To Love a Witch Read online

  He didn’t look convinced. “You’re an adult. You make your own decisions. I have no say in this.”

  That seemed too easy. “You won’t try to stop us from looking for pirate treasure on the property of the murdered woman?”

  “Nope. I figure if you’re out there with a group you’ll be safe from the crazy poltergeist.” He swallowed his mouthful. “I also think Aunt Tillie will reward me by bringing the doughnut smell back because I’m being agreeable.”

  I knew there had to be a catch.

  “What? You don’t like the rotating smells?” Aunt Tillie queried.

  “Bay doesn’t like cherries.”

  “Is that what that smell is?” Twila, who was walking behind Landon, leaned closer and sniffed his hair. “I love cherries.”

  The look on Landon’s face was priceless. “I want to go back to doughnuts ... and I want Bay to be the only one to smell it.”

  “That’s a tall order,” Aunt Tillie said. “If I do that, I need you to promise me three passes from the law.”

  He frowned. “Do you have some big heist planned?”

  “Don’t worry about it.”

  I expected him to outright turn her down. Instead, he took me by surprise. “Make it so only Bay can smell it and you have a deal.”

  I was dumbfounded. “I can’t believe you’re letting her shake you down.”

  He shook his head. “Please. At most she’s going to terrorize Margaret Little with more scooter shenanigans or possibly transport her wine across state lines. I can pretend to look the other way on both.”

  “What if she does something else?”

  “We’ll deal with it if it happens.”

  Aunt Tillie grinned. “I’m starting to like you more and more, even if you are ‘The Man.’”

  Landon returned her smile. “Right back at you.”

  “We’re two peas in a pod,” Aunt Tillie enthused. “And not the mushy ones.”

  That right there was a frightening thought.

  Eighteen

  It was still early enough in the season that the night air was crisp as we walked back to the guesthouse. In another two or three weeks, the nights would turn steamy. Landon said he preferred those nights because it meant we could roll around on the ground without freezing. I liked them because there was always magic in the air — especially on the bluff — that was hard to put a name to. I figured he felt the same thing, even if he didn’t know how to put a name to it.

  “What are you thinking?” Landon asked as he linked his fingers with mine and started swinging our joined hands.

  I smiled at the playful interaction. “I don’t know. Just thinking.”

  “No, you’re chewing on something,” he countered, releasing my hand and moving quickly enough to get a running start before landing on a large boulder. He stood several feet taller than me now and looked down, like a king surveying his kingdom. “I want to know what you’re thinking.”

  I held out my hands and shrugged as I watched him move around the surface. “I can’t wrap my head around everything that has happened,” I admitted. “There are too many possibilities. I think I prefer having a definite direction to look in rather than trying to wade through eight threads, all of which overlap.”

  He blinked several times and then shook his head. “That’s what you’re thinking? I thought for sure I smelled like doughnuts again and you were trying to resist your urges.”

  That made me laugh. In fact, I laughed so hard I had to bend at the waist to catch my breath. “Oh, geez. I don’t think I realized when we first met that you were such a comedian.”

  He hopped down and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me tight. “The doughnut smell is coming. I have faith that Aunt Tillie will uphold her end of the bargain.”

  “Yeah, I can’t believe you agreed to that bargain. What happens if she gets in trouble digging up Heather’s yard?”

  Landon shrugged, noncommittal. “Then she becomes that shirt-tail relative of my girlfriend, a woman I barely know.”

  I chuckled, my fingers going to his cheek. “Funny and handsome.”

  “And in twenty minutes I’m going to smell like every dirty dream you’ve ever had of me.” He leaned into my hand as it cupped his cheek. “Tell me what you’re thinking, Bay. I know you’ve got more than just potential Great Lakes pirate booty on your mind. Talk.”

  He could read me well. I wasn’t sure when it happened. Somewhere along the way, he’d become the person who knew me best. Given the fact that I’d grown up with Clove and Thistle, it should’ve been impossible.

  And yet here we were.

  “I need you to stay away from the campground,” I said.

  Whatever he was expecting, that wasn’t it. His eyes went wide. “Why? I like it out there. I thought we would spend the summer having private bonfires and campouts.”

  “We can’t do that with a teenager on the premises.”

  “And how long do you plan to keep her there?”

  “I ... don’t ... know. Until I’m certain she’s not a danger to anyone. I don’t think that’s going to happen overnight.”

  “Bay, it’s not going to happen at all.” Landon let out a frustrated sigh and released me. I immediately missed his warmth but held my ground. “I love you more than anything in this world, Bay, but you have certain blind spots. Dani is one of those blind spots.”

  “She’s a kid.”

  “Kids her age can be tried as adults.”

  “She can’t be tried,” I argued. “There’s no evidence against her. You’re in law enforcement. You must see that.”

  “Actually, I don’t see that, Bay.” Landon leaned against the boulder and pushed his hair from his eyes. “I was there when everything went down. You took them on alone — and I’m still annoyed about that — but I heard what was said. She was part of it. She wasn’t some innocent kid being used without her knowledge. She was fine being used.”

