Many Blessings

Coffeeshop Coven -1

by

Tymber Dalton

To all my friends and loved ones, on both two feet and four, who’ve moved on to the Summerland. Namaste.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

Characters are funny things. We authors often talk about the “voices” and how we can’t control them. I envy the “plotters” who can perfectly script how and where a book is going. I’m a pantster, which means I’m frequently at the mercy of my characters. The “voices.”

Having explained all of that, if you want to read the backstory of what happened at the Corey house and the events that led up to, and overlap, where the prologue of this tale begins, please pick up my book Out of the Darkness from Siren-BookStrand. (Matt and Sami also appear in Red Tide.) I wrote Out of the Darkness several years back, and it was an EPIC winner in 2010. But not too long ago, I had several characters pop into existence and insist there was more of a story to tell. It’s not necessary to read that book first to enjoy this one, but you will have a far deeper understanding of the other side of the events leading up to the series if you do.

This is book one in my Coffeeshop Coven series. It centers around the New Age store, Many Blessings, and the people who…eh, haunt it on a regular basis.

Also, there is an official prequel to the Coffeeshop Coven, It’s a Sweet Life. It’s also not necessary to read that book before reading this one, but Libbie and her guys demanded their own story, so I thought I’d add them to the series so they would shut up and quit distracting me.

The town of Brooksville, Florida, really exists, as does the Croom Motorcycle Area of the Withlacoochee State Park. The mining pits and gravestone in the park also exist, although I’ve taken literary license with the history, the house, and other landmarks. I used to live inside the park, on five of the ten acres the Coreys resided upon. While my descriptions of the park don’t match the current details (the main road is now paved, among others) anyone familiar with the park for a number of years might find themselves traveling down memory lane.

Prologue

Mandaline Royce frowned as she stared at the image the Weather Channel displayed. On the screen, a large, pre-hurricane-season blob inexorably chugged its way toward the west Florida coast late that Wednesday afternoon. It would likely be named Tropical Storm Adelle within the next twenty-four hours.

“What the frak is going on with the weather?” Mandaline asked. “Doesn’t Nature know it’s not even June first yet? It’s way too early for a tropical storm.”

“You’re just bound and determined to manifest that dang thing right over us, aren’t you?” Julie playfully teased from the front windows. Both Mandaline’s friend and employer, she was currently emptying the displays of merchandise.

Mandaline twirled a long, brown lock of hair around her finger. “And you’re not? You’re clearing out the front displays.”

“That’s prudence. So is rolling down the storm shutters.” She turned and pointed to Mandaline. “Look, it’s nearly three. I seriously doubt we’re going to have any more customers in here today the way the weather’s looking. Get your butt home, pack, and get yourself and Damien back here ASAP.”

“Damiago.”

“Damien is a better name for that evil pussy,” Julie joked as she pulled her wild, curly red hair into a ponytail and twisted an elastic band around it. “Doesn’t matter. You two are staying here with me during the storm and not in that ratty trailer.”

Mandaline picked up the remote and changed the cable channel to a light jazz music station. “It’s not going to be that bad. That trailer can handle some wind.” Truth be told, she was looking forward to a little skyclad rain dancing.

Julie filled her arms with merchandise she pulled from the window displays and carried it over to the counter. “Bullshit.” She put the stuff down. “I need you here so I don’t have to worry about your safety. This building’s old, but it’s sturdy. I’m going to be over at the Coreys’ house tomorrow in Croom for most of the day anyway. I’d feel better with you here.”

Mandaline shivered. “I reeeeally wish you’d cancel that. Do it next week once the weather clears. And take someone with you. Like Sachi and her skeet gun.”

Julie’s expression softened. “They need me. I have to help. You know I can’t turn my back on them.”

“That house is bad juju, girlfriend.” Mandaline shivered again and rubbed her hands up and down her arms in a futile attempt to soothe the gooseflesh rippling them. “They should burn it down to the foundation, salt the ground, and deed it over to the state to make it part of the park.”

“Things can’t be evil. Energy can be dark, yes. But things can be cleansed of dark energy. You know that as well as I do.” She brightly smiled. “Besides, I really like Sami Corey. She’s a sweet woman. I think we’ll be seeing a lot of her in here once she gets through everything…”

Mandaline didn’t miss the way Julie’s voice faltered, the way her smile faded. Mandaline quickly rounded the counter and put her hands on Julie’s shoulders. “What is it? What’d you see?”

“Nothing.” Julie shook her head and pasted a fake smile on her face that didn’t fool Mandaline in the least. “The weather’s getting to me, that’s all. You know I hate these storm systems.”

Mandaline searched Julie’s eyes. “You saw something. Don’t lie to a witch, girlfriend.”

“Yeah, I saw your ass being blown away if you don’t spend tomorrow here.” From the force of Julie’s smile, Mandaline knew her friend wouldn’t reveal what she saw. “You lose power during a little sunshower. Your power will be out for days even if the trailer doesn’t fly away to Oz with you and Damien in it. Take that large cooler I’ve got in the back and unload your freezer and fridge into it. Bring it all here. We can put everything in the fridge in the break room.”

“Your power will probably go out, too.”

“Ah, but remember, I’ve got that backup generator now. And the propane tank for it is slap full, so we’ll be fine. I had them come top it off yesterday.” She headed back to the front windows for another armload. “Go on. Seriously. Chop-chop, kiddo.”

Mandaline sighed as she watched Julie. Her friend had seen something, had one of her uncannily accurate visions. Mandaline suspected something related to that damn Croom house.

She also knew her stubborn friend wouldn’t say what until she was ready. “Fine. I’ll go pack.”

* * *

Julie waited until Mandaline left to flip the sign to Closed on the front door and sit down at her desk, where the shakes finally hit her. Persnickety, her shaggy little terrier mix, jumped up into her lap and whined.

Julie felt the tears in her eyes and brushed them away with the back of her hand. “I have to,” she whispered to the dog. “I have to help them. If I don’t help them, they’ll die. All three of them, tomorrow. George Simpson is coming through strong and using the storm’s energy to grow stronger. They have a chance if I go help.”

The little dog’s brown eyes stared up at her as if in agreement.

Julie hugged him close and breathed in the warmth from his body. “The future isn’t written until it’s the past,” she whispered into his fur. “I have to help them. May the Goddess help me write them a better past than what I saw.”

Still, she couldn’t shake the image that had invaded her mind. Of a woman, Evelyn Simpson, tied to her bed and being raped by her husband, George Simpson.

A vision of an event that had happened nearly a hundred years earlier.

An unrecorded, unreported crime, but one that Julie knew to the depths of her soul had occurred in that house exactly as she’d seen it.

Something that occurred before George murdered Evelyn and their children. A mystery that had lingered in the county’s history.

Something that could happen again if she didn’t stop it and rid George Simpson’s dark energy from that house—and from Sami’s husband, Steven Corey—for good.

* * *

A little after nine fifteen Thursday morning, Julie finished loading all her equipment in her kiwi green Honda Element.

“At least let me come with,” Mandaline begged as she watched. “Don’t go out there alone.”

Julie picked up Pers and hugged him tightly to her before kissing the top of his head. “No, I need you here.” She handed the trembling dog to her. “He hates storms.”

“He’ll live. I—”

Julie held up her hands. “Please, I know what I’m doing.” She hugged Mandaline, the little dog sandwiched between them. “I love you, sister. Take care of things for me. Promise?”

Every instinct in Mandaline’s body screamed how wrong this was, what a bad idea it was. But all she could do was nod. “Okay,” she whispered. “I promise. I love you, too, sister.”

Julie kissed her cheek before stepping back. She cupped the dog’s head in her palms and kissed his nose. “And take care of Pers for me. He’s my baby.”

“I will. I promise.”

“Everything’s going to be fine,” Julie assured her. “I’ll be back later tonight. Then we can crack open a bottle of wine and chillax. Matt Barry and Sami Corey are sweethearts. You’re really going to like them.”

“It’s not them I’m worried about, from what you’ve told me.”

“I haven’t met Steve in person yet. From what Sami’s said, he’s a troubled man, but he has a good heart. What kind of person would I be to turn my back and spit in the face of the Goddess and the good fortune She’s given me all these years? That house is my history, too.”

“You can’t save your great-grandfather, or your grandaunt,” Mandaline quietly said. “They went on to the Summerland a long, long time ago. That’s not your burden to bear.”

“No, I can’t. But if I help them today, maybe I can keep someone else’s ancestors from taking the journey too soon.”

With one final hug and kiss for Mandaline, and one final hug and kiss for Pers, she climbed into her Element and drove off with a wave.

Mandaline closed her eyes and turned her face up to the overcast skies. Astarte, Hecate, Nokomis, Cerridwen, Nodens, please protect her and bring her safely home. So mote it be.

With a shiver in the growing breeze, she returned inside and bolted the back door behind her.

* * *

Julie waited until the first red light she hit to pull the large, bulky, sealed manila envelope from her purse and tuck it in the space between her front seats where it would be easily visible. On it she’d written Mandaline’s name and cell phone number, along with the store’s name, address, and phone number.

If her visions were wrong and she didn’t need what she’d prepared, no one need be any wiser. She could tear up the forms and documents she’d had witnessed and notarized late yesterday at her bank across the square while Mandaline had gone home to pick up her things from the trailer.

If her visions were right…

She sighed and prayed to the Goddess they weren’t, that the future remained unwritten.

* * *

Julie had told Mandaline to keep the store closed, but to feel free to answer the phone if she wanted. Julie had already called the other employees and gave them a paid day off because of the storm. And Julie had called the clients scheduled for readings that day and cancelled them as well. As the morning crept on, Mandaline kept one eye on the Weather Channel and their nonstop coverage of the tropical event, and one eye on the clock.

She tried to keep herself busy. Pers followed her around the store, never more than a few feet from her as Mandaline dusted, rearranged displays that didn’t need it, and raked and re-raked the little countertop zen garden every time she walked past it.

That still didn’t settle her.

She went upstairs to the apartment where, the evening before, Julie had her dump all her things in the corner of the living room. She pulled out the box with her personal candles. When Mandaline had packed, she’d hurriedly scooped everything off her altar into boxes, and grabbed her herbs and other ceremonial items, along with pictures, photo albums, her Tarot decks, and a few books.

She’d only packed a few changes of clothes. She didn’t care about them. Only the things she couldn’t replace came with.

She rummaged through her things until she found everything she needed. Downstairs, with her cat curled on the end of a couch in the front of the store and Pers sitting at her feet, she lit several candles and some incense, cast a circle, and called the quarters. With her eyes closed and her hands upraised, working from her heart she poured her prayers out to bring Julie home safely.

Lightning flashed, immediately followed by a loud boom that made her and both animals jump. The lights flickered briefly but didn’t go out.

“Thank you!” She smiled, taking it as a good sign from the Universe. She closed her ritual, opened the circle, and set out to keep herself distracted.

If it wasn’t for the growing wind, she’d change clothes and go outside and dance in the rain. Her chosen alignment was water, even though she did most of her rituals with candles.

Times like this it makes me wish I had a boyfriend. Someone to cuddle with in a storm.

She nixed that thought. Sorry, Goddess. I didn’t mean that. Forget I said that. So mote it be! she quickly added.

She’d sworn off men for a while, at least. The last several disastrous relationships she’d had, including a short-lived and ill-advised marriage followed by an even nastier divorce, left her angry, doubting herself, and full of pain. Not to mention she’d nearly turned her back on her spirituality for her ex-husband because his family was full of devout Evangelical Christians, and she’d been desperate for their acceptance.

Never again.

It wasn’t worth it. Not until she could become a better judge of character and, apparently, better in charge of herself.

I’m thirty-four. It’s not like I’m going to become a spinster. Hence why she’d rededicated herself to her craft, to her life. The right man would come to her in the Universe’s time, not hers.

She just had to sit back and let it happen. Now, she felt the most peace in her soul than she had in her entire adult life. No, she wasn’t rich, but she was happy. To her, that was far more valuable. She could pay her bills, keep a roof over her head, and still do what she loved, which was work for her best friend while also teaching and doing readings for customers.

She helped people.

She realized yes, despite not liking her friend’s dedication in this instance, Julie was right. They helped people, eased their spirits and souls, brought smiles to their faces. Brought them peace.

She let out a little cry as another boom rattled the windows and shook her from her thoughts.

By lunchtime the shop phone still hadn’t rang. She picked up Pers and carried him upstairs with her to make lunch. Halfway up the stairs, the lights flickered out again.

Above her, at the top of the stairwell, she saw a woman silhouetted against the light struggling in through translucent strips in the storm shutter covering the apartment’s living room window.

Pers began barking and whining, tail wagging, struggling to get out of her arms and go to the figure.

The electricity came back on before the emergency generator could kick in.

The stairwell above her was empty.

“Julie?” Mandaline called out, carefully advancing. It had looked like Julie.

Shivering, she immediately dialed Julie’s cell but it went straight to voice mail. “Hey, call me and check in, okay? Please?” She even walked into the bedroom and checked the bathroom, but Mandaline was alone in the apartment.

Struggling with her growing apprehension, she quickly made herself a sandwich, grabbed a zippy bag full of washed grapes and her The Quest Tarot deck, and headed back downstairs again with Pers. She made herself a cup of hot chai tea behind the counter and sat on a stool by the register where she could easily see the TV screen.

Shuffling the deck, she took a deep breath and tried to quiet her mind. She had another copy of The Quest Tarot that she used to read for customers sometimes, but this was her personal deck, one she never used to read for anyone but herself.

Quieting her mind proved no easy feat considering the storm and her worry over Julie’s safety.

She didn’t even know what or how to ask. She finally settled on, Show me this evening, please.

She cut the deck, shuffled once more, and quickly pulled the top three cards. She laid them out faceup before staring at them.

The Tower. Three of Swords. Nine of Swords.

She gasped. Every deck had slightly different variations in meaning.

This deck, in addition to beautiful images, runes, I Ching hexagrams, and other symbols on each card, included brief statements summarizing the card’s meaning.

Demolition. Mourning. Cruelty.

With trembling hands she gathered the cards and returned them to the deck. She’d started reshuffling and prepared to cut the deck again when another loud crack of thunder split the air.

She screamed and flinched. The deck slipped from her hand, scattering across the tile floor behind the counter.

“Dammit!” She started to retrieve them when she realized only three cards lay faceup amongst the cards on the floor.

The Tower. Three of Swords. Nine of Swords.

“No.” She quickly gathered the cards, shuffled them, and returned them to the black velvet drawstring bag she kept them in. She left it on the counter and stepped back, afraid to touch it again right then.

I need to sage it. Sage it good. Leave it in the windowsill in a bowl of sea salt under next weekend’s full moon. I haven’t cleansed it lately, and it’s mad at me.

She forced herself to eat even though her appetite had fled.

Around three thirty the power blinked off yet again. She held her breath and counted, but by the time she’d hit ten, the power hadn’t come on and the generator out back hadn’t kicked in yet.

Dammit.

She grabbed a flashlight from next to the register and headed toward the back door. When Julie had the emergency generator installed a couple of years earlier, she’d made sure all the employees knew how to operate it, but Mandaline had yet to be there when it was actually in use. Just as she went to unlock the door, she heard the generator kick on and the power flickered back to life in the store.

She glanced at the ceiling. “Thank you, Hecate,” she said. She returned to the front of the store. The TV showed the cable box boot-up sequence in progress.

At least I still have TV. For now. No telling how long the cable signal would hold out in the storm.

Then she noticed the little zen garden on the counter. The rake lay on the counter next to it, when she knew that was not where she’d left it.

She glanced out to the front of the store where Damiago lay curled up, asleep in a chair. She looked down at Pers, who’d followed her to the back of the store.

Walking closer, she realized there was now a message written in the sand, as if someone had taken their finger and spelled it out.

IT’S NOT HIS FAULT

She reached for the rake but paused. Grabbing her iPhone, she snapped a couple of pictures and checked them to make sure the message was visible before she raked the zen garden out again with a shiver.

“This is just too frakking weird.”

She tried calling Julie again.

Straight to voice mail.

“Listen, sister, please call me. Okay? I’m really, really worried. Maybe the storm has me wigged out, but I need to talk to you.”

The power came back on a few minutes later. The lights flickered for a moment as the generator kicked off and the crossover circuit made the switch back.

At 5:21, the power went off again. She’d been seated on the floor in the front of the store, on a large pillow next to a low table, several candles lit as she tried to meditate.

She opened her eyes when she heard the TV go off. Directly across from her, the candlelight flickering on her face, sat Julie.

“What—”

“Keep your heart open,” Julie said. “Believe.”

Mandaline rolled to her knees to reach across the table when Julie disappeared.

The lights came back on.

Pers ran around the table, to where Julie had been sitting. He barked and whined, tail wagging furiously as he searched for her.

With a stunned cry Mandaline lost her balance and fell backward. She scrabbled away from the table, tears pouring down her face.

Something was really, really wrong.

She half crawled, half ran to where she’d left her cell phone by the register. With hands shaking so badly she could barely hold the phone, she dialed Julie’s number. “Call me. Right now! Dammit, you have to call me. Something bad’s happening.”

She just prayed Julie called her back.

Mandaline ran to the office and fired up the computer. Julie compulsively wrote everything down, including customers’ information and appointments, and always backed it up into the computer.

“Come on, come on, dammit!” she yelled when it seemingly took forever to boot.

Finally, the password screen appeared. Mandaline logged in and drummed her fingers on the desk as she waited for the desktop to appear.

She opened Julie’s Gmail account, the one she used for the business, and then the contacts list. Scrolling through it, Mandaline located Samantha Corey’s home phone number. When Mandaline dialed the number, however, she received the fast-busy tone of a line out of order.

“Dammit!” She struggled to hold back tears. Julie hadn’t written down the woman’s cell phone number.

All she could do was wait.

And pray.

* * *

Mandaline kept Damiago and Pers close. Outside, the storm raged and the skies darkened until it almost looked like night despite it barely being six o’clock and official sunset still a couple of hours away. She repeatedly tried Julie’s cell but it went straight to voice mail every time. Either she was busy with the cleansing ritual, or…

She didn’t want to think about the or.

Not at all.

By seven o’clock, Mandaline was seriously considering calling the sheriff’s office and asking them to go out and check on Julie. The property was smack in the middle of a state forest. Maybe a tree had blown down across the driveway and they were trapped there. Maybe the wind or trees had knocked out cell service in addition to the landlines.

Maybe they’re all dead.

She immediately banished that thought from her mind.

With her stomach too knotted to eat, she kept all the lights on and the TV turned up loud enough she could hear it from anywhere in the shop, even upstairs in the apartment. She kept it tuned to the Weather Channel, preferring the relentless storm coverage to anything else. At least it made her feel connected, like she wasn’t alone.

At 8:25, a loud pounding on the front door scared her. She peeked around the corner of the downstairs hallway and made out two dark shapes at the front door, barely visible through translucent strips in the shutter that covered it.

With 911 punched into the phone in her hand and ready to hit send, she slowly walked up to the door. “Who is it?”

“Detective Haines, Hernando County Sheriff’s Office. We’re looking for Mandaline Royce.”

Her hands trembled so badly she almost couldn’t unlock the door. She stood back as Detective Haines and a uniformed officer came in, both dripping water from their official yellow rain slickers.

“What happened?” Mandaline asked, terror creeping through.

Then she spotted in his hands a clear plastic bag with EVIDENCE printed on it. Her eyes flew up to the detective’s face. She didn’t want to acknowledge what she saw in the bag.

Then it wouldn’t be real.

He looked grim. “Ma’am, are you Mandaline Royce?”

She nodded.

“Ms. Royce—”

“Mandaline.”

He nodded. “Mandaline, are you here by yourself?”

She nodded again. “Julie’s coming back.” She knew her voice raced and rambled in her growing panic, but she made no attempt to silence herself. She suddenly realized she recognized the detective from Libbie’s bakery, had seen him in there a few times when she went to pick up the daily order for the store. “She had to go out to Croom, to a house out there, to do a cleansing ritual. But she’s coming back. I’m worried because she’s been gone all day. I’ve tried to call her and keep getting her voice mail. But she’s coming back. Maybe you can send an officer out there to check on her. She’s coming back.”

She didn’t miss the look the two men exchanged. Her voice grew shrill, panic fully in charge. “She’s coming back. She’s my best friend and, dammit, she’s coming back!”

The detective gently led her over to one of the sofas and made her sit. “Mandaline, I hate to have to tell you this—”

“She’s coming back!” Mandaline screamed. “Dammit, she’s coming back!”

He put the plastic bag down, the one she refused to look at, and knelt in front of her. He grasped her hands. “I’m so, so sorry,” he softly said. “She’s not.”

Mandaline shook her head, her tears falling hot and heavy. “She is! She has to, she’s my best friend!”

He shook his head a little. “Do you have someone we can call for you?” he finally asked.

“Julie. Julie Prescott. Call her. This is a mistake. You call her and—”

“Mandaline,” he gently said, “I’m sorry. She’s dead.”

Mandaline closed her eyes and shook her head, refusing to believe it even though in the depths of her soul her dreaded suspicion had come true.

“Libbie Addams,” she finally whispered. “Across the street.” She could have asked for Sachi, but she lived almost twenty minutes away on a good day. She didn’t want her out on the road in the storm.

“At the bakery?”

She nodded. “She lives there. Knock on the back door. Keep knocking. It might take her a while to come down.”

She didn’t open her eyes, but the detective never let go of her hands when she heard the front door open, wind briefly screaming in until it closed behind the deputy again.

“Mandaline, we need to talk. But I’m going to wait until he gets back with Libbie so she’s here with you, okay?”

She nodded, now slowly rocking back and forth in place, not wanting to ask how, not wanting to let go of his hands, knowing in her heart it had to be Steven Corey who murdered her.

Had to be.

Pers, who had remained quiet throughout everything, jumped up on the sofa and laid his head in her lap.

Roughly ten minutes later the uniformed deputy returned, Libbie in tow and wrapped in a pink rain jacket. She pulled off the sodden jacket and immediately rushed to Mandaline’s side and sat next to her, her arm around her shoulder. Mandaline didn’t open her eyes until she leaned her head against Libbie’s shoulder.

Detective Haines wore a concerned expression.

“I called Grover,” Libbie softly said. Mandaline didn’t know if she was speaking to her or the detective. “Grover Johnson. He’ll be here in a minute.”

“Okay,” Haines said. He took a deep breath and gently squeezed Mandaline’s hands. “We still don’t know all the details of what happened,” he softly said. “And we need someone to come…give a positive identification.”

Mandaline nodded, tears falling into her lap.

“Did she have any other family? Husband? Kids? Parents? Siblings?”

“No,” Mandaline said. “Just some cousins she disowned a few years ago.”

He nodded. “Okay.” He reached into the plastic evidence bag and pulled out a large, tan hobo-style purse.

Mandaline sobbed.

“Do you recognize this?”

She closed her eyes and nodded. “I gave it to her for Yule last year. She…she had it with her when she left here this morning.”

She heard him set the purse on the floor, followed by the sound of him removing something else from the plastic bag. “We also found this in her car.”

She opened her eyes. In his hands he held a large, bulky manila envelope she hadn’t seen before.

On the front, in her playful script, Julie had written Mandaline’s name and cell number, and the name, address, and phone number of the store.

“What’s in it?” she asked.

“We haven’t opened it,” he said. “We found it, sealed like this. It…” He coughed. “We didn’t open it because we found it separate from the…scene. It was in her vehicle.” He offered it to her.

She tried to reach for it and couldn’t force her hand to move. “Libbie, please. You open it.”

“Of course.” She took it and opened it for Mandaline.

Mandaline closed her eyes and let Libbie tell her.

“They’re forms,” Libbie slowly said. “I…uh, I think we need Grover,” she said as she looked through everything. “These are all legal stuff.”

A moment later, the large, black man himself burst through the door, shaking water off his rain jacket. “What’s going on?” he asked Libbie as he rushed over. “What happened?”

Mandaline started crying again. The detective pulled him aside and in murmured tones caught him up.

The men returned to them, Grover sitting on Mandaline’s other side. “Oh, sugar. I’m so sorry. We’re here for you.”

Libbie spoke up and handed him the paperwork. “Julie left this for her in her car. In a sealed envelope with Mandaline’s name on it. I opened it for her.”

Grover, a retired attorney, frowned as he quickly leafed through everything. “It’s…” He cleared his throat, obviously overcome with emotion. “Mandaline, honey, I don’t know how to say this other than to say it. Julie left everything to you. She had all these papers witnessed and notarized yesterday. It’s a will, power of attorney, bank paperwork, everything you’re…going to need.”

Mandaline closed her eyes and sobbed against Libbie’s shoulder.

Chapter One

Mandaline surveyed the shop Wednesday morning. A type of functional numbness had set in somewhere around Saturday, forcing her to keep up with the mundane things.

Like breathing and eating.

Her world felt enclosed in a grey cocoon she couldn’t break free of. Any time she tried, her grief hit her, hard and heavy and with razor shards of pain she couldn’t process.

Thus, retreat.

She didn’t realize just how long she’d been standing there until Libbie walked over and put her arm around her shoulders.

“Come on,” Libbie softly said. “Let’s go upstairs for a few minutes.”

Mandaline nodded and let Libbie take her upstairs to the apartment. Libbie got her seated on the sofa and pressed a tissue into her hand. “It’ll be okay,” she said. “We’re all here for you.”

Then Mandaline’s tears flowed again. It felt like she’d done nothing but cry over the past few days. She leaned into Libbie’s embrace. “What am I going to do without her? She was my best friend. My soul sister.”

“You’ve got all of us. I know it doesn’t make it any better right now, but we’re here.”

“I should be downstairs.” There were a few early arrivals, close friends and longtime customers who’d loved Julie, but the wake wasn’t scheduled to officially start for almost an hour, at eleven.

“Sachi, Makenzie, and Grover are downstairs. Paige, Anna, Kim, and Mina will all be here any minute. You need to take a few minutes for yourself and rest. It’s going to be a long day and we’ve got everything under control for you.”

“Thank you for everything you’ve done. I know this isn’t easy on you, either.” Libbie and Grover had gone with her that horrible night nearly a week earlier, Grover driving, to make the official ID. They then helped her make the arrangements with the undertaker. Libbie had known Julie growing up and considered her a good friend, almost as close to her as Mandaline was. Julie had even suggested the name of Libbie’s bakery, It’s a Sweet Life.

“We’re all going to miss her,” Libbie said. “She’d want us to stand beside you right now.” Mandaline felt her palpable hesitation. “Did you call your parents and tell them what happened?”

Mandaline blew her nose. “Yeah. I don’t expect them. When I finally got a hold of them on Saturday they were in Northern California. They’d just pulled into an RV park there.” Since her father’s retirement five years earlier, their home had been an RV and wherever they wanted to park until they got restless.

Usually within easy driving distance of her older brother’s house.

“Did you ask them to come back?” Libbie gently asked.

She shook her head. “Nope. Dad made the offer. They barely knew Julie anyway. They didn’t approve much of her when we were in high school because of all the rumors about what her great-grandfather did and because she got me into reading Tarot.” She let out a little snort. “They shut up about her when she graduated valedictorian of our class.” She wadded up her tissue. “They never did admit they were wrong about her.”

“I’d think they’d want to be here to support you right now.”

She shrugged. “They rambled on about Greg and Michelle and the new baby. They’re fifteen minutes from their place in the park they’re staying at. They wouldn’t know what to do if they were here. They’ve called me a couple of times since then to check on me.” She took a deep, cleansing breath. “I know they love me, but you know they never were quite sure what to do with me once I hit my teen years. Greg’s the successful one.”

They heard quick, heavy footsteps on the stairs. Grover appeared in the stairwell. “Libbie, I need to talk to you, hon. Right now.”

Mandaline sat up straighter and sniffled. “What’s wrong?”

The large man looked agitated. “It’s okay, Mandaline. I just need Libbie for—”

“Grover, please.” He’d been a blessing, helping fend off paparazzi who wanted to hear about Julie and what she’d been doing at the famous author’s house, acting as “official family spokesman” with the legitimate media outlets, and helping her navigate the dizzying paperwork avalanche to get everything officially transferred into her name so she could keep the store running and access the bank accounts to pay the other employees and freelance teachers, as well as the suppliers.

He let out a sigh and stepped all the way into the apartment. “Samantha Corey and Matt Barry just showed up.”

Mandaline nodded. “It’s all right. I asked them to come.”

Shock froze his face. He looked taken aback. “You invited them?” he finally managed.

“They didn’t kill Julie. They’re as upset by this as we are. They were attacked, too.”

“But her husband—”

“It wasn’t Steven Corey,” Mandaline quietly, but firmly, insisted. “It might have been his body, but he wasn’t in his right mind. Julie died to help them. To save them.” She let out a tearful laugh. “If I held what happened against them, she’d come back and haunt me in a bad, bad way.”

Grover walked over to the couch and knelt his bulk in front of her. “I beg to differ with you, hon. The sheriff’s office says it was Steven Corey.”

“I know what I know,” Mandaline quietly insisted. She reached out and hugged him. “It’s okay. Please, don’t turn your back on them. They’re hurting, too. They liked Julie, and Julie liked them. I want to honor her spirit.”

Grover exchanged a glance with Libbie before reluctantly nodding. “All right. It’s your call. If you’re okay with them being here, it’s okay.”

“Thank you.” She blew her nose again and went to wash her face before rejoining them.

Downstairs, Matt and Sami sat in a corner. Matt looked grim, fading bruises on his temple and face attesting to what he’d been through. Sami looked like she’d been crying and was seconds away from tears again. They both stood when Mandaline walked over and hugged them.

“Thank you for coming,” she said to them. “Julie would have wanted you here.” A gentle peace settled over her. She could almost picture Julie’s pleased smile. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

Sami exchanged a look with Matt. “We just…we’re so, so sorry.”

“I know.” She took Sami’s hands in hers and held them as she stared into the other woman’s eyes. “I know it wasn’t your husband’s fault,” she whispered so no one else but the three of them could hear. “I know it was George Simpson.”

Sami looked shocked before she burst into tears. Before Matt could embrace Sami, Mandaline engulfed her in a hug. “When are you burying your husband?” she asked.

“I…I’m not. I can’t have a…I won’t. I’m going to have him cremated. I’m going to scatter his ashes at the…” She shuddered. “Where everything else…” She tried again. “There,” she simply said.

“The Oriole cemetery plot?”

Sami nodded. “They haven’t released his…him yet. They said by later this week we could…” She took a deep breath and fell silent.

Mandaline looked into her eyes again. “Please, let me perform a ceremony for you. For him.”

Matt stepped closer. “Thank you, but we can’t ask you to—”

“You’re not asking,” Mandaline quietly said. She squeezed Sami’s hands. “I’m asking you. Please, for my peace of mind. Julie’s mission in life was to help people. I want to do this for you as much as for her.” She took a deep breath. “I also want to make sure there isn’t anything left there that can hurt either of you. Or anyone else. For Julie. She’d want me to help. Please?”

The couple exchanged a glance before Sami tearfully nodded. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

Mandaline hugged her again. This felt right. This felt good.

This felt like what Julie’s spirit wanted her to do. “Please don’t stop coming by to see me,” she said. “That’s all I ask. And that you keep her spirit alive by passing her energy and her giving nature forward to others.”

Sami nodded. Mandaline hugged Matt. “And,” she whispered, “when we all get past the craziness, I want to come cleanse the house for you. Finish what she started.”

“Thank you,” Matt said, his voice thick with emotion. “We appreciate that. We’ll talk with you about the…about Steve…after. Later.” He nodded his head toward the rest of the store where a few more people had come in. “Not today,” he said.

Mandaline nodded. “Agreed.” She took a deep breath. “Tomorrow,” she said. “Ten o’clock. Bright and early.” When it looked like they might try to argue again, she said, “We can’t cancel the classes and clients we have tomorrow afternoon. I don’t want to, Julie wouldn’t want us to, and we all need the distraction. So please, come by at ten and we’ll be able to talk. I’ll have Sachi here to watch the store.”

“Okay,” Sami said. “Thank you.”

Mandaline made the rounds, accepting hugs and nearly identical words of sympathy from everyone. She was acutely aware of Libbie, Grover, Sachi, and the others all keeping close tabs on her, mentally hovering if not standing right behind her.

Under other circumstances, she would have laughed.

I feel like you’ve just made me grow up fast, lady, she mentally told Julie.

Julie had inadvertently saved her life, too. When Grover drove Mandaline out to her trailer the next day to check on it and pick up a few things, she found a tree had lost the battle with the wind and collapsed on the bedroom end of the trailer.

The only piece of furniture she cared about saving was an antique secretary cabinet, which had belonged to her grandmother. The rest of it was all secondhand furniture, or cheap discount store crap she didn’t care about. She salvaged her clothes and the rest of her belongings and felt grateful to her friend once again. The rest of the furniture, what wasn’t in the bedroom and didn’t get wet, she sold, or gave away to other storm victims, or just abandoned there.

Now, Many Blessings was her business and her home.

The store was filled beyond capacity by the time eleven o’clock arrived. With Sachi standing on one side of her and Libbie on the other, Mandaline read in a shaky voice a letter Julie had left for her friends, the only thing she’d wanted officially read at her wake. The only funeral she wanted, other than her friends to make each other laugh and smile with shared stories. Instead of flowers, she asked everyone to donate to the local animal shelter or other charity of their choice.

“I go on to the Summerland, friends. I don’t want you to shed tears. I want you to be happy. I hope that when you think of me, that I was able to make a positive impact in your life. I want you to go forth and carry that spirit on to others. I want you to smile, and laugh, and dream, and believe. Always believe. I want you to be grateful every day. I want your smiles to light the darkness. Above all, I want you all to know how loved you were, and how many blessings you brought to my life. Namaste. Blessed Be. Merry Meet and Merry Part, and Merry Meet again. Love and Light.”

Mandaline barely got through it, hardly able read the words on the paper through the tears welling in her eyes. When she finished, she looked up at the crowd filling the shop.

“Thank you all for coming today. Julie didn’t want any kind of a formal service. But Grover talked to the county and received permission for us to plant an oak tree in her memory over at the library. They’re going to mark a place for us to plant it, and they’ve offered to put up a plaque there in memory of her. We’ll do that this Saturday at noon. It’s a full moon. So anyone who wants to join us over there, please feel free to do so.”

She took a deep breath and forced a smile. “I know I don’t hold the monopoly on grief over her loss. She touched us all by being in our lives. Please feel free to come up to her urn and have a moment with her, if you wish. Thank you.”

She somehow made it through the afternoon. By the time the last mourners left around three o’clock, Mandaline, Libbie, Grover, and the others felt drained.

Sachi hugged Mandaline. “Why don’t you go upstairs and rest? We’ll clean up down here.”

Mandaline glanced around. The store shelves looked nearly naked, but she suspected no one had stolen anything. Mina had quietly manned the register nonstop, ringing up customer after customer. “Clean up what?” She let out a laugh. “Probably our best day in a while.”

Sachi soberly nodded. “We did over seven grand.”

Mandaline had to grab the counter. “Are you serious?”

Mina chuckled. “I had her come in and double-check the numbers for me when I cashed out. I couldn’t believe it, either.”

“And the class schedule, as well as all the readers, is booked solid for weeks. Everyone prepaid.” Sachi coughed. “The seven grand doesn’t include the class and reader fees.” Class and reading fees were split between the store and the teachers and readers.

That meant even more money had come in.

Overwhelmed, Mandaline had to sit down. The shop’s income had always paid its own bills and payroll, but Julie’s main income was from the investments she’d inherited from her family. The shop was more her passion than her profession, although her business degree helped her run it efficiently and profitably.

“I’ll come in early tomorrow and do a full inventory,” Sachi said. “We were scheduled to do one next month anyway. Get our replenishment orders put together.”

“I’ll help,” Mina volunteered.

Mandaline, still in shock, simply nodded.

Summers were notoriously slow. It wasn’t quite summer yet, but the snowbirds had mostly departed for northern climes. Their daily take today, in just a few short hours, was more than the equivalent of an entire busy weekend during the brisk winter holiday shopping season.

Mandaline closed her eyes. Thank you, Julie. And thank you, Goddess.

She opened her eyes at the sound of the bell on the front door tinkling.

Two guys walked in. If she hadn’t been grief-stricken, she knew her heart would have skipped a beat. Both over six feet tall, handsome, one a blue-eyed blond with neatly styled hair, the other with shaggy brown hair and brown eyes.

Libbie hurried up to them. “I’m sorry, but the store’s closed today.”

The blond man frowned. “We were supposed to meet with Julie today to talk. We have an appointment.” He held up a card.

The silence following the collective gasp as everyone turned to look at them nearly deafened Mandaline.

She stood and walked over. “It’s okay, Libbie. I’ve got it.” Taking a deep breath, she said, “I’m sorry. Julie…died last Thursday. Unexpectedly. We just finished having her wake.” She couldn’t quite make herself say “raped and murdered” yet to describe Julie’s death.

“Died unexpectedly” could fall from her mouth without her bursting into tears.

The blond man’s frown disappeared, replaced by a somber look. The brunet looked completely crestfallen. “I’m so sorry,” the blond said. “We didn’t know. How did it happen?”

Behind her, Grover cleared his throat. “Mandaline, honey, why don’t you let me—”

“No,” she softly said. “It’s all right, Grover. I can’t ask you to babysit me all the time. This is going to happen and I need to be able to handle it.” She took another deep breath and turned back to the men. “She was…killed last Thursday.”

Now blondie looked shocked. “I–I’m so sorry.”

“You don’t watch the news, do you?” Grover angrily snapped.

She put a hand on Grover’s arm, but the blond man now stared at the floor. “We just got back from Tampa this morning,” he explained. “We were down there for the storm, from Wednesday on, and Bradley just spent the past two days at the VA hospital there for some tests. We stayed with my folks in Tampa instead of coming back up here last weekend.”

Mandaline guessed Bradley was the brunet, who now wiped tears from his eyes.

The blond man held a Many Blessings appointment card with Julie’s handwriting on it. “What was your name?” she asked. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t see any appointments in the calendar for Julie today or we would have notified you.”

“I’m Ellis Fargo. This is my friend, Bradley Sawyer. We stopped in early last week and talked to Julie. She said she was on her way out, and she wrote it down in a small appointment book she was carrying before giving us this card.” Behind her, Mandaline sensed Sachi dart into the office where Mandaline had put the boxes of Julie’s things that Sami Corey had sent over the day after…the incident.

Sachi appeared seconds later, searching through the appointment book as she hurried over. “Here it is. Mandaline, I’m so sorry, I didn’t even think to look here. She is…was so good about always putting things in the computer. I didn’t—”

“It’s all right,” Mandaline gently assured her as she took the appointment book. There, for today, Julie had written, Ellis Fargo/Bradley Sawyer - 3:15. URGENT!

The men were a little early for their appointment.

Mandaline took yet another deep breath. “Please give me a minute to collect myself, Mr. Fargo, and I’ll be with you. Did you need a reading?” Please, don’t let it be that! She knew there was no way in the Universe she could give a reading today.

Ellis shook his head. “Ellis is fine, and we can come back another time—”

“No, it’s all right. I promise.” She reached out and touched his arm, shocked, literally, at the contact. A tingle zipped up her arm when her fingers touched his bare flesh.

He apparently noticed it, too, because he flinched. “Huh, static electricity, I guess,” he said with a lopsided, halfhearted smile.

She slowly nodded. “What is the reason for your appointment?”

He chewed on his inner lip and looked at his friend, who had produced a tissue to wipe his tears away. “We think there’s something wrong with our house. She was going to talk to us to get the details before setting up another appointment to come out to take a look at it. She said she was in the middle of a large case and couldn’t come out until she finished with that one.”

Mandaline shivered. The large case would have been the Coreys’ house.

The house where Steven Corey raped and murdered Julie.

The house where Julie’s great-grandfather had raped and murdered Julie’s young grandaunt, his daughter.

“Sachi, can you take them to the smaller room?” Mandaline asked. “I’ll be right there. Get them anything they want to drink, on me.”

Sachi nodded, her usually sarcastic demeanor subdued and her stunning blue, almond-shaped eyes red from crying off and on most of the afternoon. “Follow me,” she softly said to them as she tucked a strand of her long, straight black locks behind her ear.

Mandaline closed the appointment book and watched them follow Sachi down the hall.

Grover leaned in and dropped his voice. “Honey, it’s all right to cancel.”

“No, Julie wouldn’t want me to.” She took a deep breath. “She never forgot to put appointments in the computer. And she rarely wrote urgent by an appointment unless she truly thought it was.”

The appointment with Sami Corey had also been marked urgent.

She turned to Grover. “I know you don’t believe the things I do, but this is a sign from Julie. Maybe this is what I need to do to move forward. Julie wouldn’t want me to turn my back on them.” She hugged him. “I’ll see you tomorrow at noon for all the probate stuff. Thank you so much for everything you’ve done. You have no idea how much it means to me.”

“Sugar, you’re more than welcome. I just wish this were under better circumstances.”

She turned to Libbie and hugged her, too. “And you,” she whispered in her ear, “are a blessing and a treasure. Thank you so, so much. I know this is hard on you in more than one way.” Poor Libbie suffered from fibromyalgia and arthritis. In addition to being Julie’s friend, she’d insisted on providing the food for the wake. It had to be a strain on her.

“Anything you need, I’m right across the square,” Libbie said. “Anytime, day or night, call or come pound on my door if you need me.”

“Thanks.”

She saw them out, then turned to everyone else. “Thanks for being here today. You guys are fantastic.”

Sachi returned. “They didn’t want anything to drink. Are you sure you want to do this?”

She forced a smile she didn’t feel. “I’m sure.”

“I’m not leaving until they do,” Sachi insisted. “Then you need to go lie down.”

“I will. Can someone please walk Pers for me? He’s up in the apartment. And be careful not to let Damiago out of the bedroom, either.”

“I’ve got it,” Sachi said, bolting for the stairwell door. Sachi seemed to have two speeds the past several days—run, and sit. Mandaline didn’t blame her. The events had to be triggering bad flashbacks for Sachi, who had past horrors of her own she dealt with.

Mandaline stopped in the downstairs bathroom and washed her face. She glanced in the mirror.

I look horrible.

After a deep breath to settle herself, she grabbed a notepad and pen from the office, then headed to the room to talk to the men.

Chapter Two

“I feel horrible,” Brad whispered.

Ellis barely heard him. He nodded, still fingering the appointment card. He couldn’t believe the vibrant, bubbly, red-haired woman they’d talked to days earlier was now dead.

It hadn’t been the best weekend. He’d spent it trying to decompress after helping his parents board up their large house, and then unboard their house once the storm didn’t hit, followed by making sure he was at the VA for all of Brad’s tests Monday and Tuesday.

And still they had no answers.

He’d spent the past several days either inundated by storm coverage or trying to wrap his head around medical information. Yes, in retrospect he remembered hearing something about a murder in Brooksville, a famous author or someone snapped, but it honestly hadn’t taken priority over everything else going on in his life.

Brad was his priority, and would be as long as they were both alive. Especially since he blamed himself and felt responsible for his friend’s condition.

The sound of the door opening jarred him from his thoughts. He didn’t remember seeing this woman when they were in the store the other day. Under better circumstances he suspected he’d be trying to corral his lewd and lascivious thoughts about the short, slim woman. Between his shock and her obvious grief, sexy thoughts felt wrong and out of place.

Her sweet brown eyes looked red and bloodshot, with dark, puffy lines under them. She’d pulled her long brown hair back into a braid. Dressed in a loose, black blouse and a floor-length maroon skirt, she almost seemed to drift into the room. She sat across from them and offered them a sad smile.

She extended her hand. “I’m sorry. I’m Mandaline Royce. I…” Her voice faltered a beat. “I now own Many Blessings. Julie was my best friend as well as my employer.”

He gently shook her hand. “Ellis Fargo. Well, I guess you know us now.” She shook with Brad. “This is Bradley Sawyer.”

She took up her pen. “Let’s start with the basics. You said you’re having trouble with your house?”

He nodded, running the tip of his tongue over his teeth. I’m doing this for Brad. “We think there’s something wrong with—”

“It’s possessed,” Brad said with quiet certainty.

Ellis fought the urge to groan. “We don’t know what’s wrong with it.”

Brad looked down at his hands, where he worked the tissue back and forth through his fingers. “It’s not right,” he softly said. “There’s something wrong with it.”

Brad was obviously upset over the news about Julie and in no state of mind to tell the story. Ellis laid a hand on his shoulder. “Let me tell it, buddy. Okay?”

Brad nodded but didn’t look up.

He returned his attention to Mandaline, glad that she wasn’t looking at him or Brad like they were nuts. “It’s an old house, one of the oldest in Brooksville. It’s on ten acres north of town. Two stories plus the attic, lots of gingerbread, that kind of thing. We bought it at a bank auction. It sat empty for several years and was in pretty bad shape even before that. We had it tented for termites, put a new roof on it, started getting things like plumbing and electrical updated. We’re in the process of renovating it. Top to bottom.”

She jotted something on her notepad. “How long have you owned it?”

“We bought it early last year, but we didn’t move in until eight weeks ago, once we had a usable bathroom. We’ve been staying at my office.”

Her brow furrowed. “Office?”

“I own the law firm four blocks down from here. The old two-story mansion? I have other offices rented out in the building. We were using part of the upstairs as an apartment.”

“Ah.” Recognition dawned across her features. “Oh! Okay, now I know why your name sounds familiar.” She offered him a kind smile. “You renovated that building, too, didn’t you? I really like how it looks now, the light blue with the yellow trim. Everyone loved how you decorated it last Christmas.”

He nodded. “Thanks. It wasn’t in as bad of shape as this house is. I like rehabbing old houses, although Brad deserves most of the credit for the work.”

“He’s good at it,” Brad softly said with a smile. He looked up at them. “Rehabbing things.”

Ellis smiled at the joke. He realized Mandaline didn’t get it. “Brad’s been through a lot the past few years.”

“So, tell me what kind of things are happening at your house?”

Ellis thought back to the litany of Brad’s claims. “Noises. Ah, apparitions. Things being moved.”

“You’ve both experienced this?”

“I have,” Brad said. He looked down to his lap again. “Ellis thinks I’m imagining it.”

No, not exactly correct, but he didn’t want to have this conversation in front of Brad. He suspected Brad genuinely thought he heard and saw things, but that the source of the disturbances came from inside Brad’s battered brain, not from the house.

“I never said that,” he told Brad. “We wouldn’t be here if I thought you were imagining it.”

“He’s humoring me.” Brad turned one of his thousand-megawatt smiles on the woman. “So I’m humoring him by pretending I don’t know he thinks I’m having problems again.”

* * *

Holy fecking Goddess! Mandaline didn’t know what Bradley’s issue was, but her panties suddenly grew damp under his playful smile. Her heart raced. Despite the circumstances, Mandaline welcomed the distraction.

It felt good to actually feel something besides grief for a few moments.

It felt good to feel.

She looked from one man to the other. She didn’t get a gay vibe from them. They weren’t partners in that respect, but there was definitely a deep, strong bond of love and caring between them. “Are you brothers?”

“No,” Ellis said. It took every ounce of Mandaline’s being to pull her attention from Bradley’s deep, sweet brown gaze and back to Ellis. “Good friends. For years. Like brothers, I guess. As good as brothers.”

“He takes care of me,” Bradley said, still wearing that smile.

Dammit. If she’d met Bradley in a bar and he flashed that smile at her, she’d likely be in bed with him in a heartbeat despite her reservations of getting involved with anyone.

Hell, she’d do him in the backseat of her car.

Of course, Ellis was no slouch himself. He wore jeans and a blue pullover short-sleeved, collared knit shirt. But with his neatly styled blond hair and blue eyes, he looked every bit as handsome as Bradley. Bradley wore jeans with splotches of paint on them, and a white T-shirt under an open, long-sleeved chambray shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows. His shaggy brown hair brushed his shirt collar. He also had long, sinewy, graceful fingers she imagined could…

Her pulse thundered as she shoved that vision out of the way. “What do you do for a living, Bradley?”

“Brad.” His soft voice pulled at her every bit as strongly as his smile. “Just Brad. Not much.”

“He’s an artist,” Ellis said, glancing at him.

“Oh, that’s neat,” Mandaline said, wanting to know more about both of them. The vibe she felt intrigued her more every second she spent with them. She felt loath to release the distraction. Outside the room, once they left, she’d be forced to deal with reality again.

For now, she could distract herself with these two cuties.

Brad shrugged. “I try.” His gaze had returned to his lap.

“He sold six paintings last month at a show in Miami for over seventy-five thousand, total.”

Mandaline’s brow rose. “Wow! That’s impressive. I take it he refuses to toot his own horn?”

The sad smile Ellis wore as he looked at his friend nearly broke her heart. She longed to find out what bound these two together. “He won’t even play his own horn, much less toot it. Art is just fun for him.”

“Like I said,” Brad spoke up without looking up, “he takes care of me.”

She didn’t miss the intensity of the look Ellis gave her. It didn’t take her witchy senses to see what was going on. “Brad, tell me about what’s going on at the house.”

At that, he looked up and met her gaze. She felt something subtle shift inside him, as if he was more there than he had been a moment earlier. “I think the renovation stirred something up. That happens, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, it can. It’s not uncommon.”

“We know a little about the house’s history. Nothing gory or horrific, but one of the early owners, nearly half his family died there during a flu epidemic back in the forties.”

Mandaline jotted it down, relieved. Likely nothing dark, nothing creepy, just sad energies. “What have you experienced?”

“Most of it’s in the attic. I see shadows moving during the day. And at night. I hear sounds, like voices but not, when I’m alone in the house during the day, and sometimes at night, too. I’ve had stuff like brushes, charcoals, pencils, things like that, I’ll go to find them and they’ve been moved. I have periods where it feels like someone’s watching me when I’m home alone.”

While Brad spoke, Mandaline watched Ellis from the periphery of her vision. Yes, he was humoring his friend. And he was doing it out of love and concern.

She kept her focus on Brad as she jotted notes while he talked. “Have you noticed any pattern to the activity?”

He shrugged. “It happens only to me.”

“Does the activity get worse at night or daytime?”

He shook his head. “I haven’t noticed. It just…happens. Julie said maybe she could do a house cleansing ritual?”

“That is definitely one option. She…we have a two-pronged approach. Have you ever watched Otherworlds?”

Brad smiled. “I love that show. They’re based in Tampa.”

That smile would be devastating to her panties. She couldn’t help but smile in return. “We use equipment to go through a space and see if we can catch anything. But we also try to debunk what we can. When we finish that process, then we can go through and do a ritual cleansing of the space for you, if you’d like.”

Brad nodded before abruptly turning to Ellis. “You want to talk to her alone now?”

She didn’t think she imagined that Ellis went a little pink in the face. “Sure, buddy.”

He got up. “I’ll go sit out there.” He quickly left the room.

Once the door closed, Ellis slumped in his chair and let out a long breath as he rubbed his forehead.

This was the mystery Mandaline truly felt drawn to. She suspected it was part of the reason Julie had designated their case as urgent.

“Thank you for humoring him,” he said.

She put down her pen. “I know it’s none of my business, but since I suspect you and I are now technically in collusion or whatever it’s called, can I ask what’s going on?”

That earned her a wry smile as he met her gaze. “How long you got?”

* * *

Brad walked out to the front of the store and sat on one of the sofas, where he could look out the windows and see the center of town. The courthouse complex stood in the middle of the main square. Across the way he spotted the bakery.

“Libbie,” the woman whispered in his mind.

He nodded, listening. The woman had started coming to him a few days earlier, but Brad hadn’t said anything to Ellis about her.

He’d only think it’s another problem.

He loved Ellis. He loved him for taking care of him when he didn’t have anyone, and he loved Ellis for humoring him when anyone else would have simply had a court commit him to an assisted living facility.

He knew he had his good days and his bad. Today was actually a good day. If he’d wanted, he could drive.

Not that he’d tell Ellis that. It would give Ellis indigestion.

The woman softly laughed at that thought, which made him smile.

Behind the counter, a woman—

“Sachi,” the woman whispered.

Sachi. He mentally rolled the name around for a while. He’d remember that name. As he would Mandaline. Beautiful names. He sometimes had trouble remembering names. It frustrated him, because before everything, before, then he’d had a perfect memory.

Before.

Of all the things he missed about his old self, he missed his mind the most.

He almost giggled aloud at the thought. He knew it was a common bumper sticker saying.

From behind the counter, Sachi watched him with a wary eye. He let his gaze drift around the storefront, until it fell upon a beautifully carved wooden box sitting high on a shelf next to the counter. Beside it, a small vase of wildflowers.

Before his brain processed it, he stood and walked over to the box.

No, not box.

“You’ll think of it,” the woman whispered.

Then, the lightbulb moment.

Urn.

The woman laughed as if delighted with him.

“You’re Julie.” He knew it was right as soon as he silently spoke it to her.

She hadn’t told him her name, going quiet every time he’d asked. He’d quickly learned to stop asking.

Now he knew who she was. He felt glad about that. He didn’t often have voices in his head, but he preferred knowing their names when he did. “I thought you sounded familiar.”

She gently laughed.

Chapter Three

“We’re not gay,” Ellis said by way of starting. “I don’t know where else to begin but there, so you can understand. As I said, he’s like a brother to me. We’ve been friends since first grade. His dad was arrested on drunk driving charges. Manslaughter. He went to jail.”

“Yikes.”

“Oh, that’s the good part of the story.”

“The good?”

“It goes downhill from there. His mom obviously had a hard time after that. His dad killed a bicyclist. She filed for divorce when it happened. He’d been drinking off and on for years, but that was the last straw for her. She lost everything when the family sued her husband. She basically had to start over as a single mom.

“My parents are good people. They didn’t turn their backs on her like a lot of people did. They knew her husband’s sins weren’t hers, or her son’s. My parents included Brad in everything, my after-school stuff, taking him on the weekends so she could work, became his family. He spent more time at our house than at his. So when I say we’re like brothers, that’s because we are.”

She sensed a great sadness envelop him. “He has good days and bad days,” he softly said. “He’s not crazy. He’s not autistic or mentally disabled. He’s suffered traumatic brain injuries. And it’s my fault.”

“What?”

“Long story short, his mom died when we were in high school. She couldn’t afford medical insurance. She had cancer, but she didn’t know it. By the time she was so sick she had to go to the ER, she was too far gone for the doctors to help her. My parents took him in and were granted custody of him, but they couldn’t afford two college tuitions. Fortunately, he scored an academic scholarship. Which was great, because we were both going to be lawyers. Our dream was to open an office together.

“But in college he kind of slacked off. I was busy with my own stuff and should have been riding his ass. He ended up losing his scholarship.”

“That’s not your fault.”

He slowly nodded. “Oh, yes it is. One night we were talking about options for him to try to make money to afford tuition. I made the mistake of suggesting he could enlist in the military and then go back to college after he did his time.” He looked down at his hands. “I didn’t think he’d really do it. I don’t even know why I said it. I wish I hadn’t said it.”

He finally looked up at her again. “He went and enlisted early the next morning without talking to me or my parents about it first. Ten months later, he was sent over to Afghanistan.”

She suspected she knew where this story was going, but she didn’t interrupt him.

“He served in the Middle East for nearly four years. One day, the vehicle he was in ran over an IED. After three weeks in a hospital in Germany, he was stable enough to be shipped stateside, where he spent a few more months in the hospital before they gave him a medical discharge.”

“He looks good.” She winced. “That came out wrong, I’m sorry.”

He waved it away with a smile. “No, he does look good. He caught the worst of the blast in his back. That’s why he wears his hair like he does. It hides the scars on the back of his head. That, unfortunately, wasn’t the worst.”

“What?”

“The blast left him with PTSD and some memory issues because of a fortunately fairly mild TBI. But once he physically healed, he could live independently, drive, no problems like that. He went back to college. He lived with my parents while he was putting his life back together. I graduated first and went to work for a firm in Tampa. He moved in with me while he was still going to school. He couldn’t afford a car, so he got a motorcycle. And that definitely is my fault.”

She didn’t ask. She let him spin the tale in his own way.

“I was going to cosign a car loan for him, but he wouldn’t let me. Said he didn’t want it to get weird between us if something happened and he couldn’t make the payments. A friend of mine was selling a motorcycle, and they met at our house one night. When Brad found out about the motorcycle, he decided that was what he wanted, and he bought it.

“He loved that thing. It was an older Harley. He wore a helmet, jacket, gloves, everything. All the safety gear. And he loved it. Rode it in all sorts of weather. He graduated college and law school and I got him into the firm I worked for. He finally got a car, but he kept the bike to ride on weekends. He still had issues with PTSD, and sometimes his memory, but the memory stuff he learned to work around by training himself to take notes about everything and keep them in his phone and on the computer. Unless you knew what he’d been through, you never would have known he had any problems.”

A deep sadness enveloped him, like a dark cloak around his aura. “Everything comes full circle, you know? It was my turn to stop for groceries on the way home one night nearly four years ago. I forgot. I’d been in court all day and I was exhausted and I just…forgot. We were out of milk, so he said no problem, he’d go get it. He grabbed the motorcycle, because he hadn’t ridden in a couple of weeks.”

She watched his chest hitch. “I got a visit an hour later from FHP doing a next-of-kin search. Drunk driver hit him as he was leaving the store. Pulled right out in front of him. He spent nearly nine months in the hospital. Months in a rehab center after that. They said because of the original injury, it probably did more damage than it would have. He spent months relearning how to walk. Months of PT and OT. That’s where the art started. They found out he did better when they put something in his hands to draw with and gave him something to copy. He’d never been into art before, but it was like this sudden Rain Man thing. He loved it and started creating his own stuff. And now…now he’s my responsibility.”

“None of what happened was your fault.”

“Yes, it was. It’s my fault he went into the military. I should have spent more time with him in college, and I never should have suggested he enlist. That makes it my fault he got hurt there. It’s my fault he got the motorcycle, and my fault he got hit because I forgot to go to the store.”

She suspected Ellis was the truly wounded one of the pair but kept her mouth shut on that opinion.

“So I take care of him. We found out who our true friends were when it happened. People suddenly didn’t have time to help out, to come sit with him when I had to go to the store and the nurse had left for the day, or they complained when I couldn’t go out to party and leave him home alone. I ended up leaving the firm and went to work for a friend of mine for a while at his private family law practice. Brad had me court-appointed as his caretaker because he just couldn’t keep track of everything while he was healing. I sued the crap out of the driver and the insurance company for him.

“The settlement was enough we could leave Tampa. I wanted to be somewhere close enough to easily get to the VA for his appointments, but far enough from the past. He can’t practice law anymore. The knowledge is there, but he can’t focus, can’t handle the long hours in court. He didn’t want to be around all those people and places anymore. That’s when I found the house here in town that I turned into my office, and the house we bought for us. He’s good with tools and his hands. It’s like the art, he just has a knack for it now. We wanted something large enough that on the off chance we found two unicorns willing to put up with us, we wouldn’t be crowded.” He smiled, and she smiled with him.

“Now, I run my law firm and he sells his artwork.” He let out a sad laugh. “I should say I sell his artwork for him. He’s not incompetent. He’s really not. Occasionally he has seizures. Not bad ones, but I don’t let him drive even though he still has his driver’s license. I didn’t have the heart to have it revoked and I trust him not to drive. He hasn’t had a seizure in over a year now. He just…doesn’t care about the details anymore.” He scrubbed at his face. “I mean, he’s like a child in some ways. It’s like all the cynicism and inherent caution you and I might feel about life is gone. Vanished.”

“That sounds like a blessing.”

“In some ways, it is. I think it’s what makes his artwork so beautiful. But it also puts him in danger. He could easily get taken advantage of. He can bathe and feed himself and all of that. He picks up after himself. Hell, he’s amazing with the renovation work. He could live alone if he wanted to. But he knows he shouldn’t. He doesn’t want to. He has no street smarts anymore. Two years ago, a woman tried to sucker him into marrying her. She was after his money. Then I put everything into a trust for him and when he told her he wanted me to stay on as the trustee to manage it and she couldn’t access the funds, she dumped him.”

