Witch You Wouldn't Believe (Lemon Tea Cozy Mysteries Book 1)

by Lucy May

  “Wait, you’re telling me you’re a witch, and part of a coven? The head of the coven?” I repeated, struggling to wrap my head around the information.

  “Yes. You are a witch too, Violet. It’s your birthright. We come from a long line of witches,” she said, softly. “I should clarify, we are practicing witches. I don’t know how much you know about witchcraft, but I imagine most of what you think you know is entirely false.”

  I leaned back on the couch, letting her words sink in. “I don’t understand.”

  “You’re a witch sweetie. You have abilities the average person doesn’t have,” she said, as if that were a good thing. I might add she didn’t seem the least it fazed by this wacky conversation. I was a witch?

  “So, how come I’ve never noticed these abilities?” I asked, using air quotes around the word.

  “Because you’ve never been taught how to use them,” she said, exasperation in her voice.

  I grinned. “So, you’re saying I can’t wiggle my nose or blink to make something appear?” I teased.

  “That’s just rude. You’ve obviously watched too much TV. This is serious and very real. I’m trying to tell you something important here. Will you please try and keep an open mind?”

  I rolled my eyes. “I guess, but I don’t see how I could have lived twenty-four years and never known about this. I mean, wouldn’t I have seen magic? Grandma didn’t have a big black cauldron and I don’t remember seeing one in our kitchen, either,” I quipped.

  “Oh Violet, come on, this is serious. Please, try and listen to what I’m telling you.”

  “Fine. I won’t say another word.”

  She let out a long breath. “A while back, things got a little dangerous. We had to hide who we were in order to protect ourselves and our families. It was before you were born. I will admit we were a little reckless back then,” she said, shaking her head. “We nearly exposed ourselves.”

  “Who was reckless? What happened?”

  She smiled, “We were just learning about our magic. We were young and careless, and I guess you could say we experimented more than we should have. A few spells backfired and people in town started to suspect something was amiss. Your grandmother, as the head of the coven, ordered us to hide our secret at all cost.”

  “Who? You keep saying we.”

  Another wistful smiled. “The girls and I. Lila, Coral, Magnolia, and a few others,” she winked.

  “Why are you just now telling me this?” I asked. “I mean, this seems like it’s a really big deal. How did I never hear any of this before?”

  “Well, you did hear about the stories, but by the time you were old enough, they were twisted so bad, no one but a handful of people knew who we were.” She grinned, “But it’s time you knew the truth. You need to know who you are. I’ve let you live your life without the burden of knowing our family secret. Now it’s time for you to know.”

  “Mom, I don’t even know if I believe in that stuff. It seems like urban legends and the result of some very vivid imaginations.”

  “You don’t have to believe it, but it’s true regardless of what you think.”

  My mind raced, thinking back to my childhood and the various stories I had heard. Back then, some of the kids had said things about me being a witch like my mom, but I ignored it. I had just chalked it up to things kids say. I remembered asking her why people said that, but she’d always blamed it on silly gossip.

  “The tree,” I blurted out. “The crooked oak, was that really Grandma?” I asked, remembering one of the stories I had heard throughout my childhood.

  My mom chuckled. “No, that was your great-grandmother. She did that when she was just a girl learning how to use her magic. Oh, what a hoot that would have been to see!” she slapped her thigh. “According to her, she was trying to cast a spell to make it rain. The farmers were struggling in one of the worst droughts to hit the area. Her daddy, being a farmer and knowing the truth about his wife and daughter, begged them to do something. Your great-great-grandmother refused, citing the rules of witchcraft, but your great-grandma Prudence was not one to follow the rules.”

  I raised my eyebrow at the ridiculous story, but listened intently. “Go on,” I encouraged.

  “Grandma Prudence used to tell me the story all the time,” she said, with a wistful look in her eye. “She tried to create a rainstorm to help her daddy, and she was successful, but the rain came with a violent thunderstorm. A bolt of lightning struck that giant oak. So, the locals have the story half-right. It was hit by lightning, but the lightning was the result of a spell gone wrong.”

