Barbecue & Brooms (A Southern Charms Cozy Mystery Book 4)

by Bella Falls

  I couldn’t tell him there was never a good time to share the truth with him and face the consequences. Rita was right. I was a coward, and now my lack of bravery fractured any chance I might have left with Mason.

  In anger, I planted my hands on the ground and squeezed my eyes shut. If I could tap into the tree’s power, I could blast this witch with a gigantic B into oblivion.

  “Come on, tree. Let me have it one more time,” I ordered under my breath. No tingle of power answered me.

  “Charli, get up off the dirt.” Rita snapped her fingers, and my body obeyed. “You’ll learn that men aren’t worth your time. They only want to take and take from you. Don’t waste a second allowing your heart to hurt over either of them. Love is overrated.”

  “Love is everything,” I barked back. “Even if it gets broken or ends too soon.” With my eyes, I tried to convey my apologies to both men.

  Rita scoffed. “Sure, and it hasn’t tied you in knots trying to decide which one of them you should choose? I have a brilliant idea. Let’s have them fight each other to see which one of you loves you more.”

  “Don’t,” I yelled in alarm, but with a few of her hand gestures, Mason and Dash approached each other, pacing and sizing up their rival.

  “This ought to be good.” Rita took her place next to me and threw an arm over my shoulder. “Get on with it. I want to see who’s willing to shed more blood for you.”

  With a growl, Dash made the first move, crouching lower and driving his shoulder into Mason’s gut. The detective grunted and pounded his fists on Dash’s back. The sickening sound of flesh and bone colliding turned my stomach. I wanted to look away, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the spectacle. I couldn’t bear to see either of the men I cared about hurt, especially in this twisted way.

  The fight distracted me, and it took me too long to notice Rita’s fingers had inched away from my shoulder and dug into the back of my scalp. White-cold icy tendrils froze my brain from the inside out, and I shut my eyes in utter anguish. Rita trespassed on my most intimate life with her violent invasion.

  “If you don’t fight me, it won’t hurt so much,” she whispered in my ear, holding me close. “I can see everything. I know what you want most even more than you do yourself. Do you want me to tell you what it is, or should I just do a little rearranging and change your desires to my liking?”

  Panic flooded my system and I squirmed to get away. My parents’ faces and the feel of their hugs poured out of my head. The happiness from eating at Nana’s table and teasing my brother added to the mix. The confusion and frustration of who I was and who I wanted to be blended with the rest. My heart beat faster at the memory of riding behind Dash on his motorcycle compared to flying on a broom with Mason’s arms wrapped around me.

  My eyes hurt from squeezing them so tight. “It’s too much,” I whimpered. “Stop it.”

  Rita’s fingers dug in harder. “I can make it go away. Surgically remove all memories involving either of them.” She pointed at Mason and Dash, still slashing, beating, and brawling with each other.

  I made one last-ditch effort to stop her. Shoving my hand in my pocket, I took out the fabric-wrapped gem. “If you’ll let me go, you can have this.”

  The memories she battered me with stopped. “What is it?”

  I unwrapped the fabric and let it fall away, revealing the shining sapphire in my palm. “It’s yours if you’ll leave me alone.”

  The jewel wasn’t mine to bargain with, but desperation will make a liar out of anyone. If I could get her to consider the bribe, maybe I could free myself enough to save the guys, too.

  Rita’s grip on my head loosened. “It’s a tempting offer, and that’s one big sapphire. It could sustain me for a long while. Then again,” she tightened her hold on me, “I can feel your magic swimming around in there. It would be handier for me to change your mind and convince you to come with me. Then you could use your magic to find all the treasures in the world.”

  I remembered how I’d broken her psychic hold on me before with extreme emotions. Closing my eyes, I tried to stoke the fires of anger. Rita had assaulted more than just Dash, Mason, and me. With her terrible will, she forced our hearts to be broken. And if she got away free without any consequences, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.

  Some of her icy tendrils melted and the pressure inside my head eased up, but not enough. I needed something strong enough to kick her out, and I knew exactly what would do it. I reached for the one emotion that drove me to be better every day. That made me want to be a good sister, daughter, granddaughter, friend, and potential partner.

