Power of the Witch

by Deanna Chase

  Brian sat in the middle of the nursery floor, unable to forget the kiss Shannon had sent him once she hopped out of the SUV the night before. It had smacked him right in the chest, traveled down his limbs, and made his fingers and toes tingle with her magic. Shannon Ansell had sent him a magical kiss that he’d still be feeling for days to come. It had taken a long time to get to sleep the night before, and even then he was sure he dreamed about her.

  Damn. Did he have it bad for Shannon Ansell or what?

  The little girl running around him in the room let out a loud giggle, pulling him out of his Shannon haze. He laughed as Skye shoved a pink bear at him and went to work on attaching little pink and blue bows to his hair. She was wearing a green tutu and pink tights as she wiggled around, practicing the moves she’d learned in her toddler’s Mommy and Me ballet class.

  “Looks good, Skye,” he said, holding a blue plastic mirror up to see his reflection. “You’ll make a great stylist when you’re older.”

  The toddler giggled, dropped her brown and white stuffed dog into his lap, and continued to hum while she added more bows to his hair.

  “Lookin’ good, man,” Jacob said, chuckling from the doorway. “Are you just about ready for your photoshoot? I bet the paparazzi would pay big bucks for one of these shots.”

  “Dude, don’t be a jack… um, jackhole. Don’t be a jackhole.” Brian leaned over and smacked a kiss on Skye’s cheek. “Don’t listen to Daddy. He’s just jealous he doesn’t have enough charisma to really rock this look.”

  Skye held up a pink bow to her father.

  He took it and managed to attach it to a short lock in the middle of his head. Grinning at his daughter, he bent down so she could see his handiwork. “What do you think? Cute, right?”

  “Cute!” she agreed and toddled off into the hallway.

  Jacob watched her for a moment and then grinned. “Looks like someone was hungry.” He turned his attention back to Brian. “She found Yvette. They’re having breakfast now.”

  Brian nodded. He’d gotten up early and heard Skye singing to herself, so he’d come in to keep her entertained until Yvette and Jacob woke up. “She’s growing so fast, Jay.”

  “Don’t I know it. Next thing we know she’s gonna be asking to borrow uncle Brian’s SUV.” He chuckled. “Or asking uncle Bri to buy her a pink convertible.”

  Brian laughed. “I’d do it, too. That girl is gonna be a fashion diva.”

  “Probably.” He reached up and pulled the pink bow out of his hair, dropping the accessory into the plastic bin next to Brian. “I’m making eggs and bacon. You in?”

  “As long as there’s coffee,” Brian said, collecting the toys Skye had been playing with and dropping them in the trunk against the wall.

  “Dude. There’s always coffee.” Jacob disappeared down the hall just as Brian’s phone started to ring.

  “Knox,” he said when he didn’t recognize the number.

  “Brian? It’s Drew Baker.”

  “Good morning, Drew,” he said. “Do you have news about last night?” He couldn’t imagine why else the deputy sheriff would be calling him.

  “I do. We’ve got the suspect in custody, but I wanted you to be aware of the situation before it hits the news.”

  “Lay it on me,” Brian said with more bravado than he actually felt. He walked out of Skye’s room and down the hall where he could hear Yvette singing to Skye. He bypassed the kitchen and walked out onto the porch that looked out over the Keating Hollow valley. There were redwood trees for miles, and when the fog burned off, one could follow the curve of the river almost all the way to the coast.

  “The suspect who threw the brick through the window at A Touch of Magic runs an online gossip site. She’s been ranting online about you and your relationships with Cara Manchester as well as Shannon. She apparently believes that you cheated on Cara, and this suspect tried to take it upon herself to make you pay for your actions.”

  “What? You can’t be serious. Cara and I weren’t even an item,” Brian said, realizing that Drew likely didn’t care one way or another who Brian was dating or engaged to. All he cared about was keeping his residents safe.

