Mystic, New Mexico

When David Mora inherits his granny’s home in Northern New Mexico, he knows he’s going to a whole different world from his current Houston life. He used to visit her all the time when he was a kid, but it’s been a while since he’s been to Mystic, and even longer since he spent any time in her antique shop, Phantastiq Junque.

He’s not expecting much, but what he gets is a rambling adobe, a bunch of nosy but well-meaning neighbors, and a really intriguing fish and wildlife officer named Forrest, who may have a lot more to him than meets the eye. Just like everything in his quirky new hometown.

---

Chapter 1

David Mora sat in his itchy suit trousers and uncomfortable dress shoes wishing he was anywhere else. Drowning while a merman seduced him. Being flayed alive by demons. Slowly being devoured by fuzzy monsters with huge teeth. Fighting fire-breathing dragons for a magical stone that needed to be found in order to save the universe from an evil—

“David, are you paying attention, son?” His father’s voice brought him careening back to the present, and he was back in Jack Ellis, Esquire’s office, listening to the reading of Granny Mora’s will.

“Yes, sir.” God no. Granny Mora had scared the shit out of him when he was a little boy with her intense green eyes that were so different from the familiar deep brown of Momma and Daddy’s, and her wild ways. His universe was one of blessed Texan normalcy — chili had meat, queso was a sauce on burritos, and Christmas was eighty degrees and humid. Granny’s was not.

Still, as he’d grown up, he’d loved stopping by when he had a chance — visiting her wild little adobe house, taking her out to Santa Fe for a day trip. She always smelled like sage and cinnamon and chiles — unlike Gran Lewiston with her carefully curated outfits from Dillards and Neiman Marcus, Granny Mora wore huge broomskirts and poet shirts, turquoise necklaces, and long silvery braids, and–

“David!”

“Sorry. Sorry, Dad. I’m just tired.”

“I know you are, son. But you need to listen to this.”

Mr. Ellis gave him an encouraging smile. “Almost done.” There had been all the sound mind and body stuff, and his dad had received a bunch of investment stuff that no one had known Granny had even had, and Mom had gotten a whole cache of jewelry.

What else was there?

“To my grandson David Mora, I leave the rest of my estate, which includes but is not limited to my property in Mystic, New Mexico and all of the buildings and belongings therein, to include the contents of my shop, Phantasiq Junque.”

His eyes widened. What? Granny’s property was a sprawling compound, really, with a little acreage that backed up to the national forest, a spacious house with a wraparound porch, and the ancient original adobe-shack that had been converted into an antique store, literally a junk emporium.

“I–What?” Her house? The junk store? He’d assumed Granny would leave that to his father, her only son, not him.

“Mama wanted you to have it,” Daddy said, giving him a fond, warm smile. “She always had, and after the recent…developments, it was even more important to her.”

“Oh.” He closed his eyes for a second Granny Mora had been there when David had married Bram. He’d been at her house when Bram had texted him with plans to meet that night since the hubby was out of town. She’d flown in for the divorce mediation, just to be a support.

His life hadn’t ended — not really. He still had his job with the natural history museum doing book restoration. He had his friends, his folks, his dog Peppermint. Hell, he’d gotten the house in the divorce, but he’d sold it, banking the profits and moving into his parents’ place in The Woodlands.

Somehow, Houston had lost its shine for him. He just didn’t know where else to go.

So he’d traveled. He’d wandered, really. He’d gone to Rome, to Barcelona, to Toronto. He’d ever done a book restoration study in London for three months at the British Library. He was a globe-trotter.

So maybe he ought to try Mystic, New Mexico for a few months, see how it fit. It had to be better than staring at the walls at his dad’s.

“I–Really? She wanted me to have it?”

Dad nodded. “She was adamant. She said it was yours. She said that no one else would do.”

“Huh. Well.” What exactly did someone say to that? No?

“I have some papers for you to sign so I can file them, but I have the keys to the property. There are two cats that live in the shop, apparently. A friend is feeding them. She wanted them to be able to stay on.” Mr. Ellis wrinkled his nose.

“Esme and Mirabelle.” He’d met them more than once. “I’m fine with that.”

“There was an older vehicle, but it was donated to an animal rescue. I assume that’s not a problem.”

“No. No, I didn’t need her old Dodge.” That thing had stalled every time they had turned left. It had made grocery trips fascinating. If someone at the animal ranch could make it run, then go them.

“Are you going out there, son?” Dad sounded almost eager to have him go, and didn’t that sting some? Of course, no one wanted a permanent house guest, especially not their well-into-their-thirties, recently-divorced, in-between-houses, deep-in-a-funk son.

“I have no idea. Probably. I mean, I have to get it ready to sell…”

The lawyer cleared his throat. “There is a clause in the will, I’m afraid.”

“If it says I have to get married again, I’m out.” He wasn’t ever doing that again. Ever. Granny would understand, and he wasn’t a ridiculous romance novel trope.

“No. No, it simply requests that you not sell the property for a period of twelve years.”

“Twelve. That was Granny’s lucky number…” She had been born on December twelfth, just like him. “Lord.”

David was going to miss her and her superstitions and her laugh and her insistence that he was going to be fine.

Don’t worry, nieto. All will be well. Magic takes time. How many thousands of times had he heard that? Now no one would ever say that to him, ever again.

He choked up for a moment, his chest and throat tight, and his dad put a hand on his back. Yeah. Dad knew what he was feeling, and David needed to buck up and be there for him, not wallow in his own garbage.

“Well, I guess I need to go see what’s what. It doesn’t say I have to keep the shop, right?”

That throat clearing happened again. “There are a few items that your grandmother had for display purposes only that she made stipulations for.”

“Oh for– is there a list?” Display purposes? What on earth did that mean?

“There is an addendum, yes.” Mr. Ellis smiled. “I’ll give that to you to read at your leisure, and if you have any questions, we can set up a call.”

“Of course.” Surely he could figure it out on his own.

Man, it really seemed like everyone was ready for him to leave town. That always made a guy feel wanted. So he would go up to Mystic, see what was what, feed the cats and look at all the wonders his granny had accumulated. What could it hurt?

Maybe a change of scenery would be nice.

Chapter 2

David pulled up to the property in his Yukon, exhausted, teary, and needing a beer in the worst way. He passed the weird junk shop without paying much attention to it and trundled up the gravel drive to the big, low-slung adobe with the weathered ristras hanging from the porch.

There had been strands of dried chile for as long as David could remember, with Granny replacing them every few years. It was September, so it would be the perfect time soon.

He sat there, trying to decide what to do. He’d called PNM to make sure there were lights, he knew the water was on, and the satellite internet would be installed in a few days. Everything was ready for his little sabbatical, his moment of handling the estate.

Now if he could just go in.

A magpie landed on the hood of his SUV, and he stared at it as it bobbed its head, and then Peppermint lost her little basset-y mind, howling like the world was coming to an end.

Her position was that leaving Texas was bad.

Like really, really bad.

“Okay, David. Even the birds are telling you to get your self together.” He sighed, rolling his head on his neck before climbing out of the car. All right. He could do this. It’s not like the adobe was haunted. Granny wasn’t squatting in there like a toad or something.

He grabbed the keys and Peppermint’s collar, then headed up to the house, the big, shady porch a nice addition to an old adobe. He knew there was a central courtyard too, just like in all the old colonial style houses. If anyone had taken care of it, it would be full of plants and knick knacks and comfy indoor outdoor furniture.

He was going to need to check the little picket fence that circled the whole adobe to make sure that Peppermint was safe to run around, but he just let her do her business on leash before heading in.

The place smelled a little musty when he stepped inside, but that was because the swamp cooler wasn’t really running now, and the windows had all been closed up. His boots clicked on the Saltillo tile, and he grinned at the big bronze statue of a rearing elk that graced the entryway. That was new.

And large.

And vaguely intimidating.

He started opening windows and letting the air in, leaving the front door open for a cross breeze. The old screen door would be enough to keep out the flies and keep the dog in.

God, it was quiet out here. It never had seemed to be before. He’d never thought about what a void losing Granny Mora with her booming voice and happy laughter would leave.

He put some music on with his phone, just to fill the ringing silence, and moved into the house. It was a tiny bit dusty, but clearly someone was checking on it. He’d have to find out from Mr. Ellis so he could send a thank you… basket or something.

The big leather couch was as old as he was, but it looked as soft as ever. The kitchen was so empty, too. There has always been a pot of beans and a pile of flour tortillas on the stove, green chile stew going, and some kind of cookies in the big jar that had once held some kind of coffee, judging from its label.

“It feels weird without you here, Granny.” He was going to have to get some groceries, because there was no Doordash or Insta-Cart out here. No, Mystic had a gas station, a diner, a grocery store, and a dozen little artisan stores. He foresaw himself spending some time in those over the next two weeks.

Why not? He needed things to keep him busy.

Okay, so the guest bedroom needed airing. He wouldn’t be able to sleep in the master. Not like it was. That was Granny’s room and what if she’d died on the bed? What if it was gross? So he pulled the sheets and blankets off to go run them through the dryer with a sheet of Bounce after he opened the window to let in the cool air.

He’d brought a few suitcases of clothes, Peppermint’s dog bowls and toys, his restoration tools, his laptop, phone, and the Fire stick. The house had everything else for a stay, and it didn’t take him but four trips to unload the car.

On the third trip he heard the kitchen door open, and he frowned. It should have been locked. He hadn’t gone out to the courtyard yet. Good thing he wasn’t easy to unnerve.

“Hello?” The last thing he needed was to deal with a squatter, dammit. “Peppermint? Was that you?”

Peppermint came running from somewhere deep in the house, her toenails clacking.

So he grabbed a walking stick from the big crock Granny kept them standing in, heading in to see if he needed to beat someone down. His heart was racing, but he was the one who had a right to be here. Not anyone else. “Hello? If you’re here, you’re trespassing.”

The courtyard was just like he remembered it — fire pit and tons of flower pots, but no people. The other doors were all still closed. Maybe he just needed to check those doors. French doors were notorious for opening.

The fountain might need a little work, but it still looked like his childhood favorite place. He’d sit on the little stone wall around it and feel the spray on his face on a warm day…

A hysterical howl and a loud knock from the front of the house made him jump a mile, and he swung with his stick without even thinking, finding only air.

“Jesus. Okay, idiot. Go answer the door.” He was so getting a Ring. “Peppermint, hush. Hello?”

“Davey? Davey, is that you?”

Oh. Lord. “Miss Isabelle. How are you?”

Granny’s best friend and housekeeper stood there like a big momma bear, ready to defend the house from any intruders, up to and including his dog.

“It is you, Davey.” She trundled up to him to envelop him in a hug that smelled like pinon and clove oil. “Oh, it’s good to see you.”

“I–” He wrapped his arms around her and held on a second, eyes burning. “Hey, lady.”,

Hold it together, man.

She patted his back, hard enough that it almost stole his breath. Whoa. “I’m so sorry, dulce. I am. Your granny was a good woman.”

“I’m sorry for your loss too, Miss Isabelle. I know you were good friends.” His eyes stung and tears flooded them, the room going fuzzy.

“The best of, but it is good to see you here in her place. ¿El guardián, sí?”

He didn’t quite follow, but maybe it was a colloquialism for inheritor. Inheriter? Ye olde next of kin? God, he was tired. “This is Peppermint. She’s my guard beast.”

“Uh-huh.” She bent down to greet Peppermint, who immediately pushed into her hands, begging a scritch, but it didn’t last long as she headed back outside to the courtyard. “She’s gorgeous. Let me get the food I brought out of the car, hmm? I hoped it was you, so I put together enough for you to make it through the morning without going to the store. I’ll come in tomorrow and clean.”

“Oh, you don’t have to–”

“Eee a la. I have a, how do you say? An endowment? For at least a year. I’m here for you, dulce.” She patted his back, then stepped away. “I have green chile chicken enchiladas, beans, tortillas and a cinnamon coffee cake. I also brought eggs, milk for your coffee, and coffee.”

“Oh, you are an angel. Thank you.” Oh, to not have to go out, to be able to just rest and process. What a blessing. “Point me to your car. I’ll unload for you.”

“Pshaw. We’ll do it together.”

And sure enough in no time he had an enchilada casserole in the oven, the pot of beans and the tortilla warmer at the back of the stove as they should be.

“Well, I’ll go. I’ll be back mañana.” She smiled, putting her coffee cup in the sink. She’d made them both a cup, showing him how to use Granny’s fancy espresso maker.

“Thank you, Miss Isabelle.” He hesitated. “There’s no one else, right? Not a caretaker or a gardener.”

Her bright brown gaze sharpened. “No, dulce. Why?”

“No reason.” That door must have been the wind. Or the lack of humidity. Something. It wasn’t like this place was a brand new adobe or something. “Just got spooked. It’s weird to be here without her.”

She nodded. “Claro. Well, put some music on. That makes the spirit of the house happy.”

“I had–” Huh. His phone must have turned itself off. Dammit. “True, true. They’re hooking up the internet day after tomorrow, they think.”

“The record player still works, and you bought her that fancy thing a few years ago for Christmas…”

“The record player will work perfectly.” The speaker for the phone would just use up more bandwidth.

She patted his shoulder. “I love you, dulce. I’ll be back tomorrow.” She kissed his cheek before sailing out the door like a clipper in full trim. She might be grayer, but she was still a force of nature, their Isabelle.

As soon as the door closed, though, he locked it. He would unlock it for her in the morning. Until he knew, he didn’t want Peppermint getting out somewhere and getting lost. Then he wandered to the front room to open the old cabinet stereo. His grandpa had bought it on credit when he and Granny had gotten married.

He put on one of Granny’s favorites, a Johnny Mathis album, and went to grab his dinner. Thank God for Isabelle, because he couldn’t exactly order pizza.

He took a sip of his coffee, and his nose wrinkled. Dude, that was some rough stuff. How old was that coffee anyway?

David tumped the coffee down the sink and sighed, the sound dramatic, almost echoing, and Peppermint came to plop down on his feet.

Tomorrow he would…start working on exploring this place and figuring out what to do.

With this place. With all this stuff. With his life.

Tomorrow.

Today he was going to listen to “Chances Are,” have a little cry, and mourn — not for Granny, but for himself.

Chapter 3

David sipped his — thankfully fresh and made with his own hand — coffee, staring at the door to the long, low adobe bearing the sign Phantastiq Junque. Lord.

“No running off after a rabbit, missy,” he admonished. “This is a new place.”

Peppermint had followed him down, white-tipped tail wagging, happy to learn every new scent. She’d decided at some point last night that adventures were okay. Especially since her food bowl and water dish were on the kitchen floor where they belonged.

She woofed softly and pushed him with her nose, like the store was far more interesting to her than the great outdoors. She was his love bug, and she stuck close to him most of the time.

Isabelle was still inside the house, dusting and scrubbing. David had done the bathrooms early this morning so she didn’t have to pumice the toilets, which had gotten a little weird from the hard water, but she had kicked him out otherwise, telling him to eat his bacon and egg burritos with the hottest damn green chile on earth, and shooing him out to go survey the changes in Granny’s… what?

Junk store? Antique shop? Museum of bizarre curios?

All of the above.

He’d played in the crazy store as long as he could remember — rolling thread-bare softballs across the sprung wood in the floors, driving rusted old toy cars, and reading book after book, from picture books to novels.

His entire career had been born in this shop.

Davey? Love? Can you fix this book? Davey? Can you tape this up? Here Davey, use this book to see if you can make it right.

Sitting in a desk she’d refinished in the back corner of the shop, he’ll honed his craft, fallen in love with paper and thread and glue.

A rush of emotion hit him — this messed up swirl of nostalgia and pain and this weird regret because somehow the only person that had understood him was gone, and David hadn’t even realized how important that was — that she got him — and now it was gone. How was he supposed to go in there, knowing that she was inside, that she’d never be inside ever again?

He sat down on the ridiculous creaky bench outside the door and let himself cry for a minute. Peppermint jumped on on his lap and started licking him and making worried little sounds — whether because he was crying or because of the bench. After all, one side of it was a huge, chainsaw carved bear, on the other a cement lizard with the Zia sun painted on it, and Pep was giving it the wide eyes.

He leaned back and took a deep breath. “This is hard, Granny.”

The door to the store just squeaked open, and he rolled his eyes. Damn old buildings. It was happening everywhere.

“Okay, old woman, I get it.”

There was no reason to put this off, and he knew himself. Waiting would make it harder. So he just bit the bullet and opened the place up, hunting the light switch because the shop windows were covered in paper that was cracking, yellowed in the sun.

“Lord, it smells like…” Sandalwood and pepper and leather and vanilla and books and dust. It was strong, but familiar.

Peppermint went sailing by, nose to the floor, and that was when he remembered Granny’s store cats. “Pep! Wait!”

It was too late by then. There was a yowl and hiss, a surprised yelp from Pep, and then two sets of golden eyes were staring at him from atop the counter where Peppermint couldn’t go.

Peppermint barked, and the cat swiped out, claws bared. The mock blow went nowhere near his dog, but that didn’t stop her from going head down and butt up, ready to play.

Esme and Mirabelle had never seemed particularly playful.

The whole time, her happy barks filled the air, and David groaned softly. “Pep, hush. Oh, y’all. Hey there, kitties. Has someone been feeding y’all?” He glanced around, gaze landing on bowls of fresh food and water, a clean litter box in the shadows behind where the cash register was supposed to be. Oh. Oh, thank heavens.

Okay, that much was accomplished, at least. Probably Isabelle or her son.

So now he just needed to see what was what. David didn’t feel… pressured, really, but he had this urge to do something. Anything. Maybe he ought to dust, and that way he could look at what he was dealing with. He’d spent days here, but he’d never thought of it as his own, as his responsibility.

He stopped and just glanced around. It had never seemed like a store to him; it was more like a museum somehow. There were shelves and piles and boxes of…things. Everything from dolls to clothes to jewelry to books to knick knacks.

Where on earth had she found all this stuff?

Mystic wasn’t big enough to have this many estate sales.

New Mexico wasn’t big enough to have this many estate sales.

David didn’t get it. He remembered maybe ten customers in all the years he’d visited. Maybe she was well known enough that people came to her, but how on earth had she supported this place?

He guessed there had to be paperwork, right? Possibly in Granny’s office, or in the big storage room in the back. He’d never even been in there. He’d never seen Granny in there, come to think of it. It just…hadn’t come up.

Heading toward the back from the counter, David felt weirdly like he was having a hot flash or as if the air had grown heavier.

The longest wall was covered in books, in some cases two and three deep, but the farther he walked, the books were akimbo and in some cases laying open on the floor, and in between the books he saw little statues and stumps of candles, and even strange taxidermied critters.

“Okay. Not weird at all,” he muttered, sidestepping a huge, glass-domed monkey eating a diamondback.

In the time since he’d been here, the isle between the books and the center shelves seemed even smaller. One of the racks on the other side, far in the back near the window, had fallen over, the dust thick as a blanket as he tried to keep moving.

David grabbed his phone and turned on the flashlight, but she must have covered the windows back here in aluminum foil, because between this and the dust filling the air, he couldn’t quite focus.

How long had it been since Granny had been in this part of the shop? He couldn’t understand. Someone was feeding the cats. Cleaning up the front half of the store.

Why stop here?

“Granny, you are a mystery, lady. I need to find an inventory, a broom, and a dumpster, I guess.” He turned in a circle. “Where do I even start?”

“At the beginning.”

David barked out a startled cry, and he spun around in the dust, looking around for whoever said that. “What the hell?”

The store was empty. At least it seemed that way.

Pep looked at him like he’d lost his mind, waiting in the odd circle where the light reached, head tilted, tail wagging. The cats were something out of a Disney movie, heads together, tails waving.

Okay, he was losing it. Like, all over the place.

“Maybe I need more coffee,” he murmured.

More coffee. More light. More air. More sleep. Something.

Whatever he needed, he wasn’t going to find it here in the Phantastique Junq

In the end, he locked the shop right back up after he and Peppermint headed outside. He wanted to make a plan. So he would take Pep for a walk. Clear his head and work off her confusion about the cats.

This place…This whole place…

“Granny, I’m so scared. Dad is ashamed of me for losing it. Momma’s worried. I lost my husband, my home, and now I’ve got your place, and you’re not here.”

He would swear he could hear someone chuckle, and he chose to believe it was her, even though it was just in his head. He knew what would come next. She would tell him to buck up, take a deep breath, and do what he was doing. Walk it off.

“I am, you old bat. I’m walking. I hate the idea of this place sitting empty, but I’ll have to sell off the stuff in the shop. I don’t know what else to do with it.”

Stay. The very wind, which always there in the mountains, seemed to be saying it to him. He glanced back, seeing the cats, staring at him through the window.

“Oh, Granny– I’m hearing things now.” He was losing his damn mind.

Listen. Just listen.

David turned on his heel and headed for the house. Nope. He wasn’t going to let the wind tell him what to do.

He was going to go inside, eat some eggs, and take a nap.

Then he would get up and try again. That much he could do for his Granny.

Chapter 4

The magpies told him there was a bear in the dumpster at the Mora place. So officer Forrest Tessay pulled his truck into the drive, because he’d never seen a dumpster at Estella’s, and he had no idea what those birdbrains meant.

Magpies could be unreliable, but they did bring pretty gifts.

Sure enough, a portable trash container big enough to hold two or three bears sat next to the shop, which was up near the road, and true to the garbage collection in their area, the lid had been left open.

Forrest parked and stepped out of truck, immediately hearing distressed cries echoing in the dumpster.

“Oh…” He jogged to the receptacle, then carefully climbed up the side to peer in. That was no adult bear he heard, so he had to worry about momma coming to get him from the outside, but not popping up from the inside.

A pair of black button eyes peered up at him, the black bear cub crying out, so piteous. “Hey, baby. You got in there and now you can’t get out? You’re a sweet babboo, huh?”

Scared. Scaredhungryscared.

“I bet you are. Where’s your momma, huh? I know she didn’t just leave you here.” An image of a momma bear and two other cubs came to him, and he nodded. “Sure. she has to protect them. I get it.”

He glanced around. Crap. Nothing he could use. Maybe in the shed next to the shop? He didn’t have his ladder in the back of his… There. There was a six foot kiva ladder leaning against the side of the shop, and the lashings seemed sturdy enough to hold an actual person, so a baby bear should be fine. They were wicked good climbers, but there wasn’t a thing on the inside of container for the cub to grasp onto.

Forrest grabbed the ladder so he could carry it to the dumpster, where he climbed up to slip it down to rest at the bottom, leaning on on the rim at the top. “Okay, little bit. Come on out.”

After a long moment of hesitation, the cub scrambled up the ladder, and leaped at Forrest, who caught it, but tumbled backward, hitting the ground hard under forty to fifty pounds of bear.

“Oof. Wow, you’re heavy. Mom did a good job if there are three of you. Let’s go over to the treeline and see if we can call her.”

Mommamommamomma.

Forrest climbed to his feet, taking the wee one with him, walking to the pine trees that encircled the Mora property. “Call to Momma, sweet one.” He set the bear cub down, backing away.

The little beat cried out with all his heart, the sound enough to make his chest clench. If mom didn’t—

Okay, well, he didn’t have to worry about that.

Momma bear burst from the trees, lumbering right at him, grunting, and he pushed away even more, hands up. “He’s all yours, lady! I got him out for you. Go on and take him and your others where it’s safe.”

She skidded to a halt, her big head swinging so she could glance between him and her cub. Baby. Safe.

Yes. Go on now.

She chuffed, the sound full of gratitude, before she herded her young out of the clearing.

Another satisfied customer.

Chuckling at the thought, Forrest wrangled the ladder back into place.

He glanced at the house when he headed back to his truck, and he could see smoke rising from the chimney. Isabelle’s SUV was parked up there, and he figured maybe she was in to do some cleaning, but there was a Yukon sitting there that he didn’t know, so maybe he ought to check in and make sure she was okay.

He was here anyway, right?

Truth be told, if the place went up for sale, Forrest was thinking of putting in an offer. The place had a vibe about it that called him like a bear cub caught in a dumpster…

He headed up to the open front door and knocked on the screen, shocked as hell to see a big tri-colored, floppy-eared dog appear, barking and howling like a hellhound. With short legs.

“Well, hey there. What burglar is gonna bring you with him, buddy? You’re too loud for stealth.” Forrest chuckled, the hound’s face enough to make him smile.

“Good lord, Peppermint. What’s wrong?” A pretty, lean man came to the door, a shifting back on his heels when he caught sight of Forrest. “The police? What’s wrong?”

“Fish and game, actually.” He was a full law enforcement officer, but he didn’t want to misrepresent. “Sorry to bother you, sir. I saw Isabelle’s vehicle and then one I didn’t recognize, so I wanted to check on her.” He stuck out a hand. “Forrest Tessay.”

“David Mora.” David opened the door, holding the dog back with one leg, and shook his hand. “Pleased.”

He smiled, feeling a little like an idiot. “Miss Estella’s grandon, right? Sorry, I heard you would be coming, but I didn’t– can I say hi?” He indicated the hound, who was panting and wiggling and wagging and making this wild noise that was not quite a howl.

“Of course, come in. Would you like a glass of water?” David patted his leg. “Peppermint, stop it. Sit.”

The dog stood there and wagged.

“Nice. Hiya, Peppermint.” He held out his hand, palm up, lower than her head. Which was tough, because short dog.

“Forrest! Hola, mi amigo.” Isabelle came bustling out of somewhere in the back of the house. “I’ll make coffee.”

“Oh, I don’t want to be any–”

“Coffee,” she said firmly and headed off.

“She misses Granny.” David’s shrug told a wealth of stories. “Avoid the coffee.”

“I bet she does. We all do.” He followed David to the kitchen, noting that the house was gleaming clean. “You just here to– crap, that’s none of my affair. Sorry. We get all up in each other’s business.”

“I’m here. I don’t have any answers to not share with you, not yet.”

Okay, that was…well, honestly, it was a cute turn of phrase. “Yeah, I can see that. This place is a lot, but it’s also special.”

He sat because Isabelle was making coffee and clearly wanted him to, but he wouldn’t stay long. Peppermint snuffled around his boots, no doubt smelling all the hiking he’d done today. And maybe the bear.

David sat as well, at Isabelle’s insistence, rolling his eyes. “Isabelle is convinced I’m not eating enough.”

“She does like to feed people.” Forrest grinned as a plate of cookies landed on the table.

“I miss my grandbabies, that’s all.” Isabella rolled her eyes, so dramatic. “And my great-grandbabies.”

“Where are they?” David asked. “Oh, God, was that rude?”

“No, no. They’re not far away. Just down in Las Cruces, but it’s a drive, so I don’t get to see them as much as I want.”

David pushed the plate of cookies toward Forrest with a long-suffering smile. “No, I don’t imagine you do. That’s a pretty drive, though, through the Sandias and Ruidoso and White Sands.”

“I love White Sands.” She grinned and patted David’s hand. And I love Ruidoso., but I usually go straight down 25. There is a lovely little lunch spot in T or C, huh?”

Forrest nodded and dug into the cookies. He knew Isabelle liked Hatch, too. She stopped to get chile directly from there. And she loved Mesilla. He’d heard all the stories from the time he was height of a pepper plant.

Estella’s grandson offered a milquetoast smile, but Forrest got it. He wasn’t local. Deep east Texas or Louisiana. Somewhere not desert. Someplace without the magic they had here. It drew them all back eventually. There was a legend in fact, that said if you left New Mexico, you had to take some dirt with you when you went, or you’d be back in no time.

He reckoned Estella’s son had taken a box to Texas with him, but even that wasn’t enough to keep the good-looking grandson away. And he was damn pretty, his curly raven’s wing hair falling over a lean face, his dark eyes full of bright intelligence.

And now he was staring. No bueno on that. Forrest glanced down at the dog, who was leaning hard on his leg. “She’s a lover, huh?”

“She’s amazing. She’s a good girl.”

And her thoughts were filled with love for her person, the giver of peanut butter and one that performed belly rubs. David. David. David. David.

That was a darn good sign. He rubbed her ears just as she requested when she tilted her head, and David laughed. “She loves that, man. You’ll be her new best friend.”

“Cool.” He had a cookie. Maybe two. Then he finished up his coffee. He didn’t want to overstay his welcome. “I guess I better get back to work. I just pulled a bear out of your dumpster. There’s a whole family, and I bet they avoid your place now, but if you see them, keep this sweetheart inside and call, okay?” He handed David a card.

“Bears? Yikes. I’ll definitely keep an eye out, and keep Pep close.”

No bears, missy. He gave Peppermint one more ear rub to help the idea take hold in her mind. No bears.

Bunnies. Bunnies bunnies bunnies. She leaned in. Stay.

The last thought was clear as a bell.

He smiled. That was sweet as anything. “I got to go, sweet girl.” Forrest gave her a good rub. “You be good.”

“She’ll be fine. She likes the new smells and such.” David walked him to the door. “Thanks for stopping by and checking on Isabelle. It’s good to know she has people up here.”

“Well, I’m glad to see this place is occupied.”

“I am too.” David forced out a chuckle, and the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I’m not sure about the shop, but this place is definitely still occupied.”

“The shop kind of takes care of itself, man. Just dust the stuff and listen to the wind.”

David tilted his head, staring at him for a moment. No, staring through him. “You– Yeah, okay. I can do that.”

Okay, that little hint of confusion? Dear and sweet. There was a lot to get used to in Mystic, New Mexico, and people either loved it, or it made them a little batty. Either way, he thought David and that sweet baby hound needed a home, and this one was waiting for them.

It would be fascinating to see what happened.

