Witch's Awakening (12 page)

“You'd think a known murderer hanging himself in public would be something kids would tell around the campfire,” Jake agreed.

“We all like to pretend this is just a peaceful, wonderful place to live.”

“That's how Garth described it to me when we met. He said it was a place where everyone was accepted, and that's how it's been for me.”

“But once a generation, there's violence and death. No one warns you. It's like no one wants to face it until it's upon us again.”

“But you Connellys know about the Woman in White. You're all warned.”

“True, but we aren't prepared to fight. Neither is the town. Maybe we should talk to the people affected during the past week, tell them the Woman in White may not be finished.”

Jake frowned. Warning Fred Williams and the wealthy residents of the Enclave about paranormal warfare would get him fired immediately.

Garth had taught Jake that there was a delicate line between the humans and the supers in New Mourne. Unlike Ginny Williams, most of the older residents accepted the supernaturals as part of living here. That would not be the case with the newer people and the older residents who shared Ginny's view that supernaturals were evil.

“And Sarah's only answer is to call my parents in to help. What a joke.” Brenna stood with a huff, hurriedly stacking files and shoving them into boxes.

Jake watched her for a minute. “Okay, I get that your parents left you to be raised by Sarah and you're not too fond of them. But why wouldn't you want their help right now?”

“After all of these years I don't see why they're suddenly Sarah's answer.”

“Fiona says they're experts in this kind of thing.”

Her laugh was short. “Oh, yes. My father has a doctorate and my mother has a Master's Degree. He is a bestselling author of books on magic. They've studied sorcerers, witches and wizards from all corners of the world. But if they know so much why haven't they done something before?”

“Because the Woman in White didn't show up until now?” The second the words were out of Jake's mouth he regretted them.

Brenna's temper bubbled over and she slammed a box of files onto the floor. “Why not do something before we reach a crisis point?”

He held his counsel as she started a rant. “The whole lot of them are reactionaries. The elder aunts and Sarah should have been searching for answers from the moment their sister was taken. Instead, they wait around and Eva Grace's mother is killed, too. And then my mother is so upset by the death of her twin she decides she can't live here. Which is fine, except what about me? What about Eva Grace? We both needed parents. Why not take us away too?”

“Wasn't Sarah good to you?” Jake ventured.

“That's not the point,” Brenna snapped. “When you have a child, you don't just leave her with someone else. You also don't have a second child and leave her as well. I understand that I was probably an accident. My parents married when my mother was just nineteen. He was her professor in college. But why have Fiona?”

“It's hard to say why people have children sometimes.” Jake was thinking of his own parents. His father had never cared if Jake lived or died, but he knew his mother wanted him. She loved him until the moment her life ended in bloody torment.

Brenna picked up another box. “All Sarah did was make it easy for my parents to abandon their children. All my parents did was provide two potential sacrifices for the Woman in White. Their studies and each other are all they've ever cared about.”

“Maybe they want to make up for what they've done in the past.”

Brenna dismissed that with a toss of her head. “It's more likely that my father wants to write a book about it.”

“That's pretty harsh.”

“But that's how I feel about them. I hope you're not another person who thinks I should be grateful they're rich and successful or that they left me here where there was lots of family to help me.”

Jake swallowed. The witch was also a mind reader. When his parents were gone, he ended up alone and on the streets. He was thinking how much luckier Brenna was than him.

“Nothing my parents ever did was for love of me or Fiona,” Brenna continued. “And if my mother really cared about her sister, she would have raised her niece as well. My parents are coming here now because they're between projects or because suddenly this is interesting again. I can assure you they don't care what happens to me or anyone else in the family.”

With that final statement her temper left her. She sat down and pushed her hair away from her face. “I guess it's better that Fiona came into our lives. She's always given me something to focus on besides my resentment toward my parents. Fiona and Eva Grace are my touchstones.”

