5. Five
FIVE
L andon was seemingly in a good mood during the walk home, but his unease bubbled under the surface. I waited for him to bring it up. Instead, he chattered away, talking about all the fun we were going to have this summer hanging out on the bluff.
He wasn’t fooling me.
“Just say what’s really bothering you,” I prodded when we were halfway home. The night air was crisp, and it was as if we needed the walk to clear our minds.
“What makes you think anything is bothering me?” he asked.
I rolled my eyes.
“Fine. I’m just … afraid that if I give voice to my concerns that you’re going to assume I want to break up this partnership with Steve and do everything in your power to make it go away.”
“And you don’t want it to go away,” I realized.
“I don’t actually know that,” he countered. “It’s just … this feels like our one chance for you to live freely and be appreciated. If this fails—and it very well could—then you’ll have to go back to living in the shadows.”
“Where you’re the only person who appreciates me,” I teased.
He smirked and ducked in for a quick kiss, neither of us slowing our pace. “You’re appreciated, Bay,” he said when he was facing forward again. “It just doesn’t feel like enough given everything you do.”
“My being appreciated is more important to you than me,” I said. “It’s nice to be appreciated, but that’s not why I do what I do.”
“I know, but if you could work out in the open, things would be better for you.”
“In theory. They might be more difficult, too.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, what if things go really well and Steve decides to lean on me constantly because he finds out there are far more paranormal issues in this part of the state than he realized?”
Landon’s forehead creased. “I did not consider that.”
“We’re not the only ones fighting monsters.
Scout is taking on her fair share—and then some—in Hawthorne Hollow.
Stormy has gnomes coming out of her butt.
Not literally or anything, because that would be weird now that we know Easton better, but she’s inundated with problems. From what happened with Charlie, we know there are other battles going on in other places. ”
Landon nodded. “You’re worried that the people you love could be exposed.”
“It would be one thing for my immediate family to be exposed,” I conceded. “Mom, Marnie, and Twila aren’t anything more than they pretend to be. They’re kitchen witches who offer up the occasional helping hand in a fight.
“Thistle and Clove are a bit stronger, but they’ve been absent from a lot of the fights of late,” I continued. “Clove needed the break for Calvin, and I think she’ll be happy to dabble from time to time. Thistle is really hard to read right now because she has other things going on.
“Even if the two of them faced a bit of blowback, their magic isn’t fancy,” I explained. “As for Aunt Tillie…” I paused, licking my lips.
“She’s been putting on magical displays for decades and nothing can hurt her at this point,” Landon finished for me.
“That’s pretty much it in a nutshell,” I agreed. “She’ll be fine. Scout and Stormy are a different matter. What if me getting involved with the FBI puts them in danger?”
Landon was quiet for several moments. When he spoke again, his voice was even. “You’re assuming that the FBI doesn’t already know about them.”
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. “What are you saying? What does the FBI know?” My temper ratcheted up.
“Hey, no.” Landon grabbed my elbow and shook his head. “If they know something about Scout and Stormy, they’ve kept it hidden from me. I would not keep that information from you. Come on. You know that.”
I was contrite. “I’m sorry. That’s what I’m worried about. Right now, at least, Steve seems to think that everything is all white witches and dark demons. He hasn’t seen all the shades of gray yet. What happens if he learns the truth about Evan?”
“I noticed that he fled pretty quickly tonight,” Landon said. “He stayed long enough to make sure we were safe until Steve and Spencer arrived. Then he was gone … fast.”
“I don’t blame him.”
“I have no idea how we’d explain a vampire who has his soul thanks to pixie magic and can walk under the sun,” Landon said.
“Evan isn’t even our worst problem. We can cover for the vampire stuff if we have to, but Easton and the gnomes are a bigger problem.”
“I don’t think we should mention them to Steve,” Landon replied, his expression earnest. “For now, let’s focus on you.
Let Steve get used to what you can do, because he really has no clue what you’re capable of.
He knows that Aunt Tillie enchanted a bunch of Christmas decorations and clown dolls, and that you used magic to help with the changeling situation.
He has no idea of the other things you are capable of. ”
“Like order ghosts to do my bidding,” I murmured.
“That’s definitely something that would throw him,” Landon agreed. “The necromancer thing took me a bit of time to wrap my head around too.”