  That was true, and I didn’t like being reminded of it. “Landon, I don’t want to argue about this.” The argument kept circling and circling and neither one of us could give it up. It had grown tiresome. Fear fueled both of us. We couldn’t simply ignore the potential argument when our entire future was riding on the outcome.

  I turned my back to him and stared at the thick trees surrounding the property. “I know you don’t understand why I can’t cut her loose, but if she hurts someone else I feel as if that will be on me. I don’t want that.”

  He blew out a sigh. “I don’t want it either, sweetie.” He moved in behind me and draped himself over my back, kissing my neck as he rubbed his cheek against mine. “I’m afraid, Bay.” His voice was barely a whisper. “She’s not a little girl. She could do a lot of damage on her way down ... and I’m afraid she’s going to do that damage to you.

  “You are brave ... and strong ... and you have the absolute best heart,” he continued. “You make me laugh, too.” His lips caused my skin to break out in goose pimples as he kissed the back of my neck. “But sometimes you’re an easy mark because you want to believe in others so fervently that you don’t see what’s right in front of you.”

  “I’m not naive, Landon,” I insisted. “I know she’s not going to change overnight.”

  “You have to want to change to make it happen, Bay. She doesn’t want to change. She’s going to bide her time until she thinks you’re not looking and then run. I think there’s a legitimate chance she will try to wreak as much havoc as possible right up until the point she disappears. I don’t want you to be caught unaware when that happens.”

  I pursed my lips. “What do you want me to do?” I asked finally.

  “Stay safe.”

  “At what cost? We can’t turn her loose out into the world knowing that she could kill again. We can’t lock her up because she’s powerful enough to hurt people should they try to cut her off from the outside world. That only leaves ... killing her.” I swallowed hard. “Can you live with that?”

  “What answer will
make you feel better?” He was unnaturally calm. His body was warm pressed against mine, and I felt settled despite the potential tempest approaching. “I want you safe more than anything else in this world. I get that you see her as a child, but she’s more than that. She’s an adult ... and potentially deadly if we’re not careful.

  “You don’t want me at the campground because you think she’ll hurt me,” he continued. “I’m not magical. You’re tiptoeing around the topic even though we’ve discussed it before. You didn’t get the response you really wanted, so here we are again.

  “You believe I won’t be able to defend myself,” he continued. “You don’t want to come out and say it because you’re convinced it will damage my ego, but it’s written all over your face.”

  I protested. “No. I know you’re strong. You’re brave, too. It’s just ... you won’t sense the attack if it comes. You can’t, because you’re not a witch. That’s not meant to be an insult.”

  “I’m not insulted, but I am curious. Will you be able to sense when an attack is coming? If so, that will make me feel better ... even if I am worried about what sort of fight you might find yourself mired in.”

  “I’ll sense it.” I was almost positive that was true. I turned in his arms to face him. “It’s going to be okay. We’ll figure this out.”

  “How? You need to take the time to come up with real solutions if we want to get ahead on this, and I don’t think you’re there yet. You’re too focused on Valerie Lennox and her crazy ghost, which I agree is a problem. You can’t split your focus. I don’t want you to, because it makes you vulnerable.

  “Eventually, though, we’ll have to deal with this,” he continued. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t want to be cut out of the decision. I want you to promise me we can work together and make sure that we get the best possible outcome for all those concerned when it’s finally time.”

  I stared into the fathomless depths of his eyes and nodded. He needed to be part of the team, and I was terrified of making the wrong decision. This was definitely something we would have to do together.

  “Just as soon as we get through the poltergeist problem — or whatever it is we’re dealing with — we’ll sit down and discuss it.”

  “Thank you.” He rested his forehead against mine and gave me a soft kiss. “I love you, Bay.”

  A lump formed in my throat. He was so earnest. “I love you too.”

  He was quiet for a few moments, swaying back and forth as he held me tight. Then he whispered again and it caused my heart to fill with love.

  “Do I smell like a warm doughnut with sprinkles yet?”

  “I’m sure it will be soon.”

  LANDON’S CURSE HADN’T KICKED IN by the time we got back to the guesthouse, which was a great disappointment to him. After taking a bath, I decided to track down the bacon-scented perfume he’d purchased as a gift for Valentine’s Day so we could have a little fun.

  I couldn’t find it.

  “What are you doing?” Landon looked genuinely alarmed when he walked into the bedroom and found me going through his sock drawer.

  “Nothing.” I tried to act innocent, but I was bad at it. “Um ... nothing important.”

  His eyebrows migrated higher on his forehead as he moved closer to me. “Do you need something? Are your feet cold?”

  “No. I just ... um ... .” I shouldn’t have felt guilty. We lived together, for crying out loud. His expression made me feel like a kid caught doing something terrible. “I was just looking for the perfume.” I lowered my eyes.

  “What perfume?” His voice was even but his body remained coiled.

  “The bacon perfume.” I sucked in a breath. “I thought I might wear it to make you feel better about the doughnut thing.”

  “Oh.” He almost looked relieved, which seemed ridiculous under the circumstances. “That’s up here.” He nudged me away from the dresser and closed the sock drawer with his foot, opening the top drawer instead. He handed the perfume to me and smiled. “I know people say that two spritzes are enough, but you can never wear too much bacon perfume.”

