Spirit of the Witch (Witches of Keating Hollow Book 3)

by Deanna Chase

  Spirit of the Witch

  Witches of Keating Hollow, Book 3

  Deanna Chase

  Copyright © 2018 by Deanna Chase

  First Edition 2018

  Cover Art by Ravven

  Editing by Angie Ramey

  ISBN Print 978-1-940299-67-9

  ISBN Ebook 978-1-940299-67-9

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in, or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of this book.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locals, business establishments, or persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.

  Bayou Moon Press, LLC

  Contents

  About This Book

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Deanna’s Book List

  About the Author

  About This Book

  Welcome to Keating Hollow, the enchanted town where love heals, friends are forever, and family means everything.

  Yvette Townsend’s life was perfect…right up until her husband fell in love with someone else. Newly divorced and still reeling from her broken dreams, Yvette’s sworn off men. Now she’s determined to lose herself in her magic and her beloved bookstore. There’s only one problem—she has an unexpected new business partner who’s driving her crazy both at work and after hours.

  Jacob Burton has always been an excellent businessman, but his track record with relationships is nothing short of tragic. After finding his fiancée in the arms of his best friend, he moves to Keating Hollow and invests the quaint bookstore to keep it from going under. But as time goes on, it becomes more and more clear that Yvette and the town just might be saving him. And if he’s lucky, he’ll find out what it means to love the spirit of the witch.

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  Chapter 1

  Yvette Townsend stared at the man standing behind her desk, and desperately wished she’d been born an earth witch. At least then she’d have been able to spell the floor to open up and swallow her whole. Instead, since she was a fire witch, the only way she could magic herself out of this situation was by burning her beloved bookstore down, and that wasn’t an option.

  She’d just walked into her office to find Jacob, the man she’d had a one-night stand with two nights ago, talking about the big changes he wanted to make to her bookshop—correction, apparently, their bookshop.

  He tossed the folder he was holding onto the desk and cleared his throat. “Maybe we could start over? Forget Saturday night ever happened?”

  Her face turned so warm she actually fanned herself. Was he insane? There was no way she was ever going to forget the things he’d done to her.

  “There’s no need to be embarrassed,” he said with a chuckle, sliding out from behind the desk and walking over to her.

  She glanced up at him and let out a startled huff. She wasn’t just embarrassed; she was mortified. How could she have let this happen? Three months ago she was happily married and the proud owner of Keating Hollow’s only bookstore. Now she was waiting for her divorce to be finalized. And because she’d needed to buy-out her soon-to-be ex-husband, she’d taken a deal with Michael J Burton, Miss Maple’s nephew, to be her new business partner. Only they hadn’t actually met in person while they were negotiating. Everything had been handled over the phone and through email. Otherwise she’d have never invited Jacob, the handsome, so-called bartender, back to her place the night of her sister’s wedding.

  Yvette narrowed her eyes at him, a surge of anger fueling her ire. “There’s no way I could’ve known Jacob the bartender was really Michael Burton, the former regional manager of Bayside Books in Los Angeles. How is it you didn’t know who I was? I was wearing a bridesmaid dress. And I know for a fact you knew I was Abby’s sister when you took me home.”

  “I only knew you were a Townsend sister,” he said with a shrug. “How was I supposed to know you owned this shop?”

  She tsked and placed her hands on her hips. “Well, there are only four of us Townsend sisters. Abby was the one in white getting married. That meant you had a thirty-three percent chance you were jumping into bed with me.”

  Jacob’s eyebrows pinched together as he reached into a messenger bag, pulled out a large envelope, and produced a set of documents. After a quick scan, he turned them around and pointed to her name. “It says here the owner of Hollow Books is Yvette Santini. Not Townsend.”

  Crap on toast. He had a very valid point. “Um, well, my married name is Santini, but since my husband left, I’ve switched back to Townsend.”

  Standing entirely too close to her, he gave Yvette an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry this has created an awkward situation for us. If I’d known I was taking my new partner home, I’d like to think I’d have kept it professional.”

  “You’d like to think you’d have kept it professional?” she blurted out, taking a step back. “Is this a habit for you? Sleeping with your co-workers?” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she recalled that the last business he’d run had been with his ex-fiancée. Their split had made the town’s gossip mill since Jacob was Miss Maple’s nephew.

  Jacob leaned against the big mahogany desk and folded his arms across his chest. “I wouldn’t call it a habit, but you can’t blame me for being attracted to a gorgeous woman. And that dress…”

  Yvette rolled her eyes. “It was a bridesmaid’s dress. Those things are always awful.”

  “Not on you.” That sexy smile that had lured her in the first time was back. “It’s no secret I couldn’t wait to get you out of it.”