“It was nice to meet you, Mr. David.”

“You too, Officer…Forrest? No…”

“Tessay, but Forrest is fine.”

“Right. Thanks for coming by.”

For some reason, he asked for his card back, wrote his personal cell number on the back, and handed it over. “You call if you need anything, okay? Have a good one.”

“Thank you. You too.” David pulled out his wallet and slid the card in, and that felt like he might actually keep it.

That made Forrest smile, and he clapped his hat back on his head as he made his way to his truck. It would be fascinating to see what happened there.

Forrest would be watching.

Chapter 5

“Are you happy out there, honey? Really? Blast it! Skylar, if you hit your baby brother one more time!”

David held the phone away from his ear, wincing at the shrill tone in Audrey’s voice. He had worried when his best friend had decided to start having babies right after she married Tom. Being a military wife was tough, and Audrey had been a pampered only child. Now five kids and three deployments in, she was fraying at the edges. “I’m great, lady. It’s quiet. Peaceful. I’m actually enjoying myself.”

“I might have to kill you.” She chuckled, and he had to laugh, because now she sounded like herself. “Peaceful is good, though. You’ve earned some of that.”

“Yeah, I’m going to start seriously clearing out Granny’s store to renovate it. People keep coming by, and I don’t want them to think I’m reopening it.” He wasn’t the shopkeeper type. He did want to get in there and clean, research the stuff that was in there in between working on the house and doing the restoration work the museum was fixin’ to send him.

“Yeah? Well, if you find a long lost Picasso or something you have to tell me first.” Audrey loved that old Antiques Roadshow show where people brought shit from their attics and were told how much they were worth. She adored flipping shows too, so she was living for the pictures he was sending every time he went to the shop.

“I’m more likely to find a cursed doll like in that Annabelle movie.”

“Also incredibly cool. Don’t tell my oldest; she’ll start saving her allowance to buy it from you.”

David huffed out a surprised laugh. “I’ll keep that in mind. Really, though, it’s fascinating in there. I just can’t quite figure out where to start or what to save.”

It was like every time he went in there, he felt vaguely dizzy, as if the air was too thick, the floor wasn’t firm like it ought to be. Every time he went in, he ended up a little lost, and then he’d been in there for a couple hours and nothing had been accomplished. Part of him worried about a gas leak, but the fact was, there wasn’t a gas furnace in there. Granny had some space heaters put away behind the counter, and there was a wood-burning oven back in the corner.

He wasn’t even going to dare that.

“Well, maybe it’s not something you… start. Maybe it’s something you just do a little at a time and don’t let it stress you out. Listen to the junk.”

“That’s Zen for you, Audrey.”

“I saw it on one of those HGTV shows. Don’t worry, my house still looks like I woke up the morning after a small, localized tornado hit.”

“Well, you do have all those kids…” he teased.

“And dogs. Did I tell you Tom got another coonhound?”

“I might have heard the howling.” He grinned. Peppermint was just his speed, her stubby legs making her easy to keep up with.

“That was probably Bradley. He’s in baby jail.”

“Uh-oh. What did he do?” He did love her tales of woe. If nothing else, they made him feel better about his life choices, and she got to vent.

“Bit Ainsley’s finger hard enough to bleed, which of course, set Liam off. My life, I swear.”

“Never a dull moment.” He kinda liked his more staid existence, which he used to bemoan. Coming to Mystic had made his skin fit better.

All except the shop.

“So, have you met anyone?”

He knew she didn’t mean just people. She always meant a man. “Well, there was this hot Fish and Game guy.”

“Gay?”

He found himself making faces and shrugging, even if she couldn’t see him. “It didn’t come up. This isn’t San Francisco. I mean, it isn’t Houston. At least there I knew where to hang out to get laid.”

Audrey gasped. “Shh. Don’t say that word. I might get pregnant.”

“God forbid.” He laughed out loud. Silly woman. “They do know what causes that now.”

“Soldiers. Soldiers cause it. You have to get out there. Eat at a restaurant. Go have coffee.”

“Mmm…coffee…” That actually sounded good.

“See? There has to be a coffee shop. Every weird artsy little town has one.” She was always pushing him along.

“Okay. Okay, I promise, I will go get a hazelnut mocha latte somewhere.” His belly audibly snarled.

“Good. Someplace dog friendly so Peppermint can get a whip. I miss her.” He could almost hear her smile.

“Which is saying something.” He shook his head. “We’ll have to meet in Vegas at some point.”

“I can do that.” She snorted, and he got it. Tom was busy and there were five babies to feed, but it was nice to think on. Someday he’d surprise her. He’d get Tom to get his momma to come, and then they’d tear it up.

“Yeah. I tell you what, I have a lot of work to do. After I go get that coffee.” He hoped whatever was local had a dog friendly patio. He didn’t want to leave Peppermint here.

Every time he did, she was frantic by the time he got home. He worried that somehow the cats were getting into the house somehow. They could be evil to little hound dogs with pretty ears. Peppermint was determined to win them over, though, to the land of hard snuggles and drool.

“Have a good one, honey.” They said their goodbyes, and then he glanced at Peppermint. “You want to go bye-bye?”

If she wanted to go, then they would. That was fair, wasn’t it?

She ran right to the door, nudging her leash, which hung right there.

“Well, okay then. Coffee it is. Or whatever we can find. Burritos, possibly.”

She barked for him, white-tipped tail wagging hard. He could almost hear her telling him, “Come on, Dad.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He grabbed his wallet and keys. Then he headed out to explore. In the three weeks he’d been here, he hadn’t gone into the town itself to explore since—goodness, his last two or three visits, Granny hadn’t wanted to go into town, so it might have been as long as five years since he’d gone there. People assumed nothing ever changed in small towns, but in places like Mystic, businesses came and went pretty fast sometimes. It took a lot of grit to keep a restaurant or shop open in a spot that was so out of the way.

The actual town of Mystic was a double line of business on either side of the main road — post office, little grocery, diner, a handful of artsy farty shops and galleries, plus one cafe and a fancy little bookstore-cum-coffeeshop with a pet-io for the puppers.

Excellent.

He pulled into Mystic Jitters and smiled at the sign, which looked like a vibrating coffee mug with a rainbow aura. Neat. That was totally new since he’d last been in town. “Come on, Pep. Looks like we can get you a whip here.”

He fastened her leash on the patio, making sure he could see her the whole time. Just in case.

“She’ll be fine.” A round, low-slung woman with a shock of bright pink hair and a chain that led from her nose to her ear popped up like a demonic, cheery jack-in-the box. “What can I do you for?”

“Uh. Hi. I was craving a hazelnut mocha latte with almond milk.” He went for hopeful, not demanding.

“No problem! I’m Hetty. Do you want two shots or three?”

“I think I need three.” David couldn’t help his grin. “And I’m David Mora, and I’ll also need whatever you have in chocolate and a puppy whip, thank you.”

“Mora, huh? I’m sorry about your…” She sized him up. “Your gramma, right?” Hetty started pulling shots.

“Yes. I inherited the place, and I’ve been settling in.” He wasn’t sure what else to say — he wasn’t opening the shop, he was just…well, he was settling in. There was no better way to put it.

“It’s a quirky old place. I loved to come out and wander the shop.” She foamed almond milk, the smell of hazelnut lovely. “But it’s been closed a while now, so no one will expect anything.”

Had she read his mind or was his expression that easy to interpret?

“Yeah, it’s a lot. I’m still exploring.”

A huge, white, puffball of a cat wandered in, and Hetty smiled. “Hey, Arlene. The usual?”

A meow sounded, clear as a ball.

Okay…

“Do cats order coffee a lot?”

She gave him a curious glance. “Every day.”

“Oh.” He went for a smile. Maybe this was some kind of inside joke he didn’t get. “Should I say hi?”

“Yes. Arlene, this is David Mora. David, Arlene.”

Okay. He got it. He talked to Peppermint all the damn time, so he went along. “Good afternoon, ma’am. The hooligan outside is Peppermint. She doesn’t get coffee.”

The cat blinked at him, and he grinned.

“She gets a whip though,” Hetty said, setting that and his latte out. “Five-twenty-six. The whip is on the house.”

“Thank you.” He handed over the money. “I hope to be in a lot.”

“Any time. Coffee is important. There are inspirations in every cup.”

He hoped so. He really did. David felt as though he could use some today.

Out on the patio, Pep was barking at a large raven who had taken roost on a nearby chair. It gronked back at her, and it was kind of hilarious.

He plopped down into a chair. “Hey, raven. How goes?”

He got a flap and a gronk, along with several bows. Wow. This place made him see things that probably weren’t there. Peppermint popped up, big ol’ paws on his knee, and he let her lick out her whipped cream, drool flying.

“See, I didn’t forget you. You’re my best friend.” He laughed at her ears that flapped with her enthusiasm.

The raven picked its way closer, and he shook his head. “I don’t think she’ll share, man.”

He was talking to birds. God help him.

“David Mora, as I live and breathe.” The air filled with patchouli and sage, and a vision in silver and turquoise and deep purple velvet swooped down on him, much like the bird. “It’s been ages.”

He barely had time to brace himself before he was enveloped in a bosomy hug.

“Anita. I–how are you?” Anita Hardgrove had been one of Granny’s best customers, always buying some trinket that called to her, then giving it away. She was one of those relics of the classic southwest, with her Pendleton coats and old pawn jewelry, and she was always buying stuff from people who needed money, then giving it back when they got back on their feet…

“I’m good. Glad you’re here. Your granny’s place needs someone in it.” Her glasses were a bit thicker now, her hair grayer, but she was just the same. Wide and wise and comforting.

“It does. I’m settling in. The shop needs some work so I’m clearing it out, but–”

“Clear it out?”

Why on earth would she look so shocked by that?

“I’m an art restorer, Anita. Not an antique dealer. I have no idea what’s even in there.”

Anita’s hand was dry and warm where she patted his. “You need to look, David. There could be treasures. Your granny spent her life on that store.”

“I’m not going to hire it done. I promise. I’ll do it myself.” That was important, he knew. “I know it was special to her.”

“It was. It was her life’s work.”

“That wasn’t my dad?” he teased.

“That was her pride and joy.” A wide smile creased her face. “She would be so tickled you’re here.”

“I think that’s true. She never once acted like I was a bother, even when I was a teenager.” And he’d been an angry teen, furious at the world for each and every imagined slight.

“No, you were her pride and joy, sweet boy.” She bent to kiss his cheek, and she had to have glitter in her hair, because he say sparkles. “Well, I have an art guild meeting. I just saw you here and had to say hi. We’ll have lunch on Tuesday next. One o’clock at the diner.”

“Tuesday. One o’clock. Right.” He waited until she waved and left before putting that in his phone.

The raven gronked again, then flew off as if he’d done his job.

“Bye!” he called, and then turned toward Peppermint. “I’m losing my mind, pup.”

Peppermint wagged and tilted her head, listening to him like she always did. Such a good girl.

And a good latte, too, once he finally got to try it.

Chapter 6

After wasting another week basically avoiding the shop and the mess that waited there, David went down with the cat food to have a good, long visit with the cats, leaving Peppermint up at the house so he had a little one on one time with Esme and Mirabelle.

They had to be lonely out there in the shop all alone. At least he guessed so. David didn’t remember when they’d come to stay in the shop, and Granny had never brought them to the house, so she had to spend way more time down there than he did.

There was a great meowing, in fact, when he opened the shop, and the girls came cautiously out of the area behind the counter. Oh, poor babies.

“She’s not here, ladies. I thought you needed some food unmolested by the hound. Peppermint just wants you to love her, you know.” He chuckled as they wended around his ankles. He had cats. Lord love a duck.

He’d never even considered being a cat kind of guy.

David opened the little cans of food Isabelle had brought him and poured them on the saucers that had each cat’s name on them. “Come on, babies. Come and eat. I left the evil basset at the house.” He sat down on Granny’s old velvet chair and looked around the store. “I swear to god, y’all. I got to deal with this. I can’t keep avoiding it. It’s like I’m frozen.”

Mirabelle glanced up, licking her chops, then went back to eating.

“I know. I’m guessing it’s, what? Grief? I mean, she was old. I’m being ridiculous. Maybe I’m just down…” He sighed. “I need a life. Surely someone here plays cards. Scattergories. Cards Against Humanity. Something.”

He hadn’t thought he could be lonelier than in Houston, but he was wrong. Bone-deep wrong. Houston always had places to go.

Esme glanced at him, her tail flicking.

“Right? I’m ridiculous. And it’s friggin’ hot in here. I need to get a little swamp cooler, and—”

“Would you quit messing around, child? We have work to do.”

He stiffened, eyes searching the windows for whoever was fucking with him. “I have a gun. I’m from Texas.”

He so didn’t have a gun. He didn’t even know how to shoot one. Still, he was scary simply by virtue of his place of birth. So there.

“Stop waffling and get to work!”

David stood up in a rush, the chair cracking against the wall, dust falling from the cracked plaster ceiling. “Leave me alone. Lord, y’all!”

The cats stared at him like he’d lost his mind.

“What? Didn’t you hear that?” He didn’t want to be crazy. He really didn’t.

The sound of a big truck pulling up had him looking at the door, and he walked over to the door, the cats ignoring him. They were very busy eating. He did recognize the Fish and Game logo, though.

Forrest Tessay.

He was kind of relieved to have a break from his own thoughts.

Hopefully Forrest wasn’t coming to tell him he’d seen the bears again. He wasn’t ready for bears..

“Hey!” Forrest came over to the store, taking off his sunglasses. “How’s it going, David?”

“Good. I think.” He laughed a little. “I was just talking to the cats, so maybe less good than I thought.”

“Nah. They like that.” Forrest’s wide grin relaxed him. “I just had some time, and I thought I would check in.”

“Oh, well please, come in.” David chuckled softly and left the door open to let more air in. The cats never seemed to want to make a run for it. “Excuse the mess. This is all–a little overwhelming.”

“Yeah?” Forrest ambled in, looking around. The cats blinked at him from over their bowls, and Forrest bowed. “Ladies.”

Forrest got a little unison ‘meow’. Oh neat. He got a periodic yowl and the even more rare purr.

“So, what are you wanting to do in here?” Forrest grabbed a feather duster from behind the counter and wandered, brushing off a book here, a glass case there.

“I don’t know. I’ve never run a store before. I‘m a book restorer by trade. But I don’t really want to just have an estate sale.” He was a dork.

“No. No, I get that. Have you looked at the stuff she made, uh, what do they call it? Accommodations for in her will?”

“Not yet.” He was kind of afraid to see what might be important or valuable enough that she would specifically mention it in the will. “I know there’s a big safe where she kept a few things. It’s in the back.”

“Maybe you should start with that.”

He shook his head, but maybe it wasn’t the worst idea ever. He understood the idea of swallowing the frog, even if he was less than successful at actually doing it.

“I’m a little intimidated.” He glanced at Forrest. “I don’t suppose… I mean. Do you think…”

“I have Saturday off if you want company.”

“Are you sure? I’ll totally feed you.” He just didn’t want to deal with this alone.

“Yeah? Well, I bet Miss Isabelle will feed us both, but I’m down.” Forrest gave him that bright grin again, looking tickled at the prospect.

“I’m hoping to find some neat old books. They’re my passion.” And he had the feeling there were some amazing ones, behind the McDonald’s toys and the weird tchotskies.

“Yeah? You restore them, right?” Forrest peered into a case that held one of those clapping monkeys. “That’s so cool. I love books, though I tend toward ebooks these days. I can carry a thousand with me on my phone.”

“There’s something special about an old book, though. One that you can see the use, the oil from two hundred years of fingers. There are layers of history.” His job was to preserve and restore that.

“That’s cool, man.” Forrest looked at him, dark eyes searching. “You ought to have a ball here, then. But please wait on the safe until I’m here, okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah, we can discover it together, right?” Something in the back fell with a thud, and his head tilted. “I think we have mice in here.”

“With these two fierce warriors? Never. I bet things just shift with the weather.” Forrest didn’t seem bothered. But then he probably really did deal with bears. What were miceto him?

“I’m pretty sure these two simply glare. They don’t seem like the hunter types.” In fact, they seemed like frustrated old ladies in a stitch and bitch.

“Maybe. But that’s enough to stop a mouse in its tracks,” Forrest teased.

The food bowls empty, both cats jumped up to their place on the counters, staring hard at them.

“It works on me, most of the time.” Cats didn’t love anyone//knm like a dog did. He needed that unconditional love.

“I tend to accept that it’s their nature.” Forrest went to give chin scritches, which were regally accepted. So okay, he needed to keep the guy around. That was amazing. Those cats were so standoffish.

“I thought about bringing them up to the house, but…” They were happy here.

“This is where they stay.” Forrest chuckled warmly. “Especially now that you have the hound living here.”

“Well, it’s not like leaving her furry butt behind was an option. She’s my girl.” He winked over, picking up a fat, round piece of stone and dusting it off.

“She loves it here. I can tell.” They could hear Miss Peppermint howling. “She’s, uh, worried about you right now though.”

“Worried? That’s ‘Dad, someone is here and you left me in the house’.” He knew that howl.

“Ah. Well, do you mind if I stop and say hi to her before I go?” Forrest made a wry face. “I’m way better with animals than I am people.”

“Of course not. She took right to you.” He waved Forrest out the door. “I’ll buy you a Coke.”

“Thanks. My mom wants to know if you like tamales. She’s making them this weekend.”

“I love them — pork, chicken, bean and cheese, apple. You name it, I love it.”

“Oh, apples and cinnamon. I’ll poke her for those.” They locked up and headed up the house, where Peppermint was clearly ready to see Forrest again. He got that. Somehow he felt better with the guy around.

Chapter 7

They got up to the house, and Forrest felt like he’d bought some time with the shop. That way he could help steer David into discovering things in the right order and keep the peace with the town elders, who were altogether too…worried about David.

When they got the door open, Peppermint spilled out, howling and jumping.

Friend! Friend, you found my dad! I called and called and called for him, and he was lost!

I know, little girl. He reached down to pet her ears. I brought him back to you safely.

Friend. She leaned hard, moaning low, singing softly.

Yes. Good friend. If you need me, you will always know how to find me. She needed to understand that. He would come help.

“She likes you a lot. Seriously.” David shook his head. “Would you like a drink? Hell, would you like to stay for supper?”

He misses having a mate. Interesting — not that David missed his mate, but that he missed having one.

“Sure. I have to run about ten minutes away and change vehicles and clothes, but I have pie I can bring back with me. Lemon cream.” He was totally down with supper. And learning more from Miss Pep. She was a wealth of information.

“I have a couple of sirloins and baking potatoes. Salad mix even.”

“That sounds like the best offer maybe in ever.” Forrest meant it. Dinner with David sounded like the anti-boredom, and beat eating a taco from the fridge over his sink any day.

“Cool. I’ll get the beef out to come to room temp. You do what you need to, and I’ll see you in a few.”

“You got it.” He rubbed Pep’s head. “Be right back, little girl. I have to go get the pie.”

Piepiepiepiepie.

“Come on, angel girl, let’s get you a cookie.” Forrest loved how good David was to Peppermint, how much he adored her.

“I’ll be back in a hot minute,” he said, heading out to his truck without the Coke. On his way out, he texted Anita, because she would disseminate the information through to the others. No one ever warned him that bureaucracy was rife in the magical realm.

Well, he had seen all the Harry Potter movies, but that all seemed so very British. And Forrest had gone to public school here in Mystic. All the training he’d had came from his gramps.

I miss you, Gramps. I could use a little…assistance.

Oh, wait. Texting. Right.

His phone rang, Anita’s round, smiling face popping up. Wicked woman. She always knew.

“Hey, lady.”

“Dear boy. I’m so glad you’re at Estella’s.”

“Uh-huh. Are you keeping tabs on me?” He smiled and hopped into the truck. He knew the answer.

“I keep an eye on all of my important people. How’s it going? How’s David?”

“I’m helping him look though the shop this weekend.” He bounced down the long driveway, glancing at the shop, frowning at the door, which looked to be open, but when he took a second glance was closed.

“Oh? Fern, love. Forrest is going over to help David Mora with Phantasiq Junque.”

“Good.” For all that Anita was warm and round and soft, her wife Fern felt like she was formed from the knitting needles that she carried everywhere, and her voice was pure corvid — all rough and raw, grating on the ear. “Tell him we need an invitation. I need to talk to his grandmother, face to face.”

“Yes, love. Forrest? Did you hear? Do you mind?”

What? He was somehow supposed to work in an invitation for a sixth of the council? Anita was easy — she was sensitive, she read people’s emotions and eased them.

Fern was the human version of psychic sandpaper.

“I’ll do my best. I swear.” But he didn’t even know if David had a talent, much less whether he knew how to use it…

“That’s all we can ask, dear heart. Enjoy your supper. I made a lemon pie for you to take.”

He turned toward town. “How did you—”

“Your grandfather was talking to Fern.”

For a second he was jealous, but he let it go. Everyone had their thing. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll stop on my way through town.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll leave it on your porch, dear. Wear the blue shirt. It’s nice.”

He hung up and drove all the way through the single blinking light that defined the beginning of Mystic, then turned into the neighborhood where he rented.

It took him twenty minutes to get all civilian, and grab the pie and his dog, making it back to David in record time. He had to admit, this wasn’t just about his duty. He was eager to spend time with David.

“I hope Miss Pep loves big, slobbery chocolate labs, buddy,” he told Leo, who was said chocolate lab. “But you’ve been alone all day.”

Leo’s thoughts were fast and joyous, the idea of going in the truck sending his sweet boy over the moon.

“In, buddy.” They headed back to David’s, and Leo’s thoughts tumbled over each other, friend and gone and sad. Yeah, he’d loved Estella. “I think you’ll like friend David. I bet he’s got a cookie for you.”

COOKIE! Cookiecookiecookie!

That song lasted until they pulled into the drive of the main house and Leo smelled Peppermint.

Then the happy thoughts slammed to a halt, and Leo blinked, head tilting, nose working. Mate?

He gave his best buddy a sideways look. “Don’t rush things, bud. Come on and meet them.”

David opened the front door. “Now who’s this baby? Look at that pretty face.”

“This is Leo. Leo, this is David. Sit, buddy.”

Leo plopped down, presenting a paw to shake.

“Oh, wow. Hey, Leo. Come in and meet Peppermint. Can I give him a cookie?”

Peppermint heard the word ‘cookie’, and she started howling.

Leo bounced in circles thinking, Cookie, cookie, cookie, until both dogs got a Milkbone, and then the mass hysteria went quiet.

David didn’t seem the least bit worried. In fact, he was all smiles. “Lord have mercy, dogs dogs dogs.”

“Right? But out here it’s good to have the company. Is there anything I can do? Put me to work.” He watched the happy slobber fest for a moment, grinning. He thought this would be a beautiful love affair. With the dogs.

“I put the potatoes in the oven. Should I put the pie in the fridge? It looks amazing.”

“Yeah, it does best when it’s cold. Miss Anita made it. She’s a stress cooker, and she’s had a little bit since your Granny passed. They were good friends.” Right. Way to kill the mood. “Sorry.”

“Hey, no problem. People will miss her. So will I.” David smiled as he took the pie and put it away. “I’m not going to get grumpy about people loving her, you know?”

“Good. I just don’t think before I speak sometimes.” Forrest grinned. “I spend a lot of time alone.”

“Me too, now. I’m not used to it. It’s a little unnerving, honestly.”

“Yeah? Well, all you have to do is go to town and casually mention to the air that you need company. You’ll have a dozen folks bringing enchiladas and biscochitos and wanting to have coffee.” Forrest sat on one of the tall stools by the kitchen counter.

“Is it that easy?” David poured him a cup of coffee, fixing it exactly the way he needed, one sugar, light cream, without being asked.

“Here in Mystic? Heck yes.” Forrest had to grin. “Most small towns, I guess, but here it’s even easier. People hear vibrations.” So to speak. He thought it was good to ease David into the shit that happened around here.

Potty, potty, potty.

He looked at Leo askance. “You just went.”

“I’m putting in a doggie door in the kitchen.” David went to let them out. “It’s all fenced in. No worries.”

“Oh, good man. Leo is pretty trained, but this way I don’t have to go stand out there, huh?”

“They can play.” David grinned after the two hooligans, who were running in a big circle, from what he could see.

“They can.” Forrest liked how this was going.

“She’s been lonely too. My folks have a pit bull named Lily, and they were best friends.”

“Ah. Do they Skype?”

“They do!” David laughed. “I was worried you’d think I was nuts.”

“They know more than we think.”

“Yeah. I swear sometimes she’s trying to talk to me, and if I only spoke basset hound…”

“She would just ask for treats and tell you she loved you, mostly.” He winked, but that was true enough. Leo did a lot of asking if he needed kisses…

“Mostly. Sometimes I think she’d ask me about my life choices, some of which have sucked.” David winked at him, like he was sharing the joke.

“Yeah? She doesn’t seem judgey.” Forrest winked back.

“Nope. She’s my biggest fan.”

Forrest nodded. Dogs were amazing. Cats? Well, they were too, but not so much in support. “Man, those potatoes smell good. There’s something about actually baking them.”

“Yeah, I nuke them when I’m in a hurry, but–” David shrugged. “There’s no reason to rush tonight, right? Do you want to see the house or have you had the tour?”

“I haven’t been anywhere but the kitchen and living areas, and the courtyard. I’d love a tour.” Forrest chuckled wryly. “I’m just as nosy as the next small-town neighbor.”

“Well, come on. Let’s explore. It’s a great house.” David’s smile was excited, and suddenly years of worry fell off, and it stole Forrest’s breath.

He followed, fighting the urge to grab David’s hand. That would be weird. They stopped to let the dogs in after Peppermint started to howl.

“So you know the kitchen. The courtyard is amazing. I’m going to put fairy lights up for the evenings. I love eating out here.”

“It’s gorgeous. I’m glad to see you working on the plants.”

“Yeah. I mean, they were getting the minimum from someone, but they needed some love.” David grinned. “And the fountain needs a new motor. I found a video on YouTube on how to do it, and I have one coming from Amazon.”

He liked that — David seemed excited by the idea of fixing something, and he hadn’t waited to see if someone else could do it. That would serve him well here.

“That would be great. Miss Estella loved it. I bet it just got hard water clogged.”

“Yeah, it was pretty gross… I can’t wait to see what Pep will do with a fountain.”

“I envision interpretive dance.”

David’s cackle filled the air. “Complete with Isadora Duncan ears, huh?”

“Indeed.” Forrest made a swimming motion with his hands, doing the drama face, and David’s laughter went high octane, the man just chortling.

“So if you go through the other side of the courtyard, you have the two guest rooms. They share a bathroom.” Then he motioned toward the end of the courtyard. “This is my suite in here, and the study. Which would you like to see first?”

“Let’s start with the study and work around?” That way he could report back on anything Estella might have kept in the house and not the shop.

The study was simple, surprisingly, set up with an easel and a stack of old books in various stages of repair. The built-ins were full of books and dust and few odd as hell knickknacks.

“So this is a pretty good set up for you to work?”

David nodded happily. “Good natural light, but the louvers work great if I need to protect the books. It’s a little more climate controlled than the rest of the house too. Not on the swamp cooler. She had a little air conditioner and heater installed.”

So there was definitely something worth protecting in there.

“Have you looked through the shelves?”

“I have. There’s some fascinating stuff in here under the dust. I’ve been removing them shelves at a time, dusting, and then popping them back on.”

“Nice. That’s kind of the approach we’ll take to the store, yeah? I mean, Estella had to have an inventory somewhere, right?”

“That’s the theory. Although her mind wasn’t slipping one bit.”

“No. No, it was her body that let her down.” She’d poured so much magic into this place…

“Yeah.I swear I can feel her here sometimes.”

A book fell off the shelf with a thud, and David jumped. “What the hell?”

“Maybe you have magical Disney mice.” Forrest moved to pick up the book, turning it over in his hands. Was she just messing with them, or was this important? He never knew with Estella, even when she was alive and able to actually talk to him.

There was always some lesson she wanted him to learn on his own, without her express help.

“Maybe.” David shook himself. “Is it the History of Stones? That’s what it’s been for a couple of times.”

“Yeah. It is.” So he put the book on the desk. “I wonder what it’s trying to tell you.”

David tilted his head. “What do you mean?”

“I’m a big believer that nothing happens like that for no reason. Have you looked inside?” He cracked the book open to the title page. The book was inscribed to Estella, with a tiny gold key taped to the inside.

“Hey, check it out.”

David moved to his side to look, brushing against his arm, which sent a little shock through him. Forrest jumped, and he wanted to explain it away as static, but that wouldn’t make his body perk up, would it?

David drew in a breath, and Forrest swore electricity filled the air. “What was that?”

“A key?” He gave David a sideways grin, hoping it was obvious how affected he was too.

“Butthead,” David said.

“Mmm.” He kinda was, but in this case he needed a minute to process that spark of magic and lust that had flashed through him.

David leaned a little. “So what do you think the key is for?”

“I have no idea. It seems too small for a door. Maybe a desk drawer or a box?” He breathed in deep, taking in David’s male musk overlaid with leather and paper and a hint of puppy. It was kind of dizzying.

He liked it.

“Help me look.” David moved away, tripping over something, but catching himself on the desk. “The desk drawers don’t have locks, so it can’t be that. Do you think it goes to that great big book in Granny’s closet? That’s the book I’ve seen with a lock. Or maybe a jewelry box…”

Did he think? Did bears poop in the woods? “It might. You want to see? I don’t want to pry, but…”

“I’d like the company. Things get weird around here sometimes, and it’s nice to have back up.” David winked, but he could tell the man was nervous.

