by Tegan Maher
Max was one of the best chess players I'd ever gone up against. I could give him a run for his money, but I had to keep my head in the game. Uncle Calvin had been a huge fan, and he'd taught me how to play when I was young. By the time I was grown, I considered myself passable and then some at the game. Still, I only won maybe one in four games with Max.
Luckily, that was enough to keep him interested in playing with me.
Justin touched my arm as soon as we stepped into the foyer. I looked at him as I toed off my shoes.
"Does she know about magic?" he asked as he took his sneakers off.
I was glad he had the foresight to ask. I hadn't even been sure of the answer until that afternoon when she'd reminded me of an incident in grade school. I'd turned Olivia's teeth green because she was being mean as usual and had called a girl a toothless hillbilly because she’d just lost her front tooth.
"She does," I said, "but good job asking."
I'd expected to find Gabi and Rose in the kitchen, but it was empty. I tossed the mail onto the table, slid the pie into the fridge, and poured myself a glass of tea. Voices drifted in from the back patio that overlooked the new pool; they must have taken the conversation outside. When I shoved the door open, they were sitting around the shaded table, the umbrella adjusted so the sun wasn't beating down on them.
Gabi looked up at me, smiling. "Welcome back. That was quick."
"Yeah, I barely had a chance to scarf down a sandwich, but I managed, and Walmart wasn't busy for once." I glanced at Rose, who looked much less miserable than she had earlier. Almost happy, even. I introduced her to Justin, then let him go, worried the ants in his pants were going to eat him alive.
"We're going for a ride to the lake if you're interested," I said. "Do a little swimming and picnicking."
"Wow," Rose said, pulling in a breath. "It's been years since I've been on a horse, and I don't have a suit, either."
Gabi and I had bottoms that would fit her, but we were both a bit too abundant on top to do her any good.
"It's like riding a bike and we have a nice, gentle gelding that’ll take good care of you," Gabi said, flapping a hand. "And as far as the suit, I'm sure Shelby won't mind lending you one."
Rose lifted a shoulder. "Then why not? It's not like I have anything else to do. I don't have to take Mama's outfit to the funeral parlor 'til tomorrow, and all I was gonna do tonight was binge Netflix. I called Daddy, but he's a tad too happy about the situation to suit me, and I don’t feel like dealing with my new step-mommy." She huffed a disgusted breath and pinched her lips together.
"It's settled, then," I said. I texted Hunter, hoping he was going to be able to make it, but of course he wasn't. Justin wasn't clear out of luck, though. Cody, Shelby's boyfriend, roared up the drive on his motorcycle. Shelby thundered down the stairs from her room, and the screen door slapped shut before Cody even had his helmet off.
To be fair, his bike was loud enough that we could hear him before we could see him, so she had an extra few seconds to fluff her hair before he made it to the house. I considered that a good thing when my little sister's safety was at stake.
"Looks like the crew's all here," I said when they made it up to the porch. "Y'all go help Justin saddle up, and we'll pack the drinks and food real quick then meet you at the barn. Oh, and Rose needs a suit if you don't mind loaning her one."
"Sure thing," Shelby said, her ponytail bobbing as she nodded. "I've got mine on already, so I'll go help the guys. Grab her one out of my drawer."
“Isn’t Raeann coming?” Rose asked on the way upstairs.
I shook my head. “She has a date with her boyfriend tonight. I think they’re going to dinner, then the movies.”
The three of us went upstairs to change real quick, then reconvened in the kitchen. I piled some drinks into one backpack and some chips and grocery store subs into another. Gabi already had one slung over her shoulders with extra towels in it. I turned to leave, but Rose was staring down at my mail.
"When did you get this?" she asked, her brow creased as she looked at the letter from the company that wanted to buy the farm.
I lifted a shoulder. "I don't know for sure—sometime in the last week. We're bad about getting the mail. I think I got another one from them a couple weeks ago too, but I forgot about it. Why?"
