He told me he wasn’t sure what they were yet, but I could tell from his tone that he wanted it to be more than just hanging out. I hoped my baby didn’t get his heart broken. If he did though, he was a big boy and could handle himself. I had loved the idea of him moving to Mystic Hollow though and I made a mental note to ask him about that the next time we spoke. Although I would probably forget unless I wrote it down.
When we hung up, I filled Henry in on his nephew’s life before we settled back in to finish the movie. “Remember when we were kids, we’d do our hair all crazy and put our underwear on our heads and have a pajama day?”
He chuckled. “Yeah. That was a long time ago.” His gaze drifted back to the movie, not giving me nearly enough reminiscing about the underwear-head thing. “Be right back,” I muttered.
I ran down the hall and grabbed my granniest pair of panties, put them on my head, then pulled my hair out through the leg holes to stick up like crazy.
As I ran back down the hall, I sang an old song we used to drive each other nuts with. “This is the song that doesn’t—” I stopped short when I jumped off the stairs and saw Henry standing with someone in the foyer.
“Hey,” Daniel said lamely.
I yanked the underwear off my head as I squeaked out some sort of greeting. “I didn’t know you were coming by.”
“Yeah, I wanted to check on you after what happened.” He looked like he was fighting hard not to burst out laughing.
“I’m good. Just hanging out here with Henry, watching a movie.” Belatedly, I realized I was talking with my hands and swinging the underwear around at the same time. I stepped back and stuffed them into my back pocket.
“Can we talk?” Daniel asked with a big grin on his face. He nodded at Henry. “In private.”
8
Emma
Opening the back door, Daniel waited for me to go out then shut the door behind us with a quiet snick. “Please,” I motioned toward the glider. It was a two-seater, that matched the two Adirondack chairs that sat out there as well. I knew men often liked to spread out, so I figured that was the best option for him. “Sit.”
He did, and then patted the spot beside him. I perched on the edge, barely letting my whole ass fit on the chair, not wanting to crowd him, as nerves fluttered in my belly. It had to be because I didn’t know what he was going to say, right? He looked so relaxed sitting there though, like he would be at ease anywhere. It made me almost want to lean back into him and absorb some of the chill attitude he had. And maybe enjoy watching the waves with the arm of a handsome man around my shoulders. So, sue me.
“I came to tell you that you’re no longer considered a suspect.” He grinned at me as I looked over at him. His eyes sparkled in the low light. “In my official capacity as retired sheriff, I got the skinny.”
I patted his knee, surprising myself or maybe even both of us with the contact and smiled. “Thank you, but I already knew. Beth’s sister told me.” I hesitated and looked out at the waves with my hand still on Daniel’s knee. I knew I should remove it, that to leave it there might be considered inappropriate, but I couldn’t bring myself to let go. When he put his hand over mine, I decided to trust him. “There’s something else, though. I don’t think it was a natural death, no matter what the police have ruled it as.”
He sat back, accidentally dislodging my hand, but he caught it and twined our fingers together. My heart swelled with the small sign of affection. He had enjoyed having my hand on his knee. In fact, he enjoyed it so much that he didn’t want to let my hand go, which was why it was now wrapped in his much larger one. His voice was careful, quiet, like he didn’t want to scare me off, as though I was some wild creature needing to be approached with caution, as he asked, “Why do you think that?”
“So, Roger had a partner. He disappeared five years ago. Do you remember that?” I hoped that Daniel might have information he would share with me about what happened, or at least what they think happened.
Daniel sighed, frustration and disappointment warring in his gaze. “I was on the force when that guy disappeared. I couldn’t find anything.” He squeezed my hand. “That case always bothered me.”
“Do you have any information at all?” I asked. I hadn’t yet told him I was thinking of investigating this on my own. I wasn’t sure how he’d react. I wasn’t sure how anyone would react, or at least anyone who knew me and my new skill set. It wasn’t as though I was Veronica Mars or something and adding karma into the mix just made everything more complicated.
