The Witch Squad: A Witch Squad Cozy Mystery #1
Page 18
Holly, Jax and Sweets looked at me in horror while Alba laughed.
“What? You’ve never had a troubled childhood? Sheesh, thought we were in a no judging circle here,” I grumbled as I picked at my scrambled eggs.
Suddenly I heard the murmur of women’s voices go from a subdued morning gossip session to a full out celebrity sighting buzz. I looked up to see what had caused the sudden craze and saw the top of a cowboy hat moving through the crowd.
In seconds the bobbing hat had morphed into a full on cowboy, complete with belt buckle, boots, and a country boy so hot he just about knocked my socks off.
“Howdy, Mercy Habernackle,” he mockingly drawled as he tipped his hat to me in front of the whole table and truly in front of the whole school.
I felt my face blush crimson red. “Howdy, Houston Brooks,” I gave him a shy cautious smile. “You’re a little late for breakfast. Is there something I can help you with?”
“I’ve come to collect on your bill,” he smirked.
“My bill?”
“I do believe you owe me one.”
“I don’t recall…” I began nervously.
“Ladies.” he said without taking his hazel eyes off of mine. “What did Miss Habernackle here promise me?”
On cue, Holly giggled. “She said she owes you one.”
Sweets nodded with an enormous smile on her face. “Yup! I was there. You owe him one, Mercy.”
Alba nearly spit into her breakfast. “Ha, the man has a point, Red.”
I covered my face with my hands, I could feel all the jealous eyes of the ladies in the courtyard burning on my face. I sucked in a deep breath and looked at Houston again. “Ok, fine. A deal is a deal. I promised I owe you one. What, pray tell, do I owe you?”
“I thought you’d never ask,” he grinned. “I’d like to take you on a date tonight. 7:30 sharp. Wear something pretty, no sneakers, we’re going somewhere nice.”
I rolled my eyes playfully. “I’m afraid I can’t go out with someone who won’t let me wear my sneakers on a date.” I laughed.
I heard Holly suck in her breath, causing me to relent slightly.
“There’s a time and a place, Mercy Habernackle, and tonight, I intend to knock your socks off, so you might as well leave them at home.”
“Fine. 7:30?”
“Yes ma’am. I’ll meet you in the courtyard,” he said. “I’ll look forward to it. Have a nice day. Ladies.” He nodded his head at our table before turning on the heel of his cowboy boots and heading back to Warner Hall.
“Eeee,” squealed Sweets. “I love it when I don’t even have to cast a spell and two people work out.”
“Ha!” I harrumphed. “Work out? We’re just going out on a date, and only because I owe him one! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go get my books ready for class. I’ll talk to you ladies in class.”
I quickly scampered away back towards Winston Hall and the safety of my dorm room. Before I got there, a familiar presence halted me at the bottom of the stairs.
“Morgan! You’re back, I wondered if I’d ever see you again,” I said, smiling at her ghost broadly.
“I had to come back. My parents are able to plan my funeral service now. I’ve been hanging with them all night. When they got the call telling them that Oliver was my killer and that he was dead, they felt so relieved. They cried, but they said they knew that I could be at peace now.”
Her words filled my heart with a tremendous amount of joy, that I couldn’t stop myself from smiling. “I’m so glad to hear that, Morgan.”
“They were right, Mercy. I can be at peace now,” she said, fingering the tiny necklace at her neck. Her spirit began to flicker in front of me, like an old black and white television program that needed the antenna adjusted.
“I think you’re going, Morgan. I’ll miss you,” I said quickly before she disappeared.
“I’ll miss you too, Mercy. I’ll watch over my parents, tell them that someday. And that I love them very much,” she said before her light flickered out entirely and just like that, Morgan was gone.
I smiled quietly to myself and stood staring at the place that she had been standing for several long seconds before continuing up to my dorm room where I was finally able to lean up against my closed door and let out the nervous breath I had been holding.
“What’s with you?” I heard come from the window.
Sneaks was standing on the sill, surveying my body language. “Mom!” I hollered. “Quit spying!”
The cat jumped down off the sill onto my desk and curled her tail around her. “I’m hardly spying, Mercy. I’m trying to make sure you’re alright after everything that just happened.”
“Yes Mom, I’m fine. Thanks for sending Stone after us. There’s no way we could have defeated Oliver without you. I need to work harder on my abilities. There’s so much I don’t know.”
“That’s why you’re here, sweetie. To learn. I’m glad that’s finally getting through to you. I can tell. College has been good for you already,” she purred.
