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Mistaken
A Missy Rae Mystery
Ava Mallory
Summary
Love is in the air, but not everyone in Poppy County excited about it. That is until a handsome stranger arrives with a photo of his beloved and frighteningly good love story to tell. The only problem is his beloved has never seen him before in her life. Can resident hapless witch and her grandmother help Jake-Anne find the truth behind the photo and the tragic love story that comes with it?
1
“Twelve o’clock never looked so good.”
Jake-Anne barely batted an eye at the tall, handsome Adonis who’d just walked into my Granny Lola’s custom furniture and salvage restoration shop.
“You’re drooling,” she managed as she continued stapling the Damask fabric to the seat of my latest vintage find – a mid-century modern metal frame Eames chair.
The man, thirty-years-old at the most, flashed a perfect smile. “Hi! Do you work here?” he asked.
I lifted my paint-covered hand to greet him. “Hello there.”
Jake pulled it down and answered for me, “Yes, she’s part owner. I’m the talent. What can we do for you?”
I didn’t know which was worse – being caught with bright gold paint all over my hands and arms or watching her behave like he wasn’t the most beautiful man she’d ever seen. Poppy County wasn’t exactly brimming with hot, eligible bachelors.
He blushed. It was the most adorable thing I’d ever seen.
He fiddled with a price tag, hanging off a settee we’d just re-upholstered. “This might sound crazy,” he started. “I’m not from around here.”
Since the only single female in the room, didn’t want to give him the time of day, I stopped to give him my full attention. “Oh, you don’t have to worry about us. We’ve seen some stuff. Nothing you’ll say will scare us.”
He blushed deeper, exposing a dimple on his right cheek. “I wish I had time to explore what you’ve seen, but I don’t.” He pulled a crumpled piece of paper out of his back pocket. “I lost my mother three months ago.”
She had been listening. “I’m so sorry for your loss.” As if she’d just noticed the dark-haired, green-eyed man, she froze with her mouth gaping open.
He grinned. “Thank you, but I wasn’t gunning for sympathy. I’m here—” He glanced behind him as if he suspected someone was there. “I hope I don’t regret this.”
He’d piqued my curiosity, and not just with his Greek god good looks and low, baritone voice. He had a story to tell and I couldn’t wait to hear it.
Jake managed to get her mouth shut, but her eyes were a dead giveaway. She’d finally realized what she’d missed. “Why would you regret anything? I’m sure you have nothing to regret.”
He smirked. “Thanks, but that’s not quite true.”
She broke the next few seconds of uncomfortable silence. “What do you say we try again?” She wiped her hands on her overalls. “Hi! I’m Jake and this is Missy.”
That seemed to ease his mind. “That’s an unusual name for a woman. I like it.” He nodded at me. “Hi, Missy. A pleasure to meet you. You’re the whole reason I drove all this way.”
His words made me stand at full attention.
“Where are you from?” Jake asked.
“Chicago.”
“What has you so nervous? We’re good people. We won’t judge. Is it about our furniture? Are you one of our online customers?” I hadn’t met any of our online customers.
He shook his head. “No.” He glanced around the room at some of our custom pieces. “But I might be after this.”
“After, what?” Jake urged.
The perfect smile reappeared. “I should say if you don’t kick me out of your lovely establishment.”
An uncomfortable silence blanketed the room. When I couldn’t take it anymore, I asked him, “What made you drive all the way from Chicago? I don’t think we’ve met before, have we? Here to see family? Friends? On the run from the law?”
He chuckled. “No, definitely not on the run.” He raised his right hand. “I swear.”
Joe, the owner of the bakery next-door, walked in the door with an arm full of treats for us. “You have to try this, girls.” He ran into the handsome stranger. “Whoa, sorry, Anthony, I didn’t mean to trample you.”
“Anthony?” I repeated. “So, you do have a name?”
Joe placed the box of treats on the counter in front of me. “Yeah, he has a name, and it’s a good one. He’s named after my father.”
Jake asked, “You’re related?”
That was news to us. We’d known Joe since we were little girls. Poppy County was a small town with a rich, sordid history that was rooted in the Rae family lore and plenty of misguided rumors. I’d never met any of Joe’s family, outside of his wife and children.
“He’s my nephew. I told you about him,” Joe said as he took a bite of one of the mini cupcakes. “He’s my sister’s kid.”
I had heard about his sister. She’d moved to the Midwest before I was born. “Oh, yeah, that’s right. You went to Florida for her funeral.”
Joe nodded. “She used to live in Chicago, but after she retired from the school system, she moved to Florida. He’s here with us for a few days.” He glanced at his nephew. “Isn’t that right?”
Anthony nodded. “Yes, just long enough to reconnect, but not so long that you’ll get tired of me.”
Jake mumbled under her breath, “I can’t imagine anyone would ever get sick of looking at your face.”
We all heard it. It took her several seconds before she realized that’s why we were laughing.
“Did I say that out loud?” she asked, blushing five shades of red.
I nodded. “Loud and clear.”
