The Inspector, for his part, appeared surprised. “She said her finding out what happened with Freddie was just luck.”
“Don’t let her modesty fool you,” said Hansen. “She’s as sharp as they come. You have to watch out.”
“Hopefully there won’t be any more murders around here for a while,” said the Inspector.
“Hopefully not,” agreed Hansen.
Just then another policeman came up to the Inspector and said that they were ready to leave. A large crowd had gathered outside the Club to see Mason’s murderer taken away. Freddie was sitting in the back of the patrol car looking calm and placid, if a little sad.
“What do you think will happen to Freddie?” asked Greer.
“I don’t know, but he’s in a lot of trouble,” said Charlie, “even if he’s telling the truth when he says he pushed Mason into the pond by accident.”
We watched as Inspector Smith climbed into the front of the patrol car and drove away.
Most of the crowd didn’t linger to watch the car disappear. The weekend was over. Everyone was busy. It was time to go.
For us too, it was time to return to Mintwood and the real world.
Then I took one last look over my shoulder and saw Jasper standing alone. His hands were shoved into his slacks and his blue button down shirt was open at the collar. He was the picture of relaxed cool. Our eyes locked. Without thinking, I started toward him just as he started toward me.
Then he came to an abrupt halt. The smile left my face and I saw his grandfather approaching. Jasper had seen him too. I wasn’t able to read Jasper’s expression, but I knew he wouldn’t be coming over now to say goodbye.
My shoulders started to slump but I ordered them not to, then turned back to my friends.
A few of the guests standing around in the driveway looked unsure. In the distance all of the BMWs gleamed in the light.
As Freddie was driven away, Mrs. Peacock asked plaintively, “Now who will get my car?”
Through the crowd came a confident voice, “I’ll have it to you in a jiffy.”
Eben had put on a fresh shirt and was looking more confident than I had ever seen him before as he streaked away to do his job.
Chapter Twenty-Six
The whirlwind weekend was over at last, and my friends and I piled into the Beetle and headed back home to the farmhouse. The unexpected twists and turns of the weekend had left us exhausted, but ironically, I also felt as if they had all happened a long time ago. I was so tired and disoriented I thought I’d even be happy to see the sloping porch.
“Let’s see what condition Tank has left the place in. Really, he’d have trouble keeping pavement standing up,” said Paws, hopping into the car.
“Pavement is already on the ground,” said Charlie.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re saying,” said the cat. “I’m weak from the attack.” He suddenly went limp and looked very pathetic.
“Thanks for taking us to the Country Club, Greer,” I said. “Sorry your mom wasn’t happier about you and Deacon.”
From the back seat Greer gave a long sigh. “She’s coming around about the bartending, at least when it suits her. Besides, I think she realizes I won’t do it forever. Maybe she’ll change her mind about Deacon someday too.”
Maybe she would, but I didn’t think it would happen any time soon. Mrs. Dice appeared to be very set in her ways.
And in her opinions about Deacon.
“What happened with you and Jasper?” Charlie asked.
I bit my lip. “He kept trying to talk to me today, but his grandfather kept running interference. You’d think he didn’t want the two of us to be alone together or something. His friends have probably told him we went on a date, so he’s even more concerned about it than he was before. I have a feeling he’s ordered Jasper to stop seeing me.”
“You can’t believe that. It’s none of his business who Jasper sees!” Charlie sputtered. “Besides, you’re awesome! Jasper couldn’t end up with a nicer girl.”
“Thanks,” I said, but Charlie was wrong. Dylan Wolf did not want me dating his grandson. He had made that abundantly clear.
“Jasper wouldn’t listen to him even if it were true,” said Charlie. “Jasper’s his own man.”
“He loves his grandfather—and he works for him, which makes it even harder,” I pointed out.
“But surely he knows his grandfather’s being unreasonable,” said Charlie.
She was sitting back in her seat, staring forward and looking as exhausted as I felt. In the last hour before we had left the Club, she had frantically tried to get as much information about the case as possible. She planned to get up early the next morning and write a detailed piece about the murder from a firsthand perspective, an approach for which she was becoming famous, and which her readers had come to expect. As soon as we had established that Freddie was the killer, she had darted away to work on her article. Hansen had hurried off just as quickly, saying something about getting his story in before the deadline.
“Whatever. We might go on another date, but I don’t think anything is going to come of it,” I said sadly. “I think Jasper and I are done.” My mind filled with memories from the ball, with Jasper holding me lightly but close. His hand hadn’t been sticky, just pleasantly warm and comforting.
My heart ached. I told myself I shouldn’t have been so hard on Jasper about the buildings, but I couldn’t help it.
As it turned out, I had underestimated him, and maybe he was sick of it. There had been no time for goodbyes, and the fact that I had been chasing after a killer felt like a minor detail.
As we drove home, I had become ever more certain that Jasper’s and my relationship was over before it had really begun. I had ruined it, or his grandfather had ruined it, or Jasper had ruined it, or maybe all of the above; it hardly mattered which. I hadn’t had faith in him and his grandfather hadn’t had faith in me and Jasper couldn’t stand up to his grandfather. Whatever it was, Jasper had let me go that day and I felt certain I’d seen the last of him, except for the kind of chance encounters anyone can have with anyone else in a small town in Maine.