“Sure. I’m down for some digging.” He wanted to know what was so important to Estella that she would lock it in a book. He wanted to be able to take something back to the council that would help them accept him as something more than Ed Tesseray’s Doctor Doolittleion grandson.

David opened the door to the master, and it was still, unused, weirdly dusty. It smelled like something buried in the desert.

“Are you not staying here?”

David shook his head. “I can’t yet.”

“No, I reckon it would be tough.” His heart hurt for Estella and missing her, He couldn’t imagine how David felt. That was his family, his blood.

“I did let Isabelle take a bunch of her clothes today, though. I can’t use them. That’s where I found the book.” David took him to the closet, where a bound and locked book sat on a stand. “She wanted it too, but I told her, books were my jam.”

“Wow. This is a huge closet.” It was the size of his little adobe, almost, all on its own.

David whacked his arm. “Focus.”

“Right, sorry.” Forrest grinned, but gave the book his attention. It was one of those big, old volumes that came before publishing standards made books mostly the same size. Leather bound, it had gilded filigree and a gleaming gold colored lock that matched the key. “You restore stuff like this, What do you make of it?”

“I haven’t had a lot of time to examine it. Honestly? I think it must be a journal. It’s been made by hand, so I doubt it’s a commercial printing of anything. It’s old, but it’s not a collectible.”

“Yeah? Should we open it, do you think?”

“Well, if I’m going to, I’d rather have you here, so yeah.” David stopped suddenly and blinked. “What a very odd thing to say, huh? Sorry.”

Forrest fought the urge to grab David’s hand, comfort him. That wasn’t appropriate.

David went to the bed and sat with the book. He took a deep breath. “Okay, here we go.” He tried the key in the lock, and Forrest fought the urge to duck.

A spark shot out with the click of the lock, the ward on the book surrounding David with a flood of energy that flared, then dissipated as if it had never been there.

“Wow. Was that static?” David’s eyes were wide, his body almost vibrating.

“Something like that.” He sat next to David on the bed. “So what is it?”

David opened the front cover. “Estella’s Book of Shadows. Wow. Look at that lettering. You think my gran did that?”

“I bet someone did it for her. But she was a lady of many talents.”

“She was.” David traced the lettering, and Forrest could almost see the energy, racing to David before seeming to calm. “Weird. Do you think I should read it? I mean, it seems very personal, a grimoire.”

“You know what that is?”

David rolled his eyes. “I totally had my dripping with pentacles phase in high school, and I dated a Wiccan for three years in college. I haven’t done anything in a long time, but I have a passing knowledge of the terminology.”

Whoa.

“Well, then, let me say this.” Forrest looked for the right words. “I think stuff happens for a reason. Somehow you were meant to find the key and the book, so I say spend some time with it. Read it.”

“Yeah. I just hate thinking that she was writing love spells involving dead birds.” David closed the book, patted it. “I’m glad you showed me the book, Granny.”

There was another little crackle of what David would call static, he thought, Estella answering the only way she could.

“Let’s go get the dogs, huh?” He could hear them barking like fiends.

“Yeah.” David nodded and sighed. “Let’s go see what’s up. The other rooms are guest rooms and storage. I still have some work to do.”

“Hey, I think you’re doing great. You still have your own job too.” He let himself rub David’s back for a moment before they got up. The pups weren’t in trouble. They just wanted to play.

“Thank you. I never realized how lonely it is out here.”

“No, I reckon you were always here with family.”

“Yeah. The great summer adventure.” David laughed a little wryly. “But it’s good for the soul, too. The quiet.”

“It is. When it’s gone, you miss it, right?”

“That’s the rumor, yes.” David shook himself, and then he grinned. “Okay, so that was weirdly sad. I suppose at some point these little pockets of Granny will be gone.”

“Maybe. Maybe you’ll learn to coexist.” They let the dogs in at the back door, and there was a great bounce and drool session before they got to the business of finishing up dinner creation. He had a ball being with David, though.

The guy was funny, smart, and remarkably easy to talk to.

And a little magical, for all the he thought it was all hooey.

Happy, friend, happy. Peppermint bounced off his leg.

“You’re a happy girl.”

“She is a light.” David reached down, stroking her ears. “And she likes your boy.”

“She does.” Leo liked her too. The big doof was bouncing and showing off, and basically being a nut. He could hear Leo in his head. Mate. Girl Pretty. Mate.

He would have to have a stern talk with his buddy about not humping her.

They sat at the kitchen table, which obviously saw more use than the long, formal dining.

“Would you like a Coke, a beer, water?”

“I’ll take a Coke, thanks.” He liked his beer, but he wasn’t in the mood right now. When he came over again, he’d bring a big jug of iced tea.

“Sure, I have Dr Pepper and Sprite. Oh, and I made tea this morning too.”

And there was a hint of spark from David. Excellent.

“Oh, I would love a glass of tea. Unless it’s sweet tea.” He grinned. He knew Texas was a land divided on that, so he needed to ask.

“I’m not a sweet tea person. I know I should be, but my mom didn’t make it, so I grew up with it not.”

“Cool. It’s just not a thing here. We get complaints from visitors from time to time.” Texas folks loved to come see the mountains.

“Ah, well…I’m half from here, genetically.”

“True enough.” Yeah, he forgot about that. He shouldn’t. That would lead him to underestimate David. A lot. “So, what’s your favorite part so far?”

“The weather. I’m from Houston, so the lack of humidity and the cool nights are amazing.”

“Yeah. Makes for good sleeping.” And if he wished David had said meeting him, well, that was Forrest’s problem, not David’s. He sipped his tea, and Leo put that big head on his leg.

Love, love, love.

He rubbed Leo’s ears. “I love you too, buddy.”

David’s smile warmed him up. “I can’t tell you how much it means that you’re here. I’m making myself a little nuts. I keep seeing ghosts.”

“What kind?” He propped his chin on his hand, trying to look encouraging. “Like, for real? Or just memories.”

“I-I imagine it’s just being alone. I haven’t ever done this — lived alone, I mean — especially not in a place this big.”

“Oh, man. I’m alone so much it would never occur to me.” He had the animals he protected too. There was always one to talk to. “Call me anytime. I mean it. I’m rarely so busy I can’t chat for a few.”

How could David had never… “Where you at your folks, then?”

“Yeah, but I’m not a basement dweller neckbeard or anything. I went from home, to the dorms, to my ex-husband’s house, and then back to my folks’.” David stuck his tongue out. “I’ve only been divorced about a year.”

“Oh, man. That sucks. I mean, is it good to be not together?” What a stupid thing to ask, but it popped out.

“Yeah.” David looked a little surprised at either the answer or the ease which it popped out. “He was cheating on me. I should have known, but I didn’t. I didn’t even guess. He said…some awful things before it was over.”

Peppermint came to David, pushing into his hand for a pet. Not ugly. Not Daddy. Not bad. Good. Good.

He gritted his teeth, but kept his hands gentle when he loved on her. No one should have to deal with their loved one saying stuff like that. No one. “Well, you got out of there. So good deal.”

“Yes. It was hard, but that bit’s over, and I’m ready to start a new part of my life. A part that’s fresh.”

“Well, here’s to that.” Forrest clinked his glass against David’s, and that got him a smile that lit up that lean face.

That made David look young and pretty, made him glow a bit. It was…lickable. That mouth.

Forrest wanted to lean forward and kiss David, but he wasn’t sure now was the time. He did find himself swaying toward David, though.

A spark, a visible goddamn spark passed between them, popping right on David’s nose.

David’s eyes went wide, and he jumped, and Forrest took his chance, pressing their mouths together.

David gasped, those dark eyes shooting to his. He almost pulled away, when David leaned in, kissing him back.

He breathed out into David, the man’s eyes seeming to sparkle. Fascinating.

What is it you do? he wondered. David had magic in him. What was the talent? Sooner or later, they all showed a specialty.

Why hadn’t Isabella trained him up? It didn’t make sense.

David sat back, eyes wide, hand coming up to his lips. “Was that okay?”

“That was better than okay.” Forrest gave David all his attention.” Did you feel that spark?”

“I did. We have some static between us.”

“We do, but I don’t think it’s environmental.” He took another peck. “But we’ll work that out.” They had time to explore. Learn each other.

“I’d like that. To work things out, I mean. Together.”

“Good. Me too. I like you, David Mora. And you’re pretty hot too.” He glanced at the pups, who were curled up together, sleeping. “And your girl totally has my Leo’s heart.”

David eyed them. “They do look pretty pleased with themselves. Pep loves other dogs, but I’ve never seen her do that.”

“Leo is a giant goofball, and usually is totally off putting and making other dogs growl.” He grinned. “It’s meant to be.”

David tilted his head. “I didn’t believe in that until I came to Mystic. Now I’m starting to think it’s the real deal. Is that weird?”

“Nope. It’s a magical place.” He could say that with every certainty. This town, the land here, it thrummed with energy. It vibrated on a magical frequency.

“I’m glad you don’t think I’m nuts. Thanks for– everything. Listening about Granny’s book. The kiss. Supper.”

“You did supper.” Forrest touched David’s cheek. “Anytime. Seriously.”

“Thanks. I–We’re still on for Saturday?”

“Heck, yes. I want to see all the things.” He gave David a slow once over, letting him know this wasn’t just about exploring the shop.

David’s grin just bloomed. “Yeah? There’s lots of things.”

“There are. We can explore.” Forrest was just… flustered and heated and ready to see what happened next with this whole situation.

“We can.” David’s teeth sank into his bottom lip, and that little expression was incredibly alluring.

So Forrest had to kiss him again. Before dessert. Pie was great, but this was better. He leaned in to do just that, but something poked him right on the backside, making him yelp and jump back.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” He rubbed the offending spot, wondering who was telling him to take things slower. One way or the other, he was going to listen. So he pecked a kiss on David’s forehead. “I think something bit me.”

“Ouch.” David moved in again, hands on his chest, but then it was David’s turn to jerk and dance. “Ow! I think we might have an infestation. Help me clean up?”

“You got it.” He would help David look for non-existent bugs, but he knew better. Someone was trying to tell him something. Too bad it wasn’t one of the animals, but he was listening.

And he could wait.

Chapter 8

David woke up standing at the end of Granny’s bed, that book open, the pages turning in the moonlight, flapping, the sound bringing to mind the flight of a huge, snowy bird.

He had a stone in his hand, a flat, smooth red stone from the cobalt glass bowl at the store, and it was pulsing like a living thing. He didn’t understand. How had it gotten out of the store?

He could see little flashes of light, something like static electricity chasing itself along the quilt, following the patterns stitched into the fabric. They were coalescing around Granny’s book, surrounding it and lighting it up.

“What’s going on?” His voice sounded distant, and he wasn’t sure if he was dreaming or not, but the stone in his hand felt real, heavy and hot. In fact it wasn’t just warm, it was burning.

He tried to drop it, but he couldn’t get his hand open. It was as if he had to hold onto it or something awful would happen.

The flutter of wings at the window scared the fire out of him, and he watched the white feathers beating on the glass. Whoa.

Whoa.

Bad dream. Wake the heck up.

David, please. Let me in. I can help.

He shook his head. No, he’d seen this movie. If he opened the window there would be a vampire or a plague of locusts out there or something. But he was burning. He was going to combust.

No locusts. You need my help. Forrest sent me. You remember Forrest, don’t you?

Remember him? Of course he did. Forrest was… amazing. Kind. Stunning to look at. So he moved as if his feet were being walked for him by some kind of machine, right to the window to open it one-handed, even as the book seemed to scream at him.

“Help. Please.”

This huge owl flew in, knocking the stone from his hand, and suddenly the nightmare stopped, and Peppermint’s desperate howls from outside the bedroom door got through.

“Oh.”

Rushing to the door, he opened it. “Hey, baby girl. I’m sorry. Did you get locked out? There’s an owl. Don’t try to eat it.”

Peppermint bounced and growled and vocalized, bowing to the huge owl that stood on the floor, that stone in one clawed foot.

“What is that thing? What do we do with it?” He wasn’t dreaming. He’d sure thought he was. Now what?

He swore that the owl shrugged.

“Yeah. I don’t know either.”

A sharp knock came to the front door, startling the fire out of him.

“What the heck?” He stumbled out of the bedroom and headed for the door. “Who is it?”

“Forrest.”

“What?” He opened the door, finding Forrest and an hysterical Leo standing there. Leo went crashing in, barking, and Peppermint howled. “Hey.”

“Hey. Are you okay?” Forrest pushed inside and closed the door, then grabbed him and held him close for a minute.

“No.” He held on, his mind whirling. “Something happened. How did you know?”

“I’ll tell you in a minute. First you tell me what happened.” Forrest started checking the house like the cop he essentially was, looking in all the possible danger areas.

“I was dreaming. I thought I was dreaming, about the book from Granny’s room. It was on the bed, and it was sparkling and sending out lightning, and there was a stone in my hand and it was burning me.” David swallowed hard and shuddered, forcing himself to continue. “Then an owl came in — a huge snowy owl — she took the stone from me and I woke up. It’s in Granny’s bedroom. Oh, god. What if the dogs got her?”

“They won’t. Let me see your hand.” Forrest grabbed his wrist, but kept it as gentle as possible. “Well, it’s red, but there are no blisters. Show me the stone?”

“The owl took it.”

“Where did it come from?”

He shook his head. “It was in the store. I don’t know how it got up here.”

“Crap. Okay, that’s not good, honey.” Forrest took him to the bedroom, where Leo and Pep were both sniffing around the open window, but not trying to get out.

“The owl said you sent her.”

Forrest closed the window, giving him a serious look. “I did. Come on. I’m going to make you some hot chocolate.”

That seemed like such a non-sequitur that he laughed. “I feel like I’m losing my mind.”

“No. No, this is just a very special house and shop, you know?” Forrest sat him down at the kitchen table, then gave both dogs a cookie. “We need to talk about it, but I wanted to see if you planned to stay.”

“This is my home. It belongs to me. Granny wanted me here.” And no one wanted me back home.

“Then we’re good to go.” Forrest moved around like he lived there, pulling out a saucepan, milk, and Abuelita. God, he loved those little wedges of Mexican chocolate, laced with cinnamon.

How were they good to go? He didn’t understand. He just didn’t.

Forrest gave him a steaming cup of hot chocolate a few minutes later, along with a plate of cookies Isabella had left for him. “Eat. The sugar will help the shock. The chocolate will give you a boost too.”

“It’s late for cookies.”

“We’ll be up.” Forrest sat, grabbing a cookie to munch.

“Am I–do you have to be at work early?” He took a cookie, humming over the coconutty flavor.

“Nope. I’m taking the day off. A friend of mine is covering for me, doubling up routes.” Forrest smiled at him, pushing a cookie into his hand. “Come on, honey. Sugar.”

“Sugar.” He smiled at Forrest and nodded, the chocolate and sweet making him buzz a little, and when he crashed, he was going to sleep hard. Maybe Forrest could stay…

“I can. I have a go bag out in my truck. I just need to run get it.” Forrest stood. “You okay for a minute?”

“Uh-huh.” Had he said that–he couldn’t remember, and everything seemed so off. It was a little like being high, when he thought about it.

“Be right back.”

Leo went to the door to look out, but didn’t follow Forrest, as if he were guarding them. David had never seen him look so alert. And Pep paced, making her little chicken bock bock noise in the back of her basset throat.

“Easy, guys. It was just a wild dream.” It had to be. Just a stupid nightmare.

Peppermint woofed softly at him, then came over to lean against his leg and demand an ear rub.

“Yeah. Bad dream or not, I freaked you out, huh?”

She leaned harder, and he rubbed her ears, which were always a little itchy no matter how much he washed them. Though they were better in New Mexico than in Houston. It hadn’t taken either of them any time to get used to the lower humidity.

Forrest came back in with a small duffel bag, petting Leo on the way by. “Here we go. Is the guest room livable?”

“It is.” The thing was, David had been staying there, because there was something unnerving about staying in Granny’s bed. “Let me go swap the sheets.”

“I can sleep on the couch, honey. Really. If you want to stay in the guest room. It won’t bother me.”

He paused, brows drawing down. “Are you a mind reader or something?”

“No.” Forrest grinned. “But you’re pretty easy to read.”

“I–no. Look, I’m not being a skeaze or anything, but…do you want to just sleep with me?” He was wigged, exhausted, and scared. He didn’t want acrobatics, just company.

“I do. I think that will just be easier.” Forrest came to wrap an arm around him, the move purely comforting. “No weird stuff, I promise. We can save that for another time.”

“Yeah. I mean, I’m interested in you, but I’m tired and wigged, you know?”

“I get that.” He got a little squeeze before Forrest took the cups to the sink and moved the cookies up high where the pups couldn’t get them. “Does Peppermint sleep with you?”

“Yeah. I had locked her out. Like, with the rock. How weird is that?” He never locked her out of anything, ever. “How about Leo?”

“He’s used to being with me, yeah. But when we camp and all I have is a cot, he’s used to the floor. He can be polite.”

David glanced at Leo and Peppermint, who were grooming each other. “I think they’ll be fine. There are dog beds.”

“Eventually, we’ll make it so you can sleep in the master, honey. I promise.”

“I just– not now.” It was all too fresh, and his gran was still so… present.

“I understand. Honestly. I do understand. I have you.”

“Thank you.” He smiled, feeling as if he might break in two. “I’ve already brushed my teeth and stuff.”

“I’ll get cleaned up, then. Come on, come to bed.” Forrest steered him into the hall, then back to the guest room. “Pick your side. I’ll be in after a sec.”

He climbed in, his body feeling heavy and relaxed, still. David yawned, watching the door, but Forrest really did come back, and crawled into bed next to him, warm and heavy.

Pep was on the bed in no time, and he heard Leo settle by the bed on Forrest’s side, digging at the dog bed there.

It was… remarkably wonderful.

David felt safe, for the first time since he’d arrived, and he sighed, cuddling right in.

“I got you, David. Sleep now. I’ll see you in the morning.” Forrest’s soft words followed him to sleep.

Chapter 9

Forrest woke up early, leaving David to sleep. The haunted look from last night was faded, and the dark bruises under his eyes had too.

Thank goodness for Kathy and Ginny or they might have lost David last night. The vampire had come tapping at his window, while Ginny had flown in to save the day in her owl form.

He needed to call them, though, and find out what the heck that rock was about. What kind of artifact could do that?

He went to look at Estella’s bedroom, the book closed, locked, and back in the closet. Had Ginny done that? Kathy? Where was the stone?

He pulled out his phone. Too late to call Kathy, too early for Ginny. So he texted them both to call him when they could. Okay.

When he headed back to the kitchen, Peppermint and Leo were there, dancing to go out. Opening the door, he let them race around the dog yard while he made a cup of coffee.

Then Pep was back, politely leaning on his leg.

“So what happened last night, girl?”

Bad rock. Bad. Fire wants to takes my David.

“Yeah, well, you did well, little girl. You woke him up.”

Bird lady comes. And you.

“And Leo.”

She gave Leo and adoring look, her tongue lolling out. Mate. They touched noses. My fine mate.

Mate, mate, mate.

Forrest chuckled. He knew how they felt. David was quickly working his way into Forrest’s heart, and sleeping with him last night had been happy making, even in the bad circumstances.

Okay, he needed to get down into the store and figure out what was up. Estella had been controlling the magic at the store, but Forrest assumed David would have known about it.

So much to do. He was grateful that he’d been able to get the day off. David was bound to be a little wigged.

A huge raven fluttered down, landing by the open back door. “Good morning, Ginny.”

In a heartbeat, Ginny stood in front of him, tiny and ferocious. “Forrest. Coffee?”

“Yes, ma’am. I just made some.” He grabbed a cup out of the cabinet to pour for her. “Milk and sugar, yes?”

“Yes. Light and sweet.” She blinked at him. “Also, what the fuck?”

“I have no idea. What kind of artifact is that damn stone? Did you know she had it?”

“No. I took it to Abe, and he had a heart attack when he picked it up, so it’s with the twins.”

“A heart attack?” His voice rose. “What?”

“He’ll be fine. He’s in the hospital, but it was mild. He’s okay, but why would Estelle leave something out in the open that was dangerous? Why didn’t she train David? He was totally caught in the dreamwalk.”

“Maybe she thought she would have more time.” They always did. All of them. “Maybe he needed to be ready. I think he is now, but damn.”

“Yeah. Yeah, something’s wrong down there.” Ginny fluttered.

“Do I need to go to the shop?” Forrest would go check on things, lock the place up.

“I think you have to take David down there. She wanted him to deal, so he has to have the gift.”

“Okay. Well, then I’ll make breakfast.” Eggs. Bacon. Tortillas. Isabella had left all the things.

“Sounds good. Take care of him. I’m going to do rounds. Expect the twins to call.”

“I will.” He took a deep breath, then let it out. “Thanks for the help.”

“Anytime. You’re staying here for a bit?”

“I am. I have today off, at least. And you know I’m always just a thought away.” Depending on whose thoughts they were.

“I do. Last night was disconcerting, and he’s awake. Keep an eye on him. Bye.” And with that, she was flying away.

He got the bacon going before tiptoeing to check on David. Leo and Peppermint were curled up on either side of him.

Sleeps, Leo grumbled. Dark dreams.

“Well, we don’t want that.” No way. That led to dreamwalking.

“Hey, David. You want some breakfast?” He sat on the bed, putting a hand on David’s back. He wanted David to wake up and eat so they could start dealing with this. It was time for a serious discussion.

David’s eyes flew open. “Forrest. Forrest, I was calling for you. You must have heard me again.”

“I must have.” Thanks, Leo. “You okay?” He would have to get one of the elders to help guard David’s sleep. That wasn’t really his strong suit. He could guard David physically, wake him up if he dreamed, but…

We help. That was Pep, wagging her tail, thump thump.

Thank you, ladybug.

Welcome. Her energy was pure love.

“I’m– yeah. I think I’m okay. Thanks for staying.”

“It was no problem. We have some stuff to talk about.”

“I know. I was embarrassing last night. I’m sorry.”

“Nope. Not that. Come on out to the kitchen. I got to turn the bacon.” He’d left it on lower than usual, but he needed to get with it. He didn’t want to burn it and waste it.

“Oh, yay bacon.” He did like that — how David simply went with things, accepted.

“Yep. See you in a few.” Forrest headed back to the kitchen to flip bacon and scramble eggs to put in the burritos.

David was dressed when he showed up in the kitchen, his curly hair wet and mussed.

“Hey. Good timing. I was about to roll.” He’d heated up a cup of hash browns things he’d found in the fridge to have papas in there too. “Salsa and cheese and sour cream?”

“Sure.” David pulled them out, then poured a cup of coffee. “Juice?”

“Sounds good. I like a little fruit in liquid form.”

“Cool.” David poured juice. “So, is this talk ominous?”

Forrest met his gaze. “Maybe a little. But not because of me. How much do you know about that shop of Estella’s? Like, for real.”

“Not much.” David shook his head. “I thought it was just a weird hobby, but now…”

“You’re realizing it’s much more.”

“It’s…weird, Forrest. It’s strange, and no one — not one person has stopped by to shop.”

“Yeah. Well, sometimes people will come by to shop, but it’s more like a museum.” Forrest served up burritos. “Have you ever seen those shows where people collect haunted stuff?”

“I mean, of course. Granny was obsessed with them. We spent hours watching them together. My mom would holler at her, because I had nightmares when I got home.

“Right. Well, there was a reason she wanted to watch them with you.” Forrest watched David closely, trying to see if a light dawned at all. He was happy to elaborate, but something told him to take this slow, to let David make connections.

David blinked and then his eyes went wide. Smart son of a bitch. “Okay. So…what am I supposed to do? Just lock the doors and leave all the stuff? Is it all spooky? Do I need a priest or a rabbi or a shaman or a Ghostbuster?”

He grinned, because that tickled him. “Well, we have most of that here in Mystic already. Now that you’re ready, you’ll start meeting everyone. They’ll help, and we’ll learn which artifacts are most dangerous. Like the stone, obviously.” And David had clearly felt drawn to that one for some reason.

“How did it get into the house, if it’s dangerous? Should we just lock it up, set it on fire?” David stood up and started pacing, obviously on edge.

“Some things can’t be cleansed by fire, man.” He sighed. “I think your gran was going on the principle that matter cannot be created or destroyed. Some things just need to be stored in a safe place.” To be honest, he thought Estella dying and David taking her place had stirred up some energy, making things unstable. They could fix that.

No one had foreseen Estella’s stroke, not even Estella, and she’d made a rare mistake.

Forrest was willing to help as much as he could, though, and he liked David. A lot. And heck, his dog was in love with David’s so they would be spending a lot of time together.

“I don’t understand what that means. I mean, do we need holy water?”

“Not exactly. Although sometimes that works.” Forrest sat to eat with David, not sure how to explain. “All objects have their own ways to be dealt with.”

David watched him, eyes narrowing. “So…Obviously you know all about this, so quit beating around the bush. Are you suggesting my grandmother was some sort of evil witch?”

“No, sir. If she was a bruja, it was for good, not evil. Mystic is just one of those places where magical energy converges, so there are a lot of us here that are touched by it.”

“Magical energy? Like Supernatural? I–I don’t believe I’m in the middle of this…”

At least that wasn’t ‘I don’t believe in this’.

“Yeah.” He chewed his lower lip. “Are you mad? Your aunt felt like you were the one who would deal with this best.”

“I don’t know if–I’m confused. Really worried. This doesn’t happen in Houston.”

“No? It seems like there’s an awful lot of people there. I bet that makes it hard to tap into magic, though you can do it anywhere.” Not that Forrest could imagine living somewhere other than Mystic.

“I’m not magical. I’m an art restorer. You know that.”

“Mmm.” Forrest went for noncommittal. “I think you’re a mix of a lot of things.” He smiled down at Peppermint, who was now leaning, begging a bite. “Pep thinks you’re magical.”

“She does. That’s because she’s pure love.”

“She is. She’s amazing. Her thoughts are so clear. Leo’s brain goes as fast as his tail.” He dropped that and waited to see what David would make of it. Would he translate it correctly?

David’s head tilted, and he frowned. “And you know this because?”

“Because I can hear them. I told you I didn’t exactly read minds. Not yours, for example. But I can hear animals, and they can understand me.” Was David gonna think Forrest was nuts? Forrest hoped not, but it could happen.

“Well, Peppermint knows I love her.” David stared him down, his gaze as serious as a heart-attack. “I’m very, very confused, man. Seriously. I’m not sure what to think, but more importantly, I don’t know what to do.”

“Eat breakfast. That will help. I told you, there’s a lot to take in here, but you’re not in it alone.” Forrest wanted to help David, and he knew a lot of the elders did as well. They were just cagey types who didn’t want to reveal themselves too soon. Poor David probably felt like one of those guys in the old murder mysteries where a host of people ran from room to room just out of his line of sight. He could feel them, but not see or hear them.

“Right. Night of weirdness, breakfast of information, morning of…god knows what?” David took a bite of burrito.

“That’s it. One step at a time.” Today the agenda was to make sure David got enough information to hopefully help with the dreamwalking he was doing, and to give him an overview of the situation he found himself in.

David snorted softly, then shook his head. “I’m not sure why Granny thought I could handle this, whatever this is.’

“Because you have it in you, David. She must have known it since you were a kid.” Forrest reached across the table to grab David’s hand. “I swear, you’ll love it here. I know it’s a lot right now.”

“It’s insanity.” David held on though, didn’t he? He held on like Forrest was his lifeline.

“I bet it feels that way.” He met David’s gaze head on. “We can do this. You’re not alone.” He would repeat that as many times as David needed to hear it. It was both true and super important for David to know. No one had to go it on their own in Mystic as long as they were willing to be part of the community.

“Thank you.” There was a wildness in David’s eyes that worried him, but it was what it was. Isabelle should have trained him, prepared him better.

“You’re welcome. Uh, I should warn you. People will start dropping by. Probably today.” David needed to steel himself for that.

“So what? That official mourning period is over and the weird stuff can start?” David was positively wild-eyed.

“Yep.” He went for cheerful, adding more salsa to his second burrito. “That pretty much sums up life in Mystic. The crisis, whatever it is, is over. We now return to our normal strangeness.”

“Oh.” David got up and started wandering — cleaning and putting things away, the worry making him restless.

Forrest let him get some of that energy out, because soon he was going to have to focus on harder things. Right now he just needed to process. Forrest got that. So he fed Pep and Leo bites of egg, and just let David work through it.

“So, what am I supposed to do? It’s hard enough, trying to deal with all that shit on my own. Now knowing I’m going to unleash hell if I dust something wrong?” There was a tremor in David’s voice.

“Well, you’re not alone, man. I’ll help, and I know the elders will too. Your granny should have called you in, but she thought she had time.” David needed to know that. That Isabella had intended to go over all this with him. “And she was a big journaler. I’m sure there’s records.”

“I’m sure — dear diary, this morning I opened the gates of hell, roasted marshmallows. This afternoon I need to write my grandson an insane letter.”

Forrest almost snorted out his coffee. “Ow, man. Look, I know it’s a lot.” Impulsively, he got up to grab Davis and give him a hug. “I’m here. I won’t let you summon demons or open a hellmouth.”

“Promise?” David kissed his jaw, shocking him a little bit. “I’m worried, man.”

“I promise.” The words rang with a little magic, because Forrest knew he was making a vow of sorts. “I’m here for you.”

“Okay. I’ll believe you.” David squeezed him tight.

He hugged back, his heart finally slowing down. “Good deal. One day, one freaky magical item, at a time.”