  Drew cleared his throat. “That’s irrelevant. What matters is that Ms. Boxer feels that Cara has been wronged and has been making online threats against you and Shannon. Ms. Boxer has been booked, and we’re collecting the evidence now.”

  “Shannon, too?” Brian asked, feeling sick. “Has anyone tried to hurt her?”

  “No one has physically threatened Shannon… yet,” Drew said. “But we’re keeping a close eye on her. The stuff we found online is pretty disturbing.” Drew paused and took a breath. “Listen, Brian. I’m not trying to worry you. I just want you and Shannon to be informed. I’ll be calling her as soon as we’re done here.”

  Brian felt sick at the idea that Shannon might be in danger because of him. It never should’ve happened. He wanted to rant and rave and punch something, but none of that would help. All he could really do was keep his distance until Cara set the record straight. He’d have to do what he could to speed that up. “I understand. Will you keep me updated with what happens to Ms. Boxer?”

  “We will. Try not to worry too much about this. We’re taking the situation seriously.”

  What was Brian supposed to say to that? How could he not worry? He’d hate himself if anything happened to Shannon or her brother. Or anyone else for that matter. That brick could’ve killed someone if anyone had been sitting in the chairs near the window.

  “Brian?” Drew asked. “Are you still with me?”

  “Yeah. I’m here. Listen, how did she know where to find us? Do you know? Shannon and I were eating dinner when the incident happened. We’d been there a while.”

  “She had an impressive amount of notes about you and Shannon in her vehicle, including your license plate numbers and your addresses.”

  “That’s… disturbing,” Brian said, feeling nauseated by the fact that someone was stalking not just him, but Shannon, too.

  “It is, and that’s why we’re taking this very seriously,” Drew said.

  Drew’s answer did nothing to reassure him. But he trusted the guy, so he just said, “Thanks for the call, man.”

  “Of course. Don’t hesitate to let me know if you see anything suspicious.”

  After Brian ended the call with Drew, he scrolled through his contacts and pulled up his father’s number.

  When William Knox answered, Brian said, “Dad, I need a good publicist.”

  An hour later, he emailed the publicist a statement that denied a romantic involvement with Cara Manchester or the existence of any engagement. She assured him it would hit all the gossip sites no later than the next morning.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “Shannon? Are you all right?” Silas asked.

  She glanced up from her spot on the porch swing to find him standing next to the back door holding two coffee mugs. She’d escaped to the backyard when she answered her phone to speak to Drew when he called. And then she’d been gutted when she learned she was the target of an online gossip blog. She leaned back in the swing and shook her head. “Um, no. Not really.”

  Silas sat down on the swing next to her and handed her one of the mugs. “What did the deputy sheriff say?”

  “Thanks,” she said, nodding at the mug. Then she took a deep breath and relayed the information. “I’m basically the target on a hateful gossip blog for something I didn’t do.”

  Her brother gave her a sympathetic smile. “I know how awful that is. But try to remember that ninety-nine percent of the time it’s all talk.”

  Shannon frowned and gave Silas an irritated glance. “Except this crazy has already tried to hurt people. She threw a brick through Faith’s window, remember?”

  “You’re right. Sorry.” He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and sighed. “At least the site owner is in custody. Maybe the outrage will calm down with their ringleader in jail.”

  “Maybe, b
ut what’s to stop one of the other hateful people from trying to take up where she left off?” Shannon asked. She knew she was spiraling and being slightly irrational about the possibility of a repeat attack. Silas was right. Most people were all talk and no action.

  “No one in the public eye is ever immune to stalkers. You know that, Shan,” Silas said gently. “But it probably helps that Keating Hollow is a small town where everyone looks out for each other. And Sheriff Drew seems like a decent guy from what Levi has told me.”

  “He is.” Shannon took a long sip of her coffee that her brother had managed to doctor perfectly, just the way she liked it. She glanced around at the pretty backyard and said, “Do you think I could convince Hope to put a pool in? I miss ours.”

