CHARMED, I’M SURE
Rose Pressey
"Rose Pressey’s book are fun!” Janet Evanovich
Praise for Me and My Ghoulfriends by Rose Pressey
“Rose Pressey spins a delightful tale with misfits and romance that makes me cheer loudly.”
Coffee Time Romance
“Her characters are alive and full of quick witted charm and will make you laugh. The plot twists keep you turning the pages non-stop.”
ParaNormalRomance
“I absolutely loved this book! It had me chuckling from the beginning.”
Fallen Angel Reviews
Rose Pressey’s Complete Bookshelf (click title to preview/buy)
Haunted Vintage Series
Book 1 – If You’ve Got It, Haunt It (coming December 2, 2014)
Book 2 – All Dressed Up and No Place to Haunt (July 2015)
Maggie, P.I. Mystery Series:
Book 1 – Crime Wave
Book – Murder is a Beach
The Halloween LaVeau Series:
Book 1 – Forever Charmed
Book 2 – Charmed Again
Book 3 – Third Time’s a Charm
Book 4 – Charmed, I’m Sure
The Hadley Wilds Series:
Book 1: Dead Girl’s Guide to Style
The Rylie Cruz Series:
Book 1 – How to Date a Werewolf
Book 2 – How to Date a Vampire
Book 3 – How to Date a Demon
The Larue Donovan Series:
Book 1 – Me and My Ghoulfriends
Book 2 – Ghouls Night Out
Book 3 – The Ghoul Next Door
The Mystic Café Series:
Book 1 – No Shoes, No Shirt, No Spells
Book 2 – Pies and Potions
The Veronica Mason Series:
Book 1 – Rock ‘n’ Roll is Undead
A Trash to Treasure Crafting Mystery:
Book 1 – Murder at Honeysuckle Hotel
Book 2 – Honeysuckle Homicide
The Haunted Renovation Mystery Series:
Book 1 – Flip that Haunted House
Book 2 – The Haunted Fixer Upper
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form, (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, incidents, places, and brands are the product of the author’s imagination and not to be construed as real. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
Dedication
This is to you and you know who you are.
Acknowledgements
To my son, who brings me joy every single day. To my mother, who introduced me to the love of books. To my husband, who encourages me and always has faith in me. A huge thank you to my editor, Eleanor Boyall. And to the readers who make writing fun.
Table of Contents
Copyright page
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
About Rose Pressey
Chapter One
My best friend Annabelle Preston stared at the trash can. “I’m sorry, Hallie, but that is the most disgusting-looking pancake I’ve ever seen.”
Running a bed-and-breakfast wasn’t as easy as I’d thought it would be—technically, I’d never had a real guest. It seemed as if every paranormal ne’er-do-well within five hundred miles was headed for LaVeau Manor. Why couldn’t I have just one real guest?
Maybe it was for the best. I had the big house with plenty of rooms, but I had zero talent when it came to the breakfast part. That was why I’d decided to try a little magic spell to help me out. Unfortunately, I wasn’t great in the witchcraft department either. My skills were improving though, so that was why I’d decided to give witchcraft another try this morning. A new uninvited guest had arrived yesterday and I knew she would want food this morning.
I should have just stuck with the store-bought pastries. But no, I wanted to be the witchy version of Martha Stewart. I tossed the blackened pancake into the trash along with my fantasy.
Some people thought Annabelle and I were sisters since we had the same shoulder-length blonde hair and blue eyes. We had a lot in common, but Annabelle had way more skills in the kitchen. Annabelle had a creative flair that I lacked as well. She would deny that, but her home décor and fashion said otherwise.
I wiped my hands on my orange and black polka-dot apron. “Gee, why don’t you tell me how you really feel?”
She wrapped her arm around my shoulders and squeezed. “Don’t feel bad, you have other talents. After all, you are the leader of the Underworld now. And that’s kind of cool. “
“Yeah, when angry witches or nasty demons aren’t trying to kill me, it’s not so bad.”
My name is Halloween LaVeau. I’d recently inherited my great-aunt Maddy’s big old house, LaVeau Manor, built in the 1800s. At the young age of one hundred and twenty, Maddy LaVeau had traveled to the other side. She’d left a mysterious message in her will about me “taking my place in the world.” I’d had no idea she’d meant being the leader of the Underworld.