“That’s horrible.”

He nodded. “Want to know the worst part?” He let out a sad laugh. “Brad told me after she left him that he knew from the start she was only after his money, but he hoped he was wrong.”

“Poor guy. Now I get the joke he made about rehabbing.”

Ellis sadly smiled as he nodded. “So we’re two bachelors. I haven’t had time for a social life, but the few times I’ve met women who might show an interest in me, when I tell them up front that I’m a package deal, they bolt.”

“What?”

He laughed. “Oh, I don’t mean like that. But I swore when he came home alive the first time that I would spend my life making it up to him.” Agonizing sadness crept into his tone. “When I stood in the ICU after his accident, I swore never again would I put anyone ahead of him in my life. Not even me. If he’d just wake up and live, I’d spend my life making sure he was taken care of.” He pursed his lips as if trying to hold back tears. “I suspect I won’t ever find a woman able to deal with never being first in my life.”

He let out a heavy sigh. “Again, it comes back to thank you for humoring him. I’m happy to pay whatever fee you want for your time.”

She shook her head. “No fee. We don’t charge for this. If you want to buy the house cleansing kit at the end for the ritual, that’s like thirty dollars. We don’t charge for that unless you want and are able to pay. Julie insisted what we do with the home investigations, we do it to help people, not for profit. I won’t change that.”

He nodded, suddenly looking choked up. “She seemed like a really nice lady. I’m sorry I didn’t get to know her better.”

“Thank you.”

A momentary silence enveloped the room. “So here’s why I gave you the long version,” he said. “The reason we were down at the VA is because I think he’s having problems. I honestly think what he’s going through is a new neurological symptom. But they tested him, MRIs and studies and stuff I don’t even know what they were, and said he’s not any worse than he was the last time he had a thorough physical.

“I also need to be honest with you that I don’t believe in…this. In all the metaphysical stuff. I’m a lawyer. I believe in facts. The fact is, Brad has had two traumatic brain injuries. The first far milder than the second. I believe what he’s experiencing now is a manifestation of something going on in his brain. I also believe he believes it’s supernatural. So I’m more than willing to do whatever you need to do, to go through the motions, for him. I’m hoping that it helps him deal with it so I can get him to focus more on the medical end of things.”

She nodded. “I understand. I appreciate your honesty.”

He shrugged. “I just want you to know what’s going on. Some people who don’t know Brad, if they catch him on a bad day, when he’s wound up in his work, or upset, or stressed, they might think he’s crazy or on drugs or…you know.”

She nodded.

“But he’s not any of those things. He’s just…different now. Special. There are plenty of days you see him, he’s as normal as you or me. And he has long stretches like that. But sometimes, when he gets upset like today, it can set him back while he tries to process it. He really took to Julie. I could tell she liked him, too. He has a way with people like that. When she shook hands with him the other day, it was like her whole face lit up. He’s special. He’s special in a good way. The best part is he has no idea how special in a good way he really is. His artwork can bring people to tears it’s so beautiful. It’s like the accident took stuff away, but it allowed him to tap into a primal part of his brain the rest of us can’t access. He doesn’t censor his art.”

“The activity he’s talking about, it started after you started living at the house, not before?”

He nodded. “It’s gotten worse the past couple of weeks. Well, he says it’s gotten worse. Like I said, I haven’t experienced it. I’m usually not home during the day unless I run home for lunch.”

“Please don’t take offense at what I’m about to ask. But could he be lying about it? Making it up?”

“No.” He wore a wry smile. “One of the ‘wonderful’ quirks we discovered about Brad’s new brain, as we like to call it, is his incapacity to lie. If you told him to tell you a lie, like lie about his name or whatever, he can’t. That’s why I know he thinks he is experiencing stuff. But he also knows if I can prove to him there isn’t any supernatural basis for what he’s experiencing, he’ll completely submit to more testing.”

“Another reason he can’t be a lawyer?”

That earned her an honest, amused smile. “Yes, you could say that. Believe me, he already has.”

She turned the notepad around and handed him the pen. “Please give me all your information. Address, phone number, e-mail address, that stuff. I need to get through the next couple of days and…this weekend.” She swallowed back tears that wanted to flow. For a few blessed minutes, she’d had respite from her crushing grief. “We’re having a tree planting in Julie’s memory over at the library on Saturday at noon, if you’d like to join us. I’ll have to look at the schedule, but maybe we can get together at your house next Monday evening?”

He nodded as he wrote. “And Brad’s not dangerous. He’s a very gentle man. I don’t want you to think I’m trying to scare you about him. If you need access to the house and I can’t be there because of work, you’re perfectly safe with Brad.” He put down the pen after he finished writing. “Others are more dangerous to him. The sad thing is, he knows it, but he’d still let it happen.”

Chapter Four

Brad stared out the window as they headed home. He’d had a nice conversation with Julie while waiting for Ellis to finish talking with Mandaline.

Ellis really liked Mandaline. Was attracted to her. Brad actually felt glad about that, because he was attracted to Mandaline, too.

Julie was really happy about that. She’d told him so.

“You told Mandaline you think what’s happening isn’t real,” he said to Ellis.

He heard Ellis sigh next to him. “Buddy, I know you believe it’s real. That’s what matters.”

Brad held back his laugh. “But you don’t believe it’s real.”

Poor Ellis. How Ellis never lost his patience with him, he didn’t know. But he loved him for it. “All that I care about,” Ellis said, “is that you think it’s real. We have a deal, though. Right?”

Brad nodded, still staring out the window. “If she doesn’t find anything, I go back to the VA for more tests.” He finally pulled his gaze from the window and looked at Ellis. “You won’t let them lock me up, will you?” he quietly asked.

Ellis shook his head. “Never. We have a deal.” He reached over and patted Brad on the leg, but didn’t take his eyes from the road. “I told you, we’re a team. Death do us part.”

Brad nodded and had to look back out the window to conceal his smile at the sound of Julie’s laugh. He didn’t want Ellis to ask him what was so funny. Then he’d have to tell him about Julie. That he’d been talking to her since the afternoon she’d died.

That might make Ellis reconsider their deal.

He didn’t understand why he couldn’t lie or keep secrets anymore. Not that he’d been a sociopath or anything…before. But poor Mom and Dad, they’d learned not to ask innocent questions like, “Does this look okay?” or “Do I look fat in this?”

It was like he had to sit back and listen to his own answer.

That frustrated him. He didn’t want to lie, per se, but he didn’t want to hurt people’s feelings. He couldn’t even tell little white fibs to make people happy. And trying to deflect answering a question usually made people want him to answer it that much more.

If Ellis saw him smiling and asked him what was so funny, he’d have to tell him about Julie.

He’d also have to tell him why Julie was laughing so hard.

Ellis would never believe that they’d found their unicorn. A unicorn, a woman perfect for them both. At least, that was what Julie said.

And he suspected Julie wouldn’t lie to him. No, not at all. Because she loved Mandaline and wanted her to be happy.

* * *

Ellis shut the car off and stared at the house.

“Are you coming in?” Brad asked.

“Yeah, buddy. I just need a minute.”

“Are you upset that Julie died?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I am.”

“She was nice.”

“Yeah. She really took a shine to you.”

“I like Mandaline.”

“I like her, too.”

Ellis hoped he wouldn’t have to order Brad to leave him alone. He hated doing it and always felt guilty about it, even though Brad had said he didn’t mind and even admitted that sometimes he needed the direct order.

Brad opened his car door, much to Ellis’ relief. He swung his legs out and sat there for a moment, staring at the ground. “Can we go to the tree planting on Saturday?” Brad asked.

“Sure, buddy.”

“Okay.” He got out, closed the door behind him, and headed to the house.

Ellis put his head back against the seat and blew out a long breath. He watched as Brad unlocked the side door they used most and headed inside. He held his breath, but the alarm didn’t go off.

Brad managed to set it off while arming or disarming it an average of once a week.

Did I tell him about the tree planting? He couldn’t remember. He didn’t think he had. Then again, maybe one of the other employees had. When he’d followed Mandaline out of the private room, he’d found Brad standing by Julie’s urn and staring at it.

No, without a doubt he knew Brad thought what he was experiencing was absolutely real. Thank god Mandaline was willing to help get them through this. The faster they did, the faster he could talk to Brad’s doctors and try to get to the root of his problems. He hated the thought of having to put him on more medication. Right now, Brad took an anticonvulsant and that was it. He’d been on a lot of meds early on after the accident. Ellis worried that if Brad needed any drugs for what he was experiencing now that it could mess with his art.

And Ellis wanted to avoid that at all costs. No, Brad didn’t take any interest in the marketing of it, and that was fine. He’d happily handle that for him.

The look on Brad’s face when he’d surprised him with the trip to Miami, to the gallery hosting the show, had been priceless. And the joy on Brad’s features as person after person came up to him and praised his work…

Hell, he could die happy, and he wasn’t even the artist.

Brad liked that he could make people happy, make them smile. The money was irrelevant to either of them. Between the settlement, Brad’s VA benefits, and Ellis’ law firm, they didn’t need the sales of the artwork. Ellis put the money from the art sales into the trust. If Brad wanted to use it for the renovation, they could dip into it as needed. But Ellis wanted to build as large a nest egg for his friend as possible. In case something ever happened to him, and he couldn’t be there to take care of Brad.

Brad had fallen in love with the house while they were making their initial tour of Brooksville. While Ellis had serious misgivings about it, he’d relented because it was the first thing Brad had acted really passionate about other than his art since the accident.

But…it needed a lot of work. Brad spent a few hours almost every day pecking away at it. Once the plumbers and electricians had taken care of their parts, Brad wanted to do the rest. Ellis had put his foot down about what would eventually be the guest bathroom, calling in a contractor to finish the second-floor bathroom so they could move in. And the central heat and AC systems.

It had four bedrooms, including a master bedroom with an en suite. A second bathroom upstairs, the one that was now finished, and a powder room downstairs. Brad had claimed the attic as his studio, where they would eventually add yet another bathroom. With a new roof, and plenty of insulation, the AC kept it a comfortable temperature.

And Brad seemed content.

For his part, he was sick of washing dishes in a mop sink in the utility room because Brad couldn’t decide between an old country kitchen scheme or a modern look with granite countertops. They had an electric range oven, which sat unplugged in one corner of the kitchen, and the fridge sat in the hallway, plugged into an extension cord. They cooked with an electric skillet, a hotplate, a toaster oven, and a microwave.

But he’d do it for Brad.

Not for the first time he wondered if the move to the house from the apartment at the office had triggered Brad’s new symptoms. Brad had settled well into the apartment after leaving Tampa, even though with two small bedrooms and an efficiency kitchen it’d been a tight fit.

Maybe the stress is getting to him.

He’d quit hinting around about calling in contractors to finish the house once and for all. It only irritated him when Brad refused.

And the irritation always made him feel guilty, like a real shit.

At least he’s not a hoarder.

Ellis let out a snort and finally followed Brad into the house.

* * *

Mandaline sat up in bed, propped up with pillows. She didn’t understand why Julie had bought a king-sized bed a few months ago. It felt huge, even though it was comfortable.

Beside her, Damiago had pressed himself into a tight, purring ball against her thigh.

On her other side, Persnickety lay with his rump pressed against her other thigh.

She had the TV on, tuned to Cartoon Network. On the lap desk she’d laid out a spread of Tarot cards from the Rider-Waite deck she frequently used for readings for customers.

Her meeting with Ellis and Brad earlier still played through her mind. She knew a rational person would explain her sudden interest in the men as an easy way to focus on something other than the loss of her friend.

Tonight she did not want to be a rational person.

Tonight all she wanted to do was not think about how lonely she felt and how much her heart hurt.

Tomorrow she’d meet with Sami and Matt. She knew they were hurting, too. They were the only ones who could truly understand the pain she felt right now. They’d loved Steve, and they’d liked Julie. They were also burdened by guilt not theirs to shoulder.

Not unlike Ellis.

She sighed as she looked at the cards. They were as muddled as her mind.

I can’t read for anyone right now, much less myself.

She gathered them up, shuffled them, then returned them to the drawstring bag she stored them in before putting it and the lap desk on the chair next to the bed. It was the third deck she’d tried that evening with the same results. She had yet to sage her personal The Quest Tarot deck. She had barely been able to stomach picking it up the other day and moving it to the office, where it still sat on a shelf near Julie’s…her desk.

She wasn’t even sure if getting herself a new deck would help, or if she’d have to abandon that one altogether based on the memories she now associated with it.

Ellis and Brad kept creeping into her mind. After they’d left, once she finally convinced Sachi and the others to go, she’d closed the store and looked up Brad’s art online.

Breathtaking was only one word for it, and a completely inadequate word at that. His style was indefinable simply because he didn’t have a style. Every piece was unique, exquisite. Whether drawing, watercolor, acrylic, charcoal—there was an honesty and simple beauty in his work that she couldn’t remember seeing anywhere else before.

She didn’t even mind that Ellis admitted he didn’t believe in anything supernatural. She couldn’t blame him. She was just glad he’d been upfront and honest about it. His dedication to Brad more than showed what a good heart he had.

Leaving the TV on for noise, she turned off the bedside lamp and rolled onto her side.

What is so urgent about them, Julie? What did you see when you shook Brad’s hand? She didn’t doubt Ellis’ account of Julie’s handshake with Brad. Like Mandaline, Julie’d had finely tuned empathic senses. There was something special about Brad, beyond what Ellis recounted.

She closed her eyes and tried to sleep.

* * *

Brad lay on his back in bed, eyes open as he stared at the ceiling. Julie went quiet not long after they returned home. When he’d gone up to his studio to work, he’d only managed about an hour before the shadows started flickering at the edges of his vision again, darting in and out of the periphery just to disappear when he turned his head.

He also didn’t like what he painted. The colors were dark, depressing.

It scared him a little.

He’d repainted several canvasses the past couple of weeks, things he didn’t want Ellis to see. Although Ellis never came up to his studio without asking first, or without him inviting him up. He loved Ellis for that, that he wanted to give him privacy to work.

He didn’t like the way his mood darkened, either. That was something else he hadn’t told Ellis yet. But then again, Ellis hadn’t asked him about mood changes, so Brad hadn’t felt compelled to tell him that.

And he didn’t like the feeling of being watched in the studio. The feeling went away when he came down to the second or first floors, but after spending time in the attic, he always felt like someone was watching him.

Even though he’d asked the unseen presence to talk to him, it never did. He didn’t even know if it was really a presence, like Julie or some of the others that talked to him. And the noises he heard sounded like voices, but muffled, as if from a great distance away, indiscernible.

He rolled onto his side and closed his eyes. He really wanted to see Mandaline again. Alone this time, so he could talk to her without Ellis hearing and asking questions. He wanted to know if Julie was real, or if he was imagining her.

* * *

Mandaline awoke the next morning with eyes so puffy she didn’t know how she’d make it through the day. She ran cold water over a washcloth and stood in the kitchen with it pressed against her face while waiting for the coffee to finish brewing.

I wonder what stage I’m in. She knew grief was a process, that she wouldn’t magickally wake up on the other side of this experience all happy and bouncy.

She had quickly passed through denial and bargaining about the same time that first evening after seeing Julie’s body in the morgue and knowing nothing she did or said would bring back her friend.

But today was Thursday, marking a week since…that.

She felt the dark edges of anger beating at her soul and struggled against them. Julie hadn’t been a person to harbor grudges. She simply moved on with her life, not looking back.

Mandaline wanted to live the way Julie had lived, to keep her friend’s spirit alive, to make her proud.

She didn’t want to feel angry. She didn’t want to wallow in dark emotions that would not only make her unhappy, but would make it nearly impossible for her to do her job, to help people.

Pers walked into the kitchen and nosed her ankle.

“I know, buddy. I’ll get you outside in a minute.”

Downstairs, she heard the back door open and the sound of someone disarming the alarm. She walked over to the stairwell and called down. “Hello?”

“It’s me,” Sachi called up. She appeared in the doorway at the bottom of the stairs. “You okay?”

Mandaline squinted down at her. “It’s only seven.”

“I know,” she said with what sounded like forced brightness. “I told you I wanted to go through and do inventory.”

We all cope in our own way. Perhaps this was how workaholic Sachi was coping, not only with Julie’s loss, but with the demons that haunted her. “Can I ask you a favor?”

“Of course.”

“Can you take Pers out, please? I just woke up. I’m starting coffee if you want some.”

“Of course I’ll walk him.” She came up the stairs and called the little dog to her. “And yes on the coffee, please.”

“If I’m in the shower when you come back, just go ahead and pour yourself some.”

Sachi cocked her head as she looked at her. “If you want to stay up here today—”

“No.” She smiled, hoping to gentle the way it came out. “I need to stay busy. And I have Sami and Matt coming in at ten.”

Sachi’s expression darkened. “Are you sure you want them here?”

“I’m going to tell you the same thing I told Libbie and Grover. They’re hurting as badly as we are. More, in some ways. They nearly died, too. Please pass the word that I’m begging all of you to treat them with love and light, the way Julie would have wanted.”

Sachi held the dog close and seemed to slump against the wall. “Okay,” she softly said. “You’re right.” Sachi had a loving, beautiful heart and was fiercely loyal and protective of her friends. Although as a deeply ingrained defense mechanism she often came off abrasive and sarcastic, if not downright ornery. If someone didn’t know her and started out on the wrong foot with her, they sometimes found it hard to warm up to her.

Sachi rarely shared the source of her pain with anyone. Mandaline was one of the few she had. Frankly, Mandaline didn’t know how Sachi came out on the other end of things as strong as she had.

She’d had plenty of pain in her life before Julie took her under her wing a few years earlier. Mandaline loved Sachi and knew their relationship would deepen as a result of their shared loss.

It didn’t make Julie’s death any easier to accept, but it would make moving forward easier.

“Thank you, Sachi. They didn’t cause Julie’s death.”

“I know.” She scratched the dog’s neck and pressed her face against the top of his head. “I’m just…angry. So damned angry. I haven’t felt this angry since…” Mandaline watched her throat work as she swallowed hard, old, bad memories obviously struggling to break through.

Mandaline put down the washcloth and walked over to her friend. She hugged her, with Pers trying to lick both of them. “I’m struggling with that, too. I think we all will. But misplacing our anger won’t help. It’ll only hurt us in the long run.”

Sachi nodded. “I know.” Sachi apparently realized she’d let down her defenses and showed a little vulnerability. Mandaline felt the shift as Sachi quickly rebuilt her walls. She smiled. “Let me get this guy outside before he pops.”

Mandaline released her and watched her walk down the stairs. She returned to the bedroom and searched for something to wear, digging through the plastic storage tubs she’d hastily bought and dumped all her clothes into.

She didn’t have the heart to go through Julie’s belongings yet. Both she and Sachi could fit into many of Julie’s clothes. She wanted to wait for a little while, at least, and have a private evening for the two of them to do it together. She suspected Julie, who loved thrift stores and upcycling things, would have approved.

Thirty minutes later, she was showered, dressed, and downstairs with a mug of coffee. Sachi had already gotten to work, with Pers and Damiago both watching from the smallest sofa. Technically, neither animal should be downstairs. Julie used to keep the door to the stairwell closed during business hours, to keep Pers, and now Damiago, locked out of the store due to health department regs. Because of the coffee counter, they weren’t supposed to have animals in the store area.

Mandaline suspected both the animals and the humans of Many Blessings would greatly benefit from mingling somewhat today. She’d allow them both to roam free for now. Since they didn’t open until nine, technically she wasn’t breaking the law.

Besides, it’s my store, dammit.

Sachi was busy with a clipboard full of printouts, going section by section to do inventory, a steaming cup of coffee beside her.

Mandaline stopped by the shelf holding Julie’s urn. She adjusted the vase of wildflowers. “Hi, sister,” she whispered. She brushed it with her fingers. Julie hadn’t left instructions about what to do with her ashes, specifically stating that she left that up to Mandaline. One of Julie’s friends did woodworking and had offered to make the box, working nonstop for two days to have it ready in time.

The heart and love that went into it made it that much more special.

It felt like Julie was still there, in a way, looking out for them. It would be a daily reminder to keep her spirit alive, to keep her efforts to help people going strong.

Mina and Paige both showed up by eight.

“Why is everyone here so early?” Mandaline asked them. “Well, okay, I know why Miss Workaholic is here, but you two didn’t have to come in so early.”

They shared a glance. Paige finally spoke up. “We all talked about it and we don’t want you to have to be alone. Not right now. Not…this soon.”

Mandaline enveloped them both in a hug. “Thank you. But seriously, I’m going to be okay. It’ll be rough for a while, and I’m going to cry a lot more tears, but I’ll get through it. We’ll all get through it.”

A knock on the front door caught her attention. She turned to see Grover standing there, bakery boxes in his arms.

She hurried over and unlocked it to let him in.

“I brought your daily order,” he said as he carried them over to the counter where he set them down. “Libbie sent me.”

“Aw, thank you.” She gave him a hug. “You didn’t have to do that. I was going to come for them.”

“I know, but Libbie was worried about you and so was I.”

“You weren’t planning on sitting in on my appointment with Sami and Matt this morning, were you?” she playfully teased. He was dressed for working in the bakery, wearing an apron over a white T-shirt and black-and-white checked pants.

He let out a sigh. “No, honey. I wish I could but I know you’re stubborn.”

She smiled. “Yes, I am a stubborn witch. Let me get you a check.” She went to the office and wrote out a check. It was always the same amount. She brought it back to him and hugged him again. “I’ll see you at noon.”

“Just…” He looked over at Sachi. “Make her take it easy, okay?”

Sachi grinned and snapped him a salute. “Yes, sir.”

He rolled his eyes, but wore a smile as he shook his head.

Chapter Five

Mandaline felt grounded and at peace by the time Sami and Matt arrived five minutes before ten. Today marked a week since Julie’s death.

All morning the shop had been busier than usual, people who’d heard about Julie but not able to make yesterday’s wake paying their condolences and leaving cards. And then there was the phone practically ringing off the hook ever since news of Julie’s death got out, including calls from the media, Julie’s friends, a couple of hate calls from evangelical nutjobs who thought they were cat-sacrificing Satanists, and a spate of hang-up calls reported by the staff.

Mandaline thought she might have to escape to the sanctuary of the apartment, but every time she glanced at Julie’s urn she felt calm settle over her again.

Mandaline greeted Sami and Matt with hugs before leading them back to the smaller reading room where she’d talked to Ellis and Bradley the day before.

Sami never released Matt’s hand, even as they took their seats. She looked drawn, aged.

Hollow.

He looked more concerned about Sami than he did consumed by the grief she knew he felt.

Mandaline had gone through Julie’s notes about the case. She’d also played the EVPs they’d picked up at the Corey house.

Julie’s notes ended the night before she died, but it gave Mandaline enough of an insight about what Julie had been dealing with to feel even better about what she wanted to do.

Mandaline wasn’t sure where to start except to dive right in.

“I know this is very difficult,” she quietly said, “but I need to know what happened that day.”

Matt started to speak, but Sami squeezed his hand. “No,” she softly said. “It’s okay.” Sami took a moment to compose herself before, in almost-whispered tones, she related what she could of that day. Matt filled in only a little, the parts he’d experienced firsthand, toward the end.

When Sami finished retelling the events, she took a deep, hitching breath. “It wasn’t Steve,” she said. “I know what the police report reads. I know what my own damning witness statement says. I also know you are one of the very few people who can absolutely believe the truth. George Simpson killed Julie and attacked me and Matt. He was using my husband’s body, but it wasn’t my husband who committed those crimes.”

Mandaline nodded. “Julie believed George Simpson was possessing your husband the way he’d possessed her great-grandfather.” She pulled her iPhone from her pocket and brought up the camera roll. Quickly scrolling, she handed the phone over to Sami. “That appeared in the little zen garden we keep on the counter. It appeared…that afternoon. Around…” She took a deep breath. “Around that time. And I also saw a vision or premonition or whatever you want to call it of Julie. This is why I really need to finish what she started.”

Sami returned the phone to her. “We’re going to completely gut the house,” she said. “Strip it down to the studs and renovate it.”

“That’s good,” Mandaline said. “It’s probably better for your peace of mind. Why don’t we hold off on doing the cleansing ritual until the demolition is complete? That way if any energies are stirred up, we can take care of them then. Although I do want to do a walk-through when I’m out there, just to make sure you both are safe.”

“Whatever you think is best.”

“I’ll do another house cleansing for you once construction’s finished, before you move in. Do you have a preference for when we perform the ceremony for your husband?”

She shook her head. “I’m just really grateful you want to do it. I felt bad about not doing anything, but the thought of holding any kind of public ceremony for him feels…wrong.”

Mandaline reached across the table and gently squeezed Sami’s free hand. “It’s all right. I understand. Then if you’re okay with it, let’s wait and do it next Thursday. Hopefully the media frenzy will have died down by then and we won’t have to worry about someone stumbling across us while we’re doing it. Okay?”

Sami nodded. “That sounds good. Thank you again.”

“I meant it when I said I hope we see you both around here after all this is over.”

Matt spoke up. “We’re going up to Ohio in a couple of weeks. After we…this. She wants to empty the other house. I’m in the process of making some arrangements to get that handled as quickly as possible.”

“You’re not staying in the house here, are you?”

“Hell no,” he said. “Not until we get it…until it’s ready. Sami bought a travel trailer. We were at the hotel there by the park for a couple of days. No privacy. At least in the park we can kick people off the property. No one waiting outside our hotel room to take pictures.”

“Are we doing the right thing?” Sami asked. “By moving here. Do you think…do you think she’d be okay with it? With us living there after what happened to her?”

Mandaline smiled kindly. “I think Julie would be pleased to know you’re moving forward. That house was part of her history. Now it will have a happy future for a change. I think she’d like that a lot.”

Sami nodded as another round of tears robbed her of speech.

By the time Mandaline walked them out nearly an hour after they arrived, she’d finally gotten a tentative smile from Sami. She hugged the woman, pouring as much light and energy into her as she could. She knew from what Julie had told her and from her own observations that something else was troubling Sami.

“He would want you to be happy, too,” Mandaline whispered in her ear. “He loved you. He loved both of you. Be happy together. That’s the best way to honor the man whose heart you truly knew. He’s finally at peace and would want you both to be, too.”

Sami nodded as she stepped away. Mandaline watched as Matt rested his hand in the small of Sami’s back as he walked her toward their car.

Sachi joined her by the door and leaned in. “You know, I thought you were the bad kind of nuts at first. But I watched you with them just now. Their auras looked different when you three came out. I don’t say this often, but I was wrong and you were right…boss.”

Mandaline smiled and looked up at Sachi. In bare feet, Sachi was only an inch taller than her, but she loved wearing high heels and wedges. “Boss” had been her playful nickname for Julie.

“Why, Sachi Wolowitz. I think my feet just got frostbite.”

She grinned. “Yeah, hell just froze over. So sue me.”

Mandaline hugged Sachi. Yes, they would all be okay, in time. In their own ways.

They just had to hold on while they worked their way through their grief.

* * *

Grover had changed into a suit for their hearing. He’d pulled strings and called in favors somehow to get them an emergency hearing with a probate judge in his chambers.

The judge shook hands with both of them before indicating they should take a seat in front of his desk. “This isn’t your usual bailiwick, Grover,” Judge Carter said as he sat. “We always tangled in criminal court, didn’t we?”

“Favor for a friend, Tom.” He handed him the emergency order he’d prepared. While the paperwork Julie had left helped make some things immediately available to Mandaline, the long probate process could cause problems other ways. “Decedent had no family, no next of kin. Properly signed, witnessed, and notarized will, powers of attorney, and bank signature cards. She left everything to Mandaline. We need a blanket emergency order from the court filling in the gaps until all the probate paperwork goes through. She’s got a business to run and employees depending on her.”

The judge looked it over before turning his attention to Mandaline. “I liked Julie,” he said. “Knew her from when she was a little girl. Her father and I were drinking buddies years ago.” He looked at the paperwork again. “I’m real sorry we lost her. Especially so young and so tragically.”

“Thank you,” Mandaline said. She’d thought she was doing okay, but now she felt an energy crash drawing close. She did need some alone time, and fast, to recharge her emotional batteries.

He addressed his next comment to Grover. “I’m guessing you’re handling this all the way through?”

“It’s officially going through Pete Boyle’s office. He agreed to rubber-stamp everything for me, pro bono, for Mandaline. I’m doing all the prep. But yes, I’m the one walking it all the way through.”

He nodded, then signed the several copies of the order. “Then let’s get this recorded for her so she can get on with what she needs to do.” He handed Grover the paperwork. “I wish all the lawyers made my job this easy, Grover.” He shook hands with him before offering another smile to Mandaline. “Again, I’m sorry for your loss. I know you were very close to her.”

“Thank you, your honor.”

She followed Grover as he handled the filing process at the clerk’s office and got certified copies of the order for her. Then he walked her back across the street to the store.

“You have my number,” he said. “Call me if you need anything before the next hearing, all right?” He laughed. “Hell, you know where to find me five mornings a week.” He pointed at Libbie’s bakery. “Come on over.”

She hugged him. “I can’t thank you enough for everything.”

“No worries.” He grinned, flashing teeth. “Just keep your daily orders coming and keep Libbie busy.”

“I will, don’t worry.”

Inside the store, she found six people queued up and waiting to place orders at the counter while Sachi, Paige, and Mina scrambled around handling other orders. There were at least twenty people in the store, some already having been served, some browsing. Mandaline quickly left the papers on the desk in the office and grabbed an apron to help out. By the time they got caught up, and Sachi was in back doing a private reading for a customer, it was nearly two o’clock and Paige had a chakras class starting in ten minutes.

Mina wiped down the counter. “You came back just in time. We were starting to panic a little.”

“I can’t believe it’s still this busy on a weekday.”

“That was nothing. You should have seen it while you were gone. It’s like everyone and their brother is coming in today. I’ve seen Saturdays that weren’t a fraction this busy.”

“Oh, no! I’ve got to walk poor Pers!” She found the little dog waiting at the bottom of the steps when she opened the door to the stairwell. She scooped him up and raced toward the back door. “I’m so sorry, puppy.” She grabbed his leash from its hook by the back door and snapped it onto his collar. He nearly dragged her to his favorite strip of grass behind the store where he spent a minute relieving himself.

Something else she needed to get used to. She was now a dog guardian, as well as being owned by a cat.

She knelt down and waited for him to finish. “Sorry, Pers. I promise I’ll get better at this.”

When he finished, he walked over to her and put his tiny paws up on her knee, stretching his body to lick her nose. Apparently all was forgiven on his end.

“Thanks.” She spent a moment loving up on him, letting him sniff along the strip of grass behind the store. The employees all parked behind the building, where a large alley separated it from the block of buildings to the west of them. Those buildings also had rear parking areas, leaving plenty of open area between the buildings.

Mandaline stared at the empty parking space behind their building where Julie’s Honda Element would usually be parked. A purple and green sign on the building marked the space and read, Witches Only—All Others Will be Toad.

She scooped Pers up and fought the urge to burst into tears again. The mechanic where Julie’s SUV had been towed had called two days earlier to say that it was fixed and ready to pick up. Steven Corey had disabled the vehicle, as well as the two of his own, on that afternoon to prevent their escape.

Correction, George Simpson had made him do it.

She looked at her twenty-year-old Chevy. Part of her didn’t want to drive Julie’s SUV. It felt wrong somehow.

But she knew Julie would gently chide her for those feelings. Especially since she now owned it.

She felt the crash, which she’d pushed back upon seeing the packed store, creeping up again with a vengeance.

“Let’s take a nap, Pers. What do you say?”

He licked her on the nose again.

She returned inside, leaving his leash on the hook by the door. She had almost made it to the stairwell doorway when she remembered she couldn’t leave Mina alone to watch the counter when they were that busy.

“Rain check on the nap, sweetie,” she said. She set him down and shooed him up the stairs, closing the door behind him. Then she walked around to the counter. “Okay, I’m back. Sorry about that. How are we doing?”

“Pers isn’t the only one in need of a bathroom break,” Mina joked as she removed her apron and hurried down the hall.

I need to take them all out to dinner when we get through this.

As she took the order of a couple who came in shortly after Mina headed back, Mandaline noticed for the first time the burgeoning pile of envelopes stuffed into a small plastic crate tucked under the counter where the register sat. She quickly averted her eyes from it and focused on not screwing up the customers’ orders.

Cards. She’d have to handle those sooner or later. Maybe ask Sachi to stay late and help…

No. I can’t do that. She came in so early. I’ll have to suck it up and do it.

Mina returned and had started to ask Mandaline something about creating a replenishment order for the coffee and drink supplies when the front-door bell tinkled again.

Goddess! Mandaline turned, a practiced smile ready, to see Bradley Sawyer walk in. He looked around hesitantly before spying her and heading her way with a sweet smile on his face.

Beside her, Mina let out a soft whistle. “He is a cutie, isn’t he?”

Mandaline didn’t answer. She stepped around the corner and extended her hand. “Hi, Brad. Nice to see you again.”

When his hand connected with hers, it felt like she’d grabbed hold of a live electric wire. White heat pinballed throughout her body, centering squarely between her legs. She felt herself falling into his sweet brown eyes.

“Can we talk?” he softly asked.

She wordlessly nodded and led him to her office, where she closed the door.

She turned and looked up at him. His body felt so warm, so strong pressed against hers. She found her arms draping around his neck. He pulled her close and backed her up against the desk, grabbing her hips and effortlessly lifting her onto it. His lips slanted over hers and he tasted like sweet chocolate, his breath buzzing through her. She wrapped her legs around him, which hiked her long skirt up past her thighs. Then she was rubbing herself against the large bulge that had grown in the front of his faded denim jeans.

She softly mewed when his tongue breached the seam of her lips, flicking against hers even as his hips took up a rhythm matching hers. So close, she felt so close—

The tinkle of the doorbell made her blink. She still stood there next to the counter, her hand engulfed by Brad’s.

His eyes had grown wide. “I really think we need to talk,” he whispered. “Alone.”

She nodded as she reluctantly pulled her hand from his. “I’ll be right back,” she said to Mina in a shaky voice.

“Are you okay?” Mina asked.

“Yeah.”

She’d started to head for the office, then veered down the hallway to the back door.

Public. Need to stay public. Her legs felt shaky. She could still taste the chocolate on her tongue from his kiss.

She knew her panties were soaked from almost having an orgasm while standing right there in the middle of the store.

When they were standing out back with the door closed behind them, she took a deep, cleansing breath and stretched her arms skyward in an attempt to slow her racing pulse.

When she refocused on him, he still intently stared at her.

“On your desk?” he asked, his voice hoarse.

She nodded as her eyes involuntarily dropped to his zipper. Yep, he looked hard.

And big.

She forced her gaze up again. “You ate chocolate recently?” she asked.

He nodded. “I ate a chocolate bar on my way over.” He ran his hands through his hair as he slumped against the building’s back wall. “What the hell was that?”

She felt relief to know he’d experienced it, too, whatever it was. “Where’s Ellis?”

“He’s at work. He doesn’t know I’m here.”

“How’d you get here?”

“I walked.”

“That’s…” She remembered their address. She’d looked the house up on Google to see the property from satellite view. “That’s like six miles.”

“I know.” He finally looked at her again. “I’m not crazy.”

She nodded. “I know. I know I’m not crazy, and I know what just happened between us.” She tried not to smile as he reached down and adjusted the bulge in his jeans.

“We can’t tell Ellis about this,” he said. “He’ll want to take me to the VA right now and get me another CAT scan.”

“What did you want to talk about?” She needed to get this conversation back on track, and fast. She couldn’t even begin to try to process the freaky little psychic love fest they’d just experienced. She’d left poor Mina alone behind the counter.

And I need a fresh pair of panties.

“Julie talks to me.”

She blinked, now not so certain how she felt about the cutie. “What?”

His smile faded. “It started while we were down in Tampa. On…” He cleared his throat. “Last Thursday afternoon.”

Mandaline didn’t know how to respond to that.

“She’s not the first one,” he said. “I’ve never said anything to Ellis about this, either.”

“He told me you can’t lie.”

He nodded.

“Then how’d you get around not telling him about that?” She felt her voice rising in agitation.

He shrugged. “He didn’t ask. He asked me what I see in the house and I told him. I didn’t even know it was Julie’s voice I keep hearing until yesterday when we were here. I thought her voice sounded familiar but I couldn’t place it until I saw her…her memorial.”

He meant the urn.

She turned away from him and tried to get her thoughts in order. She felt seriously torn between believing him and calling his friend to come get him and take him to the VA right then.

“She said to tell you about the zen garden.”

She wheeled around, her mouth agape. No one knew about that except herself, and now Matt and Sami.

He slowly nodded. “She said she was the one who wrote in it. ‘It’s not his fault.’ She said that’s what she wrote.”

Mandaline took an involuntary step back. She held a hand up to him. “I didn’t tell anyone else that.”

He thought about it. “She says you told Matt and Sami.” He frowned. “Who are they?”

She clapped a hand over her mouth to muffle her cry. She stared at him, at his sweet brown eyes. After a moment she let her hand fall to her side and she straightened. “Why did you come here today?”

“I told you. I wanted to talk to you. Alone.”

“What did you do to me in the store back there?”

He shrugged. “I didn’t do it. It happened to me, too.”

“Are you trying to get me into bed with you?”

His face turned beet red. He jammed his hands into the front pockets of his jeans, his gaze on his feet. “I’m attracted to you, yes,” he mumbled.

“Is that why you came here today?”

“No. I wanted to tell you about Julie. Because I knew you’d believe me and that you won’t tell Ellis.”

She turned away from him again. She felt faint, dizzy. She squatted down in the gravel of the parking area and closed her eyes as she took several deep, slow breaths. “You…you said you’ve heard other voices?”

“Yeah. It started after the accident. When I was in the hospital. I never believed in psychic stuff before. I’m not claiming I am psychic. I just…hear things. Sometimes. People. Not all the time. Sometimes certain voices sound louder than others. Like I’m on a different wavelength than everyone else now.”

“What did Julie call my cat?”

“Damien.”

She let out a sob and clapped her hand to her mouth again, her eyes squeezed tightly shut against the flood of tears she wanted to cry.

There would be one surefire way to prove it beyond all doubt. “What happened to her rings? The police didn’t include them in her personal possessions.”

She looked over her shoulder at him. He frowned, then looked at her with his head cocked in confusion. “She says you know full well she never wore rings. But she says her crystal pouch is on the bedroom floor, under a nightstand. He ripped it from her neck and the police didn’t find it.” He hesitated. “And that if Sami wants it, it’s okay to let her have it.”

“What was her favorite stone in it?”

He cocked his head again, as if listening. “A piece of fluorite you gave her three years ago for her birthday.”

She fell back onto her ass as she stared at him in shock. “Julie?” she whispered.

An afternoon thunderstorm had built west of town, moving toward them. A distant rumble of thunder broke the silence as a few drops of rain pattered down on them.

He held out his hand, palm up, and stared up at the sky.

“She says you like to dance in the rain but that Mina needs you right now.”

The back door flew open. Mina appeared. “Mandaline, I’m sorry to interrupt you, but I’m slammed again and the others are still busy.” Mina disappeared into the store, leaving the door open.

Mandaline sat there and stared up at Brad as he walked over and extended his hand to her. “It’s okay,” he quietly said. “I’ll wait. I have all afternoon.”

She took his hand, relieved and disappointed that there wasn’t another sexy flash, and let him help her to her feet.

Chapter Six

Brad took up a comfy chair in the far corner and closed his eyes.

“She’s scared,” he mentally said to Julie.

“I know. It’s okay. Give her time.”

“You aren’t here for long, are you?”

“No. Just long enough.”

He watched customers come and go from the store, the rain apparently not discouraging them. He watched Mandaline as she worked, her gaze repeatedly darting to where he sat patiently waiting for there to be enough of a lull they could talk again.

The initial incident when he’d arrived and shaken hands with Mandaline had scared the crap out of him, quite frankly. He knew if he kissed her it would feel the same as in their freaky little interlude. That she’d taste the same. That her panties were pale yellow with little blue flowers sprinkled all over them.

That her body fit perfectly against his.

He’d never had a hallucination like that before. Voices? Sure, okay. Seeing things at the house? No problem.

But he’d nearly creamed his briefs. He knew if he went into the bathroom he’d likely find a wet spot inside them.

Even the thought of repeating their embrace made his cock ache and strain against his zipper.

Sachi and the other woman both finished with their clients. Once Mandaline knew they had things under control, she motioned him over without a word and led him upstairs to her apartment above the store.

“Can I get you anything to drink or eat?” she asked.

“Just some water would be nice, thank you.”

She waved him over to the sofa. A little dog approached him, tentatively at first.

He held out his hand. “Hi, Pers.”

The dog launched itself at him, practically tackling him, jumping up and hitting him squarely in the chest and excitedly whining while licking Brad’s face.

“Pers!” She hurried over with Brad’s glass of water and tried to peel the little dog off him. “I’m so sorry. He’s friendly but usually not that rude.”

“It’s okay.”

She held the dog in her arms as he whined and tried to get back to Brad. “How’d you know his name was…” She blinked and looked down at the dog. “Never mind. I know.” She set him down and he immediately returned to Brad’s lap.

She collapsed into a chair and stared at Brad. “He knows, doesn’t he?”

Brad stroked the dog’s head. “I think so.”

She stared at him for a moment. “Ellis said Julie really seemed to take a liking to you when you met her. Did that…that, did it happen between you and her, too?”

He shook his head. “No. I felt a little shock when we shook hands that day, more like a tingle, but nothing like that.”

“I felt that, a little shock, when I touched Ellis’ arm yesterday. I sometimes feel that with people, but not often. I’ve always been reluctant to develop that sense. Being an empath is enough for me to deal with. Sometimes it’s overwhelming.” She crossed her arms over her chest, her hands slowly brushing up and down her arms as if trying to ward off a chill. “What am I supposed to do with this?”

“I don’t understand.”

“This!” She threw her arms out, at him, before crossing them over her chest again. “This information. What am I supposed to do with it?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

She slumped back in her chair and stared at him for a few moments. He waited for her to speak again.

“Why did you tell me about Julie?”

“I needed to know I wasn’t crazy,” he quietly said. “I needed affirmation I wasn’t imagining her. I needed confirmation what she told me was true and not a figment of my imagination.”

“No, you’re not crazy. Not any crazier than the rest of us. You know stuff no one else knows or could know.” She studied him for another moment. “You said this started after your accident?”

He looked down at the dog as he stroked his fur. “I remember after my accident, in the ICU. I woke up, but I couldn’t speak. I had a breathing tube. A buddy of mine from…” He took a deep breath. “A guy from my platoon kept coming in to visit me. He’d sit with me half the night sometimes. Talk to me. He was never there when Ellis and Mom and Dad were there. I didn’t know how he could stay there for so long when no one else could. Nurses never seemed to pay him any attention.”

He shivered. “I found out later, once I was out of ICU, that he’d died a couple of days after my accident. Brain aneurism. That’s the last time I said anything about it. I’d told Ellis about it, but he said it was probably my imagination because of the medication they had me on, that I was usually unconscious in the ICU. But I wasn’t really. I was still aware. I know what I saw and heard.”

They both looked up as a loud crack of thunder split the air nearby. “Guess I’m getting wet going home,” he said. “Ellis has appointments today until seven in the office. I don’t want to bother him.”

“I’ll drive you.”

“You’re not scared of the crazy, brain-damaged ex-vet?”

She sadly smiled. “You’re one of the least scary people I’ve ever met.”

He loved her eyes. Today she’d pulled her long, brown hair into a ponytail low on the back of her head.

She cocked her head and studied him again. “Can’t lie, huh?”

He shrugged. “Sucks. Means I can’t even not hurt someone’s feelings. I’ve learned sometimes I can get away with playing semantic games or by saying something like, ‘Are you really sure you want my opinion?’ or, ‘I’d rather not say.’ But not always. Sometimes that just makes them want to know my answer even more.”

She crossed her legs in front of her. A smile creased her face. “I usually want a guy to buy me dinner before he tries to poke me on my desk.”

He burst out laughing. “I’m usually far more of a gentleman, and get to know a woman better, before I shove my tongue down her throat.”

“Then how about I let you buy me dinner and I’ll drive you home after? I can have a preliminary look at your house while I’m there.”

“Trying to keep me away from your desk?” he teased.

Her smile broadened. “You realize I’m going to think of that every time I sit down to do paperwork now, right?”

* * *

Mandaline thought Brad was a total sweetheart. As she recovered from her initial shock, she warmed to the idea of maybe getting to know him better. She tried to tell herself it had nothing to do with Julie, but she knew that was a lie.

Julie had always gently chided Mandaline about her proclamations she was giving up on love. They’d known each other since high school, and Julie’s shoulder had absorbed more than her fair share of tears throughout the years over Mandaline’s rocky and sketchy love life. Even though she’d known Julie didn’t approve of or like her ex-husband, Carl, she’d loved her friend for choosing to be supportive and available.

And when she’d finally given up and ended the marriage, and suffered through the vicious divorce her ex-in-laws financed against her, Julie had been there to help her pick up the pieces.

Keep your heart open. Believe. That had been Julie’s final message to her that afternoon, while the storm raged and halfway across the county her body was already cooling.

Had she meant about love? About Brad’s message to her? About all of it?

She didn’t know. But grieving hurt. It gave her comfort to focus on something else for a while.

Kim and Anna had both arrived to read for customers and help out in the shop. When Mandaline went downstairs to talk to Sachi about leaving, Sachi waved her hands at her. “Shoo. Get out of here. We’ve got it under control.”

“Are you sure?”

Sachi let out a sarcastic laugh, her brilliant blue eyes flashing with good humor. “Um, sending you out to dinner with a hunky dude? Duh. Get the hell out of here already.”

“Thanks.” She hugged her before dashing upstairs to change clothes and fetch Brad. She wanted to put on jeans and comfortable shoes for exploring their house.

And, yes, to put on a fresh pair of panties.

She drove them to a small, family-owned pizza parlor on the north side of town. They made it inside during a brief break in the rain and she was pleasantly surprised when he held the door open for her.

“So is this a date?” she playfully asked after they were seated and had placed their drink orders.

She loved how his cheeks filled with color. “I haven’t been on a date in a long time. I guess it’s a date. If you want it to be.”

“Ellis told me about that woman. The one who dumped you.”

He nodded but didn’t look up from his menu. “I’m my own worst enemy now, I guess.”

She reached across the table and touched his hand. No sexiness, but he looked up and met her gaze. “I’d like it to be a date. But let’s become friends and get to know each other, at the very least before I let you bend me over my desk again.”

He snickered. “That was…wow.”

“Wow is one word for it. I’ve had odd stuff happen to me before, but never anything like that.”

He lowered his voice. “Do you think…Julie?”

“Ask her.”

She watched as his attention turned inward. After a moment, he looked frustrated. “She’s not talking to me now.”

“Maybe she doesn’t want to be a third wheel.” She released his hand and sat back, smiling at his amused expression. “Let’s talk more about the house, though. Is there anything else you haven’t told Ellis that you’d like to tell me?”

He looked down and nodded. “Yeah.”

The waitress returned for their orders. Once they were alone again, he looked her in the eye. “I’m a little scared.”

Tendrils of disquiet wound through her. “Why?”

“It’s like it wears on me. Like after a while I feel…dark.”

Maybe being alone with him wasn’t such a good idea after all, cutie or not. “How so?”

“Not like I want to hurt anyone,” he quickly said, apparently reading her sudden unease. “Just…depressed. Sad. I don’t know how to describe it. I feel like there’s something watching me while I work. Whatever it is, I feel it most in the attic while I’m working.”

“Do you feel it now?”

He shook his head. “No. Not at all. It’s like I leave the house and a pall lifts.”

“You didn’t feel this until you were actually living at the house?”

“No.” He took a sip of his iced tea. “Maybe Ellis is right. Maybe it’s a new symptom. There’s a lot they don’t understand about TBIs. The brain’s still a mystery in a lot of ways.”

That didn’t feel right to her, though. Yes, she’d already sensed the duality of Bradley’s nature, the more “there” side of him like what she felt now while talking with him, and the other side of him that felt more ethereal, like he had a foot in an unseen realm.

Which, apparently, he did, if he could talk to Julie. “He mentioned you also have PTSD.”

“Yeah.” He let out a sad laugh. “That used to be a lot worse before the accident, believe it or not. It’s like the accident added a permanent mute button to some things.”

“Like lying.”

“Yeah. I mean, I still get jumpy sometimes. I don’t like gunfire. I can’t watch shows or news footage of combat. Before the accident I used to feel like I always had to look over my shoulder, be hypervigilant everywhere I went. I don’t feel that anymore. It’s…weird.”

“Do you miss not being able to practice law?”

He’d picked up the paper sleeve from his straw and systematically started folding it accordion style. “Sometimes. I liked it. Remember that show Boston Legal? We both wanted to be Alan Shore.” He laughed. “Fight the good fight, right the wrongs, and get the hot chicks all while making money and being smart-asses.” His smile turned sad. “We were so naïve.”

“Ellis really seems devoted to you.”

“He is. I don’t know what I would have done without him and Mom and Dad. His mom and dad, but I call them Mom and Dad.”

“It’s not any of my business, but it seems to me he carries a lot of guilt that’s not his to carry.”

“I know. I’ve told him that a bunch of times, but he refuses to see it like that.” He let out a sigh. “It makes him happier to take care of me, so I let him.”

She took a sip of her tea. When she set it down in a different spot, she drew shapes in the ring of condensation left behind. “Julie and I were close. Maybe not quite as close as you two are, apparently, but she hung by me through thick and thin. She never told me ‘I told you so’ when I messed up with my relationship choices. She was always there to pick up the pieces for me.”

“I just do what Ellis tells me to do and everyone’s happier that way.”

“Are you happier?”

“I didn’t mean it like that.” He put down the scrap of paper. “Ellis was meant to be an attorney. He’s happiest when his world behaves and is laid out in neat, labeled, categorized niches. When all’s as it should be. The only reason he’s tolerating me taking my time with the house is because I suspect if I asked him to walk naked down US 41 with clown paint on his face, he would.” He let out a sigh. “I wouldn’t, of course. Sometimes I just get frustrated that he’s put his life on hold for me.”

“On hold?”

“Permanent hold. I am his life.”

“Maybe he’s in love with you.”

He laughed. “No, he’s straight as an arrow, believe me.” His smile faded. “I don’t mean to come off like I’m bad-mouthing him, either. Please don’t think that. I love him.”

She shook her head. “No, I don’t. It’s obvious the two of you love each other very much.”

“Mom says we’re a couple of odd ducks. I guess she’s right. She just doesn’t know how right she is.”

“Do they know what’s going on? With the house, I mean. With how you feel.”

“He told them when we went down last week. I helped him board up their house and we stayed there for the weekend before I went to the VA Monday morning.”

“The doctors found nothing wrong, huh?”

He smirked. “They said there’s nothing more wrong with me than was already wrong with me. Medically, at least.” He picked up the paper again, this time shredding it into tiny pieces.

They had a good dinner. He was sweet, charming, funny…and thought his house was haunted.

Oh, and he seemed able to channel the spirit of her murdered best friend.

It was after six when he paid the bill and they headed for her car. The sun hung low in the sky, fighting to shine through scattered clouds remaining from the afternoon rainstorms, but there was still at least an hour of daylight left.

He gave her directions to their house. They lived on a rural, quiet, two-lane road west of US 41. Surrounded by properties of several acres each, the area felt peaceful. Large, old oaks and tall slash pines blended to create deep shade. The rain had stopped, leaving everything green and dripping wet in the fading light while steam slowly drifted up from the ground and pavement.

Their house was situated in the middle of their property without a lot of cleared space around it.

“There’s a backyard,” he said as he directed her to park next to the side door. “A small one. That’s all I care to mow besides here, where we park. I wouldn’t mind getting a couple of goats eventually to help keep some of the brush down. The whole property is fenced in. We don’t have a gate up, but it wouldn’t take much to put one up.” He led her to the door. “Let me get the alarm turned off first.”

He disappeared inside.

Her first impression of the house was one of love and caring. The new roof was the first thing she noticed, along with a fresh coat of paint in light blue, a cheery color, inviting. The trim was painted in a pale, light green, somewhere between mint and spring grass.

In fact, the whole house felt inviting. Warm.

Loved.

He reappeared a moment later with a smile. “There. Didn’t set it off. That’s one thing Ellis always teases me about. It doesn’t like me much sometimes.” He escorted her into the kitchen. “Sorry about the mess. It’s a work in progress.”

It was that. Not even messy, just…under construction. The cabinets had been ripped out and the walls refinished to bare, unpainted drywall and electrical fixtures, but that was it. The floor, old linoleum that had seen better days, was clean.

“We ripped out the plaster and lathe to put in insulation and do the wiring and plumbing. It had knob and tube everywhere. And lots of old newspapers and other stuff jammed in the walls all over the place for their version of insulation. I haven’t decided how to finish the kitchen yet.”

She turned around, looking up.

Nothing.

“I’ll be honest with you, Brad. Right now, I’m not feeling anything.”

He looked a little disappointed. “But you’ll still come back with equipment?”

She gave him a reassuring smile. “Of course. Don’t worry. I’m not giving up on you. I haven’t even seen the rest of the house yet.”

He led her through the downstairs. The different rooms lay in various states of construction and completion. Upstairs, he opened one bedroom door and turned on the light. “This is my room. We finished our two bedrooms and a bathroom. I’m taking my time with the rest. I want it to look right.”

She followed him inside. Neat and tidy, he’d painted the walls a different shade of light blue than coated the outside of the house. The trim work, including crown molding, had been painted white. A deep, walk-in closet occupied one corner.

“Surprisingly enough, the large closets were already here. I don’t know if the original builder put them in or they were added later by someone else. I didn’t have to do anything to them except paint and install closet organizers to make them more functional.”

“It’s very nice.”

He looked crestfallen. “Still nothing, huh?”

She placed a hand on his arm to reassure him and felt that feeling again, as if her clit had been lit up like a supernova. His eyes widened as she stared up at him. She needed to feel his cock inside her right then, an overwhelming craving the likes of which she’d never felt before.

She dropped her purse and grabbed his other arm, dragging him over to his bed where she fell back on it, pulling him with her.

She wrapped her legs around his hips. “Please!”

His lips crushed down on hers and—

Santana’s “Black Magic Woman” rang out on her iPhone, startling her. She pulled her hand away from his arm and stood there beside the bed, staring at him, her purse still in her hand.

He stared at her with wide eyes.

She fumbled the phone from her back pocket. It was the shop. “Hello?”

“Just checking in to make sure everything’s okay, boss.” Sachi.

She turned away from Brad and used her conversation as an excuse to step out into the hallway. “Everything’s fine. I took him home. We’re here now, doing a walk-through. I wanted to do a preliminary check before I come out with equipment.”

“And…everything’s copacetic?”

Other than we were having great imaginary almost-sex before you called. “Everything’s fine. Thanks.”

“Okay. Um, hey, listen. If you don’t get back here before we close—”

“Yes, I promise I’ll call you as soon as I leave.”

She laughed. “Thanks, boss. You read my mind.”

“Duh.” She ended the call and turned around to stare at Brad through the bedroom door.

He remained rooted in place. “‘Black Magic Woman’? Really?”

“It’s the tone I use for the shop number. Everyone gets custom tones if they call me a lot.”

“What do the general rabble get?”

“You’re avoiding the topic.”

He tugged at his jeans, which sported a pronounced bulge in the front. “Yeah. Ya think?” He scrubbed at his face with his hands. “Either those need to last longer, or I’m going to have to stop coming into contact with you.” He smiled.

She took a deep breath. “Yeah. Tell me about it.” She walked into the room again. He flinched when she held up a hand to touch him. “It’s okay. We’re both experiencing it.” She reached out and gently grasped his bicep.

Zilch.

She didn’t know if he looked disappointed or relieved. Fair enough, because she felt both. “Let’s finish with the rest of this floor before you take me up to the attic,” she said.

“Okay.”

He led her around. “So what is your ring tone for everyone else?”

She pulled her iPhone out of her pocket and flipped through to Settings. The chorus of Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London,” including the aahooooh, sounded loud in the otherwise quiet house.

He laughed. “I love that song. Warren Zevon’s great. I have all his stuff. Another artist who died too young.”

“At least it wasn’t by his own stupid actions. ‘Enjoy every sandwich,’” she said before she realized what she’d said. Grief threatened to sweep over her again as she thought about Julie’s life cut all too short.

He slowly nodded. “It’s a lesson I learned all too well. Not many people get second chances, much less third ones, the way I did.”

They stopped at the bottom of another set of stairs. He looked down at her and slowly reached out to touch her arm.

Nothing.

He sighed. “I still don’t hear Julie. I haven’t heard her since right before we left your shop. I don’t think she’s the one doing it.”

“No, I don’t think she’s doing it, either. If she was doing it, she wouldn’t be mean enough to interruptus our coitus.” She laughed. “She was always trying to fix me up on dates. Lead the way.”

She followed him upstairs. He opened a door and hit a switch at the top of the stairs that illuminated the entire attic. Along two of the walls, canvasses in various stages of completion leaned against the low eaves. At either end of the space, to the east and west, large new-looking windows would obviously let in a lot of daylight. He had several work tables and easels strewn throughout the studio in no apparent order. A couch sat pushed against one wall. Next to that, a desk held a laptop as well as a TV.

“This is my lair. Welcome to my sanctuary.” He smiled. “Muwahaha.”

She laughed. “Evil genius at work?”

“Something like that.”

She saw the couch was pushed up against a short door. “What’s back there?”

“Weird little crawlspace. I don’t know why the previous owners built it like that. Haven’t decided what to do with it yet, but it’s too tiny for storage, really. Goes up under the eaves. And there’s some plumbing stubs in there for another full bathroom in that corner when we get around to it. Make life a little easier for me. That’s probably being built in the next major round of renovations.” His smile faded. “I need to show you something.”

He led her over to one stack of canvasses. Most of the artwork she could see looked beautiful. His style ranged from abstract to impressionist, to realist, in a variety of techniques, mediums, subjects, and colors.

They were all beautiful.

Until he withdrew one and turned it around to show her. This one looked bleak, with an ominous feeling to it. Several darkened, derelict buildings along a street that looked like it’d seen better times.

She shivered.

“This is one I haven’t painted over yet. There were several others that were…dark. Darker.” He swept an arm around the space. “You can see what my normal feel for a piece is. I’m all over the place. But they all have a good feel. Right?”

She looked. He was right.

“That’s what Ellis tells me,” he continued. “He’s the one that pegged it. My good stuff, it all…just feels right. It makes you feel good looking at it, even if the subject or technique doesn’t particularly flip your switch. But this…this doesn’t.”

“Do you feel anything now being up here?”

He slid the piece back into its space, sandwiched between several others. “No, not right now. Usually it takes me a while.”

She slowly walked around the space, all her senses finely tuned.

Nothing.

If she had to make a committed guess right then, she’d bet the equipment would back her up and find nothing supernatural.

“You know, maybe there’s something in the house giving off high EMF frequencies. That can cause some of what you’re experiencing. Maybe you’re really sensitive to it.”

He walked over to the couch and slumped down on it. “Still nothing, huh?”

He couldn’t lie to her. She didn’t want to lie to him. She walked over to him. “I’m sorry. But I’m still coming back with equipment,” she quickly added. “And just because I’m not feeling anything right now doesn’t mean I won’t feel anything later. Maybe it’s just not the right time of day.”

He sadly shook his head. “I feel it up here day or night.”

She knelt in front of him. “Please don’t give up yet. I haven’t.” She put her hand on his thigh.

Their eyes met and she felt her breath catch in her throat. Supernatural or not, there was something about this man she couldn’t turn away from. Both of them. But right now, Brad was the one in front of her, and that white-hot, plugged-in feeling had returned.

He reached out and stroked her cheek. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feel of the warmth of his flesh against hers. She leaned into his touch.

