Chapter 10
“How’d it go with Dahlia?” Briggs asked when Dutton walked into his brother’s house. It was Saturday, early afternoon, and Briggs had all but demanded that he come over. He didn’t like the idea of his brother spending any time alone after his recent ordeal with the Magical Task Force.
“Hey, Dutton,” Melissa said as she looked up from her phone.
He nodded at her and then turned to his brother.
“As good as can be expected.” Dutton was unsure of how much he wanted to say.
His relationship with Dahlia was still fragile.
He didn’t want it getting back to her that he’d spilled their business, even if it was just to his brother.
Not that he thought Briggs would be gossiping about his love life, but Melissa likely would with her girlfriends.
“Come on,” Briggs said as he gestured for Dutton to follow him. Once they were in the kitchen, Briggs opened the refrigerator and handed his brother a beer. “I’ve already got lunch on the porch.”
Dutton took the bottle, noted it was from the Keating Hollow Brewery, and said, “Thanks.”
“I figured we could use a drink or two.” Briggs smirked at him.
“Or five,” Dutton muttered.
The two walked out onto Briggs’s back porch and took a seat in the lounge chairs. Briggs already had a couple of plates of wings and some fries waiting for them.
“You might be my favorite brother,” Dutton said.
Briggs snorted. “Convenient, since I’m your only brother.”
“You’d still be my favorite.” Dutton took a long swig of beer before placing it on the table between them and picking up his plate of wings.
“I’ll tell Dahlia that beer and wings are the secret to your heart,” Briggs said as he reached for his own plate. “Assuming she’s still going to be your date tonight at the festival.” He raised one eyebrow, clearly fishing for information.
“She’s still my date,” Dutton said. “I told her everything.” He cleared his throat. “I’m sure she needs time to process it, but we were okay when I left last night.”
“What time did you leave?” Briggs asked innocently.
“None of your business,” he said mildly.
His brother didn’t need to know that he’d left after midnight.
Or that they hadn’t done anything but kiss.
In fact, after she’d kissed him on the porch, she’d led him inside and turned on a movie.
She’d insisted that he lie down on the couch with his head in her lap, and she’d spent the rest of the evening running her fingers through his hair, soothing him.
It seemed to be instinctive to her that after he’d confessed his horrible time at his foster home, he’d desperately needed to be cared for.
It had maybe been one of the best nights of his life.
“What’s none of his business?” Melissa asked as she stepped out onto the porch. She had a piece of cheesecake and took a seat next to Briggs.
“Nothing,” the brothers said at the same time.
Melissa rolled her eyes. “Boy talk. Sorry I interrupted.”
“You didn’t,” Dutton said, glad that she’d arrived. It meant Briggs wouldn’t ask him too many personal questions. He liked spending time with his brother, but after the last couple days, he was feeling a little too raw to share much more.
“They were talking about the river fire down at the brewery when I picked up lunch,” Briggs said.
“Yeah? What were they saying, that I should be run out of town?” Dutton asked, not bothering to hide his bitterness.
There had been a distinct pattern in his life that when people learned he had a record involving arson, that was all they needed to tar and feather him.
He’d thought he’d get away from that when he’d had his records sealed, but it appeared he was going to have to relive that nightmare in the one place that had ever felt like home.
“No, not at all,” Briggs said, eyeing his brother with something that looked a lot like pity.
Dutton glanced away, hating it.
“The Townsends are good people,” Briggs said. “They were trying to come up with a plausible explanation as to how the fire ended up with remnants of your magical signature.”
“And? Any guesses?” Dutton asked even as he cringed internally. Did he really want to know what they’d said?
“Yvette Townsend said that sometimes witches can mimic another person’s magical signature.
It might be someone who is pinning the fires on you.
She’s also the one who put the fire out.
She said it burned almost fifty acres and wasn’t just a brush fire.
