“Bay, you have a lot of feelings,” Landon said. “Most of them are spot on. You can’t walk into danger because you have a feeling that everything is going to be all right, though. It drives me crazy.”
“I didn’t think I was doing that.”
“I know,” Landon said, holding up his hand. “Just be careful. For me.”
“Oh, you two are so cute I could slap you both silly,” Chief Terry said, rolling his eyes. “Well, I would never slap Bay. I could slap you twice, though, Landon.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Landon’s tone was dry, but the hard edge to his shoulders started to give way. “I’m going to spank her later.”
“See, that will be just about enough of that,” Chief Terry said.
Landon ignored him. “What else are you going to do today?”
“I’m not sure what else there is to do right now,” Chief Terry said. “Until we have more information, we’re stuck.”
“Oh, look who it is!”
I cringed when I heard the voice. Lila, her face painted like a beauty pageant contestant, slipped into the open spot on the other side of the table from Landon and fixed everyone with a bright smile.
“How is everyone today?”
Chief Terry pressed his lips together while I lowered my face to keep from laughing. The situation was surreal, and Lila clearly didn’t pick up on a social cues.
“We were actually having a private discussion,” Landon said. “Police business. I’m sure you understand.”
Lila was unfazed. “How can you talk about police business in front of a civilian?”
“She’s part of the investigation,” Landon said, not missing a beat. “She’s a … .”
“Private consultant,” Chief Terry finished. “She helps us with a lot of investigations.”
“Oh, I’ve heard about that,” Lila said, reaching over and grabbing a French fry from Landon’s plate. Her proprietary nature with him was irksome. “Do you involve Bay in your investigations because she won’t keep her nose out of your business?”
“We involve Bay because she’s invaluable to our investigative team,” Landon said, sliding his plate from Lila and giving her a dirty look. “She has a specific skill set that we like to utilize.”
“I have skills,” Lila offered.
“That’s what the football team wrote on the bathroom wall senior year,” I grumbled, causing Chief Terry to snicker and Landon to struggle to keep from laughing out loud.
Lila ignored me. “Are you going to the festival this afternoon?”
“We are,” Landon said. “We’re looking forward to it.”
“Oh, good,” Lila said. “Maybe we can go on a few rides together.”
“I’ll be the only one giving him a ride,” I snapped. This time Landon couldn’t swallow his laugh, while Chief Terry cleared his throat uncomfortably.
“There’s no need to get all … territorial,” Lila said, rolling her eyes for Landon’s benefit. “She’s terrified I’m going to steal you away from her. I understand her worry. She’s really not the type of woman who could hold on to a man like you for very long. Still, she’s bordering on embarrassing.”
Landon glanced at me, his eyes filled with mirth. “Is that true? Are you feeling territorial?”
He had no idea. “I’m feeling something. I think it might be indigestion.”
Landon smirked. “There’s no need for Bay to feel territorial, Ms. Stevens,” he said. “No one is capable of encroaching on her territory.” He got to his feet and started gathering the containers of half-eaten food. After discarding them in a nearby trash receptacle, he returned to the table and extended his hand. “Now, I believe I promised my girl a day at the festival.”
I took his hand, color rushing to my cheeks as Lila glared at me.
“Have a nice day, Ms. Stevens.”
Seventeen
“What do you want to do first?” Landon asked, linking his fingers with mine as he studied the carnival. “Do you even like rides?”
“That’s all you’re going to say?”
Landon shifted to meet my gaze head on. “What do you want me to say?”
“You’re my hero. You know that, right?”
“Because I’m handsome and manly?” Landon teased.
“Because you refuse to play Lila’s game,” I answered honestly. “You have no idea how … great that is.”
“Bay, I’m not putting Lila off because I’m worried about your self-esteem,” Landon said. “Although, if I’m being honest, I wish you would yank her hair out of her head and call it a day.