“Is…is it happening again?” he whispered. “It is, isn’t it? I feel it.”

She didn’t answer. She didn’t want to think. If it was, she wanted it to keep happening.

Warmth radiated from his body, through the soft denim of his faded jeans. She kept her eyes closed and slid both hands up his thighs until she found his zipper.

He let out a soft groan as she quickly worked by feel to unfasten his belt and open his jeans. He helped her by sliding them down his hips. She opened her eyes to find a large cock straining against the front of his briefs.

Before anything could snap her out of their illusion, she pulled his briefs down, freeing his cock. A good thick eight inches, cut. She nuzzled the head before flicking her tongue out to swipe at a drop of pre-cum at the slit.

Brad moaned, his hands on her shoulders. She glanced up to look at him, his head thrown back.

In for a penny…

Her lips parted. She encircled the base with the fingers of one hand as she slowly took him deeper between her lips. His fingers tightened on her shoulders as another moan escaped him.

Between her legs her pussy throbbed, aching, wanting this delicious cock inside her but wanting to taste him, too. She laved her tongue over and around his cock as she worked it deeper into her mouth. Under her fingers she felt his member twitching, jerking against her with every millimeter deeper she went. And he tasted good, too. Tangy and sweetly salty, she closed her eyes again and worked her mouth up and down his shaft.

He swelled even harder against her tongue. She felt heat building in him as his release grew closer. She wanted to make him come, to get him over so at least one of them could have relief before this mirage ended.

Faster, deeper, he clutched at her shirt until he let out a soft cry. His body went rigid as his cock spasmed in her mouth. Several spurts of hot, sweet cum flowed into her mouth and she went as deep as she could while swallowing everything.

As he went limp, downstairs they heard a door close.

“Brad? You up there?” Ellis called up. “Whose car is that?”

They looked at each other. Mandaline stared up at him, feeling as horror-struck as he looked.

They both looked down to where Brad’s now-spent cock hung out of his jeans.

They looked at each other again. Together, they both said, “Shit!”

Chapter Seven

Brad took point, almost catching his cock in his zipper as he stood and frantically worked to put himself together. “Blue toothbrush is mine,” he whispered. “Go!”

He headed down the stairs at a run to intercept Ellis while Mandaline grabbed her purse and ran downstairs to duck into the bathroom.

She locked herself in. In the mirror, she looked wild-eyed and…

Well, like she’d just given a guy a blow job in his attic.

Shit!

She dropped Brad’s toothbrush in the sink three times before she managed to keep hold of it long enough to get toothpaste on it. She could still taste his cum in her mouth. Not that it was a bad taste, but she didn’t want to be talking to Ellis like that.

That was no fucking illusion!

She brushed her teeth and freshened up. Before unlocking the door she took one last look in the mirror. She wore a wide-eyed look she knew wouldn’t fool anyone with an IQ over fifty, or an age over four.

Still trembling a little, she pasted a smile on her face, tried again when that one looked a tad too manic, and unlocked the door.

Ellis was coming up the stairs, followed by Brad.

“Welcome to our humble abode,” he joked. “And thank you for bringing him home. I really appreciate it.”

“Oh, hey, he bought me dinner. I’m easy like that.” She swallowed back the laugh that wanted to burp out as, behind Ellis, Brad clapped a hand to his face. “I mean, it was my pleasure. Um, it gave me a chance to look over the house to get a feel for it. And I needed to get out of the store for a while.”

Ellis looked at her a little funny, then turned to Brad, who’d managed to school his face into a mild smile before Ellis spotted him.

“Is everything okay?” Ellis asked.

Mandaline hoped they didn’t look like a couple of bobblehead dolls in serious need of Valium. “I tripped at the top of the steps when coming out of the attic. Just startled me, is all. Brad caught me. I’m fine.” Brad might not be able to lie, but I damn sure can.

Ellis’ brow furrowed, but apparently her explanation satisfied him. “So, what do you think of the house so far?”

She struggled to keep a near-hysterical laugh at bay. I think I’m losing my mind. “Like I told Brad, I’m going to bring the equipment in and we’ll see what we find. Actually, I’m wondering, based on his symptoms, if there aren’t some high EMF readings somewhere.”

Ellis frowned. “EMF?”

“Electromagnetic frequency. High levels can cause all sorts of symptoms.”

He actually seemed to brighten. “Oh. Really?”

Brad coughed. “Yeah, dude. I might really be feeling stuff.”

A little of a frantic laugh escaped her before she cut it off. “I’m not ruling anything out until we get some equipment in here.”

Yep, Ellis definitely looked relieved now. “That would be great, to know it’s something we can fix.”

“He likes fixing things,” Brad teased. “I’m going to walk her out to her car. I’ll be right back,” Brad told him.

They hurried downstairs and outside.

“Mandaline, I’m so sorry!”

She let that laugh escape. “You’re apologizing to me for the blow job that I gave you?”

He ran a hand through his hair. “I thought it was another one of those…whatevers.”

“So did I.” She leaned back against her car and let out a long breath. “Holy crap.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Please, stop apologizing. You didn’t do anything wrong.” She snorted. “At least you bought me dinner first.”

He stared at her a moment before they both broke out in laughter. She let him scoop her in close for a hug. “Thank you,” he whispered. “I feel bad I didn’t get to reciprocate.”

He felt good. Oooh, his body felt sooo good. “Next time, I’ll sit on the couch. And I’ll wear a skirt.”

He kissed the top of her head. “Well, if it makes you feel any better, you’re the first woman I’ve been with in a couple of years now.”

“Since that other woman Ellis told me about?”

“Yeah.” He looked down at her. “Are you really okay?”

She grinned. “Lucky for both of us I’m a swallower or we could have had a lot of trouble explaining that.”

He laughed with her before his smile faded. “I’m sure Ellis is going to grill me when I go back in there. I might end up spilling the beans anyway.” He released her. “Did he give you my cell number yesterday?”

“Yeah.” She fished out her phone and opened the text function, then handed it to him. “But text yourself so I have it in here and you have mine.”

He did, then handed it back to her.

He captured her hands in his and kissed them. “I’m sorry, Mandaline.” He spoke in solemn tones, his expression serious. “I mean it. I’m not sorry it happened, but I’m sorry it happened like that. I hope you don’t hate me.”

She shook her head. “No, I don’t hate you,” she softly said. “I don’t know how I feel about you, but hate doesn’t even make the top hundred.” She stood on tiptoe and brushed a kiss across his lips. “How about you let me make you dinner tomorrow night? I’ll come pick you up.”

He glanced at the house. “I’d feel weird leaving him alone.”

“Bring him.” She smiled. “Hell, maybe that weird stuff will start happening with him, too.”

A playful smile quirked his lips. “I always told Ellis we needed to find one woman who’d put up with both of us.”

Tension squeezed her heart. “Let me get used to supernaturally induced fellatio first before you throw mystical ménages at me.” She stepped away as he burst into laughter.

He stood outside, waving as she turned her car around and drove away.

Halfway back to town she pulled over along the shoulder as the shakes hit. She rested her head against the steering wheel and tried to calm her pulse.

What. The. Fuck?

No, she didn’t blame Brad at all. She’d definitely been the initiator. But…

She tried to process what had happened. She was still sitting there five minutes later when her phone chirruped at her with a text message.

It was from Brad. Pls text me when u get home. Ok?

Reality calling. She glanced at the time and knew Sachi, at least, would still be at the store. She texted Sachi that she was on her way. She shifted the car back into drive and pulled onto the road.

* * *

The arched eyebrow over Sachi’s crystalline blue, almond-shaped eyes spoke volumes. “I don’t buy it. What happened?”

They were alone in the office. Kim was staying to help close up, but Sachi had cornered Mandaline seconds upon her return.

“Nothing happened!”

“Then why do you look like you’re trying to explain to your mother why you’re sneaking in the back window an hour past curfew, with a hickey on your neck, when you were supposed to be at the library?”

Mandaline’s hand involuntarily flew to her neck. There was no way she could have a hickey…could she?

Sachi grinned triumphantly. “Ha!” She dropped into the chair next to the desk and lowered her voice. “Tell me. You know damn well I won’t let you out of here until you do.”

No, she wouldn’t. “You won’t believe me.”

“Try me.”

“You’re going to yell at me.”

The other eyebrow arched skyward. “Oh, then I sooo have to hear this, boss.”

Not knowing where else to start, she started at the beginning, with the basics of what Ellis told her the day before, the little zing she felt when she touched him, and then the events with Brad, ending with what happened in the attic.

Sachi blinked but remained silent.

“Well?”

She started to speak, closed her mouth, then sat back in her chair. She wore a consternated look on her face. “What do you want to happen with him?” she finally asked.

“I don’t know.”

“And you’re attracted to both of them?”

Mandaline nodded.

Sachi pondered it a few more moments before letting out a sigh. She shrugged. “Go after both of them.”

“What?”

“Hey, Libbie sent me a reading list a few months ago when I was looking for new authors. Some of those books she has on her Kindle…whew!”

“This is my real life we’re talking about, not a smutty book.”

Sachi grinned. “They say truth is stranger than fiction, boss.” She stood and patted Mandaline on the shoulder. “I say keep your options open. If Julie really is speaking through Brad, and like you I suspect he’s telling the truth, then you’re screwed regardless. She won’t give up until she’s satisfied you’re happy.”

Sachi left the office but Mandaline sat there stewing. She knew Sachi wouldn’t tell anyone what she’d revealed.

She was about to head out to help Sachi and Kim finish closing, but her phone chirruped at her with a text message. Expecting a reply from Brad to her “I’m home” text, she was surprised to find it was from Ellis.

We need to talk. Call me.

“Shit,” she mumbled.

* * *

Ellis paced outside behind his car as he waited for a reply to his text or a call from Mandaline. He didn’t know what had happened between those two before he got home, but he wanted to find out. Brad had stopped him from asking any questions by declaring he had to go upstairs to work and closing the attic door behind him.

As good as a Keep Out sign.

He glanced up to the attic, where light shone from the eastern window. He could see shadows on the ceiling as Brad moved around in there.

He suspected he’d interrupted something between them from the way her face had brightly blazed and the way Brad avoided him.

He didn’t want Brad to get hurt.

He also didn’t want to acknowledge the tendril of jealousy trying to take hold inside him. Brad deserved happiness.

But dammit, he would have liked a chance to get to know her before Brad moved in. He was tired of dating his right hand every night. Lots of women threw themselves at Brad, not that Brad paid them any attention. Why did he finally have to start paying attention to the one woman he’d felt moved by?

Stop being an ass. He deserves happiness.

And so did Mandaline. At work, he’d looked up the news stories on what had happened to Julie. How she was raped and murdered by Steven Corey before he drowned in the lake at the park.

Mandaline certainly needed some happiness in her life after losing her best friend in such a horrific way.

He almost dropped his phone when it rang. “Hello?”

“It’s Mandaline.”

“Hi. Um, thanks for calling me.”

“What’s up?”

“Yeah. Uh, listen, I wanted to talk to you about tonight.”

“Okay.” She sounded guarded.

Now he really felt like an ass.

He opted for an about-face. “Did you really mean it when you said maybe there are concrete causes for what Brad’s experiencing? I mean, it did start happening after we moved here, not before.”

Did she sound relieved? Her voice took on a lighter tone and sped up just a little. If she was a witness, he would suspect she felt she’d just dodged a bullet. “Absolutely. There is plenty of scientific evidence to support high EMF levels causing physical symptoms that would dovetail with what he’s reporting.”

“That’s good.” He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t follow through with what he’d wanted to ask. “That’s real good. I didn’t know if you were just saying that to make him feel better or not. That’s why I wanted to call and talk to you in private.”

Her tone brightened even more. “No, I really believe we’ll find something to explain what’s happening. It might take some time to rule things out, but from talking with him tonight, I think we’ll find an answer that will satisfy everyone.”

“Good. I’m glad.”

“Did he tell you I invited you both to dinner tomorrow night? My place. I’m cooking.”

“No, we didn’t get that far. He went upstairs to work and closed the door to his studio. I don’t bother him when he does that.”

“Oh. Well, eight o’clock, here. Just park behind the building and knock on the back door if it’s locked.”

Maybe there’s still hope for me if she’s inviting us both. “Okay. Can we bring anything?”

“Just yourselves.”

“Sounds good. See you then.”

He hung up and stared at his phone. Chickenshit.

He started toward the side door when he thought he heard a woman’s bright, giggling laugh.

“Hello?” He turned, peering into the darkness beyond the security light over the kitchen door that illuminated the parking area.

No one.

Shaking it off as his imagination, or maybe sound carrying oddly from a neighbor’s house, he returned inside.

* * *

Mandaline felt relief so strong it started her trembling again and she had to lean against the kitchen counter for support. She’d gone upstairs to make the call, expecting an interrogation from Ellis about what had happened between her and Brad, not that.

She stared down at Pers, who sat at her feet. “What do you think?”

His tail wagged a few times.

“You’re no help.”

Kim had left and Sachi was gathering her things when Mandaline went downstairs again. Sachi paused and studied her. “You all right?”

“I’m having Brad and Ellis over for dinner tomorrow night.”

Sachi burst out laughing. “Wow. You work fast. From swearing off love to a ménage in the space of a few days.”

“I’m not in a ménage. I’m not even in a relationship. I don’t want or need a relationship. Especially right now!”

Sachi snorted. “Suuure. Keep telling yourself that. How long’s it been since you’ve been laid?”

She fumed. “Irrelevant.”

“No, it’s not.” She put her hands on Mandaline’s shoulders and looked her in the eye. “You’ve got a huge, honking void in your life. A vacuum. Basic physics. What’s the one thing the Universe abhors?”

“A vacuum,” Mandaline mumbled.

Sachi grinned. “So suck it up, buttercup. Most single women would kill to have your problem. Obviously, regardless of your opinion on the matter, you aren’t a person meant to be alone.”

“The last thing I need is a man, or men, telling me how to run my life. Or who want me to change for them.”

“Who’s telling you how to run your life? Besides me, I mean. And who says you have to change?” She grabbed her purse. “No one says you have to change. You never did have to change. With your ex, at that point in your life, that was all you. You just didn’t have the confidence to say ‘no.’ Just because someone says ‘change’ doesn’t mean you have to.”

“Relationships are a hassle.”

Sachi rolled her eyes. “Say what you want, boss. The Universe has painted a bull’s-eye on your back. You can keep running as long as you want from the truth, make all the excuses you want, but shit’s going to keep happening until you finally go with the flow and let the Universe have its way.” She hugged her and headed toward the back door. “Come lock yourself in and set the alarm.”

Mandaline followed her and locked the door, but she didn’t set the alarm. She needed to walk Pers again before calling it a night.

She headed back to the front of the store to check the front door and pull the shades in the windows and door. It didn’t feel empty to her, despite being alone. She’d never had a problem with being alone.

It wasn’t her preferred state, but she wouldn’t admit that to Sachi.

It was bad enough she had one friend trying to fix her up from the beyond. She didn’t need Sachi also setting her sights on getting her a boyfriend—singular or plural—from this realm.

She closed her eyes. “Julie, why didn’t you come to me? Why are you speaking through Brad?” Her voice sounded loud to her ears in the quiet store.

Her eyes flew open at a soft scritching sound coming from behind the counter. When she went in search of the noise, she couldn’t find anything. Then her eyes settled on the little zen garden on the counter. She would have sworn it had been freshly raked a few minutes ago. That was one of their unofficial closing rituals. Someone always raked out the zen garden.

In it, someone had drawn a smiley face with three stones marking the eyes and nose.

Her heart raced as she stared at it. Finally, she reached over, grabbed the rake, and quickly erased it before heading upstairs.

Chapter Eight

Brad awoke to dim, grey light forcing its way through the attic windows. He groaned as he sat up. He’d fallen asleep on the attic couch with the TV on in an attempt to escape answering Ellis’ inevitable questions about Mandaline and what they’d been doing upstairs when he arrived home.

A dark, dense pall filled his senses as he looked around. Everything hurt. Especially his neck, upon which he’d apparently slept wrong.

Maybe I’m coming down with something. It certainly felt like it.

At some point, even though he didn’t remember doing it, he must have turned out the attic lights. Then his eyes settled on an easel at the far end of the room. A large sketch pad sat on it. In the dim light he couldn’t make out the drawing.

He didn’t even remember the drawing.

With a growing sense of dread he stood and slowly walked over to the easel. Hell, even his feet hurt! He’d fallen asleep with his sneakers on, but it felt like he’d walked miles since last night.

The piece was in pencil and charcoal. When he looked at his fingers, he saw the dark smudges on his hands. He had a utility sink up here so he didn’t have to constantly run up and down the stairs. Apparently he hadn’t washed his hands after his somnambulic art session.

The piece frightened him, quite honestly. It looked like something out of the Dark Ages, with an ugly, three-eyed demon menacingly hovering over a cowering woman on a chaise. Terror filled her features as the demon leveled what looked like a shotgun at the woman.

What have I done?

He started to tear it from the sketch pad to throw it away when he looked more closely at the woman’s face.

Without a doubt it was Mandaline.

Instead he grabbed the sketchbook, slammed it shut, and buried it between some half-finished canvasses along the wall. He hurried over to the sink to scrub at his hands. When he sniffled, he realized he was crying.

What’s happening to me? Why am I doing this?

He headed downstairs to the bathroom. It wasn’t quite seven yet, and Ellis would need to get into the bathroom to take his shower soon. He stripped and stepped under water so hot it quickly turned his skin red. He wanted to wash away the feeling, the thick, dark, dirty feeling coating him.

When he got out, he wrapped a towel around his hips and jammed his clothes into the hamper before heading to his room. He grabbed a pair of shorts.

He lost his balance trying to put them on and fell back onto the bed, his legs hanging over the edge.

The way her eyes looked staring up at him from between his legs, the way her hot, sweet mouth had felt while sucking his cock…

He closed his eyes and fisted the covers as he tried to shove the memory out of his head. Yes, it’d felt good, the best blow job he’d ever gotten in his life. But it wasn’t fair to saddle her with his problems.

Was it?

He rolled over facedown on the bed, hands fisting the sheets again as a blue haze took his vision. He had just enough time to realize he was having a seizure before the world went dark.

* * *

The loud thump from Brad’s room jolted Ellis out of bed like a cattle prod. He’d awakened earlier to the sound of the shower running, but had drifted back to sleep when he realized he didn’t have to get up yet.

He burst out of his room and across the hall where he knocked. “Brad? You all right?” He waited two breaths for an answer before barging in.

He found Brad on the floor, a pair of shorts pulled halfway up, his body rigid and a glazed look on his face.

“Shit! Brad!” He got him rolled onto his side and held his hand, afraid to leave him and knowing exactly what was going on. Soon, Brad’s muscles relaxed and his eyes fell closed. “You’re okay, buddy. I’ll be right back. I have to get my phone.” Ellis started to get up to go call 911 when Brad’s hand closed on his.

“No,” he muttered.

“Dude, I need to call an ambulance. You had a seizure.”

The hand gripped him harder. “No. Give me a minute.”

Torn between what his friend wanted and what he knew he should do, he finally gave in. This one had only lasted maybe a minute or two from the time he’d heard the thud to when Brad had started coming out of it.

After a few minutes, Brad’s eyes opened again and he looked up at him. “I’m okay,” he muttered.

“You had a seizure,” he repeated, trying to stay calm. “We need to get you to the hospital.”

“No.” When Ellis realized Brad was trying to sit up, he helped him. “I was stupid. I forgot to take my meds last night.”

Somehow, he managed to hold back the flash of anger at his friend. “You can’t do that.”

“I know. I…I fell asleep on the couch up there. I’m sorry.”

Guilt immediately washed his anger away. “No, don’t apologize. I didn’t want to interrupt you last night. I should have checked on you and made sure before I went to bed.”

That dopey smile, the one that could always make Ellis laugh, curved Brad’s mouth. “We need a woman to ride both our asses,” he joked.

More relief poured in. If Brad could crack funnies, he was feeling better. “Yeah, well, not my priority right now.” He helped Brad stand and kept him steady while Brad pulled his shorts all the way up.

“Admit it,” Brad said. “You were staring at my dick.” He grinned.

Yep, he was back to normal. “Dude, I’ve got one of my own I can play with. I don’t need to stare at yours.” Ellis finally stepped away, now certain Brad was steady on his feet again.

But Ellis still followed him downstairs to the kitchen and watched while Brad took his meds. While Brad did that, Ellis started a pot of coffee. “Maybe I should cancel our dinner with Mandaline tonight,” Ellis suggested.

Brad turned to him, frowning. “How’d you know about dinner? I didn’t tell you last night.”

Crap. Busted. “I talked to her on the phone after you went upstairs.”

“Why?”

Now he felt even guiltier. “I wanted to find out what she thought about the house. In case there was anything she didn’t want to say in front of you. And I wanted to talk to her more about the EMF stuff. If she really thought that was what’s going on.”

Did Brad look…relieved? “Oh. Okay.”

“I can’t help it. I worry about you. It’s my job. I’m sorry.”

“We need to get you a hobby.”

He smiled. “You are my hobby.”

“You’re a martyr.” But the smile had returned to Brad’s face.

“Maybe I should stay home today.”

“Nope. I was an idiot, and that’s all. I’ll eat a good breakfast and be fine.”

Ellis studied his friend. He always fought the urge to baby him, knowing Brad might not push back against it if he did, but that he deserved better from him than that. “All right. If you say so. But you call me if you have another seizure. Deal?”

“Deal. I’ll be fine. And we’ll have dinner with Mandaline tonight.”

He glanced at the time and realized he needed to get moving or he’d be late to work. “Okay.” He grabbed a cup of coffee and headed upstairs to get his shower.

* * *

Alone in the kitchen, Brad heavily sat in one of the chairs and scrubbed his face with his hands. He wasn’t entirely sure the seizure was related to him forgetting his meds. He’d forgotten a dose of his meds before and hadn’t had a seizure.

His mind flashed to the demon drawing now hidden in the attic. Was there more going on? Was this a developing symptom of whatever was wrong with the house?

I’ll call Mandaline after Ellis leaves for the day and talk to her about it.

* * *

Mandaline gave up trying to sleep a little after six that morning. She’d dozed off and on, but every time sleep tried to take hold of her system, so did hot, sexy dreams about Brad…and Ellis.

It didn’t help that even though she knew it was silly, she felt a little guilty about the distraction the two hunks provided her. Julie had only been dead a week, and the tree planting would be held tomorrow. Not to mention there’d be an informal gathering at the store later Saturday night for the full moon.

Sachi had jokingly dubbed their gatherings the “coffeeshop coven” a couple of years earlier, a name that stuck even though they weren’t technically a coven. Some of the participants didn’t even consider themselves witches. They were just a bunch of friends from a variety of belief systems who enjoyed gathering for the sabbats and esbats.

It would be their first without Julie.

She took a long, hot shower. Then she poured herself a cup of coffee and called Pers before she headed downstairs. She grabbed his leash and took him on a long walk a few blocks down to the library. It wasn’t completely daylight yet, with purple shadows still tenaciously hugging the depths of trees and bushes. She let the dog sniff around the library grounds to his heart’s content while she sipped her coffee.

It’s not fair. She knew it was a pointless whine on her part, but never in her life had she imagined she’d ever not grow old with her soul sister. That they wouldn’t be together to share life’s ups and downs.

That Julie wouldn’t be there for her to cry on her shoulder, or there to make her laugh when Mandaline once again doubted her life choices.

Until last Thursday, she’d been relatively content with her life. No, not rich, but her bills were paid, she was out of debt, and so what if she was single? She was free.

Now she had a deep well of grief, people depending on her for their livelihoods, an extra furbaby to care for…and thoughts of two sexalicious guys that wouldn’t leave her head.

Not to mention she’d given one of them an accidental blow job.

She laughed aloud at that, making Pers turn to look at her. She never thought it possible to accidentally blow a guy, but damned if she hadn’t proven it possible.

Julie definitely would have laughed her ass off about that.

She looked up at the sky. “Why?” she whispered. “Why these two guys? Why couldn’t you have just pointed me toward a single guy? And why did you mark their case urgent?”

She heard a noise and looked to see Pers nosing around the base of a tree where a shred of paper lay. “Leave it, puppy.” She walked over to take the paper away from him. It looked ripped from a magazine advertisement. In large blue letters, the word BELIEVE was visible.

“Fuck. Me.”

She started giggling at first. That transformed into laughter, followed by the inevitable tears. She crumpled to the dewy grass as Pers climbed into her lap to console her.

She made it back to the shop twenty minutes later after tucking the piece of paper in her pocket. She’d also picked up after Pers, the little container of poop bags attached to his leash making it impossible to forget them.

She needed to change her jeans, which were soaked through at the seat from the wet grass. But first…

She unhooked Pers from his leash and let him roam free inside the store. She went upstairs and stopped before Julie’s altar, which sat on a dresser in the living room.

It was one of the things she didn’t have the heart to move yet.

She took the piece of paper and put it on the altar, weighed down with a small amethyst crystal. Eventually, she’d put her own altar there, with some of Julie’s pieces incorporated.

For now, this felt right. “I’ll believe, Julie,” she said, “but there’s only so much my frayed nerves can take.”

* * *

She was downstairs working on paperwork when Sachi arrived an hour early. Sachi leaned against the office doorway. “So?”

“What?”

“Any new developments since last night? Any unintentional orgies I should know about?”

“Perv.” But she smiled.

Sachi grinned. “Hey, at least one of us is getting lucky around here. I think tomorrow night’s gathering needs to include a ‘sex magick 101’ chant or something for the rest of us suffering through a dry spell.”

Mandaline had made the mistake of trying to sip her coffee. She managed to get most of it back into her mug as she laughed without choking or spewing it all over the computer. “And how, exactly, do you plan to do that?”

Sachi made a serious face and held her arms up toward the ceiling. “Oh, hail, Dildous, god of the Mighty O. Send us your celestial vibrations.”

Pers came running at the sound of Mandaline’s peals of laughter.

Sachi grinned and pointed at her. “You think I’m kidding. You just wait and see. I’m going to do it.”

“I believe you. That’s what’s got me worried.”

A little after nine o’clock, Mandaline still worked in the office when she heard the front-door bell tinkle. She heard Sachi greet the customer, then a familiar voice sounded. “Can I speak with Mandaline?”

Ellis.

She jumped up and nearly ran into Sachi, who was coming through the doorway. She tried to ignore the sexy mraoow Sachi made under her breath as they did a quick back-and-forth dance while Mandaline tried to get past her and out of the office.

She pasted on a smile that was probably too big. “Hi, Ellis. How are you?”

“Good. Um, can we talk for a minute?” He glanced at Sachi. “Alone?”

“Sure.” She led him back to the smaller room and shut the door behind them. “What’s up?”

“I just wanted to give you a heads-up. Brad had a seizure this morning.”

She gasped. “Is he okay?”

“Yeah, he wouldn’t let me call an ambulance. He forgot to take his meds last night.”

A wave of guilt washed through her. She could guess why he’d forgotten. “If you want to cancel tonight, I understand.”

“No, I just wanted to let you know what was going on. It’s been like a year since he last had a seizure. I don’t know if it’s related to everything else going on right now or not.” He looked like he wanted to say something else. He reached out and touched her arm. “Look, I—”

Holy fuck! She stared up into his blue eyes, transfixed. She knew what was going on and had already prepared herself for it even though she hadn’t honestly expected it to happen.

She usually wasn’t that lucky. Yet the white-hot sensation, centered over her clit, poured through her body.

She waited for Ellis to make the first move. He grabbed her with his other hand and pulled her to him, crushing her lips with his.

She let out a soft moan as her arms found their way around his neck. He wrapped his around her, grinding himself against her. She felt the stiff bulge of his cock rubbing against her through his slacks.

Christ, they’re both big!

He tasted like coffee, and she could smell the shampoo he’d used that morning. His cheek felt smooth, freshly shaven. He turned and backed her toward the table. They’d almost reached it when she heard a cell phone ring.

She opened her eyes to see him still only touching her arm with the one hand, a look of disbelief and shock on his face.

He let go of her as if scalded before he fumbled in his pocket for his cell phone. He glanced at the screen before silencing it.

Their eyes met. He licked his lips, started to say something, then changed his mind.

She wouldn’t say it. He was the skeptic, so he’d have to say it.

“I…uh…” He stared at her.

She nodded. “Yep.”

“I…We’ll see you tonight.” Before she could stop him, he had the door open and hurried out.

Mandaline drifted over to the table and collapsed into one of the chairs. She had trouble filling her lungs.

She still felt the warmth of his lips on hers.

Sachi stuck her head in the doorway. “You okay, boss?”

Mandaline slowly shook her head.

Sachi frowned, then her eyes widened. She stepped inside and closed the door behind her, leaning against it. “Oh, frak! It happened again, didn’t it?”

Mandaline slowly nodded.

She grinned. “That’s great!”

“Great?” Sachi’s enthusiasm had finally broken through Mandaline’s stupor. “What’s so damn great about it?”

“Oh, please. Spare me. Have you seen those two hunks? Damn, you lucky bitch, I’d gladly be the filling in their sandwich.”

* * *

Ellis practically ran down the sidewalk toward his office. FuckfuckfuckfuckFUCK!

He had no idea what happened. One second he was talking with Mandaline, and the next it was like he’d stuck his dick in a light socket and all hell broke loose. He would have sworn he’d grabbed her and kissed her, but then when his phone rang, they were still just standing there.

She’d looked as shocked as him. But it hadn’t happened.

Had it?

He barely slowed as he passed the receptionist. “Hold my calls, please.” He rushed into his office and slammed the door shut, locking it behind him.

Collapsing into his chair, he tried to slow his racing heart.

Okay, think this through, Fargo. You didn’t really kiss her. You were just standing there talking with her. You must have imagined it.

He tried to latch on to that thought, even though it didn’t feel completely right.

And his cock still uncomfortably throbbed inside his briefs.

“It was my imagination working overtime,” he whispered aloud. “That’s all.” He’d met a really sweet woman he felt extremely attracted to. It didn’t help he’d had all sorts of sexy dreams about her the night before. In fact, until he’d heard Brad collapse, he’d been thinking about waking up enough to rub one out before his shower, with Mandaline as the star of his sexy fantasy.

“That’s all it was,” he said with a little more conviction. “Just my imagination.”

He took a deep breath, held it for a moment, then let it out again. “Just my imagination.”

Unfortunately, he wasn’t sure he believed that.

And still, his cock throbbed.

It’s going to be a long damn day.

* * *

Mandaline finally made it back to her office. She needed to call Brad, both to check on him and to tell him what just happened with Ellis.

She grabbed her cell phone and let out a little yelp when it rang in her hand. Brad’s number appeared on the screen.

She stuck out her foot and shoved the office door shut with her toe before she answered. “That’s freaky. I was literally just getting ready to call you. Had the phone in my hand.”

She heard the smile in his voice. “I hope that’s a good thing?”

She closed her eyes and pictured his sweet brown eyes and playful smile.

And delicious cock. “A very good thing. How are you feeling this morning?”

“I’m okay.”

“Ellis just stopped by and told me about the seizure.”

“Oh.” He sighed. “Yeah, I’m an idiot. It’s no big deal. It’s why I’m not supposed to miss any doses.”

Incredulous, she asked, “How can you say a seizure isn’t a big deal?”

“Because I know why it happened and it didn’t last very long. Seriously, it’s okay. If I’d thought it was a bad one, I would have let Ellis call the ambulance.”

She was the one avoiding the issue now and she knew it. “We need to talk.”

“I thought we were.” She loved how she could pretty much hear him smiling from his tone of voice.

“It happened again.”

“What happened?”

“With him. With Ellis this morning.”

“What…oh.”

She felt fifty shades of crappy. “Yeah.”

His next question, however, surprised her. More, the tone with which he asked it. Hopefully. “Did you give him a blow job?”

“No!”

“Why not?”

“Wh…” Her jaw flapped open and closed a few times. She imagined she looked like a goldfish. “What?”

“I’m not jealous.”

From fifty shades of crappy to fifty shades of confused. “What?”

He laughed. “You are fun to tease, you know that? But seriously, it’d be okay.”

She took a deep breath and blew it out. “Let’s back up. No, it didn’t go that far with him. It was like the first time with you and me, where it felt like he grabbed me and kissed me, but his phone rang and woke us out of…whatever it was.”

“Aw.” He sounded disappointed.

“Aw?”

“Mandaline, you and I know something is going on. Poor Ellis is probably sitting in his office and practically shitting himself, worried that he’s losing his mind and trying to figure out a rational explanation for it. If it’d gone all the way, at least he couldn’t deny what happened.”

“Oh. I guess I should walk over there and talk to him.”

“I wouldn’t.”

“Why?”

“He’ll get defensive and even more entrenched in his belief that nothing happened. Let him stew.” He laughed. “And I’m hoping that something else happens tonight.”

She felt her face heat to supernova proportions. “I feel like you’re pimping me out.”

“Let me ask you a question, and do me the favor of giving me an honest answer. Or you can tell me to go to hell if you want. Are you attracted to me?”

“Yes,” she mumbled. “I should have thought that was obvious.”

“Okay. Are you attracted to Ellis?”

She didn’t want to answer that.

“Mandaline?”

“Okay, yes. Fine. I’m attracted to him, too.”

That answer seemed to please him. “Good. Then what’s the problem?”

“What’s the…seriously? Seriously?”

His tone did, in fact, turn serious. “I’m lonely. He’s lonely. I’m not going to deny the thought of the two of us being able to love the same woman instead of trying to find two women to put up not only with us, but with each other as well, turns me on.”

“I…” Her jaw snapped closed. “Love? We barely know each other!”

“We’ll see you tonight,” he said, the smile back in his tone. He ended the call, leaving her staring at the phone as her heart raced and she tried to make sense of what had just happened.

Maybe I’m the one ready for a padded room at the VA.

Chapter Nine

Mandaline found it impossible to work. Sachi didn’t have readings until later in the day, and both Mina and Paige were there to work the morning shift.

She grabbed her purse and a blank check from the checkbook and waved Sachi into the office. “I need you to drive me over to the mechanic.”

Sachi looked at her quizzically. “What? Your car’s out back. What’s wrong?”

She cocked her head and stared at Sachi, knowing her friend would eventually think of it.

A few seconds later, Sachi winced as she boarded Mandaline’s train of thought. “Sorry. I’ll get my purse and keys.”

They rode over in companionable silence. When they rounded the final corner and Mandaline spotted the kiwi green Element parked in the shop’s side lot, she had to swallow back a fresh bout of hot tears that threatened to fall.

The last time she’d seen it was the last time she’d seen Julie alive.

Sachi pulled in and parked in front of the office. “Do you want me to wait with you?” she quietly asked. Sometimes, Sachi could be a pill. But when times were rough, Sachi always knew exactly what her friends needed from her and came through for them. It was one of the things they loved most about her.

“No, I’ll be okay, thanks. I need to do this.”

Sachi leaned over and gave her a hug before Mandaline got out and walked into the office.

A harried woman worked the phone, apparently arguing with someone over the cost of something. She gave Mandaline a smile when she walked in and held up a friendly finger, not that finger, to indicate she’d be right with Mandaline. Out in the shop area, she heard the loud zzzzip of an air ratchet being used over the even louder throb of an air compressor. The smell of shop chemicals, of transmission fluid and used motor oil and brake cleaner, made her nose sting. One of her exes had run a repair shop, over in Spring Hill. Ever since her nasty breakup with him a few years earlier, it made going into other repair shops an exercise in restraint not to run the other way.

And now, this.

It certainly didn’t help.

The woman finally finished and gave Mandaline a tired smile. “Sorry about that. Thanks for waiting. How can I help you?”

“I’m Mandaline Royce. I’m here for the green Honda Element. Um, Julie Prescott’s Element.”

The woman’s face immediately fell. “Oh, I’m so sorry.” She stood and rounded the counter to give Mandaline a hug. “Julie was such a sweetie. We’re going to miss her.”

Mandaline forced a smile and struggled to hold back tears. “Thank you. How much was the repair bill?”

The woman pulled a ticket from a rack behind the counter. A paper tag holding the key and door fob was stapled to the ticket. The sheriff’s office had brought the rest of Julie’s keys back after having the Element towed from the Coreys’ house.

“Just twenty even for a quarter-hour labor. Diagnosis and reconnecting the ignition wire. That’s all it was. No parts, the wire was right there. Just had to be reconnected.”

“But the towing fee.”

“Nope. Jack told me not to charge you for that. Just the twenty.” She pulled the keys off the ticket and handed them to Mandaline.

With a trembling hand, Mandaline made out the check and handed it to the woman. She quickly wrote the check number on the invoice and marked it paid before handing Mandaline a copy. “There you go. You’re all set. Did you see where it’s parked?” She pointed over her shoulder out toward the back.

Mandaline stared at the key in her hand. “Yeah, thanks. I really appreciate it.” She’d started to walk out, then turned and grabbed a handful of business cards from the holder on the counter. “I’ll put these out at the shop for you. Thank you again. And please tell Jack thanks for me.”

“I will, sweetie. I’m sorry we couldn’t make the memorial for her.”

Mandaline forced another wan smile. She couldn’t tell if it was getting easier or harder to do that. “That’s okay. We’re doing a tree planting Saturday at noon at the library downtown in her memory.”

“Oh! We’ll try to make that, thanks.”

She walked out of the office and around the building. She slowly approached the SUV. After a few deep breaths, she punched the unlock button on the key fob and heard the driver’s door lock disengage.

She opened the door. It looked like they’d even washed and vacuumed it out. Julie was a tidy person by nature, but there’d always been sand on her floorboards.

Maybe the cops did it for evidence.

She wished she hadn’t thought that. That was worse. Then again, they had told her they’d dusted it for Stephen Corey’s prints and found them on the door handle, inside on the hood latch, and on the hood and inside the engine compartment, where he’d disabled the vehicle.

She blew out a breath to cut off that line of thought, too.

She set her purse on the passenger seat after climbing in and shutting the door. She inserted the key in the ignition, closed her eyes to say a silent prayer, and turned the key.

It smoothly cranked to life.

Does it get any easier? She hoped so. She put her seat belt on and put the SUV in gear.

* * *

After his call to Mandaline, Brad realized he’d forgotten to tell her about the picture he’d drawn overnight.

Dammit. He’d have to talk to her later, when she wasn’t so rattled over what had happened between her and Ellis.

Brad decided he needed to keep himself busy and out of the attic. He went upstairs to retrieve the hamper from the bathroom so he could do the wash. As he sorted clothes in the utility room, he realized when he pulled his jeans out that he’d forgotten his wallet in the back pocket.

Wasn’t the first time. At least I didn’t wash it this time.

As he went through all his pockets, he froze when he reached his right front pocket. There he found two three-pack strips of condoms and a receipt.

Slowly and with growing dread, he unfolded the receipt. Dated early that morning, at 1:59 a.m., from a convenience store a mile down the road, he’d bought two boxes of condoms. No bag, no boxes, just the receipt and condoms. He’d paid with his bank card.

A scene flashed through his mind of him ripping the boxes open and pocketing the receipt and condoms, and then dumping the bag and boxes in the garbage can on the sidewalk in front of the store after leaving.

Well, that explains why my feet hurt.

It didn’t explain why he did it in the first place. Or why he had no conscious memory of doing it at the time.

Or how he also had time to draw something in addition to his late-night shopping trip.

He took his wallet and the condoms upstairs and left them in his dresser. With all the weirdness already going on, he didn’t want to think about it right then.

He damn sure didn’t want to mention any of it to Ellis.

* * *

Ellis had too many appointments and too many things to do to simply say fuck it and write the day off as a complete loss.

He also found it impossible to get Mandaline out of his mind. Every time he caught his mind drifting to her he relived kissing her, the way her lips tasted…

Arrrgh!

I’m just horny is all. Horny enough to hallucinate nearly committing a felonious sexual assault.

Then again, in his hallucination Mandaline had willingly kissed him back and hadn’t fought him or resisted.

And hallucination was what he’d convinced himself it was. Just a horny hallucination. A one-time thing that would never happen again.

By the end of the day he’d managed to be productive…barely. His last appointment left at six and he headed home.

As he drove past Many Blessings, he considered stopping and cancelling their dinner. Then again, that wouldn’t be fair to Brad.

Not to mention he’d have to explain to Brad why he’d cancelled.

And he wasn’t about to admit that something freaky or supernatural had happened to him.

Maybe I’m the one who needs a full medical workup.

There were no such things as ghosts or spooks or haints. Things that went bump in the night had an explanation. They always had an explanation. A natural, scientific, logical explanation.

Unfortunately, he had no explanation for what had happened earlier.

When he got home, he found Brad had made some progress in the living room. He’d taped and mudded the drywall on two of the walls. Brad stood in the center of the living room, looking deep in contemplation.

“Looks good, buddy,” Ellis said.

Brad nodded. “Sorry it’s taking me so long.”

“No, it’s okay. I know you like doing it. I can live with it as long as I see progress every day.”

Brad smiled and turned to him. “I’m thinking a light green in here. Not mint, more grey, like a pale avocado or fern. Make the wall over there where we’re going to put the TV a darker shade. And do built-ins around it. What do you think?”

“I think that sounds great.” When Brad started talking in concrete terms about a design plan, it usually meant he was gearing up to bust ass on the room to get it finished.

“I haven’t decided what to paint the trim yet, though. I’m thinking lighter. Maybe a yellow or an orangey hue. I’ll know once I decide what to paint the hallway. I want it to match or at least tie in with it.”

“You’re the artist. I trust your judgment. As long as you don’t go purple or something, I’m fine with it.” He reached out and touched Brad’s arm.

They weren’t in the living room anymore. Or in either of their bedrooms. He didn’t know where they were, but they were both naked and in a large, king-sized bed. Mandaline was also naked and writhing in pleasure between them.

He jerked his hand away from Brad’s arm. Brad’s eyes looked as wide as he knew his must also be.

Ellis slowly backed toward the stairs. “I…um…” He flexed his fingers, where his hand still tingled.

Brad shook his head and slowly advanced on him. “You felt that. Tell me what you saw.”

“Nothing. It was just static electricity, that’s all.”

“Bullshit! You felt that, and you saw it.” He grabbed him by the hand and held on tight, refusing to let go, but the vision didn’t return. “You saw it,” Brad insisted. “I know you did because I saw it in your face.”

He tried to yank his hand away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

Brad grabbed him by the front of the shirt and knotted his tie around his hand so Ellis couldn’t escape. “You and me, in a bed. Not either of our beds. With Mandaline. Naked and screwing her brains out. You saw it. Tell me you saw it!”

“Let go of me!” He shoved Brad away from him, nearly getting jerked off his feet before Brad let loose of his tie. In a blind panic he bolted for the stairs. “I didn’t see anything!”

Brad pounded up the stairs behind him. “Admit it. You saw it. Just like you had a vision you kissed her this morning when you stopped by her shop!”

At Brad’s words, Ellis came to a sudden stop halfway up the stairs. Brad plowed into him, taking them both down. When Ellis finally untangled himself from Brad, he sat there on the stairs, his head in his hands, elbows on his knees. “I didn’t see anything! It was a hallucination!”

* * *

From his sound of voice, Brad knew Ellis was close to an emotional or mental breakdown. He knelt in front of him and gently took Ellis’ hands in his. “It’s okay,” he told him. “It happened to me with her, too. It’s not just you.”

Ellis’ head jerked up. “What?”

Okay, he’d hold back a few details so as not to overwhelm Ellis any more than he already was and pray Ellis didn’t grill him for details. “Yeah. Twice it happened between me and her. It was like we were kissing. It’s okay.”

He wouldn’t count the blow job, since obviously that hadn’t been a hallucination even though they’d both thought it was at the beginning.

“We…we’re both having the same hallucinations? And how did you know about this morning?”

“I called her to talk to her and she told me.”

“Oh, crap!” He buried his head in his hands again. “She must hate me. Jesus, I wouldn’t blame her if she wanted to press charges against me.”

Brad fought the urge to snicker. “I thought you said it was a hallucination. How could she press charges against you for something that didn’t really happen?”

“I…I…” He let out a scream. “I don’t know what the hell is going on!”

Brad moved to sit next to Ellis on the stairs. He draped an arm around his friend’s shoulders. “How about instead of trying to explain it or categorize it or write a brief about it you just let it happen? She’s not fighting it. Why should we?”

Ellis stared at him, stunned disbelief painted across his face. He tried to speak a couple of times, stopped, then finally shook his head. Without another word he stood and climbed the stairs. He went to his room and closed the door behind him.

Brad sighed. “We’re still going tonight, right?” he called up. “We should leave by a quarter ’til to get there on time.”

He smiled as a muffled screech of disbelief drifted through the door.

“Yep,” he softly said with a smile. “We’re still going.”

* * *

One good thing Mandaline realized as she started preparing dinner around seven o’clock—she’d cooked more meals in Julie’s kitchen than Julie had. Julie wasn’t fond of cooking, so it wasn’t uncommon for Julie to buy everything and Mandaline would do the cooking there for one of their frequent evenings together.

It meant she already knew where everything was in the kitchen and wasn’t surprised by not having something she needed.

As the day had worn on, she’d worried Ellis might cancel their dinner. She’d thought about texting Brad to make sure everything was okay, but then decided against it.

Why tempt fate?

Definitely not something she wanted to do. Although from the look on Ellis’ face when he bolted from the store that morning, she suspected he might not even want to talk about what happened.

That was fine with her. She’d let him set the pace. Brad knew him far better than she did.

A few minutes before eight, Sachi knocked on the door to the stairwell before opening it and hollering up at her. “Yo, boss. You have company.”

Mandaline leaned over the railing. “Send them on up.”

“Will do. We’ll lock up when we’re done down here.”

“Thanks!”

She quickly surveyed the kitchen to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything as she heard the men walking up the stairs. She’d even had time to grab a quick shower and change clothes.

One tank top and skirt. No bra, so as not to add a level of difficulty. And non-granny underwear, thank you very much.

Her pulse raced as first Brad, followed by Ellis, emerged from the stairwell. Brad stepped over first for a hug. She mentally braced herself but nothing more spectacular happened than him giving her a kiss on the cheek. He also carried a fruit salad. “We didn’t want to come empty-handed,” he said, flashing her that sweet, playful smile.

“Thank you so much.” She took the bowl from him and set it on the counter.

Ellis looked hesitant to have any contact with her. Apparently fighting an internal battle, he finally leaned in and quickly hugged, her, angling most of his body away from her.

Nothing.

He looked relieved.

Scratch ignoring what happened. Ellis was obviously extremely uncomfortable. About what happened that morning, if she had to guess. “Ooookay, what’s going on?”

Sure enough, Ellis quickly shook his head. “Nothing.” His forced smile didn’t fool her in the least. “Nothing’s wrong. Just a long day at work, that’s all. Food smells great. What are we having?”

She glanced at Brad, who stood behind Ellis. He shrugged.

No help there.

Obviously, Ellis didn’t want to discuss it. If that’s how he wants to play it, fine. “Baked chicken, broccoli casserole, and salad. And fruit salad,” she added. “I have apple pie and ice cream for dessert.”

Ellis seemed to relax a little when he realized she wasn’t going to press him to discuss the morning’s events. His demeanor was a little on the manic side, overly cheerful and quick to laugh at the slightest provocation. When midway through dinner he excused himself to use the bathroom, she leaned in close to Brad.

“Is he okay?” she whispered.

“No. And it’s more than what happened between you two this morning. I can’t explain tonight. I’ll tell you tomorrow.”

By the time they reached dessert, Mandaline knew Sachi and the others had closed the store and left. They were alone in the building. Ellis seemed to have relaxed somewhat. She didn’t miss how he’d taken great pains to avoid any contact with her, or Brad, throughout the meal. She felt sorry for him, sensing his conflict and tension, the way his brow furrowed over his killer blue eyes. The way he nervously ran his hand through his blond hair.

At least he’d opened up a little, talking about his job, reliving funny anecdotes with Brad for her, and showing her another side of him. He truly did love his friend. As Brad had warned her, the current circumstances had taxed Ellis’ nerves.

Being in close proximity to both men during dinner had also revved Mandaline’s motor. And I can’t do a damn thing about it.

She got up to clear the table after dinner. “You know, if you aren’t busy Sunday, I could come over and start going through the house with my equipment then, if you’d like.”

Brad stood and grabbed dishes to help her. “That’d be great.” He glanced at Ellis. “Is that okay with you?” He followed her into the tiny kitchen.

“Sure.” Ellis also grabbed some dishes and followed Brad into the kitchen. Mandaline smiled at Brad and did a little close-quarters jostling with him to allow him to get to the sink, which left her pinned between the men’s bodies in the narrow space between the counters.

Ellis’ eyes widened as he found himself pressed up against Mandaline.

She felt it hit, even though they weren’t touching skin to skin. They were all three naked in her bed, with her sandwiched between the two men and in the middle of the best sex she’d ever had. Ellis had his cock sunk all the way inside her pussy while Brad’s filled her ass.

And in the vision, she was staring into Ellis’ blue eyes the way she was now.

Except that from behind her Brad murmured, “Let it happen.”

Apparently, that was enough to break the spell. They were all back in her kitchen and she suspected if he could, Ellis would crab backward until he was perched on top of her counter to get away from her.

She let him slide past her. He left the dishes on the counter and backed away from the kitchen, into the living room area.

Brad turned, his body pressed against hers, his hands on her shoulders. “Let it happen,” he softly said again.

She wanted to close her eyes and moan at how good his body felt against hers, even with his clothes on.

Ellis stared at them for a long time, eyes still wide. After a moment, his gaze narrowed and he jabbed a finger at her. “I don’t know what kind of fucking game you’re playing, but I’m not falling for it.”

“What?”

He ran a hand through his hair again. “What’d, you…you drug me or something? Both of us?”

“What?” She started to take a step toward him but Brad’s fingers tightened on her shoulders, holding her back.

“That’s it!” Ellis’ face lit with crazed triumph. He jabbed a finger at her again. “You drugged us!”

“No! What the hell?”

“He’s losing it,” Brad murmured in her ear. “Just hang on. It’s going to get bumpy.”

“Yep!” Ellis crowed. “I am not losing my mind. I don’t know what you did, but you can forget it! Is that what this is about? You’re trying to snag us so you can get money from us? I bet that’s it, isn’t it? Takes money to run a place like this and you’re probably hurting for cash!”

She violently twisted free from Brad’s grasp as behind her she heard him mutter, “Oh, fuck.”

She advanced on Ellis, who cowered away from her. She kept her hands balled tightly at her sides to prevent her from slapping the hell out of him. “Let me tell you something, buddy,” she said through clenched teeth. “I didn’t do anything to you or Brad. I invited you over tonight because I thought you were a couple of nice guys and I wanted to get to know you better and not have to spend an evening alone.” She rounded the table, with Ellis retreating ahead of her.

“And for another thing, my best friend just died. I thought spending some time in nice dinner conversation might help lift my spirits. For your fucking information, asshole, money is the one thing I do not have to worry about anymore in my life.” They made another circuit around the table. “When Julie died, she left me everything. Including this business, yes. But she was already rich before that. When Grover and I went to the CPA last week, he told me my personal assets, not counting the building or the business and its profits, are now around the five-million-dollar mark.”

Ellis backed into the corner between the counter and living room wall. She got into his face, not touching him, and dropped her voice. “So if you think I’m after your money,” she whispered, “think again, asshole. I don’t need your fucking money. I damn sure don’t want your fucking money. How do I know you’re not after my money to spend renovating that money pit of yours? And no, I did not drug you. If you’re so small-minded you can’t see what’s in front of your face, then you can just go fuck yourself. I feel really sorry for you because you’ll never know the magick and wonder you’re missing in this life.”

She stepped back and stared up at him. “And the subject you’ve been so desperately avoiding tonight was that this morning you and I shared a vision of us kissing. I, for one, enjoyed the hell out of it. Apparently you find me so repellant and disgusting that you can’t even imagine what could really happen between us if you’d just open your mind and your heart.”

She felt the tears, hot and heavy, rolling down her cheeks. “Sorry I’ve disrupted your neat and tidy existence, Ellis.”

She turned her back on him and headed toward the bedroom.

Behind her, she heard him say, “Mandaline, no, I didn’t mean—”

“I refuse to sacrifice who I am just because you have a problem with it,” she called over her shoulder without turning. “Go fuck yourself, Ellis.”

Brad grabbed her before she reached the bedroom door. He turned her to face him. “Mandaline, please,” he softly said. “He didn’t mean it.”

“Yes, he did mean it. I’m not stupid. You don’t need to cover for him. I’m sorry, but maybe you’d both better go. Good night.”

She gently pulled her hand from his and walked into the bedroom, closing the door behind her. For extra measure, she pushed the button on the knob to lock it.

Then she threw herself facedown on the bed and cried.

She was vaguely aware of muffled, angry male voices in the living room. A few moments later, she heard them walk down the stairs.

She didn’t unlock the bedroom door until she heard their car start and drive away. When she looked out the living room window, down into the parking area, their car was gone.

She hurried downstairs and locked the back door. Pers had followed her down, but she scooped him up in her arms and carried him back upstairs. “Not now, puppy,” she muttered. “Let’s wait a little bit.”

* * *

Never before in his life had Brad wanted to slug Ellis the way he did right then. When he heard the bedroom door lock behind Mandaline, he stormed back to the living room, grabbed Ellis by the shirt, and slammed him against the wall. “What the fuck is wrong with you, dude?” He tried to keep his voice low. “What the everlovin’ fuck is your issue?”

Ellis looked shell-shocked. If it wasn’t for how badly Brad knew Mandaline was hurting right now, he’d burst out laughing at his friend’s state.

“I didn’t mean…I didn’t know…I didn’t—”

“She’s right. You are being an asshole. Something wonderful happens that you can’t understand and you’re automatically trying to find the worst-case scenario and make that your reality. I feel sorry for you, man. I really feel sorry for you.”

“But no way could this be happening!”

“Yes, way, it can and did. There’s no denying it happened. Who the fuck cares why it’s happening? I don’t. All I care about is this woman was brought into our lives and we might actually have had a chance to be happy with her until you just went and fucked it up.”

Brad turned, near tears himself, and headed downstairs.

Chapter Ten

Torn and confused in addition to being frightened out of his wits, Ellis looked at the closed bedroom door before looking at the stairwell. No, he didn’t know what was going on. And yes, his brain had latched on to it being some sort of scam on Mandaline’s part.

He’d never dreamed how wrong he was about possible motives on her part. And now, even though he did think she was attractive, now she was convinced he hated her.

He closed his eyes. Fuck. I don’t think I could have screwed this up any worse if I’d tried.

He followed Brad downstairs. Brad wouldn’t even look at him, much less talk to him, so Ellis gave up trying. They rode home in silence.

At the house, Brad stopped by the kitchen to take his meds before heading up to the attic and closing the door behind him. Ellis heard the TV come on and knew Brad wouldn’t be making an appearance downstairs again anytime soon.

He locked himself in his room and undressed before crawling into bed. He felt like a real shit.

I need to apologize to her.

But the sensation of the hallucination repeating there in her kitchen, the same one he’d experienced earlier with Brad, had freaked him right the hell out.

He heard the attic door open and the sound of Brad coming downstairs. But instead of stopping and going into his room, Brad continued down to the first floor. Then he heard the sound of the side door opening and closing.

“Brad?”

He got up and went downstairs. He stuck his head out the side door, but saw no sign of him. “Brad!” he yelled into the darkness.

After a few minutes of indecision and mosquitoes trying to come into the house and bite him, Ellis closed the door. He left it unlocked, unsure if Brad had his keys or not.

He went back up to his room, feeling even worse. Not only did I hurt Mandaline, who’s done nothing but try to be nice and helpful, not to mention been through hell the past week, but I’ve also hurt my best friend.

He went back to bed and knew sleep would be a long time coming, if at all.

* * *

Brad angrily stewed as he walked. In his back pocket he carried the folded-up drawing. He needed to talk to Mandaline, alone, and see if there was any chance whatsoever of salvaging a relationship with her.

For the three of them.

He knew, given time, Ellis would apologize. He wouldn’t leave the angry words he’d said hanging in the air for all times as the final statement. If Brad knew anything about his friend, it was that Ellis hated hurting people’s feelings.

Especially in a case like this.

Whether or not Mandaline would allow them in her life again remained to be seen. Julie had begged him to get up and go see her tonight, to walk there, not to call her and give warning he was on his way. He couldn’t ignore her plaintive requests.

He also knew he couldn’t pursue a relationship with Mandaline that didn’t also include Ellis. He couldn’t force the two of them together.

He walked into the night, his anger fading as he left the house farther behind him. Ellis was in a lot of emotional pain. Over what had happened to him in the Middle East, over the accident. Guilt Ellis refused to put down despite Brad’s repeated attempts to get him to do just that.

He wanted Ellis to be happy. He knew they could be happy, all three of them together, with Mandaline at the center of their lives.

He’d seen the vision in the kitchen, too. His dick had immediately hardened against Mandaline’s ass as the vision hit. He’d hoped for a few seconds, until Ellis had his meltdown, that their evening would end in Mandaline’s bed.

Something finally occurred to him as he walked. “Did you make me get the condoms?”

Julie, however, remained aggravatingly silent on that matter.

He sighed. He couldn’t force her to answer him any more than he could force Mandaline and Ellis to mend fences and try again.

* * *

Mandaline waited twenty minutes, until after she’d finished cleaning up the kitchen and the dishes, to walk Pers. She also turned her phone off in case Brad tried calling or texting her.

She knew Ellis damn sure wouldn’t.

I get my frakking hopes up about a guy, hell, two guys, and look what happens! Just more proof to her that she should have stuck to her guns in the first place.

Eschew love.

That was the safest bet. To keep her heart protected. If there was a guy willing to work himself through her defenses, he would.

He damn sure wouldn’t do something as ludicrous and offensive as accusing her of drugging him and being a gold digger, to boot.

She locked herself in and set the alarm after Pers finished his business outside. At least she’d decided how to finish her evening. Up in the kitchen, when she looked in the fridge, she found an opened bottle of blueberry wine in the back. She and Julie had started the bottle three weeks ago, each of them having a small glass with dinner one night.

She fished it out of the back of the fridge, popped the cork, and carried it back to the bedroom with her.

Fuck the glass. I’m drinking alone. I can get drunk alone in style.

She undressed and crawled into bed, with Pers on one side and Damiago on the other. She propped herself up with pillows, started channel surfing, and took a long pull straight from the bottle. It only took her twenty minutes to empty the contents. She tipped it up, letting the last dregs drip onto her tongue before she set the empty bottle on her nightstand.

She had a nice buzz going.

Fuck both of them. They could have had me screwing their brains out tonight.

She’d drifted off to sleep to M*A*S*H reruns when something woke her up.

She sat up, wobbling a little under the grip of the wine’s influence.

Pers also sat up, ears cocked.

“What was that?”

He let out a bark and bolted out of bed for the stairwell.

“That’s it, Lassie,” she said. “Did Timmy fall in the well again?” She let out a drunken snort.

Then she heard it, a pounding sound, like someone knocking on the back door.

She stumbled out of bed and grabbed for the wall as the world spun around her.

Oh, yeah. This is why I don’t drink. She had an extremely low tolerance for alcohol.

Yep, definitely someone knocking. She barely remembered to grab her bathrobe and pull it on before carefully making her way down the stairs with a death grip on the railing for support.

Whoever it was wasn’t going away. Now downstairs, she could hear the muffled sound of a man’s voice calling her name.

She lurched for the back door. “Who is it?” she yelled.

“It’s Brad. Please, Mandaline. I need to talk to you.”

Oh, she wanted to talk to him, all right! To give him a piece of her mind. She almost forgot to turn off the alarm before she fumbled the door’s locks and got it opened.

He stood there in the light of the almost-full moon.

“He better not be with you.”

He shook his head. “He’s not. I walked. May I please come in and talk to you?”

She snorted. “Fine.”

She stumbled as she stepped back. He caught her.

“Are you okay?” He helped her back to her feet.

