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

by Bella Falls

  The leprechaun crossed his arms. “Oh, ye may have heard about the scuffle I was in. Tis no surprise when you mix whiskey and grillin’ together that a little shenanigans might occur.” He slapped his chest. “As ye can see for yourselves, I’m fit as a fiddle.”

  Calhoun Ravenel looked around the room. “Who did you get into a scuffle with?” His eyes landed on Horatio and his mouth drooped into a frown. “Perhaps whatever…person you fought with should be dealt with in the strictest manner. Of course, there would be a dramatic decrease in potential problems and bad influences if there were a purer citizenry here.”

  Dash growled. “I’d think twice about saying words like that in here. Look around you. Do you think any of us are less pure than exactly what we are? And if you’re pure anything, then I’d say you’re a genuine ass—”

  “I’ve got this, Dash, thank you,” Nana interrupted. “Cal, I won’t stand here and listen to your prejudiced drivel. Say what you’re going to say to the regional council members here and let’s get on with it.”

  “Fine.” The outsider turned to face the other group. “As it stands, we members of the Charleston witches council believe that Honeysuckle’s council be put in review while our district absorbs it under out leadership.”

  Nana held up her hand. “Before you make any decisions, understand that I will file an immediate injunction on the proposition and appeal it.”

  “On what basis?” one of Calhoun’s fellow council members asked.

  “Is idiocy an okay answer?” Clint piped up.

  Light flooded the room when the door opened again. Matt walked in, surveyed his surroundings, and met our grandmother’s gaze. Instead of concern spreading on his face, he smiled with great amusement.

  “Hey, y’all. Looks like I’ve come at the perfect time.” My brother stood next to Nana, posturing opposite our aunt and the rest of the various council members.

  “Matthew, I’m sure whatever you have to say can wait until the regional council gives us its ruling.” Aunt Nora cast an icy glance and sniffed again.

  Although I’d made peace and started a burgeoning friendship with her daughter, my cousin Clementine, I still had no desire to renew any connection with my aunt. I’d have to settle on the idea that she and my mother shared very little DNA. That or, as Nana always said, blood doesn’t make a family. Love does. And I felt quite the opposite of that emotion for the treacherous woman standing on the wrong side.

  “What did they promise you, Leonora, for your loyalty to them and your betrayal of us?” Nana asked.

  Aunt Nora smirked. “You’ll find out soon enough, Vivian.”

  Matt sighed in relief. “So before anybody says anything else, I think it’s my duty as a warden to inform all of you that we’ve let Earl, Cleetus, and the rest of the drunken fools go home.”

  Horatio stepped into view and held up his hand. When Nana called on him, he said, “Perhaps I misunderstood you, but are you implying that the ones who committed an assault upon my person as well as Miss Charli’s during our ventures in winged competition have been released from their imprisonment?”

  Most of the council members murmured in shock at my verbose friend’s intellect. No doubt some of them had to concentrate hard to understand what he asked to begin with. Maybe I should conjure up a dictionary for them to use.

  Matt held up a finger. “I said we let them go. I did not, however, say they went completely scott free. Once they sobered up, they struck a deal that allowed them to be let off with time served and the whole list of incidents placed on their permanent records.”

  I’d have to ask my brother later if the wardens had made a similar offer to Owen and his crew.

  “What deal is that?” Nana asked, setting my brother up.

  Matt did his best to sound like Horatio. “In exchange for lesser charges, the cluster of scoundrels hereto forthwith and such, captured and imprisoned at the warden station, doth offered us the names of the persons currently present who lined their pockets with coin to create such chaos as to cause embarrassment and misfortunes for Honeysuckle and its leadership.”

  “In other words?” I pressed, holding back a giggle.

  Matt wasn’t as successful as me. He laughed as he explained, “It means they gave us the names of pretty much all of y’all from the Charleston council. You paid them to cause trouble. They were already prejudiced idiots to begin with, but you paid them double to take everything up a notch, didn’t you?”