  “Okay.” I felt suddenly out of touch with him. “I didn’t mean to go through your stuff. I didn’t think it was a big deal.”

  “It’s fine,” he said, waving off my half-hearted apology. “I just thought you needed something specific. Don’t worry about it.”

  He said the right things, but I still felt off kilter. “Okay, well ... I guess I’ll put this on. Do you want to watch a movie or something?”

  “Absolutely.” He leaned in and gave me a kiss that felt stiff even though it was a normal exchange. “Let’s watch something that gets you in a romantic mood.”

  “So ... Practical Magic?”

  He smirked. “You read my mind.”

  THE FOLLOWING MORNING I was still bothered by the exchange at the dresser. Landon was up before me and had already showered when I crawled out of bed. His eyes moved from his reflection in the mirror to me as I dragged a hand through my hair.

  “You’re running late this morning.” He looked a little too smug. “You need to get moving if we’re going to make breakfast at the inn.”

  “Okay.” I was slow getting out of bed. “I’ll hop in the shower.”

  “Did I tire you out?”

  I knew what he wanted to hear. “You’re a god amongst men.”

  “I already knew that.” He leaned in to give me a kiss and I caught a distinctive scent.

  “Oh, you smell like doughnuts again.”

  He pumped his fist. “You had better be the only one to notice. If she screwed me two days in a row I’ll wrestle her down and dump pickled okra on her.”

  “She hates pickled okra.”

  “I’m willing to fight dirty to get what I want this go-around.”

  “I’ll get in the shower. I’m kind of hungry.”

  “That’s because I tired you out.” He sent me a wink and then moved toward the door. “I’ll make some coffee. You look as if you could use some caffeine.”

  He wasn’t wrong. “Yeah. I just need to grab some clothes and a quick shower. I should be ready in twenty minutes.”

  “Sounds good.”

  I watched him go, this time without the warm sensation that usually permeated my body when I was close to him. His reaction to me looking in the sock drawer still bothered me a great deal.

  I knew it was wrong even as I was doing it, and yet I couldn’t stop myself. Within seconds of him leaving the bedroom, I was on my knees and his sock drawer was open. I rummaged through the contents quickly — the last thing I wanted was to get caught again — but came up empty. Frustration roiled as I searched again, but there was absolutely nothing there.

  Had he moved whatever he was trying to hide? I was convinced there was something in the drawer he didn’t want me to see. Was I imagining everything because I was losing my mind? It was possible Clove was influencing my emotions again, but that didn’t feel right. This was more personal.

  I searched one more time and then heaved out a sigh before closing the drawer. Why was I acting like this? I had zero reason not to trust him, and yet I was positive he’d almost exploded when he found me in the drawer the previous evening.

  Was he hiding something, or was I overreacting? One outcome seemed much more likely, but I remained unsettled.

  What was happening?

  AUNT TILLIE WAS DRESSED IN COLORFUL leggings and her combat helmet at the dining room table when we joined the usual crew for breakfast. Thistle and Clove weren’t present — they came for dinner more than any other meal — but everyone else was already eating as we sat down.

  “There had better be bacon left,” Landon grumbled, shooting me a look.

  “You’re late,” Mom noted, sipping her coffee. “Perhaps you don’t deserve bacon if you’re going to be late.”

  “Don’t threaten me,” Landon warned in a teasing tone. He seemed to be in a good mood, though I was mired in doubt.

  “There�
��s plenty of bacon,” Chief Terry said, gesturing toward the huge platter. His eyes went to me as I got comfortable. I saw worry there. “What’s wrong with you?”

  I wasn’t exactly surprised by the question. He’d always been in tune with my moods. As a kid, I gravitated toward him. He’d always gone out of his way to cater to Clove, Thistle, and me. Our bond was especially tight, though, and that was on full display.

  “Nothing,” I reassured him quickly. “I’m ... perfectly okay.”

  He didn’t look convinced. “You look tired.”

  “That’s because we broke out the bacon perfume last night,” Landon supplied.

  Chief Terry pinned him with a glare. “You know, there are times I have an overwhelming urge to thump you. Don’t say things like that to me. It makes me feel icky.”

  I smiled at his mild outrage. “I just didn’t sleep very well,” I explained. “I have a lot on my mind.”

  “Because of Dani?” Chief Terry’s lips curved into a sneer. “I think I’ve made my feelings on the situation clear.”

  “You have, and I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Bay and I had a long conversation about Dani last night,” Landon interjected. “She’s aware of our concerns.”

  “I didn’t realize you guys had been talking about it and you were presenting united concerns,” I grumbled, making a face when Landon piled seven slices of bacon on my plate. He always thought food was the answer to every problem.

  “Don’t get grumpy because we love you,” Landon chided. “You agreed that as soon as we figure out this thing with the ghost and untangle who killed who we’re going to have a very serious conversation about Dani. You can’t back out now.”

  “I have no intention of backing out.” It took everything I had not to snap at him.

  “Someone is crabby,” Chief Terry intoned, widening his eyes.

  “I just need caffeine,” I countered.