by Tegan Maher
Katie motioned with her chin to Raeann. "Still single, I see. You always did have a problem hanging onto your men. Now I hear you're such a loser they try to kill you to get away from you."
Before I even realized it, my fist shot out and I punched her in the mouth so hard it knocked her backward into Angelica Cotton, the third gum-snapping dimwit in their bunch.
Marybeth looked toward the ruckus, if you could call it that, but went back to putting glasses away when she saw it was just me putting Olivia and the Boobsie twins in their place. She'd seen it a half-dozen times over the years and knew nothing would come of it other than some free entertainment for her other patrons.
I hadn't even gotten off my barstool, so I motioned toward Katie. "I told you to walk away, Olivia. I meant it. Unless you want me to get off this stool and beat you like a drum, you and Rotton Cotton pick up motor mouth there and be on your way."
Katie had tortured Rae since that night at the prom and Rae always chose to shrug it off and walk away. It was the only thing about her that pissed me off. Now, if a person said something about me or somebody else she cared about, it was on, but she refused to take up for herself.
"We ain't leavin'," Angelica said. "We got just as much right to be here as you."
I heaved a deep breath. "I don't care whether you leave or stay, but if you stay, take your nasty selves to the back where I don't have to look at you. And if any of you can't control your mouths or mind your manners, I'll help you leave. Got it?"
Olivia looked to Marybeth. "Aren't you going to do anything? She assaulted my friend."
Marybeth snorted. "If your friend knew how to keep her mouth shut, people wouldn't keep shuttin' it for her. Noelle and her crew don't make no trouble and they tip. I can't say either for your lot, so if you're takin' exception, there's the door."
Angelica glared at me but turned to haul Katie, who still looked a little dazed, to her feet. When she did, Katie ripped her arm away. "Get your hands off me."
She turned to me like she was going to say something, wiping the blood off her lip with a tissue Olivia had handed her. At that point, I was almost hoping she'd open her mouth, but she just snapped it shut, shrugged off Angelica's hands, and stalked away, the other two trailing after her in a grand huff.
There was a piece of fleecy hot-pink fabric crumpled on the ground. "Hey, Trick!" I barked in their direction. All three of them stiffened and pivoted back toward us, firing daggers from their eyes. Anna Mae and Cheri Lynn giggled.
"Least they all own it, Sugar," Cheri Lynn said, smirking.
"What, you ... hillbilly?" Olivia ground.
"Ouch," I said, pointing to the ground. "That one hurt. The eighties called and want their scarf back, but I'll leave that up to whichever of you dropped it." Katie stomped forward and snatched it off the ground, glowering at me.
After they were well past me and into the next room, I turned back toward the table. Camille was smiling. "Friends of yours?"
I huffed, then smiled back. "Somethin' like that."
Louise said, "Shoot, them two been goin' at it like that since grade school. I can't even count how many times I've seen Noelle pop Olivia in the mouth, and she wore Katie clean out at one of their proms."
Raeann shook her head. "You'd think they'd learn, but they don't. They'll respect her for a few months or a year, then need a refresher course."
"Speakin' of respect," I said, lowering my brows at her, "I'd love to see you lay Katie out just one time. If you do, she'll quit that crap, you know."
She shrugged. "I know, but she's not worth it. I really don't care what she says about me. She's an idiot."
"Then consider it a public service to teach her some social skills," I said. The other girls had stayed out of it; they all knew it was an age-old sore spot between us. She was looking down at her napkin and I felt bad for giving her a hard time.
"Then again," I said, nudging her with my elbow, "I do so enjoy bustin' her in the mouth myself." That got a smile and I gave her the I'm sorry look reserved for sisters. She nudged me back, and all was forgiven.
We shot a few games of pool, then did just as Rae had predicted—we messed up a bunch of wings with extra ranch and blue cheese. We were just finishing up when the three trolls staggered out of the back room and toward us. They were leading Olivia, who was ugly-crying. Angelica caught her toe on a chair at the table beside us and tripped straight into our table.