  I thought about some of the other rumors and what were considered local urban legends. “What about Coral hexing that girl? The one that was flirting with her boyfriend?”

  My mother shook her head. “Yes, that one is also true. Coral let jealousy rule and nearly exposed us all. Thankfully, my mom and some of the other ladies in the coven managed to create enough doubt in the minds of the people in town that it was brushed aside as a silly rumor.”

  “What did she do?” I asked, finding myself intrigued.

  “I shouldn’t tell you, but she gave the girl the most horrible case of acne you ever did see.”

  I fought back a giggle. “That’s kind of funny.”

  “No, not at all. We never use our magic for personal gain. Coral learned a very hard lesson. It was that spell and a few others from times gone by that caused the coven to have to hide. We could no longer take such risks. That’s why Coral is the way she is today. She faced a great deal of scrutiny back then and her boyfriend ended up breaking up with her anyway because he was afraid of her,” she explained.

  “Oh,” I said, understanding why Coral went to such great lengths to look and act normal. My mother was the opposite. She dressed the part. Lila had dyed her hair lavender with silver streaks through it. Magnolia always wore what she referred to as her talisman, a massive silver necklace, and had several black cats. They embraced some of the witch stereotypes, while Coral avoided all of it, choosing instead to be the picture of current fashion.

  “I hope you understand and will accept your destiny,” my mom said softly.

  “What are you talking about? I don’t have to accept anything. Mom, I’m sorry, but I don’t believe in witchcraft and spells and all that stuff.”

  “Violet Broussard! You come from a long line of proud witches. You cannot deny your heritage!”

  “Uh, actually I can. Especially if I think it’s a bunch of silly nonsense, which I do. I appreciate the stories, but you have to admit, they can all be explained another way. There is no factual evidence to back up your claims,” I told her, not buying her story for a minute.

  “Look around you, Violet. Look at the flowers outside. That is your grandmother’s handiwork. You don’t always have to see to believe,” she said, and I could hear the hurt in her voice.

  “Mom, I can appreciate that you believe you are a witch, and if Lila and Coral believe they are witches, that’s fine, too. But I don’t,” I said, as gently as possible.

  She was shaking her head. “This is my fault,” she mumbled. “I should have told you sooner, but I knew it would be difficult for you. Your grandmother wanted to tell you when you were eleven, but I refused.”

  “If you truly believe you are a witch and you actually believed I inherited some magical qualities, why wouldn’t you tell me? Why would you come up with this story today? A day you are being questioned about the death of a man? Mom, are you trying to cover something up?” I asked, suddenly very worried.

  “No! It isn’t like that. Our secret must be guarded at all costs,” she shot back, standing as she began to pace the room.”

  “At all costs? That sounds ominous.”

  “Oh, stop it. I told you the truth. We have to stick together, Violet.”

  That made me angry. “How can we stick together if you’ve been hiding this deep, dark secret from me?” I asked, my voice rising and my patience wearing thin.
/>   The sound of the door closing drew both our attention. It was Lila.

  “Dear, you have to try and understand why your mom did what she did,” Lila was saying softly, walking towards me.

  “No, I don’t. Don’t feed into her crazy ramblings,” I grumbled.

  “Oh, sweetie, it’s not crazy. It’s true. Long ago, we all decided it was best we kept our secret to ourselves to protect the next generation.”

  I shook my head. I’d had enough. I was not going to stand there and listen to them try to tell me I was a witch, they were witches and there was a secret coven. It was then a thought occurred to me. My stomach dropped as I followed the train of thought before turning to my mother to look directly into her eyes.

  “You said you had to protect the coven at all cost. The man who died was investigating the coven, and the rumors that were attributed to it,” I said, my voice suddenly hoarse.

  “Yes.”

  I could feel the blood rushing from my face. “What did you do?” I whispered.