  Calhoun Ravenel lost a little of his composure and confidence. “You can’t prove any of those foul accusations.”

  Big Willie’s large frame took up most of the door when he entered. “Oh, I think we can. We’ve already got someone checking their bank accounts. And one of them might not be as stupid as you took them for. Turns out, he recorded one of you giving the group directions on exactly what to do. Maybe we should take you down to the station and compare the recording to your voices?”

  The contingency from Charleston panicked and whispered among themselves. Calhoun turned his back on Aunt Nora, leaving her standing on her own.

  When he finished trying to control his group, he nodded once at the regional council members. “We withdraw our petition with immediacy.” Without waiting for anything else to happen, he headed for the door.

  “Wait, Cal, what about me? You said you would make sure I took control here,” my aunt wailed, waving her hand.

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Calhoun Ravenel dismissed without even looking at her. He disappeared into the afternoon sun and, I hoped, out of our town forever.

  Aunt Nora’s supposed friends abandoned her, leaving her to pick up the pieces of her poor choices. She glanced around the room at all of us staring at her with pity mixed with loathing. “What are y’all looking at?”

  “A loser,” Sam Ayden said, earning himself a few laughs and slaps on his back.

  She stormed out of the bar with her head still held high. But my aunt had nowhere to go where her traitorous acts wouldn’t follow. And in a small town like ours, Aunt Nora might pay the price for her actions a very, very long time.

  The small group of outsiders still left in the bar murmured to each other. Their leader, a shorter man than the rest, stepped forward. “Miss Vivi, I know I should be more formal about this, but if I told you that Honeysuckle Hollow remains a sanctuary city under its own leadership, can we have some of that delectable barbecue?”

  Today would be full of celebrations for lots of reasons. Everyone cheered, and Raif escorted the council members from the Southeast region over to the table of food while Lucky got behind the bar to pour drinks. I chuckled to myself at the irony that after everything that happened, we all were left partying at The End.

  “That was a little too close,” Matt exclaimed, wiping his hand across his forehead for dramatic effect.

  Nana wrapped her arms around both of us. “Well, Cal thought he had me, but he doesn’t do his homework. The lead council member there is Bartholomew Keene. He’s half gnome and half witch. If anyone appreciated what kind of community we’ve built here, he did. Leonora, Calhoun, and his cronies never had a chance. But I’m glad we took care of things on our own anyway.”

  All of a sudden, my stomach dropped and I lost my appetite for food or partying. There was one person who hadn’t made it out fully intact.

  Dash brought over a glass of sweet tea. He handed it to me despite my protests. “Drink it down. You’re gonna need the energy.”

  Because of his tone and my general exhaustion, I did as I was told for once. When I was finished, he took the glass back.

  “I got a text from Georgia. They need you to come to Doc’s right now.” The wolf shifter wouldn’t look me in the eyes, and I knew something bad waited for me there.

  Matt squeezed my hand three times and handed me off to Nana. All of the hugs she could give couldn’t chase away the fear that consumed me.

  “Chin up, Charli Bird. I think the time to choose whether or not you wa
nt to fight is here.” She cradled my chin. “Be strong like the Goodwin woman I know you to be.”

  I nodded, unable to tell her that if I lost the man I now knew I would choose, that it would weaken me forever.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Dash gave me a ride on the back of his motorcycle to Doc Andrew’s office. Once upon a time, feeling the wind whip through my hair while zipping around on the back of his bike would have made me happy. The closer we got, the more guilt burdened me.

  We entered the examination room and found Mimsy talking with Lily and Lavender as well as Georgia and Ginny. All of them wore grim expressions.

  Doc acknowledged Dash with a handshake and approached me. “These fine ladies have assisted me as much as they can to assess how much damage Rita inflicted before you stopped her. As of now, we’re at a loss.”

  “Then why am I here?” I uttered, garnering the silent attention from the group of psychic witches.

  “Because you have the deepest connection to him,” Dash said. “I suggested that you might be the only one to truly help him.”