“Not really. If you thought Roger was an ass, you should’ve met Cliff. He was a real dick.” He ducked his head and seemed to mentally scold himself. “Pardon the language.”
I snorted and squeezed his hand. Worrying about language in front of me was adorable, but I wasn’t a little girl. I’d heard worse and had much worse directed at me personally and from my husband as well, or at least he had been at the time. Not that I wanted to think about Rick right now. He always had a way of ruining the moment. “Don’t worry on my account. What else?”
“He was hated by pretty much everyone in town, so the list of suspects was substantial. But nobody panned out.”
I wavered, but I had to give him more information in order to get more information from him. “I think Beth might be in trouble. I think someone went after her ex, and since she’s still part-owner of the business, I’m scared they’ll go after Beth. I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to her.”
He furrowed his brow. “I don’t think she’s in any danger,” he said. “Unless Roger had something to do with Cliff’s disappearance, or if Beth had something to do with it, why would anyone go after either of them?”
His words sounded good, but his eyes looked worried. The reassuring smile he gave me didn’t quite touch those mossy green orbs, and I knew there was something about the case he wasn’t telling me, something that would make him worry about Beth too now that I’d planted that seed.
I wanted to tell him everything, to bare my soul to those observant green eyes of his, but I couldn’t. Not yet anyway. I needed to know what happened to Cliff before I told him anything else. I didn’t want to accidentally implicate Beth just because I didn’t understand something or didn’t have all of the information. I knew everything supernatural in Mystic Hollow was new to me, so I wanted to be extra careful, especially when it came to my friends.
An awkward silence stretched between us, so I turned my gaze toward the ocean in the distance. The quiet rush of the waves hitting the shore filled the air along with a few bird calls. The white foam of the waves washed up the beach as though it was desperately trying to escape the rest of the ocean, only to fail and be reclaimed by it once again. In some ways, it felt like Mystic Hollow was reclaiming me. I took a risk and glanced at Daniel again only to find him watching me. I turned my head back to face the white caps. It was safer that way. No tempting gazes trying to make me spill my guts.
“So,” Daniel said, sounding just as awkward as I felt. “How do you like being back in town?”
“I’m pretty happy,” I admitted. “I don’t want to go back.” I paused, considering his question properly before I answered any further. The idea of living with Henry was strange, homey but strange. There weren’t many middle-aged women that lived with their equally middle-aged brothers. I wasn’t ashamed about it, far from it, but if I was to theoretically start dating again at some point there may be some awkward moments in store. Though Daniel seeing me with my undies on my head and Henry acting as though everything was completely normal and something I did every night ranked up there with some of my top awkward moments as an adult. I had to rank adult and teenager awkward moments separately because I was a super awkward teen.
I couldn’t help but remember some of the awkward moments I’d had with Daniel as a teen. I’d had the biggest crush on him then and if I was honest, ever since I’d come back to Mystic Hollow, it had been coming back. How could a woman resist a man like him? Tall, muscul
ar, dark hair, green eyes. He was the definition of dreamy.
After being silent for what was probably too long, I added, “In fact, I’m seriously considering selling my home and staying here with Henry permanently.”
His eyebrows flew up as his eyes brightened, making my heart thaw just a little from the block of ice my ex had turned it into. “I vote for that. You being here permanently, I mean.”
Standing, Daniel paced a few steps away before turning back to look at me. “Have you tried the new sushi restaurant in town?”
I shook my head. “No, not yet.”
He scuffed his toe on the deck. It was almost like time had flashed backward and I could see the high school version of him that I’d always dreamed would ask me out one day. “It’s good.”
“I do like sushi,” I said, hoping he was leading up to what I suspected he was. I was more than ready for him to ask me out on a date. I wasn’t about to jump into a serious relationship, my heart was still healing from my last one, but I could handle a date, especially with a man like Daniel. Maybe I should take the plunge and suggest it myself. Standing, I walked over to him. “I need to try that sushi place,” I hinted strongly.