  Her gaze shifted from his gorgeous dark eyes to his lips, and she practically swayed toward him as memories of Saturday night came flooding back. The clock ticked in the silent office as neither of them said anything for a moment. Then his smile grew into a self-satisfied grin.

  Yvette held her hand up and shook her head. “This isn’t going to happen again, and you need to stop this. If we’re going to work together, there can’t be anymore flirting. We’re just going to have to pretend this never happened.”

  “I wasn’t flirting,” he said, trying and failing to look innocent as he swept his gaze down her body.

  “Oh, come on.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m not some silly coed who can be swayed by your adorable smile and that annoying twinkle in your eye.”

  He laughed. “If you say so.” Then he was all business, standing up straight as he held his right hand out. “Ms. Townsend, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Jacob Burton, your new business partner. And I’m excited to see what we can do with Hollow Books in the upcoming
months.”

  Yvette hesitated. Was he serious? He’d gone from frat boy to polished business man in less than two seconds flat.

  “It’s okay to shake my hand,” he said with a hint of a smile. “I don’t bite.”

  Yes, you do, Yvette thought, and she felt her face flush again as she clasped her hand in his.

  “Much,” he added with a wink and squeezed her fingers.

  “Okay, that was definitely flirting,” she said, pulling her hand back and placing her fisted hands on her hips.

  “You started it,” he said with a shrug. “Those red cheeks told me everything I needed to know about what you were thinking.”

  She averted her gaze and mumbled something about how his assumptions couldn’t be further from the truth. Liar, liar, pants on fire, her voice rang in her head. He had her number, but she’d rather die than admit it. Yvette steeled herself, stared him straight in the eye, and said, “From here on out, our relationship is strictly business.”

  His damned eyes twinkled as he nodded and said, “Whatever you say, Ms. Townsend.”

  “Well, okay then,” she said, itching to wipe her sweaty palms on her jeans. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Burton.” Yvette quickly moved and took her place behind her desk. After she sat in the leather chair her ex had custom ordered for her, she picked up the folder Jacob had dropped in the middle of the desk and waved it at him. “Now, about those changes you were talking about.”

  “Yvette!” she heard her sister Noel call out as her office door started to open. “Oh. Em. Gee. Spill. What happened with the hottie you took home after Abby’s wedding?” Noel strode in and stopped in her tracks as she spotted Jacob. “Oh, oops. Uh, hello there.” She brushed her long blond hair out of her face as she grinned at him and held her hand out. “I’m Noel Townsend. Abby’s other sister.”

  He took two steps forward and shook her hand. “Jacob Burton, Yvette’s new business partner.”

  “Business partner?” She glanced from him to Yvette and back to Jacob. “Well, this is awkward, isn’t it?”

  “Not at all,” he said graciously and then turned to Yvette. “I’ll be out in the store getting the lay of the land. Come find me when you’re ready to talk strategy.”

  Yvette just nodded. The mortification had taken over again, and she didn’t trust herself to speak.

  “It was nice to meet you, Noel,” he said then slipped out of the office.

  The moment the door closed, Noel turned to Yvette, her eyes wide. “You slept with your new business partner?”

  Yvette leaned back in her office chair, still holding the file Jacob had left on her desk. She cleared her throat. “What makes you think I slept with him?”

  Noel gave her sister a flat stare as she tied her hair up into a haphazard bun. “Vette, come on. I saw you two leave together.”

  “So?” Yvette shrugged one shoulder. “Maybe he was just giving me a ride home.”

  “We saw that silver Mercedes parked at your house when we were on our way home Saturday night. Your lights weren’t on. Please, there’s no need to pretend with me. He’s H-O-T, with a capital H. And after everything with Isaac… well, you deserved a little fun.”

  “I did, didn’t I?” Yvette said, flipping the file open.

  “Except…” Noel glanced back at the closed door. “I thought he was one of Clay’s friends, a bartender from SoCal. Do you really think it’s a good idea to get involved with your business partner?”

  Yvette let out a sardonic laugh. “No. Not at all. I thought the same thing, that he was just a friend of Clay’s. I just found out this morning that he’s my co-owner.”

  Noel blinked twice and sat in the chair across from her sister. “What? How could you not know? Didn’t you two talk at all?”

  Yvette’s face flushed hot again as she shook her head. “Not really. We flirted and then… well, you can guess what happened next.”

  Noel leaned forward, placed her folded arms on the desk, and gave her sister a wicked smile. “I could, but it’d be more fun to have details.”

  “Not on your life! Do I ask you about your antics with Drew?” Yvette asked, referring to her sister’s deputy-sheriff boyfriend.