The manor hadn’t been all that had been passed down to me. After a couple weeks in the house I’d discovered a mysterious book in the attic that had been the source of more than a few problems in my life as of late. Which brought me to my current predicament.
A guest had shown up last night. But she was no ordinary guest. I supposed she was actually not a guest at all. Charlie Scott had been sent by the Underworld board members to investigate me.
“Maybe we can give your guest cereal for breakfast.” Annabelle opened a cabinet door and scanned the contents.
“I have a strawberry Pop-Tart left from the other day,” I offered.
Annabelle turned to face me. “We’ll just have to do this the old-fashioned way. Your cooking isn’t so bad without magic. I’ve seen you successfully make pancakes.”
“By successfully you mean they weren’t as black as the one I just tossed in the garbage?”
She grabbed the spatula. “Yes, that’s what I meant.”
“I suppose some breakfast is better than no breakfast at all.” I pulled a grapefruit from the refrigerator and grabbed a knife from the drawer.
Annabelle began stirring the pancake mix the old-fashioned way, by hand, with no magic. I’d so hoped to make a special breakfast this morning. Something that made it look as if I had awesome skills in the kitchen. Sure, I wanted to impress my non-guest because she had been sent here to check up on my witchcraft talent. Who wouldn’t want to show off under those circumstances?
Annabelle and I had been friends
for years. She wasn’t a witch like me. In fact, until recently she had been terrified of the paranormal and stayed away as much as possible. Except for me; she didn’t have a problem hanging out with me. Annabelle was supportive of me when everyone else was critical of my lousy witchcraft skills. Recently Annabelle had displayed a bit of a knack for the paranormal on her own.
She’d been helping at my mother’s shop, Bewitching Bath and Potions. Apparently Annabelle had a sixth sense about magic spells and beauty products. I wasn’t sure what that was all about, but I had encouraged her to pursue it farther.
Annabelle flipped the pancake with the spatula while I placed the freshly cut grapefruit in a bowl. “See, you have a talent for cutting fruit,” she said.
I scowled. “Don’t patronize me.”
She placed the pancake on the plate. “Of course not. I would never.”
My stomach growled when I looked at her perfect stack of pancakes. Visions of sinking my fork into the butter- and syrup-covered fluffiness flashed in my mind.
Noise sounded from upstairs and I knew my guest was on her way down. I had had a revolving door of weird and unwanted guests lately and this was just another one to add to the list. When one guest left, another one was right there to take their place. But these weren’t paying guests… no, this was always something to do with the book.
When I’d found the Book of Mystics I’d become the leader of the Underworld. And it wasn’t by choice either, although I could have refused the title. But I’d decided that I would give it a try.
The footsteps drew closer. Annabelle and I exchanged a glance. When I turned to face the door that led from the kitchen into the hallway, I saw Charlie walking our way.
“Okay, here she comes,” I whispered.
“Remember to be nice,” Annabelle warned.
“Aren’t I always?”
Annabelle snorted.
Pluto the black cat had lived at LaVeau Manor with my great-aunt, but now the cat allowed me to live in the house as long as I provided her favorite fishy treats. She meowed as she watched Charlie approach.
“I know, Pluto, I wonder what she’s doing here too,” I said as I rubbed the cat’s head.
Charlie had long wavy dark hair and big brown eyes. This morning she wore black pants, a black sweater and leopard-print heels. Pluto shot out of the kitchen and past Charlie, hissing on her way.
“Good morning, Charlie. I made breakfast for you.” I waved toward the tray of pancakes.
Annabelle coughed.
“Well, Annabelle made breakfast for you.”
Charlie looked at the plate on the kitchen counter. The quirk of her eyebrow let me know that she wasn’t too impressed. I had told Annabelle I would be nice and that was what I was going to try to do. After all, I was suspicious of Charlie’s reasons for being here, so I could have easily given her the cold shoulder and no one would have blamed me. Charlie claimed that the national witches’ board wanted to investigate my powers. But I wasn’t sure I believed that.
As the leader of the Underworld I hadn’t thought I’d have to deal with being investigated, but I guessed the witches just didn’t fully trust me yet. Maybe that would come with time. For now, I just had to keep doing what was right, or at least what felt right. I had no idea what the leader of the Underworld was supposed to do, but I tried to learn every day. I’d decided to give it my all.
