The door opened slowly and Old Mrs. Lovejoy tromped onto the patio. She carried a cane, though Harper had long since thought she only did that so she could engender sympathy or bop those she didn’t like.
“Sasha,” Lovejoy said. Her tone was flat and her face was blank.
“Why are you messing with my granddaughter?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Harper glanced past Lovejoy and saw Kinley Lovejoy in the window. Her face paled as Harper’s gaze met hers. For the love of the stars, Harper thought, this was to get her shy granddaughter a boyfriend?
“Gram,” Harper said, jerking her head towards the window.
Gram was mean and she was rude and she could be, but she wasn’t vicious and she didn’t go after the weak. Harper curled her finger and kept her face stoic until Kinley left the window and joined them outside. Her hands were shaking, but they were clutched together and she was trying to hide it.
“He helped you a with a book once?” Harper could just imagine it. Tall, slim Quinton rising from his desk and asking if he could help. Being able to talk to this girls about Shakespeare or Anthony Trollope or John Steinbeck. It would be something extra nerdy. Maybe the first novel? Maybe a poem? Something that would make it seem as though Quinton were perfect for this quiet little nerd.
Kinley nodded one time. Her face was pale and her cheeks were rosy.
“He’s be a better match for you in a lot of ways,” Harper told Kinley. “He’s kinder than I am. And he loves books. And he’d drink tea with you and listen to violin or whatever it is that you like.”
“Piano.”
“She doesn’t get sarcasm, does she?” Gram said under her breath.
“But he’s my red-thread,” Harper told Kinley. Harper didn’t say it gently, but she wasn’t as mean as Gram would have been. “And we’re having a baby. And there is simply no way that he will ever leave us. No matter how many love potions are placed on women in the town to break us up. No matter how many times you show up at the bookstore with something interesting and dorky. No matter what.”
“You don’t deserve him,” Agatha Lovejoy said. Her expression was nasty and, like usual, she looked Harper over as though she were trying to identify where the bad smell was coming from.
“I know,” Harper told both of them. “Family freaks me out. He deserves better than me. So much better. But he won’t ever take it.”
Old Mrs. Lovejoy’s gaze narrowed. She wasn’t ready to quit, but Gram would make her. Maybe not right now. Right now the spell would burn out and Gram would gather her forces and they’d take
“Make your Grandma stop,” Harper told Kinley. “I won’t be nice next time. And if you think Quinton doesn’t have fight in him, keep trying to break us up.”
She nodded once. Her lips were trembling as she said, “I didn’t know about it at first.”
Harper didn’t believe that for one second. But she said, “And when you found out, you didn’t call either. What you did was torture to him.”
“I didn’t…Grandma…”
“You are just as responsible.” Harper told her flatly. “He’ll never forgive you.”
“Don’t…” Kinley was going to ask for Harper to not tell, but Kinley’s voice faded out. She had to know she didn’t deserve any favors and she was smart enough to not ask for them.
As soon as she did, Gram cut in, “Harper won’t tell.”
Kinley’s eyes closed in relief, but Gram added, “I will of course. You don’t mess with my family, Lovejoy but Gram cut in, “She won’t. I will. Stay away from Harper and Scarlett. All of them.”
Agatha Lovejoy’s eyes narrowed and Gram stepped close. She leaned in and whispered into Lovejoy’s ear. Whatever Gram said had Old Mrs. Lovejoy taking a step back. And then another.
“Don’t make me repeat myself,” Gram ordered
Kinley ran inside and Old Mrs. Lovejoy was a mere step behind.
“The girl really is a good match for Q,” Harper told Gram. As Gram stated to scold, Harper held up her hand. “She’s a good match. But it doesn’t matter if they have more in common. He’ll never leave me.”
Gram nodded and they drove quietly. Harper choked as she glanced out the window. Her gaze was caught by two women carrying a trays. One looked like she had cookies the other looked like it was candies. “Hey look.”