  Noel laughed. “No, but last night we went skinny dipping down at the enchanted river. And I’m telling you, you haven’t lived until you’ve had an org—”

  “That’s quite enough.” Yvette held up one hand and laughed. “I’ve got the picture.”

  Noel sighed. “That river really is magic.”

  “You’re depraved,” Yvette said, scanning the notes in Jacob’s file. She frowned and flipped the page.

  “What is it?” Noel asked.

  Yvette gritted her teeth. “When I walked in here this morning, Jacob was on the phone talking about the changes he wanted to make to my store. I heard something about a café and turning it into the premier paranormal bookstore on the west coast.”

  “That doesn’t sound so bad,” Noel said, her eyebrows raised. “What’s wrong with that?”

  Yvette dropped the paperwork and stared at her sister. “I’ll tell you what’s wrong with that… I like the store the way it is. It’s quiet and quaint and the customers love it. Plus Mr. Let’s-Change-Everything hasn’t run one thing by me.”

  “Okay, so you talk about it,” Noel said, shrugging one shoulder. “There’s always room for improvement, right?”

  “Talking would’ve been the place to start.” Yvette stood, clutching the supply order in her fist. All the embarrassment from finding out she’d slept with her partner was gone, replaced by sheer aggravation. How dare he just come in and take over as if her business were in trouble? That couldn’t be further from the truth. Everything was just fine. If it hadn’t been for her impending divorce and buying out Isaac, she wouldn’t have needed a penny from an investor. “It seems partner is a foreign word to Mr. Burton. Because apparently, he’s already placed an order for a fancy industrial grade espresso machine, signage, and everything else one needs to serve coffee and pastries.”

  “Uh oh,” Noel said, getting to her feet. “What are you going to do?”

  Yvette stalked to the door then turned to look her sister in the eye. “Tell Mr. Fake-Sexy-Bartender to take his damned money and hightail it back to southern California. This isn’t what I signed up for.”

  Chapter 2

  Jacob wandered through the nonfiction section of Hollow Books and sucked in a deep breath, steadying himself. When he’d walked into the store this morning, the last person he’d expected to see was the sexy brunette he’d taken home on Saturday night. How was he supposed to know that Yvette Santini was one of Abby’s sisters?

  It wasn’t as if he’d spent a lot of time in Keating Hollow, only a few summers when he’d been a kid. That was when he’d met Clay Garrison. They’d reconnected when Clay had moved to Los Angeles with his first wife, and Jacob had made a point of calling Clay when he realized he was moving to Keating Hollow. It had just so happened that Clay was getting remarried, and he’d asked Jacob to fill in as bartender at the last minute. Since Jacob had worked in a bar during college, he was glad to help.

  He hadn’t expected to take one of the bridesmaids home, but Yvette had thoroughly worked her way under his skin. She was hauntingly beautiful, a little sad, and a little rebellious. What had started off as a harmless flirtation had quickly turned into something much more.

  Jacob ran a hand through his hair and berated himself for his poor judgment. The minute he’d realized his mistake, he should’ve kept it professional. Instead, he’d flirted relentlessly and made an ass out of himself. It’d taken him all of forty-eight hours to throw a wrench in his new business arrangement. He could still hear his father’s harsh judgment after his last failed workplace romance and the inevitable mess that followed. This time was supposed to be different. This time would be different if he had anything to say about it. He just needed to make sure he stayed out of Yvette Townsend’s bed.

  Too bad he had a feeling that would be
easier said than done.

  He needed to get his head on straight and remember he came to Keating Hollow for a fresh start, to lose himself in his work. Building businesses was his talent, and he had the record to prove it. He turned, automatically searching for his name among the spines on the shelves. Almost instantly, his gaze locked on the book his publisher had released the year before: Loyalty Marketing: Creating Businesses with Heart. If there was one thing Jacob Burton was good at, it was creating customer loyalty. And that’s exactly what he intended to do at Hollow Books.

  “Seriously?” Yvette said from behind him, her voice incredulous.

  Jacob turned to her, still holding the book. “Pardon?”

  “What were you planning to do with that?” She pointed to the tome in his hand. “If you think you’re going to impress me just because your book made the New York Times list, well…” She shook her head. “Never mind. If you were planning on using that to convince me to open a coffee bar, you can forget it. That is never going to happen. And this,”—she held the supply order up and waved it in his face—“You’ll need to send it all back.”

  Jacob gazed down at her, both slightly annoyed and amused. “What’s wrong with a café? Readers like coffee and pastries while they browse book stores.”

  Yvette sighed. “I know you’re from the big city, Jacob, so let me break this down for you. Keating Hollow is a small town. We take care of each other here. If you think I’m going to suddenly start competing with the Incantation Café, then think again. There just isn’t room for two coffee shops in this town.”