  My heart ached, knowing that things could have been so different if he’d never returned to Red Ridge. But the fact that he did made him a man I admired. And it brought us new friends who wanted to help.

  I drew in a shaky breath. “What do you want me to do?”

  “Come here, child.” Mimsy held out her hand for me to take and drew me closer to the head of the bed where Mason lay asleep. “I’m going to wake him up, and then we’ll see what happens when he lays eyes on you.”

  “If y’all don’t mind, I’ll wait outside.” Dash left the room with quick steps.

  Georgia touched my arm. “What happened with Rita combined with the stress of what he’s already been through, it messed with him.” She touched her temple to let me know that Dash couldn’t take much more.

  I wanted to tell her I couldn’t either, but Mason had already suffered from my cowardice before. For him, I would be brave and stay.

  Mimsy placed her hand over Mason’s forehead. “I’m waking him up. Now.”

  The detective blinked his eyes open and shut several times. “Where am I?”

  Doc answered first, “You’re in my office, Detective.”

  “Am I hurt?” Mason attempted to sit up, but the doctor pushed him back on the bed. “I don’t feel injured.”

  Mimsy pushed her body against mine, keeping me from running from the truth. “We’ve brought Charli to come visit you.”

  I offered a weak smile and wave. “Hey, Mason.”

  His eyes widened a little. “Hey.”

  Relief rushed through me, and I attempted to hold his hand. “You had us worried.”

  “That’s nice.” Mason smiled. “But why would you worry for me? You don’t even know me.”

  All of the air got sucked out of the room and the bottom fell out underneath me. My greatest fear came true. Rita had been successful at stripping his memories of me away. I let go of my grip on him and stepped back.

  “I don’t know why,” he continued. “But when I look at you, I feel…sad.”

  Mimsy laid her hand on his forehead again, and he slipped into a peaceful sleep.

  Turning around, I grabbed Lily in desperation. “When I stopped Rita, I pushed my magic into her, like Mason and I had swapped powers. Did any of her psychic magic flow into me? Do I have the power to save him?”

  Mimsy forced me to let go of her granddaughter. “Give me your hands, child.” She bent her head and mumbled some words.

  Lily and Lavender touched her shoulders, and Georgia and Ginny touched the cousins to give Ms. Blackwood a boost. All of them closed their eyes, letting their magic flow through each other.

  “I’m sorry,” said Mimsy. “But I don’t feel any psychic talents in you at all.” She cast a sideways glance at her granddaughters.

  Lavender’s lower lip quivered. “Oh, Charli,” she whispered.

  “What? What did you see?” None of them would answer, and I yelled, “tell me now!”

  Lily cleared her throat. “Your grandmother warned us that in using the kind of spell that you did, you might have given up your own magic.”

  I remembered pushing my powers into Rita to empty hers. But when Mason gave me his magical flying skills, he absorbed my magic. When the spell ran its course, my talents reappeared again.

  “So Rita must possess it,” I exclaimed. “We need to go to the warden station and get it back.”

  Doc Andrews ushered us out of the room, and Dash joined us. The doctor did his best to calm me. “Big Willie had me do a medical examination on Rita. Other than a broken nose and a black eye, she was fine. When I specifically searched for her magic skills, I didn’t find any. Not even yours.”

  I waved my hands in the air. “So take me to another exam room and search me.”

  Doc scratched his bald head. “I could, but I trust Ms. Mimsy and her assessment. It could be that after all that you did to save Lucky’s life, you may have lost your special talents. Or they may return to you.”

  “That’s not very specific, Doc,” complained Dash.

  “I’m a healer not a miracle worker.” The doctor hugged his clipboard to his chest. “Listen, the only thing that’s going to give us more definitive answers is time. Time for Mason’s brain to heal. Time for your powers to renew. Or time for both of you to adjust to how your life will be in the long run.” He squeezed my shoulder and left.

