Witch You Well

by Colleen Cross

  Whether I wanted that or not, I wasn't even sure right now. In fact, I was no longer sure about anything. I didn’t know if I still loved him, or whether I really ever had. He was my first and only boyfriend, and until now I had never really thought of a future without him. Everything had just kind of seemed preordained.

  Thankfully Brayden wasn't alone, so I could procrastinate a little longer. A man with unnatural-looking reddish-blond shoulder-length hair sat opposite Brayden with his back to me. It was almost certainly the man from last night in the vineyard. It had been dark, but the man had the same slim, athletic build.

  Brayden caught my eye immediately and smiled. He waved me over. "Cen, this is my friend Jack. He's from Shady Creek, and he's staying here.” He motioned to the tanned, thirty-something man across the table. "Jack, this is Cen. Her family owns the place."

  I was speechless as my brain synapses took control. This must be the same Jack who was staying in Grandma Vi's old room.

  Jack stood and shook my right hand with his left, pointing apologetically to his bandaged right hand. He was slightly taller than Brayden and a few years older, with an aura of superiority about him. "Quaint little place you got here. When are you doing your renovations? It'll look great with a face lift."

  "It's just fine the way it is," I growled at his intentional insult. Even if Brayden hadn't told him of our grand opening, it was plastered all over the building. As a guest he had to be aware of it.

  Brayden shot me a warning look.

  I glared at both of them as my stomach growled to remind me that I needed food.

  "If you like that sort of look." Jack tossed his head back and laughed. His perfectly styled hair didn't move an inch. He pulled a business card from his shirt pocket and handed it to me. "Give me a call if you're interested in selling the place. I'll be honest, though. This place is a teardown, so the only value is in the land. Lucky for you though, we're always looking for large properties like yours."

  The card read Jack Tupper III, Senior Vice-President, Development, Centralex.

  My mouth dropped open as I connected Jack, the plans in Tonya's suite, and the late night vineyard business. Maybe the biggest realization was that Brayden hadn't been straight with me.

  "We're not interested in selling." I wanted to run into the kitchen and tell Mom everything. That didn't help though, so I willed myself to remain calm and get as much information as I could. Jack was obviously Tonya's co-conspirator and apparently her lover too.

  Jack shook his head. "Your business won't survive once my new resort, conference center, and mall opens. And casino. The only reason you get business now is because you're the only place in town."

  My face flushed as I fought to control my temper. The guy had a lot of nerve telling me that our business was doomed at the very moment he chomped down on Mom's breakfast special. I also knew from the plans in Tonya's room that Centralex intended to build on our property, not anywhere else. Jack was using scare tactics to get our property at a cheap price. Well, we weren't going to be intimidated. Not if I could help it.

  Brayden cleared his throat. "Jack's plans include a resort hotel."

  My face reddened. Brayden was wheeling and dealing again, only this time for a business in direct competition with ours. "But we just opened the Inn. Westwick Corners isn't big enough to support another hotel." Brayden's job as mayor was to encourage business and commerce, but that didn't mean getting chummy with the developer. He hadn't given the Westwick Corners Inn much support, despite his part-time job at The Witching Post. What favors did he expect from Jack?

  "This is big, Cen. The resort will have two hundred rooms, along with a conference center. A destination resort, not just a little boutique operation. It will put Westwick Corners on the map."

  It was as if someone had stabbed me in the back. Our property had been in our family for generations and Brayden knew we'd never sell come hell or high water. He also knew we had no other means of earning a living. Yet he'd been aligning with an out-of-town developer and even scoping our property by moonlight with Jack. He had purposely timed their excursion during the cover of night to avoid detection. What else wasn't he telling me?

  My face flushed as anger welled inside me. I was about to lose it. "I've got to go." I turned on my heels.

  Jack called after me. "I'm doing you a favor, but my offer is only good till Monday."

  "We aren't selling," I repeated. "We've just started our business."

  "There's definitely money to be made, Cen," Brayden yelled after me.

  I shook my head and kept walking.

