Chapter 7
“Faith!” Abby called from the hallway.
“I’ll be out in a second,” Faith called back as she dropped her robe and quickly climbed into her clothes. Her impromptu tryst with her husband had put her severely behind schedule, but she had zero regrets.
“I’ll see you later,” Hunter said, kissing her cheek.
“Don’t overdo it!” she called. He and Zoey were taking the triplets to the park and then grabbing lunch. He’d wanted to go to the spa with her, but she’d put the kibosh on that idea. Not until they figured out if her spa was cursed.
“I thought I already proved to you this morning that I’m as good as new,” he called back.
There was a round of giggles, making it clear that her sisters had overheard his quip, and her cheeks heated.
She didn’t know why she was embarrassed that her sisters had heard him.
She was a very happily married woman after all.
Still, her sisters were likely to spend most of the morning teasing her. It was just what sisters did.
Faith hastily brushed out her hair, hit it with the hairdryer for a few minutes, and then hurried out to find her sisters.
“Had a good morning, did you?” Yvette asked over the rim of her coffee cup.
“I did,” Faith said, giving her sister a self-satisfied smile. “How about you?”
“Oh, I always have a great morning.” She pumped her eyebrows, making sure Faith didn’t miss her meaning.
Faith rolled her eyes. “So I’ve heard.”
They all giggled. Faith nodded at Abby and Noel and then asked, “Where’s Hope?” She was their half sister, who also worked at the spa.
“Healer Snow called and asked her to go to Eureka to help with a healing,” Noel said. “She sent a text about an hour ago. Didn’t you get it?”
“She was too busy making whoopie,” Abby said.
“Whoopie?” Yvette asked, giving her an incredulous look. “Is that what you call it? No wonder you never have morning sex.”
“Hey! I have morning sex,” Abby insisted.
“Sure, you do,” Noel offered.
They all cracked up.
When their giggles faded, Faith went to get a mug of coffee. The one that Hunter had brought her earlier had long been forgotten.
“Okay, what’s the plan for this morning?” Noel asked. She had always been the no-nonsense sister.
“Well, first I need a bite to eat, then we’ll go to the spa to meet Harlow and Cash.” Faith went to the refrigerator and pulled out the cheesecake. “Hunter’s not-so-secret admirer brought this over last night. I bet she’d kick herself if she knew I was the one who was going to eat it.”
“Oof. Summer Thomas? That woman just smells of desperation,” Yvette said.
“I think you meant trash,” Abby said, wrinkling her nose. “She’s tried flirting with Clay, too. I swear, that woman must have a fetish for married men.”
“More like stable men, I think,” Faith said. Summer had once said something about just wanting a good man and that all the good ones were taken. “She’s attracted to men who seem to really be in love with their wives.”
“Well, she’s never gonna get one that way,” Abby said. “The thing she’s attracted to is the thing that dooms her chances.”
“Agreed.” Faith took out some plates. “Anyone want some?”
“Is that even a question?” Yvette grabbed a knife and started cutting the cheesecake.
Faith happily let her and held her hand out for the first slice. She was hungry after the morning’s activities. Without waiting for anyone else to be served, Faith dug into the cheesecake.
The first taste of the sweet cream made her eyes close in pure bliss. The cheesecake was the perfect texture and pure heaven. She swallowed and dug in again. Summer might be the most annoying person on the planet, but she sure made great—
Faith’s stomach rolled, and suddenly she lurched to the sink, vomiting up the few bites in her stomach.
“Faith. Oh my gosh. You’re pregnant!” Abby exclaimed.
“What?” Faith gasped out as her stomach clenched and bile filled her mouth. She spit it out and panted at the sink.
“Morning sickness,” she said. “Do you have ginger ale? That will help.”
“No, I don’t have ginger ale,” Faith said, her skin clammy. “And I’m not pregnant.”
“Are you sure?” Yvette asked. “This is exactly how you looked when you were knocked up with the triplets.”
“I’m sure.” There was no way, based on the timing of her cycle.