She instinctively reached out to catch herself and I caught her hand and stabilized her before she could face plant. And no, I didn't do it because I was nice. I just didn't want her blood to splash on my Lucchese booties when her face hit the table edge. They were the one thing I splurged on when I got my windfall.
It nearly killed her, and she snatched her hand away from me as soon as she caught her balance, then returned to comforting the bawling heifer, patting her on the back as they led her out the door. All I heard as they were leaving was Olivia gasping something about Cheezits, Bo's mother, and an eggshell carpet.
A few minutes later, we paid the tab and were pulling on our coats when I felt eyes on me. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and my gaze snapped over Rae's shoulder to the front door. Sure enough, standing there in a long, expensive-looking overcoat, was the strange woman. I pushed past Rae and toward her as she slipped out of my view, but I didn't see hide nor hair of her outside. I looked left and right up the length of the building.
There was no way she could have possibly made it to either corner in the couple of seconds it took me to get to the door. Unfortunately, there's no such thing as impossible in the life of a witch.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
When I woke the next morning, my head ached a little, but otherwise I felt fine. The goal of Ms. Mondays wasn't to get hammered; we just needed a few hours to leave our worries behind, or complain about things to people who would listen and either offer a solution or tell us to cowgirl up. Or both.
I made my coffee and took it to the porch. It was a little chilly, but there was no way to tell when front-porch sittin' would have to be packed away for the winter, so I took advantage when I could. Rocking in the porch swing in my fluffy pajamas, drinking coffee and soaking in the peace, was my therapy. It was Shelby's morning to feed, and since she had to help Cody again that day at the clinic, the horses were already turned out.
They were feeling the cold, too, cantering through the pasture, bucking and twisting their necks just because it felt good.
Matt thumped down the steps from his apartment above the barn. He stared across the pasture at the horses for a long moment, no doubt for the same reason I was. He flicked his gaze toward the porch and raised his hand when he saw me.
I smiled as he ambled across the yard with Wiz, his tongue-lolling German Shepherd, bounding along beside him. He'd changed so much in the couple of months he'd been with us that I barely recognized him as the emotionally wounded man who'd been hiding from the stressors of life in our cabin.
Physically, he looked pretty much the same: tall, lean, and straight-backed, his posture an outward sign of his military experience. It was his eyes that were the most different. They were brighter and a little less guarded. He still had the haunted look only a soldier or a victim of catastrophic circumstances wears, but there were some fresh laugh lines there now, too.
Don't get me wrong. That had little to do with me and everything to do with the fact that he'd taken a step toward re-entering society, and Addy had happened to be there to encourage him, and I suspect, give him a nudge in the right direction.
Anyway, life had thrown him into our world at exactly the right time, just like it's prone to do. He'd needed a job and had experience with just about every aspect of the construction business there was, and Emily Wheeler, Max's widow, had needed a foreman to take over the reins. Before Max’s death, I'd contracted with Wheeler to build a pool and deck, and they'd only just dug the hole when somebody cracked Max's melon. I’d needed that finished before it turned into
a pond.
So, he ended up moving into the apartment above the barn in exchange for helping out around the farm and supervising the pool construction. He also went to work for Emily, though to be fair, he wasn't working so much for her as he was with her. It was a win for all of us.
He grinned as he approached and nodded toward my cup. "Got any more of that?"
"Ha! Like that's even a question. Lemme grab you a cup; I need to top mine off, too." I pulled my feet from beneath me and stood, glad that I was wearing my fuzzy socks because the cold from the porch seeped through even them in the few steps it took me to reach the screen door.
The blast of warm air felt good when we stepped inside. "How are things going with the Wheelers?"
"Better than I could have hoped for," he said, reaching into a cabinet for a coffee cup. "You don't happen to have any of those blueberry danishes layin' around, do you?"