  Brayden suddenly appeared at my side. He squeezed my arm. "I'll stop by your place later this morning, Cen. We'll catch up."

  "Uh...I’m a little busy right now. I'll call you later." I took a deep breath and headed for the kitchen. I debated whether to tell Mom about Jack's proposal now or after breakfast. It was bound to upset her, but she needed to know.

  Mom, Aunt Pearl, and Aunt Amber owned the place together. It was even more insulting that Jack hadn't approached any of them directly. He had told me on purpose, of course. My second-hand information would soften the blow that an outsider planned to compete with us. But after seeing the Centralex development plans in Tonya's room, I knew that wasn’t the intent at all. Jack's real goal was to steal our land out from under us and bulldoze our beautiful historic mansion to the ground.

  I swore under my breath as everything became crystal clear. Aunt Pearl's outlandish vortex claims were 100% true. Tonya had already partnered with the biggest developer around, and getting our land was just a formality.

  Money had a way of making people do crazy things. Grandma Vi was right not only about the property but also about Brayden. He had placed his business interests ahead of my family's livelihood.

  I was halfway to the kitchen when chairs scraped against hardwood in the direction of Sheriff Gates' and Tonya's table. I spun around as they stood. I guessed that he had finished with Tonya for now. I reversed and headed towards him, but Brayden intercepted me.

  "Cen, wait." Brayden strode towards me, plate in hand. His cutlery clattered on his plateful of eggs and toast as he caught up to me. "You seem mad or something."

  "I saw you last night in the vineyard with Jack," I said as we walked side-by-side towards the kitchen. "I didn't know your mayoral duties extended to secretly showing our place to property developers."

  "It's not like that at all, Cen. You're jumping to conclusions."

  "Then why were you sneaking around in the middle of the night? You're obsessed with our property all of a sudden."

  "I am not obsessed and we weren't sneaking around." Brayden's voice rose as we neared the kitchen door. "Jack just likes to keep a low profile. If he shows too much interest, prices skyrocket."

  "So it is about getting our land." I stopped just outside the door and faced him. "You tell your friend Jack that our land isn't for sale."

  "You're making a big deal, as usual, Cen." Brayden rolled his eyes and turned. "I've got to go. Well discuss this later."

  "Oh, and Brayden?"

  "Yeah?" Brayden stopped but didn't even turn to face me.

  "The wedding's off."

  Brayden spun around and stared in open-mouthed shock. Then, for the first time in a long while, he listened to me.

  CHAPTER 26

  Brayden sat at the small bistro table just inside the kitchen entrance. It was stacked with dishes and restaurant supplies, but he cleared a space for his plate and resumed eating. He speared a potato wedge on his fork and twirled it in his ketchup. "What's gotten into you, Cen?" His mouth turned down into a pout, designed to get my pity. It didn't work. I was too mad this time.

  "Nothing's gotten into me." I wasn't about to have an outburst in Mom's kitchen within earshot of other people. "Something has taken hold of you though. Whatever it is, I don't like it."

  Brayden's eyes narrowed as he studied me. "Something is very different about you. You're so negative all of a sudden. Yo
u're stressed with all the wedding planning." He patted my shoulder like I was a child.

  "You’re absolutely right," I said. "This wedding thing is too rushed, so I’m calling it off. With everything that's happened, I’m having second thoughts."

  Brayden bit his lip. "We've been dating for years, Cen. How can you possibly think the wedding is rushed?"

  "Something just doesn't feel right. I need some time to myself to think about things."

  "We don't have the luxury of time. You should have done all your thinking a year ago when you said yes."

  "A lot has changed since then." My realization that Brayden's political aspirations always came before me, for instance. Our wedding was a tick box on his to-do list. I, like everyone else, had just assumed we would marry. I had never even given it a second thought until now, probably because I was afraid to face the truth.

  "Like what?"

  "You wouldn't understand." My attraction to Tyler Gates was just infatuation, but it was a very real symptom of my unhappiness with Brayden. While I could do rewind spells, I couldn't rewind my life. Once I chose my path with Brayden, there was no going back. It had taken a murder at my wedding rehearsal to stop and take stock of my life.