“I don’t have any interest in Lila,” he continued. “I don’t have any interest in anyone who isn’t blonde and drives me to distraction.”
I pursed my lips, pleasure washing over me. “That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.”
“Then you need to hang around nicer people,” Landon said, his cheeks coloring slightly under my praise. “I’m not interested in Lila. Even if there was no you, I would never be interested in Lila. You’re more than I can handle. Trust me.”
“Are you angry with me for going out to talk to Sam?”
“I’m not angry with you, Bay,” Landon said. “I just don’t like worrying about you. I know you don’t purposely go looking for trouble – well, most of the time – but it does seem to find you. That’s what I don’t like.”
“I honestly didn’t think anything would come of it,” I said.
“I know,” Landon said. “You still didn’t tell me what you were doing this morning.”
“I figured you would demand I not go … or say you were going with me,” I said.
“I probably would have,” Landon conceded. “Why do you think that is?”
“Because you like being manly?” I tried, going for levity.
“Because I like knowing you’re safe,” Landon countered, although he graced me with a small smile. “I can’t control a lot in our world, Bay. I like to think I can keep you safe, though.”
“Sam didn’t threaten me.”
“That doesn’t mean he couldn’t have threatened you,” Landon said. “He could have hurt you.”
“He didn’t.”
“And that’s why I don’t have to kill him,” Landon said. He leaned over and gave me a quick kiss. “I don’t want to fight today. It’s a carnival. Let’s put it behind us.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” I said, rubbing my nose against his cheek briefly.
“Don’t do it again, though,” Landon cautioned. “Until we’ve officially cleared Sam, I don’t want you alone with him.”
“What about Clove?”
“Do you think we can keep her away from him?”
“No one could keep me away from you,” I said.
“Then we’ll have to watch her,” Landon said, tugging on a strand of my hair. “If it’s any consolation, I don’t think Sam would be stupid enough to hurt Clove. He’d be the prime suspect if something happened to her.”
“That doesn’t make me feel any better.”
“I know,” Landon said. “I don’t know what to tell you. For now, let’s just enjoy the festival. Did you find out if they have that kissing booth?”
“They don’t. I already told you.”
Landon’s smile was rueful. “I guess I’m going to have to settle for copping a feel on the Ferris wheel then.”
“I’m sure you’ll survive.”
“Come on,” Landon said, tugging my hand and dragging me deeper into the whirl of music, grinding gears, diesel fuel, game barkers and shouting children wheeling around the sky. “Let’s try to enjoy a few hours without any drama, shall we?”
That sounded pretty good to me.
“I NEED you to explain this to me,” Landon said, studying the sculpture curiously. “What is this supposed to be?”
I tilted my head to the side. “A ghost?”
“It doesn’t look like a ghost. It looks like a … blob.”
As part of the anniver
sary celebration, each business in Hemlock Cove had been tasked with creating a sculpture. The one the library members erected was … interesting. “I think they let the kids in the afternoon reading group create it. Annie mentioned something about it. She was bummed she wasn’t going to be able to see it at the festival.”
“Well, if that’s the case, I’m sorry for making fun of it,” Landon said. “If an adult made that, though, they need to go to the eye doctor and get a new prescription.”
While Landon was adapting to life in a small town, there were still times he seemed dumbfounded by the quaint absurdity of Hemlock Cove.
“I think it’s kind of cute,” I said.
“Then you need glasses.”
“My eyesight is perfectly fine, thank you,” I said. “Why do you think I started dating you?”
Landon grinned. “If you wanted to get some glasses and play ‘naughty librarian’ I’m totally up for it, by the way.”
“I’ll consider it.”
“You should feed me bacon at the same time.”
“You’re sick.”
Landon slipped his arm around my waist. “If all the businesses made one of these, did Clove and Thistle do one for Hypnotic?”
I nodded.
“Where is it?”
I narrowed my eyes and scanned the fair. “I think it’s over there.”