  Lila and my mother looked at each other. Neither of them spoke. I couldn’t be in the same room with them another minute. I had to get away. I needed time to process everything.

  “I’m leaving,” I stormed out the door, letting the screen slam shut behind me.

  Chapter 6

  My head was spinning with information. My mother had always been a little, ahem, quirky, but this was beyond quirky. I wondered if she could be suffering from some kind of dementia. She wasn’t even fifty, but I supposed it was called early onset for a reason. I drove down Crooked Street, not really having any place to actually go.

  I found myself pulling up in front of the coffee shop for the second time that day. It was the only place there was to go. I walked in, ordered another coffee and plopped down at one of the few tables, hoping to hide from the world while I tried to absorb the crazy news that I was allegedly a witch. Right.

  I pulled out my phone and checked my email, anything to distract my brain from the larger topic that seemed to be trying to hog up all the brainwaves. I didn’t want to think about witches and magic. That stuff wasn’t real. It was make believe.

  “Hey, there,” a deep male voice said, interrupting my perusal of email.

  I looked up to see Gabriel standing there, a cup of coffee in his hand. “Hi,” I said.

  “Can I join you?” he asked, gesturing to the empty chair across from me.

  I looked around the empty shop and shrugged a shoulder. “Sure. I don’t know if I’m very good company, though.”

  “Uh oh, did the sheriff give you a hard time?” he asked, with a small grin.

  “I wish. He would be easier to deal with.”

  “Ah, I know that look. Family. Family always has a way of putting that look on your face,” he smiled, leaning back in his chair.

  I chuckled. “There’s a reason I moved away.”

  “And here I moved here on purpose to be closer to mine.”

  “Coral’s your aunt?” I asked, thinking back to what my mother had said. If Coral was a witch, that would mean Gabriel’s mother was likely a witch. Oh my God! What was I thinking? I was actually buying into this ridiculous story.

  “Yes, she is. My mother is her younger sister,” he explained.

  I nodded. “Does your mother live here as well? I don’t think I remember her.”

  The smile on his face was sweet, but sad. “No, she passed away a few years back. We lived in New Orleans. I moved back here to get away from that scene and to be closer to Coral and my mom’s roots. I wanted a fresh start.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. Here I am complaining about my mother and well, I guess you would probably like to complain about yours,” I said, feeling horrible for my earlier comments.

  He grinned. “Trust me, when mom was alive, I complained about her as well. I think that’s what mothers are supposed to do. They make you crazy. I know your mother and I really like her. She is a bit eccentric, but I love how calm she is. She always seems so at peace with herself and just has this way of making me feel at ease. Just kind of ebbing and flowing and doing as she pleases.”

  I started to giggle at his description of her. “That is a different way to describe her. I guess I never thought of her like that, but you’re right, that sums her up perfectly.”

  “She’s a good lady. I like her,” he reiterated.

  I sipped my coffee, feeling a little guilty for being so frustrated with my mother. What she believed was her business.

  “Why a fresh start?” I asked, mulling over what he had said.

  The look on his face told me I had pried.

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked that,” I said, instantly feeling guilty for overstepping.

  “No, it’s fine. I needed a fresh start once mom passed away. There was nothing for me there, but some bad memories. Originally, I wanted to move out to California, but Aunt Coral insisted I come here and stay with her for a bit to see if I could find my way again, as she called it.”

  I nodded my head, pretending to understand, but not really getting it. “I’m sorry, that must have been very difficult for you. Were you and your mom close?”

  He smirked. “I don’t know if you could say that. We had some struggles. It’s a long, sordid story, probably not the best for a coffee date.”

  I chuckled. “Is this a coffee date? I thought it was more of a running into each other kind of date.”

  That seemed to ease the tension that had fallen over us after the mom bomb.

  “Slow work day?” I asked, trying to think of something else to talk about besides my mother or his.

  “Lunch break.”