Gram snorted as they saw two more victims of the Lovejoy love potion. Leather pants, thin pink tank that showed off the cleavage and how cold the woman was. Tank tops were for summer, Harper thought. The other was saying something snide and making leather pants snarl back. The second one was wearing a short black skirt, funky black tights and something snug and red. Far more like what Quinton would enjoy. Harper didn’t like that one bit.
“You still got those fire extinguishers in the back of your car?”
Gram’s grin was evil as she nodded.
“Lex isn’t even in town. No one else has the guts to come after us,” Harper told Gram when she popped her trunk.
Their gazes met, matching evil grins crossed their faces, and the two of them had the fire extinguishers out and spraying without another word. They didn’t need to speak to understand. Anymore than Harper needed to hear Quinton tell her he loved her. She knew he did. He loved her and their little, Lily Scarlett.
THE END
Hey! I hope you enjoyed Harper’s story. You can read more about her and her sister, Scarlett by checking out the Mystic Cove Mommy Mysteries.
About the Author
Amanda A. Allen writes paranormal cozies in the Mystic Cove Mommy Mysteries, the Rue Hallow Mysteries, and the Inept Witches Mysteries.
Amanda can be found in the Pacific Northwest with her four monster children, sweet, tortured, little dog, and mounds of novels.
Follow Amanda A. Allen online:
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Moonshine Valentine
Tegan Maher
Summary
It’s Valentine’s Day, and Noelle has no idea what to get for Hunter. While she’s getting her hair cut and tossing around gift ideas, Coralee’s long-term boyfriend pops in and declares his undying love via a marriage proposal, breaking rule numero uno of their relationship clause.
He’s only the first to fall, though. When the men of Keyhole Lake start acting like lovesick lunatics, Noelle and Rae have to put their heads together to figure out what happened before the whole town goes loopy in love, or someone ends up in jail.
1
“So what did you get Hunter for Valentine’s Day?” Coralee, my hairdresser and the owner of the local beauty parlor/gossip mill, asked as she tilted me back to put my head in the sink.
I’d been fretting about that very issue when I’d made the impromptu stop to get my hair cut. I’d managed to push it to the back of my mind, sort of, but her question brought the stress crashing back. I sighed. “Nothing yet. He already has everything that I would think to buy him. I’m horrible at coming up with good gifts.” Valentine’s Day, Christmas, birthdays ... they gave me hives because I always ended up buying something lame at the last minute because I can’t ever think of anything cool.
True to form, it was Valentine’s Day, and though I’d been agonizing over what to get him for a month, I still didn’t have a clue. It was our first one together and I wanted it to be perfect. Not mushy though, because that just wasn’t us. Unfortunately, that ruled out the easy stuff like froo-froo cards and candy hearts and crap like that.
As Coralee’s fake acrylics massaged my scalp, the worry faded partly away again. It was impossible for me to stay stressed when she was doing that. Way too soon, she finished rinsing my hair and was putting a towel around my head. “Sugar, you better think of somethin’. Today’s the day.”
I huffed out a breath. “You don’t have to tell me. I was hoping inspiration would strike while you were washing my hair, but no such luck. What did you get Buddy?”
She shrugged a
shoulder. “We don’t do much of that stuff anymore. Shoot, we been together fifteen years. We figure he’s caught me and I’ve caught him. Besides that, we keep the romance goin’ every day, if you know what I mean.” She grinned and waggled her eyebrows at me in the mirror. “Why, just last night, he took me up to truck pull over in Eagle Gap, then to the Golden Corral afterwards. Nothin’ says I love you like all-you-can-eat steak.”
“Fifteen years.” I shook my head. “What’s the trick to keeping it fresh?”
Belle, the previous owner and resident ghost, popped in before Coralee could answer. “The secret to keepin’ it fresh,” she said, “is to trade ’em in every ten years.”
Coralee scowled at her. “Just because you were married six times doesn’t mean the rest of us have an aversion to a lifetime commitment.” She nudged me on the shoulder. “Ain’t that right, Noelle?”