“We’re going to have a lot of days, at that rate.”

“We are.” He could live with that.

Now he just had to convince David this was a good thing.

Chapter 10

David felt dizzy just looking at the lock on the shop. It’s just nerves, he told himself. Just nerves and a bad night. That’s all.

Still, the temptation to turn around and walk away was huge, and he’d have done it if Forrest wasn’t right there.

“You okay?” Forrest had the warmest hands, and one landed on his arm, steadying him, making him feel better just through contact.

“I am. I’m great. Faboo.” Goodnight, what was wrong with him? He’d only been in here a hundred times.

“Well?”

“I’m all frozen. What if I mess this up?”

“We’re bound to at some point. Isabella had a lot of trial and error.” Forrest just stayed with him, smiling gently.

He kind of wanted to whack Forrest over the head. Then again, David also wanted to kiss him.

This wasn’t being Dr. Dolittle. This was fire and brimstone and possession and the start of a really screwed up-yet incredibly watchable television series with goofy, fun-loving demon spinoffs.

Forrest tilted his head, almost as if he was hearing that, but David supposed it was a bird or a squirrel or something, not him…

Who the heck knew? There were just too many mysteries in, well, Mystic.

Mystic.

The irony didn’t escape him.

Okay, enough of this nonsense. He had a job to do, whether or not he knew what in the world it was.

He opened the lock and turned the doorknob, half expecting lightning to zap him, but no. No, in fact, what awaited him was still an army of dustbunnies, some high-level cobwebs, and a place begging for a couple of bleach cloths.

“See? Nothing exploded.” Forrest chuckled, and David manfully resisted flipping him off or pinching him.

“Right. But where do we start?”

“Well, maybe we need to look around the counter for an inventory of some sort.”

“I’ve already done that, believe it or not. If it’s here, she’s hidden it. I even looked under the cash register.” He threw the windows up, because fresh air was always good, no matter what. Fresh air and sunshine.

“Hmm. Okay.” Forrest stood, hands on hips. The cats came picking their way through the treasures, since the dogs had stayed up at the house.

“Can you talk to them?”

Forrest snorted. “I can try. Neither of them is very forthcoming.”

“Okay. Okay, let’s start up here. This is where everyone comes in and goes out. We’ll clean the counter first.” He had to do this logically. Once they started, it would get easier.

“Sounds good.” Forrest rummaged under the counter and came out with glass cleaner and paper towels. “First we de-dust, then we make sure nothing in here will cause an apocalypse.”

“Right. Last thing we need is a dustpocalypse.” He blinked around. “I swear, Forrest, it’s like I’ve never even cleaned in here.”

“Welcome to the high desert. Dust begets dust.”

“How very Biblical of you.”

Forrest gave him a raised eyebrow, and they started laughing, both of them cracking up, which lightened up the entire store.

They got to work, and man, they were going to have to buy stock in paper towels, but that counter was clean again, all the stones and trinkets and jewelry just shining.

“And no demons released,” Forrest said, which made him laugh out loud again.

The crunch of tires on the driveway outside and the sound of Peppermint and Leo setting up a ruckus out in the dog run had them both going to the shop door to peer out. Forrest chuckled.

“Looks like lunch is here. Come on and lock up for now, honey.”

“Is it Isabella?” It was great timing, but David hadn’t expected her back this week.

“Nope. Looks like Ginny. I bet she brought mac and cheese and chicken.” Forrest looked pleased, so that was good, right?

“I like mac and cheese.” Ginny. Ginny, did he know her?

A soft shove caught him between the shoulder blades, moving him stumbling through the door, which closed with a firm click behind them.

“Well, that’s good. It’s her comfort meal of choice.” Forrest looped an arm around his waist as they walked toward the little parking lot of the shop, clearly offering support. Solidarity, he thought.

Still…

He glanced back at the shop, the cats at the window, staring at him.

As they neared, two women climbed out of the old Jeep CJ7, one with the biggest round spectacles he’d ever seen, and the other pale and wan, almost ethereal.

He smiled tentatively, and the one with the glasses waved and smiled.

“Come on.” Forrest waved back, his grin absolutely welcoming. “Ladies. Good to see you.”

“Forrest. Hello, David. I don’t suppose you remember me at all. I’m Ginny, and this is Lacey. We brought lunch.”

Remember her? Surely he would remember her… “I–thank you. Seriously. Would you like to eat in the shop, at the house, or maybe down here at the picnic tables?”

“Out under the tree at the tables would be lovely.” Lacey gave him a rather timid grin. “Though I would love to see who’s making such noise.”

“Let me get the dogs.” Forrest winked and headed to the house to get Leo and Pep. Coward.

“Please, sit. It smells wonderful. Did y’all know my granny?”

“Oh, yes. Estella was a good friend to me.” Ginny helped Fern to a seat, then climbed onto a bench herself.

“Folks seemed to enjoy her. I miss her a lot.” And that was the truth. She had been his touchstone, in the weirdest, most wonderful way.

For a second, he swore he smelled her, a rush of dust and green chile and roses.

“I know. I’m so glad you decided to come and stay for a bit.” He noticed she didn’t say stay for good, but the hope was implied.

“She obviously wanted me to come. It was important to her.” And he guessed he knew why, just not how.

“It was. She was going to call you. Ask you to come visit. Oh, she had such plans.” Ginny sighed. “We all think we have more time than we do.”

“Yeah. She was in good shape, I thought. She never talked about meds or going to the doctor. Nothing.”

“No. As far as I know, she never had any symptoms. Oh, hello, Leo.” The big lab bounded over and jumped up to lick Ginny.

“Leo, be polite, buddy. This is Peppermint.”

“Hello, Peppermint.” Lacey put her hand down for Peppermint to smell, and got a polite lick. She was a good girl.

Ginny though, got a curious look, and she plopped down to stare at her.

“She’s usually not like this.” He blinked at Peppermint. “What’s wrong, little one?”

It was like she was treeing Ginny.

She woofed softly, but finally went to Ginny to sniff her intently.

Forrest chuckled. “She’s fine, man. Just a little confused.”

“Oh, well, it’s not like she hasn’t met a woman before. Maybe it’s your perfume.” He offered Ginny a warm smile. “Or the fried chicken.”

“Mmm. Maybe.” Ginny winked, and he wasn’t sure he got the joke, but he could go with it.

They ate, and the food was delicious, oddly relaxing, and he found his worry about the shop easing. “Would y’all like to see the store? We are in the process of cleaning it out.”

“I would love that.” Ginny’s smile held a little caution, but he thought it wasn’t for him. It was for the contents of the shop. Was he the only one who didn’t know?

“Everything’s still a little dusty and unkempt. Be careful.” Don’t get possessed or anything.

“We won’t touch unless we have to.” Ginny stood, and Lacey packed the dishes back up.

“Is it all right if I take these to the kitchen?”

“Of course. Would you like me to do it?”

“I’ll do that,” Forrest said. He was clearly used to running things back and forth. He took the pans from Lacey. “I’ll catch up.”

“Well, come on in. I’m a little embarrassed by the state of things, but it’s a touch overwhelming, if I’m honest.” He opened the door, waving the ladies in.

“It overwhelmed Estella, too.” Ginny sounded positive about that.

“Really?” That made him feel a little better.

“Oh, yes.” Lacey’s laugh was like a little bell. “Some days she would walk in, look about, and turn right around after she fed the cats.”

“Yeah, yeah, I understand. It’s just so very full, and I feel like she’s in here, so I miss her even more.”

Both women made appropriate clucking sympathy noises, and they shared a long glance, which made David feel a little bit like a dork, so he continued blathering on.

“There are some wonderful things, though. Have you seen the big Haviland chocolate pot? It’s a lovely antique.”

Lacey shook her head. “I haven’t no. That’s uh, French china?”

“Yes, and it’s in lovely shape.” He took it down, and he swore he could smell chocolate.

Generally, I think.” She chuckled. “Estella would rattle on and tell me, but I collect American pottery. Hull and Frankoma.”

“Ah, now Frankoma I know. They did all the wagon wheel vases and such.” That stuff was super popular all over the west.

Ginny bobbed her head in approval, and one of the cats yowled, leaping up on the bookshelf. “Very good. Are you an antiquer too?”

In a manner of speaking. “Books. I’m a book restorer.”

“Ah. That’s amazing.” Lacey warmed up to him at that, her smile lighting up her face. “I love old books.”

“You should come see the piece I’m working on now. It’s an illuminated German hymnal.”

“Oh, I would adore that.”

“On our way out, maybe?” Ginny flitted here and there, looking at this pitcher and that silver hand mirror. The cats followed her, tails moving in unison, whiskers vibrating.

“They like you.”

Ginny snorted softly. “They’re hunting me. They’re evil beasts, and I adore them.”

He started cleaning again, because what was he supposed to say to that. It was easier to simply work, not looking up until Forrest came back in.

“Hey.” Forrest gave him such a warm smile that he had to grin back. “Doing okay?”

“We’re all sort of wandering.” David shrugged. Every time he came in here it was like he was spinning in some space outside of time.

“What a lovely place,” Ginny finally said, coming to stand by them. “Well, I think you’re fairly safe for now, David. To explore, I mean.”

“You think so?” He knew something had happened, something he didn’t quite remember. “I don’t want to actually burn the house down or something.”

“No. No, I think you’re all right. Though…” She looked at Forrest.

“You want me to stay with him at night for now, huh?”

“Just in case. Sleep is the most vulnerable time.” She pursed her lips. “Dreams can be odd.”

“They can be. I’m happy to help watch over David’s.” Forrest touched his wrist.

He offered Forrest a smile, trying not to seem quite as confused as he was. “I’m going to work hard to clean this place up and make it…whatever it is.”

“Good. I’ll help as much as I can.”

“I’m sure you also have tons of other volunteers.” Ginny snorted. “Now that the dam is broken, you’ll have a ton of nosy folks dropping by.”

“I will?” He didn’t mind, but he didn’t understand.

“Oh, yes. They all want to check in with you, meet you if they haven’t. We’re a small town and people are curious.” Her laugh was just like the caw of a big bird.

“I’d like that. It’s–it’s a little more isolated here than I’m used to.” He was a suburban guy, and he knew it. This was…new.

“Of course it is.” Lacey patted his arm gently. “It must seem like the back of beyond. But we’re a friendly bunch. We really are.”

Forrest chuckled. “I’ve been neighborly.”

“Stop it. It’s not like I haven’t been here every year, but it’s different. I–” Need to shut up, really. Buck up.

“Hey. It’s hard to make such a big life change,” Ginny said. “We tease, but we get it. Really. So you call if you need us. And Forrest is a good boy. He’ll be a huge help to you.”

Forrest rolled his eyes, but didn’t say anything, just gave him a wink when he glanced over.

A good boy, huh? That would be…a huge waste of man.

“Thanks. Seriously. I just want to fit in and figure out what Granny wanted me to do.”

“You’ll do fine.” Ginny gave him a hug, which kind of surprised him. “I think you’re doing fine.”

“Thank you.” He hugged her back. He didn’t know what he was doing, and he didn’t know what to do about it if he did. But this was an adventure, anyway. Right? So he would figure it out.

“You’re welcome. Lacey, we should get going.”

“Of course.” Lacey gave him a little smile. So subdued, that lady.

“Thank you for lunch. Very much.” He stood and tried to convince himself to get his ass back to work in the store.

“Come on, man. Let’s get some fresh air. Leo wants to show off his ball skills to your Pep.” Forrest nudged his arm, and David had to admit, he was relieved. He would much rather watch the dogs play.

He wasn’t sure if that meant he was lazy, scared, a mixture of both. He didn’t know.

Forrest touched his hand, and he felt better. Like he could breathe. The guy was just a super-steady presence. Happy making.

“Leo likes to chase the ball, does he?” He guessed he needed to trust that nothing made sense right now. It seemed to be the way of things.

“He can do it for hours. I let him work off some energy that way whenever I can. He’s still just three.” Forrest produced a ball from his pocket and let it fly. Leo flew after it, then brought it back to drop at his Forrest’s feet.

Then next time he came back, he brought the ball to David.

“Oh, thank you.” David took the ball and threw it, sending Leo running with happy barks.

Peppermint wasn’t much for fetch, but she did gallumph along next to Leo for a few tosses, then she went to lie down with a heavy huff of breath. Bassets were made for long, slow, maintained walks and trots. Leo was clearly more of a leaping, running bundle of joy.

Somehow, it was just what David needed to feel better.

By the time they were done, he reached out and squeezed Forrest’s fingers. “Thank you. That was fun.”

“No problem. Leo is always willing to provide Lab therapy. Let’s get them some water, and then we can tackle some more dusting and sorting before we go somewhere for lupper.” That grin was so infectious.

Lupper. He liked that.

“Okay. Sounds great.” They were making progress, and at least cleaning was visual. There was a recordable difference.

“It does. Come on, man. We got work to do.” Forrest saluted, then led the way as they all trooped back to the shop. He felt like he could handle it now.

Well, at least part of it. This whole thing was like eating a bear. They just had to do it one bite at a time.

Chapter 11

Forrest slipped out of bed with David about two a.m., Leo’s low growl making the hair stand up on the back of his neck. Something was bothering him, so Forrest would make the rounds, make sure everything was right and tight.

Leo led him straight to the master bedroom, where that book was open again, the pages flapping in a nonexistent breeze.

Fuck, that was creepy.

“I wish you would have told us what you wanted, Estella,” he murmured. Forrest went to the book, bending over to peer at it. He didn’t want to touch it yet, just in case. Was it open to a certain page?

Did the page say, “David”?

Was that what was written there?

He squinted, but he was too used to magick to be fooled into reading anything aloud or touching anything that wasn’t for him.

Dad. Dad. Dad. Dad. Dad. Leo sounded panicked.

I know. Thank you for showing me. He had to wake David. Had to, because there could be no sleepwalking tonight. And maybe David could read what was on the page.

“David!” He trotted back to get his– what? They weren’t lovers yet. They would be. He knew it. To get David up. “The book is at again.”

David’s eyes flew open, and they were white. Pure white.

He gasped, and Peppermint jumped on David’s chest. Hard.

Daddy!

David sat up. “Peppermint? Baby? Do you need to go outside?”

“David! Are you with me? The book, honey. It’s all open and trying to communicate with you.”

“The book? Granny’s book? Is that good or bad?”

“I don’t know. I can see your name, but that’s it. I’m not sure if Estella is trying to talk to you, or if someone else is trying to fool us.” And he would feel like shit if David got sucked in because he had no idea.

“Well, I guess we need to go see.” David slipped out of the bed. “You don’t let anything evil get me.”

“Nope. I got your back, man.” He did, he hoped. Lord have mercy, he was going to have to talk to Ginny again. Those white eyes scared him. Something was really pushing at David, and he was completely in over his head.

He talked to critters. He didn’t do…whatever this was.

Forrest was going to have to ask the Council for help.

“Then let’s go see.” David headed toward the bedroom, steps sure, both dogs sticking close, minds a swirl of worry.

Forrest pushed into the room first, making sure nothing had changed, that no one was in there.

The book was open, and David walked right up to it and put his hands down on it before Forrest could even stop him. He swore viciously as he watched the words jump from the page like they were alive, the dark ink marching up David’s arms and disappearing from the page.

“David!” Did he pull David away? Would that hurt him? Heaven above, what did he do?

“He’ll be fine, Forrest dear.” That was Estella’s voice, coming out of David’s mouth.

“What the hell, Estella! This is messed up!” He did put his hands on David, then, wanting to give him some added strength.

“I have things to tell him that he’s not quite ready to hear.”

“Then what is all this mystical nonsense? He’s freaking out.” So was Forrest to be honest.

“How else do you expect me to do it, son?”

“I don’t know!” David slumped against him, and Forrest held him up, alarmed at how hot his skin was. “You’re not making the best case for him moving into the master bedroom.”

“Shut up, Forrest.”

God, that was creepy.

“Does he know what he needs to now?”

“He knows more. Take him back to bed. He’ll need the sleep.”

“What?” Forrest shook his head. “Lady, what’s happening? What happened to you?”

In a flash of light that stunned him like a deer seeing headlights, he could see Estella, eyes huge and dark, lips sewn shut with huge black thread.

A horrified scream escaped him with a plume of frozen breath, and he stepped back, David crashing to the floor with a horrifying crack.

Dad!

“I—Sorry, Leo. Sorry.” He glanced down at his pup, then grabbed David and dragged him to his feet.

He wasn’t going to look to see if Estella was still there. They were leaving.

Forrest half carried, half walked David back to bed and tucked him in, his limbs feeling heavy and wooden with fear. Maybe they should leave, go to his house. Go somewhere safe.

“No. Stay with me. Something’s making me itch.”

Yeah, he’d imagined so. David had just sucked up a grimoire.

“I’m right here, babe. I swear. We’ll stay here tonight. Just let me get us some tea.” He might put something in it so David could sleep. Damn Estella anyway for messing with the man so badly. David was too good a guy to be so ill used.

And what the hell was she up to, scaring him like that?

“I think I need to figure this whole thing out. I think someone’s going to get hurt if I don’t.”

“Well, you should have a better idea now.” If David had soaked up Estelle’s book… well. Then he would be a walking grimoire, right? Wasn’t that how it worked?

“Yes. I’ll sleep on it.” David blinked up at him. “Do you think that you’ll still want to get it on with me? I mean, you’re still hot.”

“Honey. I want you bad. But I won’t take advantage of you when you’re tired and freaked out. So we’ll plan a seduction for my next few days off, okay?” He thought that was fair, and it was also the truth. So he figured when David nodded, they were good.

“Yeah. By then I might be so crazy you don’t want it at all.” David winked at him, and those dark eyes were back. Thank goodness.

“Oh, I want it. Be right back, huh? Come on, you two. Might as well go out and potty.” He took the dogs out to the run, then made tea while they were out sniffing all the things.

He looked out at the shop and frowned. Someone was out there. In the shop. What the fuck was going on?

Forrest had left his service weapon in the truck, but he could get to it pretty easily. So he checked on David, who was asleep, then slipped out to get it out of the console.

A light flicked around the windows, almost like a lightning bug.

What the everloving– He crept up to the door, which, of course he hadn’t gotten the key for, but if someone had broken in, that wouldn’t matter. Right?

He reached for the knob, totally unsurprised to find it tingling, hot to the touch.

“I’m coming in!” He might as well let whatever was in there know they weren’t alone. Then he burst in like he was some kind of federal agent, gun up.

Lights surrounded him, like a thousand fairies, swirling all over him.

He turned in a full circle, trying to understand what was going on. “What– who are you? What are you doing here?”

Forrest wanted to help David get a handle on this, to understand who was a friend and who wasn’t.

Suddenly, shockingly even, David was there in the shop, and the lights ran to David, seeming to push into his hands, climb into his skin and flash in his eyes before disappearing with a pop.

David gave a little sound — an almost chuckle. “Whoa.”

“What on earth was that?” Okay, he was the one freaking out now. Knowing his luck, David was going to turn into Godzilla or something, absorbing all this energy in one night.

One of the cats jumped up into David’s arms, and he nuzzled her. “I don’t know. I was helping. Wasn’t I?”

“Yeah. Yes. I mean, I’ve just never seen that before…” David had just sort of… sucked the lights into him. “Do you feel any different?”

“Tired. Really tired. In fact, I might just sleep here…”

Oh, he didn’t think so.

“Nope.” He caught David’s arm, helping Miss Kitty on the floor, barely sidestepping the swipe from her sistern. “No sir.” He steered David out of the shop and locked the door. How had it gotten unlocked?

Bah, he knew the answer to that. Stupid magic. Stupid nonsense. Why the entire world wasn’t populated with dogs, he didn’t know. No matter what, David was sleeping with him in the guest room.

David was hot as hell, heavy against him, stumbling. Full of magic. Buzzing with it, in fact.

“You’re all right, honey. I got you.” Was that what David did? Take the magic in? Neutralize it? The book had sure stopped singing…

Jesus.

Was that why Estella picked David to run the shop? How powerful would that be? A…transformer, making magical energy into…what?

It had to go somewhere.

He eased David into the bedroom they were sharing, staring down at him. He was flushed, his body all but vibrating. How could he help?

Maybe it was like a cold — did sleep and Tylenol help this?

“Forrest? I’m kinda.,, burning up.”

“I know. I can tell. What can I do, honey?” He would help any way he could.

“I don’t know. I guess we’ll just go to sleep.”

“Hey.” He sat on the edge of the bed. “You’re just boiling, man.”

“Am I? I don’t…it’s been a long few nights.”

“It has. I got you.” He pulled David into his arms, and he hated the way heat was pouring off the man’s body.

It scared him more than a little.

David cuddled in with a sigh. “I have tingles in my blood. I can feel it.”

“You’re on fire.” He stroked David’s back. If his touch helped, David would let him know. There was no sense in pushing anything.

“I am. I’m burning. Your hands are cool, though.”

“I’m happy to help, honey.” And getting a little breathless from the way David was twisting and rubbing against him.

Did that make him a bad man? Possibly. It was totally possible. Then again, maybe this was a sign. Forrest was all about portents.

“Stop worrying. Stop. I’m here. I’m here. Touch me.”

“Yeah?” When he looked into David’s eyes, he just saw a man, not a bunch of magical weirdness. “Thank God.”

“Yeah. Come on.”

So Forrest pulled the blanket over them and sent a little prayer up to the universe to let them have the rest of the night off. No more emergencies with books and lights and shit.

They needed each other, David needed his rest, and Forrest would watch over it any way he could.

Chapter 12

David woke up feeling perfectly energized, like he was full of piss and vinegar, and so he left Forrest snoozing and made coffee and blueberry muffins, let the dogs out, and then he went into his office and got to work on a piece that the museum had sent him.

The scents of leather and glue and paper comforted him on a bone deep level, and he found himself sinking into the complications of sewing the original leather down. He wanted to keep as much of the original as he could.

He put on his little head harness with its magnifier, and set to work, losing himself in the rhythm of work until a light knock sounded at the door of the room he’d made his workshop.

“Hey, babe? Thanks for breakfast. I need to head out to work. Should I leave Leo with you or take him back to my place?” Forrest called.

“He’s fine here. He can play with Peppermint and all. Chicken enchiladas for supper?” How utterly domestic.

“That sounds amazing, honey.” Forrest tiptoed in, not touching anything but him, to give him a kiss. “Okay. I’m taking a muffin to go, too. Just remember, Leo is way taller than your girl.”

“Oh, good to remember.” He grinned over, and he couldn’t stop his smile. “Thank you for last night.”

“You’re welcome.” Forrest’s smile warmed him all the way to the bone. “Anytime, in fact.”

“See you tonight.” He went for casual instead of weird and desperate.

“Call if you need me before then.” Forrest dropped one more kiss on his mouth before heading out.

He set back to work, focused on gluing the end papers. By the time he was done, hunger drove him out of the office and into the kitchen.

He had the leftovers from the ladies, and he sat and ate, feeding the dogs, just sitting there in the sunshine, and–

He tilted his head. “Granny? Is that you?”

David could almost hear her laughing.

“You really did a number on me, old lady,” he grumbled. “I miss you so much, and this is all so confusing.”

But today it felt less so. It felt like she was with him, like he had passed some test in a subject he’d never studied.. Still, he did feel more equal to whatever task she had set out for him. That moment in the shop when he’d taken in whatever those lights were…

“That was weird, Granny. Not as weird as the book.” Of course, it didn’t feel like that was gone. That was more as if the words were written inside his brain now, and he simply had to learn the language it was written in.

Then he could understand what was going on. Or part of it. Lord.

Hell, at this point he felt like he could breathe. That was something.

David blinked as someone tapped at the kitchen door, shocked as hell to find the Hargroves standing on the porch, Anita beaming at him through the window. In a secret part of his mind, he always thought of the women as Morticia and Gomez of the Addams family — Fern was twice as tall, it seemed, and fiercely pointed.

“Afternoon, David! Can we come in?”

“Of course, ladies.” He stood, brushing crumbs off his chest. “Come on. Peppermint, down.”

“Oh, hello, darling.” Anita bent to love on Pep as she came in. “Oh, my, is that Leo? Hello, big boy.”

“It is. Forrest had to go to work.” And he wasn’t going to be embarrassed, either. He was an adult. “Come in. Would y’all like some iced tea?”

“I would, thank you.” Fern could be so imposing. She kind of… floated. She blinked, then looked over her glasses, over his shoulder. “Estella?”

“I knew she was here.” He grinned at Fern without thinking. Everyone knew Miz Fern saw ghosts. Still, her face was a little ashy, and there was a deep line in her forehead.

“Of course she is. She was far from ready to go.” Fern shook herself, then gave him a serene little grin. “But I’m glad you’re open to the idea, David. It makes things much easier.”

“Listen, after the last few days, an elephant could materialize in the front room and I would be like, hey look at that.” He fully expected weirdness. “But I don’t think Granny would just leave me here. It’s nice to know that I’m right.”

He went to the fridge to get the pitcher of tea, and Anita’s voice followed him.

“What’s been happening, dear?”

“What hasn’t? I–I can’t even begin to explain it all.”

“Well, we love gossip. Or magical discussion.” Anita plopped down at the table, her skirts flowing around her. She was all pumpkin colors today, except for her stunning squash blossom necklace of silver and turquoise.

“Something happened night before last and last night…I don’t understand any of it. It has to do with Granny’s diary, I think, but…” He shrugged. He didn’t know. He hated feeling stupid — no, he hated this sensation of being the only person not in the loop when the loop seemed to be tightening around his neck.

“Your granny was a force of nature, hon. And she had a lot of balls in the air she was juggling here.” Anita sighed. “Don’t feel like the only one who’s trying to figure things out.”

“Okay. So, do you know what Granny did? Was she…a witch or something?” He was savvy enough to know that there was a ton of weight in that word that he didn’t understand, but it was the best one he had right now.

“I think that’s as good a thing to call her as anything.” Fern sighed, the sound somehow utterly sympathetic. He wasn’t sure if it was for him or for Granny, though. “She was the keeper of all sorts of magical objects.”

“Yeah. Well…I think there’s something weird. I’ve never once felt like she was…she never seemed like she was doing anything weird, but I found that book.”

Fern tilted her head. “That book?”

“Her diary?”

“I don’t know. It’s in the master bedroom. Do you want to see?” He didn’t know what to think of the damn thing.

“We do.”

What if this was a mistake? What if they were bad people? What if…

Anita laid one hand on his arm. “Son, I’ve been your Granny’s friend for forty years. I have known you your whole life. I swear on my wife, we won’t harm you.”

He swallowed, then nodded. “Sorry. I feel like I don’t feel like I know which end is up.”

“I understand. Do you want us to go with you, or do you want to bring the book to us?”

That was what he wanted to hear, and it made it easier to swallow his pride and ask, “Can y’all come with me? Just in case?”

They exchanged a long glance. “Of course,” Faye said. “Lead on, my boy.”

They headed back to the bedroom, where the book sat. Closed.

“It wasn’t closed before. It was on the bed, wide open.”

“Hmmm.” Anita went to touch it, fingers sliding over the cover. Then she frowned. “Fran?”

Fran came over, touched the book, then sat on the bed, picking the book up. “It’s dead.”

“What is?” His heartbeat kicked into high gear.

“The book. It just feels like paper.”

He knew books. He knew books better than most people. “It is paper. Let me see?”

He took the book and opened it. It was blank.

Totally blank.

The words were gone.

His mouth literally dropped open. “But– It was full of all sorts of stuff. In more than one language.”

Anita blinked. “Are you sure?”

David shot her a glare before he could stop himself. “Anita. I have been living in fear of this book for a week. I’m sure. You can ask Forrest.”

“I’ll be right back.” Fern floated off, and he heard her murmuring. Whether she was calling Forrest or his granny in the beyond, he had no idea.

“Did I do something wrong?” he whispered.

“No.” Anita shook her head. “I’m sure you did whatever you needed to do. It was just a bit of a shock.”

“I’m just–there had been words. Lots of them.”

“Hmm.” Her lips twisted, and she shook her head. “Well, they had to have gone somewhere, right?”

Right? How on earth would he know? He knew books, but in a physical way. He cared for them, resewed the spines and gilded the page edges.

That was it.

“Forrest said you took them in, David.” Fern was back, and looking faintly perplexed, which was pretty alarming. She rarely showed what she was thinking at all, if he recalled.

“Took them in where?” Those words didn’t make any sense in the order she said them.

“Into yourself, I think. You… absorbed them.”

“Absorbed them?” Oh fuck. That sounded horrifying. He started to itch, his skin crawling.

“Now, David.” Anita hopped up. “Let me make you tea.”

“We have tea. I poured tea. What the hell is going on?” He was just about done with this shit.

“Nothing bad, I don’t think. At least not with the book.” Fern rolled her eyes at Anita. “Sit down, woman.”

“Sitting. Bossy broad.”

“Panicky Penelope,” Fern shot back, but the expression was fond. “I don’t think you need to be worried about the book, David. I think it was Estella’s way of making sure you learn what you need.”

Okay. Wow.

His immediate reaction was pure, unequivocal denial, but he might as well be hung for a sheep. He’d go for it. “Assuming I did, how do I access this information?”

“I bet you’ll figure it out.” Anita reached over to pat his hand. “When you need it. Right now, you need to settle in. This stress isn’t going to help you.”

He was going to scream.

Or cry.

Possibly just go for a shot of tequila.

“How do I do that? Are there books in the library?” He’d gathered the books he’d found in the shop, because he needed to see whether they needed some love.

The ladies glanced at each other again.