Daniel looked over my shoulder into the house. Stepping back to the glider, he picked up my God-awful granny panties and handed them to me. “I’ll, uh, talk to you soon, okay?”
Son of a… I shoved them back in my pocket, deeper this time. “Sure,” I said in a voice that was far too bright. “I’ll walk you out.”
Again, with the awkward silence. I followed him to the front door. His butt looked great in those jeans, just the thought had me yanking my gaze upward and fixing it on the point between his shoulder blades. “Thanks for stopping by to tell me about the lack of murder charges,” I said in a quiet voice as he reached for the handle on the front door.
Daniel nodded. “Sure, sure.”
He stepped outside, and when I shut the door, I ran to the living room to look out of the window and got there just in time to see him slap himself in the forehead. His mouth moved and I had to assume he was berating himself, just like I had been doing to myself mentally. Part of me wished I could hear what he was saying, but mainly I was just glad that at least he was as embarrassed as I was.
9
Emma
I waited at the little table in the corner of the kitchen again while Deva gave her kitchen crew last-minute instructions. She was too much of a micromanager, but it meant I got to eat those amazing truffle oil fries she’d served with dinner along with the leftover très leches shortcake pieces they had offered as dessert while I waited, so whatever. I wasn’t about to turn down food like that.
“Did you put confidence in this?” I whispered as she hurried by, the air gusting behind her and swirling all the delicious scents from the kitchen at me once again. My stomach practically growled as it reignited my hunger. I swear I could eat my talented friend’s food every day for the rest of my life and not object. She really was one of the most amazing chefs I’d ever had the privilege of experiencing.
Deva just winked and tapped the side of her nose. A grin tugged at the corners of her mouth, though she didn’t bust out a full smile, since she was usually more serious in the kitchen.
Whatever. At least I wasn’t scared about doing this investigating thing anymore. We could do this; we were capable women. We were mothers for crying out loud. If we could figure out how to raise crotch goblins into human beings, then we could do anything.
A few minutes later, Deva stopped beside the table, finally standing still for more than thirty seconds. She was wearing real clothes instead of her white—and food-stained—chef’s jacket and those strange black and white striped pants that chefs were always wearing. None of it looked very comfortable to me. Okay, the pants weren’t so bad since they looked kind of like sweatpants, but the jacket and the way it buttoned around the throat? No thank you. “Let’s go.”
I pushed to my feet snagging a few last fries and stuffing them into my mouth as I followed her to her car. There wasn’t a single nervous butterfly in sight, and my heartbeat was as steady and strong as a drum. “Where are we going?” I asked, figuring I should at least be somewhat mentally prepared for whatever was about to go down.
“The last place Cliff was seen. Roger’s law office.” Her voice was grim, determined. It made me a little nervous again, so I pulled out the piece of shortbread I’d taken as well and popped it in my mouth, which made Deva smile. She waited patiently for me to finish, laughing softly to herself at my antics with her food.
Once I was done chewing, I took a deep breath and said, “Okay.” I hopped in the passenger seat.
Deva yanked a black duffle bag out of the backseat and put it in my lap. The canvas material was rough against my fingertips as I searched for the zipper in the low light. A black zipper on a black bag in a dark car wasn’t exactly easy to find. She rattled off the contents as she pulled out of the parking lot of her restaurant. “Flashlights, pepper spray, a letter opener, gloves both nitrile and leather…”
I buckled up and peeked into the bag after finally finding the zipper. “A lockpick?”
She grinned and her eyes flashed with what I swear was excitement. “We gotta get in somehow.”