Landon led me in the direction I pointed, and when he caught sight of Thistle’s sculpture he let loose with an impressed whistle. “Wow.”
The witch sculpture was simple, and yet Thistle had still gone all out. When she’d announced she was going to weld something, our mothers were understandably nervous. Most of Thistle’s artistic endeavors as a child doubled as fire hazards. What Thistle accomplished in a simple week, though, was breathtaking.
“Did Thistle do this herself?” Landon asked, moving forward so he could run his hand over the dark metal.
“She’s really amazing when she wants to be,” I said.
“She could sell these.”
“When the festival is over, she’s taking it out to The Overlook,” I said. “Twila wants to put it in that area by the big oak in the front yard.”
“It’s … beautiful.” Landon shifted his eyes to me. “Can you weld?”
“My idea of art is putting whipped cream on a cookie.”
“We’ll play with the whipped cream later,” Landon said, winking at me.
“Oh, this is just so … tacky.”
My shoulders slumped when I heard Lila’s voice. Was she following us? I turned and glared in her direction. “You’re tacky.”
Lila ignored me. “Don’t you think that’s ugly?” she asked, sidling up to Landon. “It’s so … depressing.”
Landon shot me a reassuring look. “I think it’s beautiful,” he said. “I think Thistle could be a world-famous artist someday if she wants to be. I had no idea she was capable of this. I knew she could paint, and her candles are really cool, but this is a whole other level.”
“You should see her stained glass,” I said.
“She can do stained glass?” Now Landon was doubly impressed.
“She did the windows in the stairwell at the Dandridge.”
“Why didn’t tell me that?”
“I didn’t think Sam was in the mood to talk about interior design when we were out there yesterday,” I said.
Lila’s gaze bounced between us, her nose clearly out of joint for being ignored. “So, Landon, tell me about yourself.”
“Well, I’m with the FBI,” Landon said. “Oh, and I have a girlfriend.”
“Are you an only child?”
Landon moved away from Lila and back to my side. “What do you want to look at next?”
“Oh … um … .”
“I want to go to the funhouse,” Lila announced.
“Have fun,” Landon said, keeping his gaze focused on me. “How about some ice cream?”
“I’m still kind of full from lunch,” I said, watching Lila’s face turn ever more crimson out of the corner of my eye.
“Then we’ll share,” Landon said.
Lila took a step toward us. “I would love some ice cream.” She lurched forward, offsetting her balance, and tumbling to the ground. “What the … ?”
“Walk much?” I fought the urge to laugh.
“I … I must have stepped into a hole or something,” Lila said. She extended her hand in Landon’s direction. “Help me up?”
Landon sighed, but he reached forward and pulled Lila to her feet. When she tried to cling to his hand, he yanked it away. “Better?”
“I don’t know what happened,” Lila said. “Maybe it’s just being in your presence.”
“Then you should probably avoid being around me,” Landon said. “Come on, Bay. Let’s get some ice cream.”
We turned to leave, but Lila was close on our heels. “Chocolate is my favorite. What’s your favorite? Oomph!”
Lila pitched forward again. She managed to maintain her balance, but only because she grabbed onto a nearby bench to stop from falling.
“Are you drunk?” I asked.
“Of course not,” Lila said. “I … there must be a lot of holes around here. Maybe the town has a mole infestation.”
I furrowed my brow as I watched Lila straighten. Something was off here – other than the obvious. “Maybe you should sit down on the bench and rest,” I suggested. “The sun must be getting to you.” Or karma was finally catching up with her.
“I want ice cream,” Lila said. “We can all get it together. It will give me a chance to get to know Landon better.”
“Oh, I can’t wait for that,” Landon deadpanned. He grabbed my hand and started leading me toward the food trucks. “This wasn’t what I had in mind when I suggested an afternoon at the fair together.”
“Do you think … ?” I broke off when Lila suddenly raced forward and bumped into a tree on the far side of the path.