Before I could reply, Belle humphed. “Says the woman who’s been dating the same man for a decade and a half and still lives in her own house.” She made a show of looking at Coralee’s ring finger. “Either that thing’s bare, or he bought you the world’s tiniest diamond.”
Coralee furrowed her brow and swatted at her mentor, for all the good it did; her hand passed right through her. “You know good and well we decided right up front not to get hitched. He has his place, I have my place, and we both agree it works. ’Sides, most of the time we’re at one house or the other together anyway. Ain’t no need for the state to stick their nose in our bedroom.”
I’d heard that sentiment a hundred times, but it just didn’t feel right to me. “I don’t know.” I said, wrinkling my brow. “I kinda like the idea of settling down with one man, sharing a house and growing old with him. That includes sharing names and finances and, well, everything. Dating is so much work. Besides, it’s hard to find a good man; it’s not like they grow on trees around here.”
Coralee’s scissors were flying around my head, hopefully trimming my unruly red curls into something I wouldn’t need a whip and chair to tame. “Yeah? What happens when you just want some alone time?” She shuddered. “I can’t imagine living with somebody—even Buddy, bless his heart—full time. I’d be battin’ an eye and twitchin’ in less than a week, and he feels the same way.” She shook her head, and I was amazed as always that her huge 80s hairstyle didn’t so much as wobble. The power of Aqua Net. “No siree, Bob. Ain’t happenin’.”
We chatted on for a bit, mostly about possible ideas for Hunter’s gift. They’d throw out a suggestion and I’d discard it just as fast. Too mushy. Already has it. Hates it. Wouldn’t use it. Not original. Of course, I had no doubt I’d end up going with one of the suggestions that fell into the latter category in a last-ditch effort to at least get him something.
Coralee was scrunching my hair in her hands as she blow-dried it when the front door swung open, letting in a draft of chilly air. I blew the hair out of my face to see who it was. Buddy, the very man we’d just been talking about, came rushing through the door, stomping the snow off his beat-up work boots.
“Well hey, Buddy!” I said. “How you been doin’? I haven’t seen you in forever.”
“Yeah, hey Noelle,” he muttered, but his gaze was glued to Coralee. He rushed over and took the blow dryer from her hands and handed it to me along with his Earnhardt ball cap, then took both of her hands in his, kissed her on the cheek, and dropped to one knee. His eyes were all moony and he was looking at her like she was a brand-new pick-up truck, season Bulldog tickets, and a deluxe pizza from Duck’s—the best pizza place in town—all rolled into one.
Coralee looked just as confused as I felt and Belle hovered beside her, unwilling to miss a single second of whatever was happening.
“Coralee, we’ve been together fifteen years, four months, and sixteen days”—if it weren’t so weird that he knew that, I would have been impressed—“and this has been a long time comin’.” He cleared his throat and scooted a little closer to her. “Will you do me the honor of marryin’ me?”
I thought her eyes were going to pop out of her head, then her face broke out in a grin and she started to laugh. “Lordy,” she said, waving a hand at him. “You almost had me there for a minute. I thought you were serious ...” her words trailed off when she realized he was still on one knee, and hadn’t so much as cracked a smile.
Her expression shifted back and forth between a few emotions, then settled on something between panic and horror. “Oh, no, no, no. For the love of god, Buddy, get up! Have you lost your everlovin’ mind?”
“No, Coralee! For the first time since I met you, I’m in my right mind. You’re beautiful and sexy and you make the best fried catfish I’ve ever tasted. And that little thing you do with your—”
Thank the stars, Coralee slapped her hand over his mouth before he could finish that sentence. There are just some things you don’t want to know about your friends. Or anybody.
“Anyways,” he continued, “I ain’t got no fancy ring, but I can get one. The important part is that you say yes!”
She kept staring at him and blinked a couple times as if the train wreck in front of her would fade away. When it didn’t, and he was still on one knee staring at her all calf-eyed, she swatted him on the shoulder and tried to haul all six feet, four inches of him to a standing position. He allowed her to, and she nudged him backward ’til he plopped down in her second barber’s chair.