  Love didn’t make me weaker. It was the solid foundation I built my life on. Recalling all of the people I would die for and kindling my feelings for Dash and Mason, I pushed the warm, blazing emotion of love through my veins until it burned away all of the psychic’s presence.

  Rita let go of me with a yelp, and I threw my head back, connecting with her face. The crunch of bone was unmistakable, and I swept my leg around to trip her. In all of my sudden movements, the sapphire dropped out of my grip, but I didn’t have time to recover it.

  Crawling on top of her, I pulled the gold chain and held the coin in my hand. “This doesn’t belong to you.” With a snap, I ripped it off of her.

  Rita cradled her face, drops of blood seeping through the cracks of her fingers. “You broke my nose!”

  “And you’ll be getting a black eye, too!” I shouted. Clenching my fist, I punched her as hard as I could.

  My hand throbbed after I made contact, but I would gladly break all my bones if it meant I could beat the smugness right out of the ex-racer.

  Someone pulled me off Rita, and I kicked and thrashed to break free. “Charli, let us handle it,” Dash hissed in my ear.

  Mason wiped blood running down from his nose away with the back of his hand and held it up in front of him. “By the authority of the wardens, I arrest you, Rita Ryder.” A magic shield formed around her and tightened until it wavered mere millimeters over her skin.

  Voices called out our names from across the field. Finally, others from Honeysuckle had found us. I bent over and placed my hands above my knees, relieved the fight was over.

  Mason forced Rita to stand and waited for his colleagues to come help him. Dash touched my shoulder, and I jumped at the contact. I wanted to let him hug me, but his lack of clothes stopped me from accepting an embrace.

  “I should probably change back into my wolf so I don’t scandalize the population,” he joked, but no smile reached his lips.

  A shrill shriek echoed behind us, and a shockwave of power emanated from Rita’s body. She broke free of Mason’s hold and placed her hand on either side of the detective’s face.

  “I’d love nothing but to punch you back, Charli.” She spit blood at me. “But I think I’ll hit you where it’ll do the most damage. I’m stripping all of his memories of you out, and I’ll make it hurt.” She smirked at me, and her hands pulsed with power.

  Mason roared in agony, and my vision turned red. “You said you manipulated and killed because you were dying. Because you had nothing to lose. Well, I guess we girls have to stick together.”

  Not caring what happened to me anymore, I ran at full speed toward her. If she wanted to stop me, she’d have to take her focus off Mason to defend herself.

  Imitating Dash, I lowered my body stance and barreled into Rita’s chest, knocking her over. Adrenaline fueled my actions, and I flattened her on her back. My legs straddled her upper torso and my knees pinned her arms down so she couldn’t reach my head.

  “I don’t have to touch you to mess with your mind.” She struggled to say each word because my hands closed in around her throat, choking the life out of her.

  I was done playing the part of a pawn. Her magic had caused too much devastation. Only one solution came to mind, and I let go of her neck and placed both hands over her heart. Without hesitation, I cast my spell.

  “With all the harm that h
as been done, it’s time the awful game is won. Now is the time and now is the hour that I’ll strip you of your power. With my magic you will find. I’ll take your power of the mind. With all my heart, I will this switch, and now I win, you evil witch.”

  I called on every ounce of my strength, willing my magic to flow through my body and out of my hands. Rita cried out at my forced invasion, but I ignored each and every one of her pleas.

  With my eyes closed, I visualized my powers pouring into her body, our two magics mixing like oil and water. I pushed and fought to fill her full of mine and compelled hers to spill out of her.

  “No, you can’t do this!” Rita thrashed underneath me, but the spell bound me to her.

  The longer I stayed connected, the more I lost myself. My magic emptied out of me, leaving a vacant void needing to be filled. The darkness that ate away at her insides attempted to cross over to me. Weakened and drained, I couldn’t fight much longer. If this would be my last act, at least I did it to save those who meant the most to me.

  With my last breath, I uttered the one thing I hoped both Dash and Mason heard.