“I don’t know, David. Estella isn’t coming through clearly.” That was Fern. Anita just made sympathetic faces. “I think that may be you as well.”

“What?”

“You seem to be causing…interference.”

Freaking wonderful. “That’s me. A giant wall of interference. This is hard enough to deal with, and now we’re adding all this magical mambo jumbo, ladies. I might just go jump off a bridge,”

Peppermint came trotting up, woofing softly, to lean hard on his legs as if she was holding him down.

He reached down to love on her, her solid body a huge comfort. God, he needed Forrest to help him figure this nonsense out. Now.

Of course he knew that Forrest was out protecting the cholla and the acequias from danger, right?

Stop it. Quit being a cry baby and cope. This is a puzzle, and it’s still more fun than living at your parents’ place and moping, isn’t it? He actually grinned at himself.

Anita chuckled like she knew what he was thinking. “Luckily, we don’t have any high enough to be a danger. Now, David, we’ll all help you figure this out. That’s why we’re here. Well, that and because we live here.”

He snorted, then laughed, then he was roaring with it, making Peppermint and Leo both dance. David laughed until his belly hurt, just wheezing for air.

It was ridiculous, but he felt so much better, so much lighter now.

Fern just looked a little pained, but Anita was giggling to beat the band.

“Better?” Fern asked when the storm passed, and she did sound concerned for him, which was nice.

“Yes, ma’am. I was getting a little hysterical there.” Too much information. Too much confusing. Too much everything.

“Well, good.” She patted his arm, then stood. “Well, we should leave you to it. Anita?”

“Expect everyone else at some point,” Anita said with a wink. “Over the next few days.”

“Everyone else?”

Fern nodded. “There are twelve of us. You’ve already met a few. Forrest, for example.”

God, he hoped Forrest wasn’t into weird cult stuff. They were starting to become a…couple-ish-eque think; he didn’t need Forrest to be…difficult.

“And I know you’ve seen Ginny and Lacey.”

“Uh-huh. Do I need to buy doughnuts?”

Anita giggled again. “Wicked boy. Don’t worry. We’ll be about when you need us.”

“Uh-huh.” David stood, because he was ready to get back to… whatever. Work, most likely. Books were a good thing. Unless he was sucking them up like a Hoover. “I’m not trying to be evil. This is scary. I don’t feel like I’m…prepared.”

“Your granny assured you were, even if you–aren’t.” Fern looked pleased with herself. “Forrest will be here soon. You two seem to be solid.”

“I think so? I hope so.” He said the second part more firmly. They had a connection. He wasn’t even unsure of that.

“Good, good. He’s a good boy.”

That came from Fran, which made it all the more unexpected. Her smile was really fond, too.

“I don’t know how to help, but I will. I won’t embarrass Granny.”

“Of course you won’t.” Anita gave him a supportive pat, and he had to grin. He’d been touched more in the last week than he had in years. He was like the teddy bear of Mystic. “You’re family. Now, David, you call us if you need us.”

“Forrest is going to be spending the night for a while. He said he’ll bring supper; don’t stress it.” Fran nodded, like that was that. “Come on, Anita. Time to go.”

“Okay, hon.” Anita stood, then bent to kiss his cheek. “We adore you. You’ll be fine.” She was so sweet, but he could feel her undercurrent of worry.

“Worst case scenario, I’ll burn down the store.”

Fern’s eyes flew open so wide that he could see the veins in the bottoms, where they were leaking like tiny roses in the snow. “No! No, some things don’t react well to fire. It doesn’t always cleanse.”

Wow, that was the most expression he’d ever seen on Fern’s face, and it was sheer horror. David bit back an evil genius laugh. “Got it. No major fire. Right on.”

“No fires, no burying things in the yard, no tossing them in the trash.” Anita ticked items off on her fingers. “They always come back to haunt you if you do it wrong.”

Well, didn’t that send a little chill down his spine. “Yay? Yeah, I’ll follow directions. See? That’s what Granny needed to do. Label each item and tape a card with instructions on the back. Inca mummy death mask. Do not incinerate.”

“That would have been smart,” Anita agreed, and Fran tilted her head.

“That sounds just like her. It really does. Did you find an inventory?”

“No. Nothing yet. I mean, I haven’t had time to go through a lot of the store — it’s a wreck. I did look under the counter for a log, and I checked her laptop. But there are three filing cabinets down there. And there’s a whole office slash library up here.”

“Hmm.” Fern’s brow creased right between her eyes. “Have Forrest set the dogs to it.”

“Uh. Okay.” If someone had said that a few days ago, he would have been like, thinking they were nutso.

“Seriously. See if he can have your girl find the one she touched most. Or that smells like rosemary, sage, or…”

“Thyme?” That slipped right out of his mouth.

“Most likely marjoram.”

He started walking them out. “What does marjoram do?” He supposed he ought to learn this stuff. Magically. He could make his own illustrated manuscript. How cool would that be?

“It’s a protective herb, and that would be what she’d use — protection, defense.” Anita patted his arm, the touch so comforting. “I bet Peppermint can do it.”

“I imagine so. I’ll get Forrest to help. He can explain to her what to do.” He’d seen it with his own eyes, even if it still sounded weird.

“Good man. Holler if you need us.” Fran headed for the car. “Don’t let the twins weird you out.”

Twins? What twins? “Huh?”

“No worries, sweetie. Everything’s fine!” Anita loaded into the car with a wave.

“Why don’t I feel fine?” He said it through his teeth, because he was smiling at the ladies.

Okay. Back to work. His work first. Then Granny’s.

David was going to figure all this magic malarkey out if it killed him. Which it might.

Chapter 13

Forrest watched the poacher with his binoculars, knowing he was in just the right place that there would be no telltale glare. Madre di Dios, this guy was stupid. He was trying to shoot a doe, and it was out of season so he couldn’t even say it was a mistake in the heat of the moment.

Plus he was on Junior Alverez’s acreage without permission.

Lord.

He turned the binocs on the doe. Run, little mother. Run into the trees. Someone is hunting you.

Runrunrunrun… The wild muttering filled the air — and doe and birds took off, moving furiously. He had to admit, that was amazing.

The shot rang out, and it missed, but he could get the guy now, and he knew there was already at least one animal in the man’s truck. Forrest wasn’t opposed to hunting deer. They had few natural predators now, and would overbreed. But hunting was controlled, and it was his job to take on the people who cheated.

In fact, it was one of his great joys in life.

He circled around where the guy couldn’t shoot him by accident, and called out. “Fish and game, sir. You’re on private property, and you’re hunting deer out of season.”

“Oh, goddamn it.” He heard a soft sigh. “My gun just went off. I wasn’t hunting.”

“Nope. I been trailing you for a long while. Now, come on and don’t make it hard on either of us.” If the guy worked with him, Forrest would be less stringent about what he was charged with.

“Son of a bitch.”

“Hand over the rifle, man.”

“Yeah, okay.” He could tell the guy wasn’t going to bolt. Or shoot him. He just handed over the rifle. And to Forrest’s surprise, there were no animals in the vehicle, so no one had to be arrested.

“Thank you. Come on. I’ll write you a warning, but you have to be careful, hmm?”

“Sure. Sure.” That was pure relief. “Thank you.”

“Just don’t let me catch you again, okay?”

“No, sir.”

Forrest wrote everything up and gave the guy his warning ticket. Then he was back in his truck and heading to Estella’s. David’s now. Man, he was ready too. It had been a long day full of weirdos.

Not that things weren’t weird at David’s too.

He had to admit, David hadn’t been bothering him. Fran? She’d called four times, fussing about details. Like he knew what was going on. He dealt with the animals.

Magic was not his job.

Should he stop and get food? Isabelle would probably have made something… Forrest hit the hands free. “Call David.”

It took a few rings, and then he got, “‘lo?”

Was David in a well?

“Babe? Are you okay?” He figured if David could answer the phone he was fine, but what the heck?

“Yeah. Yeah, just looking for something. How’re you?”

“It’s open season on weirdos.” He grinned. “I just wanted to know if I should stop and get a take and bake pizza or something.”

“I’ve got chicken enchiladas verdes in the oven. Is that okay?”

He almost asked if Isabelle had made it, but if David had, then that would assure him ice cold kisses, and he didn’t care one way or the other.

Green chile was proof that he was loved. Full stop.

“That sounds amazeballs.” He knew no one said that word but him anymore, but he loved the goofy sound of it. “I’ll grab dessert.” He knew his baker friend Marnie had churro cake today.

“Oh, that’s great. No, Pep, honey. I need you to smell for basil-y stuff.”

“Basil?” Forrest grinned. “What on earth are you doing?”

“Looking for a list. The ladies said there had to be an inventory book.”

“Okay, that makes sense. But what does that have to do with basil?” Forrest couldn’t connect the two to save his life.

“She said it would smell like basil. I’m trying to get Peppermint to help.”

Goofy, weird, wonderful man. “Okay. Well, do you have any basil in the pantry? If you give that to her to smell, she might get the idea. I’ll help when I get home.”

“Yeah? Excellent. That’s actually logical, so it’s no wonder I didn’t think of it. I’ll try that. Be careful, honey. I’ll see you later.”

“Okay.” He hung up, shaking his head. Basil. Lord have mercy. He pulled up Marnie’s little storefront, rolling his head on his neck. Maybe he would get some cookies too. His sweet tooth was throbbing.

The door was open a crack, and the cop in him checked the door jamb, finding the wood splintered around the dead bolt. Someone had forced this.

He drew his service weapon, keeping it pointed up. He pushed the door open with his other hand, waiting a beat to make sure no one rushed him or shot at him.

One of the display cases was destroyed, Marnie’s body stuffed inside, lifeless eyes already cloudy.

Forrest gagged. “Jesus!” His feet tried to move, but he stopped, knowing he had to preserve the scene. She was clearly dead. He didn’t need to go check her pulse to prove it.

No, he needed to call it in.

He backed out and breathed, then he called it in — first to the state police, then to Abe. The council needed to know.

“Forrest. Bright blessings. What can I do for you?”

“Marnie Benitez has been killed, Abe.”

“What? When? How?” The old man sounded utterly horrified.

“I have no idea how or when yet. I’m waiting for the state police to show up. But I came to get dessert for tonight, and she’s–” He breathed in deep. “She’s in her dessert case. It’s not pretty.”

“Okay, I’ll send the twins? How long do we have?”

“Probably twenty? Maybe half an hour. I’m under orders to keep everyone out until the investigator arrives.”

That was good, in a way. It would have taken less time for the sheriff’s deputy to arrive, but the county wouldn’t want to deal with this situation, and he knew it.

“They’ll hurry. Tam will talk to her. It won’t be perfect, but it will be something. She’s never hurt a fly, Forrest. She’s a healer…”

He squeezed his eyes closed, his heart clenching in his chest. Who would hurt Marnie? She would have given anyone anything. “I know that. I don’t like this at all, Abe. Not just Marnie. That goes without saying. But two deaths in a month? Bad juju.”

“Yes. Yes, the twins are on their way. You just hold it together and we’ll figure this out.”

“I can do that.” Forrest checked his watch, letting the law enforcement part of him take over and shoving the little boy that was scared of the monster under the bed down deep. “Tick tock, man. I need to call David and tell him I’m tied up.”

“All right. Take care of yourself, mi’jo.”

“Will do.” He turned his back on the bakery door, then called David.

“Hey, I’m never going to find this inventory.”

“I’ll help as soon as I can, but there’s a problem.”

“What’s wrong?” David’s tone changed, and Forrest could tell David had heard the seriousness in his tone.

“Marnie is dead.”

“Marnie?” There was a dead pause. “The lady from the bakery?”

He nodded even though David couldn’t see him. “Yeah. I found the body.”

“Jesus.” David huffed out a breath. “The ladies brought a box of goodies from Marnie’s this morning.”

“Yeah. I– It’s not good, honey.” Sudden death never was, but this… someone had hurt her.

“Do you want me to throw them away? I haven’t opened the box”

“No. No, hang onto them. Just in case. I’ll give them to the state lab.” It probably wouldn’t mean anything to anyone, but evidence might be evidence.

“No problem. Are you okay? I mean, of course you’re not okay, but are you? Okay? Do you need me?”

Forrest had to smile, because care through hysteria was weird, but still love. “I’ll be all right, but I have to wait for the state police and deal with this. I’ll be home as soon as I can.”

“I’ll hold supper for you.” David sounded worried, but Forrest thought it was for him. That was sweet as hell.

The twins showed up in their weird little sedan about the time he hung up, slipping out to come to him. He liked the guys — okay, he tried to like them, but they read strange and vaguely off-putting, carbon copies of the same person, with Sam the original little creepy shiny Ken haired pale dude.

This time, it was Tam that spoke first. “Where is she?”

“In the bakery case. You can’t disturb the scene in any way if possible.” They knew that, but he was in charge of the chain of evidence custody, so he was honor bound to say it.

“We won’t touch her. Tam doesn’t have to touch her. She’s–”

“Screaming.” Tam’s eyes rolled, and Sam was there, immediately catching him. “I can’t do that. It doesn’t go. Please. It doesn’t go.”

Forrest shivered, knowing Tam was repeating Marnie’s last words. God, that was creepy as fuck, and maybe useful, but maybe not..

“Do you know who did this?” Sam whispered.

“It doesn’t go.” Tam just kept repeating the phrase. It was eerie as hell.

“Is there anything else?” Forrest whispered. This was…horrifying. How did a man live with that?

Tam’s eyes went wide, and he suddenly screamed, “False faces! Beware of false faces!”

Then he slumped back against Sam, who sighed and shook his head. “That’s all that was left. Damn. I don’t suppose she had a cat or dog?”

“Not here at the shop. I’ll get Chuy and take him to her sister’s in Española tomorrow.” He knew all the local pets, which meant he felt like it was his responsibility to take care of them.

“Poor baby.” Sam sighed. “This is bad, Forrest.”

Talk about understatements.

“Yes. I’m sorry, guys, but you have to go. You can’t be here when the state gets here.”

“We’ll call you later. Someone should go stay with David.” Sam gave him a long look, and he got it.

“I’ll call one of the ladies. I have to stay here.”

“Yes. Yes, of course.” That was Tam, back to himself. “Maybe we should go to him.”

Sam shook his head. “That would be bad. He’s not ready, and we’re a bit scary.”

“He’s one more weird moment from a freakout,” Forrest agreed. “I’ll get someone. Isabelle, most likely. Just to have someone to stay with him.” He didn’t want David to be alone. If this was at all related to Estella dying, then they were in a wild ride.

Tam’s head tilted one way, and Sam’s tilted the other, like they were pondering something, but Forrest didn’t have time for this. “Go on, you two. Shoo!”

“Call us when you know something.” Sam took Tam’s arm, leading him to their car.

“I’m sure there will be a meeting.” Forrest waved them off, then moved to smear their tire tracks out of the dust in the parking lot. No sense in muddying the waters with red herrings, right?

He started to call Isabelle, but the state police showed up, and then he was totally immersed in questions and answers and forensics. He got time to send a quick text to David to make sure he was okay about an hour in, but the detectives needed him to help mark evidence and such. This was a huge district with just a few officers. They all worked together.

By the time he got home, Forrest needed a beer, a shower, and a hug. Not necessarily in that order.

The dogs set up a ruckus for him, which was nice, because someone needed to be glad to see him. He grinned at himself. At least he wasn’t just coming home to Leo and the TV, right?

“Oh, my God, are you all right?” David rushed to meet him in the front room, the hug happening immediately.

“It’s been a…day.” Forrest let himself lean.

“I bet. I can’t imagine. How can I make it better?” David held him tight and close. “How can I help?”

“Well, I was thinking when I got here that I needed a hug, a shower and a beer. So you’ve started the process already. Okay, guys. Okay, gimme a minute,” he told the dogs.

Dad. Dad. Dad. Dad. Leo was stressed, dancing for him.

I’m right here, my good boy. I’m here. He rubbed Leo’s ears, comforting his buddy.

Leo leaned into him, offering him a passionate sense of protection and love. My dad. Good dog.

Yes. You’re the best, Bud. And so good for protecting David and Pep.

Pep. Mate.

He grinned, because that was kinda how he was beginning to feel about David. He squeezed David, who was still giving him a solid hug. “Want to come wash up with me? Waste some water?”

“Yes. After we lock the doors.” David gave him a smile that didn’t quite make his eyes.

“Let me check the doors and windows.” He gave David a kiss, just a short promise. I got you, and we’re okay. Then he suited actions to words, making the rounds of the house, ensuring all the doors, windows, and patio gates were closed. No sense taking any chances.

Then they headed in to wash the horror of the day away.

“I’m sorry about your friend,” David whispered, leaving the lights off and turning the water off.

“Thanks. She was a good one.” A fine woman, a great baker. God. He shuddered, his brain trying to push the images away and losing the fight. Forrest stepped into the water and grabbed David, leaning his head down and letting himself just let that agony out. She deserved the mourning.

David rocked him, humming softly, and the sound mixed with the steady flow of the water helped him relax, helped him melt into the embrace. It should have felt tense, uncomfortable, but he didn’t. It felt like being home. It was like David absorbed all the bad vibes he had jangling in him.

That was so damn cool.

He closed his eyes, just melting for a few minutes. He knew he would have to be functional again soon, but David was letting him get away with it. And the care was just what he needed.

Soon he felt as if he were coming back to himself, settling and breathing deep.

“Better?”

“Yeah.”

“Want that beer now?”

“If you’re up for it.” He could just sit and have a beer and some uh… whatever David has said he had, and chill. “Sorry there’s no dessert.”

“Yeah, no. Not today.” David snorted gently. “I wouldn’t have eaten anything from the murder bakery.”

He had to laugh, because that was the kind of gallows humor he was used to from cops. “No, huh?”

“Nope. I put the box in a trash bag and stuck it in the carport. I made supper, and I have Nutter Butters.”

“Okay. Well,I need to put the box in my truck. I’ll give it to the state police tomorrow. No raccoons need to get into it.” Just in case. He hoped nothing was in the… whatever it was David had been given. But who the hell knew right now? “Nutter Butters are a dog friendly choice. I approve.”

“I’ll deal with it. You’ve dealt with enough for now.” David pressed their lips together, offering welcome distraction. “Nutter Butters for the win.”

“Mmmhmm.” He grabbed David’s butt and squeezed by way of thanks. “You rock.”

“I do.” David smiled against his mouth. “Now. Soft clothes and nothing more strenuous than the Mummy movie.”

“Yeah. Yeah, babe. Thank you.”

“It’s the least I could do.”

“None of this is on you, honey.” David needed to know that. “Something is going on, and you might be in the middle of it, but none of that is your fault.” He looked into Dave’s eyes when he said it, needing it to sink in.

“No, but somehow it’s my responsibility, right?”

How was he supposed to argue with that? David was right somehow. Forrest knew that was what Estella had left it all to him for, because out of all her family, she’d known David was the one who could do… whatever it was she did. Mystic lived up to its name, and it was a place where too many things needed to be guarded to keep people safe.

He just had to hope that David was up to the challenge.

“Hey, come on. I’ll take that stuff to your truck, and then we can just chill with the dogs on the couch and have some supper.”

“Sounds good, man. I’ll get the stuff out of the oven. And the cookies.” Nutter Butters. He was a fan. They needed some down time where the most important thing they had to do was decide what channel to zone out to.

David squeezed his hand, offering him a warm smile.

They were going to be okay.

Somehow.

Chapter 14

David held Forrest all night, but he couldn’t sleep. Something was niggling at him, almost whispering, but for the first time, it wasn’t scary.

It was calling, but not demanding.

When dawn was about to break, right as it got to the darkest point, Peppermint started whining. So he slipped out of bed, trying hard not to wake his lover, who was exhausted by what he’d seen and done during the day.

“Come on, guys. No barking.” He let Leo and Peppermint out, then let them back in. And somehow, on the way back to bed, his feet took him to his granny’s room.

“Hey, lady. I assume you’re here. I wish I could hear you. So much.”

He felt a breeze, but the window was shut. So she was there with him. He knew it even before that damn book fell on the floor again, landing with a thud.

“It’s empty now, Gran. What am I supposed to do with it?” He bent down and picked it up, and it seemed so light, the pages begging to be filled. “I guess I could start to write in it, huh? Put all the things that are happening in the house.”

A pen fell on his foot, and he laughed.

“Wow, okay. I get it. I can do that. I see the big picture.” She wanted him to be there. She wanted him to use the book.

And it was time he started doing it on his own terms. ascd

David picked up the pen, settled on Granny’s bed, and starting writing.

It’s been a crazy day — Fern and Anita came over to take about the shop (OMG, the SHOP! Note: write down about the sparkling lights and everything.) And poor Forrest found the baker dead. 🙁 So. Sad. I hate that for him, I really do.

I’m going to figure this shit out, though. I am. It’s all about magic. I know that now. And I have no idea what the baker has to do with, if anything, but I’ll figure that out, too. I have to keep Forrest safe. He’s been good to me, and I think I’m falling for him big time.

I’ll do it, Granny. I swear.

Chapter 15

Forrest’s phone started ringing at seven a.m., and he got up, answering a slew of questions from the state police. He called in a sub for his rounds, because it looked like he’d be working the murder. Not his job description, but up here in Mystic, everyone threw in to do what they could.

David handed him a cup of coffee after his third call.

“Hey. Morning.”

“Morning. Food? There’s still blueberry muffins.”

“Please.” He would murder some muffins and butter. “You get some sleep?” At some point he’d rolled over and David wasn’t there, but Leo had assured him all was well.

“I’m fine, honey. Seriously. Are you going in or staying home?”

Home, like he belonged here.

“I’ll be here as long as I can. They want me helping out with the bakery thing, but I’m on call more than anything. I have a sub on for my regular shift.” That way he was available. But he had a feeling the guys all felt bad for him too, finding the body of a friend like that, and they were giving him some space.

“Good deal. I’m going to make us breakfast, and then I’m going to get to work.”

“Yeah?” Forrest blinked at him. “What’s on the agenda today?” He could help as long as he had his phone on him.

“I’m moving into the master bedroom. It’s time.”

Hmm…what had changed? “Okay. What can I do to help?”

“We’ll make a list, huh?” David looked firm. Resolved. But no longer guilty or dreading things.

“Sure. Sure, babe.”

David nodded and headed to the kitchen, heating up the muffins and pulling out the butter.

Forrest watched him for a minute, admiring the way he moved. Yeah, something had made David decide he wasn’t going to be lost in his own story anymore. He was taking charge.

Fascinating, but also hot as hell.

“Thanks, babe.” He sat at the kitchen table after getting Leo and Peppermint both a cookie. He really needed to bring a big bag of Leo’s food. Maybe go down to a bigger town and go to the store. Not today.

Today he was on call. Lord.

“You look worried.” David came to rub his shoulders.

“Shit is just backing up like a bad septic system. It makes me wonder what’s next.”

“Yeah, well, don’t stress about Leo. He’s okay. I have your back.”

“Thanks, babe. I appreciate it. He loves being here with you and Peppermint during the day. He’s getting spoiled.”

“He loves being with her. It’s so sweet, seriously.” David kissed his cheek. “I love him.”

“Mmm.” Forrest grabbed David and pulled him down to sit on his lap. “Thanks for letting us stay. It means a lot.”

“You stayed for me and I know it.”

“Yeah, but it feels more like home here in a short time than my place has in a couple of years.” He meant it, too. David was so grounded. Like a touchstone.

“That’s why it’s time to reclaim the master bedroom. This needs to be our space.”

“Okay. Ours. I bet Estella could get behind that.”

“She is.” David kissed his chin. “I think your phone is buzzing again.”

“Dammit.” He tugged it out. “Ah, the texts from the elders are starting.”

“We need to chat about that. I need a list. I’m behind the eight ball.”

“You are. I think we need to call a meeting and have you come and sit in. I want you to see everyone and get to know what’s going on around here.”

“Is Isabelle part of the group? Granny’s friend?”

“No. No, she’s not.” Forrest tilted his head. “Why?”

“I don’t know. I just–I mean, she and Granny were so close.”

“They were. But Isabelle has never been… I suppose she just doesn’t have what the elders are looking for?” Magically talented would probably be the words.

“Oh. That’s cool. I just wondered.”

“Has she said anything?” Isabelle had always talked about retiring and moving in with Estella, but that had always seemed like a little joke between the two ladies. Maybe it hadn’t been. It had to be so hard on Isabelle to lose her best friend.

“No. No, she cooks, cleans, I pay her and she leaves. I mean, I feel bad because I don’t know whether to talk about Granny or not.”

“Yeah.” Maybe he would reach out to her, see how she was doing. Hell, he would probably have to talk to her about {baker} anyway. She bought a good bit from the shop, and might have seen something. “Who brought the doughnuts to you?”

“I’m not sure. I assume Fern and Anita brought them? I don’t know.”

“I’ll ask.” Somehow now it seemed important. Now that Marnie was gone and baking was somehow linked to all this mess.

“Sure. I’m sure it’s just a weird coincidence.”

“I imagine so, but I don’t want to take anything for granted right now.” Forrest answered another text, then decided to call Anita. She could assemble the Mystic magical elders for that meeting rather than driving him nuts.

“Hello, Forrest dear. Are you okay? I’m worried about you.”

“Yesterday was a bad day, lady. Today is going to be busy, I reckon. On the good side, there are blueberry muffins.”

There was a long pause. “Not from the bakery, I hope.”

“Well, no ma’am. They would have kept those as evidence.” He rolled his eyes. Right. He would have taken stuff right out of the case with the dead woman.

“Yeah. Well, there was the box on your front porch. Did they take those too?”

“The doughnuts?” Shit. Had Anita and Fran not brought them? “You didn’t stop and get them?”

“No. They were on the porch. Frannie brought them in.” She sounded confused. “Are they okay?”

“I don’t know. We didn’t eat them, and I put them in my truck for the lab. Just in case.”

“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry. We just thought someone was being nice.”

“Hey, you didn’t do anything wrong.” He took a breath, centering himself. “David wants to meet with the elders.”

There was a pause, and then, “Is he ready?”

“I think so, yeah. He’s totally committed now. Like Estella always thought he would be.”

David smiled at him, pouring more coffee. Yeah, it was probably good to hear that someone thought David had a handle on things.

“Okay. I’ll call Abe. Tonight?”

“Yes, ma’am. I should be done with anything the state police need before six or so.”

“All right. Plan for nine. For Kathleen’s safety.”

“Will do.” He wasn’t going to push that. At this point they all needed to exercise caution. “Thanks.”

“Of course. I’m so sorry that you had to see that.”

“So am I, lady. So am I. I need to call my contact at the state police, so I’m gonna let you go.” The doughnuts might be a complete waste of time, but it would be good to get them off his hands and to the lab.

No one just left shit on the porch in Mystic. They all knew each other. It was very Snow White and the apple.

David was busily pulling serving bowls out of a cabinet, stacking them on the counter.

“Babe?” Forrest watched him, trying to figure what he was doing. “You okay?”

“I am. I don’t like the bowls being in this cabinet. I never have. I like bowls being near the sink. The plates can be in this space.”

Okay… “Does it matter?”

“It does to me. Do you like them where they are?”

“I don’t care one way or the other. My mom arranged my kitchen when I moved in.”

David snorted and chuckled. “Well, I care, so they’re moving.”

“Cool. Wherever it’s easiest.”

“Granny never did bake.”

“No. No, she could grill like a champ, but baking wasn’t her strong suit.” Forrest felt a little like he’d stepped sideways into a new dimension, but it was a good thing to see David take charge of the house. Like he’d flipped a switch. “Did something happen? I mean, last night?”

“Yeah. I started writing in the book.”

“You did? And nothing blew up or tried to eat you?”

“Well, Leo had terrible farts, but that was it.”

“Nothing new there. I think he was eating on something, uh, unpleasant out in the yard.”

“Oops.” David wrinkled his nose. “Dogs love gross stuff.”

“They do at that.” He’d made sure it was just the dead bird, too, like he thought. No poisoning his dogs. And Pep was as much his now as Leo, dammit.

“I just…I think I’m starting to get it, at least a little bit.”

“I think you are too.” Forrest went to David to wrap both arms around him. “I’m glad.”

“Me too. I mean, it sucks that things are so weird and stressful, but this is what Granny wanted, I think. For me to make this place my own.” David leaned back into him. “Besides, we need a bigger bed, right?”

“We do. I can buy some sheets today if you want. Or we can. I mean, I’m on call, but I can still run down to the store with you.”

“Cool. Sheets are important.” David beamed at him, eyes warm as hell.

“I know. I like the idea of going in on them with you. And being on them with you, too.” Hell, he liked everything about David.

Mate. Leo leaned against his leg.

You know it, buddy. I think we both found a new home, huh?

Home, home, home.

He grinned and rubbed Leo’s ears. “Thanks for the muffins. Now, put me to work. What do you want to move around?”

“Plates, please. Let’s put them over here.”

“Got it.” Forrest hauled stuff for the next hour, cleaning out cabinets and moving silverware drawers. He had to admit he liked how it worked out, and his input was even welcome at times.

David cared way more about serving dishes than he did, but he did like the drink cups next to the fridge, which had the ice and water dispenser.

When David opened the cabinet next to the backdoor, through, they were both stymied by the contents.

“What do you suppose all this is?” David asked, standing back with his hands on his hips.

“Looks like stuff Estella never messed with,” Forrest said, squinting. Witch’s bottles and… was that a poppet?

“I don’t like it.” That was definite. “I don’t like it at all.”

“No.” Forrest closed the cabinet. “Let me get someone out to look at it.”