I motioned toward the table. “I was just getting ready to start baking, but I think there are a few in there.” While I fixed the coffee, he pilfered through my bakery box and pulled out a slightly smashed pastry. "Want one?" he asked while he had to lid up.
"Yeah, grab me a mixed-berry one. If not, a blueberry muffin will work."
I stirred the creamer into mine and handed him his sans anything but the coffee. He said that over the course of nine years in the army, he’d gotten used to drinking cold instant, so just the fact that it was hot and brewed suited him. He took a drink and winced a little.
"Not to be a choosy beggar, but did you turn the pot off?"
I glanced at the pot. "I don't think—" yes, I had. I groaned. "Here, gimme it."
He handed it back to me and I wrapped my hands around it, focusing heat into my hands and through the ceramic. When steam rose from the coffee, I gave it back to him and he grinned. "Yet another handy benefit of having morning coffee with a witch." Shaking his head, he said, "One more to add to the long list of things I never thought I'd hear myself say."
"Yeah, yeah. Sometimes I think you only come visit for the guaranteed hot coffee and pastries."
He bit into the smooshed half of the danish and took a sip of coffee, then winked. "I never claimed otherwise."
I lifted a brow. "Keep it up. I'll turn it into weak tea and scones."
"I'll stop," he laughed, holding up a hand in surrender.
"Yeah, that's what I thought."
We made our way back out to the porch, but headed around to the new section that overlooked the pool. He'd surprised me by building a fountain into the corner of it. The trickling water added another layer of peace to the tranquil view. Both of us chose chairs facing out over the back pasture beyond the pool.
"I'm considering covering the arena," I said. "I think I could attract a couple more boarders by doing that."
"Do you really wanna attract a couple more boarders?" he asked. We shared a distaste for breaches in our privacy, and cherished the quiet of the farm.
"I don't know," I said. "I wouldn't just mind a couple, if they were the right ones. I wouldn't be interested in anyone who wanted to be out here every morning at seven, or until late at night, either. On the other hand, it might be nice to get in a couple of folks who want to hang out a few days a week. It would put some extra money in the kitty."
He appraised the existing arena behind the barn. "You know you're looking at another fifteen or twenty grand to do it, right? And that's with us doing the labor for practically nothin'. I wouldn't charge you for my time, but I'd have to pay the crew."
I sucked in a breath. "No, I didn't. Even just to cover it?"
"Even just to cover it. You'd have to do drainage around it, plus would you really want to leave the footing as-is? That sand’s pretty deep in a couple of the corners and water stands in a couple places, too. It needs to be resurfaced with proper drainage layers underneath. Ain't no need to do it if you ain't gonna do it right."
Doing some quick mental math, I shook my head. "It'd take me at least five years to recoup that cost. I'll have to think about it. I don't even think I'll have that much left after I put back some rainy-day money."
We sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, sipping our coffee and watching the horses playing. The steam rising off the pool made it look almost mystical. I was thinking about the door and end table, arranging and adding things in my mind before I went down and got started. I was hoping to have it done by the end of the week so I could have a clear plate and go do some more deal shopping that weekend.
My phone dinged with an incoming text and he shook his head when I reached for it. "I don't get it. Folks carry those things everywhere like an extra appendage. What could possibly be so important it can't wait for you to start your day?"
I shrugged, but he had a point. I pulled my hand back and left the phone lying there for a minute, but couldn't resist. He laughed when I snatched it off the table. "I knew it. It was making you crazy. I could see your focus zero in on the stupid thing like a magnet."
I slid my thumb across the screen to open it. It was a text from Rae.
R: 911! Come to courthouse ASAP. I'm being arrested for murder. They're taking my phone now.
My heart about leapt out of my chest and I froze, trying to center my thoughts and focus. My fingers were numb and I nearly dropped my phone.
Matt smirked, missing my expression. "See! Nobody's dead, now are they?"
"Actually," I replied, "somebody is. And Rae's the one accused of doin’ it."