Apparently there was magic behind it that she had to fight. ”
“You mean, someone was there controlling it besides her?” Dutton asked, his eyes wide. If another witch had been there, they should be out asking questions to see if there were any eyewitnesses.
“Yes. At least that’s what she thought, only she nor her sisters ever saw anyone, and neither did the authorities while they were investigating.”
“Tell him what you said,” Melissa said with a snicker.
Briggs flashed her a wide-eyed look, indicating that her input wasn’t welcome.
She just laughed.
“What did you say, Briggs?” Dutton asked with one eyebrow raised.
“It’s not that big of a deal,” Briggs said, rolling his eyes. “I just made a joke that maybe Dahlia was enough to light your fire and cause sparks to fly.”
Dutton groaned.
Melissa cackled. “It’s terrible, right?”
“You can say that again,” Dutton agreed.
“He can be cheesy sometimes, but that’s why I love him.” Melissa got up and then bent and gave Briggs a kiss on the cheek before sitting back down next to him. “I love it when you’re geeky.”
“Go away,” Briggs said, but his tone was playful, and it was obvious he loved the attention.
The scene made Dutton just a little envious.
His brother’s relationship with Melissa was always full of fun and laughter, and they really seemed to care about each other.
Even when he’d been engaged, he’d never been that close to his fiancée.
It hadn’t been… easy between them. Maybe that was their biggest problem.
Well, that and the fact that she’d slept with his best friend the morning they were supposed to get married.
“So, Dutton, tell me about Dahlia,” Melissa said. “I know she’s new in town. Do you think she’d be interested in a girls’ night? Sadie and I could invite her out with Harlow sometime.”
“Maybe,” Dutton said, happy to have something else to talk about. “She’s already met Harlow. They are going to be working together.”
“Really?” Melissa leaned forward, her face alight with interest. “Is Dahlia into ghost hunting, too?”
“Not exactly,” Dutton said, shaking his head.
“She’s a medium. Spirits come to her; she doesn’t go hunting for them.
” He explained how the ghosts that Dahlia talked to were connected to objects.
“I met one when we were in my T-bird. An old guy who was the original owner. He just popped in like he had every right to be there.”
“I suppose he did,” Briggs said. “Interesting. So, if I die, can I just keep haunting the house and going for rides in my truck?”
“I guess so,” Dutton said. “I don’t claim to know what happens to one’s soul when they cross over. Maybe Dahlia knows.”
Briggs made a face. “I prefer to just not know.”
“Same,” Melissa said as she raised her hand.
Dutton chuckled. “I suppose I agree. Gotta leave some surprises.”
“So what is Dahlia going to do with Harlow exactly?” Melissa asked.
“She’s putting her shingle out as a medium,” Dutton explained.
“People can bring in objects that are connected to someone in their life who has passed on, and when Dahlia touches it, hopefully they’ll show up.
The client can communicate with their loved one.
She said she’ll only charge if a spirit actually appears. ”
“That is really cool.” Melissa stood and placed her hands on her hips.
“You know what? I think I’m going to book an appointment.
I’d really like to talk to my grandpop again.
And he’d be just the type who was hanging around on the off chance he’d get to tell his stories again.
” She grinned. “Oh yeah. I’m excited now. ”
“That is the last thing I’d want to do,” Briggs said and turned to Dutton. “I can’t think of one relative of ours, dead or alive, that I’d want to talk to. They all suck.”
“One hundred percent agree, brother. You’re the only one, and since you’re alive and well, this isn’t something I need to think about.”
Melissa’s phone started ringing.
“Sadie?” Briggs asked her.
“No, it’s Kassie. I need to take this. We’re trying to make plans for when Sadie gets back into town tomorrow.”
Briggs grimaced.
Dutton was still surprised that Melissa seemed to have formed some sort of friendship with Kassie.
She’d made Briggs’s life hell not that long ago by antagonizing him, posting lies about him online, and even stealing his credit card.