“I’m fine except that men are assholes!” She poked him in the chest. “Even cute ones like you. And…and him.”

He frowned. “Are you drunk?”

“Betcher ass I’m damn drunk!” She shut the door and locked it. She meant to dramatically whirl around and yell at him, but she overshot, her feet refusing to cooperate as she nearly smacked face-first into the door.

“Whoa, hold on there, kiddo.” He grabbed her and scooped her into his arms and carried her toward the stairs.

She poked him in the chest again. “Fucker thinks I drugged him? Whaddafuck’s wrong with him?”

* * *

Upon seeing her condition, Brad felt horrible.

“She can’t handle her alcohol,” Julie sadly said. “She’s in a lot of pain.”

He carried her upstairs as Mandaline drunkenly raged at him. “I didn’t ask fer dis ta happen! I didn’t ask to fall fer two hunks or have…have great make-believe sexy time with you…or…or…” She burst into tears. “Or fer my best friend to get murdered!”

He tried to hold back his own tears. Even he could feel the waves of emotional agony washing from her, finally unleashed by the liberating effects of the blueberry wine Julie told him she’d drank. When he carried her back to her bedroom, he didn’t even feel the slightest bit surprised to realize it was the bedroom from the latest visions.

She sobbed against his shoulder as he gently put her on the bed and lay down next to her, shoes and all. He’d spotted the empty blueberry wine bottle on the bedside table from the light of the TV.

Ellis would be ready to be committed if this was him.

For his part, Brad now took anything Julie told him as a matter of fact. He refused to deny what was happening.

He refused to make excuses.

Mandaline clutched at his shirt as sobs wracked her body. He held her close, his face buried in her hair and his arms securely wrapped around her. “It’s okay,” he whispered. “I’m here. I’m not leaving you.”

So much for the conversation he’d wanted to have with her. He’d wanted to show her the drawing, tell her about the trip to the store for condoms.

Obviously, like Ellis, she had things bubbling below the surface, waiting to explode. The night’s events had pushed her past her breaking point.

She cried herself to sleep in his arms. He knew he couldn’t sleep. For one thing, despite the circumstances, his cock remained hard and straining against the front of his jeans. In her sleep her bathrobe had fallen open. He had a perfect view of her left breast and the dark pink areola topped by a deliciously perky nipple he longed to wrap his lips around.

Pers stared at him from the other side of the bed. “Where’s the remote?” he whispered.

The little dog’s ears perked up. He cocked his head at Brad. Then he burrowed into the sheets next to Mandaline. Brad heard the dog’s claws scratch against something plastic. Carefully, Brad reached over Mandaline to where the dog was digging and found the remote.

“Thanks, buddy,” he said, a smile finally breaking through.

The dog wagged his tail and let out a soft chuff before settling down.

Damiago glared at them from where he’d moved to the far corner at the foot of the bed. He lay curled nose to tail, one half-open green eye shooting him a baleful stare.

Julie laughed. “He likes you.”

“Doesn’t look like it.”

“He didn’t try to claw you or growl at you. He likes you. Trust me.”

“If you say so.” He flipped through the channels until he found the DIY Network and settled in for the duration.

* * *

Mandaline dreamed about Julie, about turning around in the front of the store to see her friend standing there, healthy and whole and alive.

She let out a happy cry and threw her arms around her, tears streaming down her face. “I knew you weren’t dead!”

Julie smiled but didn’t address that. “You need to give him a second chance.”

“Who?”

“Ellis. You need to believe.”

“Screw Ellis!” She grabbed Julie’s arms. “You’re alive!”

Julie sadly smiled. “They are your future, sister. Promise me you’ll believe.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You don’t have to understand. Just believe.”

The scene faded, Mandaline helpless to stop it from changing. She now ran through a darkened wood, feeling like she was being chased by an unseen pursuer. As she ran she grew more frantic, more scared, until she emerged in a clearing.

She recognized the house. It was Ellis and Brad’s house, but looking like it must have appeared before they began renovations.

The world felt dark and grey, muted tones, except for the bright flash of red hair Mandaline spotted disappearing through the side door of the house.

“Julie!”

She raced after her, desperate to catch up, no longer looking behind her.

Up the stairs, to the second floor, to Brad’s room. Mandaline raced through the door behind her, but Julie wasn’t there.

“Where are you?” She rushed to the closet door and threw it open, wondering if her friend had hid in there, but she found nothing but a blizzard of sketches and wadded-up paper.

Then she heard Julie’s voice from the back of the closet. “Believe.”

“Julie!” She fought her way through the mass of papers, startled to find herself falling out the other side and into the attic.

Brad’s artwork lay along the walls, but all the paintings looked dark, depressing. She realized she’d emerged in the attic through the little door behind the sofa, which had been pushed out of the way.

Mandaline turned and screamed. “Julie!”

“Believe,” Julie’s voice drifted to her.

Mandaline sat up with a start, gasping, tears still damp in her cheeks.

Beside her, Brad propped himself up on one elbow. “Are you okay?” he softly asked.

Wrenched from the dream, she felt disoriented…and more than a little hungover. “What…what?”

He sat up. She noticed he was fully dressed, and she was in her bathrobe…which hung open. She felt her face heat as she quickly pulled it closed and retied the belt around her waist.

“Are you okay?” he softly asked again.

“How’d you get here?”

“I walked. I pounded on the door downstairs and you came and let me in. You were drunk.”

Ohhhh…yeah. She put a hand to her forehead and closed her eyes, hoping the world would stop dangerously spinning. “How did you get in bed with me?” She carefully cracked one eye open to look at him.

He wore a sad smile. “You were bound and determined to fall over and do hand-to-hand combat with the floor. I carried you up here, you cried yourself to sleep, and Pers and I have been watching DIY Network. I didn’t want to leave until I knew you were okay.”

“What time is it?”

“After three.”

She groaned again. “Give me a minute to wake up and I’ll drive you home.”

“No, you won’t. You’re in no condition to drive. I can walk.”

“At this time of night? Call a taxi.”

He shrugged. “I don’t mind walking. It’s cooler. And safer than in the middle of the day with a lot of traffic.” He gently took her hands in his and kissed them. “I’m really sorry about what happened tonight.”

“Don’t you apologize for his sorry ass.”

“I’m apologizing that you were hurt. That’s not who Ellis really is. He’s scared and desperate to find a logical explanation that isn’t there.”

“Yeah?” she grumbled. “Well, he can go screw himself. I don’t care how cute he is.”

He released her hands and got out of bed. “Do you feel steady enough to come lock me out?”

She didn’t want him to leave. She wanted him to stay in bed with her. To get naked, in bed, with her.

She moved over to the edge of the bed. “Do you have to go?” She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her face against his abs. His warmth flowed through her, but no sexy visions.

And she felt how hard he was.

He stroked her back. “Unfortunately, yes, I need to go. You’re not in any condition for us to talk tonight. And you have the tree planting tomorrow, rather today, and your full-moon gathering.”

She looked up at him. “How did you know about the gathering?” When he didn’t answer, she sighed. “Julie’s talking to you again.”

“Yep.”

“I dreamed about her,” she whispered, reluctant to let go of him.

“I suspected.” He kissed the top of her head and gently untangled her arms from around him before stepping back. “I’ll see you tomorrow. You need to sleep.”

She carefully got to her feet. “I’ll come lock the door.”

“You sure you’re okay? I don’t want you falling down the stairs.”

She felt a little woozy, but not too unstable. “I’ll be okay.”

She followed him downstairs to the back door. He stopped and turned to her, a serious expression on his face. “I really want to get to know you better. I want to make those visions come true. More than you’ll ever know. I also know it won’t work unless it’s all three of us. He’s going to have to come to his senses and you’re going to have to be able to forgive him for how he acted tonight.”

She stared up at him, stunned into silence.

He leaned in close, but not touching. “I know you’re scared. I’m scared, too, more than you’ll ever know. I love you. I know that, even if it sounds crazy and even though we hardly know each other. And I love him. I know you can love both of us. I believe that with all my heart. I also know if you and I try to make this work without him, it just won’t.”

“Believe,” she whispered.

He nodded. “That’s what she told me.” He reached for the door and opened it.

“She?”

She didn’t need to ask. He looked at her over his shoulder, the answer written on his face. “Good night, Mandaline. Lock the door.”

In a daze, she did. She staggered her way upstairs again and fell facedown onto bed. She didn’t even bother turning the TV off before she closed her eyes and crashed into blessed darkness with Brad’s scent lingering on her pillow.

* * *

Sachi’s voice split through her skull like an ice pick driven between her eyeballs. “Boss? You okay up there?”

Mandaline rolled over and groaned again as the world spun and threatened to sling her off the bed.

“Boss?” She heard Sachi’s steps on the stairs as she came up. Then the sound of her in the bedroom doorway. “Mandaline? Are you all right? You left the stairwell door open. I’ve been calling you for five minutes.”

“Kill. Me. Now. Please, in the name of all that’s holy, in the name of Hecate, just fucking kill me.”

She heard Sachi’s sad sigh. Her friend walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. “What happened? I’m guessing you tied one on solo style?”

“You’re not killing me. Why aren’t you killing me?”

She heard Sachi get up and walk out to the kitchen, followed by the sound of her getting the coffeemaker going. She returned a moment later with a cool washcloth, which she placed across Mandaline’s brow. “You know you and the grape aren’t buds.”

“You still aren’t killing me. And it wasn’t grapes. It was blueberry wine.” The cold, damp cloth felt like heaven on her flesh.

“Ah, she’s cracking jokes. She is in her right mind.”

“If you don’t hurry up and put me out of my misery, I’m firing you.”

“No you won’t. You luuubs me.”

“Yeah? Well, I thought you luuuubsed me, too, and yet you aren’t killing me.”

“Do I need to recant my vow not to hex people and throw a good one on those two, or just take great pleasure in throwing them out the front door if they show up here again? Or do I need to bring my skeet gun in with me to run them out? I have it in the car. I can go get it right now.”

Goddess bless her, Sachi was fiercely protective of her friends. “No,” Mandaline said. “No guns, unless you’re using it to fucking kill me like I keep asking you to. No throwing anyone out of doors. And please don’t hex them. If you won’t kill me, you’re not allowed to hex them.”

“Well, that’s probably for the best. I’m sure I’ve racked up enough bad karma in my days already. I don’t need to add hexing to the list. And shooting them might get me arrested.”

Mandaline carefully sat up, holding the cloth to her head. “Ellis freaked out last night after another one of those sexy visions hit us.”

“Freaked out how?”

“Accused me of drugging him and trying to go after his and Brad’s money.”

Sachi stared at her in disbelief. “Go on. Pull the other one.”

“No, really. He’s close to a mental breakdown, I think.”

Storm clouds darkened her expression. “He’s close to getting my damn fist in his snoot, is what he is, next time I see his ass!”

“No, seriously. It’s okay.” She flipped the washcloth over and pressed it to her forehead again. “Brad came back last night. I guess I cried myself to sleep in his arms.”

“Huh? Back up. I think you missed a step.”

“I was tanked when he got here. He carried me to bed.”

The eyebrow went up.

“We didn’t do anything,” Mandaline clarified. At least, that’s what she thought. It was hard to say for sure because of the big, fuzzy blur from the wine.

“Oh. Well, that sucks.”

“Ellis and I both need a few days to cool off,” Mandaline said. “Please, don’t be mad at Ellis. He’s just…” She sighed. “He isn’t dealing well with this.” I can’t believe I just said that.

“I’m guessing things with Brad are on track, at least.”

“Not really. He thinks a relationship between just him and me wouldn’t work, that it needs to be all three of us.”

She let out a snort. “What’s Julie say about it?”

“Apparently, that is what Julie says about it.”

“Oh. She always did have a good head on her shoulders, as well as a kinky streak a mile wide.”

Mandaline stared at her.

“Well, who do you think gave Libbie her reading list to start with, huh? Have you even checked Julie’s Kindle? That redheaded witch was queen of the pervs in our little group.” She pointed at Julie’s closet. “I’d be shocked if you don’t turn up a box of unmentionables somewhere in there.” She snapped her fingers. “That’s it! We need to find one of her vibrators and use it for the sex magick chant tonight!”

Mandaline stared at her.

“I’m serious,” Sachi insisted.

“I know you are. That’s what scares me.”

Sachi grinned. “Come on. You know life is far more interesting with me around.”

“That’s one word for it.”

“Hold on. Let me get you something to help your head and return you from zombiedom into the land of the living. You look like an extra for The Walking Dead.” Sachi left the bedroom and Mandaline heard her go downstairs. She returned to the apartment a moment later. After a stop by the kitchen to pour Mandaline and herself coffee, she walked into the bedroom and handed Mandaline a mug. Then she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small brown bottle.

“Peppermint oil. You know the drill, lady.”

Mandaline set the mug on the bedside table and dabbed some of the oil along her forehead and the nape of her neck. She put the damp washcloth back to her forehead again. A moan of relief escaped her. “You’re a genius. An evil genius, but still a genius.”

“Hey, I’ll take compliments how I can get ’em.” She grinned.

She sipped her coffee, the caffeine and peppermint oil working together to help knock back her headache and nausea. After a few minutes, she felt halfway human again. “Thank you, sweetie.”

Sachi cocked her head. “You really think Ellis will come around?”

“I don’t know.” She studied her half-finished mug of coffee. “I hope so.”

“You have no clue what you want, do you?”

“Not the foggiest. Sometimes I want both of them, sometimes I only want Brad, and sometimes I wonder why the hell I haven’t had myself lobotomized.”

“Love will make you crazy.”

“No, love will make you do crazy things. It’s other people that can make you crazy.” She looked up at Sachi. “And I don’t want to call it love. I barely know them.”

Sachi waved away her protests. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Semantics. I’m going to head downstairs and get things opened up. Take your time. I’ve got plenty of people coming in this morning to help hold down the fort. And I’m putting a sign on the door that we’re closing from 11:30 to 1:00 for the tree planting.”

“That sounds good.”

Sachi studied her. “You could even sleep in if you wanted.”

“No, I need to get up. Get a shower.” She realized a nasty, scuzzy taste coated the inside of her mouth. “And brush my teeth.”

Chapter Eleven

The worst of Mandaline’s hangover had eased by the time Grover stopped by at ten and asked her to walk out back with him. He had four oak tree saplings in the bed of his truck, along with a shovel, several bags of mulch, and a tree stake kit.

Mandaline stared, confused and wondering if maybe her hangover was worse than she’d previously estimated. “Why four trees?”

“Sherrie down at the nursery wanted you to be able to pick which one you wanted.” He smiled. “She said take whichever one we want and bring the others back when we get a chance.”

“How much do I owe you?”

He shook his head. “Not a dime. She’s donating the tree, mulch, and stake kit.”

Mandaline took a deep breath to stem the flood of tears that wanted to flow.

Grover looked at her. “You all right, sweetie?”

“Everyone’s been so nice. I just…” She took another breath and wiped at her eyes.

He gave her a hug. “It’ll be all right. You all still doing your thing tonight?”

She nodded. “Yeah. Just a small group. The regulars. Wait, how did you know?”

“Sachi told us about it. No offense, but I’m passing.” He smiled. “Not my thing, but y’all have fun.”

“Is Libbie coming tonight?”

He shrugged. “She’s not having a good day today. I think everything’s finally catching up with her. I wouldn’t count on her coming tonight. She’ll be there for the tree planting, though.”

“Lot of pain?”

“Yeah. And she’s too stubborn to go see Doc Smith.” He patted the truck bed. “So, go ahead and pick one. I’ll run the others back so it’s done.”

She shrugged. “How do I choose?”

“You could put them on the ground and see which one Pers pees on,” Sachi suggested from the back door.

Grover laughed. “I like her. She’s feisty.”

Mandaline finally picked one. Grover unloaded it and set it inside the back door while he left to return the others to the nursery.

Sachi nodded. “It’s a good tree. You did good, Charlie Brown.”

“Now we need to rob Pers of his Christmas decorations and we’re all set.”

Sachi laughed. “That’s one of the reasons I think you and I get along so well. We’re both nuts in the good way.”

* * *

Mandaline felt more than a little overwhelmed by the crowd that had gathered around the small area the county staked out for them to plant Julie’s tree. She had expected maybe a few dozen people, if that. There had to be several hundred people there already, with twenty minutes until the scheduled start time. Many of the people she knew either by name or face from coming into the store, but even more were strangers to her.

When a van from a Tampa TV station pulled up as well, Mandaline felt her heart pound. She started to lean in toward Grover, but he’d already spotted them.

“I’m on it, sugar.” He headed toward the news crew. He’d already helped her fend off a rather pesky tabloid reporter again that morning, one who’d appeared at Julie’s wake before Grover ordered him off the premises.

Sachi’s blue eyes remained unreadable behind her dark sunglasses. She slowly shook her head and tsked at Mandaline. “If you’d just let me bring my gun—”

“No guns.”

Sachi’s disappointed sigh was audible even over the mumble of the people gathering around. “You’re no fun.” But a corner of her mouth tried to twitch up in a smile.

Mandaline smiled despite herself.

As the start time drew closer, she felt something pulling at her, a different energy. She looked around, finally turning.

About thirty yards away, standing in the shade of an oak tree and leaning against the trunk, was Brad. When he saw her looking at him, he raised a hand in greeting but made no move toward her.

She didn’t see Ellis.

She raised a hand back, then pointed at the ground in front of her in invitation for him to join her there.

He smiled, but held a hand up again with obvious meaning. No thanks. I’m good.

She turned back to face the gathering. Maybe he hates me now. Maybe he thinks I’m a lush. Shame flooded her. What the hell did I say to him last night? What did I do?

She remembered dreams, and Julie. Walking or chasing her? A closet? She couldn’t remember for sure.

Then again, after what Ellis had said after dinner, the way he’d acted, if Brad couldn’t forgive her for a little imbibing, he could go fuck himself, too.

He’s here, though. You couldn’t have embarrassed yourself too badly.

She tried to ignore her memory of the accidental blow job in his attic.

Sachi leaned in. “You going to stand there all day ignoring him, or jump his ass?” she muttered low enough no one else could hear.

“Not now, Sachi.” She glanced at her friend. “And aren’t you worried about the cameras? Why won’t you put on a hat or scarf or something?”

She shrugged and straightened. “Got my shades on. This is for Julie. I’m not about to miss it.”

Grover returned, not rejoining her and Libbie and the rest of the shop’s staff who were gathered by the tree, but he stood just off to the side. He flashed her an inconspicuous okay sign.

At noon, she picked up the shovel and took a deep breath to quell her nerves. “Thank you, everyone, for coming today. In her final instructions, Julie said she didn’t want any kind of memorial or anything. This is more for us, her friends, the people who knew and loved her. Thank you to the county for allowing us to do this, and for providing the plaque that will mark her memorial tree. And a special thank-you to Sherrie over at Blake’s Nursery for donating the tree and supplies. We weren’t expecting that, but it just goes to show how far Julie’s positive energy spread throughout the community.

“Like Julie in life, this tree will be able to touch people in ways we’ll never know, her spirit able to live on through us as we keep her alive in our hearts. Those of you who knew her know she was about giving back, helping others. This tree will provide shade and enjoyment for people now and in the future. It’ll be a home to birds and squirrels, and hopefully acorns will grow new trees to keep the cycle going.

“That’s all she wanted, was for everyone to go forward and give. Not even big things. A kind word, a smile, can make someone’s day. You don’t have to be rich or well-connected to spread positive energy, love and light, and peace.”

She took a deep breath and broke ground with the shovel, passing it next to Libbie, who passed it to Sachi, and then on to another employee, until all the staff had a chance to help dig the hole. Grover stepped in then and took the shovel from her to finish the hole and make it the right size. Mandaline dropped to her knees and, with Grover’s help, set the four-foot sapling’s root ball into the hole. She dropped in a small piece of rose quartz, one of several that had been on Julie’s altar, and tucked it under the roots so it would forever be part of the tree as long as it stood.

She imagined Julie would have approved.

Ten minutes later, the tree was planted, mulched, and securely staked. She’d ignored the TV crew filming from a discreet distance as she and the rest of the staff accepted words of condolence from people who filed by. She occasionally glanced over to where Brad didn’t move from the shade of his tree. When they finally thought they could leave the gathering and return to the shop, she looked again and was disappointed to see him no longer standing there.

She tried to ignore the way her heart felt flat over that.

* * *

They reopened the store, inundated by a crowd of people who walked over from the tree planting. It left Mandaline absolutely no time for thinking about Brad or Ellis or anything else other than taking care of customers. By the time they finally caught up, it was after two o’clock and Mandaline excused herself to go upstairs to use the bathroom and grab Pers to walk him.

She opened the stairwell door, startled by the sight of Brad sitting at the top, with Pers in his lap. She pulled the stairwell door closed behind her a little harder than she meant to and hurried up the stairs. “What are you doing here? I never saw you come in.”

He gave her that bashful smile, the one that could easily part her from her panties if she gave in to it. “You were busy. Sachi grabbed me and shoved me in here and told me to wait for you.”

“How long ago was that?”

He shrugged. “A few minutes after you opened up the store again.”

Mandaline closed her eyes and fought the urge to let out a scream of frustration. That was over an hour ago. “I’m sorry. She didn’t tell me you were here.”

“I asked her not to. Please don’t be mad at her.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Because you were busy. I didn’t want to bother you.”

She sat next to him at the top of the stairs. “Where’s Ellis?”

“Home. I walked.”

“You can’t afford a taxi?”

He shrugged again. “I like walking. It’s not that far.”

“Does he know you’re here?”

He looked down at where Pers was comfortably snuggled in his lap. “Nope. I told him I was going out for the day. I’m not a kid.”

She clasped her hands together and stared at them. “I’m sorry for last night,” she softly said. “I don’t remember most of what happened when you were here. I remember you came back, but it’s all…”

“Fuzzy?”

“Yeah.” She looked up at him, into those sweet brown eyes. “Why can’t this be easy? Why can’t we just…us.”

“I thought you liked Ellis. Well, before he acted like an asshole last night.”

“I did. I do. I just…” She leaned her head against him. He draped an arm around her shoulders and it felt so good. So right. “We don’t need him,” she quietly said.

He kissed the top of her head and left his lips pressed there. “But he needs us.” The warmth of his breath felt good against her scalp. “He needs us more than he knows.”

“Last night’s sort of…fuzzy,” she admitted. “I don’t normally drink like that.”

“I know. Julie told me.”

She sighed. “Why did you come back?”

He removed his arm from around her shoulders and reached into his back pocket. He produced a folded piece of paper. When he unfolded it, she realized it was a drawing.

She shivered as she took it from him and looked at it. “When did you do this?”

“Between Thursday night and Friday morning. I brought it with me because I wanted to talk to you about it.”

She looked at it more closely. “Is that…” She looked at him. “That’s me.”

He nodded. “I don’t remember doing it. I also don’t remember doing this.” He handed her a receipt.

She frowned as she studied it. “I don’t get it.” She finally realized what it was for and didn’t know if she should feel outraged or pleased. “What?”

“Look at the time stamp.”

She found it, her heart chilling. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying I did that drawing, and I walked to the convenience store and back, and I have no memory of any of it. I fell asleep on the couch in the attic and woke up there.”

“And you had a seizure yesterday morning.” She handed the receipt and drawing back to him.

“I don’t think that’s connected,” he said.

“But it could be.”

“But I don’t think it is.”

“I can do this all day, Brad.”

He sighed. “I will capitulate that the seizure might or might not be related.”

“Thank you.”

“But if it’s related, it’s only related in that I forgot to take my meds, which might be caused by whatever caused me to do this.” He held up the drawing and receipt.

“Does Ellis know about those?”

He snorted. “Hell, no.” He folded them and returned them to his pocket.

“Have you had lunch yet?”

“No.”

“Let me walk Pers and then I’ll make us some sandwiches. And I can take you home.”

“I’ll walk him for you.” He stood, Pers in one arm. He held out a hand to her and she took it, allowing him to help her up.

He stood on the second-to-the-top step, while she stood on the top step. It put them eye to eye, lip to lip.

She wanted to lean in and kiss him, but he smiled. “You have no idea how badly I’d love to put those condoms to use on you right now, but we can’t. I won’t.” He did lean in and kiss her on the tip of the nose. “And would it be okay to come back tonight for the full-moon gathering?”

“How did…oh. That’s right. Julie.”

He smiled.

She let out a little laugh and scrubbed at her face with her hands. “Yes, I’ll come back and pick you up for that.”

“I can walk.”

“Stop with that. Please. We can spend more time together if you aren’t hoofing it back and forth. It only takes a few minutes to come get you. Only one thing.”

“What?”

Before he could back away, she grabbed the front of his shirt and brushed a kiss across his lips. “My fee.”

His sweet brown eyes held her gaze. “You forgot your change.” He leaned in and kissed her, on the lips, a sweet, warm kiss that took her breath away. When he leaned back, he smiled. “I’m guessing that’s just for this afternoon’s ride and I’ll need to pay up again tonight?”

She smiled. “Twice. It’s a per-trip fee.”

* * *

Ellis didn’t know for sure where Brad went when he left that morning, although he suspected he could find him at the tree planting if he drove into town to look for him.

That Brad wouldn’t even speak to him that morning spoke volumes about how badly he’d fucked things up. In the light of day, recalling the things he’d said to Mandaline, the horrible accusations, made him feel lower than dirt.

He knew she’d be busy until after the tree planting. He didn’t want to add more stress to her morning than he probably already had by calling her.

Not that he was sure she would even answer the phone if he did call.

He suspected he wouldn’t be welcomed at the tree planting, either. He didn’t blame her in the least.

He could text his apology and ask to talk to her in person, but considering what an asshole he’d been, that didn’t feel right, either.

No, he needed to make amends, in person. As soon as possible. Even if he’d blown his chances out of the water with her, he still hoped he could salvage enough of a relationship with her that she’d still take a look at the house for Brad’s sake. There had to be a logical, scientific solution to what had happened. He refused to believe in metaphysical mumbo jumbo.

But accusing her of trying to drug him was so far out of bounds it wasn’t even in the same universe. She deserved better treatment than that, especially after she’d gone out of her way to be nice and to accommodate them.

Just because I’ve fucked up my chances with her doesn’t mean it should fuck Brad’s up. Obviously he’s the better man for her. I’m just an asshole. I deserve to be alone.

* * *

After eating lunch, Mandaline went downstairs and pulled Sachi aside. “You could have warned me he was up there.”

She grinned. “Why? It’s far more fun this way. Besides, he asked me not to. I couldn’t resist those sweet puppy dog eyes of his.”

“He does have sweet eyes, doesn’t he?”

“You should know how sweet. You’ve tasted him.” Sachi dodged her playful swat, cackling with glee as she went to help a customer.

They had enough staff in the store that they didn’t need Mandaline there. At first hesitating, she grabbed the keys to the Element and her purse. I have to drive it sometime.

Brad settled comfortably in the passenger seat. “She’s glad you’re driving it,” he said as she cranked the engine.

Mandaline’s hand faltered on the gear shift. “Really?”

“Yes.” He stared out the windshield for a moment, his head cocked. “She doesn’t blame you in the least. She says if you’d been there with her, you might just as easily have been killed.” He swallowed hard and looked down at his hands lying in his lap. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

She removed her hand from the gear shift and let the SUV sit there and idle, the air-conditioner quickly cooling the passenger compartment. “Why are you apologizing?” she softly asked.

He shrugged.

She sensed she was talking to the other Brad, the more ethereal of the two.

She reached out and touched his arm. No vision, but he looked first at her hand, then his gaze traveled up until he met hers.

“Please keep an open mind,” he said. “About Ellis. He’s hurting. Not like you are, obviously. But his wounds are all self-inflicted and really, really deep. I think you’re the person who could finally help him heal himself.”

Her heart wanted to break, for Brad, for Ellis, for herself, and most of all for Julie. “Is that Julie telling you that, or you?”

“That’s all me.” He cocked his head again, listening to a voice she couldn’t hear. “She says believe. She keeps saying that over and over again. She says it a lot.”

“I’m doing my best,” she muttered as she shifted the vehicle into reverse, “but it’s hard to do sometimes.”

She didn’t need any prompting to find her way back to Ellis and Brad’s house. Ellis’ car sat parked outside the side door. She parked alongside it and shut the engine off.

Brad reached out and touched her arm again. “Can I buy you dinner tonight, or will we have time?”

She stared into his brown eyes. The more “there” Brad was back. “I’d like that a lot. Seven?”

He smiled. “Sounds good. Please, come in for a minute.”

She wanted to say no, fuck it, that Ellis would have to come to her if he wanted to make amends.

Mandaline realized how shallow and childish that sounded, even to her pained heart. Julie wouldn’t have turned tail and run like that. She’d never turned away from the hard stuff. She’d always faced things head-on.

Maybe that’s been my problem all along, I’ve always tried to turn away from the hard work, the unpleasant decisions.

She unfastened her seat belt and grabbed her cell phone and keys.

* * *

Ellis had been working at his desk, currently shoved in a far corner of what would eventually be their dining room, when he heard the vehicle drive up. With his pulse racing, he hurried over to the living room and peeked out the blinds.

Brad was leading Mandaline up to the house.

A sudden war broke out within him. Be sitting at his desk, nonchalant and detached, or meet them in the kitchen and grovel like fuck?

At the sound of the door opening his feet made the decision for him. He raced into the kitchen just as Brad came through the door, Mandaline behind him.

He noticed how her lips tightened into a thin line when she saw him.

He didn’t blame her.

“Look,” Ellis said, “before you say anything, I’m sorry. I was way far out of line last night. I don’t know what the hell got into me, but I hope you will give me a chance to make amends and accept my apology.”

Brad actually smiled. She looked a little taken aback, but she studied him for a moment.

“I mean,” he said, trying to fill the silence, “I don’t know what happened. Yes, something happened. I’m sure given enough time we’ll figure out what, but I never should have blamed you like that. I was scared and upset and really, really fucking stupid.”

At that, she exchanged a glance with Brad before a cautious smile curled her lips. “Thank you, Ellis. I appreciate that. That’s very big of you. I’m sorry I called you an asshole.”

“No, he deserved that,” Brad joked.

Ellis smiled, relieved. “He’s right, I did deserve that.” He stepped closer. “Please don’t make Brad pay for me being an idiot.”

Her brow furrowed. “What are you talking about?”

“The house. Please, if you want me to clear out while you’re here, anything. I’ll go to a hotel for a few days if you want so you don’t have to look at me. Anything.”

Now she seemed amused. “It’s okay. I forgive you.” She reached out and poked his arm. “This time.”

He let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

“Can he come tonight, too?” Brad asked.

“Come where?” Ellis asked.

“I asked Mandaline out to dinner before the full-moon gathering. To which I’m going,” Brad added.

She considered him. “I’m willing to give him another chance. And yes, you’re welcomed to join us tonight at the gathering.”

He felt his face heat, but he didn’t want to lose the ground he’d apparently regained. “I’d love dinner. But I’m not sure I’d fit in at…the other thing.”

“Do you like to talk to people and make friends?” she asked.

“Yes?”

She grinned. “Are you asking me or telling me?”

He laughed. “Yes.”

She shrugged. “Sachi dubbed it the coffeeshop coven group, but we have all sorts of people who come out and we really don’t ‘do’ much. We do more talking and snacking than anything. But yes, we form a ring at the end of the night and someone usually says something. But it’s not like in the movies where people go dancing around skyclad and howling at the moon. I’m sure you’ll be suitably unimpressed.” Sadness drifted across her features. “I’m sure tonight we’ll all be talking about Julie.”

He needed to nut up and make amends. The least he could do would be to stay open-minded. “Okay. Yes. If you don’t mind me being there, sure. I’d be happy to come.”

Brad grinned. “See? That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

Chapter Twelve

When Mandaline left, Brad went upstairs to work but left the attic door open. A few minutes later, Ellis followed him upstairs. He found Brad sitting in front of an easel with a large sketch pad open on it. He held a sketch pencil in his hand and looked deep in thought.

Ellis turned around to go back downstairs but Brad spoke. “It’s okay. That’s why I left the door open.”

Ellis cleared his throat as he stepped into the doorway. “Look, I’m sorry about last night.”

Brad nodded, but he had a faraway look on his face. The pristine paper seemed to hold his interest, but whatever he saw was still locked inside his brain and hadn’t made it through his fingers to the page yet.

“I don’t know if I even want to know what those visions or whatever they are…are,” Ellis said.

“Just believe.” Brad reached out and drew a few lines, quickly, with short, confident flicks of his wrist. “That’s all you have to do.”

“I’m not like that. You know how I am.”

Brad slowly nodded. It was almost like he was caught in a dream state between two worlds. “I know. You’d rather have evidence than faith.”

“It’s not that, it’s just…” He didn’t know what it was. “I need a rational explanation for things. I need proof.”

“Like with what I’m seeing and feeling.” He finally focused his gaze on Ellis. “You need proof there’s nothing in this house causing my symptoms so you can force me back to the VA.”

Brad’s tone sounded gentle, but the words bit through Ellis’ heart. “Buddy, please. You know I’m worried about you.”

“But I’m not worried about me right now. That’s my point.” He returned his attention to the sketch pad, where he added a few more lines. “You do more worrying than you need to.”

“I just want to take care of you.”

“I know, and I appreciate it. But you have to take care of Ellis, too.”

“I do take care of myself.”

“You use me as an excuse to avoid the truth.” He looked at Ellis again. “Believe. That’s all you have to do. Trust me, trust Mandaline, and believe.”

He stared at Brad for a few moments. “What do you want from me?”

Brad set the pencil down. Then he stood and walked over to Ellis and leaned against the other side of the doorway, his thumbs hooked in the front belt loops on his jeans. “I want you to open your mind and your heart. I want you to see that the only thing missing in our lives is right there for the taking. I want you to believe and have faith and trust in me, in her. In yourself, even if you don’t have answers. Answers are irrelevant.”

He tried to keep his voice steady. “It’s not that easy for me, buddy.”

“Are you afraid you can’t share her with me? Are you jealous of me?”

“I…no.” He frowned as the realization hit him. His gaze dropped to the floor. “No,” he mumbled.

Brad reached out and touched his upper arm, not letting go until Ellis finally looked up and met his gaze. “Remember when we were kids? We used to say we’d marry the same girl so we could always be together?”

Ellis dropped his gaze again, his face heating. Yes, he did remember that. He also remembered how his parents shutting that innocent childhood fantasy down made him shut it down in his heart as well. “Yeah.”

“We’re adults,” Brad said. “We don’t need parental approval to have a relationship that we define. She’s in a lot of pain, too. So much that I don’t know if one man could handle it, or her, alone. It’d be a hell of a lot to deal with. Let’s be fricking honest with each other. Do you seriously think we’ll ever find two women who could tolerate the relationship you and I have? Who wouldn’t resent the other? Who would be able to accept us and the other man’s woman? Really?

“You and I are already like an old married couple. We bicker, we love each other, and we never have sex. One woman, yes. A second woman? She’d be the ultimate fifth wheel even if there were only four of us.”

Ellis nodded as he toed at the floor. “Probably wouldn’t,” he mumbled.

Brad didn’t speak for a long moment. Ellis finally looked up again. “Believe,” Brad said. “That’s all I’m asking. Just…believe.”

“She probably hates me now.”

“No, she doesn’t hate you. She’s angry and upset over what happened, yes. But you heard it for yourself. She forgives you. She might not forgive you doing it again. You need to stop fighting this and let it happen and see where it leads. Can you do that? If not for yourself, for me and her.”

“But I don’t believe in all that witchy stuff—”

“Do you believe in me?” he calmly asked.

Ellis studied his friend’s face. In all their years together, he’d never sensed Brad be so…serious or determined about anything in his life.

“Yes. I believe in you.”

“Then that’s all you have to believe. Just believe in me. Ignore or discount everything else if you want, but believe in me and let me show you how good this could be. I’m tired of sleeping alone every night. Aren’t you?”

He nodded.

He pulled Ellis in for a hug. “I know we’re straight. But I love you. You’re my brother. I can easily see myself spending the rest of my life with you and her, together. Julie was like a sister to Mandaline. Think of how much pain she must be in. Think of what you’d feel like if I’d died. Just imagine how much love and joy we could bring back to her life. She’s willing to be open-minded. But you’re going to have to earn her trust back before we can move forward.”

“I’ll try.”

“That’s all I ask.”

* * *

Brad waited to shut the attic door until Ellis returned downstairs. He needed time alone. He’d felt pretty good all morning and afternoon until coming up here. Now his head already felt fuzzy, musty, clouded.

He left the sketch pad where it was and turned on the TV. Then he stretched out on the sofa. He didn’t feel like doing any work on the house today, and based on the things beginning to rumble around in his brain, he really didn’t want to do any more sketching.

He wasn’t sure he wanted to see the images trying to birth themselves from his subconscious.

Julie had also gone quiet again.

He just wanted to close his eyes and wish the bad away and relive the feel of Mandaline’s mouth on his cock right there on that very couch.

That brought a smile to his face.

Well, that memory made him smile, in addition to knowing that maybe tonight he might be able to make Ellis finally see the light regarding what was going on with Mandaline.

If he doesn’t screw it up. Again.

They would meet Mandaline at the store and pick her up there and do the driving. He couldn’t wait to see her again.

Since work was out of the question, he headed down to the bathroom for a shower. Just that seemed to help clear his head. He felt a lot better after getting out. He heard Ellis moving around downstairs. “Hey, I’m going to take a nap. Wake me up if I’m not up by five, please?”

“Will do.”

Wasn’t the only thing he had in mind. He closed the bedroom door and stretched out in bed, naked, to rub one out, with Mandaline on his mind.

* * *

Mandaline drove back to the shop with her mind and heart in turmoil. Giving Ellis another chance seemed like a good idea at the time with Brad’s sweet eyes boring holes through her defenses.

Alone in the Element, she wondered now if maybe she hadn’t made a bad mistake.

A billboard just north of the city limits caught her eye. For one of the churches in town, it proclaimed BELIEVE IN CHRIST! HE BELIEVES IN YOU!

She nearly choked on her laughter. “Okay!” she yelled inside the car. “Julie, knock it off. I’m going to give him another chance.” She let out a snort. “Ellis, I mean. Not JC.”

Sachi gave Mandaline an upraised eyebrow when she returned. She followed Mandaline into the office. “Weeellll? You don’t look freshly fucked.”

“Down, girl. They’re taking me out to dinner.” She coughed. “Then they’re coming tonight.”

She grinned. “They’re…” Her smile faded. “Oh. You mean the literal form of coming, as in coming to coven?”

“Yes.”

She scrunched up her lips. “I only reloaded three boxes of shells last night, and I’m shooting three rounds of skeet at five with the gang. I could buy a couple of boxes from—”

“Stop.” Mandaline glared at her.

“I can’t commence wit da shoosting?”

She let out a snort. “No shoosting, no snoot-pounding, no tossing out of doors. And absolutely no hexing.”

Sachi jammed her hands on her slim hips and stomped a foot. “Darn it, Mom! You never let me have any fun!” She spun on her heel and stormed out of the office, leaving a laughing Mandaline in her wake.

She knew Sachi had to be hurting almost as badly as she was. Even though she hadn’t known Julie as long and wasn’t as close to her as Mandaline had been, she’d looked up to Julie. Loved her. Yet other than a few brief times, Sachi had tightly bound her grief away, instead looking after all her friends, especially Mandaline.

She also knew Sachi would rather let someone pull all her teeth without the benefit of anesthesia than impose her grief on her friends when she thought they needed her more. She would keep a ramrod up her spine, a smile on her face, and a comforting shoulder at the ready.

And a handy joke or snarky comment to incite a smile or laugh.

But she wouldn’t break. Not publicly.

Not Sachi.

I need help with her, Julie, Mandaline silently entreated. Help me help her heal.

Sachi had a lot of emotional junk in her trunk. Rightfully so, considering some of the things she’d been through in her life. Mandaline actually felt relieved that Sachi was going out shooting today. Blasting clay pigeons out of the sky was a healthy way for Sachi to get some of her grief and anger out of her system.

Not to mention it kept her from literally turning her gun on a real person.

Or herself.

* * *

Mina, Paige, and Makenzie were in charge of closing the store. Since all three of them were staying for coven, they didn’t mind working the shift. Mandaline grabbed a shower and changed into a cami top and long peasant skirt and was downstairs waiting for Ellis and Brad when they showed up at seven.

Both men were freshly showered and shaved. Instead of jeans they’d both donned slacks, button-up shirts, and loafers.

They looked good, like a couple of lawyers fresh out of the office. She wouldn’t deny her heart fluttered even as heat flared deep in her body, between her legs, ignited by her clit.

I reeeeally need to get laid.

Hell, even if they weren’t relationship material, hot kinky sex might be just the thing she needed to distract her for a while. She grabbed her purse and a crocheted shawl and let the men escort her to their car. Brad held the front passenger door open for her before climbing into the backseat.

“So where are we going?” she asked.

“There’s a new Irish pub on State Road 50, on the way to Spring Hill,” Ellis said. “A couple of guys in my office were talking about it this week.”

“Sounds good to me.”

She felt his tension and didn’t miss how he’d avoided touching her. She was okay with that, because she realized how difficult this was for him.

“How many people work in your office?” she asked.

“I’ve got a receptionist who’s our office assistant, another lawyer, and a paralegal. But I rent some of the other offices out to a couple of attorneys and others.”

“What did you do with your apartment there when you moved out?”

“One side of it is now rented out to a guy doing graphic arts design. The other part is storage.”

“I guess practicing law here is different than in Tampa.”

He shrugged as he made the turn onto SR 50. “It’s a good kind of different. It’s quieter. I mostly handle family law, civil cases. The occasional minor criminal case for some of my existing clients. I gave up criminal law.”

“He’s too modest,” Brad piped up from the back. “He would have made partner in five years or less if he’d stayed with Kantly, Jessom, and Powell. They’re one of the largest firms in the Tampa Bay area.”

She watched how Ellis glanced in the rearview mirror. “It was a shark tank,” he said. “No way in hell could I juggle everything. Life’s a lot easier now.”

“In some ways,” Brad countered.

She looked over her shoulder and spotted the playful smile on his face. He radiated triumph. For him, getting Ellis to come along to dinner and coven had equaled a rousing success.

Maybe it was. She’d withhold judgment until the night was over.

At the restaurant, the hostess showed them to a booth. Ellis and Brad slid into one side while Mandaline sat across from them. It only took Brad a few seconds to start playing footsies with her. His brown eyes bored into hers as a playful smirk quirked his lips.

Ellis, however, had his face buried in the menu. “Please, order whatever you like,” he said. “I meant it. This is on us.”

She briefly considered ordering a pint of ale before nipping that thought in the bud. No booze for me tonight. Or maybe for the rest of the year. “Iced tea, please,” she said to the waitress waiting to take their drink orders.

Brad did order a pint of ale, while Ellis stuck to Coke.

Ellis seemed at a loss for conversation starters. Brad, however, apparently felt no qualms about jumping right in. Even as he rubbed the toe of his foot along her calf under the table, he met her gaze. “How did you end up working at the shop?” She gave him credit. His smile only faltered for a split second. “I meant, before.”

She offered him a smile in return. “Well, like any good story, the road took many twists and turns that I didn’t expect to get me to my current destination.”

* * *

Ellis opted to let Brad carry the conversational weight. He desperately didn’t want to screw things up. If not for his own sake, for Brad’s. Yes, he was attracted to Mandaline in ways he couldn’t fathom. He didn’t understand the pull she had on his heart. He barely knew her, but if he closed his eyes and let his thoughts wander, he, too, could see himself spending his life with these two people.

Happily so.

“How so?” Brad asked her.

She shrugged. “I tried doing things the traditional way. College, job, relationship. My craft was part of me, but I made the mistake of not making it the center of my soul. I tried to fit it in around everything else instead of the other way around. I tried letting my mind instead of my soul mold myself.”

“What’d you study in college?”

“I have a degree in accounting.” She smiled. “Not many people believe that. Numbers and what I do seem at cross-purposes.”

Ellis tuned in a little more. She’s an accountant? He wouldn’t have guessed it about her considering what she did.

“How long did you know Julie?” Brad asked.

She sadly smiled. “We’ve…we were friends since high school. She’s the one who taught me how to read Tarot cards back then. I was maybe fifteen. I was really, really good at it and we just clicked.”

She clasped her hands in front of her on her menu and let her gaze drop to them. “I know a lot of people don’t believe what I believe in, and that’s fine. It’s like when I was a kid, I never felt like I fit in. My mom made me go to church and I hated it. I didn’t believe in it. I had to keep my mouth shut and sit there, bored to tears every Sunday. I always felt tuned in to other things. Like I could tell things about people without them saying it.”

She looked up at Brad. “Julie’s the one who told me about empaths. She was one, too. She loaned me books and helped me learn about all of that. For the first time in my life, I felt like I had a place, a calling.” She laughed. “Then we went to college together. She was always a better student than I was. I got by. She excelled. She went on to be a Rhodes scholar.”

Ellis spoke up. “And she ran a New Age shop?” He felt Brad glare at him but ignored it.

“Yep. It was her passion. She used her business training to make the shop profitable.”

“Did you open it with her?” Brad asked.

“No, she did that on her own. I was working for an auto dealership in Dade City and bored out of my freaking mind. She coaxed me into doing Tarot readings for people on the side, in my free time. But I was pretty hit and miss for a while with that.”

“Why?”

“I was always afraid to admit to others what I did. I was so busy working and trying to find a relationship that I forgot to keep myself centered. I eventually met a guy and he proposed and I stupidly accepted.” She smirked. “He wasn’t particularly religious, but his family was. They didn’t like me at all. His mother snooped once when she was over at our place and demanded to know why I had ‘devil worship’ stuff in my jewelry box.”

Brad’s jaw dropped. “What?”

Mandaline nodded. “Ohhh, you wouldn’t believe the stuff that bitch did. She’d found my pentacle.” She pulled it out from under her shirt. The silver, five-pointed star inside a circle hung from a delicate silver chain. “Julie gave it to me in high school.” She looked down at it, a sad smile on her face “Contrary to my ex-mother-in-law’s hysterical rantings, it has nothing to do with devil worship in most cases.” She snorted. “I don’t even believe in Satan, so how can I worship him?”

Ellis spoke up again, curious. “What’s it mean?”

“It represents the elements. Earth, air, fire, water, and spirit as the fifth point.” She smiled. “Pretty evil, huh?”

He laughed. “She sounds like a piece of work.”

The waitress brought their drinks and took their orders.

“Oh, she definitely was,” Mandaline continued once they were alone again.” Her expression turned sad. “I thought I loved Carl, but I finally couldn’t take it anymore. I know most Christians are really nice, sweet, live-and-let-live kinds of people. I even have plenty who I read Tarot for. She wasn’t.”

Her expression darkened. “And Carl wouldn’t even stand up to her for me. So I ended up divorcing his ass. His parents had money and paid for his divorce, meaning I got screwed. I finally ended up just walking away and signing everything over to him. I had my clothes and stuff from before I met him and that was it. He got everything. I spent my free time at the store, with Julie, getting reacquainted with myself and my beliefs until I was happy with me. Then I realized my job made me miserable. Julie offered me full-time here, plus reading and teacher fees. Not as much as I made working in the office at the dealership, but for the first time in a while I woke up happy every morning, eager to get to work. It was well worth the money trade-off.”

Ellis realized he envied her a little. He also completely understood what she meant about being happy to go to work.

It was how he now felt. “You must really like what you do.”

“I do. I’m content, and I think that’s important. Enough about me,” she said as she sat back. “How do you like Brooksville?”

* * *

Mandaline tried to pay close attention to Ellis, which was difficult with Brad playing footsies with her under the table. She’d finally slipped off one sandal and placed her foot on his seat, between his knees, so he could reach under the table and massage it for her. She eventually slipped off her other sandal and placed her other foot there as well, allowing him to give them equal treatment.

It did fabulous things to her libido and mood, but horrible things to her powers of concentration.

“Brooksville’s nice,” Ellis said. “Quiet. Peaceful.”

“Except for owning a possessed house?” she teased.

He had a nice smile when he chose to use it. “Exactly.”

They had a pleasant dinner. Once she was able to draw out Ellis in conversation, she was able to more easily look past the angry, frightened man she’d encountered in her apartment after their dinner.

“How about,” she said as they were waiting for the check, “I come over tomorrow evening with equipment to check out the house. Say, around six? That way I can be there both during daylight and at night.”

Brad eagerly nodded. They looked at Ellis.

“I’m fine with that,” he said.

She glanced at her phone for the time. “We need to get going. It’s after eight thirty.”

She kept an eye on Ellis for any signs of him changing his mind, but he nodded.

“Anything I need to know so I don’t put my foot in my mouth?” he joked.

She smiled. “Just remember that if Sachi mentions skeet shooting, or shotguns, or anything like that too many times, she’s just being very protective.”

“Um, oh. Okay.”

Chapter Thirteen

The coffeeshop coven group was never an advertised gathering. They didn’t need to, because they always had plenty of attendees. Tonight, it looked like anyone who’d ever been to one of the meetings was in attendance. Mandaline felt both grateful for the support and sad that Julie wasn’t there to see how many people’s lives she’d touched.

She didn’t miss how Brad freely mingled with everyone, introducing himself and getting to know people, while Ellis took up residence in a chair in the far corner.

I will cut him some slack. At least he’s making an effort.

The evening wore on. A few times she glanced at Ellis and saw him checking his phone, probably reading e-mail.

Brad, however, was a hit. When people found out he was an artist, and he showed them pictures on his phone of some of his work, he became the center of attention.

Makenzie, whose reservedness usually made Sachi look positively warm and snuggly by comparison, even seemed to react to him. “Hey, we could put some of his pieces in here to sell.” She blushed and looked at Brad. “If you wanted to,” she added.

Mandaline had to beat back a sudden and unexpected surge of jealousy over the way Makenzie responded to him. That was followed by a rush of shame. She’s my friend and my employee. And Brad is very special.

Brad, however, smiled at Mandaline. “I would like that very much. If you wanted them here.”

Mandaline felt like she was alone in the room with him, from the force of his gaze. “That’d be great.”

At ten o’clock they all gathered in the front of the store in a rough circle to talk about Julie. Mandaline was happy to see more smiles than tears from her friends. Julie would have wanted it that way. Even Ellis pried himself out of the chair to join them, standing next to Brad.

They went around the room, everyone saying a little something about Julie. When they reached Brad, he let out a sigh and looked at the floor. From across the room Mandaline sensed the shift in his demeanor. From the way Ellis draped an arm around his shoulders, she guessed he did, too. “She was a beautiful soul,” Brad softly said. “I wish I’d known her longer.” He sniffled.

Ellis nodded. Mandaline couldn’t read his expression as he spoke. “I didn’t know her well or long either, but it’s obvious from all of you who did, who loved her, that she will live on in your hearts and memories. I think that speaks highly of what a wonderful person she was.”

Mandaline waited until he met her gaze to nod and smile. Thank you, she silently mouthed to him. He nodded and returned his attention to Brad.

Once everyone had a chance to speak, Sachi clapped her hands together and stepped into the center of the room, a paper bag in her hands and a grin on her face.

Oh…crap.

She flashed a playful smile at Mandaline. “We all know how Julie was fond of playing matchmaker and trying to fix people up.” A wave of soft laughter and knowing nods swept through the room. “I was talking to Mandaline earlier and joked maybe now that our friend is on the other side, perhaps she can help those of us out who are still single and looking.”

With a flourish, she produced a large pink dildo from the paper bag. Apparently made of some sort of jelly material, it also had a suction cup built into the base. She licked the cup and then stuck the ten-inch toy to a table with a soft plop. It stuck, slowly waving back and forth.

The room erupted in gales of laughter.

Sachi, her audience’s reaction only spurring her on, wasn’t even close to being done. “I told Mandaline we needed to do a chant for guidance, for assistance.” She turned and grinned at Mandaline, pointing to her. “For getting laid.” Mandaline let out a soft groan and felt her face heat. When she glanced over at Ellis and Brad, she found Brad grinning even more broadly than Sachi, and Ellis had actually cracked a smile.

Sachi raised her hands over her head as she walked around the room, inciting others to join in with her and repeat her chanting. “Hail, Dildous! Hail, Dildous! Hail Dildous!”

It was hard to hear the chant over everyone’s laughter. Even Mandaline joined in, knowing the healing that this would incite in everyone, the joy it brought them, was worth it.

Sachi stopped in the middle of the room again, next to the table with the toy stuck to it, and sliced her arm through the air to call for silence. She raised her hands again, the consummate showman. “Oh great and mighty Dildous, we ask for your celestial vibrations to rain down upon us. OmmmMMMMMM!”

As others took up the humming, it sounded like a giant vibrator hard at work. Mandaline had a hard time keeping it up over the urge to laugh, as did many others.

Sachi took over, once again silencing them. “So mote it be!”

A chorus of, “So mote it be!” echoed through the room, followed immediately by applause and laughter.

“I hope that was a new toy,” Mandaline said with a smile as she walked over to look at it.

“Hell, yes. By the way, I took it out of petty cash.” She peeled it off the table, where the base reluctantly let go from the table with a loud pop. With regal posture, she held it out in front of her with both hands, as if passing on a sword. “I give you the celestial spirit tickler, for your safekeeping.”

Mandaline shook her head. “Oh, no you don’t. I’m not taking that thing.”

Sachi wouldn’t be refused. She slapped it into Mandaline’s hands. “Sorry, boss. Your store, your dildo.”

Her face now red, she risked a glance at Brad and Ellis. She hoped Ellis didn’t hurt himself with the wide smile he wore, and she thought Brad might just piss his pants he was laughing so hard.

Mandaline finally stuck it under the counter by the register.

For the final part of the evening, they all filed out the back door to stand in the parking area in a large circle, holding hands under the light of the full moon. In the past, Julie usually said something to close out their evening. So everyone looked to Mandaline.

She took a deep breath and stared up at the sky. “Mother Goddess, Father God, thank you for tonight. Thank you for the blessed full moon. Thank you for friends and family and love and light. Thank you for laughter and joy and the ability to smile, even as our broken hearts are hurting and healing. Thank you for bringing Julie into our lives, and thank you for keeping her spirit alive within us. Namaste. Aho.”

“Aho,” the group repeated back. They broke up, everyone hugging and bidding each other good-night. Brad gladly took part in that, apparently able to make friends wherever he was.

Ellis, she noted, stepped away from the group.

Once everyone else had left except the two men, Mandaline locked the front and back doors and pulled the shades in the front windows.

“Thank you for tonight,” she told them. “I had a great time at dinner.”

Brad grinned and enveloped her in a hug. “Thank you for letting us take you out. This was great. When’s the next one?”

“I’ll have to look at the calendar. Probably dark moon, unless there’s something else first. In two weeks.”

She turned to Ellis, who now looked uncomfortable again. She opened her arms to hug him, wondering if he’d leave her hanging.

After hesitating only a moment, he hugged her, relaxing when they didn’t share one of those sexy visions.

“Thank you for giving me a second chance, Mandaline. I appreciate it.”

She finally stepped back. “It’s the least I could do.”

He looked uncomfortable again. “I respect you have your beliefs, but in all honesty, this isn’t me. No, I don’t know what happened between us. No, I don’t have an answer. But you’re entitled to your beliefs and I don’t fault you for them.”

She folded her arms in front of her. Well, the evening was ending on a far lighter note than it had last night, but she wasn’t feeling inclined to ask them upstairs, either. “I appreciate that.”

Brad looked back and forth between them, a near-desperate expression in his eyes. “Wait, this isn’t good night, is it?”

Ellis apparently found his shoes very interesting as he looked down at them. “If you want Brad to stay, I don’t mind coming back to pick him up later,” he softly said.

She felt her heart soften more for the man. No, she didn’t want to separate the pair. Brad was right. If it was going to work, it would only work with the three of them. She needed more time rebuilding trust with Ellis before she’d be ready to accept them both into her bed.

Who am I kidding? I’ll fall in love with them even more if I sleep with them.

“I…” She sighed. “It’s been a long day and I didn’t sleep very well last night. I think it’s best we call it a night.” She brushed a kiss across Brad’s lips, then leaned in and kissed Ellis’ cheek. “Thank you for a wonderful dinner. I’m glad you both came to coven tonight.”

* * *

Brad silently fumed all the way home. Julie had remained completely silent evening. He thought for sure after how well dinner went and that Ellis came to the gathering at the store that their evening would end in Mandaline’s bed.

Not driving back to the house before eleven o’clock.

“Are you okay?” Ellis asked.

“Fine,” he shot back. “Peachy.”

Ellis apparently knew enough not to press the matter.

When they returned home, Brad started through the kitchen toward the stairs before doubling back. He took his medicine then headed upstairs. “See you tomorrow.” He changed clothes, then went into the attic, closing the door behind him.

Already, his mood felt darker. It seemed to happen more quickly every time he went up there.

Hopefully he’d have an answer tomorrow.

He sat in front of the sketchbook he’d been working on before. Then he picked up the pencil and let his mind take over.

* * *

Ellis went to his room, feeling guilty. Brad obviously had other notions about the way the night would end. To be honest, he wouldn’t have minded that, either. But it was his fault he’d screwed everything up. Mandaline was giving him another chance, sure, but it would take a while for her to feel comfortable with him again. He wasn’t a total idiot when it came to emotions. He could see it in her face.

And the abject disappointment on Brad’s when she’d called it an evening.

Can I seriously have a relationship with someone who believes in all that, though?

He wasn’t sure. Then again, he had a relationship with Brad, who strongly believed in it. Although that wasn’t exactly the same.

He undressed and lay on top of the covers with the TV on. He flipped through channels until he found a movie he didn’t mind watching.

It would be a long, lonely night.

* * *

Mandaline walked Pers one last time after the men left. She’d felt badly enough about the desperation on Brad’s face that she’d almost changed her mind and asked them upstairs for a little while.

Why torture myself?

Who even knew if Ellis would ever be able to accept her or her beliefs, or the things so obviously happening around them that were out of his control? What if he had another one of his hissy fits the next time something magickal and wondrous happened? Could she handle living walking on eggshells after she swore she’d never do it again?

She knew the answer to that.

I can’t.

She wasn’t sure at first if she’d easily fall asleep. But before long she found herself back in the dream, of chasing, or being chased, through grey and dreary woods. She felt no fear, just a tugging anxiety that there was something she needed to know, and the only way she’d figure it out was to see the dream through to its conclusion.

She emerged from the woods once again outside Ellis and Brad’s house. Again, she glimpsed the familiar shock of red hair as Julie disappeared through the side door.

Mandaline followed behind, not bothering to call out to her. She was supposed to follow her, to catch up with her.

She found her in Brad’s bedroom. “Believe,” she said to Mandaline.

Just as Mandaline stepped forward to hug her, the closet door flew open and a blizzard of paper exploded into the room, filling it and separating her from Julie.

She pushed her way through the storm of paper. “Julie!”

From in front of her, she heard Julie say, “Believe.”

Mandaline blindly headed toward her voice and found herself in the closet again, falling out into the attic. As she stumbled and headed for the attic floor, she awoke gasping for breath, her pulse racing.

Above her, rain pattered down on the roof.

She sat up in bed and found the remote control. It was 4:39 in the morning, and the radar showed the remnants of a tropical low-pressure system that was ripped apart going through Cuba drifting over them.

It would likely rain all day.

She sighed. “Great.” She curled up in bed with Pers tucked against her side and tried to go back to sleep. The shop didn’t normally open on Sundays in summer. Not unless one of the teachers had a scheduled class, which today, no one did.

She tried to go back to sleep, but found herself stuck in the dream again with similar results. This time when she awoke, grey light struggled to fight its way through the rain despite it being after seven in the morning.

She knew further sleep was futile. After getting the coffee started, she hunted up Pers’ little raincoat Julie kept for him and took him and her mug of coffee on a slow morning walk. She opted not to take an umbrella or her raincoat. She still needed a shower anyway, so it wasn’t like getting wet was a big deal, and walking through the rain might be the thing she needed to help soothe her aching soul a little. Rain pattered on her head and trickled down her arms as Pers took his sweet time sniffing around.