My heart clenched, and I suddenly felt alone. The thought of Jasper had stayed close to me for a long time, circling around my heart and keeping me warm. Now I had forced him away. My magic would be there and so would my friends, but my love would be no more.
I took a shaky breath and swiped at the single tear trickling down my cheek.
Then we rounded the last bend and I steeled myself. The ghosts would be trailing all over the yard as usual. Paws would be happy to see them despite his complaints. Once he was out of the car I would wonder about the Witch Hunters he’d taken me to see at Bear Lake, a thought that seeped even more joy out of me.
After the last bend, I looked toward the house to see if the ghosts would be gathered to welcome us home.
Instead of the ghosts, Jasper Wolf was waiting for us on the dilapidated steps.
He looked very comfortable there.
Once, not all that long ago, we had come home to find Charlie’s recent ex Andy waiting for her on the porch. The ghosts had surrounded him and were looking at him curiously, a fact that had made him uncomfortable even though he couldn’t see them and didn’t know what it was that was bothering him so much.
With Jasper it was different. The ghosts were clear on the other side of the lawn. They stood respectfully, as if they were all actually trying not to disturb him.
As if they even could.
“Either they’re keeping a respectful distance or they’re afraid of Jasper,” said Charlie.
“I’m sure it’s both,” said Paws.
“Why would they be afraid of Jasper?” I asked.
“I like how you conveniently forget that he’s a Witch Hunter whenever you remember that he has broad shoulders,” drawled Paws.
“Feeling better, are you?” Greer asked the cat, who had lain limp the whole ride home.
Paws fell si
deways again. “I’m so weak!”
“Believe me, I’m aware of his broad shoulders all the time,” I said. “And they have no reason to fear Jasper,” I added.
Jasper lifted his hand and waved as soon as he caught sight of us. When I pulled the car to a stop and we got out, he came over and said hello.
“You’re blushing,” said Greer out of the side of her mouth. She was trying not to laugh.
“Yeah, you’re never going to see Jasper again. More like the next ten minutes,” Charlie piled on gleefully.
Trying to keep my composure, I busied myself by gathering our luggage from the trunk.
“Didn’t realize we were going to see you so soon,” said Charlie as she hoisted her luggage out of the trunk.
“I needed to talk to Lemmi, and it couldn’t wait,” he explained.
Jasper reached out, took the rest of the luggage from the back of my car, and proceeded to carry almost all of it into the farmhouse in one trip. We followed with what little was left.
“He’s just trying to use the luggage as an excuse to get into the house,” said Paws.
“It’s working,” Greer said brightly.
“What was that you said?” Jasper asked over his shoulder.
“Ice cream would be good. I wonder if there’s some in the freezer,” Greer pondered.
“I didn’t think what you said was that long.” Jasper was looking at her half amused, half curious.
“I mumble,” Greer explained.
“Do you need a chaperone?” Paws asked me.
I glared at the cat.
“Is that a yes or a no?” he asked.
“I don’t think we need ice cream,” said Charlie. “I have a lot to do. Like leave you two alone.” She didn’t even have to encourage Greer; they teamed up and swept away without another word. I wanted to yell after them that they were traitors, but I kept quiet.
What really surprised me was that even Paws made himself scarce.
Why was I suddenly so nervous to be alone with Jasper, in my own living room?
Why was my stomach in knots?
Probably because he was standing so close to me that I could smell the mint and cedar he liked to wear.
“Sorry to stop by without warning,” said Jasper. “I had this big plan to call you first and make a plan, but I just couldn’t wait.”
“That’s okay,” I said. “We didn’t have a chance to say goodbye at the Club.”
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” he said.
“You want to say a proper goodbye?”
My heart twisted, then I squared my shoulders. Yes, he would. He was a gentleman, and he had realized that this would never work.
Still, I felt so sad.
“I mean, I should have said bye earlier, but mostly I wanted to apologize,” he said.
I looked up. Dammit, those mint green eyes caught me again. How were they always so bright?
“What do you have to apologize for?” I said.
“About this whole weekend,” he said, running his fingers through his hair and stepping away to pace. “When we went on that first date I had these elaborate plans! I was going to sweep you off your feet. My grandfather’s disapproval be damned and all that. You deserve that! But then all this stuff came up and then I was out of town and then you were going to the Country Club and that’s a really important weekend for my grandfather. I feel like I bungled it. I would have liked to spend this weekend with you. At least some of it.”
I stood still, staring at him open-mouthed, but he was so busy walking around my living room couch that he didn’t appear to notice.
“My grandfather never said a word to me about any of it, but I could tell he didn’t approve. Then, when I knew you were unhappy with me about the development, I started to feel really guilty. Lemmi, I swear that development isn’t what you think. We’re going to save the old structure. It just needs to be propped up a bit. That happens with old buildings, but we are not tearing it down.”
I had a deep love and appreciation for old buildings, and I did not take kindly to having them ruined. And lo and behold, Jasper knew it, and cared! Why did I keep ignoring the evidence?
