by Unknown
So she’s a girl.
I shoot Carlotta a look for being wrong about the gender. But in her defense, I’m not sure I’d be able to tell either.
“I’m sorry.” Keelie grimaces. “Did you have to give her up to a zoo or something?”
“Oh no.” She gives a mournful laugh. “My dad was the zoo. He ran an animal preserve, and along with that the local zoo used our land to nurse some of the sicker animals back to health, too. Teddy was born in our care. But she didn’t die young. Verity decided she wanted Teddy for herself, and, well, I couldn’t refuse her a thing.” That pleasant look drips right off her face and she glowers a moment at the thought.
Huh. I’ll have to bring this up to Noah. After all, it was Sugar’s bracelet we found in the snow just outside the conservatory where Verity ventured to have a breath of fresh air—and apparently eat a poisoned raspberry tart. Although toxicology is still looking into that as we speak.
Evie shrieks again and we collectively look in her direction.
“One million five hundred thousand!” She hops up and down and sends her hair springing like coils.
“Followers,” I say as I look to Juliet and Sugar. “That’s my daughter. She seems to be a viral sensation at the moment, and I’m not sure why.” I’m not sure I want to know why either. But as her mother, I’ll make sure I know every dicey detail before the sun goes down.
Sugar taps her fingers to her lips. “Evie is your daughter?”
My brows arch. “You know Evie?”
The blonde gives a nervous giggle. “Well, I’m afraid almost everyone knows Evie, or at least they will. The very last picture Verity posted to her Insta Pictures account last night was of herself and your daughter. She introduced your daughter to the world and mentioned that she would be passing the baton to her one day.”
That’s right. I give a few quick blinks as I recall the exact moment it happened.
Juliet’s shoulders jerk. “Wow, I guess she’s passed the baton a little sooner than she thought.”
A worried look crosses Sugar’s face. “If you don’t mind, I’d love to have a word with your daughter. I feel as if she should know what’s happening.”
“Go right ahead,” I say as Sugar takes off in Evie’s direction.
A series of popping noises come from baby Bear’s bottom, and Mom holds him out at an arm’s length.
“Oh, come on, Miranda,” Carlotta teases. “Afraid of a little thunder from down under?”
“Come here, you,” Keelie coos. “Did baby Bear make a stinky?” She wrinkles her nose my way. “That’s how I know he belongs to his daddy.” She winks as she and Mom scuttle off, arguing over who’s going to change the baby’s dirty diaper.
Carlotta holds out her phone. “I gotta get Harry on the horn.” She winks my way. “Now that I’m a bestseller, I’m feeling a little frisky. Me thinks this author is about to get herself a whole lotta lovin’ tonight. We’ll call it research for my follow-up book.” She takes off, already tapping into her phone.
I step in a notch toward Juliet. “Fun fact about Keelie: she married my old high school boyfriend. His name is Otis, but he goes by Bear. He made sure I cried myself to sleep each night for three years straight. He was a horrible cheat. But he’s cleaned up his two-timing ways. Or at least he better have. He’s married to my best friend.”
We share a warm laugh on Bear’s account.
Bear really is a good guy now that he’s on the straight and narrow. He owns his own construction company and he’s the one Everett and I hired to build our dream home on the land where our former homes burned to the ground. Instead of rebuilding two separate houses, we’re building one mega structure. We were neighbors, so it worked out perfectly that our lots were right next to one another.
“I haven’t had much luck with men myself,” Juliet offers. “But not because I had a bad boyfriend. I’ve always been too busy with work to go out and meet anyone. Verity, on the other hand, always seemed to have a bad boyfriend in the wings. We got to witness Chad in action last night. How horrible was it that he was berating her that way, and on her very last night alive? I talked to him afterwards, and I could smell the liquor coming off his breath. He seemed pretty shaken up about her passing. We all were—still are.”
“It’s a terrible thing. I guess we’ll know what happened once the coroner releases the information. You wouldn’t happen to know if she had any allergies, would you?”