They walked all the way down to the library, where she let Pers sniff around the base of Julie’s tree.

“That’s Momma’s tree,” she wistfully told him. “That’s for her.”

He looked up at her and wagged, making her smile. By the vet’s best guess when Julie found him, Pers was now close to three years old. Julie, single and childless, had treated him like her baby.

And now, he was Mandaline’s baby.

Once he finished his business, she bagged it and tossed it in a nearby garbage can before scooping him up with one arm. “I’m taking pity on you, rugrat,” she teased him. “Your short little legs, you’re liable to drown in a puddle on me.”

He wagged his tail and licked her on the nose.

She was back at the apartment and had toweled Pers dry when her phone rang a little after eight. Libbie.

“Hey, cookie,” Mandaline said. “I don’t know about you, but I might need to build an ark.”

She heard the pain Libbie tried to hide in her laugh. “Might need to at that. You feel like coming over for breakfast? I wanted to make some pancakes but I didn’t want to eat alone.”

Mandaline couldn’t contain her smile. “I’ll be over as soon as I have a shower. I’ve got fruit salad to contribute.”

“Perfect. I’ll leave the downstairs door unlocked.”

She hung up and refilled her coffee. At least she wouldn’t have to keep looking at the remnants of the fruit salad in her fridge from dinner the other night. Libbie probably needed the company as much as she did.

Normally, Mandaline and Julie had brunch together on Sunday mornings. Last Sunday, she’d turned down Libbie’s offer, wanting to do nothing but curl up in bed and cry.

I need to return to the land of the living.

* * *

Brad awoke with a start on the attic couch. He wasn’t sure what awoke him at first, only that the light looked grey and weird.

Then Ellis knocked again. “You okay in there?”

“Yeah,” he mumbled. His lips felt thick, dry, a scuzzy film coating his tongue and cheeks. He licked his lips and tried again as he sat up. “I’m good.” Except his throat felt sore.

“Did you take your medicine this morning?”

He let out a yawn. “Not yet. What time is it?”

Ellis opened the attic door and stuck his head in, concern painted on his face. “It’s after eleven. Are you all right?”

Was he? He wasn’t sure. He also felt a dull throbbing in his head. Maybe I’m coming down with something. “Just overslept is all.”

Ellis studied him for a moment. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

Instead of leaving him alone, Ellis opened the door all the way and stepped in. “Is there anything you’re not telling me?”

Brad didn’t want to have this conversation when he wasn’t even awake yet. “You know better than to ask me stuff you might not want answers to.” He desperately didn’t want to tell him about Julie’s voice in his brain.

“Did something else happen between you and Mandaline that you haven’t told me about?”

Relief and guilt warred for supremacy, but better to spill this truth than the other. “Yes.”

Ellis stared at him. Brad knew his friend was trying to decide if he wanted to pull that trigger or not.

Brad was tired of keeping it a secret. “When you came home the other day, we’d already had two of those whatevers,” he said. “The visions. We were up here in the attic when we thought a third happened, only it went all the way.”

“What?”

Brad realized he really needed to use the bathroom. He tried to push his way past Ellis, but the other man stuck his arm out, barring the way. “Don’t make me tell it if you can’t handle it,” he said to Ellis.

“Just tell me.”

“She gave me a blow job, all right? We thought it was another of those fantasies or hallucinations. Until you walked in downstairs and we heard the door close, we thought it was happening in our minds.”

Ellis dropped his arm. Brad beat feet downstairs to the bathroom, closing the door behind him. He heard Ellis walk downstairs and stand outside the door.

“So that’s why you were both acting so flustered?” he said from outside the door.

Brad inwardly groaned. “Yes. There, happy?”

“Why didn’t you tell me before?”

“Oh, yeah. There’s a great idea. ‘Hey, dude, she accidentally blew me.’ Like I was really going to tell you that. You freaked out when you had the vision of kissing her. I suspected it wouldn’t have gone over well.” He finished and washed his hands. When he opened the door, Ellis still stood there, a dark scowl on his face. “So does it make you happier knowing that now?”

“Do you think she’s going to give me another chance?”

“I don’t know. Frankly, right now, I don’t know what end’s up. I’m in a foul mood and I’m starving and need to take my meds.”

He tried to push past Ellis, but Ellis caught his arm—

And then they were back in Mandaline’s bed, together, with her naked between them. Ellis lay on his back on the bed. Brad knew Mandaline was impaled on Ellis’ cock, too, because he could feel every stroke with his own cock buried in her ass. She let out a cry as her orgasm started and her muscles clamped down on both of them—

Ellis ripped his hand free of Brad’s arm and held it as if burned. He backed away, cradling his hand and fear on his face.

Brad advanced on him, tired of these games. He pinned Ellis against the wall on the other side of the hall and placed his hands on either side of his head. “Quit fighting it,” he said, anger rushing through him. “Quit being afraid of it or you’re going to screw this up for both of us. She needs us the way we need her.”

“We don’t need a woman. Want, yes, but we don’t need to share—”

Brad pounded both hands against the wall on either side of his head. “Stop it! You’re like a child who thinks he saw Santa in the changing room and doesn’t want to believe he’s not real!” He grabbed Ellis’ collar and yanked him close. “Do not fuck this up for us,” he rumbled dangerously. “She’s perfect for us whether you want to see it or not.” He slammed Ellis against the wall before releasing him and heading downstairs.

He needed coffee, his meds, and to clear the nasty sludge out of his brain.

And now, after that sexy vision, his cock screamed for relief it didn’t look like it’d get for a while.

Possibly a long while.

Chapter Fourteen

After getting back from Libbie’s, Mandaline fought the urge to strip and dance skyclad in the parking lot behind the store. Her rented trailer had been old and crappy, but at least it’d been out in the middle of nowhere, with no close neighbors and plenty of trees around it.

She wasn’t a nudist, but there were few things more satisfying to her soul than twirling around naked under a summer rainstorm.

Instead, she went to the office and dug through the boxes of things brought back from the Corey house after Julie’s death. Most of the equipment she’d use for the investigation at Ellis and Brad’s was there. She needed to recharge the batteries on a couple of items, but the rest were ready to go.

A wave of nostalgia washed through her. She’d performed dozens of investigations with Julie over the years. Many times they were able to debunk what was going on and discover nonmystical origins for phenomenon.

Rarely did they deal with intelligent, much less malevolent spirits. In the past, the few like that they’d dealt with hadn’t been able to do anything more than scare residents of a house. They’d also easily been dispelled by a thorough house cleansing ritual with the help of the residents.

It figured that with the worst-case scenario Julie had gone out to tackle it alone.

She grabbed her phone and called Sachi.

“What’s up, boss?”

“Are you busy this evening?”

“No. Skeet’s a wash with all the rain. Whyyyy?”

She sat at the desk and looked at the boxes of equipment. “Want to go check out a house with me?”

“Um, what house?”

She closed her eyes, preparing for what she suspected would follow. “Ellis and Brad’s house.”

There was a moment of silence. When she next spoke, Sachi’s voice sounded serious, devoid of snark or teasing. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

She let out a sigh. “Nothing’s happened. I just thought maybe I should have…you know, backup.”

“Armed backup?” Sachi asked with a hopeful tone.

“You don’t have a concealed carry permit, so no.”

“I don’t need a concealed carry permit for a 12-gauge skeet gun. So sayeth the mighty State of Florida.”

“I sayeth no. I don’t think we’re going to have any problems. I just think it might be better to have backup.”

Sachi’s tone turned serious again. “I could go do it with Mina or Makenzie, if you’d prefer.”

“No, I want to be the one to do it. I promised Brad I’d go through the house. I’m going to bring a home blessing kit, too. You can help me with the ritual.”

“What time you want me at the shop?”

“Can you be here a little after five? I told them I’d be there about six.”

“We’re not going to walk in on them having prepared some sort of romantic, sexy evening for three, are we?”

She snorted. “I doubt it.”

“Oh. Damn. Too bad. I’m guessing you slept alone last night?”

“Yes. As tired as I was, I needed to go to sleep. I had breakfast with Libbie, though.”

“Well, that’s good. I was worried about you but I didn’t want to call early and wake you up if you were…you know…busy.”

Mandaline smiled. “Nope. Just busy eating pancakes with Libbie.”

“Any special instructions for the investigation?”

“I’m charging up batteries now and getting stuff ready. Just bring with you the voodoo that you do so well, kiddo.”

Sachi laughed, a clear, ringing sound that always made Mandaline smile. “Will do.”

* * *

When Sachi arrived, Mandaline had everything just inside the back door and ready to load in the Element. She stopped short when she saw Sachi pull a padded gun case out of the trunk of her car in addition to a duffel bag containing stuff she referred to as her “road witch kit.”

“I was serious when I said no to the guns.”

Sachi slid the gun case behind the Element’s front seats. “And I was serious when I said I was bringing it.” She turned to Mandaline and grabbed her by the arms. “Look, I’ve lost one friend. I’m not about to lose another. Either it goes with us, or I’m getting on the phone and calling those two and telling them tonight’s off.”

She’d never seen Sachi look or sound so intense. “This means that much to you?”

“Yes. Dammit, I can’t…” She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath before looking at Mandaline again. “I can’t lose someone else. Not now, and dammit, not like we lost Julie.” She sniffled. “Hey, I showed restraint. I only brought one box of shells with me.”

Mandaline pulled her in for a hug. “Okay. Fine. But it stays in the car.”

“And you give me the keys when we’re there in case I need to get to it.”

“I’ll give you the spare set to carry.”

Sachi broadly grinned. “Deal.”

* * *

Ellis stayed out of Brad’s way. He considered leaving the house altogether, but he wanted to see Mandaline again. He also wanted to be there if or when she really found a cause for Brad’s behavior.

Today, he suspected he could safely add darkening mood swings and behavioral changes to the list of symptoms. No mind reader, still he sadly predicted a trip to the VA hospital in Tampa loomed on the horizon. Especially if Brad’s behavior continued to deteriorate.

He also thought it might not be a bad idea for him to be there with Brad, just in case. He’d never believe Brad would ever willingly hurt someone if he was in his right mind.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t ignore the stories he’d read about Steven Corey and what happened to Julie. He refused to take risks. He suspected Corey’s wife and best friend never thought he would snap, either.

Julie certainly hadn’t, and it had cost her her life.

He couldn’t live with that kind of guilt.

The rain didn’t let up all afternoon. The house felt dark inside despite the lights being on and the blinds open.

Upstairs in the attic, he heard Brad muttering to himself, pacing, moving around. He hadn’t stayed downstairs very long. Just long enough to take his meds, eat something, and grab a shower.

Occasionally, he came down to the bathroom before heading up again. They had plumbing stubbed out in one corner of the attic to add a bathroom for him so he wouldn’t have to interrupt his work. But on a day like today, he was glad Brad had to come out of the attic.

When he heard Mandaline’s Element pull up at a quarter ’til six, he called up to Brad. “She’s here.”

It sounded like a herd of wildebeests thundering across the attic. Brad threw the attic door open and pounded down the stairs, a wild look in his eyes as he flew past Ellis and downstairs into the kitchen.

Oh…crap.

He followed Brad into the kitchen, where his friend had thrown the door open and now anxiously danced from foot to foot like a little kid in desperate need of a potty break.

As he walked up behind Brad he also realized Mandaline hadn’t come alone. Sachi, from her store, climbed out of the passenger seat.

Brad trotted down the steps and across the wet grass through the rain to Mandaline and engulfed her in a bear hug. He apparently said something to her because she smiled and said something back. Ellis grabbed the umbrella from next to the door and headed out into the rain to help them.

Ten minutes later, everything was inside and Brad wore a silly grin on his face.

Well, that’s better than his bad mood, I guess.

Brad was also soaked to the skin.

“Buddy, why don’t you go change clothes? You’re wet.”

“I’m okay!”

Ellis caught Mandaline’s eye and arched an eyebrow at her. Fortunately, she seemed to understand. She nodded before turning to Brad and taking his hands in hers.

“Sweetie, it’s okay. We’ll wait on you. Go change.”

“Okay!”

He ran out of the kitchen.

Mandaline cocked her head, listening as he pounded up the stairs. When she heard the door of Brad’s room open, she leaned in, a scowl on her features. “What the hell’s going on with him?” she whispered.

He shook his head and kept his voice low. “He’s been like this all day. He spent all night cooped up in the attic working. I’m really worried about him.”

Sachi spun toward the door but Mandaline caught her arm. “No,” Mandaline firmly said.

Sachi looked enraged. Or maybe scared.

Perhaps both.

“You said!” she hissed at Mandaline. “I’m getting it!”

“No, it’s okay.” She nodded to Ellis. “We have him here.” Sachi tried to jerk free, but Mandaline wouldn’t let go of her arm.

“I don’t care what you say, I’m getting it.”

“Getting what?” Ellis asked.

“Sachi brought her peacemaker,” Mandaline explained. “Her skeet gun.”

It didn’t take much for him to board her train of thought after what they’d just been through with Julie. He glanced up at the ceiling. They heard Brad opening and closing dresser drawers. “I have a concealed carry permit. I’ll go grab my .38 from my gun safe. Will that relax you? And I won’t leave him alone with either of you.”

Sachi frowned, looking from Mandaline to Ellis and back again. She hooked a thumb at him. “Is he acting normal?”

She shrugged. “He seems to be.”

Sachi leaned in close to look at him. “Then what the hell are you waiting for? Move your ass.”

He couldn’t suppress his smile as he took off. Despite her prickly nature, Sachi was fiercely loyal to and protective of Mandaline, of that there was no doubt. Maybe if he could win her over, he could win back Mandaline’s trust.

* * *

Mandaline watched Ellis hurry from the room. She released Sachi. “Happy?”

“No. Not until we’re done and out of here. Do you not feel it?”

“Feel what?”

“There is something super funky going on with Brad, and I’m not talking funky town, funky chicken, or play that funky music, white boy.”

“I don’t feel anything wrong with the house.”

“I didn’t say the house.” She tapped Mandaline on the forehead, between the eyes. “Open your ears, boss. I said with Brad. Even you noticed it.”

They both looked up as they heard Brad open his bedroom door again. Then the sound of muffled voices as Ellis said something to him. Followed by the sound of Brad moving around and even going up to the attic.

Ellis quickly returned, slightly winded and now wearing a baggy T-shirt over his jeans. “I sent him to turn on all the lights upstairs for us to delay him getting back down here.”

“You packing, chief?” Sachi asked.

He turned and lifted the hem of his shirt, exposing the holster clipped to his belt in the small of his back. He dropped his shirt and turned around to face them again. “Good enough?”

She nodded, satisfied. “Allrighty then.”

Brad returned a moment later, wearing a goofy grin. “All set!” He rushed over to Mandaline again and gave her another hug. She looked at Ellis, who shrugged at her what the fuck expression. This was the less-there side of Brad, for sure. But something did feel off, now that Sachi mentioned it. Not…well, not bad off, just…off.

Disconcerting, sure, but nothing dangerous or dark the way Julie had sensed with Steven Corey, according to what Matt and Sami had told her.

They put Brad to work stringing extension cords throughout the house, since he knew where all the working outlets were located. It also kept him out of their way and allowed Mandaline, Sachi, and Ellis to talk in low tones without Brad hearing.

Still, even in the deepening gloom due to the weather, Mandaline didn’t feel anything…negative. Not about the house. She felt no fear, not even the slightest bit of trepidation.

Nothing set her witchy senses off in the slightest.

She almost didn’t want to start with the EMF sensors. She suspected they wouldn’t find anything out of the ordinary in that department, either. Usually she was hypersensitive to high EMF levels. So was Sachi. Even an initial walk-through, first floor to the attic, didn’t ping any of Sachi’s internal warnings.

Mandaline desperately didn’t want the issue to be Brad’s already traumatized brain. She wanted something she could grab, hold on to, produce as evidence that they could fix.

Because I love him.

Hell, as crazy and irrational as she knew it was, she loved both of them. She also remembered how she thought she loved Carl, and the world of hurt that gave her. Until she felt for sure Ellis wouldn’t end up demanding changes she couldn’t make, that he would be able to fully accept all of her the way she was, and that he wouldn’t throw another hurtful hissy fit, she didn’t feel safe letting go of her heart to them.

As the evening wore on, she noted how Brad’s attitude and demeanor deteriorated as they focused on the attic.

Their equipment showed nothing. Yes, they’d have tape and digital audio to go through, but Mandaline knew deep in her heart that they wouldn’t produce anything but hours of zilch.

At eight they stopped for a break and Ellis called out for a pizza. Sachi got Mandaline alone in a corner in the living room on the pretense of needing help adjusting the infrared camera settings.

“The only thing I can see,” she whispered to Mandaline, “is that Brad is worse when upstairs in the attic.”

Mandaline slowly nodded, pretending to look at the camera. “I think you’re right. I don’t understand it.”

“I’m not feeling anything here.” She touched Mandaline’s hand and waited until she met her gaze. “I really think it’s something wrong with him. And…” She took a deep breath. “I think it’s medical, not supernatural.”

Mandaline pressed her lips together. “I know.” Even Sachi had relaxed as the evening progressed. While she stayed close to Ellis, she’d stopped acting flighty and on edge as it was obvious Brad’s behavior wasn’t violent or dangerous.

She’d also stopped asking Mandaline to let her get her gun.

“Do you still want to do the house blessing?” Sachi asked.

Mandaline curtly nodded.

They ate downstairs in the kitchen on folding chairs gathered around a card table. Mandaline took her time, not wanting dinner to end, knowing the closer they drew to the end of their evening, the closer they drew to sentencing Brad to another trip to the VA.

Closer to Mandaline being forced to admit she couldn’t help him.

By ten o’clock they’d done every scan, every test, used every piece of equipment in every room of the house. Brad had gone quiet, his expression dark as they finished in the attic.

“Well, Sachi and I are going to go ahead and perform the house cleansing ritual, if that’s okay?”

Ellis nodded. They all looked at Brad, who now sat on his sofa.

He didn’t speak.

“Are you all right, buddy?” Ellis asked him.

“Fine.” He stared at all of them, his arms crossed in front of them. “I’m not crazy!”

Mandaline’s heart wanted to break for him. She got up and walked over to him. “I know you’re not. No one’s saying you are.”

“There’s something in this house,” he insisted. “It’s the house doing it to me. I know we can find it. You’re just not trying hard enough!”

His words threatened to unleash her tears. She already felt helpless. She grabbed his hands and squeezed them. “We’re doing everything we can,” she said. “And we have a lot of video and audio footage to go through. Please, sweetie, you have to understand, there’s only so much we can do.”

He yanked his hands away and walked over to the window on the western end of the attic where he stared out at the dark.

Above them, another band of rain pounded harder on the roof.

Mandaline stood and returned to Sachi and Ellis on the other end of the attic. “Let’s get this done,” she quietly said.

* * *

Brad refused to come down from the attic to say good-bye. Ellis helped them pack their gear and load it in the Element. Once they were finished with all that by a little after eleven, they walked back to the kitchen for one final check to make sure they hadn’t forgotten anything.

Sachi patted Mandaline’s shoulder.

“I’ll wait in the car,” she said. “Take your time.”

“Okay, thanks.”

She stared up into Ellis’ blue eyes, which now looked as sad as she felt in her soul. Heartsick.

“Thank you for trying,” he said, sounding choked up. “You have no idea how much it means to me. How much I appreciate it.”

She didn’t know how to answer that. Instead, she stepped closer and put her arms around his neck, glad to feel his encircle her waist.

“What happens now?” she asked. “With Brad.”

He sighed. “I’m going to get his doctor on the phone in the morning and see about getting him admitted immediately. In-patient. They might decide they need to put him on different meds and have to keep him until they get him stabilized. I can’t put this off any longer and wait until he does something like hurt himself.”

“Or someone else.”

He slowly nodded. “He doesn’t have a violent bone in his body, but after…” He let out a sad sigh that sounded from the depths of his soul.

He didn’t have to finish his statement. She knew he meant after what happened to Julie.

Her fingers brushed through his hair, soft, silky strands she’d love to feel pressed against other parts of her anatomy.

But Brad’s well-being had to come first.

She rose up on her toes and kissed him. Not a chaste, brushing glance, and not a deep, tongue-sucking passionate affair, either.

A real one. A serious one. One to let him know.

She felt tears prickle her eyes. “I know he has to come first. I get it. I want that, too. I promise whatever you need from me, I’m there for you and for him. I’m not walking away from you two. But I have issues of my own and it’s going to take me some time to wade through those for us to make this work.”

He nodded and reached up to gently brush away her tears with his thumbs. “I know. I’m sorry I hurt you.” He leaned in and kissed her again. “I’m willing to take the time to make it right between us. I do love you. I don’t know how or why or when I fell in love with you, but I am. I also know that he’s right, that it won’t work until we’re all on the same page.”

Her heart already felt a little lighter with that. “So we’re in agreement? We get Brad through this, figure out what’s going on with him, and take things from there once he’s stable again?”

He even managed a sad smile. “You said ‘we.’”

“Yes?”

He hugged her tightly, his face buried in her hair. “That sounded so good. Thank you.”

She closed her eyes and imagined falling asleep in his embrace. Better, sandwiched between both their warm bodies. Hopefully that would happen one day. Tonight she knew it wasn’t the right time.

She stepped away and gave him a smile. “Love you.”

He sounded relieved. “Love you, too.”

She hurried through a fresh spate of rain to the Element. Sachi didn’t say a word, she just looked at Mandaline with her head cocked to the side.

“What?” Mandaline finally asked as she was heading down the driveway.

“You…” She hesitated. “You’re at peace. Yet you’re not with them. But you’re not sad. Your aura looks somewhat clearer now than it did when we started. And you’re sort of…happy? Okay, I’m confused. What’s up?”

She let out a deep breath. “We cleared the air. Me and Ellis. I’m willing to stick by them while we get Brad stabilized. Ellis is willing to wait me out until I can trust him not to hurt me again.”

Sachi slowly nodded, but even in the light from the dashboard Mandaline could make out her pleased grin.

“What?”

Sachi rolled her eyes. “Whatever you say, boss.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing.” She settled back in her seat. “Nothing at all. Lucky bitch.”

Chapter Fifteen

It was well after midnight and still raining by the time they unloaded and Mandaline got Pers walked and settled. She didn’t know if she’d be able to sleep or not as she climbed into bed wearing nothing but an oversized T-shirt. Yes, she did feel more at peace than she had in a long time. She didn’t feel any urgent need to rush things between her and the men. She and Ellis had said what they needed to say and left things on a good note between them.

Finally.

The sound of the rain on the roof over her head worked wonders. She found herself drifting.

Then she was dancing, skyclad, in a rainy wood. It felt like the woods of her earlier dreams, but everything looked green and fresh in the rain instead of dark and gloomy.

Her path took her to the clearing, to Ellis and Brad’s house, but this time no shock of red hair enticed her inside. She spun around, arms in the air and face to the heavens as rain gently beat down upon her.

Her heart felt light.

A noise from behind her made her turn. Brad walked out of the house. The dark, angry scowl on his face frightened her at first, until Ellis also walked out. Without a word, both men undressed, and together they danced in the rain with her. She noticed a dark, grimy substance all over Brad’s skin and walked closer. The rain slowly began washing it off him. She reached out and touched his flesh. The dark substance came off on her fingers, leaving a clean streak on his skin. She began rubbing her hands all over him as he stood there, his face growing more and more peaceful as she helped the rain wash him clean.

When there was nothing but unblemished flesh left behind, he wore a wondrous smile, back to sweet Brad.

Ellis stepped close and the three of them, naked, joined in a group hug…

She was yanked out of that dream into darkness. She didn’t know where she was at first until she heard Brad raging above her, thundering back and forth across the attic.

She turned to see Ellis standing behind her and looking up at the ceiling. They were standing on the darkened second floor of the men’s house.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

He didn’t reply, as if he couldn’t hear her.

Then she realized he couldn’t. He couldn’t see her either, because when she reached out to touch him, her hand passed right through him.

He turned and walked into his bedroom. He closed and locked the door behind him, but she walked right through it to follow him.

“Ellis! What’s happening?”

She startled as above them, Brad screamed, enraged. It sounded like he fell to the floor, but he continued screaming until it turned into sobs.

Ellis walked over to his closet. Inside, he had a small file cabinet. He unlocked it and pulled out a file from the top drawer. A couple of inches thick, it was labeled BRAD’S FILE.

He took it over to his bed and laid it out, searching for a paper in the file.

He glanced up again when it sounded like Brad was pounding on something in the attic, his voice cracking with anger as he screamed wordlessly.

Ellis looked heartbroken but determined.

From behind her, a hand yanked her. She turned to find Julie standing there. “Come on!” Julie said, urgency on her face.

Julie dragged her through the wall and across the hall to Brad’s room to his closet. The door flew open and papers spilled out.

Julie grabbed her hands and stared into her eyes. “Believe!”

Then they were on the move again, Julie dragging her out of the room, up the stairs, then through the attic door.

Brad lay on the floor, his body smudged with dark spots that looked like charcoal, as well as splashes of paint. He rolled around on the floor, naked from the waist up, ranting and wailing.

Julie dragged her over to the couch and pointed. “Believe!”

The couch slid away and the little door behind it flew open. Papers blew out, white sketch paper at first, then newspaper, which all turned dark and spotted with mildew until Mandaline had to put her hands up to protect her face as a sea of nasty, decomposing papers blasted out at her.

She sat up in bed, heart pounding as a loud crack of thunder split the night. Her pulse raced as she remembered the dream.

And knew what she had to do.

* * *

Ellis locked his bedroom door before he unloaded his .38 and locked it in the gun safe in his closet. For the past couple of hours Brad had raged in the attic, crying, screaming, ranting ever since Mandaline left.

He didn’t even dare disturb him to give him his meds. He didn’t want to have to Baker Act him, but if Brad didn’t settle down by morning, he would.

He also knew he couldn’t get any sleep tonight. He needed to stay awake and alert to whatever Brad did.

He retrieved Brad’s file from the top drawer of his file cabinet and rifled through the paperwork until he found the standing durable power of attorney order he wanted, the one that gave him control over Brad’s health care needs.

The one that would allow him to have him involuntarily committed, if need be, without a judge’s order.

He left it on the top of the pile and closed the folder. If he needed to call the sheriff’s office before morning, he wanted that ready so he could have them take Brad immediately, without having to wait for a court order or having to hunt for it.

He changed into a pair of shorts and propped himself up in bed with pillows and his laptop to try to get some work done.

And still, above him, Brad raged.

He never wanted it to come to this. He didn’t want to forcibly admit Brad to the hospital, but it was obvious that whatever was wrong with him was progressing at an alarming rate. He couldn’t wait any longer. He had to get him help first thing in the morning. Hopefully after Brad had worn himself out.

At first he didn’t hear the pounding on the kitchen door over the noise from the attic and the rain. Until he heard a horn blasting outside, followed by more pounding.

He quickly ran downstairs to find Mandaline standing at their door, holding her car keys, barefoot and wearing nothing but a T-shirt, which was soaking wet and sticking to her body from standing in the rain and knocking.

She pushed her way in. “Where’s Brad?”

“He’s upstairs.” He caught her arm. “I don’t want you up there. I don’t know what he’s capable of at this point.”

She wrenched her arm free. “I need a flashlight and a crowbar or a hammer or something.” She raced into the living room, Ellis on her heels.

“What?”

“Goddammit, quit arguing with me. You’re wasting time. I think I know what’s wrong!” She ran through the living room and around the other side of the wall to the space where the downstairs powder room was going to go. She climbed through the framing, peering up into the darkness. Then she gave a triumphant cry.

Returning, she snatched up a large framing hammer from a pile of tools in the corner of the living room and started up the stairs. “I need a flashlight. Hurry! Go get me one.”

He ran back into the kitchen and grabbed one from a box of supplies and followed her upstairs. He found her in Brad’s closet, swinging the hammer at the back wall.

“What the hell are you doing?”

She snatched the long, heavy Maglite from him and pointed it at the wall as she frantically pounded at it with her other hand. She didn’t bother answering his question.

“This won’t work!” she finally yelled, frustration in her voice. “It’s not heavy enough. I need a damn crowbar, or a sledgehammer, or something like that.”

Now wondering if he was the crazy one and maybe Mandaline and Brad were sane, he ran downstairs, the sound of Mandaline pounding away at the rear wall of the closet starting again. He finally located a short pry bar and ran back upstairs with it. She’d made a small hole in the wall, but not much progress.

“Move,” he said. He shouldered her out of the way and wedged the pry bar into the hole she’d made and started trying to enlarge it while she held the Maglite trained on it. “Mind telling me what’s going on and why we’re destroying my house?”

“Just rip it open. Please!”

The desperation in her voice squelched any further questions. “Stand back.” He used both hands to stab the pry bar around the edges of the hole to loosen the lathing behind the drywall. When he had a hole large enough for her to stick her head into, she pulled him out of the way and did just that, cramming her arm and the flashlight in first.

Her scream sounded positively ecstatic. She snatched the pry bar from him and ran out of the closet. It was only when he heard her on the stairs that he realized she was going into the attic.

“Mandaline, no!”

But she was already upstairs and in the attic by the time he reached the base of the attic stairs. He pounded up after her, praying Brad wasn’t as dangerous as he sounded.

When he got there Brad was still lying in the middle of the floor, but staring at where Mandaline was trying to pull the couch away from the wall.

“What are you doing?” Ellis yelled.

“Help me!”

He helped her move the couch away from the wall. Then like a shot she had the door to the little storage space open and writhed through until she had her body half inside it. The sound of pounding and prying filtered out of the space for several minutes. There wasn’t enough room he could get down there and look to see what she was doing.

Brad slowly sat up and watched but didn’t move.

At least he’s stopped screaming.

Ellis wasn’t sure at first if her yell was triumphant or not when she emerged from the small space. She had a wild look on her face and black filth spattered on her cheek and arms. She threw a handful of gunk on the floor, where it landed with a wet splat.

“It’s newspaper and stuff, what someone used for insulation in the walls years ago. It was jammed in the walls and in the space around where the vent stack goes into the roof. It’s black mold.” Now she was crying. “There’s a leak in the plumbing vent stack where it goes through the roof. It’s all wet in there. The water’s been seeping in around the vent stack and all that stuff is moldy. It runs down behind his closet. How long ago did they redo the roof?”

He struggled to think. “Um, over a year ago, at least.”

“And the plumbing?”

“Not long after that. But I don’t know if that was the original or a new vent stack.”

“So it’s been leaking for over a year. That crap’s been growing moldy for over a year.” She shook her head as she pushed past him and went to Brad. “Come on,” she said.

He looked up at her, confused but no longer raging. “What?”

She hooked an arm around him and half-dragged him until he finally stood up. “I have to get you out of here. Now. Come on.”

Ellis walked over to the small door. Now that she’d broken open the wall hiding the vent stack, he could smell the strong, sharp, unmistakable tang of mold.

By the time he got downstairs to the kitchen, he found the door standing open and her sodden, soaked T-shirt and Brad’s jeans and briefs on the floor in a pile. He stood in the doorway and watched as, in the reach of the security light, Mandaline and Brad stood in the rain. She made him hold up his arms as she ran her hands all over him, the rain sluicing down their bodies. Brad closed his eyes and turned his face to the sky, a serene smile on his face.

“Fuck it.” Ellis pulled off his shorts and joined them. He shivered a little until he grew used to the temperature and walked over to them.

Now it was Mandaline who wore a nearly wild look as she scrubbed her hands all over Brad’s body. Not sexually, and Brad wasn’t aroused anyway, but as if washing him. Truth be told, as beautiful as Mandaline’s naked body looked, even Ellis wasn’t in a mood to feel aroused.

Ellis heard her muttering under her breath the entire time. Then she stopped and held her hands skyward, her eyes closed. “Thank you, Hecate! Thank you, Julie! Thank you, Goddess!”

Weeping, she fell into Brad’s arms. He stood there, eyes closed and the serene look still on his face. Ellis felt like he was intruding on their moment until Mandaline reached behind her, her hand extended to him.

He took it and stepped forward, letting her draw him close until she pulled his arms around both of them.

Standing there with his arms around both of them felt good.

Felt right.

Felt like the most natural thing in the world, as if his soul was now complete.

“He’s allergic to black mold,” she mumbled against Brad’s chest. “He’s reacting to the black mold. It’s worse up in the attic. And he sleeps on the couch, which is right next to the worst of it. And probably some of the spores were getting on his clothes in his closet, too.”

Ellis closed his eyes as he rested his chin on Mandaline’s head. “Son of a bitch.”

“She showed me,” she sobbed, her words barely understandable. “The dreams. Julie was showing me the closet and papers. I didn’t understand until tonight’s dream. He’s worse today because of all the rain. It’s concentrated it in the attic and he’s been up there yesterday and tonight.”

He didn’t know how long they wanted to stand there, but he’d stand there until they were ready to move.

Eventually, Brad mumbled, “Hey, Ellis?” He sounded tired and hoarse, but back to normal.

“Yeah, buddy?”

“I forgot to take my evening meds.”

“That’s okay, buddy. I’ll get them for you when we’re done. Then I’ll find a hotel for us.”

“No,” Mandaline said. She looked back at him. “You’ll come stay with me.”

“We can’t impose like that.”

“It’s not an imposition. You’ll be four blocks from work. He cannot go back into that house until the mold’s cleaned up. Not without protective gear and a respirator, at least. We’re going to need to pull all his clothes from the closet and his room and wash them, too.”

He stared down into her brown eyes. He couldn’t say no to her, couldn’t ever refuse her. Especially not now, not after this. “Okay. Thank you.”

She nodded and closed her eyes again as she let out a relieved sigh. “Can you get me my keys? I think I dropped them in the kitchen when I came in. I’ll take him back with me while you get whatever you need.”

“Let me at least grab you a T-shirt or something.”

She laughed and stared down at her naked body. “Yeah, guess that would be helpful.”

He ran back into the house, dripping water all the way upstairs. He grabbed one of his T-shirts for her, and a pair of his shorts for Ellis, and a few towels from the linen closet next to the bathroom, before running back to the kitchen. He finally found her keys under the pile of clothes.

They had gotten into the Element. He stood there in the rain next to the vehicle as she quickly toweled off and pulled the T-shirt on. She started the engine and let the heater run while Brad got the shorts pulled on.

“Crap, wait a minute,” Ellis said.

He ran into the kitchen again. He grabbed the bottle of Brad’s medicine, as well as a bottle of water from the fridge, and took them back out. “Here, take it now.”

Brad shook one out into his palm and swallowed it, followed by a long swig of water. “Thanks.”

“No problem, buddy. Feeling better?”

“A little. My throat’s all sore and scratchy. And my head hurts.”

“I’ll leave the back door unlocked for you,” Mandaline said. “Whenever you get there.”

“But if I’m not allergic to it—”

She shook her head so hard he thought it might fly off her shoulders. “It doesn’t matter. You can’t keep exposing yourself to it. You might be allergic to it, too, but you’re gone all day at work during the week. And you don’t spend as much time in the attic. Plus it’s not behind your closet. Maybe you aren’t reacting as badly as him.”

Come to think of it, he had been having headaches off and on the past few weeks, but he’d attributed it to stress over worrying about Brad.

“Okay. Let me get dried off and dressed and pack some things.”

She nodded. He stepped back as she turned the SUV around and drove off.

He realized he was standing there, butt naked, in the middle of the yard.

“You’ve gotta be shitting me,” he mumbled as he returned to the house.

Chapter Sixteen

“Mandaline?”

“Yeah, sweetie?”

Brad stared out the windshield at the rain. “I don’t hear Julie anymore. It’s not like the other times, when she went quiet. It’s like she’s gone for good now.”

Mandaline nodded and wiped at her face with the towel as she slowly drove down the driveway. “I know, sweetie. It’s all right. Everything’s going to be okay now. In a couple of days, you’ll feel good as new.”

He rested his head against the passenger window and shivered. She cranked the heat up to full and set it to blow to the floor and the defroster.

“Is Ellis going to be okay?” he asked.

“I think so. I think we’re all going to be okay now.”

He was quiet for most of the drive. As they neared town, he asked, “Mandaline?”

She couldn’t help but smile. He almost sounded like a kid. “Yeah, sweetie?”

“I forgot the condoms. They’re in my dresser with my wallet.”

She burst out laughing. “Honey, it’s like three o’clock in the morning. I have a full schedule today. I’m sure Ellis does, too. And you’ve had a pretty rough couple of days. I think we all need sleep.”

“Oh. Okay.”

When they reached the shop, she got him out and inside and upstairs to her bathroom, where she made him strip. She climbed into the shower with him and thoroughly shampooed and scrubbed him and her both, with the water as hot as they could stand it. She scrubbed their bodies with a washcloth and a loofa to make sure no trace of the mold remained on either of them.

As she ran her hands over his back, for the first time she got a clear look at his old injuries. Up his entire back pink, twisted skin marked the path the explosion had ripped into his flesh. With his hair wet and plastered against his skull, now she could see a couple of the bare patches, especially at the base of his skull, where hair didn’t grow and white, gnarled scars remained.

She wished she could stand there and kiss every inch of him, love every last bit of hurt out of his soul.

But it was late, and they were both yawning. She helped him dry off, wrapped a towel around her own hair, and got him tucked into her bed. She placed a kiss on his forehead. “Go to sleep, sweetie.”

“Is Ellis here yet?” Brad’s voice sounded hoarse, no doubt an effect of all the screaming.

“Not yet. I’m going to wait up for him, don’t worry.”

“Okay.” His eyes dropped closed and it sounded like he was falling asleep. Pers jumped up onto the bed and snuggled next to him.

“Don’t wake him up,” she whispered to the dog.

She grabbed her bathrobe and slippers and put them on. Closing the bedroom door behind her, she set herself up on the sofa with an extra pillow and sheet from the closet. She turned the TV on and tried to stay awake, but her eyes opened with a start when she heard a car door shut just below the apartment window.

She had dozed off. It was now 4:19, according to the time on the cable box.

She went downstairs to find Ellis coming through the door, laden down with garbage bags full of clothes. She grabbed a bag from him. “Anything else?”

“Yeah, I brought as much as I could.” He stopped and looked at her, their eyes meeting. He dropped everything and grabbed her, pulling her to him and crushing his lips against hers, stealing her breath and her heart.

“Thank you,” he said when he ended the kiss. His voice sounded ragged and full of emotion. “You have no idea how grateful I am to you and how much I love you right now. Thank you for not giving up on us. I don’t care how you figured it out. It doesn’t matter. All that matters is you did it.”

She managed a smile despite wanting to break her self-imposed waiting period. “I love you, too. Let’s get you upstairs.”

“How is he?”

“Asleep. I gave him a shower and put him to bed. And that’s what you need to do, too. You won’t have long to sleep.”

She helped him ferry everything up to the apartment that could go up there. He’d brought one suit still neatly on a hanger to wear to work, and she volunteered to take the two garbage bags full of suits he’d pulled from his closet to the cleaners for him in the morning.

“I figured I’d better wash all my stuff, too,” he said. “I don’t want to risk him getting sick from them or spreading it to his clothes.”

“The washer’s down here, in the back room. Help yourself.”

Once they got the other bags of clothes stowed in the back room, she set another set of towels out for him in the bathroom. “I’m guessing you don’t have a problem sharing a bed with him? It’s a king-sized bed.”

He frowned. “Where are you sleeping?”

She hooked a thumb over her shoulder. “On the couch.”

“But—”

She silenced him with a kiss on the lips. “We have all the time in the world now to figure things out. But I need sleep, and you definitely need sleep. He can sleep all day if he needs to.”

“I’ll sleep on the couch.”

She smiled. “The couch is too short for you. I’ll be fine. I’ve spent plenty of nights on it before. Go on and get your shower.”

Once again she didn’t know if she’d fall asleep, but when she opened her eyes again, it was daylight and she smelled coffee. Wearing nothing but a pair of briefs and a smile, Ellis walked over from the kitchen and dropped to his knees next to the sofa.

“Good morning,” he softly said. She suspected his smile would be just as deadly to her reserve as Brad’s, now that they’d finally managed their personal hurdle.

“Good morning. Is he awake yet?”

“No. If he’s not up by noon, please make sure to wake him up to take his meds.” He leaned in and kissed her. She found her hand cupping the back of his head, her fingers twining in his hair as she closed her eyes and savored it.

He laid one hand over her belly, his fingers working on the knot on her bathrobe before he pulled it open to expose her. She didn’t bother pushing his hand away. She wanted to find out what he had in store.

He broke their kiss to move down her body, his kisses blazing a scorching trail down her chest, along the valley between her breasts, down past her navel until he gently pushed her legs apart with his hands.

She started to offer up token protest, but his fingers unerringly found their way between her legs. Then he spread her labia and bent his head to her pussy.

She kept one hand in his hair, all the while praying he didn’t stop and thinking maybe this wasn’t the best idea right now. The other hand she clapped over her mouth to stifle the loud moan she let out when his lips nibbled at her clit.

He looked up her body, his blue eyes dark and smoky. “I owe you this. I interrupted you two the other day. You deserve this and more.” Before she could respond, he’d lowered his mouth to her clit again.

She couldn’t take her eyes off him, off the way he eagerly worshipped her body with his mouth, his tongue doing deliciously evil things to her aching clit. He shifted position, turning her and draping her legs over his shoulders as he set to work in earnest.

It felt like she couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. Her world ended outside the heat of his body as he flicked his tongue up and down her clit. Then he worked a finger between her folds, stroking it up and down, coating it in her juices before gently sliding it inside her pussy.

She arched her back, giving him better access as he finger-fucked her wet cunt. Mesmerized by his eyes, she couldn’t look away, didn’t want this moment to ever end.

Her body, however, begged for release, for the feel of an orgasm she didn’t have to give herself for the first time in too damn long.

She was vaguely aware of him doing something with his other hand, but she felt scorching tingles flaring out from her clit, followed by an avalanche of pleasure as her orgasm hit. For a few timeless moments that bliss became the focus of her world.

His eyes dropped closed as he let out a soft groan of his own, which vibrated out his mouth and through her pussy and triggered another orgasm for her. It was only after her senses slowly began returning and she caught her breath that she could begin to think about it.

Or think about anything.

He rested his cheek, scratchy with morning stubble, against her inner thigh. When he finally opened his eyes again, he wore a playful smile.

“Are you okay?” she managed.

He kissed the insides of her thighs before carefully untangling himself from her. “Oh, yeah. Sorry, but I couldn’t help myself.” She looked over the edge of the couch and saw that at some point he’d pulled his briefs down to expose his cock, which was quickly growing limp. His other hand was covered with his own cum.

Her cheeks heated a little. “I would have taken care of that for you,” she softly said, unable to take her eyes off his softening member, practically licking her lips over it.

He leaned in and kissed her. She tasted herself on his lips. “I figured you would have. But you did say you wanted to wait. I’m happy to wait as long as I know I can keep you satisfied.” His eyes searched her face. “I’ll wait as long as I need to. As long as you need me to. I know I screwed up the other night and I can’t believe how lucky I am that you’ve given me another chance. I know you’re probably the only woman in the world who can tolerate me putting him ahead of you in my life, because I know you’ll also put him ahead of me. And I love you even more because if it. I couldn’t ask for a more perfect woman.”

She was left trying to figure out how to respond to that when he leaned in and kissed her again. “And now I have to get a shower, shave, and get ready. I have clients coming in at eight and it’s almost seven.” He smiled. “Since I don’t have to take him to Tampa, I can’t play hooky from work.”

She lay there and watched his cute ass as he walked into the bathroom, where he closed the door behind him. A moment later, she heard the shower start.

Was this love? Really?

I’ve been through the wringer the past couple of weeks emotionally. How do I know I’m really in love with them and not just latching on to them because it makes my heart hurt less?

She wasn’t sure she wanted to figure that out right then.

At least the weather had improved. It would be a bright, sunny day, albeit on the hot and muggy side. She peeled herself off the couch, retied her robe, and grabbed a mug of coffee. She let Pers out of the bedroom and took him downstairs for a quick walk out back.

When he looked like he wanted to head toward the library, she shook her head. “Sorry, pup. I’m too tired. Maybe later.” She scooped him up and headed inside.

Before going upstairs, she went to the back room where several garbage bags full of the men’s clothes were stashed next to the stacked washer and dryer units. She didn’t know whose was whose, but unless she wanted Brad running around dressed in nothing but a towel all day, she knew she’d better wash something for him.

She rooted through the clothes and threw some underwear, shorts, and T-shirts in the wash together to start with, set on the shortest wash cycle. Hopefully Brad would sleep late and she’d have some ready for him by the time he awoke.

Back upstairs, she found Ellis was already shaved and out of the shower. He stood in the kitchen in slacks, but shirtless, and working on a bowl of cereal.

She walked behind him in the narrow space and slipped her arms around his midsection. When she pressed her face against his back, she could smell her bodywash on his skin.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

He turned and put his arms around her. “No, thank you.” He tipped her chin up so she had to look into those gorgeous blue eyes. “If it hadn’t been for you, I’d be hauling Brad down to Tampa right now for a round of testing and medications that wouldn’t have helped him at all. We’d still be working on this months from now, with no clue what the problem was until the mold finally got so bad that it broke through the wall or something. You’ve saved us untold grief. Who knows? At the rate he was declining, you might have saved his life.”

“It’s still hard to believe it could have affected him that badly.”

He shrugged. “I’m not going to question it if it means he’s better now.”

Mandaline couldn’t take the intensity of his gaze any longer. She closed her eyes, pressing her cheek against his chest. The short, curly hair across his pecs tickled her cheek. “I don’t want to make a mistake. This soon after losing Julie, I’m afraid maybe I’m rushing into something for the wrong reasons.”

“I told you, I’ll wait you out as long as you need. I’m not going anywhere, and neither is he.”

“I’m a witch.”

He sounded amused. “I know.”

She took a deep breath. “I mean, I do spells and stuff. It’s part of who I am.”

“I know.”

“I read Tarot cards. For myself and others.”

“I know. Well, I don’t know anything about it, but I know you do stuff like that. Brad told me.”

“I run a New Age shop and do ghost hunting.”

He chuckled as he rubbed his chin across the top of her head. “I know.”

“I’m not selling or closing it.”

He outright laughed. “I know. I don’t expect you to. It makes you happy.”

She took a deep breath. “I dreamed about Julie and she led me to the mold. That’s how I found it. And…” She knew this wasn’t her secret to tell, but it had to get brought out in the open. “Brad was talking to her from the afternoon she died until this morning. She’d tell him things. Things there’s no way in hell he could have known, because only Julie and I knew them.”

He paused, but she felt him nod. “Okay. I believe you. I don’t know if I believe in what you believe in, but I believe you believe it, and that’s good enough for me.”

“I’m not going to change my beliefs or apologize for who or what I am. You have to accept me the way I am.”

He made her look at him again. His quiet, serious voice reverberated through the depths of her core. “I won’t ask you to change. Ever. Mandaline, I don’t care if you paint yourself purple and worship a flying eggplant from another universe. As long as you aren’t hurting yourself or anyone or anything else, I don’t give a flying crap what you believe. All I care about is that I can spend my life with you and him and be happy. If you’re happy, I’m happy. No, I won’t believe everything you believe in. If you want to set an altar up in my living room, go for it. You want to sacrifice a chicken, however, then I’m going to put my foot down.”

She smiled. “I don’t do that.”

“Sacrifice chickens, or paint yourself purple and worship flying eggplants?”

Damn, he’s got a cute smile. “Both. Neither.”

He leaned in and nibbled along her jawline until he reached her ear. “I’m going to wait as long as you need me to wait until you’re sure we’re what you want. Even if it means the worst case of blue balls I’ve ever had in my life. Even if it means I have to jerk off three times a day to keep my sanity. Because when you finally are sure, you will have to use a cold hose to peel me off your body for a while if you want a moment’s peace.”

Her breath caught in her throat as another wave of heat pulsed through her pussy. She’d thought she’d been satisfied by their earlier encounter, but now that only seemed to rev her up even more.

He kissed the side of her neck and gently released her, a playful smirk on his face. “I need to finish eating and get ready.” An eyebrow arched. “Unless you want me fucking you right here on your counter?”

She was about to say yes when she realized she couldn’t yet. Not without second-guessing herself to infinity…and beyond.

Not to mention one other problem. “I’m going to have to pay Doc Smith a visit today,” she said.

He frowned. “Are you okay?”

She nodded. “But when we do get there, we’ll spend a fortune in condoms unless I get back on the pill.”

He grinned. “Worth every penny.”

Chapter Seventeen

Brad was still sleeping soundly when Mandaline got out of the shower. Ellis finished getting ready and gave her a kiss good-bye. “I’ll come back for lunch, if that’s okay?”

She straightened his tie for him. He looked even hunkier in a suit, if that was possible. “Very okay.”

“I’ll go grocery shopping after work. We’ll buy all the food. And we’ll chip in for our share of utilities. It’s only fair.”

She brushed a kiss against his lips, smiling when she felt his bulge grow in his slacks. “I like lots of fresh fruit and veggies,” she said.

“Make me a list. As far as I know, he’s not allergic to any foods. I’m thinking though that we need to get him in and get him fully tested for all allergies as soon as possible.”

She grinned.

“What?” he asked.

“You said ‘we.’”

He laughed. “Yeah, I did say that, didn’t I?” He cupped his hands around hers. “You have no idea how good it feels to have someone else I can count on for him, to help take care of him.” He kissed her hands before releasing them.

She followed him downstairs to let him out the front door so he didn’t have to circle around the building. She was in the back room moving clothes from the washer to the dryer and starting a new load of wash when Sachi unlocked the back door a little before eight.

“Are you making early mornings a habit?” Mandaline asked her. Technically, Sachi didn’t need to be there any earlier than a quarter ’til nine.

“I am for now. Is that Ellis’ car parked out there?”

“Yeesss?”

“He’s in my spot.” She arched an eyebrow as she walked into the back room and looked over the mammoth pile of the men’s laundry. “What. The. Frak? I ain’t doing that. That’s above my pay grade.”

Mandaline laughed. “I’ll ask him to park somewhere else. And no, you don’t have to do any of this.”

“Oookay. Again, I ask. What. The. Frak?” Her gaze narrowed, brow furrowing. “Spill it, boss.”

Mandaline smiled. “I figured it out. Brad was right about the house making him sick, but it wasn’t supernatural in origin.” She related the story.

By the time she finished, Sachi grinned and hugged her. “So you finally got laid?”

“Um, no.”

“No?” she asked, incredulous. “What do you mean, no? They’re sleeping in your fricking bed for Goddess’ sake!”

“I mean no.” Sachi’s jaw dropped in disbelief as she stared at Mandaline. She felt her face heat as she added soap to the load and closed the front door of the washer. She started the wash cycle and still Sachi stared at her.

“What the hell are you waiting for?” Sachi finally asked.

“I’m waiting for me to get my head out of my ass, is what I’m waiting for. I don’t want to screw this up with them like I’ve screwed up with every other relationship I’ve ever had.”

“Kind of hard when you aren’t doing anything with them, isn’t it?”

“My point exactly. Ellis is fine with waiting. We’ve known each other less than a week. Everything happened so fast.”

“Week, schmeek. They’re gorgeous and they want you!”

“And I want them.”

Sachi looked like she was seconds from her head exploding. “Then why are you waiting?”

“Because I don’t want to jump into something just because my heart’s broken over Julie, okay? I don’t want to substitute great sex and hot guys for the love I feel…felt for my best friend. Why is that so hard to understand?” She even surprised herself by bursting into tears.

Sachi’s entire demeanor immediately changed as she engulfed Mandaline in a teary hug. “That, sweetie,” she softly said, “is what I’ve been waiting to hear you say.”

Sachi sank to the floor with Mandaline as she sobbed in Sachi’s arms. “What am I going to do without her?” she cried. “She was my best friend. No offense.”

Sachi gently smiled. “None taken.”

“We knew each other, what, twenty years? She was always there for me. She always helped me pick up the pieces. What happens if I fuck this up and now there’s no one to help me pick up the pieces? What do I do? I miss her so fucking much.”

Sachi slowly rocked with her. “It’s okay. I know I’m no substitute, but I’m here for you, and so is everyone else. You need to let it out. You’ve been holding it in the past couple of days. I knew you were close to this. I also knew I had to wait you out until you finally broke down.”

“I’m so scared, Sachi. I’m so scared I’m going to do the wrong thing. With them, with the store, with everything. Julie always helped me believe in myself. I feel like I’m adrift without her. I just feel…paralyzed.”

“I know, sweetie. I know.”

Mandaline’s back was to the doorway. After a few minutes of sitting there and bawling on Sachi’s shoulder, Sachi cleared her throat. “Um, I hate to bother you, but naked hunk alert.”

She sniffled. “What?”

She sat up and turned to see Brad standing there in the doorway, butt naked and looking worried. She let out a schnurfly laugh.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

From his tone, and the look on his face, she knew the “more there” Brad was back.

She nodded.

Sachi untangled herself from Mandaline and kissed her on the cheek. “I’m going to hand you off to Hunk Muffin here.”

Brad smiled at Sachi as he walked over and knelt beside Mandaline. “Are you okay?”

She wanted to say yes, to nod and suck it up and deal with it, but she found herself shaking her head and bursting into a fresh round of tears.

“Okay,” he said. “That’s it. Back upstairs.”

She couldn’t protest because he scooped her up and headed for the stairs.

Mandaline was vaguely aware of Sachi making bow-chicka-wow-wow noises under her breath as they passed her.

“Keep her up there until she’s feeling better,” Sachi ordered.

“That was my plan,” Brad replied.

Yes, he definitely sounded like he was back to himself. Whatever that meant. His voice sounded strong, in control.

Sexy as hell.

He carried her back to the bedroom and laid her on the bed.

“You can’t go downstairs naked, you know,” Mandaline said. “Not in the daytime. Not that I mind, but health regs say people need clothes.”

He smirked. “Well, since someone seems to have taken all my clothes, and I heard you crying, my priority was making sure you were okay and not whether or not I was going to embarrass anyone or freak out a health inspector.” He sat next to her on the bed. “I’m not complaining that I’m here, but I have a few questions.”

She nodded.

He scooched closer and pulled a pillow into his lap, then snuggled her so her head was on the pillow. “How’d I get here? I remember something about naked rain dancing in the middle of the night. Did that really happen? And why’s my throat sore?”

“You don’t remember?”

He looked down at her and shook his head. “It’s like a bunch of jumbled-up stuff. I remember some of you and Sachi being at the house Sunday.”

“You were right. The house was making you sick. Literally.” She retold the story. As she did, his expression grew more serious. When she finished her tale with putting him to bed, but leaving out her morning tryst with Ellis, he grabbed her hands and kissed them. “Thank you. I wish you hadn’t risked your safety over me, but thank you.”

“I knew you wouldn’t hurt me.”

“It bothers me that I lost time like that. A lot of time. That’s not just a few overnight hours.”

“Ellis said we need to get you tested for a full range of allergies.”

His playful smile warmed her heart. “What did you leave out of that story, young lady?”

She felt her face heat. She wondered how these two men had the power to make her do that. “This morning, Ellis made up for interrupting us the other day.” She retold the story.

When she finished, he let out a laugh. “Well, you might regret inviting us to stay with you. I’m liable to be following you around like a horny puppy and humping your leg every time you stand still long enough.”

It felt so good to laugh. She felt guilty about that, about shifting from grief to happiness in such a short time frame.

He must have read her expression. “Tell me what’s going through your brain.” He laced his fingers through hers.

Why hide it? She did. The fear, the worry.

And, yes, the lust.

“Let me pose a question,” he slowly said after thinking about it for a moment. “If your positions were reversed, if you’d died in that house and this was Julie dealing with me and Ellis, would you want her to feel guilty that she lived? Would you want her to mute her happiness, or would you be happy for her?”

“Of course I would want her to be happy.”

He kissed her hand. “Okay, then. I’m not going to rush you either. But like Ellis, don’t be surprised if you walk in on me rubbing one out.”

“It’s just that this is all happening so fast.”

“I know. I get it. Believe me, it’s happening fast for us, too. We’re two bachelors set in our ways. You might be ready to kill us in a couple of weeks.” He lightly squeezed her hand. “We’re here for the long haul,” he quietly said. “We aren’t going anywhere. We won’t rush or force you. But if you think we’re going to walk away from you without a fight, think again. You can’t scare us that easily.”

He stroked her hair, playing with it, wrapping it around his fingers. It felt so good to lie there with him, quietly, peacefully.

Like she was meant to be there with him. With both of them.

Downstairs, she heard the front doorbell tinkle. She sat up. “I guess I need to clean myself up and get presentable.”

He cupped her cheeks with his hands and lightly kissed her. “Can I ask a favor?”

She nodded. She’d do anything for him.

“Can you find me something to wear until my clothes are clean so I’m not stuck up here all morning with nothing but a sheet to cover me? Unless you’re okay with the toga look. Then I’m good to go.”

She burst out laughing. “I’ll go find you something out of the pile.”

“Thank you.” He smiled as he brushed his thumbs over her cheekbones. “I know it’s crazy, Mandaline, but I’m in love with you. I promise you, we’ll take care of you. We won’t let you down.”

She nodded. “I know.” She gave him one last, quick peck on the lips before reluctantly climbing out of bed. “I’ll be right back. I don’t know whose clothes are whose.”

“It doesn’t matter for now. We both wear pretty much the same size.”

She ran downstairs, ducking around the corner quickly so she didn’t have to answer any of Sachi’s questions yet. She found a clean pair of shorts and a shirt in one bag, and a clean pair of briefs in another, and ran them upstairs to him.

He met her in the kitchen with a kiss. “Thank you, ma’am.”

She grinned. “You’re welcome, sir.”

Sachi was finishing up with their customer as Mandaline walked behind the counter. She snapped her fingers at Mandaline. “I need petty cash, lady. Chop-chop.”

“What?”

Sachi rolled her eyes. “It’s Monday. Libbie’s closed on Mondays. One of us needs to run out to Publix to pick up our bakery order of goodies for the store, and I’m guessing you’d rather stay here with Tarzan up there.”

“Tarzan?”

“Yeah.” She grinned. “All he needs is to yodel and slap on a loincloth and he’s all set.”

* * *

Brad wouldn’t deny he felt better than he had in days, other than the sore throat and lingering headache that was already feeling better. He’d have to wait until he could talk, alone, with Ellis about the loss of time. Make sure there weren’t other apologies he owed.

That bothered him. If it really was nothing more than a severe reaction to the mold, great. Fantastic. It sucked that he couldn’t really do much in the house without a damn hazmat suit until they could get a contractor out there to clean it up and make the repairs.

He was suddenly very interested in getting their master bedroom suite finished.

He took over doing their laundry. He also took it upon himself to completely clean Mandaline’s apartment for her. Not that it was messy or dirty, but he knew with two extra people taking up space, in addition to the horrible week and a half Mandaline had suffered through, it was the least he could do for her.

He also made lunch for all three of them. When Ellis showed up a little after noon, Brad gave him a hug.

“Thanks, man,” Brad said.

“Don’t thank me. Thank Mandaline. She figured it out. You feeling better?”

“I think so. I still can’t believe it was a reaction to the mold.”

She walked upstairs. “And there she is,” Ellis said with a grin.

Her eyes widened as she surveyed the apartment. “Wow. You didn’t have to clean up here, but thank you.”

“My pleasure.” He smiled. “Least I can do. Otherwise, right now I’d be staring at four walls in a room at the VA.”

Sachi opened the door to the stairwell. “Knock-knock, boss,” she called up.

“It’s safe.”

She walked up far enough she could see into the apartment. “Mrs. Mendez is on the phone. Wants to know if she can come in Thursday afternoon for a reading with you.”

“No, I can’t. I’m going out to Croom.”

Sachi and the men all said, “What?”

Brad watched as Mandaline’s face reddened. “I told Sami and Matt I would perform a private ceremony for her husband for them.”