Afraid to try to speak, I nodded once to show him I understood.
He was still so busy pacing, I wasn’t even sure if he noticed.
Men and their inability to multitask could be truly awe-inspiring at times.
“I’ve been wanting to talk to you since our date,” Jasper hurried on, “but I didn’t want to rush you, either. I know this is a lot for you to take on. My grandfather could be nicer about it. He’s wanted me to date for a long time, always telling me not to work too hard. That’s a joke. Now he just tells me to stop working so hard. He won’t tell me what his problem is, but he’s definitely never been like this before. I’m sorry to dump all of this on you,” he finished.
My mind felt like a mishmashed jumble, and I still couldn’t think of any words to say that felt like they’d do justice to the situation.
“Right, you’re angry. I get that,” said Jasper, looking at me with pleading eyes. “You deserve better than this. I get that too. Believe me, I want you to have better.”
“We haven’t even had a second date,” I managed. Okay, the dress and the ball had been spectacular, but they hadn’t been a date.
Hang on. A minute ago I’d been sure we were over, and now I was trying to relax him for . . what?
“Right, that’s the thing. We should have by now. Whirling you around on the dance floor doesn’t count. I get that.”
“What are you getting at?” I demanded. My head was spinning and it had been a long, long weekend.
“I’m not saying we should go on a second date to figure things out,” he explained. “That’s silly.”
I felt gut checked. He’d shown up at my house unannounced, kept me up when I was exhausted, and raised my hopes sky high, only to turn around and say he couldn’t go on a second date with me! I had already figured everything out anyway! We didn’t have anything else we needed to figure out! How dare he!
I felt like crying.
He was looking at me as if my expression was confusing him. I’ll give him confusing, I thought. Tears sprang to the corners of my eyes and I banished them, but not before one slipped out.
Now he looked utterly perplexed.
“What? Is that happy tears?”
That stopped me. I frowned at him. “Why would I be happy?”
“Oh, right. Yeah, I get it. I’ve been too dramatic. I understand. Like I said, you didn’t deserve all that stuff with my grandfather. I did want you to know that I understood that,” he explained, looking totally crestfallen.
I frowned at him. He looked sad at me.
My mind still wasn’t working very well, but I was starting to have a sneaking hunch that we were misunderstanding each other.
“I thought you had come here to tell me we couldn’t see each other anymore,” I said, still fighting back tears, “and I thought that was unnecessary. What’s the rush? I’ve had a long weekend, complete with a murder and the solving of a murder and now you’re here dumping me before we ever even got together. It’s a bit much.”
Now the tears were leaking out of my eyes despite my commands for them to stay put. Why was I doing this right now! At the very least you’d think I could keep it together until he left. I told myself that I must be even more exhausted than I realized.
“Don’t be upset,” said Jasper, striding over and taking me in his arms. He moved so fast I was surprised by the warmth suddenly encircling me. I craned my neck backward to look up at him, trying to figure out what on earth was going on.
“My point when I said I didn’t want to date you was that I want you to be my girlfriend. Some people don’t think that needs to be clarified anymore, but I disagree. You deserve to know how important you are to me,” he said. Then he paused dramatically before adding, “The answer is: very important.”
I was stunned. I had gone back and f
orth between joy and despair so many times in this brief encounter—all my own fault, no doubt—that I was getting dizzy. But I did have the presence of mind to wrap my arms around Jasper’s waist and pull him closer.
“You’re very important to me, too,” I managed to whisper.
With a smile he bent his head to mine. There was no hesitation this time about our first kiss. His lips were warm and soft and fit over mine just as they should. My toes tingled and curled. If I’d been performing a spell I would have thought it was magic.
My heart melted and spread throughout my body. I felt safe and alive and happier than I’d ever felt in any of the collective millions of moments I’d lived through before this one. Jasper still kept a firm but light grip on my lower back as the balls of my feet left the ground.
I had almost lost myself completely when time suddenly slowed and the sweet smell of lavender filled the air. In the very next instant, time stopped.
The dizzying spin of this surreal evening apparently wasn’t over.
Completely confused about what was happening now, I glanced at Jasper.
He appeared to be frozen.
The setting sun blasted through the living room window as I reluctantly released my new boyfriend. The scents, and the wind and chaos by the door, could mean only one thing.
Meredith Munn was back.
A woman appeared whom I had seen once before. She wore a jaunty hat and a squished expression. Her eyebrows nearly obscured her eyes and she looked bull-like. She launched into what she’d come to say without even bothering greet me.
“Your appointment date with the Witches’ Council has been moved up at the request of a very important witch. You must present yourself for inspection and justification next week.”
“I thought that was a month away,” I shot back. “Stop coming into my house uninvited!”
“The summons knows no bounds, including house rules,” she responded, though she looked slightly taken aback.
“It’s just common politeness,” I informed her. “You don’t enter other people’s homes without being invited.”
“I do not need an invitation to issue a summons from the Witches’ Council,” she insisted. She seemed to think I was dense.
Witch Way Round (Witch of Mintwood Book 6) Page 19