“I used to think it'd be easier if I had a brother.” The thought reminded Jake so sharply of Garth that he pushed himself to his feet. “Let's get out of here,” he told Brenna. “I'll put all of this back tomorrow.”

Her gaze was steady on his. “You need to shift.”

He shrugged, unsettled by how well she read him.

“How long has it been?” she asked. “Two days? More?” Her laugh was deep and throaty when he held up four fingers. “Now you know you can't do that. Magic demands that it be used or you lose it.”

“Fine words from a witch who ran away from her heritage for several years.”

“You're right. I've realized I need to practice.” Brenna snapped her fingers at the stacks of papers still on the table. “As you were,” she said with a flick of her wrists.

The papers flew back into their boxes. Lids closed. Dust settled.

Jake was impressed by her economy of words and motion. Brenna had some serious power. “You didn't put anything back on the shelves,” he pointed out.

“You have to do something,” she teased.

He laughed and gestured for her to precede him out of the basement. He snapped off the lights and they emerged into the June twilight. “Whoa. I didn't realize it was so late. Can I buy you something to eat?”

Brenna shook her head. “You need more than food.”

The sparkle of her eyes and the curve of her lips set off a serious ache inside him. Damn, she was tempting. What would she do if he stepped forward, cupped her face in his hands and kissed her? Did she remember their kiss from last night or had she been too tired and too under the influence of Sarah's magic to be aware?

Her gaze lingered on his, and then moved away. “You need to shift,” she said again as she fumbled in her handbag for her car keys.

The keys jangled to the ground. Jake stooped and reached for them at the same moment Brenna did. A blue arc of light shot out when their fingers touched. His skin tingled and Brenna jerked up. His mouth was inches from hers. It seemed natural to kiss her, so he did.

Oh, she remembered their kiss from last night. He was sure of that now as she gave herself briefly to the same longing he felt.

But she pulled back before the kiss could deepen. “This is not a good idea.”

“Absolutely not,” Jake agreed as he moved away. He straightened and held out her keys, careful not to touch her again. It was an effort, however, because he was picturing her as she'd been in the moonlight last weekend. Proud and naked. Glowing with her power. How would it feel to be inside that magic?

Brenna backed away. “You've had an intense few days. You just need to shift and run. You can forget about this…us. I mean, there can't be an us. I don't do…”

He held up a hand to silence her. “It's okay, Brenna. You're right about this not being a good idea. I'm the sheriff, and we have to get to the bottom of what's happening in town. I need to know why Garth was taken. We can't let anything cloud that.”

Did he see a flicker of disappointment in her eyes? It was fleeting and was maybe just his imagination. “Go on,” she urged him. “Go run.”

He stepped back, too, both eager and reluctant to leave her. “Okay, I'm going to shift. You might warn your housecats to stay out of the woods while I do.”

She stepped toward her car. “Do white tigers howl at the moon?”

“Sometimes.”

“Let me know when you pass the house.”

Aching with need, he watched her drive away.

Later, when he was chasing deer through the woods near the Connelly home place, he roared.

Somehow, he knew Brenna heard him.

Chapter Twelve

Brenna slept fitfully Sunday night and woke late to full sunshine and the cat named Tasmin purring in her face. Stroking the gray feline, Brenna said, “Well, you're not the cat I wish I was waking up with, but I guess you'll have to do.”

Intelligent feline eyes held a trace of disdain as Tasmin flipped her tail and jumped out of bed. The cat, spayed after her first litter of kittens, had no use for males.

Clearly reading the kitty's thoughts, Brenna replied, “But I do.”

Tasmin left the room and Brenna sat up to survey her tumbled sheets. She blamed her uneasy night on the many fantasies she had entertained about Jake. In her dreams, his smooth skin kept morphing into warm, white fur. Late in the night, she was sure she'd heard him roar outside her window.