She turned away from us, pretending to be immersed in her re-upholstering job, but I could see the redness on her cheeks. She was embarrassed. I would have been embarrassed for her if I wasn’t so amused by her Freudian slip.
Joe noticed the crumpled paper. “What’s this? A receipt? Did these girls already talk you into buying something from them?”
Anthony shook his head. “No, just here to ask a few questions about the girl in the photo.”
Joe examined the paper again. “You’ve come to the right place. If anyone knows, it’s Missy.” He took another bite of a cupcake, before adding, “Or Lola. A word of advice, though – don’t get Lola involved until you’ve had a good night’s sleep. She’s a handful.”
I had to concur. “He’s right. She takes things to an extreme.”
Anthony handed the paper to me. “Are the rumors about magic true?”
I gulped. I hadn’t expected him to say that.
He flipped the paper over to show me a picture of a woman, who looked remarkably similar to Jake. “Do you know where I can find her?”
Jake and I locked eyes. She shook her head. “Who is she?”
I didn’t mean to be rude, but that was funny. “You don’t see it?”
She shook her head. “No, what?”
I held the picture up in front of her face. “The resemblance.”
She studied the picture, squinting as she moved closer. “To what?”
Joe licked the icing off his fingers. “This is how trouble starts. I better get out of here before things get ugly.”
“Thanks for the cupcakes,” Jake said as he made his way toward the exit.
He stopped at the door. “Now is your chance, Anthony. Don’t blow it. These girls are harmless. Tell them what you need.”
Anthony looked like he’d seen a ghost as he stared at her profile. “Do you have a sister?”
She shook her head. “Nope. Why?”
I tried to help. “You asked about magic. Why?”
He looked around again. “I don’t know how to ask this question.”
<
br /> “Try just asking,” she groaned. “What’s the worst that can happen?”
He said, “This is a copy of an article from the paper.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
“It was printed forty years ago. Here in Poppy County. This woman fell in love and got her heart broken.” He kept stopping as if he wanted to censor his words.
“I don’t understand,” I said.
“Something happened to her. Her family claimed a witch had put her under a spell.”
I didn’t say a word and let him finish.
“My mother used to tell me stories about witches here. I know you’re a member of the Rae family. Maybe you know more than I do. Your family intervened and protected her before something awful happened,” he explained.
Jake leaned on her elbows on the desk. “And? I don’t get it. What does that have to do with us now?”
“And she survived,” he said as if that cleared everything up for us.
“Then, she disappeared,” he said finally.
I tried to wrap my mind around his explanation, but it still didn’t make sense. “What does that have to do with anything? Who was she to you?”
He cast his eyes on the floor and mumbled, “It’s not about who she was. It’s about who she is. I think she’s my soul mate.”
“My, my, who do we have here? Who is this handsome devil?” My second cousin Caroline cold smell a hot guy a mile away. In the year she’d been back in town, she’d had ample opportunity to annoy wives and scare the dickens out of every man in town. She held out her hand to Anthony. “Hi, there, handsome. I hope these they’re treating you well?” She winked at us as if she wanted us to go along with her.
He offered a smile. “Hello. Are you the owner?”
I interrupted before she dug a hole for all of us just to impress a man half her age. “No, she’s not the owner. She’s an attorney.”
Jake interjected, “She used to be an attorney. Now she spends her days doing who knows what.” She winked at Caroline, who reciprocated the gesture.
“I’m still an attorney. Don’t listen to these girls. They’re just jealous because I got beauty and brains and they didn’t,” Caroline teased.
Anthony took a step back, his eyes moving from me to Caroline and back. “Wait a minute. Are you related?” He sighed as if the thought gave him a sense of relief. “I came in search of a member of the Rae family and somehow I found two. I’ll take that as a good sign.”
Jake groaned, “Don’t get ahead of yourself, buddy. If anyone can spoil your luck, it’s them.”
He glanced at the photo again. “The resemblance is too incredible to not be you. I don’t mean to pry, but have you experienced hardships lately?”
She quirked an eyebrow at him. “Have you been drinking?”
Caroline got excited. “It’s happy-hour somewhere. I think I’ll join you.”
I shook my head as I pulled her back, away from Anthony. “It’s not happy-hour for you. Ever again.”
Anthony laughed. “You’re funny. I think I like you.”
Jake and Caroline responded at the same time, “Thank you.”
He grimaced. “Oh, I mean, well, forget it. I don’t know what I mean.”
“I don’t know what you mean either. Why did you ask me about my feelings? You’re a guy. Guys don’t care about women’s feelings.”
He blushed again. “That’s not true. I do care.”
I watched her struggle to come up with something witty to say. I think he had touched a nerve, and it was fun to watch her squirm. She had more swagger than a group of cowboys – most of the time. She had guts, beauty, and a healthy dose of sarcasm at the ready most of the time, but Mr. Tall, Dark, and Strange had thrown her for a loop.
He adopted a serious tone. “I care because I think you and I are supposed to spend eternity together. That can only happen if I can save your life.”
My breath caught in my throat.
Jake stood wide-eyed, no words coming out of her mouth.