“No. I’ll take it all down to the shop and put it in the receiving bin. Estella put stuff there that needed to be… neutralized.”

Forrest raised his eyebrows. “Was that in the book?”

“Yeah.” Was David even hearing himself? He didn’t sound freaked out.

“Cool. I think?”

David chuckled. “I have no idea, but it is what it is. I want this stuff out of here, though.” David grabbed a laundry basket, then cleared the cabinet out into it, wrinkling his nose at some of the contents. He put it on the back patio, then came to stand next to Forrest again. “I’ll haul it to the shop in a bit.”

“I can do that. Like I said, put me to work.” He could roll with this too. David was his priority, which was kind of a sea change in his life, but he liked it.

“Yeah. Next? Master closet. I love Granny, but her blouses won’t fit me.”

“Nope. We can donate them if you want.”

“Do you think Isabelle will want to go through them? I know she and Granny were good friends.”

“You can totally ask her.” He washed his hands. “Okay, so. Hey, where do you want the knife drawer?” That needed to move too, if the junk drawer was going to go where David wanted it.

“Next to the stove, yeah? The cutting boards are down there.”

“Sounds good.” They worked together for a good while, then his phone beeped again. “Okay, someone is coming by to pick up those doughnuts. I’m going to meet them outside.”

“Then I’ll run that stuff down to the shop.” David took a quick kiss, then he was off.

“Go with him, guys,” he told Leo and Pep.

Both pups gave him kisses on the way out the door, and the love was clear as a bell. They were a hoot.

He stepped out front, scanning the porch and ground just in case anyone had left them more mysterious baked goods or weird gifts. Nothing. So Forrest went to his truck to grab the offending pastries. Hopefully they were a big old red herring, but he was starting to believe there were no coincidences going on here.

Something felt bad — and it wasn’t David, but it was here. He felt it in the ground itself.

Something was… waiting. Maybe it was the “he” who wanted out that {psychic} had talked about. Maybe it was something else. But there was this… pall over Estella’s. Maybe the whole town after what happened at the bakery.

Whatever it was, he didn’t approve. At all.

The crunch of tires on gravel sounded not too long later, and Forrest grinned. Someone had gotten a room at the spa or an Air BNB or something last night to get there that fast. But he met his state police contact Pete Hale out in the yard.

“Thanks for coming man.”

“Anytime. You staying here?”

“I am.” He didn’t offer to explain, but he and Pete weren’t exactly strangers. Decent work friends, he would say. So he’d find out. “So the doughnuts are from the bakery where the crime took place. From yesterday morning. Someone left them on the porch.”

“And they were left here? Is that unusual?”

“Yeah. I mean, there’s a housekeeper who comes in almost every morning, and I was up and gone to work. Why not just knock?”

“That is weird. And this house belongs to…Estella Mora?”

“David Mora. Estella passed.” It still hurt his heart to say it. “He’s her grandson.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. That sucks.” Pete scribbled the information down.

“Yeah. He’s up from Texas, and I think planning to stay.”

“You think or you hope?” Pete teased.

“I sure as hell hope, buddy. I’m in deep and my dog is in love with his.”

“There you go. It’s a nice house. Seriously.”

“It is.” He tilted his head. “Anything on the bakery?””

“There are fingerprints — but the entire damn town shopped there. There’s nothing stolen. The cash box is there, everything.”

“No shit?” So not a robbery. It had seemed more personal, and the twins had seemed concerned, but… Dammit, it would have been easier.

“No shit.” Pete shook his head and sighed.

“Well, you tell me what you need me to do.”

“Let me get these tested first. I may have to ask you to step back if this is a direct threat to Mr. Mora and you two are involved.”

That had never even occurred to him.

“Of course. You know it. I can still do my rounds here?”

“Totally. No one thinks of you as a suspect. You were on your rounds. We have your GPS.”

“Cool. Yeah, and Marnie was a friend. I feel like shit.”

“I’m genuinely sorry, man. That murder was brutal.”

“It was.” Forrest firmed his mouth. “I want to know who did it and make sure they go to jail.”

“Yes. She deserves better than what she got.”

“Yeah.” He shook his head. “So I’ll hang back, but keep me posted?”

“Will do as much as I can off the record.”

“Cool. Yeah. Okay. I hate this.”

Pete shook his head. “Seriously, what’s to like? Nothing about this is good.”

“I know. I have this feeling it’s not over, either.”

Pete raised an eyebrow. “I trust your gut, man. It’s been correct more often than not since I’ve known you. In fact, that gives me dread.”

Forrest smiled wryly. “And I’m not the clairvoyant.”

“Huh?”

“Just Mystic humor. Nothing really.” He needed to remember that not everyone knew all the pieces of what he and the elders did.

“Gotcha. May I meet Mr. Mora?”

“Sure. Come on in.” He led the way after Pete put the doughnuts in his vehicle.“He’s down at the shop. He’s going to open it back up, I think.”

“Is he? That place is great, man.” Pete chuckled wryly. “It wigs me out a little, but it’s awesome.”

“It’s weird and wonderful, all at once, huh?”

“Yeah. And it always makes me feel like someone is watching me. Maybe that’s the dolls.”

Pep and Leo came running when he led Pete down to the shop, knocking before he let them in.

“Hey!” Dave smiled at them, and a wave of ease, of peace hit him.

That made him smile back. Dave was obviously in his element now, having decided he was going to do this. It was good to see.

“Hey, babe. This is Pete with the state police. Pete, David Mora.”

“Hello, Pete. I’m sorry to have to meet you in these circumstances.” David took Pete’s hand, shook it.

“Me too, sir. I just wanted to tell you how sorry I was about your grandmother.”

“Thanks. She was something else.” David looked at Pete curiously. “Do you think those doughnuts are part of all this?”

“They could be, since they came from the bakery on the day of the murder. Can you tell me, did you see who dropped them off?”

“I didn’t. I mean, Fran and Anita brought them in, but they said they were on the porch.”

“Okay. And you didn’t eat any?”

“No. No, I was waiting for Forrest and the ladies are always dieting.” David shrugged. “It just didn’t come up, you know?”

“Glad it didn’t, just in case,” Forrest murmured.

“I’ll get them to the lab today.” Pete shook hands with both of them. “If you think of anything else, or if something else happens, call me right away. You’ll be back to work tomorrow, Forrest?”

“I will. At least that’s how it stands now.”

“It was good to meet you.” David waved at Pete, then went back to work, moving things from the house onto shelves.

“He’s stocking more in the store?”

“Yeah. It’s time to make the house his, you know? So he’s moving some stuff around.”

“Cool.”

He walked Pete back out to his truck, waving the dogs away. They weren’t allowed to hang around vehicles that were about to be running. “Keep me posted, huh?”

“You got it. You be careful. Just in case.”

Forrest nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I’ll be on alert.”

“Do. There’s something…hinky in the air.”

“You think so?” If Pete was worried, well… “Then I’ll keep close to David.” He could trade honesty for honesty. “There’s been some odd stuff around the house happening too.”

“Then watch it. Don’t let it all go to hell on you.”

“You got it.” They shook hands, and Pete headed out. Okay, so. He would let the elders know what Pete had said tonight.

Right now he wanted to figure out what the hell David was up to.

Forrest grabbed a couple of cups of coffee before heading back down to the shop. “Babe? I got you another cup of coffee.”

“I’m in the back.” David sounded surprisingly far away, and he hurried to find out what was up.

David was bent over in a closet, digging through a box. “I found more women’s clothes back here.”

“Yeah? Your Gran’s?” What the heck? Estella really didn’t do vintage clothing, so what was going on with that? He went to peer over David’s shoulder. “Huh. Doesn’t look like her style at all.”

“Nope. She was way more earth mother.”

“I wonder if these were donations? I can see that. I’ll just pack them up, I think.”

“Sounds good. Let me go grab a box.” He went to the storeroom that was a separate shed attached to the back of the shop. Lalala no spiders or snakes please…

Leo pushed in between him and the shed. No, Dad.

No? Why not buddy? Forrest reached down to stroke Leo’s ears, praising him for the effort to protect him, even if he didn’t know what from yet. He always wanted Leo to feel empowered to let him know what was going on.

Bad. Bad place. His mind was filled with images of snakes and mushrooms and slugs.

“Oh, I’ll be careful, buddy. But we’ll have to clean that out, huh? I’ll tell them they have to move out to the old barn. That way they still have a place to live.” All but the fungi. That could be bad for the animals, and god knew they had those.

Leo whined. No, dad.

“All right, buddy. How about I get an exterminator before I go in? An expert.” If Leo was that insistent, he knew something was going on besides run of the mill beasties.

Yes. Yes. Other mans. Not Dad.

“That’s fair.” In fact, he would call Leon Delgado and try to get him out today. He was a good exterminator, and he specialized in snakes and other dangerous animal relocation.

Leo licked his hand, then herded him back toward the front of the shop. Sweet baby.

David raised an eyebrow at him.

“Leo thinks I need to call an exterminator before opening up the storage. So I told him I would.”

“Oh, wow. Well, he ought to know, huh? Do you know someone?”

“I do. Just pile the stuff you want me to shove in there by the door.”

“Fair enough. Good boy, Leo. Thank you. I will make peanut butter biscuits today.”

Leo woofed and wagged, just really going ninety to nothing. He did love peanut butter.

Peanut butty.

That’s it, bud. Good boy.

Good boy! Leo ran to Peppermint, dancing and prancing, and she went butt up, head down.

He laughed, and so did David. “They ‘re so cute,” David said. “I’m so glad they like each other.”

“Like might be a pale word. It’s a good thing they’re both fixed or we’d have bassadors.”

“Right? Though I bet that would be cute.”

“It could go either way.” He got a blissful image from Leo of the ugliest puppy known to man. “Maybe we can get them a puppy if this thing takes off between us.”

David gave him a warm smile. “I think it’s kind of soaring already.”

“Yeah?” He did love that thought.

“Absolutely.”

“That’s cool, babe. So let me call my guy in to look at the storage room. I want to get in there, and Leo says no way.” He winked, grabbing his phone and hitting Leon’s contact.

“I trust their noses, absolutely.” David seemed so much more settled today, like he had a purpose.

“I do too. Hey, Leon?”

“Forrest. What’s up?”

“I need you to come out to Estella’s… the Mora place.” It was David’s now. “Have a look at the shop and the attached storage shed.”

“Sure. Sure, what do you think you have?”

“Well, the dogs are convinced we have spiders and snakes.”

“Isn’t that a song?”

“Maybe if you’re old,” Forrest teased. In fact, he did know that old song about not liking spiders and snakes.

“Well, if the foo shits, man…”

“That’s it. When do you think you can swing by?”

“I’ll stop after my last spray. About five.”

“Sounds great man. We’ll see you then.”

“We’ll have to have a beer in Miss Estella’s honor.”

“You’re on.”

They hung up, and he smiled at David. “He can come today.”

“Cool. We’ll make sure there’s nothing scary, have supper, and then what? Go meet your friends?”

“Yeah. That we wait until it’s dark for.” He put an arm around David. “I guess we need to be lazy for lunch then.”

“You sound so disappointed…”

“Oh, I know, right? I love the idea of sort of hanging out with you. Maybe cuddling after we clean some.”

“We could watch TV. The Price is RIght.”

“Oh, man. How long has it been since I watched that?” His gran had loved that show.

“Right? We can see who guesses the closest amount without going over.”

“What does the winner get?” As one, they moved out of the shop, closing it back up. Sure, work was great, and productive, but sexy teasing was way more Forrest’s thing.

“Blowjobs? Handjobs? Homemade cookies?”

“Yes, please.” He tilted his head. “As long as you made the cookies.” Maybe he was paranoid, but everyone was possibly a danger.

“We’d have to make them together.” David grinned. “I like snickerdoodles.”

“I do too. And biscochitos. I bet we have aniseed.” He loved this having someone to do stuff with. He was gonna get used to it and then where would he be?

“Oh, yum. You can show me how.” David drew him inside and into the sofa. “Game show me, honey.”

“You got it.” Forrest grabbed the remote to get to the Price is Right. He was going to win. He would cheat if necessary. How he had no idea. The dogs couldn’t help with that.

But he wanted his reward — be it blow job or cookie. He needed it.

And getting David to laughing like he was after the first few minutes was so worth it.

Chapter 16

David was clearing out another room when he heard a gasp and dish breaking in the kitchen.

He ran out as fast as he could, hoping the pups weren’t pulling something down.

Skidding to a stop, he saw his gran’s housekeeper Isabelle standing among the glass debris. “Don’t move! I’ll get the broom.”

“I’m so sorry. I went to put this away and things just…things have moved!”

“Yeah. I made them work for us, you know?” He grabbed the broom and headed in to sweep. “How’ve you been, lady?”

“For us?” She blinked at him owlishly, and he bit back a sharp retort at her surprise. It wasn’t her fault she was surprised. “Me. And Forrest.” His cheeks heated, but it was true, and he wasn’t hiding it.

Hell, he was going to tell this weird council of folks, if they ever actually got to meet.

“O-o-oh.” Her voice rose and fell on the one word. “I didn’t know– that Forrest was that way.”

Now his cheeks felt cold. “Well, so am I, so…”

“That’s not what I meant. I just…he’s a forest ranger.”

“Uh-huh. Manly.” He finished sweeping up the glass. “I’m going to ask him to move in, I think. We’re moving into the master.”

“The master?” Her voice rose. “But that’s not your room.”

David frowned. “With all due respect, lady, the whole house is mine now.”

“Of course.” She blinked hard, but summoned a smile. “Sorry. Sorry. I’m still taking it hard.”

“I understand that. You and Gran knew each other a long time.” He nodded easily. “But since I’ve decided to stay, I need to stop acting like I don’t have the right to make changes.” And so did Isabelle. “And Granny approves. She told me so.”

“She told you?” Her voice rose on each word. “David, she’s dead.”

David tilted his head. That was an…odd…response for Mystic. “I know.”

“Well, how could she be telling you anything?”

“Oh, she lets me know how she wants things.” He tried to keep it light. “You know how it is around here.”

Isabelle pressed her lips together for a moment. “I do. I just never– well. I was going to make something to leave for you for supper. What would you like?”

David dumped the glass into the trash bin. Peppermint woofed, coming to stand in front of him, probably trying to protect him from the glass now that the crisis was over. “I think Forrest and I are going into town. We were supposed to meet with all of his friends in town last night, but it got canceled, so I think we’re trying again tonight.”

That was a good answer, and it gave him time to figure out how to tell her he and Forrest really didn’t need a housekeeper. He was pretty sure he could give her a really nice severance if she was still getting paid. He needed to look at the bank records before he brought it up.

“Oh? Who all are you meeting?”

He opened his mouth to answer when Peppermint started losing her goddamn mind.

“Pep!” David grabbed her collar. “What is it, baby girl? What’s wrong?”

She stared right at Isabelle, almost baying.

That was weird. She’d always been okay with Isabelle before.

“I’m sorry. There must be something outside she needs. I’ll walk you out.”

“Out?”

“Like I said, I don’t think we really need supper tonight, Isabelle. I want to set up a time to chat, maybe Monday?” Hopefully that was clear without being rude. “Forrest and I are going to need a little space, and you’ve been coming out here religiously.”

“Oh. Oh! Of course.” She was frowning mightily, but her tone had lightened up, so maybe she was just thinking on what that meant. “I didn’t mean to step on toes.”

“Pep!” Peppermint wasn’t one to keep on once he’d told her to pipe down, but wow. “I’ll call about Monday. Okay?”

She looked at Peppermint, and then cocked her head, because more barking could be heard in the distance. Leo. He must have been out running amok. Now he was barreling toward the house, howling like a hellhound.

“I’ll just–” She hurried out and hopped into her car. Probably afraid they had a snake or something.

He shrugged, then gave Pep a treat, since she settled right down. “We need to get you out and run around, Missy. I know you miss the dog park.”

Pep looked at him, then she farted.

Like loud and long and clear.

Leo bounced in, barking and wagging.

“I know. She was making her opinion clear. What the hell got into both of you?” He grabbed his phone and texted Forrest. {Dogs have lost it. What do you want for supper?}

{We been invited to the Apocadas}

{is that good?} He had no idea who was who, to be honest. He needed to make index cards.

{Yes. Be home at 4.}

{Yay!} He wanted to tell Forrest all about Isabelle, because that had been weird. He could do it on the way to dinner.

It had felt oily and odd, and he wasn’t sure why exactly, but he was true. And he’d thought Pep was reacting to a snake or something, but she sure had quit making a fuss as soon as Isabelle had left.

So what did that mean, if anything?

Maybe he was just reading too much into it.

Maybe he was just wigged out. A lot of stuff had happened.

He got a little heart emoji from Forrest, and he had to smile. Such a sweetie. He headed back to the kitchen to make sure he’d gotten all the glass up, because the dogs didn’t need to get into that.

“I tell you what, Pep. I hate confrontation, but I think I did good, huh?” He gave Peppermint and Leo both a Milkbone to keep them busy while he swept and mopped.

He hadn’t exactly told Isabelle she was fired, because that was too mean, but he had…tried.

He would meet with her, though. Like he’d said. And he would let her know he and Forrest had this. He also needed to look at Gran’s finances, see what she was paying Isabelle so he could make a nice package up for her. To tide her over.

In fact, he would head to the office room right now to do that. He thought Gran kept ledgers, not spreadsheets, but surely he could find it.

He was getting better at this shit, he thought.

Chapter 17

Forrest wiped his hands on his jeans. He shouldn’t be this nervous, really. Almost all of the elders had met David at one time or another. Or at least seen him in the middle of the night to help keep him safe. Right? This was just a late evening coffee and dessert thing. Not the Spanish Inquisition.

“It’s going to be okay,” David muttered as they pulled up to the Apocada’s low-slung adobe. The yard was filled with clay statues, from little bitty stones stacked together to a gigantic Venus of Willendorf.

“Sure it will. We’re having dinner.” Forrest gave him a smile. “I just always feel very young and kinda clueless around these folks.”

“That’s some amazing art.”

“Betty and Ralph do it together.” He drew the water into the clay, and she handled the firing.

“So cool.” David looked around curiously as they walked up to the front door. He knocked, and the door opened almost immediately.

“Forrest! Right on time.”

“That’s me. Punctual.”

Ralph Apocada opened the door, ushering them into the comfortable if odd as hell little front room. It was filled with more art than furniture, and somehow the wild colors went together instead of clashing.

It couldn’t be more Mystic if they tried, and he knew they weren’t really doing anything but being them.

“Forrest.” Betty came to give him a hug. “And David. Hello and welcome.”

“Ma’am. Sir. It’s very nice to meet, y’all.” David offered them a bouquet of roses and a bottle of wine, making him proud as hell.

“Oh, how sweet. Come in, come in. Have a seat and we’ll pop this open.”

“Yes, ma’am. Y’all have the best art here.” The more uncomfortable David was, the more Texan he got.

“Oh, do you like it? We have such a good time making it.” Ralph beamed.

“I do. I love to see people who are creating things, making the world beautiful.” David nodded and smiled at Ralph, and the expression was genuine.

“How are you doing with Estella’s shop?” Ralph asked. “Are you working with things in there?”

“Yes, sir, I am. It took a bit to start, to figure out what I needed to do, but I’m learning.”

“Oh?” Betty perked up. “Are you staying?”

“Yes, ma’am. That was Granny’s wish, and…I belong here.”

“Oh, the others will be so glad to hear it.”

“Is everyone else coming for supper, or just coffee and dessert?” Forrest asked.

“Ginny and Lacey, the Hargroves, and Abe are coming for supper. Geoff, the twins, and Kathy will be here for dessert.”

“Cool.” That was nice. They could all sort of come in a little at a time and not freak David out.

“What a wonderful fountain.” David wandered over to look at the Mexican tile fountain that rose up in the Apodaca’s little sunken courtyard between the kitchen and the rest of the house.

A glance passed between Ralph and Betty, but they didn’t say anything. That fountain was tapped into the earth herself, and the water in it was always cool and sweet.

David stood there, head tilted, listening to the water, and Forrest felt his tight muscles relax, his body going from adrenaline pumped to easy.

“This is the opposite of my store, isn’t it?”

“Yes. It is. It’s made for tranquility. For renewing energy. Your shop is made to contain things.”

“I can feel that, in my bones. Things were…I didn’t understand the situation.”

“But now you do?” Betty came to hand David a glass of wine.

“I’m starting to, ma’am. Trying to. I’m not claiming to be an expert at anything but repairing old books, but I’m here to do what Granny needs me to.”

“I’m glad. I really am. Estella devoted her life to keeping these items safe and contained.”

“Well, I wish we could have learned together.”

“Some of your family didn’t… approve. Of her way. Of Mystic. I think she tried to respect that as long as she could, but she always knew you were the one who was like her.” Betty clinked her glass against David’s.

Forrest could understand David’s stiffness, though. It had to suck to know he was expected to just take over and have no idea what he was doing. Forrest had at least always known his talents.

David had been left in the dark, fumbling along. He had to have felt…different. Odd. Unusual.

And there were still gauntlets to run. Like tonight.

A knock sounded, and Betty trilled out a laugh. “I’ll get it. You boys go sit down.”

Ralph led them down into the lounge, which was cool and calming but still colorful in that New Mexico way. More art stood and leaned and hung around the room, giving them something to focus on while they waited to see who else had arrived.

“Seriously, guys, have a seat or she’ll fuss,” Ralph said. “No one wants sparks flying.”

David sat. Plonk.

Okay, that was adorable. Also, no one wanted shit flying, so Forrest plopped down as well.

“Good deal. So, tell me everything, Forrest.”

He played dumb. “About what?”

“About Marnie. I know you’ve got that buddy with the state police.”

“Who knows nothing right now.” Forrest shrugged. “Aside from it was foul play.”

“Dammit.” Betty sighed when she came back in, leading Fern and Anita. “We were hoping for news.”

“No. Ted and Ed came out, but I’ll let them talk to you.” Forrest shrugged. “I was a little in shock. I’d gone to get doughnuts for David.”

“Oh, no! No one told me that.” Betty glared at Ralph.

“What? We were all going to meet about it.”

“Still. I’m always behind the times. Always.”

Fran laughed. “It’s because you really don’t care about news until it affects you.”

Betty chuckled, sticking her tongue out at Fran. “Don’t be mean.”

“I tease because I care.”

“Uh-huh. Want some wine?”

“I know I do.” Anita sighed. “It’s always so awful to lose someone, and under such awful circumstances. Hello, David dear. Forrest, I’m so sorry.”

“Thanks.” He’s spoken to them, but it was still nice to hear. “How have you ladies been holding up?”

“It’s just so sad.” Anita’s eyes filled with tears, and Forrest nodded. She was an empath, and this had to be brutal.

Fran patted her hand. “It is. And coming right on the heels of Estella…”

David tilted his head, something flashing across his face, an expression of surprise. Forrest would ask him what that was about when they were alone later.

Fern winced too, and that was even weirder, making him even more uncomfortable.

“Oh, let me get that.” And Betty was off again, answering the door.

No sense in getting into any deep discussions until everyone was there, right?

“How many more?” David whispered.

“Seven.” At David’s panicky look, Forrest grinned. “I got your back.”

“I should have brought Peppermint. She could have peed on the floor, and we would have left in disgrace.”

“Your Pep? Never. She’s a sweetheart.” She was potty trained within an inch of her life.

“Well, I could throw water on the floor and pretend she did it.”

“Coward.” Forrest winked. “I promise, baby.They just want to meet you and see what you’re all about. It’s not a torture thing.”

“I know. I’m eager, just nervous. I want to make a good impression.”

“You will.” He set down his drink to take David’s hand, and sure enough, as people arrived, David was kind and funny and welcomed question after question. He was a good guy.

Kathy was the last one to float in, her fangs white on her red lips, ebony hair floating, making her entrance. David watched her, smiled, then finished his sentence with Ginny. She frowned at David, then glared at Forrest. “Seriously? He’s gay? No fair!”

Forrest grinned. “Fair to who?” He was pretty damn happy about it, really. In fact, he was grateful that Estella had given him this chance, because she rarely did anything by chance.

“To me, obvi!” Kathy rolled her eyes and winked at David. “Hey. I’m Kathy.”

“Are you really a vampire?”

“Yep. That’s me. Blood-sucking and everything. The garlic thing is false, though.”

“Wow. That’s wild.” David just smiled hugely. “I had no idea that vampires actually existed.”

“Yeah, genetics are strange things, right Geoff?”

Geoff rolled his eyes. “Woof.”

David laughed. “Well, it’s a much wider world there than I thought. I mean, it’s easier to believe in like, psychics, because that can supposedly be explained by electrical impulses. But actual vampires and werewolves and stuff? That’s legendary. That’s a whole new experience.”

“This is a special place. It draws special people.”

“It does.” Betty waved to the assembled friends. “Which is why we all try to meet every so often and talk about the town and what’s been going on. Sometimes, energy like Mystic’s needs to be channeled. Guided.”

“That makes sense, I guess. I mean, y’all don’t hurt people, right?”

“No. No, never. What you put into the world comes back to you times three.” That was Fran, looking appalled. “None of us want that. But we do try to channel the energy to find balance here. So bad energies can’t take hold.”

David blinked. “Well, that’s way less scary than I expected.”

“Oh, good.” Anita chuckled. “I imagine Forrest overstated how terrifying we are.”

Forrest rolled his eyes. “No, I did not. I just noted that you’re all elders. Therefore I find you intimidating.”

“You’ll be the elders some day,” Abe crackled. “So what do you know, son? What are you adding to this equation?”

David shrugged. “I have no clue, sir.”

“He’s already… absorbed Estella’s grimoire.”

“Ab–” Abe blinked. “What?”

“The words leached into his skin,” Forrest explained. “Like all the words.”

The elders shared a look, passing from one of them to the others in a circle. “Is that… A euphemism?”

“No. I saw it. It was like you drinking blood. He sucked it in, but into his skin.”

Kathy tilted her head, the look calculating and more than a touch cold. “Really? That’s fascinating.”

“What does that even mean?”

“It could mean several things. But the ability to take in a magical text like that is no mean feat.”

“It wasn’t really a feat at all, right? I didn’t do it. It did…itself.”

“Still, that’s kind of amazing,” Kathy said. “What else has happened?”

David glanced at him, and Forrest nodded. This was the council. They were trustworthy, right? He sure hoped he wasn’t leading David wrong, and if he was, he would protect the man with his life to correct it.

So David spilled the beans — telling them about everything that had happened from the weirdness with the book to the waking up with the whatever that was in the house to all the strange stuff at the shop.

Fran nodded slowly. “Estella has definitely been guiding you.”

“Has she been talking to you, Fran?” Abe asked. “Can you contact her?”

Fran seemed weirdly uncomfortable, and she shook her head. “She’s not been talking with me. Neither is Marnie. It’s weird.”

“It is weird.” Forrest stared at her. “I mean, everyone talks to you. Why would Estella not?”

Fran sighed. “I don’t know. I– I got the impression she was bound in some way.”

David’s frown deepened. “Is that a thing? Who can do a thing like that?”

Ginny’s head tilted, so birdlike even in her human form, and she hummed. “It can happen. A well-versed bruja can do it, for sure.”

Forrest nodded. Well-versed was a great way to put it, since good witch had a whole different connotation. Anyone who would bind a spirit so they couldn’t communicate was probably up to no good, and that spelled danger for David.

What in the name of hell was going on around Mystic?

“Who do we know who could do that, then?” Betty asked. “Since none of us would.”

They all looked at one another, a deep silence settling over the group for long moments.

Then Betty sighed, shaking her head. “Who wants a cocktail?”

“Me!” Anita raised her hand, eyes dancing. “Something with tequila and lime.”

“Margaritas it is. Kathy, I’ll make you something special.”

“Thank you, dearest.” Kathy couldn’t stop staring at David like he was meat. “What do you know about bindings?”

“Well, it’s my business, of course. My speciality.”

She blinked at him, and David laughed. “Books. I bind books.”

“Oh, right.” Kathy snorted, but seemed to relax. “That’s a good one.”

David shook his head. “It was a dad joke, but yeah.”

“Still, there’s something about the idea, isn’t there? What is your magic?” Abe was still — still — frowning.

“I don’t have any that I know of.”

Forrest frowned. That wasn’t strictly true, was it. He’d seen David deal with shit that by rights should have killed him or left him a gibbering mess. He seemed to… absorb magic. Or maybe deaden it. Neutralize it? That was the only way he could think to describe it.

“Forrest?”Sam Liu said.

“What do you think?” Tam finished.

“Huh? About what?” He went for playing dumb. David’s gifts weren’t really his to discover or disclose.

Tam and Sam’s heads tilted as one, but they didn’t say anything, they just stared. God, that was creepy.

David clearly thought so too, since he shifted in his seat, gripping his wine glass a little too tightly, if the white knuckles were anything to go by.

“So Anita says someone left doughnuts on your stoop the day Marni was… was killed,” Ginny said.

David cleared his throat, looking away from the twins. “They did.”

“How odd.”

There was something in her tone, and Forrest squinted at her, then at the others one by one. What were they thinking? That they hadn’t told him.

David shrugged, and it was terribly uncomfortable. “I didn’t know. I assumed Fern and Anita brought them.”

“No. No, and I thought perhaps you were bringing them in and had your hands too full and forgot them,” Anita said.

Forrest frowned. “Why would David do that?” What were they saying? Did they think David had seen Marni last before she died? Surely not.

“Well, if he was taking food back and forth, he could have set them down…”

“I have dogs. We have dogs.”

“Hmm.” Sam and Tam nodded as one, making the same noise.