  I nodded, trying to think of something else to say, but didn’t get the chance. Coral breezed into the shop, spotted us in the corner and headed our way. Her purple heels clacked and echoed across the room as she sauntered towards us as if she were on a Paris runway.

  She snatched a chair from an empty table and dragged it to ours before plopping down.

  “Hi, Coral, have a seat,” I said dryly.

  Gabriel raised an eyebrow before turning to his aunt. “What’s up, Aunt Coral?”

  She released an exaggerated sigh before reaching out and covering my free hand with both of hers. “Oh, honey, I heard about what happened. Are you okay?” she asked with real concern.

  “What happened?” Gabriel asked looking at me with the same unnecessary concern.

  “Nothing happened. My mother and I had a disagreement. How did you hear? I thought you left?” I asked. She had been gone when I left the house.

  Coral was shaking her head and making weird sounds. “Such an awful thing. I’m sorry. Things just seem to be spiraling out of control. I wish things could have been different.”

  I looked at her as if she were crazy. I was beginning to think she was. I didn’t know how much Gabriel knew, so I chose my words carefully. “It’s all fine. I’m not worried about it.”

  She cocked her head to the side and studied me carefully. “You’re not?”

  “No. I’m only here for today. My mother can do what she wants and believe whatever makes her happy.”

  Coral nodded her head and patted my hand. “That’s true. One day, I hope the two of you can believe together. Right now, we need to worry about getting this other business handled.”

  Gabriel was looking at us strangely. “Are you sure everything is okay? What business?”

  I ignored his last question. “Yes, everything is fine,” I said firmly. “My mom, Coral and Lila seem to have some strange idea about me moving back here. I guess they don’t understand I moved away and started a new life. A life I am quite happy with,” I said, looking pointedly at Coral.

  She stared at me for several long seconds. My stomach twisted. I prayed she wouldn’t reveal the family secret, or at least what my mother called the family secret. Gabriel seemed like a nice guy and I didn’t want him to think we were all crazy.

  “Gabriel, dear, are you busy this afternoon?” she said, tur
ning away from me.

  He shook his head. “Nope, just finishing a job at Mrs. Blankenship’s and then I’m free. What do you need?”

  The woman plastered on a brilliant smile. “Great! You can keep Violet busy while she waits for Harold to figure out what he wants to do with her.”

  I nearly choked on the hot liquid in my mouth. “Excuse me?” I croaked out.

  “Gabriel is free this afternoon. You’re free, why not have dinner together? You can drive over to Ruby Red and spend a quiet evening alone,” she explained, referring to a neighboring town. “That way, you won’t have to worry about any of us nosey old ladies bothering you.”

  Oh, Coral was good. Very smooth. She had managed to set us up, right in front of us, without either one of us having any idea what she was doing.

  I cleared my throat. “Coral, I’m sure Gabriel has better things to do.”

  “Actually, I don’t,” he said with a sly grin on his face.

  “Lovely!” Coral clapped her hands together. “You can keep Violet busy. I would hate for her visit home to be soured by a tiny little argument with her mother. You show her a good time and convince her to stick around,” she said, winking at her nephew.

  I stared, mouth agape as the woman went about planning my life with an all-too-willing co-conspirator. “Um, I’m not staying. Actually, I’m going to head over to the sheriff’s office to see if he really needs me.”

  Coral got very serious. “He might not need you, but we do.” Her gaze held mine. I couldn’t look away.

  I involuntarily leaned back in my chair. Her tone and the expression on her face intimidated me. The woman was always so sunny and bubbly. This was a different side of Coral. One I had never seen before. I didn’t think I wanted to see it again.

  “I will likely stay today since it’s already past lunch and I don’t want to drive home in the dark, not on these winding roads,” I explained, hoping to placate her.

  As if she had been briefly possessed, her typical exterior appeared again and she was all smiles. “That’s lovely dear. You two have a good time. I’ll leave you alone, now,” she said, standing and putting her chair back before breezing out of the coffee shop as if she’d never been there.