But since she’d been kidnapped and rescued, she’d been on a mission to try to change her spots.
Dutton supposed she had made remarkable progress, but if he were in Briggs’s shoes, he’d find it hard to get over the past.
Melissa shook her head at Briggs. “Stop. Kassie hasn’t posted anything questionable about you in months. And she even fixed the hole she accidentally made in my hallway wall without me even telling her to. She’s growing.”
“Hey, Kassie,” Melissa said into the phone as she gathered their empty plates and mouthed, “Need refills on those beers?”
“I’ll get them,” Briggs said, following her into the house.
While his brother was in the kitchen, Dutton stood and went to the edge of the porch.
The house was surrounded by redwoods, not unlike his own, but there just seemed to be a peacefulness there that he didn’t always feel at his place.
He couldn’t help wondering why. Was it the energy of his house?
His land? Maybe it was the energy he brought to the place, and Briggs was just lighter.
“What are you looking at?” Briggs asked as he came to a stop beside his brother. He handed him one of the beer bottles and leaned against a post.
“Nothing in particular. Just enjoying the redwoods,” Dutton said. “I like it here.”
“Your place is great, too,” Briggs said.
“Sure,” Dutton agreed just so he didn’t sound pathetic.
He tried to imagine living there with Dahlia and just couldn’t picture her being away from her cottage.
Not that he was in the market to move in with anyone.
He just wondered what it would be like to share his life with someone the way his brother did.
“Listen, there’s a reason I asked you over today,” Briggs said, giving Dutton a crooked smile.
Besides babysitting me? Dutton thought but kept it to himself. “Yeah? What’s that?”
His brother cleared his throat, looking nervous.
“What is it, Briggs? If it’s about the fires, I—”
“It’s not about that,” Briggs said quickly.
Dutton let out a breath, relieved. If Briggs had doubts about him and his innocence, that was really going to crush him.
“It’s Melissa.” He glanced back into the house.
Dutton’s heart sank. “Something wrong?”
“No. Not at all.” Briggs let out a bark of laughter. “I’m doing this all wrong.” He grinned at Dutton. “I asked her to marry me last night.”
Dutton’s eyebrows shot up. “You did? What did she—”
“She said yes.” His grin widened. “What I wanted to ask is if you’d be the best man.”
“Best man?” Dutton parroted as if he hadn’t quite understood.
“Yeah, best man. What else?” Briggs scowled at him. “Keep up, Dutton. This isn’t that hard.”
“What about King? Shouldn’t he be your best man?
” Dutton asked. The pair had been foster brothers and best friends for fifteen years.
Briggs and Dutton were actual brothers, but they had just reconnected earlier in the year after being apart for that decade and a half.
He loved his brother, but he knew that Briggs shared a special bond with King.
“King is going to officiate,” Briggs said. “So will you do it?”
“Of course I will, man.” Dutton grabbed his brother and pulled him into a big hug. “Congratulations.”
“Thanks, brother,” Briggs said, sounding a little choked up. “I never thought I’d be here. Not after… everything.” He pulled back and shoved his hands into his pockets. “I think Melissa just grounds me.”
“Of course she does.” Dutton’s heart swelled with love for his brother. “I’m really happy for you.”
‘Me too,” he said with a laugh. “Who knew?”
“I’m not surprised.” And Dutton really wasn’t. Briggs and Melissa were perfect for each other. “Do you two have a date or time frame yet?”
“No. We’re going to sit down with King and Sadie first to make sure they can be here.”
Dutton nodded. “Makes sense. Just keep me updated. I’ll be there.” At least he would be if he wasn’t locked up in the magic prison. The joy that had been spreading through his chest dimmed a bit at the thought.
But when Briggs clasped him on the shoulder, Dutton put that thought out of his mind and said, “Two words. Bachelor. Party.”
Briggs held up his beer in a toast. “Let’s make it a good one.”
“Challenge accepted.”