“No, he wouldn’t poison…”

“His own dog.”

“I wouldn’t poison anyone.” David set his wine glass aside and stood. “Can I help with the dishes or anything before I leave?”

Aw, man. The elders had stepped in it. And Forrest knew he was with David now, dammit. So he stood as well. “Let’s help clear up, and we’ll head out, honey.”

Betty shook her head. “No, you don’t have to. You haven’t even eaten. Please.”

“I’m not feeling…well, ma’am. Forgive me, but I’m going to have to take a raincheck on supper. Thanks for the invite, though, and it was nice meeting all y’all.” David handed Betty his wine glass. “Have a good one. Forrest, I’ll be in the truck.”

He nodded, but he needed to say his piece. So he waited until David was out, then raised an eyebrow. “Really, guys?”

“We don’t know him, Forrest. We’re allowed to worry.”

“But I can tell you that you don’t need to.” It was like the police looking at the wrong suspect. It was a complete waste of time to distrust David. Not only that, but David had been handed a metric fuckton of pressure. This was the sort of thing that could blow him up.

“I’m sorry, Forrest.” That was Fran. “You should go with him now. Let him know he has you, for sure. It will help.”

“He’s a good guy. Estella trusted him, and you–”

“How do we know Estella trusted him?” Abe asked. “She didn’t trust him enough to train him, to prepare him.”

“Abe stop it.” Anita was almost in tears. “Don’t be like this.”

Forrest threw up his hands. “I’m not arguing this with you. I know because she’s still helping him. She’s showing him things now. I’ve seen it. I have to go.” He turned on his heel and strode out.

It was natural to distrust outsiders, but he knew David belonged here. He knew it, dammit.

So he headed out to slide into the truck, where David sat, staring straight ahead. “Hey.” He grabbed David’s hand. “I’m sorry. That was way out of line.”

“It’s okay. Can we please go home?”

“Of course.” Forrest got them moving. “It’s not okay. You’re allowed to be mad.”

“I don’t belong here. I mean, not like she did. They aren’t required to like me.”

“Not they’re not, but they can damn well respect that this wasn’t what you’d planned to do with your life and Estella saddled you with it and it’s hard!” Forrest hated to see David looking so defeated.

“Yeah. It’s tough. Still…I didn’t lose a good friend.”

“You lost your gran. And if you mean Marnie, yeah, it’s gut wrenching, but you had nothing to do with that.” He stopped at the fork in the road. One led back to David’s place, one to town. “You want a burrito?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I do. I’m not hungry now, but when I smell the chile I’ll be starving.”

“You got it.” He turned toward town. They would stop and grab a burrito to go. The more he thought about that meeting, the angrier he got. God, what a shitty thing to do, ambushing David like that.

David’s hand rested on his thigh, and it eased him, soothed him to the bone.

He patted that hand, and they headed to get the food they’d missed out on. Shame. Betty was a good cook. But the burrito stand did wonders with green chile pork, cheddar, and sour cream, so he would treat them to that and maybe some ice cream on the way back.

“They hate me,” David said finally.

“No. No, they’re just freaking out. Nothing happens here, babe. And when it did before, Estella took care of it. She kept all the things so they weren’t dangerous. Somehow, something has gotten out.” He had no idea if he was putting that right, or if David would understand what he meant, but it was the truth, and David deserved that.

“But I didn’t do it, did I?”

“No.” He pulled into the burrito stand he liked best, a place that opened when Mama Rita wanted it to. He sat with his hands on the wheel a moment. “I’m starting to think someone did something to Estella to let it out.”

David raised an eyebrow. “Wait, you think someone… Like with Marni.”

“It’s possible. We all assumed, but what Fern said about them both not talking to her… That’s serious, baby. They were both her friends. And she’s super talented. She should be able to get through to Estella, especially.”

“Oh. Oh god.” David looked at him with huge, panicked eyes. “Who found her?”

“Isabella. She was coming in to clean the house and bring Estella breakfast.” Forrest pondered that. “She said she didn’t see anyone.”

“Huh. I–I guess I could ask her. Did the police take pictures? It was an unattended death, right? That’s a thing.”

“Yeah. Yeah, so they had to call in… I’ll ask {state cop}. He’d have access.”

“Yeah. I mean, I guess we have to know, right?” David sighed softly. “Let’s just order food, huh?”

“Yeah. Come on, baby.”

“Thank you. I just — need to be normal for half a minute.”

“Well, it doesn’t get much more normal than Rita. She’s not interested in the elders at all.” He winked over, and they got out to walk up to the menu board. Forest wanted breakfast for supper. Eggs, potato, bacon, and green chile.

“I want beef and potato with red chile, and a Coke, if they have it.”

“They do. Hey, Miss Rita.”

“Forrest. Good to see you. Things been weird.”

“Yes, ma’am, they have. Can we get my breakfast usual, a beef and potato with red, and two Cokes?”

“Of course. That Estella’s grandson? David! I babysat you in the summers when you came to visit. Do you remember me? Tia Rita?” Her round face split in a huge smile.

“Yes, ma’am. How on earth could I forget?” David beamed back. “It smells like heaven in here.”

“Thank you, mi’jo. Let me get your Cokes. Come and sit down, no?” She bustled away, and David was so much happier all of a sudden.

David took his hand like it was nothing — nothing at all.

Forrest had to grin. Maybe he just needed to stop being uptight, huh? He held David’s hand, giving it a squeeze, showing his support.

“I know. We need to breathe, enjoy our supper, and go home and turn off our phones.”

“That sounds good, babe. Really good.” He would put his on silent, just in case, but he could ignore anything but the state police or a work emergency.

“Thank you. That was…intense.” David offered him a gentle smile.

“It was. And I’m pretty damn mad.” He winked at David to ease him into that. “Not at you. I can’t believe they were dicks.”

“They were insular, for sure.” David sighed softly, shook his head.

Rita bustled back with a bag. “Burritos, tortillas, sopapillas, and Cokes. Was someone mean to you, mi’jo? Isabella? She can be grumpy.”

David tilted his head like that was interesting, and Forrest frowned. “That nice old lady?”

David shook his head, just a little.

Forrest looked at David. “No?”

“She’s been a little… picky. She seemed really mad that I moved things.”

“Eee a la. She always has acted like that house was hers, not Estella’s.” Rita rolled her eyes.

“Well, it’s mine now, right?” There was something weird in David’s voice.

“It is. And that’s that.” Rita kissed them both, then sent them on their way.

“Did something happen with Isabella?” Forrest asked on the way back to the truck.

“Not…no. I don’t think so. Maybe?”

Okay, that was clear.

“Tell me about it?”

“What if you think I’m just acting like everyone is mean to me?”

Forrest shook his head. “People are dying, David.”

“She just seemed so…off. So weird. And more than that? Peppermint went batshit nuts.”

“Pep? Really?”

“Yeah. Kept herself between me and Isabella. Growled at her.”

“Shit.” He would have a talk with Peppermint. “Rita gave me a lot to think about just now. I had no idea about Isabella acting like the house and all was hers. I mean, I knew she was there all the time, but I just thought that was because she was Estella’s housekeeper.”

“She was Granny’s best friend, right? I mean, for real?”

“Well, I sure thought so. I mean, they were practically living together. I’m pretty sure your gran would have said she was.” Now he had to wonder. The elders had surprised him so badly, made him doubt everything he’d grown up with, and Forrest didn’t like that one bit.

“But–We’re just being paranoid, right? We’re just wigged?”

“Maybe? But I’ll tell you what, at this point I’m not ruling out anything. Marni never hurt a fly. Really. Unless she had some hidden life I didn’t know about. And Estella was a cornerstone. Her brand of magic was special, because she could keep things contained. We need that here, so if she didn’t die of natural causes, who the hell would want to take her out?” He was wigged. For sure.

“Oh.” David deflated. Then his shoulders straightened. “Well, we’ll find out. I’m tired of being worried and being behind the eight ball. We’re going to kick ass and take names.”

“That’s right, baby. You’re absolutely right.”

“Good. Okay, so you’re going to call your cop friend. I’m going to see what I can find out in the shop. And you’re going to talk to Peppermint and find out why she dislikes Isabelle.”

He laughed. “Figured that out, did you? Okay. Sounds like a plan. But we’re also going to be careful. Especially with food.”

“Yes. Good thing I can cook. I’m good at it.”

“You are.” Forrest pulled in at the house a few minutes later, then turned to kiss David. “The important thing is I’m with you. All the way.”

David rested their foreheads together, smiling when Pep started to howl inside. “I’m counting on it, babe. I really am.”

And Forrest was going to make sure he didn’t let David down.

Period.

After he talked to Peppermint.

Chapter 18

“David, dear, may we come over?” Fran had called him just as he was going down to the shop, and David had no idea how the woman had even gotten his number. “I feel like we need to talk.”

Not apologize to him. Just talk. David sighed, trying for inaudible. “I’m a little busy this morning, lady, but thank you.”

Her sigh wasn’t hidden. “No one was trying to–”

“No. No, y’all weren’t trying. Y’all did it.” He didn’t want to deal with this shit. Peppermint was acting weird still — not sick, but unnerved. Leo was shedding like a fool, running around and peeing on everything outside. Forrest had been called out at two a.m., and he was just done with this. “I’m busy and tired, ma’am, and I have a ton of work to accomplish. I’ll talk at you another day.”

“David–”

“Bye now.” He hung up, his stomach feeling a little acidy. Maybe he needed a Sprite instead of the second coffee he’d poured.

He’d take that down to the shop. Somehow he felt more at ease at the shop now. Like it was hard for someone to get to him.

They’d moved the stuff to the storage room, and the exterminator had cleaned it up, so Pep and Leo let him go in there.

His phone chimed, and he glanced at it. It was a heart. From Forrest.

 

It felt like the only normal, good thing in his world was Forrest.

Peppermint licked his leg and he glanced down. “Nope. You’ve been weird. Come on if you want, though.” He chuckled softly. “In fact, both of you need to come on. You can hang out with me.”

He whistled at them and they headed down the property toward the shop. He loved this walk — in the heat, but especially now when the mornings were cold and the days were perfect and filled with sun.

The dogs romped a little, which eased his mind, and Esme and Mirabelle gave him hell as soon as he opened Phantastic Junque up, running to him to complain about everything in their loud cat voices.

“I know girls, I know. It’ s been a crazy few days, but I know for a fact I was in here to feed you and clean the litter box just yesterday. You know you’re both welcome at the ranch.”

They sat there, unblinking, staring at him, and he sighed. “Dogs are easier, I swear.”

That got him dainty meow from one and a hiss from the other, and he knew he’d hit a nerve. Goodness. Leo came running over to try to love the cats, and they both jumped to high perches, which at least let him off the hook.

Peppermint stretched across the open door in the sunshine. David wasn’t sure if she was keeping him in or everything else out. It was a crap shoot, honestly. Whatever it was, it worked, making him fee like he could get some work done. So he got to dusting, cataloging, and moving things. He didn’t touch anything that was sort of obviously in place for a reason. A couple of the cases were clearly marked not for sale and please do not touch. Those he would ask Forrest about. But if the box of vaguely nineteen eighties Land of Enchantment keychains was haunted, well, the spirits would just have to go after the storeroom.

David started some Motown music playing, and the whole feel of the day improved. The shop was starting to feel like less of an insane witchy she-shed that bred dust bunnies with fangs, and more like a place grounded in reality. Which was his vibe, for sure, if not his gran’s.

Still. he did talk to her while he worked, explaining what he was doing, because he felt a little weird still, taking over her space.

“I’d really like to turn that second room back in the back into a workroom for me, Gran. I think we can get all the displays and sale products out here if I clean out some of the less important stuff.” He thought about the shape of the shop, and he thought, honestly, that something was a little off. The shape was just a bit…cattywhompus.

Maybe there was a secret room. He’d always wanted one of those. He loved those old house mysteries where they knocked on all the walls for days, hunting a hollow sound. How the hell did one know a hollow sound from not? And if he knocked on the foot thick adobe walls, he would just bruise his hand…

Still, it was something to be excited about while he cleaned. This room was like Granny’s weird-assed attic or something, because this stuff was literally old junk. Nothing oddities or antiques or things with a cool vintage factor.

It was junk piled up in this room like a hoarder.

“Please God, no new dead bodies.” Or, for that matter, old dead bodies…

He sorted things into piles. Metal for the scrap guy who came around every few weeks. Cardboard for recycling and or composting, depending on the state of decomp. There was that dead body reference again.

It was getting a little creepy, to be honest.

“Granny, if there’s a dead body in here, give me a sign.”

David closed his eyes and waited, not sure if he wanted there to be a sign or not. He didn’t want a dead body, but if there was one, he wouldn’t have to clean out this room anymore…

Sadly, nothing fell over, exploded into flames, or glowed with weird sigils when he opened his eyes, so he got back to work. Dammit.

A huge raven flew down and settled on the newly cleaned pane of the open window, watching him with a curious eye.

“Ginny, is that you? Because if it is, I’m not in the mood for games. If it’s not, please don’t poop on the sill. I just washed it.”

The raven cackled, and he had a distinct feeling it was Ginny.

“If you want tea, I’ll meet you up at the house.” That way she could find some clothes. He didn’t know what happened to a werebird’s clothes. A birdwolf? A changer? What did the romances in Gran’s library call them? Shifters? He wasn’t sure, but he knew naked talks with anyone but Forrest were right out.

She gronked and flew off, so he petted the cats, got the dogs moving, and locked up. Somehow one of them was going to talk to him, he guessed. Might as well be Ginny.

David headed up to the house to pour some tea into two glasses. He’d made it himself, and he’d put a little piece of painter’s tape just so on the spout. It was just where he’d left it, so he guessed no one had tampered with it. He hated to he so freaky about things, but Forrest had been pretty sure about being careful about the food and drink.

Maybe he should change the locks. Who knew how many keys to Granny’s house and shop were floating around out there? That was a plan. Tomorrow. Locks.

A soft knock sounded at the door, and a thankfully dressed Ginny came in when David went to open it.

“Hi.”

“Hey.” He tried for a smile. “Come have a sit.”

“Thank you. How are you doing?” She sat at the kitchen table, reaching for the tea right away.

“I’m a little frustrated, I have to admit.” David wasn’t going to apologize.

“Of course. No one likes to be accused of things they didn’t do.”

He tried not to squint at her. Was she sincere, or was this just a social nicety?

“Yeah. I mean, I didn’t even know Marni, and it’s not like I got to try the doughnuts. So I wouldn’t have gone after her for them being gross.” He knew that was flip, but he couldn’t help it. He was feeling pretty ill-used.

“No, of course not. It’s just tough — Estella was such an important part of the way things work, and she seemed so strong, so powerful.” Ginny shrugged, her cheeks heating to a bright pink. “We couldn’t believe she was gone.”

“I understand that, but hopping on my butt was out of line.” Wow, listen to him. He was standing up for himself. Maybe he had learned a few things. “Sorry. I miss her too.”

“I can’t imagine. She was special, but so are you.”

What the hell was he supposed to say about that? So he just shrugged. “So what is it y’all think I’m supposed to do? Or what did she do? I’m tired of dancing around, Ginny. I want answers, and Forrest is super stuck in the middle.”

“Well, we didn’t expect Forrest to fall in love with the new shop owner.”

“Neither did he. What did Granny do?”

“She neutralized dangerous magical items. She kept them under control.”

“Yes. See, that’s what I thought. She kept things safe and kept people safe from the things.” He knew it! He felt the pull to do just the same sort of thing. That was why he’d taken Estella’s book into him, he thought. To keep it from being stolen and used. Or misused.

Someone out there wanted it.

Someone who was willing to kill.

“That’s it. And I think you have some very similar talents. I just think everyone is so worried. It could be someone we all know and trust who killed Marnie. It was far too personal to be a random passerby.”

“I imagine it’s someone you know, yes. I don’t know who you trust and who you don’t.”

“No.” She leaned in and held his gaze. “And you don’t need to trust anyone but Forrest. Someone is murdering people. To get the information in that shop.”

“Okay.” Okay. That was more direct than anyone had bothered to be thus far. “Thank you for being so honest.”

“We’re going to be friends. Not today. Not tomorrow, but it will happen. You just need to protect yourself right now.”

“I will.” And Forrest too. It was becoming clear that by association with him, Forrest was in danger. But he wouldn’t let anything happen to his lover. Not now. They were a… they. Their dogs were in love. “Thank you for—I don’t know. For coming out.”

Please don’t be the one that wants to kill me.

“I wanted you to know I’m on your side and I’m sorry you were blindsided at supper. And for you to be careful. I’ll help as much as I can to find out what’s going on.”

His phone chimed, and David snuck a peek. {Lock the doors until I get home}

Oh, man.

“Okay, lady. Forrest is on his way, and he says he has bad news and to lock the door. So…”

“So it’s time for me to fly. Be careful, please.” She stood, taking her glass to the sink. “You’re a good man, David. And I know you’ll love Mystic once we figure this out.”

“I hope so. Please, take care. Don’t take food from anyone. Please.”

“Nope. I’ll be making my own from my freezer for a bit.” She waved, and headed out.

He started to lock up after her, wondering what it was that Forrest had found out. Not good, he was sure, but what? “Leo? Come on, bud. Inside.” Leo had tried to follow Ginny, but he bounded back to David, who clicked the lock into place. Okay, now the other door.

Whatever this was, he wasn’t into it.

The sound of Forrest’s truck had the dogs wagging and barking, Peppermint settling on her oh my God I missed you howl.

He understood that. He felt more alone than he’d felt in a while, and he wasn’t intending on getting used to that again.

Forrest knocked, and damn, he needed to get the man a key. He put that on his mental to do list. He opened it, holding out his arms. “Hey.”

“Hey, baby.” Forrest hugged him hard, pushing him inside to close the door.

“I missed you. We’re going to change the locks. Just us have keys.”

“I missed you too.” Forrest kissed him, and he got swimmy-head from it. “The doughnuts were poisoned.”

“Our doughnuts? The ones here?” He had known it, but he hadn’t believed it. He hadn’t wanted to believe.

“Yeah. Someone had those doughnuts made special and then dropped them on our porch. God, if the dogs had gotten a hold of them…” Forrest shuddered. “There was also evidence of the poison in Marnie’s bakery.”

“Did they get fingerprints or DNA or anything?”

“Not so far. Nothing by Marnie’s. I think— I think she died because she either caught someone doctoring the icing, or she had second thoughts about doing it for someone.” Forrest’s face twisted. David understood. Marnie had been his friend. How awful.

“I’m so sorry. So, so sorry.” He gave Forrest a hug, because what else was he supposed to do?

“Yeah. God, honey. If anything happened to you.” The click as Forrest swallowed hard echoed right there by his ear.

“No. Neither of us. I want new locks, and I want to be careful with the dogs. Can you tell them to not take treats? Is that a thing?”

“I can try. I’ll make sure they understand not to take anything unless it’s from us. I think I can get it through to them.”

David sure hoped so. “What a mess. Ginny came by. She said not to trust anyone but you.”

“She’s got a good head on her shoulders. At least she knows I’m not involved with this mess.”

“I trust Peppermint. She knows.”

“Yeah. Yeah, that’s a good idea, baby. Leo is a dork, but he’s pretty good about it too. But Pep is your girl. She’ll have a sixth sense for people who might want to harm you I bet.”

“Do you want burgers tonight? Tacos?”

“Tacos sound easier. But I’m easy.” Forrest rolled his head on his neck. “Come with me while I change?”

“Always.” He led Forrest to the master bedroom, feeling Forrest’s hand on his lower back, a solid presence, although, somehow he knew Forrest was worn out. Like he could sense it.

He helped Forrest undress, and then he started touching. Not sexually, just touching and trying his best to calm and soothe.

“Mmm.” Forrest leaned on him. “Sorry, baby. It’s been a day. I’m kind of reeling.”

“That was an early call out.”

“And it was a cluster. A real house of horrors.”

“I’m sorry. That’s not your job. You protect animals. You don’t hunt them.” Hopefully he hadn’t caused this.

“I love them. That’s why I do this; to protect them. But some days it’s tough.” Forrest hugged him again, then sat with him on the bed. “Just for a minute.”

“For as long as you need.” He could handle that. They could use a quiet moment or two, because something told him this whole situation was only going to get worse before it got better.

And David was learning to listen to his gut.

Chapter 19

“Give that a sniff for me, Leo,” Forrest asked. He’d picked up some hamburger at the market, but he wanted to make sure they were still… safe. A week on since he’d found out about the poison in the doughnuts and they still knew nothing, and he didn’t feel… safe.

Leo seemed eager, but Peppermint flapped her ears, thoughts full of something akin to “no one smells better than me.”

“I know you’re amazing, little girl. You go next. Leo just knows what I’m looking for.”

Leo snurfed all over the ground meat, pronouncing it food, and Peppermint sat, nostrils flared.

“Okay, baby girl. Your turn.” He let her take a shot at it, because she was in high dudgeon.

She sniffed and then turned her back to him. Oh. Oh, she was pissed at him.

“Hey. Hey, Pep. I count on you to protect David. You know that. Leo’s my work partner is all.” He reached down and stroked her back. “You have an amazing nose. You are David’s best girl.”

Okay, that got him a twitch of the tail.

“You also have the silkiest ears and the prettiest curved tail.”

She actually wagged for him and pushed into his touch, forgiving him. She really was easy-going, a dear girl.

“That’s it. So it’s safe.”

Yumyumyumyum.

“Good.” He would cook it up and make spaghetti sauce. Italian American chili, essentially. David would make noodles and they’d have garlic bread. It would be perfect.

He was feeling like that part was perfect. The him and David part. They’d settled into living together with surprising ease, and he loved the rhythm of their days. He was thinking of renting his place out, in fact. But then, they might need it at some point, so he just kept it going for now, stopping by with Leo to air things out and check on it every few days.

David was making the house and the shop his own. The locks were changed. The windows had beautiful, strong bars, and no one — no one — got near the dogs. And David had moved in a load of his books.

Old books. New books. Books in all states of repair. They smelled like paper and leather and cloth, and each one had a story. They reeked of magic, and David hadn’t even known.

It was amazing.

“Hey!” David came in from the back, a load of books in his arms. “I was just bringing in more. I didn’t hear you.”

“Mmm. I thought I would make sauce. The dogs okayed the meat.”

“Sounds great. I’ve got stuff for salad and bread. I love spaghetti.”

“Noodles.” They shared a grin, and he groaned when his phone rang. “Dammit.” When he checked it, it came up unknown number. But he answered it. “Hello?”

Nothing. Just white noise.

“Hello?”

David glanced over, frowning. “Who is it?”

“No one is talking. They need to remember I’m a law officer.” He hung up after he said it and put his phone on the counter. “Hopefully just a wrong number.”

“Yeah. Yeah, hopefully.” David didn’t look convinced, though. “They can’t get in here, they’re not welcome.”

“Nope. Not one bit. We’re solid.”

This time it was David’s phone that rang, and David frowned, answering it. “Hey, Isabella. No. No, thank you, ma’am, but we’re making our own. Me and Forrest. Uh-huh. I appreciate it, but— No. No, I just mopped today. I thought we discussed… Right. Okay. Bye.”

David hung up, meeting his gaze before he went on. “Whew, she’s mad.”

“Why? Is she hurting for money that bad?” Isabella hadn’t ever seemed to need money. Company? Sure, but not cash.

“I dont know. I think she just really feels like this place is her responsibility. She wants to come cook and clean. But we talked about it, and I gave her a severance as the housekeeper.” David spread his hands in a what can I do kind of gesture. “I don’t want her in here.”

Forrest frowned. That was incredibly…definite. “Why?”

“I don’t know. It’s ridiculous. She was Granny’s best friend, but—” David sighed, shook his head. “I just don’t know, love. It’s a gut feeling.”

“Then I’ll get the state police to look into her. Quietly.” And he would ask the elders about her abilities or lack thereof.

“Isn’t that mean? I don’t want to be an asshole. I don’t like being the outsider that ruins everything.”

“You’re not an outsider. “ He took David’s hand. “Estella chose you to take her place, and you’re my lover. They’ll all just have to get used to it.” He wasn’t worried about it. They would find the killer, they would figure this out. They had to.

“I believe you.” David kissed him, then let go to roll up his sleeves. “Show me how you make your sauce.”

“What if it’s a family secret?”

“I’m your family now, asshole. I want to learn.”

He hooted.”Oh, right.” Then he winked. “That’s what I was going to say, you know.”

“I could hope, yeah.” David chuckled. “Let me put these books away, and we’ll invent food.”

“You bet.”

David walked off to his workroom, whistling, and Forrest pulled out his phone to call Pete from the State Police.

“Hey, what’s up, man?”

“Can you run a background on someone? She’s been acting oddly since right around the doughnut delivery.”

“Give it to me.”

He recited all the information he knew about Isabella as he chopped onions. Forrest felt a little skeezy doing it, but he wanted answers.

She had been important to Estelle, but—he trusted David’s instincts, and he had to believe that Estelle was talking to her grandson.

Even more than David, he trusted Pep. She had an immediate distrust of Isabella, and he didn’t have to know why. Dogs had a much better handle on that shit than humans did.

David came back in, rubbing his back as he finished up his call. “Okay, man. Thanks. Bye.” He glanced at David. “Okay. I filled Pete in.”

“Do you feel as guilty as I do?”

“Yes. I’ve known her all my life.” Forrest sighed. “But people have weird motives. They get obsessed. They do shitty things because they think they can. Who knows what her deal might be? Or if it’s her. So we just be cautious.” That was all he could do to keep David safe.

“I guess that’s the smartest idea, yeah.”

“It. Now, I need four cans of tomato sauce open for after I brown the meat.” He dumped ground beef into the onions.

“Tomato sauce. I’m on it.”

“Good man. They nudged elbows, bumped hips, and just generally made food, and Forrest couldn’t believe this was his life. While a lot was messed up? This was perfect.

He hadn’t known this was going to be his, so he thought he’d keep it — even the bad parts.

Leo leaned against his leg, wagging, panting, and running the idea of, Mates, Dad. Mates, through his head over and over.

I know, Leo. She’s a good mate for you.

And you have mate. Mate, mate, mate.

He chuckled, which drew a glance from David. “Leo was just telling me how lucky I am.”

“Well, you are.” David pretended to dust off his shoulders.

“Listen to you.” All he could do was cackle, and he got the meat drained off so he could add the cans of tomato sauce. “This is where you have to pay attention. The secret to the savory sauce is bay leaves and sage.”

“Sage? Sage doesn’t go in spaghetti sauce, does it?”

“It does. Trust me. Just a pinch, but it makes it really yummy.” Forrest wasn’t sure why it worked. He just knew it did.

“Cool. I’m not writing this down, you know.”

Forrest tilted his head, curious. “You aren’t? Why?”

He got a slow, happy smile. “Because you can make it for me, for a long, long time.”

Chapter 20

David swept out the back room of the shop. This was going to be his new office — he had a few modifications to assure that he had the appropriate lighting, but the humidity was perfect, and the sunlight would never reach in here.

He appreciated that, somehow.

He stopped dead when he saw her, silhouetted against the doorway. His breath caught, and for a moment he swayed, thinking he might pass out. “Gran.”

She nodded, finger lifted as if in warning.

“What? What is it?”

She pressed both hands to her mouth, then shook her head.

“You can’t talk. Fran said you wouldn’t but you can’t. Right?” That had to be what she meant. Had to. Her sorrow was like a shroud around her, though. That he heard loud and clear. “Okay, Gran. I’m trying, I promise. I’m trying to do this right.”

He wanted to make her proud, and he wanted to fulfill her legacy, as best he could.

She nodded, but waved her hands as if trying to tell him something. Then she pointed at the door lock. The meaning was clear. Keep everyone out. Don’t trust people.

“But Forrest…”

Her smile was so much better than that awful sadness.

“Yeah. I’m making the cats their own food, too. I’ll be careful with them.”

Granny began to chuckle, her whole body shaking with mirth.

“Uh-oh. Oh, Gran, I wish we could talk. Do they like chicken? Hate liver?”

And why couldn’t Forrest ask them?

Were cats actually that special?

She just seemed to chortle, but when he asked, “Should I take them up to the house?” she stopped laughing and shook her head, pointing at the floor. Okay. So they needed to say at the shop.

“I can do that. They seem happy. They never try to run. I think Pep and Leo are both used to them.”

She nodded, hands pressing to her heart.

“I love you, Gran. I miss you.” He meant it. So many memories of her were so good.

Her smile broke his heart, and he could feel her sorrow. Then she disappeared slowly, as if all her strength had been taken just trying to communicate with him.

He dashed the tear off his cheek, surprised to feel it rolling down. “Well, that’s definite ladies. Y’all stay in here.”

Two sets of blue eyes stared him down, and he finally shrugged at Esme and Mirabelle. It was what it was. They didn’t seem to want to come with him, anyway. They were not dog friendly.

“You hungry?” He checked their water bowl and added some kitty kibble to their food. He’d had to steer Pep away from that more than once. “I’d love on you, but you don’t really seem the types. I do want you both to be happy, though, so if you need anything…”

They twined around each other, tails almost making shapes. He chuckled. “Very Disney. I swear.”

One day he’d learn what they were trying to tell him. He had to.

But for now, he wanted to go get his laptop and his work stuff moved. That way he could let Forrest have that bedroom for some of the stuff from his house.

He stepped out of the backroom, surprised to see the door handle moving on the shop. He had locked up, and the sign said closed.

Whoever it was, he didn’t want company.

“Hello?”

“David? Are you in there?” That was Abe, he thought. The good elders of Mystic didn’t give up.