“Have you been sick at all before this?” Noel asked.
“No.” Faith stared at the cheesecake, wondering if the dairy had gone bad. She sniffed it, but it didn’t seem off to her, not that it was always obvious.
“Give me that,” Abby said, taking the plate. She dipped her fork into the dessert and brought it up to her mouth as if she were going to try it, but then she sniffed it instead. Her eyes went wide as she sniffed it again.
“What is it, Abs?” Noel asked her.
“This cheesecake has a love potion in it.” Abby put the slice down and pushed it away from her.
Faith saw red. “Are you joking?”
“I’m afraid I’m not.” Abby walked over to the cabinet and rummaged around in Faith’s herbs.
“Sometimes when people consume a love potion that is cast by someone they can’t stand, the potion backfires and makes them sick.
Since this is from Summer Thomas, I can imagine she’s the last person you’d want to be in love with. ”
“She tried to spell my husband,” Faith hissed. “I’m going to wring her neck.” Her stomach rebelled, and once again, Faith had to hang her head over the sink.
Abby, the earth witch of the group, got busy making up another potion. It didn’t take long, and when she was done, she pressed it into Faith’s hands. “Drink this. It should reverse the effects.”
Faith didn’t hesitate. She downed the entire glass, and immediately the queasiness vanished. She plopped down on a stool, feeling exhausted, and gave her sister a grateful smile. “You’re the best.”
“I try.” Abby glared at the cheesecake. “Do you have a plastic sandwich bag?”
“Sure. They’re in that drawer.” Faith pointed behind Abby. “Why?”
“I want a sample of that cheesecake so I can dissect the ingredients later. I want to make sure it really is just a love potion and not something more sinister. I’ll take just a slice, and we can trash the rest of it.”
Faith nodded and then frowned. “More sinister? You’re not suggesting that Summer had anything to do with the fire at the spa yesterday, are you?”
Abby hesitated but then shook her head. “No. Not seriously. But that’s twice in less than twenty-four hours that you’ve been targeted by magic, and I just want to make sure.”
“I’ll tell Drew about this,” Noel said, referring to her husband, who was the sheriff and had taken over the investigation of the spa incident. “He’ll want to talk to her, I’m sure.”
“I bet that’ll be a fun conversation,” Yvette said, dropping her voice to a lower register to mimic Drew’s baritone. “Ms. Thomas, can you explain why you tried to poison another woman’s husband with a love potion?”
“Embarrassing,” Abby agreed.
Faith didn’t care. Summer Thomas deserved whatever humiliation she got. How dare she go after Hunter so blatantly? Summer was just lucky that Faith wasn’t the violent type, because in that moment, she really wanted to scratch the other woman’s eyes out.
Noel got Drew on the phone and explained the situation. When she ended the conversation, she turned to Faith. “He’s on his way to Summer’s.”
Faith nodded once, stepped past her sisters, and grabbed her purse from the hook near the front door. “Let’s go. I don’t want to miss this.”
“To Summer’s?” Yvette asked.
“Yes. That woman is gonna get a piece of my mind once and for all.”
“Uh, Faith?” Abby said. “We can’t go over there. Harlow is meeting us at the spa in ten minutes.”
Faith closed her eyes and wanted to scream. Finally, she took a deep breath, tried her best to let go of her rage, and said, “Yeah. Okay. Let’s go.”
Yvette dumped the rest of the cheesecake into the garbage, tied the bag up, and carried it to the door.
Abby dumped the slice that Faith had been eating into the plastic bag, loaded the plate into the dishwasher, and then met her sisters at the front door.
“Did you just do my dishes?” Faith asked.
Abby nodded. “Habits die hard.”
“I think you should move in,” Faith joked.
“That would be nice for all of about an hour, until we started wrestling over the remote. Though Hunter might enjoy that,” Abby said.
All of them laughed, remembering their knock-down, drag-out fights over who got to watch their favorite TV shows when they were younger. “You might have a point,” Faith conceded.
“I always do.” Abby winked, and then they all climbed into Faith’s SUV.