I suddenly wished she were actually standing in front of me so I could give her a big hug. Instead I opted to pick up Sneaks and carry her to my bed where I curled up next to her and patted her soft black fur quietly. “I suppose it has been. It’s been stressful though, I’m looking forward to things calming down around here.”
Mom hesitated for several long seconds. “Mercy, I know you want things to calm down, but there’s something important I need to tell you. I have a secret that I’ve kept from you your whole life. I was going to take this secret to my grave, but something has changed and now I feel that I must warn you.”
My heart dropped. I didn’t know if I could handle something else after everything we’d just been through. “Mom, you’re scaring me,” I said, nervously nibbling at my fingernails.
“When I was young. Younger than you are now, I did something really stupid,” she admitted.
My mind raced. What could she possibly have done that she’d have the need to tell me right now? “Ok…?” I sucked in a deep breath and held it.
“I was young and stupid. And I met someone. He was older and extremely handsome and he was a wizard. The magic that that man could do! Oh, he was amazing. And I was smitten, I’d found the love of my life! I wanted to run off with him and marry him, but my mother wouldn’t let me. She didn’t like that he was older and more worldly than I and she didn’t like that he was so powerful. So, on my 17th birthday, she performed a binding spell. She cursed us both so that we would never be able to speak to each other again. For months I cried and cried and ignored everything and everyone around me.”
“Mom, why are you tell me all of this?” I asked her nervously.
“And one day, I woke up feeling very strange. I didn’t know what was happening, and I went to my mother. I was still angry with her about binding me, but I was also scared and I didn’t have anyone else to turn to. My stomach was cramping horribly and I felt sick like I’d never felt before. She took me to the hospital where it was discovered that I was pregnant, Mercy.”
I felt like my heart stopped beating. I held my breath again, waiting for her to finish her story.
“And the baby was coming. At any moment, I’d deliver a child. My mother was furious with me. How had I not known? How had she not known? We’d all missed the signs. But a baby was coming. That day, I’ll never forget it, I gave birth to a son.”
A son, I had a brother?!
“He was beautiful, Mercy. He had a shock of midnight black hair and tiny dimples formed in his cheeks when he cried. He looked just like his father. The minute my mother saw him and saw how he resembled his father, she took him from me. Just like that,” I could hear my mother sniffling, holding back her tears. “She plucked him from my arms and took him. She told me she was taking him to the nursery so that they could watch over him and I could get some sleep. Of course, I protested, I wanted to hold my son. The son that the man I was in love with had given me, but my mothe
r refused, insisting I get some sleep and she would bring him back later in the day.”
“What happened to him?” I asked in a hushed tone, scared to hear what had happened to my brother.
“Your dear old granny, the one you love so much, never brought my son back. When I woke up, my mother was gone. I asked the nurse to bring me my baby. She went to the nursery and came back and said that my mother had given him up for adoption. I argued that I hadn’t consented to such a thing, but because I wasn’t 18 yet, she was my legal guardian and had the right to give my baby away without my permission.”
I sucked in my breath. I couldn’t believe it, how could my dear, sweet, granny have done such a wicked thing? My poor mother! What she’d gone through! I couldn’t imagine.
“And so, that was it, Mercy. I went home from the hospital the next day without my son. For a year I cried and begged and pleaded for my mother to tell me where my son was, to let me have him, let me see him. She refused day after day. And so finally, the begging and the pleading died down. I had to move on with my life. Once my son was a year old, I knew that I’d only be interfering in his life if I ever sought him out. And so I let him go.”
I sniffed back the sobs that were raking my body. “Mom, why are you telling me this now?”
“He’s come to find me, Mercy. Your brother, he found me. He was waiting for me when I came home from delivering you to college. I didn’t want to tell you because you were so preoccupied this week, but he wants to meet you Mercy. The minute he found out he had a sister, he asked to meet you.”
“I have a brother that wants to meet me?” I asked, my mind was in a state of shock.
“Yes. And he’s on his way to see you. He should be there soon, today or tomorrow. I need to warn you. He’s special Mercy, very special. You must promise me that you’ll keep an eye on him at all times.”
“How is he special?” I asked nervously.
“You’ll see Mercy. Just promise me that you’ll keep an eye on him.”
I nodded my head. With one solemn vow, I changed the course of my life forever, “I promise Mother.”
{About the Author}
Hello! I’m M. I live in the Midwest. I enjoy my house full of family, including my wonderfully amazing husband, four beautiful daughters, two handsome sons, and an amazing sidekick cat, who keeps me company all day while I dream up my crazy and exciting stories!
I love writing, gardening, football games, and DIY projects. Oh, and Pinterest. Yeah, I’m addicted to Pinterest. I love chatting with fans, so feel free catch up with me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
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All the best,
XOXO - M