We chatted lightly on the way, mainly trying to keep my mind off the coming danger. It wasn’t that I expected something to go wrong, but it just always seemed like it did, so I figured it was better to expect it than to not. I wasn’t sure if I was overreacting. For all we knew a guy had just had a heart attack while out for a walk. But when it came to my friends, it was better to be safe than sorry.
Deva’s mouth curled into a frown as she glanced in her rearview mirror.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, wondering if danger had already found us.
“Just some jerk tailgating us.”
“Ugh!” I turned around and saw some giant truck, that was so shiny it’d clearly never hauled a darn thing, so close to the back of Deva’s car that I couldn’t see his front lights, but his high beams seemed to be turned on. “I hate when people do that. It’s not even like we’re driving too slow.”
Suddenly, the car honked, five quick honks, then he sped into the lane next to us. The lane facing oncoming traffic. Deva gasped, and her hands white-knuckled the steering wheel. Then, he swerved in front of us and stepped on his brakes. Deva squeaked and slammed on her brakes too, which was the only reason we didn’t hit the back of his truck.
When he sped back up, Deva and I were both breathing hard. “Sorry,” I said, “Car stuff is still pretty triggering for me.”
The car accident that killed my parents was a long time ago, and therapy had helped a whole lot to ensure I didn’t break out into a cold sweat every time I got into a car, but I still didn’t like stuff like this. It brought me back to a dark place that I didn’t like.
“That guy was an ass. I’m sorry, Emma. There’s always a couple of them, and Bubba likes to drive aggressively. He’s caused a few minor accidents over the years.”
My teeth clenched together. “A guy like that is going to get someone killed. Unless someone teaches him a lesson.” I stretched out my hand toward the truck. “Slow down,” I whispered to Deva.
Deva does, giving him a wide berth.
Suddenly, all four of his tires popped, and his car made a terrible sound as it screeched to a halt. He climbed out of his car, in what looked like a fit of rage, but then saw his tires. His mouth dropped open in utter disbelief.
Deva waited for the other side of the road to be clear, then started to go around him. I couldn’t help myself. I unrolled my window and yelled, “Karma isn’t going to be done with you. Not until you learn how to drive safer.”
He looked up at me in confusion, but we just drove past and continued onto the office.
“You’re getting more confident,” Deva mused, a smile on her lips. “Remember when you popped that spot thief’s tires? You were scared. Now, you’re a badass.”
I grinned.
“Or maybe I’m already getting bored with my powers and doing the same things.”
She laughed. “Nah, punishing terrible drivers would be near the top of my list if I had your powers.”
We were both cackling like old witches but then relaxed again into our drive. But very quickly, my thoughts went back to Daniel. It’d been so dang long since I’d had to date or flirt with anyone. Deva had been single longer, even though she hadn’t dated anyone yet. I figured she might be a good person to talk about it all with, but for some weird reason, I felt nervous.
After a few minutes, I glanced at Deva out of the corner of my eye and then decided to just go for it. “So, Daniel tried to ask me out today.”
“No!” Deva exclaimed. The grin on her face and lack of true surprise in her voice told me that she thought it was long overdue.
“Yes. But I made a fool of myself and he never got around to asking.” At least I was pretty sure he was just being shy and backward like me. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have slapped himself in the forehead… would he?
We talked about it all the way to Roger’s office, which took a big load off the ride. Deva helped me over-analyze every little detail, down to the type of granny panties I’d had on my head when he first saw me. It made me laugh and relax and almost forget what we were doing. She didn’t seem bothered by what we were about to do in the slightest which helped as well, though it made me wonder how common stuff like this was for my friends. How much had I missed out on when I was only a human? It sure seemed like a lot now.
When our conversation died down, I cautiously brought up her dating life. “So, is Harry still trying to get back together with you?”
She stiffened and all her humor died away. “Yeah, I’ve told him over and over again that I just need space, but I know it’s time to have a frank discussion… now that I know how I feel.”
Karma's Shift (Magical Midlife in Mystic Hollow Book 2) Page 5