"Because mama had four of them stuffed in a file folder," she said. "Each of them went up in price, but the last one wasn't nearly as friendly as the first."
A bad feeling settled in the pit of my stomach. Her property was right up the road from mine. My gut reaction had been right after all; something was up, and it may have turned deadly. Again.
CHAPTER 17
HUNTER WAS INTERVIEWING people all afternoon—Rose's daddy and new wifey included—so I decided to wait until I saw him that evening to tell him about the letter rather than doing it over the phone. It's not like it hadn't already sat in the mailbox for a week anyway, at least according to the date on it.
We had a blast at the lake and it made my heart smile when Justin went out of his way to include Rose in our activities. How, after all he'd been through, he'd managed to keep that kind heart was beyond me, but I was grateful he had. It made me wish I could have met his parents because they must have been something.
By the time we made it back to the farm and took care of the horses, including bringing all the others in and feeding them, we were all ready for some relaxation. Rae'd shown up right before we got there and had wine breathing and a little appetizer plate all made up. Even though we'd eaten the subs, all the swimming and fun burned it up, so I was glad she had.
“I thought you had a date,” I said to her.
“We did, but Dave got called in to work because one of the other doctors was rock climbing and broke his ankle,” she said, then smiled. “It’s all good though—it was his turn to pick the movie and he leans toward dramas rather than action or comedies. I probably dodged a bullet.”
They’d been together long enough that they were settled into the relationship. The shine was still there, but it was more a pleasant, comfortable glow rather than the introductory explosions and starbursts.
The four of us took our wine and snacks to the back patio, enjoying the view of the pool and the pasture beyond, while Justin played porch chess with Max. From the growling coming from that side of the veranda, it was going to be kid 1, donkey 342. It was probably good for Justin to come down a notch or two; chess took strategy, not chest thumping. Well, at least while the game was going.
Cody and Shelby were playing cornhole, and for that little sliver of time, all was well.
Hunter finally made it right before dark. He kept a change of clothes—or two—at the farm, so after slipping into shorts and a T-shirt, he joined us on the porch, cold beer in hand. And boy did he look like he needed it.
"Rough day?" I asked.
He shook his head. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
Glancing at Rose, he said, "No offense, but that woman your dad married is a piece of work. The first question she asked was when she could move into the house. She actually said she, not we."
Rose shook her head and sighed. "I'd like to say it surprises me, but it doesn't. I don't know Millie that well, but from what I've seen, she's a real peach." Sarcasm dripped from her words like used motor oil. "Please tell me Daddy wasn't bad."
"Nah," Hunter replied. "But then again, after her, the bar was pretty low. He answered what questions I had, and they alibied each other. Said they were in Atlanta shopping—with cash—then came home and watched TV at home, which means they don't have alibis at all as far as I'm concerned. And just for the record, she put TV in air quotes."
Rose shuddered. "That's so gross on so many levels."
I was curious, then. All I knew about the woman was that she married Felix and she was an ogre when she was a teenager. I also knew they were lying about being out of town, but that was something I didn’t figure Hunter would want me to spill in front of eve
rybody. Instead, I asked the question at the top of my nosy list. "So what does she look like?"
"She's tacky," Rose replied. "She's average-looking, other than the dyed black, mile-high hair and three pounds of makeup she always wears. And the neon leggings."
"Yeah," Hunter said, grimacing. "And the Walmart perfume."
"Oh yeah." Rose nodded, curling her nose. "That stuff's horrible. Either it has a faint smell of dirty armpit, or she uses it to cover up her own nasty self."
Wow. I was almost sorry I asked, but also had some sick urge to actually see that kind of mess for myself. I shook it off and took another drink of wine. Realizing my glass was almost empty and so was the bottle, I summoned another from the kitchen with a few words because I was too relaxed to walk in and get it.
Rose gave a half-smile as the bottle floated to us. "No matter how many times I see you do stuff like that, I'll never get used to it."
"Hey," I said, kicking my feet up on the chair next to me. "Did you feel like getting up?"