“Like hell you will!” Sachi yelled, storming all the way up the stairs and into the apartment with her blue eyes blazing. “You are not going out there!”

“Yeah,” Brad agreed. “You aren’t going out there.”

“Look, I want to do this for them. I don’t hold what happened against them.”

“I don’t care,” Ellis said. “You are not going out there.”

She jammed her hands on her hips and radiated defiance. “I want to do this for them. Julie would want me to do it for them! I’m going whether you like it or not!”

Brad turned to Ellis, helpless. Ellis ran a hand through his hair. “Fine, but I’m taking you.”

“You better be packing, chief,” Sachi said.

“You’d better believe it,” he agreed.

Mandaline shook her head. “I can’t believe you two. Are guns the answer to everything?”

“Yes!” they both said. Then they looked at each other and high-fived.

“Not everything,” Ellis clarified, “but in this case, absofuckinglutely.”

Brad chuckled. “You’re outvoted, Mandaline.” He wrapped his arms around her from behind and began nibbling on the nape of her neck, hoping it would weaken her defenses. “Go with it. Because I’m not disagreeing with them.”

“Well, shows how much you know. It’s a state park. I bet you’re not allowed to carry a concealed weapon into the park, license or not.”

Ellis shook his head. “Ask me if I give a damn about that. My only concern is your safety. What time are we going?”

“But…I didn’t tell them I’m bringing anyone with me.”

“Do you really think they’ll have a problem with it?”

“Well, no, probably not—”

“Done. Settled. End of subject.”

Brad laughed and nibbled on her ear this time, making her moan a little. “I know that look he’s got on his face, babe. Don’t bother arguing with him. He won’t change his mind.”

Sachi broadly grinned. “I like these guys. You have my full approval, boss. Carry on.” She snapped them a crisp salute before she headed downstairs.

Ellis walked over and took Mandaline’s hands. “I’m not about to risk your life. Maybe everything’s fine, maybe it’s not. If I’m there, I know it’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, well, I’m also going to do a walk-through of the house to make sure there aren’t any negative energies left. I want them to be safe living there. It’s going to take a while.”

Ellis nodded. “I’ll clear my calendar as soon as I get back to the office.”

Brad suspected this was a make-or-break moment for Mandaline and her trust in Ellis.

“It means putting up with my witchy stuff all afternoon,” she said.

Ellis nodded again. “I’m well aware of that. I don’t have a problem with it.”

Brad felt her body relax a little in his arms. “You don’t?”

“I thought I made this clear to you already. I don’t agree with it or believe in it or understand it, but if you do it and it makes you happy, I’m okay with it.”

She threw her arms around Ellis. Now she was sandwiched between them. Brad hoped for a return of the sexy visions, but none were forthcoming.

She kissed him. “Thank you,” she said. She turned and kissed Brad, too. “And thank you. Let me get through the next couple of days and wrap my head around this. Okay?”

Brad caught Ellis’ eye over her shoulder. They both nodded. “Okay,” they said in unison.

Chapter Eighteen

Brad was back in jeans and a T-shirt by early afternoon. Mandaline felt more than a subtle pang of disappointment over that. She rather enjoyed getting a good look at his hunky body, although the sight of the scars on his back made her want to cradle him in her arms and heal him in ways she knew she couldn’t.

She came out from doing a reading for a customer to find Sachi training him on how to make the different drinks they sold.

“You don’t have to do this,” she told him.

He shrugged. “I want to. Besides, I can’t do anything else right now. All my art stuff is back at the house. I like helping.”

“Aw, come on, boss,” Sachi teasingly whined. “Let Tarzan help.”

Mandaline realized Sachi had already settled on nicknames for the guys. Meaning the irascible woman had come to accept them as part of her inner circle.

She wasn’t sure if that comforted or worried her. Yes, she loved them, and yes, she wanted them, but she also didn’t want to make her decision to take things further, when she finally got off her ass and made it, influenced by those around her.

“Okay, fine. Just don’t wear yourself out,” she warned him.

He grinned. “I’m feeling fine. Lots better than I was.”

“I think you should run over and see Doc Smith.”

“I’m sure Ellis will have me at the VA soon enough. Don’t worry about me.”

As the afternoon wore on, Mandaline paid close attention to his interaction with the customers. People seemed drawn to him and everyone who dealt with him left with a smile.

Mandaline was in the office doing paperwork when Sachi leaned in the doorway. “Can we keep him, boss? Huh, huh? Can we?”

Mandaline leaned back in her chair. “He does have a job, you know.”

“Well, yeah, sure, if you want to call it that.” She grinned. “Set him up in the front window. We’ll have every het woman and gay man in Brooksville drooling over him.”

Mandaline felt a tiny, dark stirring in her gut. She didn’t like that idea.

She also didn’t like feeling jealous.

“No. I’m going to take a look at the warehouse and see if we can make a place for him there.”

“Aw, you’re no fun.” But she grinned. “And FYI, the warehouse is even more above my pay grade than laundry.”

“Don’t worry. That’s my albatross, not yours.”

The warehouse was what they called the rest of the upstairs not taken up by the apartment. Julie had used it for storage both personal and business.

Mandaline was looking even less forward to going through it because of the sheer volume of stuff there. Records from past investigations, old family furniture, miscellaneous crap from the store…

Goddess only knew how long it would take her to go through it.

“Hey, are you doing anything tonight?” she asked Sachi.

An eyebrow slowly slid skyward. “Nooo. Whyyyy?”

Mandaline sighed. “I need to go through Julie’s clothes. You and I are about her size. I was putting it off, but now with Ellis and Brad here for the duration, I’m running out of room. I’ll provide the dinner if you’ll provide the water-absorbent shoulder.”

Sachi stepped into the office and closed the door behind her. “Of course I will,” she said, back to serious friend mode. “You all right?”

“I will be once I get through Thursday.”

“You don’t have to go Thursday. I can go do it.”

“No, it’s a sort of closure for me.” She took a deep breath. “I want to see where she died. And there’s one other thing I have to do.”

* * *

Mandaline had a client for a Tarot reading that afternoon. Fortunately, the customer was one of her regulars and in a good frame of mind to start with.

She hadn’t been able to bring herself to read for any of Julie’s former clients yet. Sachi or Mina or Makenzie had taken some of them. The ones who specifically asked for Mandaline were being postponed another week.

She hoped when the time came that she’d be able to deal with them. When she finished with that client at two o’clock, Sachi was involved with a client of her own. Mandaline walked out to the front and found Brad talking with a man.

An immediate dark vibe washed over her as she struggled to remember where she’d seen the guy before. Then it hit her.

Brad turned, smiling when he saw Mandaline. “Ah, there she is. Mandaline, this is Peter—”

“Please, you need to leave,” she told the guy. “We’ve already told you all we’re going to say about Julie.”

The reporter, who worked for a Hollywood tabloid website, scowled. “Now, Mandaline, I’m sure we can come to some sort of understanding. This could mean a lot of good press for your business.”

“The only understanding seems to be your inability to grasp the simple concept of ‘no.’”

Brad silently watched, a frown on his face.

“Look, all I want is a few minutes of your time and a statement.”

She felt her hands curling into fists. Where’s Sachi and her gun when I really need her? “We made it abundantly clear to you last week, several times, that we have no comment about what happened. You want any comments, you’ll have to talk to Steven Corey’s family representative. I refuse to discuss this with the media.”

The man closed his notepad. Mandaline felt the shift in his energy to an even darker tone. “Well, if you won’t talk to us, we’ll have to talk to people who will. Which means you lose a chance to give us the accurate story of what happened.”

Mandaline stepped close, letting her anger well up. “All you need to know,” she dangerously muttered, “is that my best friend was killed. She was a good, loving woman. And nothing will change either of those two facts.” She let her angry energy freely pour from her toward the reporter.

He actually took a step back.

“Now get out of my store before I call the sheriff’s department to have a trespass warrant issued against you.”

The man looked from her to Brad, who’d stayed behind her, then back to her. “Fine. Have it your way.” He turned on his heel and left.

Brad tried to say something to Mandaline, but she wheeled around and headed for the stairs. He finally caught up with her at the top of the stairs.

“I’m sorry, Mandaline. I didn’t realize he was a problem.”

“What did you say to him?”

He shook his head. “Nothing. He just got here right before you came out. Maybe two minutes, that’s it. I told him you were busy and he’d have to talk to you.”

“He didn’t ask who you were or anything about Julie?”

“He said he wanted to talk to someone about Julie, but I told him he’d have to wait to talk to you.”

She felt her anger draining and slumped against the wall. All of the other employees had already agreed not to talk to the tabloids about what had happened to Julie. She’d forgotten to warn Brad and Ellis. “I’m sorry I snapped at you. I should have told you. I didn’t think any others would come sniffing around.”

“Hey, it’s okay.” When he pulled her in for a hug, she didn’t resist. “You about ready for a break for the day?”

She glanced at the door that led to the warehouse. “Maybe I shouldn’t be around people right now. I’m not exactly in the best mood.” She headed over to it and opened the door. Swiping her hand around inside the doorway, she found the main switch and the overhead lights came to life.

He stepped into the doorway behind her. “Wow. What is all that?”

She let out a sigh. “My albatross. I’m going to have to start sorting through this, I guess. I know there aren’t any windows over here, but if it’ll work for you, we can clear you out a space. Set up extra lights or something.”

He edged past a pile of furniture covered by a tarp to see around it. “Holy cow. You can’t do all this alone. I’ll help.”

“Fair warning, Sachi is going to stay behind with me tonight and help me go through Julie’s clothes.”

“Will the Mistress of Snark be staying for dinner?”

Mandaline smiled. “Yes. But you know, you feed her once, we’ll never get her to go home.”

He laughed. “We need to find her a guy of her own.”

“From your lips to the Goddess’ ears. I doubt we’ll ever find one guy who can handle her.”

He laughed. “Well, I’ll wish for two, then.”

She loved that she could have conversations like this with him without feeling the slightest bit self-conscious or silly in the bad way. “So mote it be.”

He made his way back to her. “I could use this space. I’ll set up some extra lights. If I really need natural light, I’ll just go outside to the square. It’s a little stuffy, though. If you don’t mind, I could put in a window shaker AC unit up here. Make a hole in the back wall.”

“I don’t mind.”

His eyes met hers. She was once again struck by the duality of his nature. Today, all day, the “more there” Brad had been in residence.

No denying he made her panties damp.

“Well,” she said, “I am going to spend some time up here. In her will, Julie specifically said I was free to do whatever I wanted with the stuff in here. If I find anything I like, I might keep it…” Her face heated as she realized she was going to say “for the house,” as if she was already a fully vested partner.

He held her hands and brought them to his lips, a twinkle in his eye. “I think some of these pieces would look wonderful in our house,” he quietly said.

“How’d you know what I was going to say?”

He playfully smirked. “Because all morning I’ve been thinking things like, ‘I need to sit down with Mandaline about a color scheme for the master bedroom,’ and, ‘We need to start furniture shopping with Mandaline for our bedroom.’”

The heat that flared in her cheeks this time started somewhere in the vicinity of her pussy. She’d already put in a call to Dr. Smith that morning. He was busy today, but penciled her in for an appointment tomorrow at ten.

“What about Ellis?” she asked. “Doesn’t he get a say in it?”

He shrugged. “He tells me it’s my decision. I know what he doesn’t like. He cares more for function than form.”

Why am I waiting?

“Maybe tonight after Sachi leaves we can all snuggle in front of the TV,” she quietly suggested. “I probably won’t be in much of a romantic mood, though.”

“I’ll make sure we add popcorn to the shopping list.”

“Thanks.”

He left her alone as she turned back to all the stuff to sort through.

* * *

Ellis sandwiched calls to contractors between his appointments. He wanted the roofer out there ASAP to fix the damn leak, for starters. He’d have to go through his paperwork on the house to see who was responsible for the chicken-or-egg mess caused by the leak. He didn’t know if that vent stack was already there or something the plumbers put in when they updated the system. Some of the house’s plumbing was original, some was already modernized. If the plumbers put that vent stack in after the roofers, it was their fault.

And he’d damn well make whoever was responsible fix it and pay for the cleanup expenses. Especially after the scare they went through with Brad’s health.

What if I hadn’t given in to him to let Julie check out the house in the first place? God only knows how long it might have taken to figure out what was wrong. Or what Brad might have been put through as a result.

He didn’t want to wander down that path of what-ifs. He knew it wasn’t productive.

Yet deep in his gut, he realized what a close call it had been. No telling how long it might have taken to get to the bottom of the problem if not for Mandaline’s insight.

He definitely wanted to make her a nice dinner, at the very least, to show his appreciation.

Once she finally dropped her walls with them, however, he’d spend the rest of their lives together showing her how much he loved her.

Around four o’clock his last appointment of the day left, and he decided he’d had enough of his office. When he returned to Many Blessings, he was surprised to see Brad working behind the counter and wearing one of the neon-green-and-pink aprons the employees wore.

Brad grinned. “Hey, you’re early.”

Ellis let out a snort and pointed at the apron. “That’s…quite a fashion statement.”

“Aw, screw you, chief,” Sachi said. “He’s making killer cappuccino. You’re just a lawyer.” She smiled.

“How are you feeling?” he asked Brad.

He nodded. “A hell of a lot better than I was.” He stepped closer and leaned in. “I almost screwed up royally, though”

“Why?”

Brad told him about the reporter. Ellis felt anger flare deep within him on Mandaline’s behalf. “Maybe I should look into getting a court order against the asshole to stop him from harassing her.”

“Chill, chief,” Sachi said. “Mandaline held her own. Not even that jerk would mess with a pissed-off witch. She ran him out of here.”

The witch herself chose that moment to emerge from the stairwell. Ellis wasn’t sure, but thought her cheeks turned pinker when she met his gaze. “Hi, Ellis. I thought I heard you down here.”

He struggled and managed to contain his excitement that she rose up on her toes to give him a kiss.

“Oh, shit,” Sachi muttered.

“What?” Mandaline asked.

“Why don’t you go back upstairs,” Sachi said, “and let me handle this?”

“Handle wha—oh, you gotta be shitting me!”

The men turned as the front doorbell tinkled and a man walked in.

“What?” Ellis asked. “Another reporter?”

“Worse,” Sachi snarked. “Her ex-husband.”

Ellis turned to follow her progress across the store to greet the man. Barely taller than Mandaline, the portly man was growing perilously close to losing a goodly chunk of the curly brown hair on the top of his head, except that he’d attempted to master the art of the stealthy comb-over with unsettling results.

Brad crossed his arms over his chest and scowled. “I think we can take him,” he muttered to Ellis.

“Hell, I can take him,” Sachi snarked. “I won’t even need my skeet gun. He’s such a spineless ass the fucker will blow over in a stiff breeze.”

“Hello, Carl,” Mandaline said. Ellis didn’t know how Mandaline managed to keep the venom out of her voice. “What are you doing here?” She stopped in front of him, blocking his further progress into the store with her hands firmly planted on her hips.

Ellis, with Brad and Sachi in step, moved closer.

“I heard about Julie. Horrible news. Wanted to come pay my respects.”

“Why? You never paid her any respect when she was alive. Why start now?”

The man’s face reddened slightly. “I know I wasn’t always the nicest to her—”

“Ha!” Sachi snorted.

Mandaline briefly glanced over her shoulder at them but didn’t quiet Sachi down. “Just tell me what you really want. Why are you here?”

Now he wrung his hands together. Ellis didn’t know men still did that in this day and age. “I know we didn’t part on the best of terms—”

“‘Best of terms?’” Mandaline let out a shrill laugh that made the other six customers in the store turn and look. “Best of terms? Is that what you call using your mommy and daddy’s money to screw me over just because my spiritual beliefs didn’t align with theirs?”

Before he could say anything else, she stepped closer and jammed her finger in his face, not quite touching, but enough to make him step back. “Listen, mister. You basically left me penniless and homeless and having to start over from scratch. If it hadn’t been for Julie, I wouldn’t have had a roof over my head until I got my feet back under me. You have a lot of nerve showing up here out of the blue like this.”

“I just wanted to apologize.”

The silence in the store was deafening. Ellis took another few steps forward, shadowed by Brad and Sachi.

“Go ahead.” Mandaline crossed her arms. “I’m listening.”

“Yes, my parents didn’t like you. I’m sorry I listened to my mother. Okay? It was a shitty thing to do to you.”

Sachi spoke up. “Boss, I can go get my—”

“No,” Mandaline shot back.

Sachi pouted. “Okay.”

Mandaline cocked her head and looked at Carl. “That’s it?”

He looked confused. “What do you mean?” He glanced around and tried to lower his voice a little. “I’d like to talk with you. Alone.”

“This is as alone as you’re going to get with me, Carl.”

Ellis took yet another step forward, as did Brad, until they both stood flanking Mandaline.

He looked up at Ellis and Brad, then back to Mandaline. “Who are these guys?”

“They are none of your business,” she shot back. “And they aren’t going anywhere. So start talking, or turn your butt around and get out.”

Ellis straightened a little and crossed his arms over his chest as he looked down at the guy. Brad did likewise. They were each at least a foot taller than the guy.

Carl refocused his attention on Mandaline and lowered his voice even more. “I’d like a chance to take you out to dinner. We had some good times. I’d like a chance to spend some time with you. See if—”

Mandaline let out a loud, scoffing laugh. “Are you serious? For starters, no way in hell. Secondly, I’m not available for any half-baked romantic ideas you might have flitting around in that follicly challenged head of yours. Thirdly, I might have forgiven you a long time ago for being such a spineless weasel—”

“See, told you so,” Sachi muttered to Ellis.

“—but I will never, ever forget what you did to me. And I will never, ever trust you again. Any positive feelings I had for you died when you did what you did. I’d wanted to stay friends, but you let your parents institute a scorched-earth policy against me. I don’t wish you ill-will—”

“I do,” Sachi muttered.

“—and I even talked Sachi out of hexing you”—she glanced over her shoulder at Sachi, who instantly produced a manically innocent grin—“but I have absolutely no place for you in my life or my mind. I definitely have no place for you in my heart.”

Ellis tried to read the man’s body language. He’d always had a knack for that, which had served him well during depositions and trials. Carl seemed borderline desperate, nervous. Which Ellis didn’t understand.

“Mandaline, please, if you’d just give me a chance—”

“What’s really going on here?” Ellis asked as he stepped forward to stand shoulder to shoulder with Mandaline. “You didn’t just suddenly get a magnanimous idea and decide to come see her. What’s really on your mind?”

“Nothing!” Carl’s face reddened. “Not that it’s any business of yours! I don’t even know who the hell you are.”

He draped his arm around Mandaline’s shoulders. Brad stepped forward and slid his around her waist.

“It is our business, because she is our business. I’m also an attorney.”

“Our?” Carl looked up at Ellis, to Brad, and back again. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Can I please shoot the dipshidiot now?” Sachi asked from behind them.

Brad, Ellis, and Mandaline all said, “No.”

“Dammit,” she muttered.

“Good-bye, Carl,” Mandaline said. “I wish you well—”

“I don’t,” Sachi muttered.

“—but if you ever set foot in my store again, I’ll have you thrown out and a trespass warrant issued against you.”

“And I’ll get a restraining order against you,” Ellis added.

“Mandaline, you are really being unreasonable.”

She sighed and stepped back as the men released her. “Okay, boys. Have fun.”

Brad and Ellis stepped forward and closed ranks, forcing the guy backward through the front door without laying a finger on him.

“If you ever come here again,” Ellis said as he jabbed a finger in the air at him, “we won’t be as nice.”

They waited on the sidewalk, watching until the guy finally walked to a car and got in it. When they returned inside, all the customers, as well as the employees, gave the two men a rousing standing ovation.

Mandaline looked around, suddenly self-conscious and red in the face. “Holy crap,” she muttered.

“Want me to find out what the hell he really wanted?” Sachi asked.

“Go for it.”

“Finally!” She whipped her cell phone out of her pocket and rushed into the office, where she closed the door behind her.

Ellis and Brad surrounded Mandaline, hugging her. “You all right, sweetie?”

She let out a sigh. “Not really, but I will be. It’s like the crazies have all crawled out of the woodwork today. I know we just had full moon, but holy crap on a crap cracker, can’t a girl catch a break?”

Chapter Nineteen

Mandaline knew Sachi, with her vast network of friends and clients in the area from all walks of life, would most likely be able to dig something up in the next hour or so, if not sooner. She was better than a private eye.

She also didn’t want to step away from Ellis and Brad but knew if she stood there too much longer, she’d want to be boinking them there in the middle of the store.

And while that might amuse at least some of her customers and more than a few of her staff, she suspected it was against county health codes, at the very least.

“I’m going back upstairs. Now I’m wishing I hadn’t come down.” She looked up into Ellis’ blue eyes. “No offense.”

He smiled. Such a sweet, handsome smile. “None taken. So that was the ex, huh?”

“Yeah. Seeing him now, it makes me want to slap myself silly and scream, ‘What the fuck were you thinking?’”

She untangled herself from the men and kissed both of them. “Brad, please don’t let Sachi shoot him if he comes back.”

He snapped her a playful salute. “Yes, boss.”

“Oh, great. Now you’re doing it.” But she gave him a smile.

Ellis followed her upstairs. When they were alone, he touched her arm to get her attention. “Are you really okay?”

“I’m as okay as I guess I will be considering everything that’s happened in the past couple of weeks. Sachi’s going to help me go through Julie’s clothes tonight, so I asked her to stay for dinner with us, too. I hope you don’t mind.”

He smiled. “Nope. I don’t mind. I’m glad you’ve got a friend as good as her.”

“Me, too. I couldn’t have made it through this without her and Libbie. And not just them. Everyone’s been so great.”

“I’m going to change clothes and head to the house to get some things, then go to the grocery store. Anything to add to the list?”

She walked over to the counter and picked up a slip of paper. “Here. This.” She sighed. “I’d say get a bottle of wine, too, but I’m afraid I’d drink myself stinking drunk again at this point.”

“How about I promise to limit you to one glass?”

She loved his voice. Warm, tender, inviting. “That sounds like a plan.” She rose up to kiss him again, her stomach twisting, only in a good way this time. “Let’s see how tonight goes, and how I feel later. No promises. Okay?”

He pulled her to him and kissed her again, slowly, sweetly. She felt him harden against her through his slacks. “No rush. But that also sounds like a plan I can get behind.”

* * *

“Fucker lost his job a couple of weeks ago,” Sachi triumphantly announced ten minutes later after darting upstairs to find Mandaline in the warehouse.

“That didn’t take you long,” Mandaline said.

“Fired,” Sachi excitedly continued. “Rumor has it they caught him with his hands in the till, but the police weren’t involved. My guess is he found out you inherited everything from Julie, and he was looking to schmooze with you in hopes of getting back in your good graces and getting some money out of you.”

Mandaline sat on a box and stared at her. “Why wouldn’t he just go to his parents?”

Sachi let out a snort. “Seriously? You think he’s going to admit doing something like that to them?”

“True. And here I was hoping he’d had a change of heart.”

Sachi frowned. “Why the fuck would you hope that?”

Mandaline immediately realized why Sachi sounded so upset. “No, no. For the sake of his karma. Not because I have any desire to reconcile with the fucktacious twit.”

Sachi giggled. “Fucktacious. Wow. I’m stealing that one. I think I’m finally wearing off on you. I also seriously doubt there’s anything that can help Carl’s karma. Karma’s going to run right the hell over him and his mother’s dogma.”

“So who were your sources?”

She grinned. “I haf vays of makeng pipple talk.”

“No, seriously.”

“I read for a woman whose sister works over where he works. Worked,” she amended. “Said there was a huge blowup when it happened. Full outside audit of the books and everything. Rumor has it he has a set amount of time to pay everything back in full or they will prosecute.”

“That just doesn’t make sense. Carl was an idiot and a mommy’s boy, but he wasn’t a thief. Not when I knew him.”

“Well, she also told me that before he got shitcanned, maybe about a month, he went from driving a really nice Mercedes to a beater Toyota. Told everyone it got stolen and he was waiting on the insurance settlement to come through, but he didn’t want to talk about it when people asked for details.”

“The plot thickens.”

“Yep. More rumors speculated he’s racked up some pretty hefty gambling debts. They discounted drugs and alcohol simply because he still showed up for work, and his physical appearance didn’t change.”

“You missed your calling to be a cop.”

Sachi’s face darkened. “No, thank you,” she quietly said.

Mandaline blanched. “Sorry, hon.” She stood and stepped over to hug Sachi. “I wasn’t thinking when I said that. Thank you for the info. I really appreciate it. You done good.”

Sachi brightened a little. “Aw, shucks, ma’am. Just doin’ my job.” She snapped the brim of an invisible Stetson hat, hooked her thumbs in an invisible gun belt, and cowboy-waddled her way out of the warehouse.

Mandaline couldn’t help but smile. Sachi was such a mixed bag. She looked up to the ceiling and closed her eyes. Please, Goddess. She deserves happiness. She’s been through so much, done so much for others. Bless her karma with love and happiness in the best way possible, helping her and harming none.

She looked to where Sachi had disappeared through the doorway. “So mote it be,” she whispered.

* * *

Ellis returned from his errands a couple of hours later, just before they prepared to close the store for the night. He refused help schlepping the groceries and other items upstairs. Mandaline worked downstairs helping out and showing Brad their closing routine when the front doorbell tinkled.

She turned to find an elderly woman shakily tottering toward the front counter. Mandaline didn’t recognize her. She looked to be in her eighties, at least, her blue-grey hair permed. She wore pull-up jeans with an elastic waistband and a button-up shirt in a pattern that went out of style at least twenty years earlier.

“How can I help you, ma’am?” Mandaline asked, wishing she’d thought to lock the door behind the last customers to leave.

The woman smiled. “I read in the paper that y’all hunt ghosts.” She spoke with a thick Southern accent.

Mandaline forced herself to keep her smile painted on her face. She didn’t want to be rude to the woman. “Yes, we help people who think they’ve got paranormal activity.”

The woman put her hand flat on the counter, patting it as she spoke to emphasize her words. “My husband, Gerald. He’s coming to me. Every night. He died nearly a year ago. We were married over fifty years. Now, I keep telling him that enough is enough. I loved him, he loved me, but it’s time he moves on to Heaven.” She frowned. “I don’t think he’d go to Hell. He was a good man.” She smiled again. “I’d like you to tell him to move on.”

Mandaline blinked, unsure what to say. She didn’t honestly know if the woman was serious, or suffering dementia, or pulling her leg.

Brad stepped up beside Mandaline at the counter, a notepad in hand. “We can come out Wednesday night,” he brightly volunteered. “Just give me your name and address and information.”

The woman looked at Brad, her smile brightening even further. “Thank you, son.”

Her name was Marjorie Caswell and she lived over in Spring Hill. Once she left, Mandaline locked the door after her, turned the sign to Closed, and started pulling down the shades.

Brad walked over, his expression clouded. “Why do I get the impression you’re not happy with me?”

She let out a sigh. “Because, sweetie, I’m not. I would have rather you not volunteered us for tomorrow night.” She turned to look up at him.

“Are you mad at me?”

“No, I’m not mad.” She hugged him. “But next time, let me be the one to set the schedule. Okay?”

Truthfully, she didn’t want to handle any investigations right then. She’d only done Ellis and Brad’s house because Julie had marked it urgent. Fortunately, there were no other surprises in Julie’s personal appointment book.

She’d wanted to wait a couple of weeks, unless another urgent case came up and people felt in fear, to take on any more investigations.

“I’m sorry. I just wanted to help.”

“I know.” She rose up on her toes and brushed a kiss across his lips. “Help Sachi, please. I need to run upstairs for a minute.”

Truthfully, she wanted to see if Ellis needed any help. She found him with all the groceries unbagged on the counter and trying to figure out where to put them.

“Here,” she said. “Let me help.” She gently nudged him out of the way and started putting the groceries away.

“Thanks.” He gathered the plastic bags together. “Sorry.”

She turned. “Sorry? You bought all this. You don’t need to apologize to me.” She took a breath. “And, seriously, you don’t need to go with me Thursday. It’s fine. I don’t need help.”

He startled her when he grabbed her hand and spun her around.

“Why do I get the feeling that no matter what I do, I’m in a no-win situation with you?” Ellis quietly asked.

Her face heated. “That’s not true!”

“I’m really trying here, Mandaline. And I meant it when I said I’m willing to wait as long as it takes to earn your trust back. It doesn’t mean you can slam the door in my face every time I try, though. Based on what happened with Carl this afternoon, I don’t have any doubts about how you feel. But you have to let me in. Please?”

“Why is this so important to you?”

He cupped her cheeks in his palms and kissed her, deeply, passionately, making her body take on a life of its own as it pressed against him and her arms encircled him. She softly moaned, but then he lifted his lips from hers and smiled.

“Because,” he softly said, “you’re that important to me. I know I can’t protect you from every possible bad thing in this world, but whatever happened out there is one bad thing I won’t let have you.”

She nodded. “Okay.”

He smiled and kissed her again. “Good,” he said when he let her come up for air. “Then no more arguing about it. No more excuses, no more trying to shut me out. I’m not changing my stance on waiting you out, but quit fighting me and at least let me into your life.”

She rested her cheek against his chest and listened to his heart thundering in her ear. Closing her eyes, she dropped her defenses and tried to really feel him, sense his energy the way she did with clients.

All she could feel was love and sincerity.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

He kissed the top of her head. “You might not be thanking me after a few months cooped up in this apartment with us,” he teased.

* * *

Dinner was delicious. Mandaline watched as Sachi the voracious carnivore experienced nearly orgasmic bliss over Ellis’ perfectly cooked steaks.

“I’m telling you,” Sachi mumbled through a mouthful of food while jabbing her fork in the air at Mandaline, “shit or get off the pot, girlfriend. Tarzan and the chief are perfect for you.”

“You’re just a steak slut,” Mandaline teased.

“Duh.” Sachi swallowed and looked at Ellis. “We could get her drunk so you two can have your way with her.”

He laughed. “No. I promised her I’d limit her to one glass of wine.”

Sachi scowled. “You’re absolutely no fun.”

After dinner, Sachi and Mandaline retired to the bedroom with a box of plastic garbage bags. She felt a little guilty that the men had made the bed that morning, and that Brad had done such an awesome job cleaning and tidying things up. She’d rarely made her bed, especially since moving in to the apartment, and Julie had gotten by with just pulling the covers up.

With the door closed behind them, the other side of Sachi appeared. She touched Mandaline’s arm. “Where do you want to start, sweetie?”

“I’m thinking socks, underwear, and bras go in one bag. Do you think we should donate those or throw them away?”

Sachi kindly smiled. “Let’s bag them up and I’ll take care of them for you.”

At times like this, she absolutely loved Sachi to death. “Thanks.” They found them in three dresser drawers. There were a few pairs of funky, psychedelic knee-highs that Sachi fell in love with and put in her keeper pile. Mandaline ended up taking two pairs of thick, wool hiking socks that looked brand new.

The rest went in a bag that Sachi set just outside the bedroom door.

“Okay,” Sachi said. “Drawer by drawer to start?”

Mandaline nodded.

There were three dressers in the room, a large one and two smaller ones. With Pers and Damiago watching from opposite sides of the bed, it took them an hour and a bucket of tears to finish sorting everything. By the time they finished they had a keeper pile for Mandaline, a larger one for Sachi, a pile to see if any of the other women on staff wanted, and several more bags in the hall for Sachi to take to donate.

“Let’s get your clothes put up,” Sachi suggested.

“But…” She turned and stared at the tubs. What she had likely would barely fill the large dresser, and that included the items in her keep pile. “Okay.”

That took another half hour, and the room looked much larger with most of the tubs unpacked, excluding one of costumes and a few heavy winter items.

“Now the guys can use those tubs and the other dressers,” Sachi said. “You won’t have half your living room taken up with their crap.”

They tackled the closet next. There were a few things Mandaline wanted, and still more for Sachi. By the time they finished, Mandaline had drained her wine glass and was sitting on the bed with Sachi and sobbing on her shoulder.

Sachi let out a sigh. “It’s okay, sweetie. It’s healthy to let it out.”

“I feel like I’ve done nothing but cry lately.”

“Well, that’s because you’ve done a lot of crying.” She hugged her and stood. “Stay here, I’ll be right back.” She grabbed the empty wine glass and headed to the kitchen. She returned a few minutes later with a smile and a full wine glass. “Here.” She handed the glass to Mandaline. “I think you need it tonight. I told them it was for me. And the boys are loading all the bags in my car for me. Drink up.”

Mandaline quickly gulped down the wine. When the guys finished loading the bags for her, Sachi called them into the bedroom. “We left those two dressers empty, and there’s plenty of room in the closet, too.”

“Thanks, Sachi,” Brad said.

Ellis nodded. “Thank you.”

“No problem. And with that, I bid you adieu for the night.” She gave everyone a last round of hugs before heading down the stairs.

Ellis smiled and walked over to the bed. “So Sachi was your wine beard tonight, huh?”

She snorted a laugh. “Sorry. She made me.”

Brad stretched. “I don’t begrudge you. Not with what you’ve had to do. I’m going to grab some of our stuff and start unpacking it.” He returned to the living room, where she heard him rummaging around.

Ellis sat next to her on the bed. “You all right?”

She nodded and leaned against him. He draped his arm around her shoulders. It felt so good, so right nestled up against him.

“Can we still have our movie and snuggle night?” she softly asked.

He kissed the top of her head, another gesture she’d quickly come to love about him. “Of course we can.”

“I’m going to grab a shower while you guys work on unpacking.” She stood, wobbling a little, but didn’t fall over, which she considered a very good sign. It took her three tries to remember in which drawers she’d put things before she had a pair of underwear and a large T-shirt to sleep in.

Maybe I won’t need either of them.

She stepped into the shower and let the hot water run over her. She wondered if the temporary peace she felt was due to getting that emotional task out of the way or the two glasses of wine.

Either way, she didn’t care. For the past several days she’d felt like she was running in place emotionally.

She hated that.

When she got out of the shower, it was nearly eleven o’clock and the men had finished putting away as much as they could. The living room looked a lot better, although there was still a pile of things in the corner.

“I thought I saw a couple of dressers over there,” Brad said, pointing at the doorway to the warehouse. “If you don’t mind, I could dig them out tomorrow and move them so they’re along the wall by the door. We don’t mind going over there to get stuff.”

“Sure. That sounds good.” She grabbed her pillow from the couch, then went into the bedroom where she pulled down the covers and crawled into the middle of the king-sized bed.

For the first time, Mandaline thanked Julie for it.

The men had both changed into shorts and snuggled along either side of her.

“So what do you feel like watching?” Ellis asked. He held up the remote. “Or do you want to pick?”

She shook her head. “I don’t want to think tonight. I don’t want anything sad. You pick.”

“I’d say cartoons,” Brad suggested with a grin, “but Ellis isn’t a fan.”

Mandaline giggled. “Aww, but he has other redeeming features.” Yep, the wine is kicking in now.

“That’s not true,” Ellis said. “About the cartoons, not the redeeming features,” he clarified. “I love Scooby-Doo and The Flintstones. I’m just not a fan of anime like he is.”

“You pick,” she insisted again. The heat from both their bodies was proving very distracting to her concentration, maybe even more than the effects of the wine. She grabbed Brad’s arm and draped it around her waist as she rolled onto her side and threw her arm over Ellis’ chest.

He looked down at her, a playful smile on his face. “You comfy?” She didn’t miss the hard bulge expanding against the front of his shorts. She felt another hard bulge pressing against the seam of her ass through her underwear as Brad snuggled close.

“Uh-huh.” She closed her eyes and pressed her face against his warm shoulder. “Just pick something.” A large yawn broke through.

“Okay.”

* * *

Brad lifted his head as Ellis channel surfed. He looked at Mandaline. “She fell asleep,” he whispered.

Ellis nodded. “I figured she would.”

He looked at Ellis. “You realize you need to back off, right?”

“You lost me.”

He tried again. “You need to quit wearing the world on your shoulders. I’m not going to drop dead if you take a few minutes for yourself here or there.”

A stubborn frown crossed his face.

He didn’t want to wake Mandaline, but he wanted this out in the open. “I can’t begin to tell you how much I love and appreciate you and everything you’ve done for me. But for this to work, you have to learn to work as an equal partner now. Everything’s going to be okay.” He smiled. “Now you’ve got backup.” He nodded toward her. “With her. Seriously, it’s time for you to breathe and relax. We will all take care of each other. Okay?”

He finally nodded. He was sure this wasn’t the last time they’d have this conversation, but he was glad Ellis finally seemed open to having it. Maybe he could get his friend to finally relax and enjoy life again.

With that settled, Brad tried to temper his own sexual frustration, knowing that was selfish as well as childish. “I have to admit it’s not exactly how I hoped the evening would end.”

Ellis looked over at him. “I’m just glad she’s going to be sleeping in bed with us. I got tired real fast of waking up to make you roll over because you were spooning me.”

Brad stuck his tongue out at him. “You didn’t have to pinch my nipple that one time.”

“You wouldn’t roll over. Sorry, buddy, I love you, but I don’t want your woody pressing against my ass.”

“Yeah, well, this woody isn’t going away anytime soon on its own.”

“Go rub one out in the bathroom. Just don’t wake her up. She needs the sleep.” Ellis settled on Spaceballs and put the remote down. “I’ll be taking a turn of my own later anyway.”

Brad carefully extricated himself from the bed and headed to the bathroom.

* * *

Ellis somehow managed to stifle his laugh at the pout on Brad’s face as he left the bedroom. No, this wasn’t how he’d hoped to spend the evening, but it wasn’t the worst-case scenario, either.

Worst-case, he’d worried they’d spend the evening with her crying on their shoulders after completing the emotional task of sorting through her friend’s belongings.

Not that he would have minded doing it, but it ripped him apart that he couldn’t make her happy, couldn’t take the pain away for her.

Couldn’t make love to her to distract her and bring some joy to her life.

He’d even picked up a couple of boxes of condoms and a bottle of lube at the store, just in case.

Not like they’ll go bad.

After the incident with Carl, he could understand why she was nervous about getting into another relationship. Especially since he’d been an ass to her.

And he knew Brad was right, that it was time to ease up. He just wasn’t very good at not taking charge, of not feeling responsible.

Maybe together the two of them could help him learn how to relax.

He tipped his head to the side, so his cheek rested against Mandaline’s hair, and closed his eyes to listen to the sound of her slow and steady breathing.

One step closer. I promise I won’t hurt you again. And I damn sure won’t let anything else hurt you if I have anything to say about it.

Chapter Twenty

Mandaline opened her eyes to clear, blue sky. The warm sun soaked into her skin. She knew she lay in soft grass because she could feel it against her arms, smell the fresh scent.

“Beautiful day, isn’t it?”

She sat up. Julie smiled at her from where she also lay in the grass, just a few feet away.

Mandaline truly didn’t know what to say.

Julie cocked her head to look at her, but didn’t sit up. “How long will you keep putting off the inevitable?”

“Are you a dream, or are you really here with me?”

Julie shrugged. “Does it matter? All you have to do is believe. It’s as easy as that.”

“I love you, sister.”

Sadness washed across Julie’s features. “I love you, too. That’s why you need to quit stalling.”

Mandaline didn’t need signal flares to know what she meant. “How am I supposed to do that?”

Julie finally sat up. “You are entrenched in this false belief that following your heart with them is somehow disrespectful to my memory. That’s just bullshit you’re using to allow your fears to rule you.”

“How am I supposed to do this without you?” Hot tears slid down her face. She hugged her knees to her chest and slowly rocked in place. “If I fuck up, I’m all alone.”

“No, you’re not alone. You have Ellis and Brad, and Sachi, and Libbie, and all the rest. They will be there for you. You won’t fuck things up.”

“I’ve never run a business before.”

“This isn’t about the shop. And let’s face it, you were doing far more of the daily paperwork than I was there at the end.” She cocked her head at her again. “Here’s the thing. It’s not your grief keeping me here. It’s your fear. I’m stuck here, unable to move on, until you finally move on.”

Mandaline looked around for the first time. They were sitting outside a house she didn’t recognize. The old house looked to be in dire need of TLC. An old Victorian-style wooden home, in the middle of several acres. “Where are we?”

Julie raised an eyebrow at her. “I think you know.”

“Sami’s house?”

Julie nodded. She leaned over and rested her hand on Mandaline’s arm. Her touch felt solid, corporeal. “I’m not in any pain. I’m actually eager to see what lies ahead. But I can’t. You’ve bound yourself to me too strongly.”

“Why did you talk to Brad and not me for so long?”

She smiled. “I needed you to know you couldn’t give up on them. If I hadn’t, you would have blown Ellis out of the water, slammed the door on the possibility of loving them, and walked away to be miserable for the rest of your life. Besides, Ellis and Brad need you. And you need them.”

The scene changed again and they were in the store. It was nighttime outside, and only some of the lights were on inside.

“She will need them, too.” Sachi appeared in the hallway, running, an expression of terror on her face. “Not the way you do.”

Before Mandaline could ask about that, the scene shifted once more. Now they were staring at a TV screen. The images flashing quickly across it were of news stories about Julie’s murder, shots of the store, including her and Sachi and Mina working behind the counter, Sachi getting into it with a paparazzi film crew who wanted into the shop and she flipped them off, even more footage Mandaline wasn’t even aware had been taken, followed by images from the tree memorial.

“Lots of people are watching right now. People you don’t even know about.”

“Why did Carl really show up yesterday?”

Julie looked away. Without a word she waved her arm in a wide arc. The scene changed. They stood on the sidewalk outside a McDonald’s in Dade City. Inside, at a booth by a window, sat Carl and the reporter that had showed up at the store earlier that day.

“That motherfucker!” Mandaline screamed.

Julie turned to her and placed both her arms on Mandaline’s shoulders. Now they stood outside of Ellis and Brad’s house. “This is your home. With them. Their hearts are yours. All you have to do is quit fighting yourself, get out of your own way, and let yourself feel pleasure and joy.” She sadly smiled. “It’s only disrespecting my memory if you continue martyring yourself for no good reason.”

She pulled Mandaline in for a hug. Mandaline could even smell the scent of Julie’s strawberry shampoo, a bottle of which stood, half used, in the bathtub because Mandaline couldn’t bring herself to get rid of it.

“Please let me go,” Julie whispered. “Love me and remember me, but let me go. I’ll always be around in your heart and soul when you truly need me. But right now, you need them. And they need you. Especially Ellis. Just…believe.”

Mandaline’s eyes popped open to find the first edges of morning’s grey light trying to work their way through the bedroom window. On her left, Brad slept, his head tucked against her shoulder, his handsome lips slightly parted.

To her right, Ellis lay on his left side, his fingers laced through hers. His eyes opened and met her gaze.

“Good morning,” he whispered.

She rolled on top of him and kissed him, hard, before she could lose her nerve and talk herself out of it. She didn’t give a shit about morning breath or grabbing a shower. She wanted him. Them.

And she wanted them now.

He briefly resisted before his hands settled on her hips and he returned her kiss. She felt his cock harden between them and she wanted it inside her, right then.

His hands traveled up her back, pushing her T-shirt up, until she had to sit up and pull it off. She dropped it on the floor and bent down to kiss him again, but he grabbed her wrists and stared up at her.

“I’m not looking for a quick romance,” he said. “I’m looking for life. For him and for me.”

She nodded. “Yes.”

His eyes searched her face. “We can work out all the legal details later,” he said. “I’ll sign whatever Grover puts in front of us to protect you and your assets.”

She shook her head. “I don’t need or want that. I trust you. Both of you.”

“But you’re worth a lot of money.”

“Are you going to ask for a disclaimer every time we make love? Because if you are, that’s going to get really old really fast.”

“Oh my god, dude, shut up and scrump her already,” Brad mumbled from beside them.

They both looked over at him. He peeled open one sweet brown eye. “If you don’t hurry up, I’m going to take her away from you and you’ll have to wait until tonight when you get back from work.”

Mandaline and Ellis looked at each other and laughed. Ellis reached up, grabbed her hair, and pulled her mouth down to his.

Her nipples rubbed against the dusting of hair on his chest as he kissed her, adding erotic friction to the sizzle already rippling through her body. His cock pressed between her legs, against her clit, through the fabric of her underwear and his shorts.

She lifted her head. “Both,” she whispered. “I want both of you. Now.”

Brad, apparently now wide awake, threw back the covers and dove for the side table. He grabbed condoms and a bottle of lube they’d apparently stashed there. He leaned in and kissed her. “Get those panties off now,” he ordered.

His commanding tone sent yet another wave of heat through her, stealing her breath. He jumped out of bed and rushed from the room, returning seconds later with a towel and minus his shorts. She rose up to push her panties down her thighs, but Brad pushed her off Ellis, onto her side, and yanked them off her.

“I want to do something first,” he said, his tone growly with desire. He pushed her thighs apart and dove between them, unerringly finding her clit with his tongue.

When she opened her mouth to let out a moan of pleasure, Ellis covered her mouth with his and swallowed her cries. There was nothing slow or gentle about Brad’s motions as he eagerly flicked at her clit with his tongue, relentlessly, determined.

Ellis grabbed her hands and raised them over her head, gently pinning her in place and setting something inside her heart and soul free as her need took over. She rocked her pussy against Brad’s mouth, wanting and needing even more.

Reading her body, he slowly worked two fingers inside her pussy, filling her and driving her close to the edge. Just as her orgasm was ready to break, he stopped.

She let out a desperate cry.

“Don’t worry,” he said with a laugh as he grabbed something. “I just want you ready for the fucking you are about to receive.” She tried to lift her head but Ellis kept her pinned, distracting her with his kisses, his tongue fucking her the way she wished their cocks were fucking her.

She felt something cool against her ass and realized what Brad was doing. Tendrils of worry started to fill her when she realized she was about to fuck both of them at the same time and didn’t know if her body could handle the fantasy. Then his mouth returned to her clit, rendering her unable to think coherently. He slowly pressed one finger into her ass, the delicious things he was doing with his mouth distracting her from the strange sensation of her rim being stretched. She’d had anal play before, mostly with toys, but it’d been a long time.

And both these men were bigger than the toys she’d ever used back there.

He kept her coasting, surfing the edge of release, refusing to let her fall over as he added a second finger to her ass. She whined, at first uncomfortable with the intrusion until his mouth on her clit once again distracted her.

Ellis switched her wrists to one hand and used the other to begin gently rolling first one nipple, then the other, between his fingers, back and forth and adding to the erotic torment.

She wanted release. Right then. But Brad wasn’t about to grant it yet. He backed off again as he worked a third finger into her tight ring of muscle. This time she froze, trying to breathe through her kiss with Ellis as the pinching burn overrode the pleasure center of her brain.

Brad began flicking at her clit again with his tongue, waiting until her body relaxed and she started moaning again to make more progress in her ass. It wasn’t until she felt him pick up speed with his hand that she realized he was fucking her ass with it, loosening her body. Then he added his thumb into her pussy and lightly bit down on her clit.

She screamed into Ellis’ mouth as her release hit, molten pleasure surging through her. His hand clamped down on her wrists as her body arched against them. She was vaguely aware of Brad’s hand fucking her, hard, slamming against her even as she tried to fuck herself more deeply onto it.

He finally lifted his head from her pussy, but kept fucking her with his hand, her body refusing to stop coming. “Good girl,” he whispered. “That’s going to be our cocks here in a minute.”

Ellis lifted his mouth from hers and stared down at her with his sweet blue eyes. “You’re ours,” he said. “All ours. I promise you, we’ll love you and take care of you.”

She let out another cry as, somehow, Brad’s hand hit all the right spots and triggered another, smaller orgasm.

Ellis smiled down at her. “That’s right. Let him make you come for us. Let go to us.”

Mandaline didn’t know if she could survive it. Even with a vibrator she’d never come this long or this hard before. And though she rationally knew she could demand they stop and let her up, it was the last thing she wanted them to do.

Then Brad moved, his hand disappearing. She gasped, startled as the sensation ceased. She tried to look down her body at him. Ellis moved in again, this time taking one nipple between his lips as he pinched the other one. She threw her head back and let out another moan.

She felt the bed moving and heard a soft noise, like plastic tearing. Then Ellis released her. Before she could process that, Brad had grabbed her by the waist, flipped her over, and pulled her up to her hands and knees.

“Hold still, baby,” Brad ordered, his voice still tinged with the commanding tone that apparently drilled right through to her clit. She felt him spread more lube between her ass cheeks, and then the sheathed head of his cock pressed against her rim.

He grabbed her hips. “Take it slow, baby. Fuck yourself back on me.”

She did, letting out a soft whine as his cock stretched her ass even more than his fingers had. Ellis reached beneath her and took both her nipples between his fingers again, turning the pinch in her ass into pleasure.

“That’s it,” Brad encouraged as she slowly started rocking back and forth, impaling herself deeper on his shaft. “Take it slow. Enjoy it.”

She closed her eyes, head drooping as she imagined how she must look and not caring. Wanting to feel his entire length buried inside her, she slammed back against him, gasping as the stretching once again turned to pleasure. When she tried to move, he dug his fingers into her hips and held her still with his thighs pressed against hers. “No,” he said, his voice now sounding tense. “Stop moving or I’ll blow. Ellis, get in there.”

She opened her eyes to see him yanking off his shorts and rolling a condom onto his own huge shaft. As Brad pulled her up to a kneeling position with her body pressed against his, he spread his legs, forcing hers farther apart. Ellis slid his legs under them until she was positioned over his cock. Working together, with Ellis grabbing her waist and Brad still holding her hips, they lowered her onto his cock, sinking it deep inside her ready cunt.

She let out another soft cry as his shaft filled her, stretching her pussy almost beyond her limits. Brad pushed her down onto Ellis and took a long, slow stroke out and in her ass. Her body shivered involuntarily at the pleasure, the feel of both their cocks buried inside her.

“More,” she whispered. “Please!”

“Ellis,” Brad said.

Ellis took several strokes of his own, slow, Mandaline unable to rock her body against them because of their firm grip on her. They were totally in control.

Brad folded his body over hers and bit down, hard, on the back of her shoulder, the delicious pain only adding to the pleasure. “Baby,” he hoarsely said, “we’ve never done this together with a woman. This is the first time, and you’re the only one we ever will do this with for the rest of our lives. You’re ours.”

“Ours,” Ellis echoed from below her.

She didn’t want to talk, she wanted to fuck! “Please,” she whined.

“Say it,” Brad said. “Tell us what you want.”

“Please fuck me,” she begged. “Please!”

“That’s not what we want to hear,” Ellis said.

She forced her eyes open to look down at him, then glanced over her shoulder at Brad. “I love you,” she whispered. “Both of you. I want both of you.”

“Forever?” Brad asked.

She nodded, her eyes falling closed again. Overwhelming need overrode everything else, her fear, her worries, her doubt. “Forever.”

Ellis reached up and cupped her cheeks. “Open your eyes, baby.”

She forced her lids to obey, barely.

“I’m not perfect, and I can’t promise I won’t fuck up again. But I love you and I promise I’ll try to be everything you need me to be. Can you trust me?”

She nodded. “I know. And I do.” She tried squirming against them, but Brad’s fingers dug in even more, holding her still.

“I promise I’ll never ask you to change for me,” Ellis swore. “Ever. I love you the way you are.”

“And I’m a fairly broken toy,” Brad murmured in her ear. “You okay with that?”

She looked over her shoulder at him, meeting his brown gaze. “I love you. Both of you. Just the way you are.”

Brad released her hips and reached around her. One hand found her clit, the other a nipple. “Fuck us, baby,” he muttered in her ear. “Come for us like this.”

She braced her hands on Ellis. He reached up and steadied her, his hands warm and secure and cupping around her sides. She closed her eyes and began rocking against them, unsure of the tempo at first and gasping as Ellis bottomed out inside her cunt. As she grew more sure of herself, her juices flowed and soon she was slamming her body against them.

“Do it, baby,” Ellis encouraged. “Make the vision come true.”

It felt like the seams of her soul ripped apart. Her pussy and ass both clamped down on their cocks as her orgasm swept through her, strengthening it. Brad’s fingers quickly stroked her clit which only intensified the sensation.

She cried out, sobbing as she dug her fingers into Ellis’ shoulders. She moved harder, faster, wishing the explosion would never end.

“Yes!” Brad gasped from behind her. She felt his cock spasming inside her ass, growing harder as his own release closed in.

Beneath her, Ellis’ cock hardened inside her cunt. She let out one last cry as the final wave crashed over her, both men grunting and moving now, too, adding their release to hers.

They all collapsed, Brad on top of her, gasping and panting. After a minute or so, from below her Ellis said, “Um, can we roll to our sides? I can’t breathe.”

“Sorry, dude,” Brad said. She felt him grab her and as one, they all flopped onto their sides, their cocks still inside her.

She let out a tired laugh.

“What’s so funny, baby?” Ellis asked. He kissed her.

“Death by sexual smooshing,” she joked.

Brad nibbled along her shoulder, his cock still twitching inside her ass. “You get five minutes. I know that’s how long it’ll take me to recover. Then I’m fucking that sweet pussy of yours.”

She shivered in his arms. “Okay!”

Ellis carefully withdrew from her. “I might need a couple more minutes than that.”

She licked her lips. “I can help.”

He untangled himself from her and kissed her. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

Ellis returned from the bathroom a moment later, his cock already half stiff. Brad pulled out and went to the bathroom to clean up while Ellis slid into bed with her. He sat up against the headboard while she buried her face in his lap and engulfed his cock between her lips.

The low moan of pleasure he let out buzzed straight through her heart. Yes, she was madly in love with these two guys. She no longer cared how irrational or crazy it was. It felt like they were meant to be there, in her bed, in her heart.

In her soul.

He plunged his hands into her hair, gently fisting it and taking control. “Baby,” he muttered, “you might find yourself giving me lunchtime blow jobs for a while. I can barely look at you and I get hard.”

She let out a soft moan at the mental image of spending her lunchtimes spit-roasted between the two hunks. That only made his cock grow harder between her lips.

Brad returned from the bathroom. “Holy hell, that’s a hot sight,” he said. He returned to bed and quickly rolled a condom onto his shaft. “Come here and ride me, baby.”

Ellis used her hair to pull her off his cock when she didn’t want to let go. She straddled Brad, pleasure washing over her as his cock filled her pussy.

He made her hold still. “Sit up, baby.”

Ellis knelt behind her. He cupped her breasts and played with her nipples while Brad worked his own form of magick on her clit again. His long, slender fingers skillfully plucked at her swollen nub, driving her closer to release. Just as she thought she was close to coming, he stopped again.

He laughed at her frustrated moan. “Hold on to it, baby. Let Ellis onto the ride.” He pulled her down to his chest and kissed her as behind her, Ellis donned another condom and added lube to her well-fucked ass.

She froze as he pressed the head of his cock against her hole. “You all right?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said. “Please, fuck me!”

“We will,” Brad said. “Believe me. You’re going to be one well-fucked little witch.”

Ellis took his time, teasing her, slowly thrusting and withdrawing and driving her need even higher. She’d never come this many times in one lovemaking session, or this hard.

I was made for them.

The thought made her shiver. They were perfect for her. No lover’s body had ever felt this good, this right, or made her own body respond like this.

When his thighs were pressed against her ass, Ellis grabbed her hips. “Okay, baby. Make your magick.”

She rose up on her arms, a little shaky now, and slowly started moving. Her swollen clit brushed against Brad with every stroke. Tiny sparks of pleasure fired with every contact, until she found exactly the right angle to get the most pleasure and began rocking back and forth against them in earnest.

“Hold still and let her do it,” Brad murmured beneath her. “Don’t wait on us, baby,” he told her. “You come, we’ll follow.”

She closed her eyes, swirling pleasure taking hold and growing, blooming, filling her body. With her concentration drawing tight and close around her release, she no longer cared what this meant, how they got to this point. All she cared about was the pleasure their bodies had unlocked inside her.

The peace that being with them brought to her soul.

Harder, faster, until she let out another cry and felt her body squeezing their cocks again. Each wave of pleasure pulled her deeper and deeper until her world consisted of nothing but the energy of the three of them making love.

From a long distance, she heard Ellis speak. “That’s it, baby. Take what you need.”

She moved, not stopping, knowing she wanted them to both get off like this and complete the circle they’d started.

Brad also sounded a long way away. “You beautiful woman,” he said. “Fuck us as long as you need.”

One final explosion impossibly ripped through her. “Do it!” she cried out, knowing her strength waned.

Together the men moved, their cocks fucking her hard and fast as they caught up and once again added their releases to hers. Their cries mixed with hers, their energy and hers flowing through her as she felt white heat flash through her spirit.

Spent, they all collapsed again, this time without managing to squash Brad in the process.

“Oh, man!” Ellis breathed against the nape of her neck. “That was…” He didn’t finish.

“That was the best two orgasms of my life,” Brad said. “Ever.”

“Ever,” Ellis echoed.”

Mandaline didn’t open her eyes. She snuggled between them, enjoying the feel of their cocks softening inside her. “Ever,” she agreed.

Chapter Twenty-One

There wasn’t enough room for all three of them in the shower. Brad made an executive decision. “I’ll go start coffee and walk Pers,” he said after kissing her. “You two get in the shower. And I’m noting that our master bath will have a huge-ass shower, as well as a soaking tub large enough for three.”

Ellis smiled down at her and pulled her to him for one more kiss. “I guess we’re not two bachelors anymore,” he said.

She draped her arms around him, loving the feel of his body against hers. “Nope.”

“Last chance to back out.”

She let out a laugh. “That would be hell no. If not for my own reasons, for the fact that Sachi would turn her skeet gun on me in total frustration.”

Ellis had already eaten, dressed, and left for the office when Brad grabbed his shower. Mandaline had dressed and was heading downstairs when she heard the back door open.

Sachi frowned when she spotted Mandaline. Then she froze, a beaming grin spreading across her cheeks as she let out an ear-piercing squee and rushed Mandaline. She dropped her purse and threw her arms around Mandaline, practically knocking them both to the ground as she jumped up and down.

“Oh my Goddess! You finally got off your ass and did it! Oh my Goddess! I’m so happy for you! Where are those boys? I want to hug them!”

Mandaline finally untangled herself from her ebullient friend. “Yes, I got laid. I’m glad you’re happy. Ellis already left for work and Brad’s in the shower. Can we please not make a big deal about this in front of everyone?”

Sachi put on an atomic-powered pout. “Aww. That means I have to cancel the ‘Mandaline Got Laid’ cake?”

Mandaline rolled her eyes. “I’ll let you make me a cup of cappuccino. How’s that sound?”

Sachi grinned. “Deal. “

* * *

Ellis found himself having trouble getting into his morning routine. And not because he’d finally gotten laid for the first time in too long.

Only moments before Mandaline awoke and rolled on top of him, he’d awoken from a disturbing dream.

Making love to Mandaline had definitely been a great way to get the dream out of his head, for a while. This dream had been so vivid, felt so real that he’d expected to open his eyes and find himself in his own bedroom at the house.

In his dream, Julie was alive. She went to his closet and without a word, somehow opened his gun safe and brought out his gun.

She’d held it up with both hands, a stern expression on her face. “Keep it close.”

“Why?”

She nodded toward his bed. “Believe.”

He’d turned to see an over-under shotgun lying on his bed. A gun he’d never seen before.

“I don’t understand.” But when he’d turned back to her, she was gone. And so was the shotgun on his bed.

That was when he’d woke up.

Fortunately, making love to Mandaline pushed all that right out of his brain. Now that it was back, however, he couldn’t quit thinking about it.

* * *

Mandaline had returned from picking up their daily order from Libbie’s bakery. There were customers in the store, but none at the counter.

“I had another dream,” she softly admitted to Sachi. “This morning. Right before I woke up.”

“What?”

“About Julie. I think I know why Carl was really here.” As she told Sachi the details, her friend’s face grew hard and stony.

“Boy, would I love to get that asshole alone for a few minutes.”

“Don’t tell the guys.”

“Why not? Sic your legal beagle on the assholes.”