“What is happening?” Lila’s face was red with exertion.
Uh-oh. I scanned the area. I wasn’t one-hundred percent sure what I was looking for, but I had an idea. A hint of movement behind the photo booth caught my attention. “Um … stay here,” I told Landon. “Watch her.”
“Why do I have to watch her?” Landon raised his eyebrows. “She’s acting crazy.”
“I have a feeling I know why,” I said. I started to move toward the photo booth. “Oh, if she touches you, I’m going to break her hand,” I warned. “She’s starting to drive me crazy with the touchy-feely stuff.”
“If you’re gone too long, I might not be able to fight her off,” Landon said. “Women can’t help themselves around me.”
“She’d better be able to help herself,” I said. I increased my pace, and when I rounded the corner of the photo booth, I wasn’t surprised to find Thistle and Aunt Tillie kneeling on the ground and laughing maniacally. “What are you two doing?”
“I … nothing,” Aunt Tillie said, trying to hide something in the folds of her shirt.
I glanced over my shoulder when Lila grunted again, watching as her arms flung out wide as she tilted to the side. I realized what Aunt Tillie had hidden in her shirt. “Is that the poppet you made with the hair you stole from Lila the other night?”
“That is a horrible thing to accuse me of,” Aunt Tillie sniffed.
I waited.
Aunt Tillie sighed and rolled her eyes. She withdrew the poppet from its hiding place and held it up so I could see. The doll was simple, nothing more than some hay tied together with yarn and long strands of dark hair affixed to the top.
“What did you do to it?” I asked, genuinely curious.
“I just cast a motion spell on it,” Aunt Tillie said.
“So you can make Lila do things?”
Aunt Tillie nodded, her eyes sparkling. “Do you want to try it?”
Of course not. That would be … . “Give it to me.” I took the doll and studied it for a second. “How do I make it work?”
“What do you want her to do?” Thistle asked.
“I don’t know. Can we make her dance like Michael Jackson?”
Aunt Tillie furrowed her brow. “He did that moon-walking thing, right?”
I nodded.
“I don’t know. Let’s see.” Aunt Tillie took the doll back and scissored the legs back and forth.
I turned back to watch Lila. She didn’t look as though she had rhythm, but she did appear to be dancing. Kind of.
“Oh, make her bend over and try to look through her legs,” I suggested.
Aunt Tillie obliged, and the sight was so hilarious to Thistle that she fell backward with laughter.
Landon had apparently tired of watching Lila because he was heading in our direction.
“Uh-oh,” I said.
“Don’t worry. It’s not like he can arrest us,” Aunt Tillie said. “No one would ever believe him.”
“Do you want to tell me what’s going on here?” Landon asked, rounding the corner and pulling up short when he saw the three of us together. “Is that the puppet thing you said she was going to make?”
“Poppet,” I corrected.
“Whatever,” Landon said, glancing down at the doll. “Is that why she’s acting that way? She looks drunk.”
“That’s the point,” Aunt Tillie said. “She’s causing a scene. People will be making fun of her all day.”
“She could be hurt,” Landon chided. “Can’t you think of something that’s a little more … I don’t know … less dangerous and yet equally as funny?”
He’s such a killjoy sometimes.
“I can,” Aunt Tillie said. She dug into her purse for a moment, returning with a pin.
“What are you going to do with that?” Landon asked. “Is it like a voodoo doll? Can you kill her with that?”
“I’m not going to kill her,” Aunt Tillie said. “That would ruin all of my fun.” She flipped the doll over and ran the pin up the backside of it before peering around the side of the photo booth.
Landon followed her gaze. “What did that do?”
The sound of fabric ripping moved across the small area.
“Was that … ?”
“Omigod!” Lila wailed and grabbed the back of her pants. “What is happening?”
“Holy crap! That lady just split her pants.”
Witch Me Luck (Wicked Witches of the Midwest Book 6) Page 13