"Nope," she replied, reaching for the bottle. "I wasn't complaining. As a matter of fact, I’m a little jealous."
Rae had been unusually quiet and looked like she had something on her mind. Given recent events, there was no surprise there, but I was worried something else had gone wrong. She'd been fine when I'd talked to her earlier. I nudged her with my toe.
"Did everything go okay today?" I made the question general on purpose. Rose didn't need to know what she was going through unless Rae wanted to tell her herself. She pulled her thousand-yard stare away from the pool and looked at me, blinking.
"Yeah, sure," she said, studying the wine in her glass. "Better than okay, actually." What she said and the way she said it were in complete opposition. Going by her tone, she'd said something more along the lines of My dog died, my house burned down, and I found out I have the clap, crabs, and I'm pregnant.
I raised a brow at her but figured I'd leave it alone. She’d either her work it out on her own or get around to telling me in her own time. Again, mixed company.
"Except," she said, picking at a string on her shirt, "Dave wants to take it to the next level."
Dave was a doctor she'd met when Shelby had fallen off a ladder. He was a great guy. Good looking, had a decent job, and—most importantly to me—had no desire to jump out of airplanes and hadn't expressed the desire to do anything else crazy, such as kill us, like her last serious boyfriend had. Saying her luck with men was bad was like calling the Nile a creek.
Gabi studied her for a minute. "And that's a bad thing?"
I held up a hand. "First, what does he mean by taking it to the next level?"
"He wants to go exclusive, and meet Mama."
"So?" Gabi said, perplexed. "It's not like you've been seeing anybody else anyway, and your mom’s awesome. What's the problem?"
Raeann heaved a dramatic sigh and took a swig of wine. "The problem is he thinks I'm normal."
Hunter laughed. "No way he thinks that, I promise you!"
She scowled and threw a wine cork at him. "You know what I mean."
"Ohhh," he said, a look of dawning crossing his face. "That kind of normal."
"Yeah," she said, a hangdog look on her face. "And I like him. I don't want to curse it by pushing things, pardon the pun."
"You're not exactly pushing things," I said. "You've been dating him for several months.” She was moving slow and I was glad, but I could also understand why he was ready to step things up a notch. “I get it about the magic, though. I'm glad it happened the way it did with Hunter because I'm not sure how I would have told him otherwise."
It was during the whole incident when Shelby fell off the ladder that Hunter’d found out I was a witch. We’d barely met and were even arguing at the time. She'd sent me a telepathic 911 while I was riding in his truck, so I'd had no choice other than admit—then prove—I was a witch in order to get him to put the hammer down on the gas and get me to the farm ASAP.
Rose whistled low. "For the first time, I don't envy you your gifts. Much, anyway."
"Speaking from experience," Hunter said, serious this time, "I liked Noelle and had enough of a clue that I knew something weird was going on in this town, and I’d only been here a few months. Dave’s been here for most of his life. And you don't necessarily have to tell him just yet if you don't want. I mean, it's not like he's on the verge of proposing."
"He's not, right?" I asked, cutting her a sideways glance.
"No, thank god," she said. "I'll think about it. I don't feel right not telling him, but the thought of coming out of the broom closet scares the daylights out of me."
"Speaking of telling people things," Rose said, eyeballing me and looking pointedly at Hunter, "we should probably tell him about the letters."
"What letters?" he asked, pulling his gaze away from Rae.
After I explained, he was quiet for a minute before he turned to Rose. "How much was your mom's last one, and was there any way she told your dad about the offers?"
She scrunched her forehead, thinking. "Good question. It was over a half mil, so it was possible. Especially if Mama thought Millie was going to have a shot at living there if she died first. I'd bet my bottom dollar she'd have rather sold it now than risk that woman beating her just by outliving her." She paused, pursing her lips together. "Though on second thought, she probably wouldn't have wanted Daddy to have that kind of cash to spend on another woman either. Six of one, half a dozen of another, so it’s hard to tell."