“She never mentioned any to me.” Her lips pinch tightly as she looks over my shoulder. “But let’s face it. I don’t think Verity died from a simple allergy. The girl had a way of turning people against her.”
“Such as who?” I’m half-expecting her to say Chad. Okay, so I’m fully expecting Chad, but I hold my breath just in case she decides to surprise me.
She hitches her nose to someone behind me. “Sugar Hartley.”
“Sugar?” I turn to look at the girl with the cuddly koala still clinging to her neck.
“They had an odd relationship,” Juliet whispers. “Verity used to tell me stories. And by the sound of it, Verity relished being cruel to the girl. You heard Sugar yourself. She was practically forced to hand over her beloved pet to Verity. And there were other things cooking between them, too.” She buttons her lips before she spills the goods.
“Like what?”
Juliet shakes her head. “That’s not my story to tell.” She glances to her phone. “I’d better get back. The sign says I’d be back in fifteen minutes and my time is up. It was nice meeting you, Lottie. I can’t wait to get to know you better. Lucky for the both of us, I’m addicted to sweet treats. I’ll be a boost to your business, just you wait and see,” she teases as she takes off out of the bakery and into the snow.
Noah walks up and picks up my hands.
“You look worried.” He frowns as he studies me.
“I am,” I say as I watch Sugar wrap up her conversation with Evie and take off with a wave.
Noah sighs. “How about you tell me all about it on the drive over to the hospital?”
“The hospital?” I look back over at him and then it hits me. “The birthing class is tonight!”
“In half an hour.” Noah warms my belly with his hand and the baby gives him a hearty kick. “Looks like someone is ready.”
My heart thumps wildly. “This is really happening, isn’t it?”
“Faster than I could have ever imagined and yet not fast enough, if that makes any sense. I can’t wait to see this baby—hold this baby.” A sorrowful smile graces his lips.
“Me either,” I whisper. “All right, Coach. Let’s grab a slice of pizza and make tracks.”
“Let’s do it.”
“Hey”—I give him a playful sock on the arm—“that may just be what landed us in the predicament to begin with.”
We share a warm laugh as I gather my purse and coat. I ask Carlotta to take Evie home for me as Noah and I take off into the icy Honey Hollow evening.
Verity Prescott never made it to the hospital herself last night. She went straight to the morgue.
I tell Noah everything I gleaned from Juliet on the way to his truck.
“It looks as if Sugar Hartley is our first suspect,” Noah says as he helps buckle me into my seat.
“Does that mean you’re going to investigate this case with me, Detective Fox?”
“Darn right. I’ve always thought we made a good team.” He dots a kiss to my forehead. “Tracking down killers and making babies. Two things I always thought we’d do together and here we are.” He glances to my swollen belly with a pained look in his eyes. “It must be fate.”
It might be fate if this baby is Noah’s indeed.
One thing is for sure, whoever killed Verity Prescott should be shaking in their winter boots. That little furry koala, Noah, and I are about to team up to winnow the killer right out of the shadows. Their days of freedom are numbered.
They too will soon meet their fate—behind prison bars.
Lo
ttie
Honey Hollow General Hospital sits at the edge of town like a large white box that dropped right out of the sky and was set snug among the evergreens.
Noah and I speed into the building and follow the arrows on the ground floor into a large conference room with mauve carpet and pink walls. A few chairs are lined up against the periphery of the room, and there’s a refreshment table with water and coffee set to the side. And as soon as Noah and I put down the boxes of cookies we brought over, it has a little bit of dessert on it, too. The fresh brewed coffee smells like heaven, but it does very little to dampen the sterile hospital scent that’s layered just beneath it.
A few couples are already here and more seem to be pouring through the door with every second. Each round belly looks that much more swollen than the last, and I can’t help but look at all of the women who happen to be in the same predicament that I’m in.
In the front of the room there’s a queen-size bed, complete with a crimson brocade comforter and pillows. And about six different women are eyeing it as if they wanted to sprawl out on it more than they wanted their next breath. I can’t blame them. I’m feeling the same way. It takes a lot of energy to grow another human being, and as of late, I need three different naps just to make it through the day.