“Because I don’t have any proof. I go in front of a judge and say that I found out because of a dream, then it definitely will get plastered all over the tabloids.”

“True.” She chewed on an already short thumbnail. “Hexing is looking better every day, you know that?”

“No.”

“At least let me do a protection spell for you. Bind both of them, keep them the hell away from us and here.”

“I don’t know if that’ll work against assholes like them.”

“Can’t hurt.” She brightly grinned. “And if that doesn’t work, I can always offer to take them skeet shooting with me. Alone. In the woods. At night.”

* * *

Mandaline had an errand to run that morning. A few minutes before ten, she excused herself and tried to make it out the door without playing twenty questions with Sachi.

No such luck.

“Where are you going?” Sachi asked.

“I need to go somewhere.”

“You’re not taking your car?”

Mandaline felt heat fill her face. “I’ll be right back.”

“So why all the secrecy?” Sachi wore a playful grin.

Mandaline knew her friend was enjoying the hell out of this. “No secrecy.”

“Then where are you going?”

“I’m going to fire you.”

Sachi snorted. “No you won’t. You luuuuubs me.” She turned to head back to the counter. “Tell the doc I said hi.”

Mandaline stopped in her tracks. “How’d you know that?”

She laughed. “He called this morning to confirm your appointment. Duh.”

Dr. Smith was one of those rare, dying breeds of small-town family doctors who might even be persuaded to make house calls on occasion. His nurse only worked part-time in the summer, when business was at its slowest. So it wasn’t uncommon to find him manning the phone at the front desk when someone walked in for their appointment.

Which was where Mandaline found him when she entered his waiting room. Alone in the office, he looked up at her arrival. “There you are. Let’s go back to my office.” She followed him back and sat at the chair in front of his desk. “Now, what can I do for you today, Mandaline?”

She felt her face heat. I’m really getting tired of that. “I need a prescription.”

“You’ll need to be a little more specific.”

She sighed. “I need a prescription for birth control pills,” she mumbled.

He chuckled kindly. “May I ask why you didn’t call your ob-gyn for that?”

“She’s booked up until next month for non-emergencies. I need them a little sooner than that.”

“Ah. You do realize you should take a full cycle of them before you can really consider yourself ‘safe.’ In other words, use a backup form of protection.”

She nodded.

He reached for a file at the corner of his desk. He was her primary care physician, and had been since she was a teenager. She didn’t always get to see him every year, and she didn’t even have health insurance at the moment, but she also didn’t have to pay hundreds of dollars for an office visit, either.

He glanced through her file. “I need to get current weight and vitals on you. When did you last see your ob-gyn?”

“Last year.”

“Did you get your annual and a pap smear?”

“All normal.”

He nodded. “Good.” He stood, carrying the folder. “Follow me to my lair and let’s get you checked out.”

Fifteen minutes later she left his office with a proclamation of good health, a script for birth control pills, and thirty dollars poorer for the office visit. She walked over several blocks to the closest drugstore to get the prescription filled before returning to the store a little before eleven.

Sachi was setting up a reading appointment for a new customer. When she finished with that, she followed Mandaline into the office. “Well?”

“You realize talking about this makes me very uncomfortable, right?”

“Duh. Why do you think I do it?”

“You’re lucky I lubs you.”

“Yeah, yeah.” She glanced out the door to ensure no one was within hearing distance. She lowered her voice, her expression momentarily turning serious. “You all right?”

“I need serious Sachi to stay here for a moment.”

Sachi made a motion of crossing her heart with her right index finger.

“I’m scared.”

She smiled. Not her rapacious, teasing smile either, but a kind, gentle smile. “That’s good. It’s healthy. I’d be equally worried about you if you’d dove into this headfirst without a second thought.”

“You would?”

She tilted her head the other direction. “Duh. Your aura looked so gorgeous this morning when I walked in. Brilliant, pure, clear, beautiful pink. You’ve been grey and cloudy and so, so sad for such a long time. I don’t even mean since Julie…” She cleared her throat. “Your aura’s been getting cloudier and darker, like aquarium water no one bothered to change, for a couple of years now. I’ve been really worried about you. Fish go belly up if they stay in that crap too long, and I couldn’t imagine that it was doing your soul any good either.”

She sat back and stared at her friend. “Why didn’t you say anything?” she quietly asked.

“Honey, what was I supposed to say? I wouldn’t have been telling you anything you didn’t already know deep in your heart. Why rub your face in it? It was easier for me to play comic relief sidekick whenever the opportunity arose.”

“You’re damn good at that.”

She grinned. “Why thank you. Sarcasm is just one of the many services I offer.” She snapped her fingers. “Oh! Almost forgot. Jenny Nyland is coming by later to get you to notarize some sports camp forms for her.” Mandaline had become a Notary so she could perform weddings for clients, but also signed forms for friends when they needed it.

A thought passed through Mandaline’s mind. “Why do you think Julie didn’t have me witness those forms for her?”

Sachi tilted her head again, back to serious. “Why do you think? For starters, she left things to you. That’s probably a conflict or something. And because she probably didn’t want you to know. My guess is that, based on her taking the paperwork with her, she suspected something bad might happen and she wanted her ducks in a row in case they did. And if they didn’t, you’d never be the wiser.”

Mandaline thought back to the day before Julie died. “She saw something,” she told Sachi. “She had a vision and wouldn’t tell me what.”

Sachi slowly nodded. “Yeah. Probably. She was always good like that. Prescient flashes. Spooky good, even in my book.”

“She still went. And wouldn’t let me go with her.”

“Don’t go there again,” Sachi warned. “Past is past. Written. Done. Unchangeable. She made her choices. She also likely saved two lives. Maybe three by not letting you come with.”

“Sounds like you’re starting to warm to Sami and Matt.”

Sachi suddenly found her cuticles very interesting. “I’ve held too many grudges in my life,” she quietly said. “Some deserved, some not. This is one I know I have to let go because they don’t deserve it. They deserve my friendship. That’s one way I can honor Julie’s spirit.” She gave Mandaline a quick hug and darted out the door.

Once again, Sachi the enigma had briefly appeared. Sachi the wounded spirit. Sachi the lonely one.

“Hey!” Mandaline called out after her.

She stuck her head in the doorway. “Yeah, boss?”

“You shooting tonight?”

“Six rounds. I reloaded after I got home yesterday. Why?”

“No reason. Just wondering. Don’t forget we’ve got that investigation tomorrow night.”

Sachi cocked an eyebrow at her but gave her a thumbs-up before she headed back to the counter.

Mandaline turned to the computer to do some work. She knew if Sachi was going shooting tonight, it meant she would unwind and come in tomorrow relaxed and back to her usual playful, snarky self.

It also meant Mandaline wouldn’t feel the slightest bit guilty about locking the doors as soon as she could and kicking everyone out so she could have alone time with her men.

* * *

Mandaline went upstairs to find Brad had been busy in the warehouse. Wearing nothing but shorts, and with sweat pouring down his handsome body, he’d dug out two dressers and rearranged the furniture and boxes enough to give him a small, clear working space.

She leaned against the doorway. “Wow. You’ve been busy.”

He walked over and leaned in for a kiss. “I won’t give you a hug. Don’t want to get you all sweaty.”

She grinned. “I don’t mind sweaty sometimes.”

He laughed. “This is the bad kind of sweaty. I wanted to make an area to work so you didn’t have to go through everything just for me.”

“I appreciate it, but I still have to sort through everything at some point.”

“I don’t want to make more work for you.”

“I think I need more work right now.” She let out a sigh. “Keeps my mind occupied.”

He touched his nose to hers. “I can think of plenty of ways to keep your mind, and body, occupied.”

“I’m sure you can. After the dry spell I’ve had, you never know. Might be you two asking for mercy in a few days.” She reached down to the front of his shorts, where a large bulge had grown. Cupping him through the fabric, she found him very hard and ready. She stared into his sweet brown eyes. “Mercy, mercy, mercy,” she teased, squeezing him with each word.

His brow furrowed. “You’re playing with fire.”

She stuck her tongue out at him. That quickly devolved into a startled shriek as he threw her over his shoulder in one sudden movement. Kicking the warehouse door closed behind him, he carried her to the bedroom as she laughed.

“Warned you, baby,” he said. He pulled the bedroom door closed behind them before dumping her on the bed.

She pushed herself up on her elbows. “Thought you said you were all sweaty?”

He pulled his shorts down and off. His stiff cock sprang free. “I am.” He knelt over her and pushed her back down onto the bed. “And soon, you will be, too, little witch.” He leaned in and kissed her, hard, taking her breath away.

He also moved fast. Before she could recover from that, he’d turned around, pulled her skirt up, and yanked her underwear down so he could bury his face between her thighs.

She let out a loud moan as he shoved her thighs apart, his tongue quickly finding her clit. He spread her lips with his fingers, completely exposing her to his eager mouth.

Looking up, she realized his cock bobbed between his legs, mere inches above her mouth.

She didn’t care how sweaty he was. She wiggled an arm free and grabbed his cock, guiding it down to her lips.

His turn to let out a moan. As she swallowed his shaft, the sound of his pleased noises reverberated through her pussy. He lowered his body onto hers, pinning her in place. All she could do was lick and suck while he licked and sucked her. And when he pulled the first orgasm from her and she tried to move away, he wouldn’t let her escape, forcing her to lie there and let him quickly draw a second orgasm out of her even as his shaft stubbornly remained hard and ready between her lips.

Not that she didn’t enjoy sucking him, because she did.

She just wanted that cock inside her, fucking her.

He laughed at her plaintive whines after orgasm number three left her breathless and shivering under the weight of his body. He lifted his head. “Oh, baby, you just stay right where you are. I’m not nearly done with you yet.”

She let out another whine as he once again began licking her, gently nibbling and sucking on her clit while inserting two fingers into her sopping pussy and slowly fucking her with them.

Her hips tried to rock in time with his motions, making him laugh. “See? You know you want more. Don’t try telling me it’s too much pleasure. I know better.” He finger-fucked her harder, faster, inserting a third and drawing yet another climax out of her after several minutes.

That was when he suddenly got off her, startling her.

He stood and flipped her over, pulling her to the edge of the bed so her feet were on the floor. He shoved her skirt over her back and pulled her panties all the way off her. When she tried to push herself up, he put a gentle but firm hand between her shoulder blades and pushed her back down. “Stay, baby. You teased me, this is my time.”

She heard the nightstand drawer open and after a moment, he stepped between her legs. She fisted the covers as she felt the sheathed head of his cock pressing against the entrance to her cunt.

Then he hooked an arm around her waist. “You got yours, now it’s my turn.” He thrust hard and deep, making her cry out with pleasure. His fingers and tongue had more than prepared her pussy for the sudden intrusion.

He folded himself over her back, his lips in her ear. “You like that, don’t you, baby? You like us taking you like this?”

She closed her eyes and tried to fuck herself against him. “Yes!”

He grabbed her hips and took several long, hard, fast thrusts into her pussy before stopping again. He shoved her shirt and bra up before reaching under her to find her nipples. He cupped his palms around her breasts, his thumbs and fingers rolling and teasing her aching peaks. “Reach between your legs, baby. Play with yourself.”

She needed no further encouragement. She slid a hand between her legs and found her clit and started eagerly rubbing it.

“That’s it,” he said. “I’m not coming again until you do—”

They were both startled by the sound of the door opening and Ellis laughing. “Well, now I know what’s on the menu for lunch.”

“Come and get you some,” Brad said. He pinched her nipples just hard enough to get her attention. “Who said you could stop playing with yourself, baby?”

Her hand had fallen still when Ellis walked in, but now she started again.

Ellis walked around the bed, his blue eyes dark and smoky with desire. He shrugged off his jacket and hung it over a chair before kicking off his shoes. “I don’t have a lot of time,” he said. “Have a client due in less than an hour.” He shucked his slacks and also neatly draped them over the chair. Then he pulled off his briefs. His cock also rigidly stood at attention.

She licked her lips.

He crawled onto the bed in front of her, his legs spread, and gently cupped her head in his hands. “I think I want this right now.”

Her hand moved faster between her legs as she opened her mouth wide, eager to taste him on her tongue. He slid his shaft over her tongue, taking over and fucking her mouth as Brad slowly began fucking her pussy again.

Oh…my…Goddess! Was this really happening? These two hunks wanted her? Her eyes dropped closed and she let out a cry, muffled by the cock in her mouth, as another orgasm washed through her.

“That’s it, baby,” Brad encouraged, picking up speed and driving her deeper onto Ellis’ cock with every stroke. “Nothing but pleasure. Think about nothing but how good it feels having our cocks in you.”

Her fingers now had a life of their own, a series of smaller orgasms rolling over and over, one into another, until her entire existence felt like nothing but a blaze of pleasure keeping her suspended in a sweet bubble of passion between them. Their energy flowed over and through her, mixing with hers and pulling more sweet release from her body.

Ellis’ hands tightened on her head. “Getting close,” he grunted to Brad.

“So am I.”

She let out another cry as the most powerful climax yet ripped through her.

“That’s what we like to hear, sweetie,” Brad said. He released her breasts and returned his hands to her hips, fucking her cunt hard and fast as her muscles squeezed his cock. Every stroke bottomed out inside her, stretching her pussy, filling her, while Ellis deeply fucked her mouth and grew harder and hotter against her tongue.

Brad came first, his fingers digging in as he let out a long groan. Then Ellis exploded, his cum splashing across her tongue as she struggled to swallow it all. Winded, she limply lay and sucked on his softening cock while Brad caught his breath.

Ellis stroked her hair. “Wow,” he whispered.

She opened her eyes and looked up at him, his pleased smile and gorgeously clear aura breaking her heart with its beauty.

If she could do that to him, to both of them, bring them that much joy, she’d never again question the whys or hows of them coming together.

If being with her healed them, and maybe herself in the process, then it was right no matter what anyone else thought or said.

Ellis made her let go and leaned in, kissing her sweetly, deeply, tenderly. “I love you,” he said.

Brad withdrew and placed a kiss in the center of her back. “Love you, too,” he echoed.

She fumbled for and found their hands, squeezing them. “Love you both,” she said.

They all jumped at a knock on the bedroom door. “Not to be a buzzkill,” Sachi said from the other side of the door, “and I hope I waited long enough to interrupt, but someone better put a gag in her mouth next time. Sound carries.”

Mandaline felt her face go supernova hot, but the two men laughed.

“Sorry,” Brad called out. “We’ll be quieter next time.”

“Thanks, Tarzan,” Sachi replied. A moment later they heard her going back down the stairs.

Ellis snickered.

She rolled over onto her back and clapped a hand over her eyes. “Oh. My. Goddess. How the hell am I supposed to go back downstairs?” she whispered.

Brad leaned in and kissed her. “I would suggest a shower first. And don’t forget, you are the boss. If you want to do the sweaty with us up here during lunchtime, it’s your prerogative.”

Ellis kissed her again before getting out of bed. “I’ll make us some sandwiches.” He grabbed his shoes and clothes and headed for the bathroom.

Brad, the condom still on his wilting cock, stretched out next to her with a pleased grin on his face. “I did warn you, baby. So did Ellis. I believe fire hoses and cold water were mentioned.”

She studied his face, his sweet brown eyes. His aura also seemed clearer, although he hadn’t been in as much emotional pain as Ellis had started out with. “You two won’t get jealous of each other and get in a fight over me, will you?” she softly asked. “Although I guess it’s kind of late to ask that.”

He laced his fingers through hers and drew them to his lips. “Never, baby. I don’t think we could have made it work with two different women, to be quite honest. I think we always were meant to share the same love.” He kissed her again. “He needs someone to help look after me. In his mind, he does,” he added. “Maybe he’s a little right. And face it, you’ve been through a lot. I think two men need to tag-team you. I think you’re such a strong person, whether or not you realize it, that you’d inadvertently chew one man up and spit him out. And I don’t mean that in a bad way, either. You never were meant to be with Carl. He wasn’t strong enough for you in more ways than one. I also don’t think there are many women out there who would support and encourage my relationship with Ellis the way you can.”

He sat up and pulled her up with him. “Let’s eat and grab a shower. I’ll go down first and suss things out before you come down.”

“I really don’t want to screw this up,” she whispered.

He frowned. “Screw what up?”

“This. Us. The business. Everything.”

He smiled and leaned in to kiss her again. “You won’t,” he assured her. “We won’t let you. None of us.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Sachi was ensconced in a reading when Brad sounded the all clear around one thirty for Mandaline to come downstairs.

Although Paige pursed her lips together in an attempt to hold back her smirk, she didn’t say anything to Mandaline about the incident.

Mandaline’s eye fell on the plastic crate full of cards below the register. She pulled it out.

Paige’s expression turned somber. “Yeah,” she said. “There is that. We’re still getting them every day, brought in and by mail.”

She let out a sigh. “I guess I know what I need to handle.” She carried it upstairs to the apartment. Spreading out on the couch with a letter opener, she began the emotional process of going through them. She didn’t know what to do with them. There were a few from suppliers, more generic ones that were polite but not necessarily ones she felt strongly enough to save.

Most were cards from customers and friends expressing their condolences with their names, and sometimes a short message.

Then…

Then there were the long personal notes, sometimes additional letters tucked into the card as well. She knew some of those would need personal responses. With those, as soon as she saw a block of writing, she tucked the card back into the envelope and put it aside to deal with later. The first one almost had her in tears, a long, sweet note from a reading customer of Julie’s who talked about how wonderful an impact Julie had on her life.

I can’t deal with that right now.

It was too much, too soon. She finally felt a little like she’d regained most of her emotional footing. She didn’t want to shake her soul up any more than necessary at this point.

She heard the door to the stairwell open, followed by Sachi’s voice. “Boss?”

She sniffled and sat back. “Yeah, it’s okay.”

Sachi emerged from the stairwell, her serious-friend expression in attendance. She nodded at the crate. “Paige told me you brought it up here. You all right?”

She let out a deep breath. “I guess.”

“If you want to leave the rest for me to go through, I will.”

“Yeah, but you’ve done so much already.”

She shrugged. “That’s why I’m here.”

“You could have warned me sooner, by the way.”

Sachi didn’t need a map to follow her train of thought. She grinned. “I thought about it, but I didn’t have the heart to. You sounded like you were having too much fun.”

“How many people heard?”

“No customers, don’t worry. Just staff out by the counter.” She jammed her hands into the pockets of her slacks and approached the couch. “I think you need a vacation.”

“Says the woman who won’t take a paid day off if I threatened her.”

“I like what I do.” She knelt in front of Mandaline to pet Pers. “Just remember, those two are good for you. And you’re good for them.” She smiled. “And I don’t just mean good for their prostate health, either. You all were meant to be together. Enjoy it.” She stroked the dog’s head. “You know she’d want you to be happy.”

“I know.” She hesitated, then packed away the cards she hadn’t opened, as well as the ones she couldn’t deal with yet.

Sachi stood and held out her arms. “Gimme. I’ll take it and put it back down there. You need to do something fun this afternoon. Or at least non-sad.”

They heard what sounded like a large truck behind the building. When Mandaline looked out the window, she saw a UPS truck backing up to the door.

“Uh-oh.”

“What?”

“Tom backed in today.”

Sachi laughed. “Guess we just got part of our replenishment order.”

“Yeah.” The driver opened the back door and unloaded a dolly first. Then he started unloading box after box…after box.

Mandaline headed for the stairs. “Putting away stock will help take my mind off things.”

“But that’s not fun.” Sachi followed her down. “I can cancel skeet and stay and—”

“No. You need time off to unwind.”

“But I feel bad about this. Like I’m abandoning you.”

“You’re not. Go have fun, and that’s an order. Hey, it means more stuff to sell so I can keep you gainfully employed and support your skeet habit.”

“Oh, true. Well then, carry on, boss.”

* * *

Ellis volunteered to cook dinner that night while Brad helped Mandaline and the others verify the huge shipment and begin the arduous task of entering it all into the computer, pricing it, and putting it away. Finally, at closing time, they still only had a quarter of the shipment put away. Mandaline called it quits for the night and ordered everyone to go home and leave the rest for the next day.

Upstairs, Ellis had timed things perfectly so that the roasted chicken and vegetables were done when they were.

As Mandaline tiredly collapsed in her chair at the table, she stared at the layout. He’d set the table with real plates and silverware, and used serving dishes for everything, instead of paper plates and having everyone dip out of pots and pans. She felt touched that he’d taken the effort.

She couldn’t remember the last time she and Julie had used something other than paper plates.

“This is…this is really nice. Thank you.”

He leaned in and kissed her before taking his seat. “You’re welcome.”

Brad chimed in. “I’ll do the dishes, don’t worry. You two can go get started without me since I got first dibs earlier.” He smiled at her.

She stared at him.

He frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” She surveyed the table again. “I…” She sat back. “I guess,” she finally said after composing her thoughts, “I’m just trying to pound it through my thick head that this is all real. It doesn’t seem real. That something so wonderful, meaning you two, can happen on the heels of something so horrible. In my life that kind of stuff usually happens the other way around, something horrible happening after something really good got my hopes up.”

After dinner, Ellis stood and held his hand out to her. “Come with me, m’lady.”

She let him take her hand and help her up.

Brad started clearing the table. “Try not to wear her out too much,” he joked. “I won’t be that long.”

“Don’t worry. I plan on taking my time.”

Her breath caught in her throat as she stared into his blue eyes.

How’d I get so damn lucky?

He led her into the bedroom, where he pulled her into his arms. “Tired of us yet?”

She draped her arms around his neck. “Not even.”

He slanted his mouth over hers. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feel of his lips on hers, the scratchy stubble on his cheek, letting his energy wash over her. His hands drifted down his back, over her hips, until they came to rest on her ass. “I know I’ve already said this,” he said, “but thank you for the second chance. I won’t let you down.”

She smiled up at him. “If you do, I’ll sic Sachi on you.”

He laughed. “That’s more than enough motivation.”

He slowly undressed her, kissing her flesh as he bared it, his lips and tongue teasing, tasting, exploring in a way they hadn’t yet had time to. She closed her eyes and kept her fingers buried in his hair, wishing he’d go faster and praying that he didn’t.

When they were stretched out together on the bed, naked, he slowly worked his way down her body. Between her thighs, he pushed her legs apart and settled between them, still taking his time.

He reached up and she laced her fingers through his. Playful blue eyes glanced up her body before falling closed again and focusing on pleasuring her.

She couldn’t take her eyes off him. The feel of his energy surrounding her, she realized never before, only with these two men, had she ever felt this sensation. No other lover besides these men had touched her soul so deeply, rendered her so helpless with pleasure.

Felt so tender and loving.

The first orgasm curled her toes, but he didn’t stop there. When she tried to wiggle away from him, he squeezed her hands more tightly and kept his face pressed against her pussy, his tongue only slowing but not ceasing its erotic play.

He waited until after he’d made her come again before rising up on his arms and reaching for a condom. He caught her under the knees with his hands and pushed her legs up and back before easily sliding his cock inside her.

Like this, he hit her even more deeply than he had before. He hooked her ankles over his shoulders and then found her hands once more, leaning forward, pressing her thighs against her chest. In this position she couldn’t move, could only lie there, encased by his body.

He took his time, slowly, his cock filling and stretching her in delicious ways.

“Don’t close your eyes,” he whispered. “I want to watch you come for me like this.” His fingers tightened on hers. It felt like a spiritual free fall, her energy awash in his strength, his love.

She had no doubts about how he felt.

She had nothing but trust for him.

He changed his angle and speed slightly until she gasped with pleasure.

A smile quirked his lips. “That’s it.”

He kept it up, every stroke perfectly hitting someplace inside her she’d never even knew existed. When the orgasm finally bubbled up and exploded inside her, she let out a soft cry of surprise and joy that he’d unlocked that particular secret.

“Good girl,” he whispered, quickening his thrusts until he slammed into her, coming with her just as her release had begun to wane. Winded, he touched his forehead to hers. “I love you.”

Overcome, she tried to speak, couldn’t, and simply nodded as she burst into tears.

He put her legs down but she kept them locked around his waist as she held him, not wanting to let go.

He stroked her hair. “Are you okay?”

She nodded again.

He chuckled. “I hope that was a good cry.”

She nodded, a little laugh escaping her.

He made her look at him. “Tell me.”

She couldn’t. She didn’t know how. Instead, she kissed him, hard and deep and wishing she could just impart the information to him telepathically.

“I love you, too,” she finally whispered.

“You didn’t wear her out, did you?” Brad chastised from the doorway.

They both looked over at him. Mandaline giggled as she watched him frantically stripping on his way to the bed.

Ellis looked down into her eyes again, that sweet smile still curving his delicious lips. “No, just breaking the ice.”

Her breath caught. Somehow, she sensed, he knew. She nodded, making his smile grow wider.

“Gimme gimme gimme,” Brad joked as he bounced onto the bed next to them.

Ellis kissed her once more before sitting up. “I’ll be right back.” He went to clean up in the bathroom.

Brad immediately took his place, his stiff cock brushing against her thighs.

“I don’t know if you can get another one out of me,” she admitted. “Between this morning, lunchtime, and just now, I think you two have made me come more in less than twenty-four hours than I’ve come in the last year.” She reached between his legs and gently tugged on his cock. “Suit up, mister. Doesn’t mean you can’t have fun.”

He grinned and reached for a condom. He easily slid inside her, then made her put her legs down straight. Moving carefully, he stretched out over her. “How’s that?”

She grabbed his shoulders as she let out a little gasp. Every stroke had almost the full length of his cock sliding against her swollen, sensitive clit.

He grinned. “Yeah, I thought you’d like that.”

Ellis returned and stretched out next to them. He leaned in and kissed her, his hands playing with her nipples and adding even more of a delicious ache to her clit.

“Don’t worry, baby,” Brad said. “I’m going to keep doing this until you give in and give me just one more.”

She dug her fingers into his shoulders, unable to believe her body was still capable of responding to them, much less that she suspected they were going to get another orgasm out of her.

More proof I was meant to be here.

And that was her last conscious thought before Brad picked up the pace a little and managed to trigger one more avalanche inside her. She let out a cry, muffled by Ellis’ mouth.

“That’s our girl,” Brad said. He began fucking her hard and fast, each stroke only keeping her own orgasm going until she thought she couldn’t take it anymore. With one final thrust his body went rigid, his cock buried deep inside her as he groaned.

Ellis lifted his mouth from hers.

“And that, folks,” Brad joked as he leaned down and kissed her, “is a wonderful way to end an evening.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Mandaline actually managed to get out of bed Wednesday morning without being molested by her men only because she woke up before them. She was already out of the shower and dressed and downstairs working on putting the order away by the time they got out of bed.

Brad wandered downstairs looking like a pouty boy. “No fair.” He pulled her in for a kiss.

“Yes fair,” she said, smiling. “I have readings this morning. I need to clear my mind, not have my brains bonked out. I’ll make it up to you tonight.”

He surveyed the stock they still had to put away. “Looks like it bred and multiplied over night.”

“You never know. We are a magick shop. It might have.” She released him after giving him another kiss.

When she went upstairs to refill her coffee, she met Ellis coming out of the shower and gave him a kiss, too. “Morning.”

His blue eyes sparkled as his cock hardened. “No fair.”

She burst out laughing. “You guys reading from the same script? That’s what he said downstairs.”

“No.” He pointed at his cock. “I just rubbed one out in the shower and you got me all excited again.”

“Aww, poor guy. Like I told him, I’ll make it up to both of you tonight.”

He gave her another kiss before letting her go. “Fair enough. I have an early appointment anyway.”

Wednesday night, the men piled into the Element with Sachi and Mandaline to go do the investigation. “So what exactly are we supposed to be doing tonight to help?” Ellis asked from the backseat, where he sat with Brad.

“You mean other than being great eye candy?”

“Sachi!” Mandaline scolded.

She shrugged. “What? I’m just being honest. I thought saying ‘pack animal’ or ‘equipment bitch’ would sound a little rude.”

Ellis and Brad laughed from the backseat. Mandaline felt some relief over that. Secretly, she was worried Ellis might have another freak-out during the investigation. Or at the very least that seeing what she did up close and personal might totally turn him off of a relationship with her.

But the only way to find out was to see what happened.

I have to believe.

“You know,” Sachi continued, “you should be thanking me, boss. The fact that I haven’t scared them off yet says a lot about their character.”

Mandaline gripped the steering wheel a little harder and tried to ignore her friend. “To answer your question,” she said to Ellis, “you two can help us get the equipment set up. It’s not that hard. You saw most of what we’re doing tonight when we were at your house. We’ll do an initial walk-through with the homeowner, find out what they’re experiencing and where, and go from there.”

“Do you think there’s anything supernatural going on?” he asked.

She hesitated before answering, weighing his tone first for any hint of sarcasm. She found none. “I don’t know. Percentage-wise, probably not. We can almost always find something completely benign as the reason. Or we might find something we can’t explain, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s supernatural in origin.”

“When was the last time you found something really supernatural?”

She glanced in the rearview mirror. “I’d consider Julie coming to both me and Brad after her death supernatural. And obviously Julie experienced something not of this world over in Croom before she was murdered.”

“Ouch,” Sachi grumbled from the passenger seat. “That was harsh even by my standards. Go a little easier on him, boss.”

Mandaline took a deep breath. “Sorry.”

“No, it’s okay,” Ellis said. “I deserved it. If you’d heard me the other night, you wouldn’t be defending me right now.”

“He’s right,” Brad agreed. “He was an asshole.” Mandaline glanced in the mirror and spotted his playful grin. “But he got better,” he said in a fake British accent.

“Just to let you know, in case you like, lose your brain or something, I’m calling permanent dibs on both of them,” Sachi joked. “They’re cute and they like quoting Monty Python. You tell me they like skeet, too, and I’m stealing them.”

They easily found Marjorie Caswell’s home. Tucked at the end of a cul-de-sac, it wasn’t much different from the other well-kept homes in her deed-restricted community. Steam wafted from the pavement, which had been thoroughly soaked earlier by afternoon thunderstorms.

“Let’s go do a walk-through before we unload any equipment,” Mandaline said as she shut the engine off. “I want to make sure she’s not just suffering dementia or something.”

Marjorie met them at the door with a smile. “Thank you all for coming.” She led them inside to a neatly kept living room. “I really hope you can convince Gerald to move on.”

“Could you show us around?” Mandaline asked. “We’d like to get a feel for the house, and where you’re experiencing the phenomenon.”

Marjorie looked a little confused. “I’m not sure where it happens. Just that I’m hearing it.”

“Maybe you’d better start at the beginning,” Mandaline suggested.

“Well, we bought this house fifteen years ago and moved in. Gerald was very much a creature of habit. If we weren’t going out with friends or something, he always wanted to eat dinner at seven, so that he could…” She hesitated, a smile finally breaking through. “Well, not to get too graphic, but he wanted to have time to have a constitutional, if you know what I mean, before his TV shows came on at eight.”

She looked a little sad as she clasped her hands together. “Well, Gerald had been in the Army for a lot of years. He was in artillery, and did two tours of Vietnam before he was able to retire. He was deaf as a doornail, as they say. Every night after he’d go to the bathroom, I’d hear this noise, like someone knocking on the pipes, at the same time.”

Mandaline exchanged a glance with Ellis, who looked confused. Brad, however, looked like a lightbulb had gone off inside his brain.

Marjorie continued. “I still hear that noise. It started the night he died.” She smiled. “I told him, ‘Now, Gerald, I appreciate you don’t want to go, but I’ll be all right.’ Heaven knows I spent a lot of time alone as an Army wife. I love him and miss him, but he didn’t need to hang around on my account.

“I thought maybe after a few days, he’d get tired of it and go on. But it’s still continuing!” She leaned in conspiratorially. “Now, don’t get me wrong, I love my children. But if I told them this, do you know what they’d do? They’d want to ship me off to some assisted-living facility. Or worse, make me move in with one of them! I might look frail, but I do okay. I haven’t broken any bones, I get a driving test every year to make sure I’m still safe behind the wheel, and I’m perfectly capable of adding my own bank balances.”

“Let’s go ahead and do a tour,” Mandaline said, “before we set up our equipment.”

Brad singled Mandaline out as Marjorie led the way. “She’s not senile,” he whispered to her.

“I know.” She glanced at her phone. “It’s not quite eight yet.”

He nodded. “I think I know exactly what’s going on, but we’ll have to wait for it to happen for me to prove it.”

She wanted to ask him what, but Marjorie turned at the door to one of the bedrooms. “This is the master bedroom,” she said as she reached in and turned on the light. She walked across the room to another door. “This is the master bath, where Gerald used to come every night. So if I had to make a guess, maybe this is where the phenomenon happens, as you called it.”

Brad caught Mandaline’s eye and winked. As everyone started filing out behind Marjorie, he stuck his head in the bathroom and looked around.

Twenty minutes later they were outside unloading equipment. “Spill it,” Mandaline asked after he returned from taking a tour around the back side of the house.

He grinned. “A good magician never reveals his secrets.”

She gave Ellis credit where credit was due. He threw himself into the work and didn’t utter a single sarcastic comment about their purpose.

Maybe there’s hope for him yet.

They set up the cameras and sensors. They were about to go dark when an odd, faint pinging noise started. Mandaline glanced at the time as Marjorie’s face lit up. “See? There it is!”

Brad bolted out the front door. A moment later, the noise happened again.

Marjorie frowned. “He’s never done that before.”

It sounded again.

And again.

Brad returned a moment later. “Marjorie, if you’ll follow me I’ll show you what’s going on.”

Everyone followed Brad outside and around the back of the house. He led them to a water softener unit, which had been installed within feet of the master bedroom window.

“Marjorie, did this come with the house?”

She frowned. “I believe so. A company comes out every couple of weeks to service it.”

He lifted an access panel at the head of the unit and changed a setting.

The noise started again.

Her eyes widened. “How did you do that?”

Brad turned his mega-smile on the woman. “It’s set to go off at the same time every day. To complete its cycle. I don’t know why it’s set this early in the evening, usually they set them up to go off in the middle of the night. But there’s something going on in the pipes when it starts its flush cycle, and it’s making air hammer in the pipes. That’s your noise. Sometimes there’s a thing they can add on to the pipes to make that stop happening.” He tweaked the setting back to where it had originally been. “I’ll leave it set to the current time so it doesn’t wake you up in the middle of the night, but here’s how you change the time.” He showed her how to adjust the setting.

“Oh!” Mandaline worried the woman might be disappointed it wasn’t her husband, but Marjorie surprised them. “That’s all?” She laughed. “What a relief! I’ll have my plumber come out tomorrow to look at it. I’m so sorry I dragged you all out here for something so silly.”

“No, it’s quite all right,” Mandaline said, relieved to have the mystery solved so easily and drama-free. “This is what we do.”

“Well, can I at least pay you for your time?”

“No, that’s not necessary. We do this for free to help people.” She paused. “If you wanted to make a donation to a charity of your choice in my friend Julie’s name, that would be greatly appreciated.”

“I’ll do it tomorrow. I’ll send a donation off to the animal shelter.”

Mandaline hugged her. “Thank you.”

It took them longer to pack up than it did to unpack. They were back on the road by ten, headed to the shop.

Sachi shook her head. “I’ve got to hand it to you, Tarzan. That was brilliant. I honestly thought we were dealing with an early dementia patient.”

Mandaline glanced in the rearview mirror and saw him shrug. “When you’re rehabbing an old house, you learn a lot about plumbing issues. We had a problem with ours, the washing machine would make the pipes hammer like crazy. Remember?” he asked Ellis.

Ellis nodded. “That’s right. I forgot about that.

“So, chief,” Sachi said. “What’d you think of your first investigation? On this side of things, I mean.”

“I have to admit I’m impressed.”

Mandaline kept her mouth shut, but felt a little more of the cloud inside her lift. She could tell from his tone he wasn’t just giving Sachi lip service. He really meant it.

Sachi turned in her seat. “Really? Pray tell.”

“I respect that you take a logical, step-by-step approach to things. You don’t just jump in and assume something is supernatural. Like with our house, you found a non-supernatural cause, solved that woman’s problem, and everyone’s happy.”

“They don’t all go like this,” Sachi said, turning back to the front. “We do have some that leave us scratching our heads.” She shuddered. “Although there was that one house last year that literally left us scratching. We all ended up with head lice from that dump. Blech!”

* * *

Sachi bid them good-night while the men volunteered to unload the vehicle. Mandaline certainly wasn’t complaining about the early end to the investigation.

She was definitely in the mood to play considering she’d spent most of the day thinking about tonight. She’d never considered herself much of a morning person before, but with those two in her bed, she now had something to look forward to every morning.

When the men got upstairs, they found her naked in the middle of the bed, kneeling on all fours with her ass facing the bedroom door.

She wiggled her hips at them. “Gentlemen’s choice tonight, boys. Come and get me.”

The men exchanged a look before nearly climbing all over each other to get naked and into bed with her.

Brad got there first and slid under her sixty-nine, grabbing her hips and pulling her down on top of him so he could bury his tongue deep inside her pussy. With his stiff cock waving in her face, she didn’t need any urging to go down on him. She let out a soft moan as his cock filled her mouth, the head brushing against the back of her throat as she took him as deeply as she could. She curled her fingers around the base, stroking him and making him moan into her pussy. He speared her cunt with his tongue, every moan he drew out of her making him moan as the sensation vibrated down his cock and back into her pussy through his mouth.

A deliciously vicious cycle, she thought.

Behind her, Ellis had grabbed a condom and carefully knelt between her legs. “I think I’m only good for one tonight,” he told her. He took his time working his cock inside her, slowly, taking short thrusts and going a little deeper each time. With Brad firmly holding her hips in place, she couldn’t move, couldn’t thrust back against him.

Finally, Brad let go of her hips and she loudly moaned around his cock as she could rock back a little, taking Ellis deeper even as Brad started sucking her clit.

Then Brad reached down and found her nipples and she thought her world would implode. It triggered her first release. She went deep onto Brad’s cock, Ellis’ hands now holding on to her hips and forcing her clit to stay between Brad’s tenacious lips. She was helpless to do anything but suck Brad’s cock, laving it with her tongue as the men wrung another orgasm out of her.

Ellis sounded strained. “You better come fast, buddy,” he told Brad, “because she’s squeezing me like crazy and I can’t hold back much longer.”

Brad bucked his hips up against Mandaline’s face, his fingers pinching her nipples. The delicious bite of pain amped up her pleasure, triggering another wave of orgasms inside her.

She was rewarded with a flood of cum exploding from Brad’s cock in her mouth. She eagerly swallowed, still trembling from the last echoes of her orgasm while Ellis slammed his hips into her.

She felt his fingers dig in hard, one last little climax popping free at the sensation as he came inside her and finally fell still. After a moment he withdrew and stretched out next to her on the bed.

Eyes closed, she rested her cheek against Brad’s thigh. He stroked her hair, slowly, then her arms. Then he started patting her arms.

When he started patting a little harder, she realized what he needed and sat up. “Oh, sorry.”

He laughed as he looked up at her. “Well, I knew I could survive a little longer, but I didn’t want my death certificate to read ‘drowning by cunnilingus.’”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Thursday morning, Mandaline awoke to find a man between her legs.

Specifically, Brad. More specifically, he eagerly licked and sucked her clit.

She buried her fingers in his hair and closed her eyes again. When she reached out to find Ellis, she realized he wasn’t in bed with them.

“Where’s Ellis?”

Brad paused, making her wish she hadn’t asked. “Office. Went in early.” His lips closed around her clit again.

She was happy to lie there and let him make her come, but before she could find release, he sat up and reached for a condom.

He looked down at her with a smile as he rolled it on. “Don’t worry, babe. I’ll take care of you.”

He rolled onto his back and made her straddle him, his fingers laced through his. “Okay, baby,” he said. “You ride me. Take your time.”

She couldn’t get over how well their cocks fit inside her, seemingly hitting every perfect spot inside her. Before them, she’d rarely been able to come just from penetration, usually needing to get over another way. But with them they’d made it the norm, not the exception.

Rocking slowly, she focused on his sweet brown gaze as she tried to find the perfect angle and position for his cock to rub against the inside of her pussy. Her clit throbbed, her need only stoked by his earlier ministrations.

When she found the exact spot, his cock deliciously hitting her inside as well as along her clit, she squeezed his hands and moved faster, harder.

“That’s it, baby,” he softly encouraged. “Ride me. Do what you need to do.”

She felt his energy reaching out to her, embracing her, dancing with hers the way their bodies moved together. A playful smile curved his lips.

“I feel it, too,” he said. “You just keep doing what you’re doing.”

How had two perfect men walked into her life like this?

Her ass slapped against his thighs as he picked up her tempo and began arching up into her at the bottom of every stroke so his cock bottomed out inside her pussy. She gasped, the extra friction enough to finally send her tumbling over the edge.

She squeezed his hands harder and let out a soft cry as it started.

“There you go,” he whispered. “Ride it out.”

She did, harder, faster, Brad matching her pace perfectly, a series of smaller orgasms all blending together into one longer, sweeter release she couldn’t believe she’d never felt before. She’d had multiple orgasms in one session before, but never like this, never the way their bodies pulled them from her, rolling and multiplying and feeling like her clit had been supercharged with erotic heat.

Only when she felt it waning did he take over, thrusting up into her at his pace now, harder, faster, his gaze burning right through her very core.

“This is for you, baby, what you do to me.” He clamped down on her hands and his back arched. Inside her, she felt his cock go rigid before it started throbbing, and he fell still beneath her.

Winded, she collapsed on top of him, draped over his chest.

He wrapped his arms around her and stroked her back. With his lips pressed against her forehead, he said, “And that’s what love feels like, inside and out, physically and mentally.”

She nuzzled her face against his throat. “I felt it,” she whispered. “I feel it with both of you, but I can’t believe you feel it, too.”

“He feels it. He just doesn’t understand it or recognize it. But you can bet he feels it.” He made her look him in the eye. “Do you realize how happy you’ve made him? And me, too, but I haven’t seen him this happy in years.”

She didn’t know what to say to that.

He stroked her cheek. “I only hope we can heal you the way you’ve healed us.”

She nodded, leaning her face into his touch. “You have.”

* * *

When Ellis left early for the office, he suspected Brad would have his way with Mandaline, but he didn’t mind or feel the slightest bit jealous over it.

It surprised him how easy it was to fall into a familiar, comfortable daily routine with them both.

Maybe this was meant to be.

Frankly, he’d wanted to get up and out of bed and have some alone time. He’d had another disturbing dream about Julie and the shotgun. Only this time, they’d been standing in the kitchen at the house, and the shotgun appeared out of nowhere on the table. She’d handed him the .38 and pointed a finger at him.

“Believe.”

Behind her, a dark, ominous shape took form in the open doorway leading outside.

“Believe!” Julie had admonished one more time before he startled awake.

He wasn’t usually one to put much stock in dreams. But considering everything that had happened over the past couple of days, he wasn’t delusional enough to ignore them, either.

And before he left for work, he’d made sure he wore the .38 under his blazer.

Ellis returned from the office a few minutes after noon. “Is there anything specific I need to wear, or will jeans suffice?” he asked Mandaline.

“Jeans are fine. Listen, you don’t have to do this.”

He put his hands on her shoulders. “Last time. I’m going, or you aren’t. Period.” He still couldn’t get the weird dream with Julie out of his head.

No way would he let Mandaline go to the Corey house alone.

Brad laughed from where he was lounging on the couch with a sketch pad in hand. “Quit arguing with him. You should know better by now.”

“It’s just that I don’t know how long I’m going to be or what I might or might not find.”

“I know you won’t be going at all if I’m not with you.”

While Ellis knew where the Croom park was, he’d never been there. Mandaline carefully bumped the SUV over the cattle guard at the gate before stopping at the small gatehouse.

The park ranger wore a frown as Ellis rolled down the passenger window. “Can I help you folks?”

Mandaline leaned forward to see past Ellis. “I have an appointment with Samantha Corey today.”

The ranger slowly nodded. “You worked with Julie Prescott?”

Ellis glanced over at Mandaline. He didn’t miss the momentary flash of grief on her face. “Yes. I’m Mandaline Royce.”

The ranger slowly nodded again. “Sorry about your loss. Main road was just graded yesterday, so you shouldn’t have any trouble there. Not sure what condition their driveway’s in. It’s marked. You know how to get there?”

“Yes, she drew me a map.”

He stepped back from the car. “Have a nice day.”

Ellis rolled up the window as Mandaline pulled forward. “He was certainly chipper,” he snarked.

“I can’t imagine they’re happy about what happened, either,” she said. “The whole park’s been crawling with press and the morbidly curious.”

Immediately to the east of the main road lay I-75. To the west, various trails wound through thick oak and pine trees. He knew there were also day-use areas and a large campground in the park. As they made their way up the main road, he noted the frown on Mandaline’s face.

“Are you sure you’re up for this?” he asked.

She nodded. “I have to,” she quietly said.

They found the driveway and she slowed even more as they bumped down the deeply rutted dirt track that wound through the trees. After several minutes, they emerged at a fence line, where a locked metal gate stood guard.

“She told me to honk.” She tapped the horn twice.

An old, two-story house stood roughly in the center of the property. Next to it sat a large construction Dumpster.

A small, older-looking barn was overshadowed by a large, brand-new travel trailer parked next to it. Two horses, which had been grazing in a fenced-off pasture, raised their heads at the sound of the horn.

A moment later, the front door opened and a man waved at them before he started down the porch and across the property toward them.

As they waited, a woman appeared in the front door. She walked to the edge of the porch, where she stood, waiting on them.

Mandaline rolled down her window as the man reached the gate. “Matt, this is Ellis Fargo. He’s…my boyfriend. I hope it’s okay that he came with me.”

Ellis inwardly smiled at how she’d announced his status. It was the first time he’d ever heard her call him that.

Matt unlocked the gate. “No problem. I suspect he insisted on coming.” Matt gave them a good-humored smile. “After what happened, I sure as hell wouldn’t blame him.”

Ellis gave him a thumbs-up and they waited while Matt opened the gate for them to drive in. He glanced behind them and watched Matt lock it behind them.

When they parked by the house, the woman walked down to greet them. Somewhere, a dog barked. It sounded like it was coming from the travel trailer, barely audible over the whirr of the trailer’s air-conditioner unit.

The woman gave Mandaline a warm hug. “Thank you for doing this,” she told Mandaline. “We really appreciate it.”

“It’s okay. Samantha Corey, this is Ellis Fargo.”

The woman looked sad, grieving every bit as deeply as Mandaline. “Please, call me Sami,” she said as she extended her hand.

He shook with her. “Ellis is fine. I…I’m sorry about your husband.”

She nodded. “Thank you. I think we all wish things had ended differently.”

The man walked up. “Matt Barry.” He stuck out his hand as well. “Thanks for coming.”

After shaking with him, Ellis adjusted the back of his shirt, which concealed the comforting weight of the holstered gun against the small of his back. In the humid heat, sweat had already begun pooling behind the holster. “No problem.”

* * *

Relief washed through Mandaline that they didn’t mind Ellis’ presence. And now faced with the house for the first time, a chill blasted through her soul, even in the oppressive heat.

She’d avoided media coverage of what happened, hadn’t seen pictures of the house’s exterior in Julie’s notes.

The outside of the house looked exactly as Julie had presented it in her dream the other night.

“Where did you want to start?” Sami asked.

She still wore her grief as thick as the sultry Florida humidity against her skin. “Are you ready to do the service, or did you want to wait and do it last?” She hoped they wanted to do the service first, because now faced with the reality, she wasn’t sure she wanted to see where Julie had died.

Sami glanced up at Matt, who protectively draped an arm around her shoulders. “Let’s do it now, please. Before the afternoon rains start.”

Mandaline took a messenger bag from the SUV before locking it and putting the keys in her pocket. She wouldn’t take any chances despite not feeling the slightest bit of apprehension or fear about the place.

It might have had a history of horrors, but now, it was a place of healing grief.

They waited while Sami went to the house and returned with a plain box about the size of an urn.

She looked a little embarrassed. “I…I told them I didn’t want an urn,” she told them, the box securely wrapped by her arms. “I wanted to scatter them anyway. Is…is that horrible?”

Mandaline gave her what she hoped looked like a kind smile. “No, you did what you needed to do.”

“The cemetery is this way,” Matt pointed as he started off. “We picked up a small paver stone to use to mark the spot. I left it over by the other gate.”

They headed south through the pasture as the horses came over to follow them. A fresh lock on a shiny chain had to be opened by another key on Matt’s ring of them. He let them out, locking it behind them. The horses whinnied by the gate, one of them throwing his head up and down.

Sami turned with a sad smile. “It’s okay, boys. I’ll try to take you out later.”

Matt picked up the small paver stone and took the lead again. “They’re antsy because I’ve made her stay here and not go out riding. Fucking asshole paparazzi all over the goddamned place.” He glanced at them. “Excuse my language. I have no use for them. I’d file restraining orders against every damn last one of them if I could, but it’s public land around here. If there’s a ranger on duty, they try to call us with a heads-up. Unless they break park rules, there’s not a lot they can do to legally keep them out.”

“Ellis is a lawyer, too,” Mandaline offered, more to keep conversation going than anything.

Matt glanced back. “In town?”

Ellis nodded. “Family law, mostly.”

“Ah. I turned a law degree into being a literary agent,” Matt said as they continued walking. “Helps a lot with the contracts. I’ll get your card before you leave, if you have one with you. We’ll need a local attorney.”

They trudged along a soft, loamy dirt trail. The trail ran south along the property line, eventually curving off to the east, passing under trees until the land sloped up a small hill into a thick stand of pine trees. They entered a small clearing where a thick bed of pine needles carpeted the ground. Matt and Sami stopped at the edge of the clearing.

“Here it is,” Sami softly said.

Mandaline, followed by Ellis, slowly walked forward. She knew from pictures and sketches in Julie’s notebook that the small stone marker in the center of the clearing was George Simpson’s grave marker. Mandaline also noticed the several piles of stones scattered around the clearing.

“Those are the Spaniards’ graves?” Mandaline asked, pointing at the cairns.

Sami nodded. “Yeah. Julie had sketched the layout of the other graves. And…” She took a deep, shuddering breath. “She thought George Simpson probably murdered his wife and kids and burned the bodies here. When the family disappeared, searchers found signs of an old fire and some bone fragments.” She looked down at the box in her arms. “I think she was right.”

Mandaline walked the periphery of the clearing, but felt nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing creepy, nothing spooky.

Nothing dangerous.

Mandaline put her bag down. From inside, she pulled out the recreated drawing of the clearing Julie had with her that day. The original copy had been found in the pocket of the clothes she’d had on that day and returned with her other personal possessions.

“Do you have a specific place you’d like to put him?” Mandaline asked as she quickly oriented herself.

“No,” Sami quietly said as she stroked the box. “Wherever you think is best.”

Mandaline nodded. From her bag she pulled out a small, purple velvet sack of items. Walking around the clearing, drawing in hand, she finally settled on a place. “This would be good. No one is here.”

Sami and Matt walked over while Mandaline cleared the pine needles from the space, exposing the dirt underneath. She didn’t miss how Ellis hung back, quietly watching but not speaking.

“Go ahead and sit,” she told them. They did, and she used salt to cast a circle around them. “Please don’t leave the circle until I say.”

They nodded without question.

She produced a piece of rose quartz she’d brought from the store with her. She’d saged it and let it sit overnight in a bowl of sea salt. After digging a small hole in the soft dirt with her bare hands, she put the piece of rose quartz in the bottom. “Goddess above, Goddess below. Goddess within, Goddess without. We come to you today with prayer. We release a soul back to your care.”

She pulled out a bottle of rosemary oil and sprinkled some on the piece of quartz. “In this ground lay peace and love. As below, so above.” She sprinkled some crumbled sage leaves. “Air and fire, water and earth. This soul was loved, this soul had worth.”

She fought the emotions rising within her to continue the ceremony. She’d opted to totally wing it, knowing whatever she’d said from the heart would be more true than anything she could plan. From a plastic baggy she sprinkled an aromatic mix she’d prepared that morning of valerian, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves, angelica, basil, and black pepper. She lined the hole with part of the mixture. “In peace and love may this soul go. As above, so below.”

Mandaline nodded to Sami, indicating she could put his ashes in. With trembling hands, she removed the top from the box. Inside, a twist tie closed the plastic bag holding the cremains. Matt reached over to help her untie the bag as tears rolled down Sami’s face. Together, they lovingly emptied the bag into the hole before sitting back.

Mandaline spread the rest of the herb mix on top of the cremains. “Your soul today we do release. We forgive and remember and wish you peace.” She took a deep breath. “We hold on to our love, but our anger we lose. Forgiveness and healing is the path we choose.” Hot tears rolled down her cheeks and she hoped she could hold it together long enough to finish.

“Today, we all do set you free. As we speak it, so mote it be.” She scooped dirt over the cremains and motioned for Matt to put the paver stone into place. Then she closed her eyes. “Namaste. Aho.”

She opened her eyes when she heard Sami let out a soft sob. Mandaline turned her back on them as Matt held her in his arms while she cried. Mandaline took a deep breath of her own. Picking up a handful of pine needles from inside the circle, she used that to open and sweep away the circle.

Matt whispered to Sami as he held her and together they sat there, slowly rocking as she cried in his arms. Mandaline picked up her things and took them back to her messenger bag. Ellis walked over.

With blue eyes full of concern, he looked down at her and opened his arms. She didn’t hesitate to go to him, her own soft sobs obscuring the sound of Sami crying in the background.

* * *

Mandaline’s soul felt about fifty pounds lighter as they all left the clearing in silence. The two horses were still waiting at the gate when they emerged from the woods. More than ever, Mandaline was convinced she’d absolutely made the right decision.

When they got back to the house, Mandaline stared at it. In her mind’s eye, she envisioned the peeling, sun-damaged paint as fresh and new, the house looking loved instead of neglected.

She felt love there and knew it centered around Matt and Sami.

Julie hadn’t revealed everything to Mandaline during the investigation, but she’d been able to put the pieces together herself without any assistance.

She also knew what she would—or rather, wouldn’t—find in the house.

No traces of George Simpson’s negative energy remained.

“Did you want to do the walk-through now?” Matt asked.

“That’d be fine.”

Sami only nodded in reply. They led Mandaline and Ellis into the house through the kitchen door.

The large room looked barren.

“We’ve already started getting rid of all the furniture,” Sami said. “The…” She swallowed hard. “The bed upstairs, but so far that’s all we’ve done upstairs. I wanted to clear this all out first.” A doorway led into another room, which had, presumably, been either the living or dining room. It, too, lay empty.

“We had a lot of stuff to get rid of in the basement,” she continued walking toward another door and opening it. “Took us a few days to clear that out.” Her faint smile faded. “Matt’s still healing from…the incident. I don’t want anyone in the house yet until we get it emptied out.”

“How are you doing?” Mandaline asked.

He shrugged. “I’m healing. Ribs are still a little tender.” During the attack, Steve had drugged everyone with doctored iced tea to disable them, then knocked Matt out with a frying pan before dumping him down the basement stairs and locking him in.

“Why don’t we start with the basement,” Mandaline suggested. “Work from the bottom up.”

She led the way downstairs. A bookcase lay open, revealing a hidden room behind it.

“We found cases of old whiskey in there,” Matt said. “And George Simpson’s papers, and his stash of money. He didn’t tell his wife about the room.”

Mandaline walked in, waving Ellis back when he wanted to go in with her.

She turned, eyes closed and mind open.

Nothing.

She looked at Sami. “I don’t sense anything.”

“That’s good, right?”

She smiled. “In this case, extremely.”

They worked their way through the first floor. At the bottom of the stairs, Sami stopped. “How much do you want to know?” she quietly asked. “Matt was locked in the basement for a lot of it.”

Mandaline took her hand. “As much as you want or need to tell me. I can handle it.”

She took a deep breath and pointed to the bottom of the stairs. “Julie was sitting right about here when the tea started hitting her. He’d dumped nearly a whole bottle of Valium into the pitcher, from what police were able to figure.” She stared at the place for a moment. “We didn’t know he’d disabled the cars. She’d tried to leave when she first felt the drugs hitting her, but her car wouldn’t start. She came in and dug her AAA card out of her purse. George…I mean Steve pretended to call them until he realized how out of it we were.”

She looked up the stairs. “I passed out on the couch after I saw him hit Matt. I thought he’d killed him. At some point, George…” She looked down before meeting Mandaline’s gaze. “I dealt with both of them that afternoon. Steve couldn’t keep fighting against George. George was too strong. Before…before George went into the lake, Steve came out a couple of times. I know it’s crazy, but that’s what happened. I couldn’t tell the police about that part of it. But to my dying day, I will always know in my heart it was George Simpson who committed those acts, not Steve.”

She slowly started up the stairs and walked to the right to a bedroom door. “This,” she quietly said, “was the master bedroom. I didn’t realize until that afternoon, before everything happened, while we were going through the house again with Julie, that the iron bedframe was likely the same one from the Simpsons. I saw a vision of a woman tied to the frame and being raped. I know from the pictures I saw that it was Evelyn Simpson.” She leaned into Matt’s embrace when he draped his arm around her shoulders. Her voice dropped to a whisper. “He tied Julie up the same way Evelyn Simpson had been tied up.”

The bed was noticeably missing from the room. Alone, Mandaline walked in. She made a beeline for the nightstand on the right side of the bed, closest to the bathroom. Nothing.

She walked over to the left nightstand and knelt down again. There, underneath it and all the way behind it, in the shadows by the baseboard, Mandaline found Julie’s crystal pouch, the black leather cord broken from where George Simpson had yanked it from around her neck.

She sat back on her knees and held it up. “This was hers,” she softly said.

Sami’s hand flew to her mouth. “I’m so sorry! I never saw it.” Behind Sami, Matt, and Ellis, who’d all walked into the room, she saw a woman standing in the doorway. Dressed in clothes from early in the last century, she wore a smile. In front of her stood three smiling children, two girls and a boy.

Mandaline could see through them to the end of the upstairs hallway.

She chose not to mention them to Sami right at that moment.

“It’s okay,” Mandaline assured her. She stood and walked over to Sami. Mandaline put the pouch in Sami’s hand and closed her fingers around it. “She would want you to have it,” she said.

“No, I couldn’t.”

“Consider it a housewarming present.” She looked around and took a deep breath. “The bad history is all that remains of the evil that once lived here. A small part of Julie’s spirit will always be here, just like Evelyn and the children. And the others.”

“Not George?” Sami asked.

“No, not George. He’s gone. Only good energies remain.”

They continued up to the attic. Mandaline walked over to the window seat in the cupola. Evelyn Simpson sat on the window seat and stared out at the yard. She looked up as Mandaline approached.

Mandaline couldn’t hear her speak, but it looked like she said, “Thank you.” Before she faded from Mandaline’s view, she noticed Evelyn held a journal and a pencil.

“You know,” Mandaline said, knowing she was the only one who could see the ghosts, “maybe leave a journal and pencil here for Evelyn. And a couple of toys for the children.” She turned to look at Matt and Sami. Both of them wore knowing smiles. Behind them, Ellis remained silent but looked confused.

“We will,” Matt said. “So, all clear?”

She hugged them. “All clear. Let me know when you get all the demolition completed, and I’ll come in and do a house cleansing for you. Another one before you move in, once construction’s complete.”

“It…that won’t hurt…them, will it?” Sami nervously asked.

Mandaline knew she meant Evelyn and the children. “No. We’ll ask that only positive energies remain of their own free will, or move on if they choose, but we’ll welcome them if they wish to stay.”

They both looked relieved.

Ten minutes later, with their good-byes said, Matt was letting them out of the gate.

As the house disappeared behind them, Ellis finally broke his silence.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

He seemed to chew on it for a while. “In the attic.”

“Yes?”

He turned to face her. “I didn’t want to say anything and freak out Matt and Sami. But am I the only one who saw the woman sitting in the window? She was only there for a minute, and then she was gone. Or am I losing my mind?”

