That Old Witch!: The Coffee Coven's Cozy Capers: Book 1
Page 32
“You’re sure we can’t take Hazel to the hospital?” he asked, hunching over to look into the old woman’s eyes. “She could have a concussion from that head wound.”
Char put an arm around Hazel’s shoulders. “I took care of Hazel. She’s going to be just fine. Aren’t you, Haze?”
Hazel shoved Char’s arm off of her shoulder. “You think because you healed my head, you get to touch me now?” she cracked. “I’m not a cheap date. There’s a two-drink minimum for touching anything above the waist. Anything below the waist, I get dinner too.”
Char chuckled. “Yep. Haze is back to normal.”
Gwyn giggled. “You couldn’t have tweaked a few personality deficiencies while you were fixing her head?”
Loni put a hand on her hip. “Then she wouldn’t be Hazel. I happen to like those personality deficiencies myself. They give her character. I like people with character.”
Phyllis rolled her eyes. “Says the queen of personality deficiencies herself.”
“Be nice,” hissed Char.
Gwyn turned her attention back to Detective Whitman. “Yes, Mom is going to be just fine, Detective, thank you.” She looked down at her mother and smiled affectionately. She was so thankful to have her mother back up and walking around again—even if she was back to her usual grumpy self. “We’re going to take this woman home and get her some French fries.”
“We are?” asked Hazel, lifting her brows. Then she lowered them and scowled. “You know, I’m really not in the mood for fries anymore. You know what sounds good?”
Finally! Something to replace her French fry addiction! Gwyn smiled expectantly, hoping her mother would say Miss Georgia’s store-bought lasagna or a nice salad. “What?”
“Twinkies.”
“Twinkies?” asked Char with a curled lip.
Hazel nodded and looked up at Gwyn. “Yeah. You think Miss Georgia knows how to make Twinkies?”
Gwyn threw her head back and sighed. Here we go again. “Oh Lord, I pray she does.”
43
“Oh, girls,” said Char, holding her hands out wide in the middle of Kat Lynde’s living room. “What are we ever going to do with this big old house now that we’ve got our spellbook back?”
Phyllis looked around. “We can’t sell it. Kat didn’t want us to for some reason.”
“Nope,” agreed Loni, shaking her head. “And I’m not moving in. My cats would turn up their noses at how clean this place is.”
Gwyn smiled at her. “And we certainly wouldn’t want to put your cats out, Lon.”
“Why don’t you ladies make it into a B&B, like Linda and Reign’s place?” suggested Vic from the floor in front of the fireplace.
Char laughed as she leaned over and scratched the top of Vic’s head. “Oh, sweetheart, you’re the only man I ever want to make breakfast for again.” She lifted him up to cuddle him in her arms and kissed his cheek.
“Yeah, you don’t wanna taste my cooking. I’m not saying I’m a bad cook, but I do use the smoke alarm as a timer,” said Phyllis with a chuckle.
“And I certainly don’t have the time to run a B&B between working at The Village and taking care of Mom.”
Loni slapped her hand across her thigh. “Well, that settles it, then. We bulldoze it.”
“Bulldoze it!” shouted Char. “This is a gorgeous house! And it’s huge! Why would we bulldoze it?!”
Loni shrugged. “It was just a thought.”
“I think our only option is to rent it out,” said Char. “I hate to do that. I don’t know that I want to be someone’s landlady. I mean, what if they trash the place?”
“What other options do we have?” asked Phyllis. “Kat didn’t give us much choice.”
Gwyn curled her legs underneath herself. “Why do you think she did that?” She took a sip of her glass of lemonade.
“Did what?” asked Loni.
“I don’t know. Gave us this house and then forbade us from selling it. It’s like she’s forcing us to rent it out.”
“You think that’s what she wanted us to do?”
Gwyn shrugged. “Well, it didn’t take us long to figure out the truth about the lie she’d kept up all these years. Do you think there’s another reason she wanted us to have the house?”
Char’s eyes darted around the room as she shrugged. “Maybe this house holds more secrets than we thought.”
Vic lifted his head from Char’s shoulder. “I think you have a point, my little snickerdoodle. I bet your old friend was hiding something else.”
Char sighed. “I’m too tired to figure it out today, though. Now that Benny is behind bars where he belongs, all I want to do is sleep!”
Phyllis stretched her legs out in front of her and put her hands behind her head. “I need a nap too. We’ll go through this entire house with a fine-tooth comb if you want, but first, I need a nap. This has been a very stressful week.”
Gwyn closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the back of the sofa. It had been a stressful week. But at least the murderer was behind bars, they had their spellbook back, and Hazel was fast asleep on the recliner next to her. All was right in the world again.
Suddenly, the doorbell rang.
Gwyn’s eyes popped open, and her head rose.
“Who in the world?” asked Char, craning her neck to catch a glimpse at the front door.
“Anyone expecting someone?” asked Phyllis.
Everyone shook their heads.
“Well, then, I guess I’ll go see who it is!” said Char, still holding Vic over her shoulder.
Loni’s eyes widened. “Don’t get it! It could be the FBI! They found me!”