And just as I’m about to test out the springs on that mattress, my perky sister waltzes into the room with a wave.
“Hey, Lottie! Hey, Noah!” Lainey hops over in her yoga pants and sweatshirt with the words Push It written across the front of it. “Are you ready to get your baby game on?”
“Ready or not, I guess here it comes.” I shrug. “I don’t know that I’ll ever be ready. Can’t they just knock me out and wake me up when it’s all over? No offense, but it didn’t exactly look as if you were having a good time.”
Lainey bucks with a laugh. “Are you nuts? Giving birth is the most natural thing in the world. Women have been doing it since the beginning of time. Trust me, Lottie. Your body was built to do this. And you’re going to have a room full of people there cheering you on. You’ll have Noah, and maybe Everett.” She winces as she says it. “But don’t worry. You’ll have Meg, Mom, and me, and probably Carlotta. Evie might be there, but she’ll probably be on her phone.” She shrugs. “Oh, and Keelie, and Wiley, and Carlotta will probably bring Mayor Nash, and I bet Lily will stop by. And when it’s time for the baby to be born, we’ll all gather around and watch as you push your little peanut into the world.” She gives a dreamy sigh.
“Sounds like a fabulous party featuring all my best assets.” I can’t help but frown at the thought of entertaining a cast of thousands. “But I’m pretty sure I’m not going to have the masses watch as my lady parts morph to the size of a melon. I’m going to be splayed open for everyone to see. I’ll never be able to look anyone in the eye after that. No way. My private zone isn’t up for show and tell. In fact, I don’t even think I want Noah or Everett to witness the main event. I’m going to scar them for life.”
Lainey lifts her shoulders. “Suit yourself. But I’ll be there for sure.”
“You won’t scar me, Lottie.” Noah rubs my back. “I delivered Keelie’s baby. I’ve seen it all already and lived to tell about it.”
“Fine,” I grunt as a familiar woman stalks into the room—thin as a skeleton with bone straight hair to match—and I suck in a quick breath. “It’s Serena Digby,” I hiss.
Both Noah’s mother, Suze, and Serena Digby belong to some ridiculous club called the Magic Mavens of Honey Hollow.
Serena is something akin to a wicked witch who all but put a curse on me way back when. Not that I believed in her curse. Although I’m starting to have a little faith in that Hearst curse. No sooner did I poke my nose where it didn’t belong than both my house and Everett’s burned to the ground. Now that’s a curse who knows how to work its wicked ways.
Serena’s curse was paid for by her old college roomies, Cressida and Cormack, and if I remember correctly, it had something to do with the fact they wanted Noah and Everett for themselves. The curse, or hex as it were, went something like this: you will rue the day you trampled on the hearts of Cormack and Cressida. Everything you love, everything you desire, everything you hope for and dream of, will turn to ashes and soot. May nothing go your way. May the shadow replace the sun. May the winds of fortune hide their face from you. May darkness descend on you this hour, and may it never leave until you surrender all that you stole from my sisters—my being hers.
Other than that, she’s a lovely young lady.
“Oh!” Lainey waves her over. “Here she is! You’re going to love her, Lottie. Serena taught my birthing classes, too.”
Serena heads this way and a malevolent smile crests on her lips.
Serena is beautiful, light green eyes, long glossy hair the color of a raven’s wing. She’s clad in black with the requisite yoga pants and a long-sleeved top that matches. There’s a silver whistle dangling from a chain around her neck, giving off that psychotic gym teacher vibe I’m sure she’s going for—because I’m betting it just so happens to be true on some level.
I know for a fact that Serena is transmundane. A beguiler to be exact. She all but confessed it to me last December. It wasn’t until I observed Serena and Suze in that weird witchy coven of theirs that I realized Suze herself might have some otherworldly powers.
“Well, well.” Serena looks from me to Noah. “If it isn’t Lottie Lemon. Where’s the rest of your reverse harem?”