“And you knew a lot more about the paranormal world then.”
“So, maybe the answer is to keep it vague.” Landon tugged me in front of him as the guesthouse came into view and pressed a quick kiss behind my ear.
“He won’t know if you’re keeping things to yourself, Bay,” he said in a low voice.
“If you do something at some point that surprises him and he asks why you didn’t tell him, you can say you assumed he already knew. ”
“Or we keep it much lighter when he’s around,” I said. “We don’t do any big magic in front of an audience. Locator spells and the occasional light show won’t freak them out. Talking to ghosts, creating an army of clown dolls, and controlling the weather are other matters entirely.”
“I would definitely keep the weather thing under wraps,” Landon agreed. “As for the rest of it, it’s a good idea to keep it vague, Bay. If we need to tell him more as things progress, we’ll take it on a case-by-case basis.”
I inserted my key into the lock, and we went inside. Landon immediately unclipped Winchester, who made a beeline for our bedroom so he could get his favorite spot on the bed. Landon followed me into the kitchen.
“You’ve had a rough night,” he noted, his fingers brushing against my cheek as I filled a glass with water. “Between bodies, new possibilities in law enforcement, and Margaret Little, I think you need a massage.”
Slowly, I tracked my eyes to him. “You only offer massages because they lead to sex.”
“That is a vicious thing to say about your husband.” He wrapped his arms around my waist and tugged me close. “I offer massages because I want my favorite person in the world, my amazing wife, to be comfortable. I don’t want you in pain, ever.”
“Wow. You are laying it on thick.” I sipped my water and regarded him. When his smile turned wolfish, all I could do was shake my head. “Fine. You can massage me.”
“You’re too good to me.” He pressed his forehead against mine, emotion causing us to shimmer. “It’s going to be okay, Bay,” he murmured. “We’ll figure this out. Don’t get too worked up, okay? We can’t prepare for what we don’t know is coming.”
He made sense. Still, I was unnerved. “Come on.” I finished my glass of water and took his hand. “Let’s go to bed. I want that massage.”
“And maybe something more,” Landon teased.
“No, just the massage.” I had to keep my face turned from him so he wouldn’t see my smile.
“You’re developing a mean streak,” he said. “You’re more like Aunt Tillie every day.”
“That’s the meanest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
“I knew it the second I said it. I’m sorry.”
“You should be.”
He was quiet a beat. “So where did we land on the post-massage games?”
I choked on a laugh. “I’m sure we can work something out.”
“See, you do love me.”
LANDON SNORED. A LOT. HE CLAIMED I snored too. I didn’t believe him. On mornings when I woke before him, I wanted to shove a pillow over his face to shut him up. That’s why, when he opened his eyes the next morning, I was glaring at him.
“There’s my little ray of sunshine,” he said in his rusty voice, pulling me tight against his side and pressing a kiss to my forehead. “How did you sleep?”
“You sound like a freight train,” I complained. “Maybe you should see a doctor.”
“We’ll make his and hers appointments.”
“I don’t snore.” I was feeling petulant. My dreams had been dark and mean. “Stop saying I snore.”
“Someone is in a mood.” Landon pushed my hair from my face and stared into my eyes. “Do you want to tell me what’s bothering you?”
I didn’t reply.
“Bad dream?” he guessed.
I sighed. He could’ve given me attitude right back, but he was too sweet. When I was in a bad mood, he wanted to make me feel better. “I dreamed Aunt Tillie managed to clone herself and went around town causing twice the trouble,” I said.
“Did you spend your whole time trying to clean up the mess?”
“Yes. The clone called herself Millie.”
Landon chuckled. Weeks ago, we’d learned that Aunt Tillie had managed to create a fictitious persona named Millie.
She looked just like Aunt Tillie, acted like Aunt Tillie, but somehow had a real police record.
It was annoying, especially because Aunt Tillie wouldn’t tell me how she pulled it off.
I had a few ideas—the biggest being Chief Terry—but Aunt Tillie was being sly.
I hated when she out manipulated me.
“I’m sorry you had a bad dream.” Landon moved his hand to my back and lightly rubbed. “That’s going to happen when you deal with Aunt Tillie on a regular basis.”
I made a face. “She bugs me.”