Charlie stepped over to the tray with the food. “I’m not that hungry actually.” She picked up the glass of orange juice. “Just some juice would be fine.” She took a drink.
Annabelle shrugged when I looked at her.
I picked up the plate. “In that case, I’ll just eat the pancakes myself.”
Annabelle snickered. Charlie stared at me as I crammed a huge bite of the pancakes into my mouth. Syrup dripped off the fork.
After I finished chewing, I asked, “So what happens now? How long will you be staying? I have to know so that I can make arrangements for your stay.”
Had I come off as rude with that question? That wasn’t my intent, but if that was the way she took it there was nothing I could do about it.
Charlie set her glass onto the counter. “I will investigate as much as the board wants me to. So I guess I’ll hang around for a while. Maybe a week or more.”
A week or more? Was she out of her mind? I had hoped she would have said a day or two at the most. What could she possibly investigate for that long? I could tell her all she needed to know in five minutes and then she could be on her merry way.
I licked syrup from the fork and then said, “That seems like quite a while to investigate.”
Annabelle coughed again. Apparently my tone had changed from fabulous hostess to cranky witch.
Charlie strolled around the kitchen with a cat-like prowl, studying the jars and bottles I had sitting around. My great-aunt had left her potions and herbs for me.
On the far wall of the kitchen was a large stone fireplace complete with my very own black cauldron. I’d recently gotten a lot more use out of the thing, something that had made my mother proud. At first, I’d always preferred to use a saucepan on top of the stove for my spells. That fact alone had made my mother spend many hours speaking to a therapist. She always said it was no wonder the coven didn’t take me seriously. I’d never wanted to drag out a heavy steel cauldron for a potion that wasn’t going to work. Maybe those days were gone for good now.
The sun shone brightly through the back door window, casting a golden hue around the room. The kitchen was all shades of white with various apothecary jars sitting on shelves and covering the spaces around the room. Aunt Maddy had practically every item I could ever need for a spell right there in the kitchen, along with her collection of cauldrons.
I dropped my fork. Charlie was making me anxious and I wanted her out of my kitchen.
Finally, I said, “So can you tell me which spell that I performed that was wrong? What exactly put me on the board’s radar?”
Annabelle snorted. Okay, that had been a bad question. A lot of my spells went wrong and it could have been any one of them.
Charlie walked toward the door. Maybe she sensed that I wanted her to take her broom and fly out of there.
She turned to face me and then said, “I’ll see what the board wants me to do.”
I forced a smile onto my face. “Great. I’ll be expecting to hear from them soon.”
She shook her head. “No, all the messages will come through me.”
I stared at her. Well, we’d see about that. If this board had a problem with me, then they could talk to me face to face, each and every one of them.
“Thanks for the juice.” She waved over her shoulder and disappeared into the other room.
I turned to face Annabelle. “I think I handled that quite well, what about you?”
She tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear. “I guess for you, yes, you handled it well.”
I’d been through a lot lately and I figured that I had kept my cool pretty well. Recently I’d learned that I could reanimate the dead. That had led to a few dearly departed souls returning from the grave with not so great outcomes. After all that, I needed a break from the stress.
“What are you going to do now?” Annabelle asked.
I finished off the pancakes and placed the dirty plate in the sink. “I guess I’ll give Charlie the benefit of the doubt and see what happens. I won’t let this get out of hand though.”
“What can you do about it?” Annabelle picked at the grapefruit with a spoon.
I leaned against the counter. “I honestly have no idea. But I’ll try my best to figure it out.”
“Just whatever you do, don’t bring back any more people from the grave.” Annabelle pointed with the spoon.
Considering I wasn’t sure how I’d done it in the past that would be kind of hard. But for Annabelle I would agree.
“I promise to do my best,” I said with a smile.
After placing the spoon in the sink, she g
rabbed her large black leather purse and pulled the strap onto her shoulder. “Okay, I am off.”
“Where are you going?” I asked.
She averted her eyes for a second and then said, “Your mom asked if I could help at the shop today.”
Wow. My mother was really serious about getting Annabelle involved with the magic. I just hoped Annabelle knew what she was getting herself into. Plus, my mother could be demanding when it came to working on her beauty potions.
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