  “I love you.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “Charlotte Vivian Goodwin, you are in so much trouble.” Nana cuddled me into her shoulder, rocking me back and forth and kissing the top of my head.

  I snotted on her shirt. “Quit middle naming me.”

  The fact that I didn’t die surprised me. I hadn’t even passed out like I had too often in the past. It took my grandmother’s powerful magic to stop the progress of my spell. Big Willie and the other wardens took Rita into custody. All of Lucky’s barbecue team scoured the ground until Henry found the sapphire and Clint picked up the golden coin.

  “Do you want me to take you home?” Nana asked, letting go of me just enough so she could see my face.

  I shook my head. “I want to make sure Lucky gets back what’s his.”

  A gray wolf sauntered over beside us and nudged its head underneath my hand. I ran my fingers through Dash’s fur and scratched between his ears. His tongue lolled out in a wolfy grin, the only smile I imagined he could muster.

  Nana rubbed one of his ears. “You did good, Dash. We’ll meet you at The Rainbow’s End.”

  With a satisfied growl, he bounded off, no doubt to find some clothes to put on. I sighed and looked around me, searching all the faces in the scattering of people left.

  “If you’re looking for Mason, he’s not here. I sent him to Doc Andrew’s and called Mimsy to meet them there.” She watched me with concern.

  “Is he…did Rita erase…?” My lip quivered as I closed my eyes and replayed her cruelty that I couldn’t stop in time.

  Nana hugged me tighter and rubbed my back. “Hush, child. We won’t know how badly he’s affected for a little while. Until then, let me carry your troubles.”

  I lost all control and sobbed until my body ached from my sorrow. My knees buckled underneath me, and I almost went down. My grandmother called for help, and my assistant rushed over to hold me up. I’d been strong enough to beat Rita at her game, and now I could let go and allow others to help.

  At Lucky’s bar, all the members of his team plus Nana, Dash, and I surrounded the leprechaun. We leaned over him, still aghast at his appearance.

  “Either somebody start singin’ a sorrowful dirge for me and bury me body in the ground or give me back what’s mine and get on with it,” Lucky managed with labored breath.

  Clint held out the coin dangling from the golden chain for me to take. “You found it. You give it back to him.”

  I opened my mouth to protest, but closed it. The price required to win the prize might have come at too high a cost if Mason’s mind was lost. Laying the chain and coin on top of Lucky, I backed away. Henry placed the sapphire he’d recovered next to the coin.

  For a brief moment when nothing happened, I feared that Rita had drained all of the luck until there was nothing left. But the coin and the sapphire shimmered to life, and a bright glow poured out of both items and flowed over the leprechaun’s body. It hovered over him like sparkling particles of dust until the magic seeped into his body.

  Lucky drew in a long, hard breath and sat up. The color of his skin changed from gray to pale peach, and the leprechaun stretched as if getting up from a long nap. “Somebody bring me a pint of lager and a barbecue sandwich. Not necessarily in that order.” He pocketed the sapphire, and when he caught me watching, he winked.

  All of us cheered and whooped as loud as possible. His team did the best they could to pick Lucky up and carry him around the bar like a champion. Horatio hoisted him on his shoulders and Henry and Steve grabbed onto the leprechaun’s arms while Leland Chalmers Jr. and Sr. took the legs. Not wanting to be left out, Clint grabbed hold of the troll’s pant leg while they trotted around. Little did all of them know, they were toting around royalty.

  I wiped the happy tears from my eyes and leaned against Nana. “All hail the King,” I quipped.

  She poked me in my ribs with her elbow. “In a small town like ours, secrets are hard to keep. No doubt he’ll have to tell some tales sooner or later.”

  I counted the men having fun with their healed friend. “They’re one short. Where’s Billy Ray?”

  Nana’s smile broke and she cleared her throat. “Even though I told the silly man none of this was his fault, he feels responsible. I think he might be leaving Honeysuckle.”

  “Oh, Nana, I’m so sorry.” I took my turn to offer comfort and hugged her for all I was worth.

