful child who grew into a fearsome adult. Some of her old anxieties popped up at odd times, though, and this was apparently one of them. “I’ve never been around a bunch of psychics before. In fact, the only other person I know for certain had a true gift was Rowan on our honeymoon. Other than that ... .” She trailed off, uncertain.
“You’re afraid you’re going to be surrounded by frauds,” Nick surmised, understanding dawning. “I’m assuming that’s a natural fear, Mad. While I’m certain there are people who pretend to be something they’re not, I think there are others who are the real deal. You’re not the only one in the world.”
How he always knew exactly what to say to make her feel better was a mystery. Maddie profoundly appreciated it, though. “Yeah. I can’t be the only one.”
“You are the best one, though,” he countered, keeping his arms wrapped tightly around her as she squirmed. “You’re also my absolute favorite. I think it’s because you walk on water.”
Maddie squealed out a laugh, genuinely amused. “I love how you can say things like that with a straight face.”
“That’s because they’re true, whether you want to believe it or not.”
“Yeah.” Maddie pressed her ear to the spot above Nick’s heart and listened for a long beat. The sound always lulled her. “It’s going to be okay.” She didn’t know if she said the words for his benefit or hers, but in moments like this, when it was just the two of them and the real world couldn’t intrude, she believed they could do anything.
“It is going to be okay,” he reassured her, rubbing his hands over her slim back. She was strong, muscular even, but there were times she felt fragile. He wasn’t the sort of man who believed a woman needed a man to protect her. Maddie had proven to him — and numerous others — that she was capable of almost anything. That didn’t mean he wasn’t the kind of person who wanted his wife to be happy above all else. “We’re going to make it through this together, Mad. I’ll be with you the entire time.”
She was silent a beat, and then grinned against his chest. “Except when you’re checking out the brothel, right?”
“Well, that goes without saying.” He smacked a loud kiss against her pouty mouth and pulled back. “So, I was thinking that we would head up to Casper Creek, get the lay of the land, and then figure out dinner if that mixer thing they have planned is a bust. If they don’t have a restaurant up there — and they’re really not clear in the brochure — then we can find something when we’re off the mountain.”
“That sounds like a plan to me.” Maddie retrieved her purse from the bed. “Do you really think we have to ride a chairlift up the mountain? That seems weird without snow, right?”
Nick shrugged. Honestly, the notation — however tiny — mentioning the lift in the brochure had intrigued him, too. “I guess we’ll find out.”
“Yeah.” Maddie took one final look around the hotel room and shook her head. “This is so disappointing.”
He laughed as he linked his fingers with hers and gave her a tug toward the door. “You’re my favorite person in the world, Mad. Don’t ever change.”
“Right back at you.”
HANNAH WAS FOCUSED ON THE ITINERARY for the upcoming event when Tyler James, Casper Creek’s animal wrangler, strode through the door of the saloon. He had Hannah’s goofy black lab Jinx with him, and the dog was covered in mud.
“Oh, geez.” Hannah made a face when she felt something weird brush against her leg, giving Jinx an incredulous look when the dog rested his head on her knee. “What happened to you?”
Cooper, amused despite himself, chuckled as he walked to the coffee pot. “The water trough in the animal paddock sprung a leak. I was buried in mud before I realized what was happening.”
“And I take it Jinx found the mud,”
Hannah said dryly, shaking her head as the dog’s tongue lolled out of his mouth. He was the one thing she’d brought with her from her former life and he was never unhappy.
“Jinx isn’t the only one.” Tyler’s smile was rueful. “The goats found it, too.”
“What are you going to do?” Hannah was legitimately curious. “I mean ... will the mud eventually disappear on the goats without intervention?”
“It will, but with guests coming in, I think I’m going to need to give them baths.”
To Hannah, that sounded like a thankless task. “How are you going to manage that?”
“I have a hose. I’m going to hook up a sprinkler and then lather them up with soap and let them rinse themselves. Arnie is over there fixing the trough so that shouldn’t be a problem, but I wanted to know if it was okay if I washed Jinx the same way I’m washing the goats.”