Lainey leans her way. “Everett was arrested. But I’m sure he’ll be out on bail soon enough.”
“It could take up to a week,” I say, dejected. “But nevertheless, he’ll be here.”
“Oh, that’s right.” Serena shoots those pale green eyes to Noah once again. “I read in the paper about that missing body turning up in your yard. Let me guess. Everett wanted to pin the deed on you in an effort to get you out of her life for good?” A short-lived laugh pumps through her. “He should have just paid me a visit. I certainly could have helped him out with that,” she deadpans as she looks right at me. “All right, everyone, take your places!” she shouts as she all but shoos Noah and me away.
I shrug up at Noah. “How do you like that? She just coolly threatened to end your life in a roundabout way.” A thought comes to me. “Why don’t you go over and find a spot for us,” I say, spinning him toward the crowd. “I’ll be right there.” He takes off, and I head for the wicked witch herself. “Serena”—I pull her to the side and she quickly plucks her wrist out of my grasp—“you have to tell me if Suze Fox is one of us. If she’s transmundane, a beguiler no less, I have every right to know.”
Her lips cinch tightly. “If Suze is one of us, don’t you think it’s her right to tell you herself?”
“And if she doesn’t?”
“Then you’ll have to wait to see if that little whippet you’re knitting in your belly will be capable of anything outside the natural realm. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a class to run.”
Noah and I find an empty mat up front and he helps me down to the floor.
“This was a stupid idea,” I say as I look around at the rest of the class, about a dozen other couples. Each rubber mat is set in a half circle around the bed with plenty of space for Serena and Lainey to sit in front of us on their own mats. The difference being, they won’t need a muscular partner to help them off the floor. “It’s going to take a crane to get me on my feet again.” My legs stretch out before me, and I marvel at the fact I can actually see my shoes. “Hey, speaking of which, I can see my feet!” I give each one a wiggle only to moan once I spot a rather egregious error on my part. “Noah”—his name comes from me in a whine—“why didn’t you tell me I had two different shoes on?”
His head inches forward to get a better look at the evidence I’m toting.
“I didn’t notice. Besides, it’s not a big deal. They’re both brown.”
I scoff as I do my best to get a better look at him. “Are you color blind? Th
e one on my left foot is navy flat and the one on my right foot is a plum-colored wedge. I thought my alignment felt off. Are there any other medical conditions that run in your family I should know about before this baby gets here?”
“My parents are both mildly insane.” His dimples flex, but we both know he’s serious.
I nod up at him. “I’ve met them. And I won’t lie, your genetics frighten me most. We still need to get your mother to tell us if she’s transmundane. Noah, your mother could very well be a beguiler. And if this baby is yours, who knows what he or she will be capable of?”
He closes his eyes a moment. “Trust me, with my family’s genetics on board, having supernatural abilities will be the least of its worries.”
“Hear, hear.”
“Besides”—he gives my shoulders a quick rub—“Everett’s got his own worrisome quirks.”
“Oh? Like what?” I don’t even bother to hide the amused smile budding on my lips.
“The guy used to sleepwalk as a kid. He’d hit the fridge at all hours of the night and spill milk all over the counter. Eliza hated it. She even took him to see a shrink to see if they could fix him. But they didn’t. He was still at it when Alex and I moved in. He’d do all kinds of nutty things. He used to turn on the shower at three in the morning and then head back to bed. If this kid is Everett’s, it could really do a number on your water bill.”
A laugh bubbles from me. “Duly noted. I’ll have to put a baby lock on all the shower doors.”
“For the next eighteen years,” he teases.
Serena gives that whistle around her neck a shrill blow. “Welcome one and all to the class that will prepare you for the transition to parenthood. Coaches, I’d like for you to sit behind our mamas-to-be and allow them to lean against you. And please try to abstain from any hanky-panky while you’re with us.” A warm round of laughter circles the room as the coaches all get into position.
Noah wraps his arms around me from behind, and I can feel his warm breath over my hair as I lean against him. Everything has always been so natural between Noah and me.