“Coming.” He went to let himself out, locking up behind him. “Hi.”

“I wanted to…is everything okay?”

Was this guy serious? “Pardon me?”

“I just needed to say how sorry I am, and that if you need anything…”

“I—” He took a deep breath and wrapped himself in his lifetime of social politeness. “Thank you, sir. I appreciate the apology, but we’re doing as well as can be expected, given that people are dying.”

Abe blinked hard, then sighed and nodded. “They are. I think none of us wanted to think that could happen here without outside intervention, but that’s not true.”

Okay, that was convoluted, but he parsed it out, then nodded. “I swear to you, I didn’t bring this into your town.”

“No. No, I know that. I think it’s been festering for a long while. Something else set it off, but you’re in the middle of it because of Estella passing.” Abe sighed. “I’m so sorry.”

“I am too. I wish she was here.” But she wasn’t, and it was his job to cope now. He had magic to figure out.

“I understand. But I’m glad that her family will continue on here.” Abe shifted from foot to foot. “Well. All right, then.”

“Be safe, sir. Seriously. Someone is doing wicked deeds, and they’re still here. Do you want me to walk you to your car?”

“If you don’t mind.” Abe gave him a grateful smile.

Leo came bounding over, determined, he thought, to be his bodyguard. And Pep’s.

“Of course not.” Just don’t kill me. That would be hard to explain to Forrest.

Abe walked slowly down to his car, and seemed more than once to be on the verge of saying something, but he didn’t.

That suited David to the bone. He didn’t know what to say to Abe at all.

He didn’t know what to say to any of them. They thought he was killing people, and the chances that one of them might be a murderer was huge. Honestly, the worst part of the whole situation was the position it put Forrest in, but his lover had made it clear he had David’s back.

“The police will find the killer. I know it.”

“I hope so. I’m just not sure how magical the state police can be.” Abe smiled faintly, then got into his car and headed off.

Magical.

He wished he could figure out his magic, if he had something more than patience and the ability to work with books. Then maybe he could figure something out. Maybe he could help.

“I want to help. I really do.” He just had to figure out how. He had his gran’s book. Inside him, if everyone was to be believed. So…

He just had to pray there was a book somewhere that told him how to do it. How to access the knowledge he was supposed to have now. Because if Gran had been his mentor, well, she was gone now, and she couldn’t teach him. And Forrest had a natural talent. Not something he could explain to David how he did.

Peppermint nudged his hand, and he nodded. “I know. Let’s go in and start supper.”

He was going to have to Google it.

How to learn spells and how to use them.

He grinned. He was good at research, right? Pep barked, reminding him that he’d just mentioned food, and he got himself moving back inside. Maybe no one else would just show up today.

He really needed time to make a plan.

Chapter 21

Forrest drove into town for the council meeting, and he felt an itch between his shoulder blades. In fact, it had been so bad when he was leaving home that he’d brought Leo with him.

They’d asked him to lie. To David. They hadn’t wanted him to tell the man where he was going.

He’d told David everything.

David knew that if he hadn’t texted in the next hour to call the state police and send them to Abe’s house. He wasn’t taking any chances. And he wasn’t eating or drinking a damn thing or letting Leo do it either.

God, he hated this. He wanted to be able to trust his friends, but everyone was acting squirrelly and hiding things and accusing people of shit. It was like Mystic was falling apart without Estella to be the glue holding them together.

“Dammit, lady! Why didn’t you warn him? Why did you just dump him in the middle of all this shit without a clue?” He didn’t expect an answer. He didn’t speak to ghosts, but dammit this wasn’t fair.

That was how he knew, just knew, Estella hadn’t simply died from a heart attack now. She’d been meaning to bring David in, to train him. She had to have, but she hadn’t said anything to the council, because someone, maybe one of them, would have protested.

And now it was up to him to protect David, since she couldn’t.

He pulled up at Kathy’s, who’d drawn the short straw tonight, he guessed, and sat there for a moment. Okay. He was going in. He texted David. {1 hr}

{Don’t let the vamp bite you.}

{You know it} No biting. No poison. No whacking or pinching even. And no one was going to tell him what to do about David. That was his business.

He sighed, then hopped out of the truck. “Come on, Leo. Don’t eat anything.”

No cookies?

“Not here. I have some for you in my pocket.”

Cookies!

He gave Leo a piece of one. “Only from me, buddy.” He took Leo up to Kathy’s door. It opened just as he was about to knock. Damn, that was unnerving. It always had been so Addams family.

The temptation to croak, “You rang?” was huge.

Instead, he stepped inside and closed the door, heading into the front room.

“Ah, Forrest. Sorry, I was laying out goodies. Come on in.”

“Am I early?” Why did he think he was going to get grilled by Kathy for ten minutes before anyone else showed? He fought not to roll his eyes.

“Yeah, by about five minutes. Ginny’s here with Lacey. They’re in the courtyard communing with the moon or making out or something. They’re worried I’m going to bite them.” Kathy rolled her big dark eyes, eyelashes tipped with tiny rhinestones. “I reminded them both that Estella and Marnie both died in the daylight. Morons.”

Forrest thought Kathy was just jealous that she wasn’t getting any.

“Well, everyone seems to be pointing the finger at everyone.” He tried for a smile. “I just want to know what happened so we can keep it from happening again.”

“Yes.” She sighed, poured a glass of red wine, and sat in the huge throne-like armchair, her skirts fluttering around her. “So, what do the state police think?”

“They have a lot of leads to run down, but nothing conclusive.” That was vague, right? But sort of information share-y.

“Do you think it was…supernatural?”

“They’re not ruling anything out, but they seem to think she was just strangled.”

“And Estella?”

Forrest shook his head. “She had a heart attack, right?”

Kathy’s eyes flashed crimson. “Don’t go there with me. I’m not stupid. Estella was my friend.”

“Well, then, they think it might have been a drug like succinylcholine.”

“Why?”

“Don’t ask me. Ask Fran or Tam. I deal with the living!” He didn’t know what information he was supposed to have, but he didn’t know anymore than anyone else.

“I can’t.” Fran stood there, pale, her eyes bruised, cheeks almost gaunt. “She won’t talk to me.”

“Won’t or can’t?” Kathy’s question was razor sharp. “Estella has no reason not to tell you what’s going on, so is she bound?”

Fran spread her hands. “Maybe. I keep trying.”

“Have you tried to use David? He’s blood. His blood might call to her.”

“We didn’t exactly make a good impression on him,” Fran said.

“And no one is taking his blood,” Forrest snapped. “He’s not an object to be used. He’s Estella’s grandson and my lover, and you all seem to be forgetting that.”

“I didn’t forget, Forrest.” Kathy winked at him, and her eyelashes caught the light. “I just don’t care.”

Forrest rolled his eyes, but that did make him laugh. Kathy was all about the blood and they all knew it.

One by one the rest of the elders showed up, and finally Abe called a meeting to order.

“Thank you all for coming. I feel that it’s time to address the fact that something is happening in Mystic that’s a danger to us all. Instead of sweeping it under the rug or refusing to acknowledge it, we need to meet this head on and find out what’s going on. I would like to start with Estella.”

Forrest swore if Tam started channeling Estella right here and how, he was going to scream.

“I can’t talk to her,” Fran said, with a sigh. “I want to. I want to know she’s okay, but she won’t talk to me.”

“She won’t?” Lacey asked, lifting the pad of paper that she . “I can try, you know. I can see if I can reach her.”

“Then I say try.” That was Anita. “We need to know what happened to her. And if you need alibis from all of us, I’m happy to provide mine.”

“You know where you were when she died?” Geoff asked, and Anita snorted.

“Of course. I was in Cancun with Fran. Remember, it was our thirty-fifth anniversary?”

“Hmmm.” Kathy nodded. “You were at that. It was daylight, so I was asleep.”

“None of us killed Estelle!” Geoff roared, the man springing whiskers. “We loved her.”

“The twins didn’t,” Kathy muttered.

“Stop it,” they spoke together.

“We care—”

“—about all of you, but—”

“—we show it differently—”

“—than you.”

God, that was dizzying. Utterly dizzying.

Forrest rubbed his temples. “I would say it wasn’t one of us. Not if she was poisoned. Why would Geoff need to use medical grade poison, for example.”

“Did I miss that part?” Geoff asked.

“I was telling Kathy the cops think it was succinylcholine. Considering that there was a poison attempt on David and me with the doughnuts someone left on the porch, I would say Marnie was taken out by the same person.”

“But Marnie was…it wasn’t poison with her, was it?” Ginny’s eyes were huge, the bird right there at the surface.

“No, she was strangled.” He raised an eyebrow. “But what if she knew the doughnuts had been poisoned?”

“She’s not at the bakery,” Fran whispered. “I went to try and call her. There’s nothing. It’s like Estella. Nothing.”

“So this really does mean someone has likely bound them. Unless Fran has something to do with it.” Geoff was just as blunt as Kathy, if not more.

“Geoff! I told you, Fran and I weren’t in the country when Estella died!” Anita was close to tears.

“Stop it.” That was Abe, clapping his hands sharply. “We need to work together. All of us. This suspicion does us no good. Who would want to hurt Estella.”

Kathy snorted. “Anyone who wanted one of her artifacts.”

“Then why kill Marnie? That shop was unoccupied for over a week,” Betty murmured.

“Like I said.” Forrest shook his head. “Marnie made the doughnuts. She must have known whoever bought them was trying to kill David too. Somehow. So she had to go.”

“Someone that is furious, someone powerful, then,” Kathy muttered, and Tam frowned.

“Beware of false faces. That was her last thought. Beware of false faces.”

“Damn. What the hell does that mean?”

Geoff growls. “It means she was someone Marnie knew. I mean, of course it was. It has to be someone Estella knew too. That’s why we’re all staring at each other.”

Think like a cop, Forrest, he told himself, rubbing Leo’s ears when he whined. “So who do both of them know with enough power to bind Estella and Marnie who aren’t on the council?”

Abe shook his head, frowned. “Everyone here has a spark, a twinkle, but if you are, we’d know…”

“You’d think so.” Kathy chewed her lower lip, her fangs pricking it.

“I don’t buy it. We didn’t know about David being Estella’s choice.” Anita shook her head. “I always assumed she was grooming Isabelle, honestly.”

“You did?” That had his eyebrows winging up. “Really? I thought Isabelle was her housekeeper.”

“Well, yes, but she’s her best friend, isn’t she?”

“I—” Should he tell them what David had said about Isabelle, or would that be too weird? It might make them think David was just deflecting. He tried, “Well, she certainly has been a little wigged about David moving in and changing things.”

“If she was her best friend, that might hurt?” Betty shook her head. “I mean, she would have lost the last bit of her friend and her job. Did she even have a relationship with David?”

“Who? Estella or Isabelle?” He shook his head, trying to make sense of everything. He felt as if he was a few steps behind.

“Isabelle.” Anita cracked up. “Estella loved David. He even came every summer after college.”

“Well, that’s what I thought. And he and Isabelle were friendly, but when he moved into the master bedroom, she got… weird. So David offered her a good severance on the job and told her he didn’t need her as a housekeeper anymore.” And then he’d had to kick her out.

“I’m going to try the writing. Maybe someone can tell me something.” Lacey pressed her lips together and sat at the table. “Tam, Fern — y’all have my back.”

“Of course, Lacey.” Fern nodded and tried to smile. “Be careful. Something is wrong.”

“I know. I’m counting on you to snap me back if I need it.”

Kathy got a pad of paper and a Sharpie.

They had all seen this before, but this time it all seemed heavier, filled with import. They watched, seeming to hold their breath as one person, waiting.

The marker began to move on the paper, little circles at first, round and fat and smooth and careful. The pace was slow, and she sighed softly. “Estella? Do you have anything to tell us? Does anyone have anything to tell us? Is there anyone we need to watch out for?”

Forrest felt like he was glued to the scene. Please, lady. Talk to us. We need some guidance.

The loops moved faster and faster and then words started to form.

DAVID

WATCH

OUT

FOR

DAVID

The paper blew out of Fran’s way like a hurricane had come through, the Sharpie bouncing off the opposite wall. They all sat there, staring, and Forrest immediately wanted to deny what he saw on their faces.

“Beware false faces.” Tam said, and Sam nodded, but looked worried.

“He’s going to be in the center of something awful.”

He shook his head. “Then I have to protect him.”

Ginny glanced at him and nodded. “You do. He’s her grandson.”

Abe’s eyes went wide. “He could have murdered her!”

“Nonsense! He’s a good boy!”

He gave Anita a grateful look. “He wasn’t even here when she died. He was at work. In Houston.” That seemed important. David hadn’t even known she was dead for two days. He’d told Forrest all about it. So had Pep. She’d been very distresses because her dad had cried.

“What about Marnie?”

“Oh, for goodness sake, Abe!” Fern snapped. “Are you seriously suggesting he paid Marnie to poison Estella for the house, then he moved here to…kill her?”

“No.” Abe looked sheepish. “I just want to know what happend.”

“Well, we’re all grasping at straws. But whether we’re supposed to watch out for David because he’s a danger…” Kathy held up a hand, “unwittingly, or if he’s in danger, we have a clear objective. Keep an eye on him.”

“I can do that.” In fact, it would be Forrest’s pleasure.

“So can I, when Forrest is at work.” Ginny shrugged. “Forrest knows I’ll give David his space, but he needs an extra pair of eyes.”

“Thank you.” He wanted everyone to like David, but, barring that, he wanted them to help keep David safe while they solved this. It was bad enough that he lived out there with all those magical objects that could go off at any moment, though he thought David was well-equipped to deal with them once he knew how. He already knew how to work with books, which was dangerous in its own right if one didn’t understand the power of words.

David got that, for certain. So Forrest’s money was on him, dammit.

He just needed to figure out how.

“What do we do if it’s one of us?” Lacey whispered. “I don’t want it to be, but what do we do?”

“You know the answer to that,” Kathy said, her voice hard and cold. “The remaining council members decide on the punishment.”

Forrest shivered. He got it. That was how it had to work. For all that he was depending on the state police to help with this case, if it was, say, Kathy or Geoff, what human prison was going to hold them? Or someone like him. He could easily talk a police animal or prison patrol dog into helping him.

They had to police their own in Mystic. But god, he didn’t want to have to vote on the punishment of any of his friends and colleagues. He cared deeply about all of them.

And he didn’t want to believe any of these people could hurt Estella or Marnie. Even Kathy fed from the willing. So they would just have to find out who it actually was and not turn on one another.

“So what else can we do? I haven’t had time to talk to any animals in town, but that’s on my list for tomorrow.”

“Help David. Watch the shop. Something had to be happening there.” Abe nodded, lips tight, clenched.

“Okay. I’ll get the dogs on it, too. And the cats.” They were so damn closed mouthed, but surely if something was going on at the shop, they knew it.

Ginny shivered. and the act was so perfect — the ruffling of feathers was almost visible.

“We’ll all do more of what we do,” Betty said, smoke rising from her body. “We’re letting this all be put on us, and we’ve just been sitting around wringing our hands, because we got so used to nothing ever happening here. That’s not okay.”

Ralph went to her and when he took her hand, it sizzled.

“She’s right.” Geoff shrugged. “I’ll literally sniff around and see what I can discover.”

“That’s fair. I’ll start tomorrow. Tonight I have someone waiting for me.” And he needed to be taken care of.

“Okay. Be careful. You’re at the epicenter of all this if you’re with David.” That was Fran. She looked so tired. Her talent could take a lot out of her, and if she was getting interference with Estella, that had to have been hard.

“All right. Call me if you guys come up with anything.” All in all, that had gone way better than Forrest had expected. He’d really thought they were calling him in to toss accusations and dress him down.

Instead, somehow, they were all — sort of — agreeing to protect David.

He thought.

That worked for him. He didn’t want to have to choose between them, but he would. David had become the most important thing in his life very quickly, but his feelings were no less genuine for it.

One way or the other, he had to figure out how to keep David safe and happy and here in Mystic with him.

And that meant he had to keep everyone else alive and figure out what the heck was going on.

Chapter 22

David parked at the tiny corner grocery in Mystic.

He’d almost been a coward and run into the Albertsons a few towns over, but dammit, he needed heavy cream and powdered sugar for the glaze for his cinnamon rolls, and then he would swing by the feed store and get cat food and Milkbones for Pep and Leo.

He had every right to be in town, and he had to stop looking over his shoulder and worrying someone was going to shoot him. Poisoners rarely switched methods. He simply wasn’t eating anything from anyone.

David sat in the car, watching people come and go, from grocery store to diner to thrift store, just living their lives, seeming so normal. His head, on the other hand, was full of noise. He’d had to leave Pep and Leo at home without him, and what if someone hurt them? What if he ran into one of the Mystic council and there were more accusations? What if what if what if?

A raven landed on his hood, scaring the fuck out of him, and he let out a shrill scream.

The bird bobbed and flapped, and he tried to catch his breath. This was… Ginny? It had to be. She’d come to the house a couple of times. “Give me a heart attack why don’t you?”

She fluttered her wings, and he swore she was laughing at him.

“What? I need groceries. I promise to be careful. I’m not the one fluttering around and stroking people out!” And ravens were big. Why hadn’t he known that?

All she did was poke the windshield with her beak, then took off in a flurry of wings and feathers. Maybe she was just saying hi.

Okay, more than likely she was saying quit being a coward and sitting in your car, asshole.

So he hopped out, grabbed his Astros shopping bag, and headed into the store, feeling brave as hell. The back of his neck kept prickling, but he marched in to grab what he needed.

Heavy cream and powdered sugar.

Heavy cream and powdered sugar and possibly some grapes and some crackers. Oh, and a pie crust. He was craving pie. He could make a lemon one with the heavy cream, or a chocolate pie. Oh…

He also picked up a nice pork roast and some beer to cook it in, so that meant he needed sour cream, green chile, and some tomatillos.

By the time he got to the register, he’d had to switch to a cart, and the clerk was smiling at him. “Hey, Mr. Mora. Nice to see you in. Did you find everything you needed?”

“I did. More than. Thank you.” He’d done a full grocery shop.

“Good, good. Let me get you rung up.” The kid started scanning his groceries, and he tried not to twitch or tap or anything. He was fine. This was fine.

This was normal. Groceries. Good stuff.

“David? David, is that you? I’ve missed you.”

Fuck. Isabelle. “Hey lady! How goes?”

She bustled right up to him, smiling, but her eyes were super watchful. “Are you all right, sweetie? I hadn’t heard from you.”

“We’ve been busy settling in, working. You know how it is. I hope you’re doing well.”

“Well, I do miss coming over.” She gave him what he would bet she thought was a wry smile, but was more a baring of teeth. “I have a lot of time on my hands.”

“I hope you find a way to enjoy your retirement, lady. I genuinely do.” David just didn’t want her in his house, and neither did Peppermint.

“Oh, I’m sure I will. I’ve got all sorts of things I want to pursue.” She pursed her lips. “Can I drop by this week and pick up a few things I left at Estella’s?”

“I don’t see why not. Forrest and I will be home on Friday.” Together. He wasn’t seeing anyone by myself.

“Oh, good. I’ll come by then.” Did she look disappointed? Or was he just attributing things that weren’t there. Everyone looked like a suspect right now.

“Excellent. Enjoy your shopping, ma’am!” He headed out, going straight for his car, his heart slamming against his ribs.

Once he’d put his groceries in the back of the vehicle, he got in the driver’s seat, sitting with the doors locked for another minute. Which was when he noticed the little sprig of some kind of plant tucked under his windshield wiper. When he leaned up and squinted, it was some kind of weed with yellow flowers and seeds still attached to the stem.

He frowned and got out of the car and, using a plastic bag, he got it without touching it. He’d take it to Forrest. He had no idea what it meant.

Had Ginny left it when she was on his windshield? Surely he would have seen that, but she had been right there…

How would she have gotten it under the windshield? How would she have done it in bird form unnoticed? How had he gotten to the point where he could think something like that?

David got back in the car, putting the bag on the passenger seat. He would take it to the shop when he got home and leave it there until Forrest got home. That way it wasn’t in the house, just in case it was bad.

Then he called Forrest. The best part about his lover being a park ranger was that he usually could call.

Usually.

“Hey, babe. What’s up?” Forrest was driving, he could tell.

“I—I got groceries, and—” How did he say this?

“Is something wrong? What is it? I’m on my way back to the house.”

“Someone left something on the car. It’s just weird. Everything is weird, but this is weird-weird, like bigger than Mystic Normal weird.” He was a dork. Seriously.

“Okay. What is it?” Forrest’s tone had sharpened. Cop speak, he thought.

“Some kind of plant. I put in a baggie and took it to the shop. You can look at it for me.”

“And it was on the car?”

“Tucked under the windshield wiper. So it’s not like it blew there. And it’s like, a whole big piece of plant.”

“Did you touch it?”

“I have seen CSI, thank you.” He wasn’t an idiot, just a dork. “I used a baggie to pick it up.”

“Good man. Did you see anyone you knew? At the store?”

“Ginny landed on the car as I was about to go it. And Isabelle caught me in there. She wants to come over.”

“What? When?”

He shrugged and headed out of town, toward Granny’s and the Phantasique Junq. “I said only when we were both home.”

“Good idea. I’m glad, babe. The elders all seem to think this is all perfectly normal, but Isabelle isn’t dumb. Surely she knows you’re uncomfortable with her being there.”

“I think so. I think…I think maybe someone’s poisoning her or maybe Granny being gone made her crazy.”

“Could be. I mean, if they’re coming after everyone who might have known Estella’s business, Isabelle was certainly around enough to know things.” He heard the click of a turn signal. “I just turned back on the highway, so I’m about five minutes away.”

“I’m about two minutes behind you.” And he kept looking behind him, convinced he was being followed.

“Okay. I’m gonna stay on the line. I just— if someone is out in broad daylight putting things on your car… I mean, they killed two people. Why does this surprise me?”

“You believe in the basic goodness of people?”

“Yeah, there could be that.” Forrest’s laughter was fond, at least.

He hoped, all of a sudden, that he wasn’t sending Forrest into an ambush at the house. “Be careful. Stay in your truck until I get there?”

“Sure, babe. I’ll wait for safety in numbers.”

“Thanks.” Not that he could do anything if there was an ambush. What in the world was he doing? Living in a place where he reasonably could think something like ‘if there was an ambush’ and ‘wait for safety in numbers’?

Mystic had always seemed so safe when he was growing up. Of course, he’d never known about vampires and werewolves back then. Now he knew about all the things that go bump in the night. Or day.

Hell, as far as he knew, the shop was filled with magic, and he was too friggin’ stupid to get it.

David grinned. “I’m slow, Gran. I am. I bet you’re shaking your head at me.”

He pulled into the long drive, glancing at the shop, and for a second he saw her, clear as day, hand clapped over her mouth.

Okay…weird.

Weirder.

He shivered, his whole self shuddering, and he he heard Peppermint howling all the way down here. Was Forrest back?

The truck was there, and it didn’t surprise him a bit, the way that Forrest had gone to let the dogs out.

He parked and got out, grabbing the groceries from the trunk. “Hey, Peppermint! Leo!”

The dogs went crazy, and Forrest let them come out to meet him, jumping, Pep licking his legs.

“Hey.” Forrest came to take a kiss and grab bags.

“Hey, baby. What a day. That plant’s on the passenger front floor board.” He leaned into the kiss, just a little bit, glad that Forrest didn’t just rush past him to get to the mystery.

“I’m glad I was on my way back.”

That hug gave David all sorts of good feels, warm and firm and in no hurry. “Me too. I—I’m glad to see you.”

They wandered in together, moving to put the groceries away in a way that seemed easy and natural like nothing else had, all day. Then Forrest took his hand, holding it as they went to sit and watch the dogs play in the yard.

“Everything was quiet and easy in my space, you know. I kept expecting to hear a squirrel just pop up and tell me that the murderer was hanging out at the Raven’s Nest, drinking coffee.”

David rolled his eyes. Now Forrest was just making fun of him. Having an animal affinity didn’t mean that he was Dr. Dolittle. “Please, I know you don’t hear them so clear.”

“Some, yeah. Mostly dogs. Some are easier than others.”

“Now see? That I believe.” Dogs had been bred to work with them after all. Squirrels, not so much.

“Okay, so show me this weed, huh?” Forrest said. He didn’t let go though.

“Yeah. It’s probably nothing.” But even as he said the words, he knew there was no truth in them.

“Better safe than sorry.” Forrest stopped at his truck to grab a pair of crime scene gloves, which he thought was a good idea, then followed him to his car. He pulled the bag out, peering at it. “Wild mustard.”

David tilted his head. “Mustard seed is used for curses.”

Forrest glanced at him, eyebrows rising.

“It was in the book. The one I… ate.”

“What else do you know about it?”

“It’s Eye of Newt? It makes your eyes hurt?” Okay, this was some hard-core Matrix stuff.

“Huh. So… so either someone was trying to blind you or make you crash your car on the way home or something. Walk me through what happened?”

“I parked at the store. Ginny landed on the car and almost gave me a heart attack. I went inside. I saw Isabella and she invited herself to supper next week. I went to the car and it was on the windshield.”

Forrest frowned. “Okay, Ginny has no reason to want to hurt you.”

“Well, to be honest, Isabella is the likely suspect, but what did I do to her? I mean, I know I fired her, kinda, but she had to know it was coming.” Right? He wasn’t his granny. He didn’t need a housekeeper, and from he could see, Isabella had been more of a coffee klatch, really.

“So it’s someone else…Who knew you were going to the store?”

David assumed Ginny had, and Forrest had, but who else? “No one that I know of. I mean… I don’t know.” He hated this. “I saw Gran. When I pulled in. She had a hand over her mouth.”

Forrest shook his head. “That’s not my area— does it mean to watch your mouth? Make sure no one care hear you?”

“I don’t know.” David pondered, teeth worrying his bottom lip. “Fran keeps saying she won’t talk. Maybe she’s trying to tell me she can’t.”

Forrest gave him a wide-eyed panicky stare. “That’s a Tam question…”

“Then we need to ask Tam. Can we just call him?”

“That never works.” Forrest shakes his head. “I mean, I’ll call, but he’ll want to meet.”

“Then we can call tomorrow.” He’d had enough of oogily-boogily nonsense today. He wanted to cook supper, have a glass of wine, possibly watch Jeopardy.

“And I’ll take the plant to the state police tomorrow, too.” He thought Forrest got his vibe, fingers tangling with his, shoulders rubbing as they headed back into the house. All this sleuthing was exhausting.

They needed a little normal. Even if it was Mystic-normal.

That thought made him laugh right out loud. Was there such a thing? When Forrest glanced at him curiously, he just swung the man into a hug. “It’s worth it, Forrest.”

“Well, sure it is. I have you.”

“You—”

A dust devil appeared in the yard, just out of the blue, and David blinked. “What—”

Forrest pushed him toward the door. “Inside!”

But then it was on them, scraping his skin with abrasive sand.

#

Forrest staggered, David grabbing at him, Leo yelping as Forrest slammed into him. He lost his grip on the baggie that had the mustard weed in it, because he had to catch Leo before he fell right off the porch.

“Oh no you don’t!” David bellared, diving for the baggie, absolutely fearless.

He grabbed David’s ankle, holding on with all his might as the dusty funnel grew bigger, shaking the front windows and door of the house. Peppermint howled, cowering under the bench.

“You will not!” David’s voice rang out, sharp and strong, so loud that it shocked him.

The wind immediately started to die, the devil winding down a good three feet, and he was able to get David back with him. They sat there, breathing hard, and David handed him the weed baggie.

“David, what was that?”

“I don’t know. I just…knew what to say. Finally.”

Forrest grabbed Pep when she came barreling out from under the bench. “It’s okay, baby girl. Daddy’s safe. See?”

“I am. I’m safe.” And shaking. David was shaking, but they were safe, and there was an aura about David that spoke of strength.

The little funnel cloud finally petered out about five feet from the porch, a swirl of dead leaves and tumbleweed parts all that was left on the yard.

“You spelled it.”

“I don’t think so. I think I…unspelled it.”

“Yeah?” He crawled to the edge of the porch to examine the ground more closely. “You may be right.”

“Is that what Granny did. Ruined magic?”

Forrest sat up to pull David into his arms. “Not ruined. She contained it. I think maybe you… cancel it. But it’s the same principle, and it explains why she picked you to carry on. If you have a similar set of skills…”

“But how would she have known that?” David shook his head. “This whole place is bizarre. I mean, how do people live with all this magic and skullduggery. I just remember it being so nice growing it.”

“It is nice. Seriously. we’re no weirder than any small town.” At David’s incredulous look, he laughed. “We’re just more Stranger Things than we are Real Housewives.”

“Uh-huh…” Still, David leaned into him, didn’t he? Yes, he did. And it felt so good.

“You saved the evidence. That’s all that matters. I do think I’ll lock it in the shop and not the truck, though. That will keep it safe until in the morning.” If nothing else the cats would give any intruder a heart attack.

“You don’t think they’ll come for it?”

“I don’t think, after that, that they’d dare.” David had been fierce, and he’d proven he was here for a reason.

“Good. I just want my dinner and a glass of wine, dammit.”

At the word dinner, Peppermint let out an arooo.

“Obviously, you are not alone in this.” He let himself laugh, let himself enjoy that frisson of relief.

“Nope. Peppermint always has food solidarity.”

“Well, you go uncork, and I’ll run this down to the shop.” Forrest didn’t want that weed anywhere that someone could just grab it. Clearly it was important enough to try to retrieve, so he needed to keep it as evidence.

Goddess what a mess.