Hunter looked at her like she'd sprouted a second head. "That's one of the most convoluted thought processes I've ever tried to follow." He took off his ball cap, ran his hand through his hair, then put the hat back on.
One corner of Rose's mouth tipped up and she reached for a cracker. "That was Mama. My guess? It all boils down to whether the letters came before or after she found out about Millie. If she knew about her, then no, she wouldn't have said anything. If she didn't know, though, it's possible. The place was getting to be a bit much for her, I think."
"So what you're saying," he said, running a piece of celery through the ranch dressing, "is it's possible your dad and/or his lovely gal pal had half a million reasons to want her dead and not a single one to want her alive."
"Yup," she said, nodding as she popped the cracker into her mouth. "I reckon that pretty much sums it up, as bad as I hate to say it."
I reached for the wine bottle, but she beat me to it.
"Allow me," she said, holding the bottle over my glass. "My mama was just murdered and it looks like my daddy or his lovely bride are at the top of the suspect list. I think if ever there was a time for more wine, this is it."
Since, sadly, she wasn't wrong, I let her fill my glass, then toasted to a quick resolution.
CHAPTER 18
IT WAS MY TURN TO FEED the horses and clean the stalls the next morning, but as soon as I opened my eyes to the blinding sun shining through my window, I knew they were going to have to wait.
My stomach churned and I barely made it to the porcelain throne in time to worship. I hadn’t felt this horrid in ... ever, I didn’t think. I brushed my teeth, then stumbled downstairs to the kitchen and fumbled in the cabinet for the family hangover cure. I had no idea what was in it, but whatever it was, Raeann had fiddled with the original recipe. It had been great before, but she’d made it near perfect to cure what ailed you. I found the tin and shook it, realizing it was almost empty. Pulling off the lid with shaking fingers and squinting into it, I realized we either needed to slow down on the wine or Rae needed to make bigger batches.
I made a note on a Post-It and stuck it on the fridge reminding her we needed a double batch, ASAP.
There was plenty for all of us to have some that morning, which was a good thing because I'm not sure if the selflessness that usually lived in my heart would have overcome the nausea and the pounding currently threatening to make my head explode. I'd only had three glasses over the whole evening because I didn’t lik
e to drink too much, especially when Justin was there, but for some reason, it felt more like three bottles.
I steeped the cure, stirred in some sugar and an ice cube so it wouldn't peel the hide off my tongue, then pinched my nose and slammed it. I said it worked—I didn't say it tasted good. Gagging, I reached for the coffee I'd made while the tea was steeping and chased the taste away, shuddering.
Gleeful cackling sounded behind me, nearly cleaving my pounding head in two. I turned to find Addy hovering above the table, snickering at me.
"Lightweight," she said just a little louder than necessary, smirking.
I stabbed her with a look that might have killed her if she hadn't already been dead, then put hand to my forehead. "Why is it lately when I want to talk to you, I have to holler for you, but when I'm just trying to peacefully exist, not bothering anybody, you show up to torture me? You're evil; you know that, right?"
She crossed her arms and grinned. "Of course I know that. I've enjoyed torturing you for almost thirty years. It's one of my favorite things to do, and it looks like I have an eternity to do it." Her face turned serious. "But I do know I haven't been around as much. Things have been weird in the post-living community lately, and I've been doing my best to keep things on an even keel."
Even through the haze, I couldn't miss the wisp of worry that flitted across her face.
"What's been weird?" I asked, curious.
She lifted a translucent shoulder. "I can't really put my finger on it. Just a vague feeling, sort of the way you can feel a storm in the air."
Rose shuffled bleary-eyed into the kitchen before Addy could say anymore, her nose wrinkled and her hair smashed flat to one side of her head and sticking straight up on the other.
What's that horrible smell?" she said, barely hiding her gag reflex as she leaned against the counter to steady herself. "Thank God I took the room next to the bathroom. I was sick half the night. I'm not used to drinking like that, and I still have the spins."