  Brayden stood. "Don't do this to me, Cen. We've got two hundred guests coming, including the governor. You can't cancel now." He shook his head slowly. "Do you know how this will look?"

  "I don't care what the governor or anyone else thinks. I just can't go through with it." I did care what my family thought though. Especially Mom, who had worked so hard on every detail. I hated to disappoint her.

  "You're just emotional because of the murder and everything." He placed an arm around my shoulder. "Look, I know I should have been at the rehearsal, but I got caught up with work. I promise I'll make it better."

  "Sheriff Gates told me your Crime Watch meeting got canceled. You weren't even at a meeting, yet you couldn't be bothered to come to the rehearsal. If I'm not worth your time, why should I marry you?"

  "That's just not fair, Cen. The meeting was canceled because of a scheduling conflict. That's the truth. Jack only had one hour free in the afternoon, so my schedule got rearranged a bit."

  "Is that so?" My sense of indignation grew. "No doubt you were talking about getting him some cheap land."

  Anger flashed in Brayden's eyes. "You should be grateful I got him interested in our town. Centralex is the best thing that's happened to Westwick Corners in a long, long time."

  I fumed as I recalled Brayden's late night pacing outside my tree house. It was all I could do to keep my voice calm. "No one's selling, including us. There's nothing else for sale in town, and everything else is farmland."

  "You'd be surprised, Cen. Anyone will sell if the price is right."

  "Anyone?" I raised my brows. "Shady Creek didn't bite."

  Brayden scraped egg yolk off his plate with his fork. "The Westwick Corners Inn is too small-scale to make any money. Your family will just bankrupt itself. The smart thing is to sell, because offers like Jack's don't come along every day. At least listen to him and see what he has to say."

  My face flushed. "We're not selling, especially after fixing everything up. You should know that. You sound like you're in business with Jack yourself."

  "Don't be ridiculous. It's my job as mayor to look at new opportunities. I'm working to get what we all want for Westwick Corners—jobs and growth."

  "We don't want it at any cost." Brayden had sold us out. Our town councillors were all over seventy and basically voted however Brayden did, so Jack would get what he wanted, one way or another. "Why did Shady Creek reject his plans?"

  "Traffic issues." Brayden laughed. "Can you believe that? Who doesn't want more traffic?"

  I knew of at least one person, and she would certainly take action.

  "We'll talk more once you've had a chance to cool down."

  His dismissive attitude really irritated me. "There's nothing more to talk about. It's over."

  Brayden's mouth dropped open as he stared at me, speechless.

  He waited for me to say more, but I was done. After a minute he turned to go, then turned back and grabbed his half-eaten breakfast before he exited and slammed the door behind him.

  CHAPTER 27

  I sat at the bistro table for a few more minutes, mostly to be sure Brayden and Jack were both gone from the dining room. I didn't hear any noise or conversation coming from the dining room, so I crept to the door and peeked outside.

  I breathed a sigh of relief as I scanned the almost empty dining room. Jack was gone, and so were the other guests. No one had heard me arguing with Brayden. I opened the door a crack further and my heart sank as I spotted Tyler Gates over at a table by the window, alone.

  He caught the door's motion and met my gaze. Our eyes remained locked for a split second before he turned away. He knew.

  Great.

  The one person I hadn't wanted to know about my troubled relationship had obviously heard everything. I turned around and walked back into the kitchen, deflated.

  How awkward.

  I wanted to talk to him about the case, and this just made me want to avoid him. But Aunt Pearl needed help fast, so I couldn't exactly hide under a rock.

  "You did the right thing."

  I jumped at the voice behind me, not expecting anyone else in the kitchen. "Huh?"

  Grandma Vi floated a few feet away from me in a purpley haze.

  "You promised to stay at the tree house, Grandma."

  "I can't stay away when I'm needed. Brayden's all wrong for you. It'll take a few days but it will all blow over."