She was frustrated with herself for allowing her attraction to him grow. That kiss last night was foolish. Nothing was going to happen between them. His protective instincts were too highly developed to suit her independent streak. And if she just used him for sex—which was tempting, how awkward would that be? He was close to Eva Grace, so he would be part of Brenna's life once the sex was over. That would not do.

She had rules about such things. The only males she hooked up with were those with no possibility of involvement. She had too much on her mind to indulge in the kind of all-consuming passion that people like her parents had. She had a curse to break. She had to save herself or one of her cousins. She couldn't be worrying about her feelings for some sexy, silver-eyed shifter.

Her only regret was knowing a shifter who hadn't changed in four days would likely have kept her—and himself—up all night. She felt a bit wistful about the missed opportunity, but it was best that she be strong.

Sarah and Marcus were gone when she finally padded downstairs to get coffee and refill Tasmin's food bowl. A note on the dining room table said her grandparents were spending the day in Chattanooga, about two and half hours away. Sarah's jewelry was to be part of an exhibit at the Hunter Museum of Art on the Tennessee River. Sarah rarely made public appearances, but the museum's store had been one of the first places to carry her art, so she gave them preferential treatment.

Which meant the house was free and clear for Brenna to search for
The Connelly Book of Magic
. She knew she needed help to break the guards Sarah and the elder aunts placed on the book. Grinning at Tasmin, Brenna called Eva Grace and Fiona.

An hour later, her cousin's convertible pulled into the driveway. Brenna opened the front screened door with Tasmin at her side.

Eva Grace walked up the steps of the broad front porch and frowned at Brenna. “You look like hell warmed over. You should treat yourself to a beauty spell.”

“It was a bad night.” Brenna pushed at her unruly hair and wished she had done a little more than take a shower while waiting for her co-conspirators. Eva Grace was stylish as ever in soft gray pants and a crisp pink shirt. The color and her flowing red hair shouldn't work together, but they did. After all Eva Grace had been through these past two weeks, she still managed to look serene and beautiful. Brenna gave her a hug. “I hope you never change.”

Eva Grace returned her embrace with warmth and affection.

“What's she doing?” Brenna asked, nodding toward Fiona who stood beside the car. Her dark-haired sister looked hip as usual in her faded jeans and a vintage Rolling Stones T-shirt. Fiona appeared to be in earnest conversation, although there was no one nearby.

Eva Grace stepped inside and set her leather purse—by some designer Brenna didn't know—on the table in the foyer. “Fiona's being bothered by a ghost. He's afraid his wife is getting married too soon after his death. He wants Fiona to tell her it's a mistake. Fiona's trying to help him understand that his wife has to keep living her own life and he needs to move on to the other side.”

“How long has he been dead?”

“At least five years.”

“Then it's way past time for him to let his wife go.” Brenna sighed as she gazed through the screened door at Fiona who was looking a bit agitated. “That's kind of selfish, don't you think?”

Eva Grace stood beside Brenna. “I don't know. Sometimes I wonder if Garth is watching over me.”

“That's different. Garth was just taken. Has Fiona talked to him?”

“No, she says his spirit hasn't reached out to her.”

“And you feel him near?”

“Sometimes.” Eva Grace shivered. “I definitely don't think he's gone yet, but I want him to have peace. I don't want him to stick around for my sake.”

Brenna looped an arm around her petite cousin's shoulders. “You are the good witch, Eva Grace. The very good witch.”

They stood together, watching as Fiona stopped talking and pointed to a spot in the distance. The air around an aging pine tree shimmered for a moment with an incandescent light and when it faded, Fiona came up the sidewalk.

“Hallelujah! That man has been pestering me for two years and he's finally gone.” Fiona pulled open the door and came into the broad, central hall.

“Why did he leave you alone for three years after he died?” Brenna asked

“He couldn't figure out how to communicate, but once he did, he talked to me almost every day.” Hands on her hips, Fiona looked at Brenna. “Okay, what are we doing here?”

“We have to find
The Book of Magic
.”

“I know that,” Fiona retorted. “What I don't know is how.”