Caroline was the only one with the presence of mine to speak, but of course, she didn’t say what we thought she should have said, “About that drink. Do you want to go now, or should we wait until later this evening?”
2
“How does it look?” I turned to face Jake.
She shrugged. “It looks like you colored your hair purple. How’s it supposed to look?” She hadn’t been herself since the mysterious Anthony stepped into my shop two days earlier. Instead of the snarky, giggly, take-charge girl I once knew, she’d become a mopey, whiny, annoying brat.
“Why are you still upset? We haven’t seen or heard from him in two days. I think the moment has passed. Let it go. If something was supposed to happen, don’t you think it would have happened by now? Like Caroline told you, what he said is a bunch of hokey nonsense. He made it up,” I said.
She shook her head. “Why would a stranger make up a story about a woman he’s never met and drive halfway across the country to tell her? And what about that photo? Who is she?” she asked.
I assessed my hair in the mirror again. “I think it looks good. What do you think Elliot will say about it?”
“Ask him yourself.” Elliot stood on the front porch, peeking in the screen door.
I ran over and opened it for him. “You’re here! I thought you had to paint someone’s portrait this week? Who was it again?”
He was a professional carpenter by trade, but his passion was art. He’d won many contests but didn’t like to brag, so I bragged for him instead.
“I do have to work. I met with the client this morning.” His eyes were on my hair. “What’s going on there?” He pointed to my purple locks. “Accident?”
I felt deflated. “No, I dyed it this color on purpose.”
He looked at Jake. “On purpose?”
She shrugged. “Your Valentine’s Day Ball date is a purple crayon. Have fun.”
He chuckled. “Hey, speaking of that, who are you going with this year? I hear you have an admirer.”
Jake cringed. “Yuck. No. I’m not going this year. I’m over the whole everyone must be with someone on Valentine’s Day stuff. Why? What if I would much rather be alone?”
I waved off her words. “Stop that. You’re just in a bad mood. As soon as you get over that, you’ll be anxious to go to the dance too. Remember how much fun we had last year?”
She glared at me. “You had fun. I spent half the night making apologies for you and Lola. Whose bright idea was it to let her DJ anyway? The music was horrible!”
I had to laugh because my Grandma Lola wasn’t the typical sweet grandmother type. She fell more on the side of an adolescent. She liked chaos. And her song choices and dance moves she displayed last year were enough to get us thrown out. I’m surprised the organizers allowed us to buy tickets for this year’s ball.
Elliot draped an arm over Jake’s shoulder and said, “Speaking of the dance, guess what?”
“What?” She cocked a brow at him.
“I heard a rumor.” He grinned.
“Elliot,” I started. “What did you hear?”
He winked. “Someone – someone who is employed and has his own transportation – wants to ask you to be his date.”
She scowled at him. “No, thank you. I can get my own dates.”
“No, you can’t. Not for the ball,” I said. “You’ll break tradition. It’s a coupling dance. The guy asks you. Don’t ruin it.”
She rolled her eyes. “What if I don’t care about tradition? Why can’t I just be alone? What’s wrong with that? I don’t have to answer to anyone. I don’t have to buy goofy gifts and celebrate anniversaries. I can do what I want when I want.”
Granny Lola made a grand entrance. “Ridiculous! No girl your age wants to be alone. You’ll have plenty of time for that later…after you get sick of your significant other. Trust me, it happens to the best of us. One day, you’re begging to spend every moment of every day together. The next, you’re wishing he or sh
e makes a friend, so you can spend some time alone.”
I cocked an eyebrow at her. “We’re supposed to encourage her to participate, not talk her out of it.”
She acted like I hadn’t said a word. “You’re a beautiful girl. Guys trip over themselves to look at you.”
“I don’t want to be beautiful. I want to be loved for my quick wit and winning personality. I don’t want to marry someone who only likes me because of the way I look today.” She glanced down at her paint-covered clothes. “You know what? Scratch that. I DO want a guy who will find me attractive in my natural state.” She curtsied at her reflection in the mirror.
Granny threw her hands in the air. “I don’t know what to do with this girl. It’s like she wants to spend her twenties alone.” She turned her attention to my hair. I knew she’d notice it eventually. “Looks like she’s not the only one who wants to end up alone. Please, tell me that was an accident.”
Elliot snickered.
I pinched him.
“Sorry, but that was funny.”
Jake thought it was funny too.
“I don’t know why you’re laughing. At least I don’t walk around with paint and dirt all over my face,” I said.
She stopped laughing long enough to say, “No, you just have it all over your hair.”
I turned my back to her. “What are you up to, Granny? Did you need something?”
She smiled. “I don’t, but the people outside do.”
“There’s someone outside? Who is it?” I walked past her to peek down the stairs.
“No, wait. There’s something not right about them. I can’t put my finger on it, but I’ll figure it out soon enough,” she said.
I didn’t know how to respond. She suspected everyone. She liked controversy. She said it made life more interesting.
“Do you want me to go with you?” Elliot asked.
Jake was two steps ahead of us. “Where are they? I’ll talk to them?” She bounded toward the front door.
Granny said, “They’re outside on the porch. They didn’t want to come in.”
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