  Silas laughed. “If you’re willing to pay for it and the upkeep, then probably.”

  “I guess I’ll just have to start swimming in the river.” One of Shannon’s favorite things about her grandmother’s house was the pool out back. In the summer, she used it all the time to both relax and get some exercise. But now that their mother had kicked them out, there wouldn’t be any more swimming. Shannon was almost more bitter about that than anything else.

  “At least you can control the temperature,” Silas mused, referring to her ability to heat water with her air magic. Her brother did a good job of chatting about anything and nothing for the next hour until it was time for her to go to work.

  “Thanks, Si,” she said, giving him a hug.

  “For what?” he asked.

  “For calming me down. The talk. Just being normal so that neither of us had to think about insane people bringing crazy into our lives. It was just what I needed this morning.”

  He stood and gave her a hug. “I’ve been there, sis. Now go to work and make that money.”

  She let out a snort. “I’m on it.”

  “Red or purple?” Shannon asked herself as she stood in front of a display of wands. The red one caught her eye right away. It was sleek and shiny and the perfect shade of what she referred to as whore red. But the purple one sparkled. And oh, how she loved it when her wand sparkled.

  “Maybe both? You could have one as a spare,” the clerk said.

  Shannon raised one eyebrow at the owner of Wands and Things. The shop was a few doors down from A Spoonful of Magic, and Shannon had popped in quickly before she opened the confectionary shop. “A backup? Do people usually do that? Mine always gets better and more powerful the more I use it. The only reason I’m here now is because I broke the last one.”

  The clerk started to launch into something about never being caught with your pants down without a wand, and Shannon wondered briefly if she’d walked into a sex shop that sold some sort of kinky version of wands. But no. One look around the shop and it was definitely a standard magic supply store. She was giggling to herself when her phone buzzed.

  A picture of Brian flashed on the screen, and she answered while still chuckling to herself. “Hey, you. I was hoping to hear from you soon.”

  “Hey yourself.” His tone was somber, much more subdued than usual. Drew had told her he’d spoken with Brian, so he was probably still trying to process the previous night’s events.

  Desperate to get away from the clerk, who was still listing the benefits of backup wands, she grabbed the sleek red one and took it to the counter. As she paid the man working the register, she spoke into the phone, “Are you doing okay?”

  “Not really,” Brian said. “Did you talk to Drew?”

  “I did.” All of her amusement vanished, and she felt a crushing weight of guilt for what might have happened at Faith’s spa if that brick had actually hit anyone. “I’m devastated and mortified to be honest, but I could not be more grateful that no one was hurt.”

  “I feel the same,” Brian said, his voice suddenly hoarse. He cleared his throat, but it didn’t help. His tone was still raspy when he said, “I think we should stop seeing each other.”

  She felt like she’d been punched in the stomach. The air whooshed out of her, and she couldn’t get any words out.

  “Here you go, ma’am. Have a nice day.” The clerk handed over her wand and smiled at her as if Brian hadn’t just ripped her heart out.

  She nodded in return and rushed out of the shop.

  “Shannon?” Brian said. “Are you still there?”

  “Yes,” she breathed as she unlocked the front door of A Spoonful of Magic. “I’m just getting to work.”

  “Oh. Okay. Did you want to call me back?” He sounded more normal now and it irritated her.

  “No. I don’t want to call you back. I want you to tell me why you’re dumping me.” The words flew out of her mouth before she could even think them through.

  “I’m not. I swear I’m not dumping you.” He paused. “I just think it would be safer for you, for everyone, if I laid low for a while until this Cara business blows over. I don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

  Was he referring to someone’s physical or mental wellbeing? It was hard to tell considering the way he was going about this. “I don’t either,” Shannon said.

  He let out a breath as if he was relieved that she agreed with him. “Right. Okay, so… Dammit. I’m sorry, Shannon. I’m doing this all wrong.”

  She leaned against the counter and said, “Yeah. This call is a little rough.”