Phyllis made a face. “Sit down, Hodges. The FBI doesn’t give a rat’s ass about you!”
“That’s what you think!” Loni walked towards the back hallway. “I’m going to go barricade myself in Kat’s bedroom. If anyone asks, I was never here!”
Char rolled her eyes and went to the front door. Gwyn looked over at her mother, who was sleeping soundly, and smiled. She was just about ready for a nap herself. She drank the rest of her lemonade and set the glass down on a coaster on Kat’s end table.
“Gwynnie, someone is here to see you!” sang Char excitedly.
Startled, Gwyn looked back at the doorway to the foyer. “Harrison!” she said with surprise. Her heart pattered against her chest. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to see how Hazel was feeling,” he said with a perfect smile.
Gwyn glanced back at her mother who was still sound asleep. “She’s fine. How did you know we’d be here?”
“Detective Whitman said he heard you say something about returning a book to Katherine’s house,” he explained. “I hope you don’t mind me stopping by?”
Gwyn stood up. “Oh, no, not at all. Would you like to have a seat?”
He shook his head. “No, no. I won’t stay long.”
Phyllis looked up at him with one lifted brow and nodded towards a small box he carried. “Whatcha got there, Sarge?”
He looked down at the box and then up at Gwyn. “Oh. This is for Hazel.”
Suddenly, Hazel’s eyes flew open. “I’m awake. Where’s my present?”
“Mom!” cried Gwyn. “Were you faking sleep?”
“I don’t need to fake sleep. I’m old. At this age, there’s a fine line between sleeping and being awake. What’s it to you?” she asked. Then she looked up at Sergeant Bradshaw. “You bring me something?”
He couldn’t help but smile as he gave her the small box. “I heard you had a craving,” he said loudly.
“How’d you get the man to fit in the box?” asked Hazel with an ornery smile as she looked down at the box he’d put in her lap.
“Haze!” said Char as Vic buried his face in his wife’s chest. “You’re terrible!”
“That’s not what the men say,” said Hazel, opening the box. Her eyes lit up when she saw the dozen or more Twinkies nestled inside the box. “What’s this?”
“Just a get
-well present,” said Sergeant Bradshaw.
“A get-well present? Or a bribe to let you date my daughter?”
“I need a bribe to date your daughter?” he asked, glancing up at Gwyn.
Gwyn wanted to crawl into a hole. How her mother managed to embarrass her in front of boys after all these years, astounded her.
“Damn straight. I prefer cash, but Twinkies will do, I guess. She’s getting too old for me to be too picky.”
“So do I have your permission?” he asked with a twinkle in his eye.
With her lips swished to the side, Hazel looked him up and down. “I go on all of her dates.”
“Mother! You do not!” cried Gwyn.
Hazel blinked, undaunted.
Sergeant Bradshaw cleared his throat. “Uh-hum. Of course.”
“No touchy-feely on the first date.”
“Oh my God, Mother!”
“Obviously,” he said with an extra-deep voice, ignoring Gwyn’s admonishment.
“We like good old American food. None of that raw fish crap. I like my food cooked.”
He smiled at her. “As do I.”
Gwyn covered her face with her hand as Phyllis, Char, and Vic smiled at her.
“Well. Then I guess you have my permission. One date. We reassess after that.”
“Of course,” he said with a tip of his head. Then he looked at Gwyn. “Well? I’ve managed to secure your mother’s permission. Now I just need yours. Gwyndolin Prescott, will you go on a date with your mother and me?”
Gwyn’s heart trilled excitedly in her chest. She smiled sweetly at him. “I’d love to.”
Also by M.Z. Andrews
The main characters in this book, Phyllis Habernackle and Charlotte and Victor Bailey are characters taken from my other book series set in Aspen Falls, Pennsylvania. So if you enjoyed reading about Vic, Char, and Phyllis, there’s a great chance you’ll enjoy reading The Witch Squad Cozy Mystery Series.
Reading order:
The Witch Squad: A Witch Squad Cozy Mystery - Book 1
Son of a Witch: A Witch Squad Cozy Mystery - Book 2
Witch Degrees of Separation: A Witch Squad Cozy Mystery - Book 3
Witch Pie: A Witch Squad Thanksgiving Holiday Special - Book 4
A Very Mercy Christmas (A Witch Squad Christmas Holiday Special) - Book 5
Where Witches Lie: A Witch Squad Cozy Mystery - Book 6
Witch School Dropout: A Witch Squad Cozy Mystery - Book 7
That Old Witch!: The Coffee Coven’s Cozy Capers - Book 1
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About M.Z. Andrews
I am a lifelong writer of words. I have a wonderful husband, whom I adore, and we have four daughters and two sons. Three of our children are grown and three still live at home. Our family resides in the midwest United States.
Aside from writing, I’m especially fond of gardening and canning salsa and other things from our homegrown produce. I adore Pinterest, and our family loves fall and KC Chiefs football games.
If you enjoyed the book, the best compliment is to leave a review - even if it’s as simple as a few words - I tremendously value your feedback!
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All the best,
M.Z.
For more information:
www.mzandrews.com
mzandrews@mzandrews.com