I studied his enraptured expression and glazed eyes, then sucked in a breath when I realized what was going on: he’d been hit with a love spell.
2
“Coralee, you may wanna close up shop for a bit. You’re gonna have to babysit him awhile.”
“What? Why? I can’t just close up shop. I’ve got a full book this afternoon!” She lowered her brows and glared at Buddy.
“Boy, you sure are purdy when you’re mad, Coralee. Your eyes are all glittery and your cheeks are rosy. You just go ahead and work, and I’ll sit here and drink in your beauty.”
Coralee’s drawn-on brows shot straight up into her hairline. “What the hell’s the matter with him, Noelle?” She waved a hand his direction. “He’s a drooling idiot.”
Sam turned to me. “Ain’t she just an angel when she’s fired up?”
“I’m not fired up, you nimrod. I’m startin’ to wonder if I need to take you to the ER.” She narrowed her eyes and looked at him closer. “Did you hit your head on something? Is that it?”
I took her by the arm and pulled her to the back. “Buddy, wait right here. We’ll be right back.”
“I’ll be countin’ the minutes,” he said dreamily.
I rolled my eyes. Good lord, this was gonna be a whopper to fix. As I pushed through the door to the storage room, Coralee in tow, my phone buzzed with an incoming text. Then another. And another. “Oh, good grief!” I snatched it out of my pocket and swiped the screen to see what the big emergency was. Oddly enough, they were all from Hunter. When I pulled up his messages, I groaned.
He’d made a picture message in little hearts for the letters and flowers for the background that read I ♡ U. That was actually kind of sweet. Annoying because his ringtone was the Doppler Effect with a motorcycle sound, but sweet.
I stuffed it back in my pocket and turned to Coralee. “Buddy’s been hit with some kind of love spell. Where’s he been?”
Whatever she’d been about to say died on her lips. “A love spell?”
“Yeah. Though I have no idea how.” Rumors had floated around town for decades about my family, but only a select few knew for sure we were witches. Coralee was one of them, which was a good thing for us all today because I could work with her rather than around her to fix her overly amorous beau, and do whatever was necessary to keep him occupied until we could figure out how to unflick his love switch.
I peeked out the door to make sure he hadn’t wandered off in search of that big fancy ring and was relieved to see him sitting there, though the longing look on his face as he tried to look past me for a
glimpse of Coralee wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for.
Coralee grabbed my arm. “What are we gonna do?” she hissed. “He ain’t gonna be like that forever is he? I mean ... we have an agreement!”
Shifting my weight, I tried to loosen her grip on my arms; those fake nails hurt. “You know as much as I do right now,” I said, rubbing away the half-moon imprints she’d left in my hide. “I was sitting here same as you when he came in that way. What was he supposed to do this morning?”
She shrugged. “No idea. I mean, I know he was goin’ out to Sam McCauley’s to work on that airboat they’ve been buildin’. Can’t imagine he coulda gotten into anything there.”
I sighed. “I was hoping you were going to say he was at least within sight of a woman who may have her sights set on him, but that would have been too easy, I reckon. The only way we’re gonna find out is to ask him. Let’s go. And we should probably get Raeann here, too. She’s the herbalist in the family and knows a whole lot more than I do about potions. Unless I miss my guess, that’s what we’re dealing with.”
She pushed back into the front of the store and Buddy grinned at her like a love-struck teenager while I sent Rae a 911 text. She was at her coffee shop, Brew4U, which was just down the street. I’d barely read her return text before she rushed through the front door, huffing a little. Neither one of us is fat, but that’s due to high-ish metabolisms rather than regular exercise.
“Where is he? I gotta see this!” She pushed past me and went straight to Buddy, sliding to a halt when she saw the burly equipment operator holding his heart and grinning like a dope.
“Oh lordy. He’s got it bad.” She puckered her lips and put her hand on her chin, her expression clinical. “He’s not sweating and his complexion’s good. No frothing at the mouth. He’s not been poisoned.”
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