Since she’d been envisioning trying to drag the dog upstairs and into the bathtub — and all the horrors that would entail — Hannah perked up at the suggestion. “Absolutely.”
Tyler snickered. “I thought you would feel that way.” He shifted his attention to the sheet of paper in front of her. “Is that for the psychics and their full day of events planned for tomorrow?”
She nodded. “It is.”
He studied her face for a beat. “You look calmer than you did three weeks ago. I guess that means your lessons with the coven have been going well.”
Hannah swallowed hard and nodded. “Things are ... good.” Even as she said the words, she got a brief flash of Becky’s face. She’d been able to put as much guilt behind her as possible when it came to the former coven member. There were still remnants that she knew she would never shake. “I’m pretty much back to normal.”
Tyler already knew that was true thanks to Cooper, his best friend, but since he had a brotherly attachment to Hannah, it was good to hear her admit it herself. “For the record, I wouldn’t be surprised if a few of these psychics showed up to check the place out before tonight’s mixer. They might want to get the lay of the land.”
Hannah nodded in agreement. “Yeah. I’m prepared for that. In fact, I’m about to head out and do a lap around the grounds.”
“I’ll keep Jinx with me so he doesn’t scare anybody away with his filth.” Tyler shot the dog a fond smile. “Once he’s dry, I’ll bring him back over.”
“Thanks. I really appreciate it.”
MADDIE WAS ALL SMILES AS she and Nick hopped off the chairlift.
“That was fun, huh?” She was exhilarated as she glanced around. “I’ve never done that without a million layers of clothing on so I wasn’t worried about falling because I figured I was padded to within an inch of my life.”
Nick smirked as he grabbed her hand, linking his fingers with hers, and took his first gander at Casper Creek. “Call me crazy, but I happen to prefer it when you wear the least amount of clothes deemed necessary by law.”
Maddie slid him a sidelong look and rolled her eyes. “Somehow I knew you were going to say that.”
“Yes, I’m one of those rare creatures who likes his woman naked. I should be studied for scientific discovery.”
Maddie shot him a warning look — and gently nudged her elbow into his stomach — before he guided her in front of him and wrapped his arm around her waist. They both seemed enamored by what they’d found on top of the mountain.
“Well, this is just neat,” she said finally, shaking her head. “I mean ... really neat. Did you know it was going to be this neat?”
“I don’t know that I’m comfortable with you using that word,” Nick said dryly. “You’re not seventy, Mad. You’re not allowed to use the word ‘neat’ if you’re not wearing control top pantyhose.”
“Um ... I don’t know any hip people who don’t use that word.”
“If you’re hanging out with hip people, we have a whole other problem.” He nuzzled her cheek and pressed a kiss to her soft skin before pulling back. “This place is pretty cool, though.”
“Oh, gross,” she offered up in an exaggerated tone. “Who says the word ‘cool’ now? Only old people. That’s who.”
He tickled her ribs, enjoying the way she squirmed to escape, and took in the setup. “I wonder whose idea it was to set up a town based on the Old West and then base it in Kentucky.”
“That is a good question,” Maddie agreed, a peculiar feeling washing over her as she slowly turned. It was as if she could feel someone watching her, even though she had no reason to believe that was the case. When she swiveled, she found a man standing in a paddock holding a hose and spraying a bevy of baby goats. “Oh, hi.” Maddie felt like an idiot when she realized the stranger had probably been watching them — and listening — since they entered the town. “Um ... we’re just looking around.”
Nick followed her gaze. He was good at sizing up people and the man with the goats didn’t tick any of his worry boxes. In fact, he was more amused than anything when a huge black dog came barreling out of the barn and tearing after the goats.
“Jinx, no!” The man swiveled with the hose, hitting one of the horses with the water in the process and causing it to neigh and stomp a hoof.
Sensing trouble, Nick hopped over the fence without thinking and immediately snagged the dog by the collar when it circled around for another run at one of the goats.