  “Of course you think that. You never liked him in the first place.” I sat back down at the table, deflated at the prospect of canceling the wedding. "How am I going to un-invite two hundred people?"

  "We'll figure out a way." Grandma Vi sat down—or rather hovered—opposite me. "Now you can make a play for that handsome new sheriff."

  "I'll do no such thing. All my energies are focused on solving Sebastien Plant's murder and clearing Aunt Pearl. Tell me what you know about Tonya Plant and Jack Tupper."

  "Who's Jack?" Grandma Vi asked.

  "The one sneaking around with Brayden last night," I said.

  "The one in my room."

  "It's not your—" I stopped myself mid-sentence. No point in upsetting Grandma more. I took a deep breath. "We all agreed to open the Inn and we've all made sacrifices. You can't spy on people like that."

  "I was homesick. And Pearl promised not to tell anyone." Grandma Vi frowned. "Pearl never could keep a secret."

  "I made her tell me," I said. "She's about to get charged with Plant's murder unless we do something about it. What did Tonya and Jack talk about when you were there?"

  "There wasn't much talking going on in that room. Tonya's husband isn't even in the ground yet and that scoundrel's making out with her."

  "It takes two to tango."

  Grandma Vi sighed. "They can't just steal our land out from under us, can they?"

  "Not unless we agree to sell it, and we're not going to do that."

  "They seem to think it's already theirs,” Grandma Vi said. “Tonya's playing that Jack guy, though. He's too lovesick to see it.”

  I couldn’t imagine abrasive Jack being lovesick, but maybe he was different behind closed doors. "I need your help to solve the murder, Grandma. I want you to follow Tonya everywhere she goes."

  "You mean like, spy on her? I thought that wasn't allowed."

  "In this case, it is." We couldn't leave her unguarded for a moment. Grandma Vi wouldn't stay at my place no matter what I did, so I might as well use her talents.

  "But she's a witch. She'll see me," Grandma Vi said. "Why don't I spy on Jack instead?"

  I shook my head. "I'll watch him. I need someone powerful against Tonya, and your magic is much better than mine."

  That seemed to appease her. "Under one condition."

  I sighed. "Fine, name it." Why did every promise in m
y family come with conditions attached?

  "I want my old room back."

  I nodded. One way or another, we all wanted something back. I just wasn't so sure if we would get what we wanted with no strings attached.

  CHAPTER 28

  I opened the kitchen back door, feeling terribly guilty about Brayden. While I was furious at him, I probably could have picked a better time to vent my anger, not to mention call off the wedding.

  I debated running after Brayden, but he was already halfway to the parking lot where Jack had just climbed into the driver’s seat of a red Lamborghini. Maybe it was better to leave him alone while everything sunk in, but I already felt so guilty for hurting him. I didn't want to take back my words in a moment of weakness, but he had every right to be upset.

  On the other hand, Brayden no longer seemed all that upset. He shouted to catch Jack’s attention.

  Jack leaned out his window and said something I couldn’t make out.

  Brayden laughed. He watched as Jack’s car peeled out of the parking lot and disappeared down the hill.

  I sighed and turned back towards the door. I knew I should tell Mom about Jack's limited offer, but it just depressed me. It would depress her too and I wasn't ready to deal with more upset. It bothered me to no end that Jack had the nerve to eat and stay at the Westwick Corners Inn at the very moment he was planning to destroy it.

  But Jack’s hypocrisy and his temporary absence provided a small window of opportunity. I could sneak into his room and see if I could glean any more information on the development.

  I ran up the stairs and paused on the landing. I drew in my breath, shocked that I had pretty much turned into Aunt Pearl. Maybe her blend of ornery insanity was hereditary.

  I bounded up the last flight of stairs thinking that if our business wasn't sunk already, our reputation would soon be. We were doomed if customers discovered that the staff rifled through their rooms while they ate breakfast.

  No, I wasn't Aunt Pearl. I also had a perfectly good reason to check for soap and shampoo supplies. I headed down the hall, stopping at the supply room for a handful of toiletries. My spirits lifted at the chance to do something productive for a change.