  “We’ll keep working with him, Charli. I promise,” Lily uttered, holding her grandmother’s hand. “Granny’s already coming up with ways to try and increase Lav’s and my skills.”

  “And you shouldn’t let this make you doubt how you feel about Mason,” insisted Lavender. “His aura is wobbly, but I don’t think all is lost for the two of you. Not yet.” My friends followed their grandmother outside.

  Georgia stayed behind and handed me the spell phone she borrowed. “Give this back to that guy for us, please.”

  I waved her off. “Henry can get himself a new one. Keep that one for you, and before you leave town, have Dash make Lee put together a stash of them for y’all to try when you get home.”

  Ginny snatched the phone out of her sister’s hand, playing with it. Dash told the sisters that his brother was waiting for them back at the campsite. Making sure one of the cousins would take me home, he left without saying anything to me. His motorcycle roared to life and thundered away in the distance.

  Georgia held me back as we walked outside together. “Dash told us that the leprechaun’s okay thanks to you. Now I understand a lot of the stories he told us. You know, he’s still trying to find a way out of his blood pact and his engagement. There may still be a chance for the two of you if things don’t work out.” She glanced at the door to the examination room where Mason rested. “I don’t envy your life right now.”

  I kept my eyes on the barrier separating me from the detective. “When you were in there, did you see…were there any…?”

  Georgia nodded. “He has a very friendly spirit that hovers near him. She says she’s doing her best to bring back her boy.”

  For the first time since I got to the doctor’s office, I smiled in genuine relief. “That must be Marian, the social worker who found him when he was in the foster system. She was the biggest mother-figure in his life. He was engaged to her daughter at one point.”

  Memories of our dinner together that one night where he tore down all the walls between us haunted me. Maybe I should have taken Rita up on her offer to strip away all my experiences with both men. Then my life would be much simpler, right?

  “Don’t give up on love, Charli. It’s the most powerful thing in this universe, and it can create miracles. Hold on tight to it.” Georgia embraced me in a warm hug.

  “You sound like my Nana,” I said.

  “That’s because my Meemaw used to say it to us when I was knee high to a grasshopper.” She patted my back.

  I parted in friendship with the two sisters, inviti
ng them to return to Honeysuckle anytime they wanted to, with or without Dash, and accepting their returned invite to visit their mountains.

  Lily drove me home in silence. I watched the world go by outside the window, wondering how much time was necessary to get back to normal. I should be back at Lucky’s dancing, drinking, and celebrating the big win of stopping Rita from hurting anybody else. Instead, I was heading home to lick my wounds.

  I’d waited too long to make a clear choice, and now, I no longer had any options. The universe had a perverted sense of humor throwing that kind of karma my way.

  But I was a Goodwin woman, and we never gave up, even when every molecule in me thought that the best idea today. If Mason truly didn’t remember me, then I would do everything I could to win him over. I was sixty percent confident I could rekindle his love for me again. Maybe fifty-seven. Okay, I had a fifty-fifty shot, but that was better than none at all. We could find new ways to enjoy spending time together or we could retrace our steps and use our former experiences as a trigger. Either way, one thing was for certain.

  Brooms would be used for sweeping and our feet would stay planted on the ground.

  Epilogue

  Although the girls wanted to stay with me one more night, I sent them all home. I knew how bad things must be when Nana brought me a chocolate chess pie. She only made me those when she knew I needed some serious cheering up. I assured her I’d be okay and reminded her that Beau would be coming home tonight so I wouldn’t be alone. When she left, I texted my vampire roommate and asked him to stay with one of his many lady friends.

  Sadness smothered me like a wet blanket I couldn’t shake off. Grabbing a fork and the pie tin, I shuffled out my front door and sat down on the top step of my porch, listening to the cicadas chirping away.

  Peaches popped her head up from the rocking chair she napped in and stretched. Hopping down, she trotted over to me and rubbed her orange furry head on my elbow. I picked her up with one hand and plopped her into my lap. She turned a couple of circles and settled down while I scooped a bite of the pie into my mouth.