“Thank you.” The man exhaled heavily when he realized Nick had wrangled the dog into submission ... or at least stopped him from causing a stampede. “He’s a bit ... much.”
“No problem.” Nick’s smile was warm. “Um ... Nick Winters.” He held out his free hand by way of greeting.
“Tyler James.” The animal wrangler was rueful as he accepted the handshake. “I would say it’s not usually this hectic, but that would be an outright lie. Jinx has a special way of getting the other animals riled up.”
Nick smiled as he stroked the dog’s soft — and wet — head. “Did he get the hose, too?”
“He’s the reason the goats found the mud.” Tyler’s smile slipped as he glared at the happy dog. “Do you think you’re funny? I’m going to start making you stay in the saloon with your mother if you’re not careful.”
“You have more than one dog?” Maddie asked, slipping between the fence railings. Her serious gaze was on the dog and Nick, although her smile was so ridiculously serene that she could be mistaken for an angel by almost anyone.
“What?” Tyler slid his eyes to Maddie. Nick expected him to make a comment on how pretty she was — it slipped out of even the coolest customer’s mouth — but instead the smile Tyler greeted her with was friendly without being flirty.
“You said his mother was in the saloon,” Maddie noted, dropping to her knees so she could rub her hands over the dog’s soft fur. “Do you have a whole pack of dogs that live out here?”
“Oh.” Tyler chuckled as he shook his head. “No, his human mother. Jinx hasn’t been with us all that long. Casper Creek used to be owned by a woman named Abigail, but she died several months ago.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry.” Maddie meant it. “That must’ve been hard on you.”
“It was. Abigail was like a grandmother to me. She left the property to her biological granddaughter, though, and that’s how Hannah came into our lives. Jinx belongs to her. Since he’s a big dog with a lot of energy, though, we don’t want him cooped up in the saloon half the day. We like him to run around the paddock and tire himself out.”
“Ah.” Maddie smiled at the dog as he panted and eyed one of the goats out of the corner of his eye. She could tell by the way he stiffened that he was about to make his move. “And how does he feel about the goats?”
“It’s a love-hate relationship,” Tyler replied. “He loves the goats and they hate him. Then they love him and he hates them. Everything is circular in this business.”
“I can see that.” Maddie surreptitiously wiped her wet hands on the seat of her pants as she stood. “This is a really neat place. My husband and I are her
e for the psychic thing and thought we would look around a bit. We’re curious why someone would pick a mountain in Kentucky for ... well ... all of this.”
Tyler chuckled as he turned the hose on a nearby goat. “Go ahead, Pat. Give me that look. You’re going to be clean before this is all said and done ... whether you like it or not.” His smile was still in place when he turned back to Maddie. “I don’t know who ultimately decided this was the place for a town of this nature. I’m just glad someone had the forethought to do it. I think of this place as my home, and it may be wacky ... and wild ... and a little weird sometimes, but it’s still home.”
“That’s how we feel about our home,” Nick offered, sliding his arm around Maddie’s shoulders.
“And where is that?”
“Um, Blackstone Bay. It’s a small town in Northern Lower Michigan.”
“It sounds fun.”
“We like it.”
At that moment, another man appeared on the east side of the fence. His hair was dark and he sounded as if he was talking to himself — and rather viciously — as he slid between the railings and landed in the paddock. “Women are stupid,” he announced out of nowhere.
Amused despite herself, Maddie pressed her lips together and managed to remain silent. Nick didn’t react at all. Tyler, however, shot her an apologetic look and then cleared his throat to get the other man’s attention.
“Cooper, we have guests.”
As if realizing for the first time that might be a possibility, Cooper jerked up his head ... and widened his eyes as he took in Maddie and Nick. “Oh, geez.” He felt like an idiot. He was always conscientious when dealing with guests. He couldn’t believe he’d made this particular mistake. “I’m so sorry.”
True Grit Spirit: A Maddie Graves and Hannah Hickok Mystery Page 2