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
I bolted inside and up to my room to pull on some clothes. In the two minutes it took me to pull on jeans and a t-shirt and pull my hair into a messy twist, Matt had the truck started and was waiting in front of the house.
I raised my brows.
"You're in no condition to drive. From what I understand, you've managed to survive threats to your life more than once over the last couple months. I reckon I probably shouldn't let you do your own self in drivin' like a mad woman because you're brain's in shock."
There wasn't any time to waste and he was right; I wasn't in any shape to drive. "Okay, just get me there as fast as you can, then. You know, without hurting the truck." I never let anybody drive my baby, but it looked like I was about to make an exception. He'd already pulled out of the yard and was halfway down the driveway.
"I've driven Bradleys down the main streets of major cities with people shootin' and lobbin' grenades at me. I think I can manage to get a lil ole pickup down a quiet, back-country road, no problem."
Well, I couldn't much argue with that.
"Did she say who got killed?" he asked, turning onto the main road.
I shook my head. "No, just that she was arrested for murder." I bit my lip and thought back to the night before, when I'd gotten onto her for being too passive. I called Hunter, but he didn’t answer. Whoever thought she'd straight-up killed someone was out of his mind.
We pulled in front of the courthouse less than ten minutes later and I was out of the truck before it even came to a full stop. I rushed up the grand staircase and across the graceful verandah, almost knocking a little old lady over in my haste to jerk one of the double doors open. Luckily, the inside of the courthouse was mostly empty, so I didn't have to push through the usual crowd of folks that would be there to pay their taxes or take care of speeding tickets.
The sheriff's office was at the back of the building, and I called out a hasty greeting to Peggy Sue, the receptionist, as I rushed past her desk to Hunter's office.
He was standing with his back to me when I burst through his door and I came to a sliding halt. He turned around to look at me, brow raised.
"Where's Rae?" I asked, looking around the office as though I expected to see her sitting there.
"She's down in intake," he said. They’re processing her, then I have to decide what to do with her."
"What do you mean what to do with her? You have to release her, is what." Was he nuts? He knew Rae couldn't do something like this, whatever this was. That
reminded me that I had no clue what was actually going on, so I asked.
"You mean she didn't tell you?"
"Of course she didn't tell me," I snapped, "or else I wouldn't be askin'."
He crossed his arms and glared at me.
"I'm sorry," I said, taking a deep breath. "I shouldn't have snapped. What happened?"
Sighing, he motioned to the chair. "You may as well sit down. It's gonna be a while yet before you can see her or before I can process her through on my end to try to get bail."
I did as he asked, then popped back up and paced.
"Wearin' a path in my floor isn't gonna do her any good," he said, "but I understand. Now, as to what happened, all I've managed to gather so far is that Olivia came into Brew and saw Raeann with Katie ..." he crinkled his brow and shuffled through some papers on his desk.
"Lawson?" I asked, dreading the direction this was heading.
"Yeah, Katie Lawson." He dropped the stack of papers back onto his desk. "Olivia said she came around the corner and Raeann was kneeling beside Katie."
I waited for the killin' part. When he didn't say anything else, I rolled my fingers. "And? Are you tellin' me Rae finally got up the gumption to give her the beat-down she's deserved for ten years? What happened then?"
He tilted his head and studied me, his brow creased. "Then Olivia bent down to check Katie and she was dead. Strangled, the M.E. thinks. Sounds about right considering she had bruises around her throat. And Raeann was holding the end of a pink scarf that was still wrapped partway around Ms. Lawson's neck."
I plopped back into my chair, my mind whirring through the implications like those old clips on microfiche.
"So, what did Rae have to say?"
Hunter shrugged. "That she just came in and found her that way."
"Well wasn't there anybody else in the store? Rae was supposed to be off today, so Angel should have been there."
"Nope," he said, leaning forward on his elbows and taking my hands in his. "According to Rae, Angel called and said her mama took a bad spill at the library and was being rushed to the hospital. Rae was over at Anna Mae's store lookin' at some doodad or another she'd told her about the night before."