  She sniffed and wiped her tears and nose on my shirt. “It’s okay. I understand why he feels that way, and I’m not going to stop him from going.”

  “He’s not worth fighting for?” I asked.

  Nana regained her composure and held up her head. “Charli, you’ll learn that some loves are worth the battles and some you have to let go and let live. Either way, you’ll be far richer for having loved at all in the end.” She brushed a gentle finger down my cheek.

  A pounding on the door interrupted our private celebration. My grandmother stepped away and went to answer the insistent knocks.

  The sun’s light outlined the tall figure of Raif. “Is it possible for myself and the rest of the Fiery Fangs to enter? We would like an opportunity to talk with Lucky and his team.”

  Horatio placed the leprechaun down on the floor, and Lucky cleared his throat. “Go on. Come in, all of ye.”

  Nana and I moved out of the way to allow Raif and the other vampires to walk into the bar. Every single one of them carried food with them, and my stomach rumbled embarrassingly loud in hunger. I hoped whatever they had to discuss wouldn’t take long so we could dig in and eat.

  Raif motioned for Sam to stand next to him. The famous barbecue pit master held a large trophy in his hand. “We would count it an honor if you would display this award for best barbecue right here in your bar.”

  Lucky narrowed his eyes. “And why would that be?”

  “We mean no disrespect,” insisted Raif. “But we could not help but notice your team’s withdrawal from the competition. I am sure there is some good reason behind it, but it was a shame we could not compete together.”

  “Ye mean ye think we might have given ye a run for your money if we were at full steam?” Tension silenced all of us until Lucky chuckled. “Aye and I’m sure t’would have been a grand struggle for first place. Ms. Vivi, as you sit as the high seat on the town council, perhaps ye could put in a good word. We’ll be needin’ another barbecue event to fight for the top spot soon enough. Drinks are on me, lads and lasses. Let’s feast!”

  Forgetting my manners, I grabbed a barbecue sandwich and stuffed it in my mouth. The vinegar base of the sauce hit the back of my tongue while the cayenne and red pepper flakes added just the right level of spice.

  “Don’t you want some coleslaw on it?” Sam asked.

  “No thanks,” I muffled through my full mouth. “Maybe on the next one.”

  It took me three more
sandwiches, two scoopfuls of potato salad, and almost an entire pitcher of sweet tea before I started feeling close to normal again.

  Dash slammed the door open, his face stuck in a frown. He jabbed his thumb behind him. “You might want to prepare yourself for what’s coming.”

  Aunt Nora strutted in with her snooty friends following behind her. The dislikable suit guy surveyed the mess of food and our makeshift celebration with disdain. Next to his group, another less intimidating group filed into Lucky’s bar.

  Nana placed her plate on a nearby table and wiped her hands on a napkin. “Ladies and gentlemen, I was hoping we could resume our discussion at a later date. Right now, as you can see, we’re sharing in the honors of the top team.”

  Nora sniffed and crossed her arms. “I would think there were more important issues at hand than eating barbecue. This is Calhoun Ravenel, and he runs the witches council in Charleston. Cal, why don’t you start.”

  So, the suit had a name. He stepped forward, sticking his nose in the air. “After everything we’ve observed this weekend, we’ve come to the conclusion that Honeysuckle Hollow is a danger unto itself.”

  Lucky, feeling much better and back to his old self, approached the outsider. “And what danger might ye be referrin’ to?”

  “Well, the murder for one. And by all accounts, it isn’t the only one that has occurred in your supposedly safe small town,” Calhoun Ravenel countered.

  Nana stood her ground. “If you’d like to check with our sheriff, we’ve captured the witch responsible for Fireball’s death. In less than a day. And she ain’t from Honeysuckle either.” She tapped her foot on the ground, daring them to say something else.

  Aunt Nora snapped her fingers, and I cringed at the sound. “I heard that somebody got attacked on Friday night and, Vivi, you went out of your way to make sure nobody found out about it.”

  Although Lucky only came up to the guy in the suit’s midriff, his presence felt grander than all the authority figures in the room put together. Except Nana.