  “I’m sorry. I just meant to say that I don’t want to cause trouble for anyone and least of all you. I’m worried. And I think if we stay out of the public eye, don’t give anyone anything to write about until Cara releases her statement to the press, then hopefully this will blow over quickly and we won’t have another incident like last night.”

  “Okaaaay. When is Cara supposed to release this statement?” Shannon asked.

  “Sometime in the next two weeks,” Brian said, his tone full of bitterness. “But I just sent my father’s publicist a statement. It should be out by tomorrow.”

  “No one will pay attention to that,” Shannon said. “Not the ones who are already riled up, anyway.”

  “I know, but I had to put it out there. Then I’m done with it. Truly done.”

  She could hear how upset he was and could only imagine the guilt he felt about Faith’s shop, so she decided to cut him a break. “You’re right. Let’s put the brakes on whatever this is and see where we’re at when the paparazzi leaves town.”

  He groaned.

  “What? That’s what you said you wanted.” Shannon said.

  “It’s what I think we should do. It’s not what I want. Not at all. And you’re still my date for Faith and Hunter’s wedding a couple of weeks from now. Got that? I’m not giving up on that bet.” His flirty tone was back, and she couldn’t help but melt a little. “Not when there’s a naked massage in it for me.”

  She laughed. “Of course you aren’t. All right, fine. It will give us something to look forward to. But don’t be a stranger. My phone works just fine. Call me, okay?”

  Brian chuckled into the phone as he said, “Count on it, gorgeous.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “This is beautiful,” Shannon said as she walked through the Pelshes’ vineyard. It was late afternoon, and the sun was low in the sky, casting a soft light over the vines that took her breath away. “You must be in heaven working here every day.”

  Rex grinned. “It’s not a bad life.”

  “I can see that.”

  “Let me show you the barn where we do the bottling.” He jerked his head toward a large structure that looked more like a ranch house than a barn.

  Shannon followed him, noting how the afternoon sun highlighted his sun-bleached hair and tanned skin. She couldn’t help but compare him to a surfer. He had that beach bum look about him. He just glowed and he had muscles for days. He had to work out. There was no way he was that fit simply from working the vineyard. Still, even though he was one really good-looking man, she couldn’t help but wish she was with Brian instead. After their phone call that morning, all she could think abo
ut was driving over to his house and wrapping her arms around him.

  “How’s Brian?” Rex asked as if he could read her mind. “I heard what happened at the spa last night. Is he doing okay? I haven’t had a chance to talk to him yet.”

  The good mood she’d managed to achieve vanished, but she didn’t blame Rex. He was only concerned about his friend. “He’s all right, I guess. Shaken up about the stalking and being indirectly responsible for what happened to Faith’s window. He’s just trying to lay low until the media storm dies down and the paparazzi gets bored and leaves town.”

  Rex winced. “Man, that sounds rough.”

  “It is.”

  Rex stopped at the front door of the barn and said, “That’s right. Your brother has to deal with this stuff from time to time, too. It must be exhausting.”

  She took a deep breath and let it out. “It can be, but it really doesn’t happen that often. Only when someone stirs the drama.” She pasted on a smile. “But enough of that. Show me your operation. I’m dying to see how I can help.”

  “You got it,” he said brightly, seeming to understand that she didn’t want to talk about their problems. Rex was nothing but an excited earth witch as he showed her where they fermented the wine, where it was processed and aerated, and then where they kept the barrels while it aged. “We’d want you to help us aerate the batches. Did you bring your wand?”

  Shannon whipped out her brand-new, whore-red wand and grinned. “Isn’t she gorgeous?”

  He laughed. “She?”

  “Sure. Who else would wear this color?” She gave him an exaggerated wink and waved her wand with a flourish, sending a puff of air at him that ruffled his hair.

  “Perfect. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

  Shannon spent a half hour whipping up enough wind to aerate a couple of large batches of wine. By the time she was done, she was sweating and a little winded herself. “Wow, that was kind of a workout.”