“I know.” He kept rubbing, lulling me. “We have about ten minutes before we have to hit the shower. I would suggest conserving water and showering together, but I don’t think that’s going to fly this morning.”
“No. I want to be at the inn before your boss shows up so I can talk to Mom and the aunts.”
“Because you want to warn them about what they say in front of Steve?”
“That and I want them to keep a firm eye on Aunt Tillie.”
Landon snorted, then caught himself. “Sorry. I was just … um … I had a nose itch.”
I glared at him. “Mom is the only one who can even pretend to control Aunt Tillie. We need her to at least try not to be … well … her.”
“You do realize that when you tell Aunt Tillie to not do something it only makes her want to do it more?”
That was one of the reasons she was so frustrating. One on a very long list. “What’s your suggestion then?” I challenged.
“I say let her do what she’s going to do. If you make a fuss about it, she’ll double her efforts. If she’s not getting the response she wants, she’ll stop.”
“She won’t stop,” I countered. “She’ll try something new.”
“I don’t know what to tell you, Bay.” Landon used his most rational voice, which always served to set my teeth on edge. “I can’t make Aunt Tillie do what you want her to do. Nobody can.”
“Blah, blah, blah.” Briefly, I shut my eyes and burrowed into the hollow between his neck and shoulder. “It’s going to be a long day.”
“We’ll get through it. Maybe this is the start of our grandest adventure yet.”
How he could be so happy so early in the morning—no coffee or bacon in his system yet—was beyond me. I nodded all the same. He was right. I was being a royal pain in the ass. I was being worse than Aunt Tillie. He didn’t deserve that.
“It will be fine,” I said. “I’m just in a weird mood.”
“Well, get over it. Our game faces have to be on for the big boss this morning. You’ll feel better after breakfast.”
“I think you’re getting me confused with you.”
“Yes, well, at least I’ll feel better after breakfast. That’s the most important thing.”
I SHOWERED, PULLED MY HAIR BACK IN A ponytail, and headed outside to allow Winchester to do his business while Landon got ready.
Winchester was picky when choosing his spots, spending a good five minutes sniffing every bush.
I allowed him to take his time. Near the tree line on the south side of the property, something caught my attention, and I stopped watching him and dropped to my knees.
There were footprints under the trees. There were no boot treads. It was as if bare feet had been planted in the spot so someone or something could stare at the guesthouse. Whatever it was, if it had been watching, it would’ve been looking directly at our bedroom.
I looked in that direction for several seconds, then back down at the footprint. Before I realized what I was doing, I was on the ground pulling off my shoe. That’s how Landon found me, one foot out and placed directly next to the print.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
I didn’t immediately answer. When I removed my foot from the spot, I cocked my head.
“What are you doing?” Landon repeated, nudging me with his shoulder and staring down at the spot that had garnered my attention. “Why did you do that?”
“Because these were here.” I pointed to the two prints that I had found. “I wanted to see what my footprint looked like next to them.”
“It’s a little different,” Landon said. “The toes are longer and the foot is narrower.” He lifted his chin. “What does that mean?”
“I don’t know. It just made me think.”
“Of the print we found last night,” he assumed.
“Yeah.”
“Did whatever killed those men follow us home last night?”
That was one possibility. There was another. “Perhaps whatever did the killing knew exactly where to find us.”
“Because you would’ve sensed someone following us home last night?”
I wanted to believe that was true. “I don’t know what to make of it. I don’t think it’s a good sign.” I jerked up my chin to find Winchester. He was in the bushes chasing something, probably a rabbit. “Maybe we should keep him on a leash when he’s outside.”
Landon followed my gaze to his dog. He loved the beast beyond measure. “Or maybe we should keep him at the inn, just to be on the safe side.”
“My mom and aunts love him, and they would watch him, but we can’t make him their responsibility.” Even saying it bothered me. “He should definitely stay there for the afternoon. We’ll make our decision about tonight after we’ve had a day to collect information.”
Landon moved to the dog and affixed the leash he’d brought. “Come on, buddy, it’s time for bacon.”
Winchester yipped excitedly. He recognized the word. “You’ll be with your grandma all day. She’ll take care of you.” He looked back at me. There was a question in his eyes, but he didn’t ask.
We were both worried. Something told me things were going to get worse before they got better.