Mandaline let out a long, deep, belly laugh. “You should have said something. I would have introduced you to Evelyn Simpson.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Saturday morning, Ellis ran over to the house to check on the contractor’s progress. He returned at lunchtime with good news. “Looks like they’ve got all the mold cleaned up. We have to wait until next week though to get the results of the testing to make sure.”

“You’re still going to stay here, though,” Mandaline said. “Right?”

The men exchanged a glance before joining her in the kitchen. Ellis looked down at her. “We stay wherever you want us to stay.”

“I mean…” She swallowed back her relief, which had threatened to swamp her. “It doesn’t make sense to leave here when the house still needs so much work.”

He smiled and cupped her cheek with his hands. “I think we have to sit down with the plans and go over everything with you and get your input.”

“Yeah,” Brad agreed, nibbling on her neck. “Like the kitchen, the master bedroom, everything. We want you to tell us what you want.”

She had a hard time thinking with their bodies so close. “I…I…”

Brad lifted her up, sitting her on the counter. “Did I ever tell you I love that you wear skirts so often?” He pushed it up over her thighs while Ellis spread her legs and knelt between them.

“Absolutely,” he agreed. He pulled her panties aside and flicked his tongue over her clit.

Her whine was muffled by Brad’s mouth on hers. Then he slipped an arm around her shoulders while his other hand went up her blouse and freed her left breast from her bra. “Don’t worry,” Brad whispered. “We’re not letting you get away from us.” His mouth closed on hers, muffling her cries again as he pinched her nipple.

Between her legs, Ellis now had a finger inside her and was vigorously fucking her with it in addition to sucking on her clit. She grabbed the edge of the counter and held on, praying Sachi didn’t choose that moment to come upstairs.

Ellis quickly blasted her through two orgasms, which left her trembling and breathless. Then he got up and left the kitchen, quickly returning a moment later.

“I can’t resist, baby,” he said as he dropped his jeans. He handed a condom to Brad and rolled one onto his own shaft. Then he grabbed her behind the knees and pulled her to the edge of the counter. At the perfect height, he sank his cock all the way inside her cunt.

He grinned. “Hang on, baby.” He kissed her and wrapped his arms around her as he fucked her, hard and fast, slamming into her and pulling another orgasm out of her before she realized it. It didn’t take him long to come, and before she could even process what was happening Brad changed places with him and was soon also fucking her hard and fast.

She closed her eyes and kissed him, feeling like her spirit was in free fall. With each thrust his body slapped against her clit, until one last orgasm made her cry out into his mouth.

“Yes!” He pressed his face against her shoulder, quietly grunting as he finished inside her and fell still, panting.

She started laughing.

Ellis, who’d stayed to help keep her from falling off the counter, smiled. “What?”

“I wonder if that was quiet enough for Sachi,” she whispered.

Brad grinned. “Oh, you think you’re funny? Well, guess what, lady. You get to go back downstairs after lunch just like that, freshly fucked.”

Her eyes widened. “You can’t be—”

“We are,” Ellis chimed in, an evil grin on his face. “Wet panties and all. You don’t have any readings this afternoon. Just be glad we don’t have a butt plug or something to put inside you and keep you hot and squirming all afternoon.”

“But…” She looked from one man to the other and knew they meant it.

Brad pushed her shirt up again, this time freeing her other breast. Both men leaned in, nibbling on her nipples and making her squirm on the counter. When she tried to push them away, they simply each caught a hand and held her pinned there.

It wasn’t until a few minutes later when they released her. By then, they’d already got her worked up again, her clit throbbing and wanting more attention, her panties soaked through with her own juices.

“We’re going to make you feel a fraction of what you do to us,” Ellis told her. “We go around all day thinking about you and wanting to be with you. So today, it’s your turn.”

Brad tucked her breasts back into her bra and pulled her blouse down. “And we’re going to be downstairs with you in the store making sure you stay nice and horny.”

Oh, Goddess!

* * *

The men were good to their word. Whether it was Brad crossing behind her and rubbing against her ass behind the counter, or Ellis closing the door in her office and sliding his hands inside her panties, they kept ratcheting up her libido until she could barely see straight come closing time.

Fortunately, Sachi had left at five to get in a few skeet rounds before going home, so she wasn’t there to add fuel to the fire with her snarky, dead-on comments about the glazed look of lust in her eyes.

Once they were alone in the store, she tried to get them upstairs but they had other ideas. Brad sat on the steps and unfastened his jeans, opening them. “Come here, baby.”

She was licking her lips as she dove onto his cock. Behind her, Ellis pushed her skirt up over her hips and yanked her panties off her.

“That’s it,” Brad said. She’d worn her hair in a long braid today, and he wrapped it around his fist and gently took over, fucking her mouth, in control.

She thought her insides would melt.

She heard Ellis unzip his jeans, followed by the sound of him unwrapping a condom. “Round one,” he hoarsely said. “Because if I don’t fuck you know, I’m going to explode.”

His cock slid home, hard and fast and hot and deep, making her groan around Brad’s cock.

He laughed. “Oh, yes. Not only do we want you thinking about me bending you over your desk, or Ellis kissing you in the reading room, we want you thinking about getting your brains fucked out on these steps every time you go up and down them.”

She moaned again, this time a combination of lust at that thought, plus the feeling of Ellis reaching around her and finding her clit with his fingers.

“Come for us, baby,” Ellis urged. “We plan on spending this weekend fucking you in every possible way and every possible place in this building, until you can’t look at anything without smiling.”

She braced her hands against Brad’s thighs and held on, her first orgasm quickly blasting through her.

Brad’s grip on her hair tightened. “That’s it, baby. That’s one. By the time Monday morning rolls around, you’re going to be one blissfully well fucked little witch.”

She started rocking back and forth between them in sheer abandon as the pleasure rolled through her. Yes, she wanted that, and more. She wanted them to fuck her over the counter, on every sofa in the store, spit roast her over every table, let her suck their cocks in every chair.

Every debauched, dirty fantasy she’d ever secretly had could now come true, only in stereo.

Double my pleasure…

She cried out around Brad’s cock again as Ellis used his hand to make her come again. And still they showed no signs of slowing.

“I think,” Brad said, “we need to get one of those remote control egg things. Make her wear it during the day. And a butt plug. I can torment her all day long, and by the time you get off work, she’ll be jumping us.”

Mandaline whined at the image, both the thought of it and the desire to do just that, letting them control that aspect of her life, the freedom to trust them.

“I think she likes that idea,” Ellis said, relentlessly rubbing her clit and driving her toward yet another orgasm. “We’ll make her such a horny little witch she won’t have time to think about anything else but us fucking her brains out.”

Her fingers couldn’t get purchase against Brad’s denim-clad thighs as the next orgasm curled her toes.

Brad uncurled her braid from his hand and handed it off to Ellis, who pulled just enough to force her to arch her back. Brad’s fingers cradled her head. “Just stay there and enjoy it, baby,” Brad told her. “You aren’t the only one who’s had a dry streak, and we’re going to give you every reason in the world to want to keep us around.”

“Just think,” Ellis added. “We get to do this all over again when the house is ready.”

“Ooh, good point,” Brad said. “And there’s two sets of stairs there.”

That mental image pushed her over the edge again. She sobbed around Brad’s cock, sucking and slurping it as her pussy clenched around Ellis’ cock. She was one giant ball of pleasure and need and knew she wanted to spend the rest of her life like this, with them.

“Just like that, sweetheart,” Brad encouraged. “Suck my cock. I’m going to give you exactly what you want.”

She sucked harder, faster, wanting to taste it.

Ellis let go of her hair and grabbed her hips. “Oh, that’s beautiful. You’re gorgeous. Look at you taking our cocks like this.”

One last orgasm rippled through her, triggered by his cock perfectly hitting her G-spot inside her cunt. He started fucking her even harder, faster, with Brad holding on to her head and fucking her mouth until they both came almost at the same time with loud, unrestrained groans.

She draped herself over Brad’s lap as Ellis flopped to the floor next to her. The giggle fit overtook her, completely unexpected, until she was laughing so hard tears rolled down her face.

The men exchanged a puzzled look but didn’t interrupt her until she sat up and wiped her tears away.

“Want to share?” Brad said.

She giggled. “I wonder how many health department codes we’ll be breaking.” She doubled over with laughter again. She was still laughing when her cell phone rang on her desk in the office. She was going to ignore it when she realized it was Sachi’s tone.

Nearly tripping over her own panties, she got to it in time. “Hey, what’s up?”

Sachi sounded concerned, which concerned Mandaline.

The way she addressed Mandaline concerned her even more. “Hey, hon. I’m sorry to bother you guys, but I have a problem.”

“What’s wrong?”

Mandaline’s tone must have clued them in, because both men came running.

“Um, I know it’s late, but I need to borrow Brad for a little bit. His expertise,” she quickly added, then even more quickly added, “I mean fixing things.”

“Fixing what?”

She sighed. “I’ve got a broken window…and what looks like half of Hernando County’s finest parked in front of my house.”

* * *

They made it to Sachi’s house in record time, Ellis driving them in his car. There were still five deputies there, including a K-9 officer.

Mandaline was practically out of the car before it stopped moving. She bolted through the line of officers to the open front door, where Sachi was talking to a detective.

Holding back tears, she threw her arms around Sachi. “Are you all right?”

“Shh, calm down, I’m fine. It happened right before I got home. My neighbor scared them away.”

Mandaline still couldn’t help herself from looking her friend over to make sure for herself.

“What happened?”

“Someone tried to break in. They broke a window in the back bedroom, but it doesn’t look like they got into the house. Nothing’s disturbed.”

The two men walked up. “Where is it?”

“I’ll show you,” one of the deputies said, then led them inside.

Mandaline grabbed her by the shoulders. “You’re coming back with us to the apartment.”

“Sweetie, it’s okay.”

“No!” Mandaline felt terror threatening to rip her apart and she didn’t understand why. “No! You don’t have a damn alarm, someone tried to break in, you’re coming home with us and that’s all there is to it!”

Sachi studied her for a moment before nodding. “Okay. If it’ll make you feel better—”

“It will.”

“Then I’ll come home with you guys.” She pulled Mandaline in for a hug.

Mandaline fought the urge to break into tears of relief. She didn’t know why she felt so strongly about this, or if it was just because of losing Julie, but hearing that Sachi would come home with them immediately put her at ease.

The men returned. “Sachi,” Brad said, “do you have storm shutters or something we can put up for tonight until I can get it fixed tomorrow?”

She nodded. “Yeah, in the garage. Plywood panels, stacked on the far side. They’re labeled. That window is labeled Bedroom 3.”

The men disappeared again.

Sachi stroked Mandaline’s hair. “Happy?”

Mandaline vigorously nodded. “I’m sorry, but I’m feeling a little momma bearish right now.”

Sachi hugged her again. “That’s okay. I’ll put up with it because it’s you and I luuubs you.”

She laughed. “I luuubs you, too. Now let’s get you packed.”

It was close to midnight before the police finished their investigation and the four of them got back to the store. Mandaline set Sachi up on the sofa, but any thoughts of getting frisky with her men again had fled. They’d agreed on heading over to her house to fix the window tomorrow morning, and Sachi would stay with them until she got an alarm installed.

“Hey, I really appreciate this,” Sachi told them without a hint of snark. “Look, how about tomorrow afternoon I take you guys out skeet shooting.”

Ellis nodded. “I’m game.”

Brad frowned. “No, thanks. I appreciate the offer but I’ll pass.”

The men headed to bed. Mandaline gave her one more hug. “Thank you for humoring me,” she said.

Sachi nodded, still in serious mode. In fact, since the phone call, Mandaline hadn’t heard a single snark out of her. “Thank you for being such a good friend.”

They hugged one more time before Mandaline headed to bed.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Sachi waited until Ellis was in the car with her Sunday afternoon and on the way to the skeet fields to ask it. He was glad she’d had enough tact to wait to ask. “Spill it. How come Tarzan looked like he was about to shit bricks when I offered to let him come with?”

“How much did Mandaline tell you about us?”

Her expression turned wary even though she didn’t look away from the road. “Why?”

“Did she tell you Brad was in the Army?”

“Yeah, he was injured.” She thought for a beat. “Ah.”

“His PTSD isn’t as bad as it used to be before the motorcycle accident. Part of his new superpowers,” he joked. “But he doesn’t want anything to do with guns. He knows about my concealed carry permit and that I have one, but he wants nothing to do with them.”

“Did he have to kill anyone?” she quietly asked.

“He doesn’t like to talk about that, but I think the answer is yes. He saw a lot of people die, including some he had to kill.”

“Then I’ll make sure to remember not to tease him about not wanting to shoot skeet.”

“I appreciate that. I’m sure he will, too.”

She looked over at him when they hit a red light. “I might be a snarky, ball-busting bitch at times, but even I have my limits.” She gave him a playful smile.

They reached the skeet field about ten minutes later. It was situated on a large parcel of land bordered by woods he suspected were part of the state forest. As she’d predicted, there were only five other cars in the large parking area.

“Why skeet?” Ellis asked her as he followed her to the office. “Why not pistols or rifles?”

He didn’t miss the way her jaw tightened. “It’s fun,” she said, although her voice sounded a little too tense. “I enjoy it. Been doing it since I was a kid. I’ll be twenty-seven this summer, so over fourteen years.” She turned and flashed him a too-bright grin. “Don’t need a concealed carry permit for a skeet gun.”

“That seems to be a running theme with you. Why is that? Why don’t you get a carry permit?”

She stopped so suddenly he had to side-step to avoid plowing into her. She looked down at her feet for a moment before looking up at him again. He had seen anger on her face, and good humor.

But he wasn’t sure he wanted to try to label the expression she now wore. Somewhere between rage and terror.

“Did Mandaline ever tell you about me? About how I came to live in Florida?” she softly asked, not a hint of snark or humor in her voice.

He shook his head.

She took a deep breath and looked around. “I guess lawyers are used to keeping their yaps shut. Come on.” She abruptly changed direction and headed toward a nearby picnic table, which sat in the shade of a makeshift shelter covered by a tarp.

She sat straddling one of the seats. She waited until he’d sat across from her to start talking. “Once upon a time,” she said, “there was a girl from New Jersey. She was born and raised there, until she was thirteen and her airplane mechanic father decided he’d had enough of The Garden State. Despite his daughter’s objections and tantrums, he packed his wife and daughter up and moved them to Buttfuck Acres, Montana.”

She’d clasped her hands together on the table next to her, her thumbs templed. “Middle school in a hick town sucks when you’re a preteen. Especially when your dad is Jewish and your mom is a first-generation Japanese American. Whatever mean nickname you can think of, the girl was called that by her classmates, and then some. The half-breed girl from ‘Jew Jersey.’”

She looked down again for a moment before continuing. “Wasn’t a really big town. Middle school and junior and high school grades stuck together in the same place. So that just added to the girl’s misery. This went on for a couple of years. The girl had the same social studies teacher for those years. She taught multiple grades. She saw how alone the girl was and sat her down to have a talk with her. Mrs. Ellington. Junior skeet team coach. Asked her to come out that afternoon with her for practice.

“Now, the girl’s parents were dead set against it at first. But the teacher was persuasive, and the girl begged and pleaded until they felt like crap and gave in. Long story short for that section of our tale, the girl loved skeet, and proved to be quite good at it. Which was a good thing, because despite being half Jewish and half Asian, she sucked at both math and science.

“This, you might say, was a good thing, right? The skeet, I mean, not the math-science suckage. Something to do, a team sport, a way to get involved and fit in. And you’d be sooo fucking wrong. Because on this junior skeet team was one Jacob Clary. His father, Jackson Clary, was a Buttfuck Acres, Montana, deputy.

“Jacob was a junior going on senior, on the football team, all the girls loved him, all the boys wanted to be him or secretly fuck him, yadda yadda yadda. Since he was the son of a deputy, he was usually the one getting everyone else into trouble and coming out clean while everyone else wallowed in his shit. Right? Following me?”

Ellis nodded. “Yeah,” he quietly said, his gut tightening as he suspected where this was heading.

“Jacob was also the only kid up until that point to shoot a clean hundred. Some of the other, older kids could shoot twenty-fives on the odd round, but Jacob had the highest overall scores.” She smiled, but it held no humor. “Until guess when?”

Ellis didn’t need any psychic skills. “Until the preteen girl from Jew Jersey started shooting?”

She nodded. “First day out, the girl, who’d never picked up a shotgun in her life, shot in three rounds a fourteen, an eighteen, and a twenty-one, in that order.”

“I take it those are good scores?”

“For a beginner, especially a kid, those are fucking amazing scores. There are adults who can’t even break twenty after months of shooting, much less their first freaking day on the field.

“As you can well guess, Jacob took a little ribbing from his asshole buddies, that here was a girl, a city girl, a girl younger than him and far less experienced, shooting like she’d been born with an over-under in her hands and teethed on 12-gauge shells.”

“He didn’t like it I take it?”

“It cheesed him right the fuck off. Especially when the girl came back every practice and improved her scores. And her father, who was an airplane mechanic making decent money working on bush pilot planes and wilderness guide tour planes, bought her a brand-spanking-new, top-of-the-line Remington 12-guage over-under skeet gun so she’d have her own. A nicer gun than any of the other kids on the team had or could likely ever hope to afford. Some of the kids didn’t even have their own guns, but her dad wanted her to have the best he could afford for her because, for once, she’d quit acting like an unholy fucking brat and was finally enjoying Buttfuck Acres, Montana.”

Ellis smiled. “A bribe?”

“More like ensuring parental sanity. Even bought the girl a full reloader setup, which really made her a cool kid with most of the kids on the team.”

“Except Jacob.”

“You catch on quick, chief.” She looked down at her hands again. “The girl was on the team six months when she won her first state juniors competition,” she quietly said. “Jacob choked. Windy day, he missed two birds in one round, high house four and low six. His father was not pleased.”

“Asshole perfectionist dad?”

“Oh, yeah. With his sights on one day running for the office of sheriff of Buttfuck Acres.”

She looked across the grounds to where someone with a small front end loader was racking cases of clays in a trap house. Her voice turned quiet. “Small town. So unlike New Jersey. The quintessential small town where no one locks their houses or their cars, the one stoplight in the town permanently blinks yellow, and the only likely traffic jam is if someone’s moving stock from one field to another across a county road.

“The girl actually grew to love where she lived. New school year started. She ignored the assholes at school, because at least on the skeet team, she had a place. The others looked up to her, even older kids. Kids were asking her for pointers instead of Jacob, asking her to pull for them if the coach wasn’t there, or they wanted an extra practice, asking her to spot them to see what they were doing wrong, asking her to help them reload or pattern their guns or whatever.”

“Jacob wasn’t cool anymore.”

“Not with those kids he wasn’t.” She went quiet for a moment. He didn’t interrupt her, because despite his certainty what was coming, he hoped he was wrong.

Hoped the ending of the story would turn out better than he suspected it would.

“The girl’s mom went to work as a receptionist at a dentist’s office in a town a few miles away. She got off work fairly early, usually home by three or so. On that day, she’d stopped by the grocery store first. So when the girl got home from school after two o’clock, and it wasn’t a practice day, she had the house all to herself.

“Someone knocked on the door. Girl went to go answer it, found it was Jacob himself. He pushed his way in and…” Sachi took a deep, shuddering breath. “You’re an attorney. You connect the dots.”

He nodded.

“The girl had tried to run. Made it as far as the dining room in the back of the house. It was right at the end of the attack that the mother showed up, but Jacob had been too busy…doing his thing that he hadn’t heard her.”

Sachi’s face paled. “She started screaming,” she quietly said. “Dropped the groceries she had in her arms and started beating on his head. The mother was a tiny woman. He shoved her against a wall and started hitting her. They both fell to the floor, him on top of her. He was three of her. He had his hands around her neck to choke her. Wouldn’t stop.”

She took another deep breath. Her gaze dropped to her hands. “The girl picked up the first thing she laid her hands on, which was a large can of baked beans that had fallen from the grocery bags.”

Her hands clenched into trembling fists as her voice dropped to a whisper. “And she hit him in the back of the head as hard as she could to get him off her mom. Again. And again. And again. Even when he rolled off the mom and his arms and legs started jerking, she hit him again. And again. And again. And she screamed. Then finally the can was so dented and slick from blood that she lost it and it rolled across the floor.”

She wouldn’t look up, her face tortured agony. “The girl finally managed to call 911. Guess who the responding officer was?”

“Oh, shit.”

She closed her eyes for a minute. “Autopsy said Jacob broke the mother’s neck. Jacob’s father tried to make it look like we…like the girl and the mother had attacked his son, who was still alive, by the way. But the EMTs who responded immediately called for more law enforcement backup. Fortunately, they could tell what really happened. Especially when they caught him in the act of trying to choke the girl.”

When she looked up, Ellis saw her blue eyes were too bright, as if unshed tears lurked near the surface. “Jacob lingered on life support for nearly a month. The father was fired and brought up on an array of various charges, including assault, attempted murder, all those lovely things. Jacob’s mother finally had life support pulled because he was brain dead and being kept alive on a ventilator. Jacob’s mother went home after she did it and took a hot bath, a full bottle of Valium, a quart of vodka, and a couple of razor blades across her wrists. People say it was a moving double funeral, as far as those things go.”

Her gaze drifted past him, to a distant point in time. “At Jackson Clary’s trial, the attorney tried to plead temporary insanity as his defense. That he just snapped when he arrived on the scene. Fortunately, the jury saw right through it.”

She returned her gaze to his. “The girl’s father moved them to a different town, across the state line to Idaho. He petitioned a family law judge to let her change her name and seal the files, because there were rumors that maybe friends of Jackson Clary’s might try something. So she took on her mother’s first name, and her paternal grandmother’s last name. She cut her hair short and died it blonde and her dad enrolled her in a private Catholic school of all places, this non-practicing, half-breed girl from Jew Jersey. She gave up shooting skeet with a team, but once she was old enough to get her driver’s license, she’d drive an hour away to a skeet field in Spokane and shoot several rounds at least once a week.

“And the day she turned eighteen, which was a month after she graduated, her father gave her the money from her mother’s life insurance settlement and she bolted for literally the farthest state she thought she could go and still be in the continental US. She packed up her truck, her gun, and her reloader, and boogied with her father’s blessings.”

“And that’s how she ended up in Florida?”

She nodded. “Yep.” She sat up straighter and picked at her cuticles. Her voice returned to normal, albeit a little more subdued in tone. “Enrolled in community college to get an AA and worked several jobs until she…I got my skeet instructor certification. In the meanwhile, I developed the other gifts I knew I had, the less profitable metaphysical ones, and eventually ended up on Julie’s doorstep one day while I was still in school. She took one look at me and hired me on the spot even though I was only in there to look at Tarot decks. She insisted. Who was I to refuse her?” She sadly smiled. “I loved that witch. So, so much.” She sighed. “Got to the point where I quit looking over my shoulder, quit dying my hair, let it grow out again.” She shook her head. “Ironically, most of my ‘gifts’ came out after the attack. Julie’s theory was maybe during the choking, or when Jacob hit me…” Her voice trailed off as she studied her hands. “Something taken away, something given.”

“How long will Jackson Clary be in jail?”

She snorted. “They paroled the fucker six months ago. ‘Compassionate release’ they said. He was supposedly diagnosed with inoperable cancer. My dad sent me an e-mail about it. He doesn’t send me anything by snail mail unless he drives a ways to send it.”

“He stayed out there?”

“Lots of small airports, bush pilots, lots of work for a certified aircraft mechanic out there in that region if you know your stuff and can get planes back in the air fast.”

He let the silence lay between them for a moment, broken only by the sound of a dog barking off in the distance and cars over on US 41. “But why no concealed carry permit? I’d think you of all people would want one.”

“I can’t risk them running my prints and background check and it tripping a flag somewhere about my past, in case he or one of his asshole buddies is still in a vengeful mood. He might be a convicted felon, but he had a lot of friends.”

“Don’t you think that’s paranoid?”

A sad smile curved her lips. “I did naïve once, chief. I won’t do it again. Ever. Kind of had it beaten out of me.”

* * *

Sachi led him to the pro shop. An older man stood behind the counter. He smiled when she walked in. “There’s my favorite instructor.”

Ellis was a little surprised to see Sachi look…embarrassed? “Hi, Bob. He’s a total noob. Can you get him set up with paperwork, charge him for two rounds, get him a vest, and the Lanber twelve-gauge rental gun? He’s got ear and eye protection of his own. I need to hit the john.”

“Shells?” Bob asked.

“Nope. I’ve got reloads.”

“You pulling for him?”

“Yeah, if you’ll get me the key to the shed to get the remote. Unless it’s already out there on field one.”

“I think it’s out there. Alex was out there earlier.”

“Cool.” She headed around the corner.

Another man appeared from a back office as Ellis was filling out standard liability waiver paperwork. “Was that Sachi?” he asked Bob.

“Yeah.”

The man turned to Ellis. “Ah, so you did catch up with her, I take it?”

“Excuse me?”

The man looked confused. “John said there was a man in here earlier looking for Sachi. You aren’t him?”

He shook his head. “Nope. Sachi’s a friend. She works for my girlfriend. She offered to bring me out and let me try skeet.”

“Oh. Okay.”

Bob looked at the man. “Didn’t John take a message for her?”

“Guy didn’t want to leave one.” He shrugged. “I suppose he’ll come back or call. John said he took a card.” He looked at Ellis. “She’s our most popular instructor. People usually have to wait weeks for her to have an opening.”

“Really?”

Bob snorted. “Heck, yeah. And the juniors love her. The kids would lynch us if she wasn’t their coach. Never seen anything like it. We’ve got parents bring their kids all the way up from Tampa to be coached by her.”

Sachi and kids wasn’t a mix Ellis could easily envision. “Does she compete?”

“No. We’ve tried. She could probably make nationals if she wanted, maybe even the US Olympic team, but she says she’s too busy. Just wants to teach.”

Ellis would have wondered about that statement if Sachi hadn’t confided in him just a few minutes earlier.

When Sachi finally returned from the bathroom, Ellis wasn’t sure, but he thought she looked like maybe she’d been crying.

He was also more than smart enough to not mention it.

She slipped her sunglasses on and adjusted the brim of her baseball cap. “Ready?” Before he could answer, she’d grabbed the shotgun from the counter and balanced it on her shoulder.

“I can carry that,” he said.

She smiled. “I know.” She headed out the door, leaving Ellis to gather up his vest and follow her.

They stopped by her car, where she popped the trunk for him. “Grab that black bag for me, please.” She walked over to the shelter by the first skeet field, closed the gun’s breech, and put it in the gun rack.

“Rule one,” she said as she walked back to the trunk. “Gun stays open and unloaded until you step up to the station. You don’t load shells into it until you’re ready to call for a bird. One for singles, two for doubles.”

He nodded.

She reached into the trunk and unzipped a padded rifle case. From it, she pulled a shotgun.

A cold shiver raced through his stomach as he recognized it from the one in his dreams. Straight down to the engraving on it and the customized stock. He couldn’t take his eyes off it as she broke it open and carried it that way until she got to the gun rack, where she closed it and stood it next to his.

“Where do you want this bag?” It was far heavier than it had looked.

“Just sit it on the bench.” She fastened a belt around her waist, from which hung a leather pouch.

“Where’s your vest?” he asked.

She snorted. “You kidding? It’s too freaking hot for a vest out here.” She grinned.

He looked down at his. “Then why make me wear one?”

“Because I said so. Duh.” She cocked her head. “And they have extra padding in the shoulder. I don’t need it for my gun. I have a recoil reducer on it. I don’t even feel it anymore. You, however, are shooting a shop gun and might want the extra protection.”

“Ah. Okay. Thanks.”

She closed the trunk and walked to the bag. Inside, plastic boxes held twenty-five shells each. She handed him one. “These are lead shot. There are a couple of fields I shoot at around here where you have to shoot steel because of environmental regs, but here we can shoot lead.”

“Is there a difference? I mean,” he quickly added when he saw her winding up for a snarky comment, “I know the difference between lead and steel. But I mean how you load them.”

She smiled and pointed a hand at him and mimicked shooting a gun. “Smarty pants. You catch on quick. Yes, I have different calibrations for whether I’m shooting steel or lead. Different shot and powder bushings I use. I’ve got everything written down at home, spent hours patterning the gun and with the chromographs to make sure the mix is just right. Not something we need to get into today. If you decide you like doing this, we can talk about teaching you that.” She shrugged. “Or you can just buy boxes of shells from wherever you shoot.”

Once they were ready, she swapped out her sunglasses for shooting glasses and put her ear plugs in. Once he was similarly equipped, she handed him his gun, grabbed hers, and led him to the far left end of the field.

She quickly oriented him, pointing as she talked. “High house behind us. This is station one. Left to right, it’s stations two, three, four, five, six, seven by the low house, and eight in the middle. Got it?”

He nodded.

She grabbed a remote control connected to a long cable snaking from a bunker at the middle of the field.

“I’ll throw you a high and a low first, just to show you.” She did and he watched as the orange clay disks zoomed over the field.

“They move fast,” he said.

She grinned. “You ain’t seen nothing yet. They seem to move a lot faster when you’re trying to shoot them. Hold this. Don’t hit the buttons yet.” She swapped places with him on the small concrete pad. “When I call, hit the button for the high house.” She showed him which button. Then she popped a shell into the lower chamber, closed it, and took her stance.

He watched as Sachi seemed to change into another person. A quiet calm overtook her. “Ha!”

He hit the button. Above them in the high house, he heard the machine cycle as a clay launched.

She fired, the disk exploding into a fine, powdery cloud over the center stake by the bunker.

She broke the gun open and removed the spent shell, dropping it into the other part of her pouch. “Save the hulls, by the way. Stations one and seven are usually easiest for beginners, because the birds are flying either toward or away from you, not across.”

She shouldered her gun and took the remote control from him. “Your turn.”

“I thought there were more shots.”

“There are. I’m just showing you. High and low singles, then doubles.” She grinned. “But I’ll pull on rapport for you since you’re a noob.”

He laughed at her good-natured smile. “Awfully nice of you.” He started to load the gun but she stopped him. “What?”

“Close it and show me your stance.”

He did.

She laughed. “Nope. You won’t hit shit like that with a shotgun. She corrected his form. When she was happy with his stance, she had him load the gun.

As he sighted across the field where she said, he asked, “Why’d you say ‘ha’ instead of ‘pull’?”

“Just what I was taught. Say whatever you want, as long as you say it so whoever’s pulling knows it’s your call.”

“Oh.” He took a couple of breaths to settle his mind. “Pull!”

Her finger was far faster on the button than his had been. The bird immediately appeared. He tried to find it, lost it when he raised the barrel too high, then found it again and fired.

It dropped unbroken to the far end of the field, where it shattered as it hit the ground.

She patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. We’ll just shoot stations this time around, no score. Try again.” It took him four more attempts to break the high house. Three to break the low.

She skipped on rapport and moved him to station two, where it took him three attempts to hit the high house and another three to hit the low.

“I’ve got to tell you,” he said, “I feel humbled.”

She snorted. “You really want to feel humbled?” She handed him the remote again and led him back to station one. “High, low, doubles,” she said, pointing to the buttons. Then she loaded a shell. “High house… Ha!”

The clay exploded before it even crossed the bunker in the center of the field. He’d yet to make one shatter so eloquently. His had either split into a few pieces, or broken, but not into a cloud of literal dust.

She reloaded. “Low house. Ha!”

That one broke as well.

She didn’t miss a shot until station six, where she missed the low house double. “Dammit,” she said as she unloaded. “Good thing we’re not playing for money.”

He laughed. “Yeah. And yes, I’m humbled.”

“Good.”

She walked her gun back to the gun rack at the shelter before rejoining him. “Let’s finish up that first box of shells and then we’ll try you on a real round.”

Nearly an hour later, he had a sore shoulder and a score of twelve for his first official round of skeet.

He also felt closer to Sachi than he had before. He felt he’d finally been allowed a glimpse behind her wall. He saw another side of her, the confident woman at home here, the encouraging, positive instructor who didn’t tease him in a bad way or make him feel inept for his lack of skill.

If she acted a fraction of this way around her other students, he easily saw why she was such a popular and successful instructor.

He also saw the dedication she had for the science of the sport, from the way she helped him correct his form to discussions about reloads. Even though being a serious skeet shooter seemed to fly in the face of her reading Tarot and teaching chakras or whatever it was she did at the store, he felt far more respect for her than he did when they’d started.

The metaphysical stuff she and Mandaline and even Brad were into no longer provided the mental block it had before this whole experience started weeks earlier with walking into Julie’s store and making the appointment.

“Thank you for this,” he said as he helped her put everything away and they walked his rental gear back to the pro shop.

She shrugged, her sunglasses and hat once again hiding her features. “You’re a good guy. Both of you are.” She turned to him and looked up. He saw himself reflected in her glasses. “Don’t hurt her,” she whispered. “Please. Don’t screw it up again. It was a huge leap of faith for her to trust you.”

He stuck his hand out. “I promise. You can shoot me if I screw up.”

She looked at his hand before shaking it. She grinned. “I will hold you to that.”

“I know you will. That’s why I said it.”

* * *

Mandaline nervously looked for any sign of a problem when they returned to the store.

Sachi laughed. “Don’t worry, boss. I didn’t scare him.”

Ellis gave Mandaline a hug. “I had a lot of fun. Sachi’s a great teacher.”

Mandaline knew her relief almost palpably washed off her. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“You know,” Sachi said, “I can go to a hotel—”

“No,” all three of them said.

Mandaline couldn’t get over her feeling there was more to this than just a break-in. “You are staying here, with us, and that’s it. When they get the alarm in, then you can go home.”

Sachi cocked her head. “You don’t think you’re being a little paranoid?”

She struggled to keep the shrill tone out of her voice. “After what we just went through, I’m not ignoring a bad feeling ever again!”

Sachi hugged her. “Okay,” she softly said. “I’ll stay. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for you to worry.”

“You can’t leave here and not have an alarm!”

“Shh, it’s all right. I won’t. It’s okay.”

She didn’t want to cry. Not after she’d made so much progress. Ellis and Brad walked over and joined their group hug.

“It’s really okay,” Ellis assured her. “We don’t mind you being here, either. We’re with Mandaline, we’d rather have you here and not have to worry about your safety.”

When they finally broke apart, Mandaline wiped at her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she told Sachi, “but I’m now officially a worrywart.”

Sachi smiled. “That’s okay,” she gently said. “For you, I’ll make an exception. Although I suspect I’ll be sleeping with my shooting muffs on tonight.” She grinned.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Monday afternoon, Ellis went back to the store for lunch. When he walked in, Brad was alone behind the counter and on the phone. He looked exasperated, which wasn’t usual for him. “Look, mister. I recognize your voice. Like I keep telling you the other times you’ve called, we don’t have anyone on our staff here named Mickey. We have a Makenzie… Dude, I don’t care if you saw her on TV. You’ve got the wrong name. We’ve got Mandaline, Mina, Makenzie. Those are the em names. We have a Paige, Anna, Kim and Sa—”

He looked at the phone and hung up in disgust. “Asshole.”

“What’s wrong?” Ellis asked.

“Same fricking rude old guy’s called like three times today. Keeps asking for Mickey.” He let out a snort. “He calls again, I’m telling him to try Orlando.”

“Where’s Mandaline?”

“Out shopping. I gave her an assignment and sent her down to the IKEA store in Tampa. I told her I wanted her to pick out bedroom furniture.”

“Why there?”

“Because when I started talking about more expensive furniture, it looked like she was going to pop a vein.” He smiled. “Sachi warned me she’s a thrifty shopper.”

“Oh. So when will she be back?”

“I don’t know. I told her not to come back without some ideas from their catalog, as well as some paint chips from the hardware store to think about what to paint the walls.”

He snorted. “How’d you manage that?”

“Sachi helped me, of course. I thought we were going to have to force her into her car.”

Sachi walked out of the office. “Yeah, she sooo doesn’t take well to being made to not work. I should have warned you our girl is a workaholic.”

Amused, Ellis crossed his arms over his chest. “Pot, meet kettle?”

She nodded. “Hey, takes one to know one, chief.”

* * *

Mandaline survived her IKEA expedition and made her way back to the Home Depot in Brooksville. She stared at the colorful wall of paint chips, agonizing indecision rendering her practically numb.

How the frak am I supposed to choose?

She understood what Sachi and Brad were trying to do, to get her out of the shop and force her to think of something besides that for awhile. She loved them for it, but this was almost a form of torture for her.

This was the first time in…well, in ever, that she’d actually had a solo voice in a major furniture or color decision. When Julie had decided to repaint the reading rooms, she’d given the staff ten choices to pick from that they liked the best.

Carl had never given her a true choice, instead painting the blah beige color palette his mother had insisted would be the most sensible. And the trailer was a rental with wood-paneled walls, not worth painting.

And she hadn’t had money to spend on “good” furniture before anyway.

This…this was sheer insanity.

How do people pick colors?

She finally started grabbing sample cards she liked. By the time she finished, she had at least fifty choices and it felt like her head was about to explode.

That’s it. Brad can do the rest of the house. This suuucks.

When she got back to the shop it was after six, thunderstorms were approaching, and she found Sachi’s last reading of the day had cancelled. “Good.” She grabbed her arm and started dragging her toward the back door. “Then you can come with me.”

“Whoa, slow down, boss. Come where?”

“To the house to pick a paint color.”

Sachi rolled her eyes. “Really? Isn’t this why you make the big bucks?”

“Sachi.”

“Why can’t Tarzan go with you? I thought the contractor got the mold cleaned up.”

“Because we haven’t got the final reports back yet on the air quality. I don’t want him there until we do. Hey, you took sides against me getting me out of the store this morning. You owe me. Please?”

Sachi’s snark disappeared, her expression softening. “You all right?”

She started to nod, then shook her head, finally ending with a shrug.

Sachi gave her a hug. “Okay. Hold on, let me get my purse and give Tarzan my keys. One of the guys from the skeet club reloads, but he wants to experiment with a different load and asked to borrow a couple of shot and powder bushings since my reloader takes the same ones his does. They’re in my trunk. He might come by to get them tonight.”

“You went to your house?” Mandaline wanted to smack her. “What the hell?”

“I didn’t go alone. I took Tarzan with me. We were there all of five minutes. Quit worrying.”

When they were pulling away from the store, Sachi cocked her head at Mandaline from the passenger seat. “You are really wound up about this furniture and paint thing, aren’t you?”

“I don’t want to screw it up,” she admitted.

Sachi let out a laugh that Mandaline recognized as her kind one, not her snarky one. “Sweetie, I think you could paint the room like Shrek destroyed a Barbie dollhouse and they both exploded, and they wouldn’t give a damn. You’re being way too hard on yourself.” She reached over and patted Mandaline’s arm. “They want you to pick the colors and furniture because they want you to feel like it’s your home, too. Those two men honestly don’t give a shit what you pick. They’ll love it because you’re living there with them.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. They flat-out told you that. You didn’t believe them?”

“I really suck at this relationship stuff.”

“No you don’t. You’re just too damn hard on yourself. Ease up. Go with the flow.” She grinned. “You lucky bitch. They’re wrapped around your fingers. Both of them.” She pulled out her cell phone.

“Who are you calling?”

“Tarzan. After we get done at the house, I’m abducting your ass for the evening. Girls’ ni—hey, it’s Sachi. Mind if I borrow your gal for the whole evening? Cool, we’ll be back by eleven. Thanks!” She ended the call and dumped the phone back in her purse. “See? You’re all mine for the night. We should call Libbie and see if she wants to go out.”

“She gets up early. She’s probably already in bed.”

“Ah. True. We have to catch her on a Saturday or Sunday. Deal?”

Mandaline glanced at her. “Okay, but if you want me to loosen up, you have to stay sober and be the designated driver.”

“No problem.” She settled back in her seat. “The other option is ordering a pizza and stopping at a convenience store on our way over to the house for a six-pack of beer. It’s been spritzing all afternoon.” She pointed at the heavy, leaden clouds making their way from the west toward town. “Bottom’s supposed to drop out here shortly.” She grinned. “We can do some nighttime skyclad rain dancing in the yard. How long’s it been since you got to do that? I mean, since the night you rescued Tarzan from the killer mold. And technically that wasn’t a happy-time dance.”

Mandaline giggled. “Okay, that’s a winning plan.”

“Cool.”

They opted to order the pizza sooner rather than later. While they waited, they went up to the master bedroom and Sachi helped Mandaline tape all the sample cards up on the walls.

“We really should be doing this in the daytime, you know,” Sachi said without snark. “Hard to see a true color even with all the work lights.” She glanced out the window where dark was falling early due to the heavy clouds. “Not the best light.”

“I know, but I want an idea of what I can live with. Most of the time I’ll be in here, it’ll be dark outside.” She immediately pulled one sample from the wall. In this light, it looked too acid-green for her tastes.

“See? That wasn’t so hard,” Sachi said. “One down, and only a bazillion more to go.”

* * *

Ellis wasn’t in a hurry to get back to the store. Brad had called him with a heads-up about the women going to the house and suspecting Mandaline needed some downtime based on Sachi’s wording. He and Brad could scrounge for leftovers.

It would do Sachi and Mandaline some good to be alone together.

Not to mention he had plenty of work he could do to keep him busy. Or…

He opened an Internet browser window on his laptop. He wasn’t surprised when he entered “Sachi murder assault Montana” into Google and came up with several pages of results about the attack and trial. He spent the better part of an hour reading about what happened. Even after having heard Sachi’s version of the events, the details chilled him to the core.

Even sadder, that Jacob’s mother killed herself after allowing doctors to withdraw life support for her son.

He leaned back in his chair and stared at the screen. He’d seen a lot of misery inside the walls of courtrooms. Other than Brad’s ordeals, he’d largely been insulated from the worst of humanity in his own personal life.

She lived for a month with her husband in jail, accused of attacking a girl to cover up their son’s crime of rape and murder. That’s hell on earth.

He also found Sachi’s mother’s obituary. Apparently it wasn’t the newspaper’s policy to comment on manner of death, since it listed only the date she died, her family information, and information on the memorial services, which apparently were held both in Montana and New Jersey.

Sachi Bloomfeld is survived by her husband Michael and daughter, Miki…

* * *

Mandaline had only eliminated six more choices by the time the pizza arrived. She’d waited to pop the cap on her first beer until then. Sachi, who apparently had an iron constitution, swore she’d limit herself to two and was already halfway through her first.

As they sat around the folding table in the kitchen, Sachi’s iPod plugged into the men’s portable stereo and blasting Shakira at wall-rattling levels in the living room, Mandaline tried to envision the house finished.

She looked at Sachi. “Isn’t your dad set to retire soon? Maybe he’d like to move to Florida. How long’s it been since you’ve seen him?”

Sachi nearly choked on the mouthful of pizza she’d been working on. “Whoa. Where the hell did that come from?”

“I don’t like the idea of you being alone. Look what happened Saturday.”

“I’m not alone. And I talk to my dad at least once a week on the phone.” She took a swallow of beer. “Look, I’m not worried about it, all right? It’s just a freaky coincidence.” Her expression darkened. “The cops said there’d been several break-ins in the neighborhood over the past few weeks. It was probably kids.”

“They didn’t steal anything.”

“Yeah, because my neighbor scared them away before they could.” She reached over and touched Mandaline’s hand. “Miki Bloomfeld isn’t traceable to Florida.”

“You said he’s out on parole.”

She shrugged. “Yeah, so? I’m what, two thousand miles away?” She smiled. “Hey, you’re not trying to talk me out of skyclad rain dancing, are you? I was all lookin’ forward to seein’ and barin’ boobies.”

Mandaline nearly spit her beer out laughing. “You can’t be serious at all, can you?”

Sachi grinned. “Of course I can. But snark is my passion, right up there next to skeet. I’m good at it. Wouldn’t want me to waste my natural talents, would you?”

Mandaline tried and succeeded in taking a swallow of her beer. “No, we wouldn’t want that at all.” As if to punctuate her comment, thunder rumbled outside. “When is the alarm getting installed?”

Sachi let out a sigh. “Hopefully tomorrow, Momma Bear.”

“Good. Panic buttons?”

Sachi didn’t suppress the eye roll. “Yes, two, one on each keypad, plus a wearable fob.”

“Why aren’t you taking this more seriously?”

“I’m taking it as seriously as I need to.” She picked up her beer and took a few swallows from the bottle. “Let’s be honest. Any goober with half a brain and an Internet connection could probably find me if he tried hard enough. Yes, the house isn’t in my name, it’s in the name of the trust I had set up, as are the utilities and my car, but seriously? They could find my dad, break into his house, and find my address, I’m sure. Or track me down somehow.”

“Then get a fricking concealed carry permit!”

Sachi’s eyebrows soared skyward. “You? Telling me to get a concealed carry permit? I think hell really has frozen over.” She set her beer down on the table. “Can we please not talk about this tonight? We’re here because you freaked out over the rainbow of choices available to paint your walls. I think I can handle this.”

She didn’t want to let it drop, but she knew Sachi had dug her feet in. “I’m just glad you’re staying with us.”

Sachi’s expression softened. “I appreciate you doing it. I feel like a fifth wheel, though.” Sadness flitted across her expression before she schooled her face back to Sachi the Snarky mode. “I know you’re worried about me, but I think I can handle myself.”

* * *

Brad felt unsettled all evening, the feeling growing stronger the later it grew. In one way, he was glad Sachi and Mandaline were going to the house together. He thought it would do both women good to get away for a while.

On the other hand, having them out of sight didn’t help his nerves.

That bothered him.

Then the storm began in earnest.

He practically jumped out of his skin when his cell phone rang in his pocket a little after eight. He dug it out to find Ellis calling.

“I’m not walking back in this slop,” he said. “Do you mind if I hang out here for a while?”

Brad glanced out the front windows. In the light cast by the streetlights, the rain blew through in horizontal sheets as the thunderstorm’s fury built. “No, I’ll be fine. I think everyone else is getting ready to head on out.”

“Sachi and Mandaline still gone?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. Don’t wait on me to eat,” he said. “I’ll grab something when I get back over there.”

“Okay.”

He hung up and looked out the windows again. Nature’s fury in action.

And still, his nerves grew ever more frayed.

* * *

Mandaline stared out the open door. She’d opted for beer number three after downing the second. “Holy crap, it’s really blowing out there!”

Sachi peered over her shoulder. “Chicken?”

She laughed. “Not even.” She pulled her shirt off over her head, neatly folded it, and laid it on the table, followed by her pants. “I don’t see you getting nekkid.”

“It’s going to be cold.”

“Wuss.”

Sachi frowned. “You calling me out, witchy poo?”

“You better believe it.”

Sachi let out a put-upon sigh and began stripping. She folded her clothes and left them on the table with Mandaline’s. “Fine. Happy?” But she smiled.

“Let’s do it.” Mandaline dashed out the door, laughing, Sachi on her heels. The two women stopped in the middle of the mowed parking area, arms stretched high, eyes closed as rain pelted their faces.

“I do love me a good storm,” Sachi said over the din.

Mandaline did an impromptu dance. “Nothing better for the spirit,” she said.

They weren’t paying any attention to the house, or the fact that behind them, all the lights went out. When Mandaline finally turned and noticed, she softly swore.

“What?” Sachi asked.

“Power’s out.” She suddenly had a creepy feeling they were being watched despite knowing that couldn’t be the case. The closest neighbor was too far away, and the brush way too thick, for them to be seen.

“So?”

“How am I supposed to finish picking paint colors in the dark?” Her beer buzz was hitting hard and strong now, helping her to relax and put the being-watched feeling out of her mind.

Sachi shrugged. “We don’t need it out here. Probably just the storm. It’ll come back on in a few minutes, most likely.”

“Oh. True.” She continued her dancing.

* * *

Paige was the last one out the door a few minutes after eight. Alone in the store, Brad walked to the front, feeling more unsettled than ever. He spent nearly an hour trying to draw without success. A little before nine, he tried calling Mandaline’s phone and got her voice mail. “Hey, just checking in. Love you.”

He thought about calling Sachi, too, but decided that would just be paranoid.

Pers, released from the apartment to wander at will, followed close on his heels. He looked down at the little dog. “You feel it?”

Pers sat and let out a bark.

“Yeah, me, too, buddy.”

He walked behind the counter. Someone had raked the zen garden, but he picked up the rake anyway and created a circular pattern with it around the small stones. Satisfied, he put the rake down and turned from it.

Pers let out a loud bark, startling him, just before the power went out.

“Crap.” He knew they had a backup genny, but didn’t know anything about it. Mandaline had shown him where the instruction booklet was in back but that didn’t help him in the dark. He looked out the front windows and saw even the streetlights were out.

“Dammit.” He fumbled around in the blackness until he remembered his iPhone.

“Duh.”

He started to dig it out of his pocket when a soft scritching noise came to him, from his right.

“What the fuck?”

He felt Pers run past his ankles toward the noise as the little dog began barking hysterically. He finally freed his phone from his pocket and found the home button. When he turned, in the soft glow from the light, he found himself face-to-face with Julie.

He let out a scream and nearly dropped the phone.

“Go,” she said. “Now. Believe!”

A loud clap of thunder made him jump. The phone fell from his hands and hit the concrete floor, where the screen broke.

The lights chose that moment to come back on. He was alone in the store, but in the zen garden, someone had written, GO NOW!

His phone, the screen shattered, lay faceup on the floor.

“Fuck!”

He grabbed the shop phone to call Ellis, but silence met him. When he tried to turn the TV back on, the cable box wouldn’t respond. The phone line, part of the cable service, was out, too.

He ran his hands through his hair. “What the fuck do I do?” He grabbed the cell phone from the floor and started to put it in his pocket when he realized there was something else in there.

Sachi’s keys.

* * *

In the dark Ellis sat at his desk, his laptop on battery power, and drummed his fingers on his blotter. He was debating whether or not to plug his wireless modem into the computer when the power returned.

Unfortunately, the cable, which was also his Internet connection, didn’t.

“Crap.”

He sat back in his chair, several tabs open in his browser containing information about what happened to Sachi Bloomfeld. He wished there was something he could do for their Sachi. Hell, even if it was just trying to hook her up with a friend, to make her life better.

Then again, a good date isn’t going to exactly make up for her mom getting murdered and her getting raped and having to live under an assumed name.

He minimized his browser and pulled up a file he was working on for a client and tried to immerse himself in that. The cable—and Internet—didn’t come back on. By nine thirty he was contemplating leaving his jacket and shoes in the office and just making a run for it through the rain. He tried calling the shop but it went to voice mail. When he tried both Brad and Mandaline’s cells, theirs did as well.

“Hmm.”

He stared at his phone. The rain showed no signs of letting up anytime soon. If I don’t want to spend most of the night here I might have to suck it up and do it.

He headed for the bathroom first, then upstairs to check and see if he or Brad didn’t still have a change of clothes, like for the gym or doing maintenance at the office or something, stashed in their private closet.

No such luck. He let out a disgusted snort. “Nothing. I’m really running a Mickey Mouse outfit around…”

He froze. A familiar, and completely unpleasant, feeling engulfed him. Chilling him.

Like when he opened his front door that horrible night to find an FHP trooper standing there with Brad’s wallet in his hands.

“Fuck!”

He tore down the stairs to his office and clicked on the browser to maximize it again. As he reread the obituary for Sachi’s mom, that ice water completely froze his soul. “Fuck!”

He ripped off his jacket and threw it on his chair. He barely took the time to lock the front door behind him as he ran through the rain toward the shop.

* * *

The power still hadn’t come back on by the time they both grew too chilled to continue their skyclad rain dancing. Sachi waited in the doorway while a still-buzzed Mandaline staggered and fumbled around in the kitchen until her hand finally closed around the Maglite Ellis had brought her the night she’d discovered the mold. She clicked it on.

“There.”

Sachi shivered. “Great. Let’s get some towels.”

Mandaline giggled. “Oops, sorry. I should have thought about that before we went out.”

“Um, yeah, ya think?” Sachi smiled. “That’s okay. I think you’re a little over the limit to be remembering small details like not catching pneumonia.”

Mandaline giggled again. “I’ll go find towels.”

“Great. I’ll stand here while my tits freeze off.”

Mandaline staggered for the stairs. As she crossed the living room, she thought she saw a shadow move out of the corner of her eye, but when she looked and trained the light there, she didn’t notice anything out of place.

She made her way upstairs and tried one hall closet, which was full of linens and other stuff, but no towels. She tried another one, next to the bathroom. “Jackpot!” she called down.

“Great!” Sachi said, her voice now near the base of the stairs. “I’m freezing.”

Mandaline wrapped one around her, one around her hair, and grabbed two more for Sachi. She giggled as she had to lean against the wall when she reached the stairs. She accidentally hit Sachi in the face with the beam from the flashlight, making her squint. “Whoops, sorry.” She pointed it down the stairs.

Sachi looked down, then her expression changed. She stared back up at Mandaline, terror on her face.

Mandaline had seen her look like that before, but she wasn’t sure when.

As she took a step down, Sachi bolted up the stairs, grabbing her and the flashlight. She turned off the flashlight and clapped a hand over Mandaline’s mouth when she tried to speak. She dragged Mandaline back down the hallway and into the bathroom, where she quietly closed and locked the door behind them.

Mandaline struggled against her, confused and scared by her friend’s reaction.

Sachi pressed her lips against Mandaline’s ear. Barely louder than a breath, she whispered, “There’s another set of fresh wet footprints on the floor downstairs. Shoes. Not us. Large ones. They came in, look like they went back out and then came in again.”

Mandaline froze, fear washing through her. Unbidden, her mind flashed back to her private talk with Sami and Matt the day after Julie’s wake.

“I ran outside and hid behind the house, next to the generator. It had run out of fuel. You could barely hear anything over the rain. Then I heard him coming. George. He came outside to refill it. I ran back inside to check on Julie, but she…”

Mandaline closed her eyes and willed it away. Together they huddled close and listened.

They couldn’t hear anything over the sound of the storm outside.

Sachi once again pressed her lips to Mandaline’s ear. “My cell’s in my purse downstairs. Is yours down there, too?”

Mandaline nodded.

“Shit. Do they have a working phone line here?”

She couldn’t remember. Did they? She fumbled for and found Sachi’s ear. She hoped in her drunkenness she was being as quiet as she thought she was. “I don’t know.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

He’s going to kill me. He’s going to fucking kill me. Then Sachi’s going to kill me. Then he’s going to make the state revoke my license.

Brad nervously drove through downtown, more cautiously than he had ever driven in his life. Between the storm and his nerves, his fear, and being out of practice driving a stick shift, he prayed he didn’t get in an accident and hurt someone. It had been years since he’d driven. The adrenaline pouring through his system didn’t help matters any.

At a whopping twenty-five miles an hour, he carefully negotiated streets, some partially flooded in places from the deluge, until he reached US 41. Even there he only pushed his speed up to thirty-five despite the speed limit of fifty-five.

Please be okay! Please, let me be wrong!

If he was wrong he’d gladly take whatever ass chewing Ellis and Mandaline—and Sachi, since it was her car he’d stolen—wanted to give him.

The storm worsened, forcing him to slow even further. With the wipers on high they still couldn’t keep up with the sheets of rain pounding the little car’s roof. He crept along the road, his attention torn between not running off the highway or missing the turnoff. It wasn’t until he spotted the bright Shell sign of a convenience store about a mile north of the turnoff that he realized he’d gone too far.

“Dammit!”

He pulled off the road into the parking lot and promptly stalled the little Toyota out in a deep puddle.

“Shit!”

He took a deep breath.

Julie’s voice came to his mind. He didn’t know if it was really her or his imagination. “Calm down. You can do this. You can do it for them. You have to.”

He tried to crank the car, almost in tears when it didn’t want to start. He was afraid he’d flooded it out in the puddle when it finally caught and jerked forward as he let off the clutch too fast. It stalled out again, but had moved forward far enough to be clear of the water.

With trembling hands he tried starting it again, careful to keep his foot firmly on the clutch this time.

It cranked over.

“Thank you, Goddess!”

Slowly, he circled the parking lot until he got himself back onto the highway and pointed in the right direction. This time he didn’t miss the turnoff. He slowly drove through the wind-driven rain toward their road.

When he reached the driveway, he breathed a sigh of relief. About thirty yards down, around the first bend, he had to slam on the brakes and stalled out as he came upon a beat-up Chevy sedan parked in the middle of the drive and blocking his way.

No way around it in Sachi’s little car.

He stared at it for a moment.

“Look at the license plate!” Julie screamed in his head.

He had to squint through the rain, even with the headlights turned on high, to make out the white lettering on the dark blue background.

Montana.

“What do I do?” he screamed out loud.

Julie didn’t answer.

He ripped off his seat belt and shut off the car and headlights. He fumbled for the door handle. When he opened it, the dome light came on and he looked down.

He spotted the truck latch lever.

* * *

Ellis was soaked through to the skin by the time he pounded through the dark to the store. He beat on the front door, but Brad didn’t come let him in.

“Shit!” He only had a key for the back door.

He ran around the building and realized something wasn’t right but not understanding what. He fumbled for and finally got his key in the lock. Inside, Pers met him at the door. He finally got the alarm turned off and ran for the stairs, the little dog on his heels.

“Brad!” he yelled. He thundered up the stairs but didn’t find him.

He yanked off sodden clothes as he ran for the bedroom. Not bothering with fresh briefs, he pulled on a pair of jeans, slipped on sneakers without socks, and grabbed a dirty T-shirt from the chair by the bed. He ripped a raincoat off a hanger out of the closet and pulled it on.

He also pulled the lock box for his .38 out of the closet. He grabbed the gun, started to close the box, then also took the spare clip for it, which was fully loaded, and a box of ammo.

As he ran down the stairs, Pers tried to follow him but he closed the stairwell door, locking him in the apartment.

It wasn’t until he bolted through the back door, not bothering to set the alarm before he locked it, that he realized Sachi’s car was missing.

“What the fuck?” He got into his car and, praying he was wrong and paranoid and really jumping to conclusions, he pulled out of the parking lot and sped toward the house.

* * *

Mandaline didn’t fight Sachi as she kept her hand over Mandaline’s mouth. They both listened at the bathroom door, but they couldn’t hear anything over the rain pounding against the roof. Now she regretted the damn beers.

That’ll teach me to drink. You’d think I’d learn.

Sachi whispered into her ear again. “I’m going to sneak down and get my phone.”

Mandaline shook her head.

“Go up to the attic. It locks, right?”

Mandaline nodded.

“I’ll run back up and join you there. We’ll shove the couch in front of the door. It’ll buy us some time. Maybe whoever it is will just leave.”

That didn’t feel right to Mandaline. In fact, it felt like the most wrong idea in the history of the world. She peeled Sachi’s hand back so she could whisper in her ear. “What if they don’t?”

“911 will get here in a few minutes after we call them. We’ll be okay.” Sachi released her. Mandaline heard sounds like she was wrapping a towel around her.

Mandaline fumbled around in the dark until she located Sachi again and found her ear. “Find my keys and we’ll run out to the car.”

“You can’t run. You’re so drunk you can barely stand, much less walk.”

She felt heat fill her face. Sachi’s tone wasn’t hateful, but the truth in her words still made Mandaline feel ashamed.

They both froze, clutching at each other, as they heard footsteps on the stairs. Under the door, they saw a flash of red light sweep past. The footsteps paused.

Mandaline knew exactly what that was. They had several in their investigation kit. It was a night-vision flashlight.

She heard Sachi breathing in her ear as they both listened and waited. The footsteps moved on, toward the attic stairs. They heard the intruder slowly ascend them, then they heard the sound of him walking around the attic.

“Run,” Mandaline said. “Get my keys and run. I’ll lock myself in here.”

“I’m not leaving without you!”

“Run! This might be your only chance!”

“Fuck that noise!” They clutched at each other, freezing in place as the footsteps stopped directly overhead. When the footsteps moved again, Sachi grabbed Mandaline’s hand. “We both run. He can’t catch us both in the woods. You can hide and I’ll draw him away from you. We won’t have time to get to the car.”

Before Mandaline could object, Sachi shoved the Maglite back into her hand. Then she heard the sound of the door lock unlocking and Sachi pulled it open. With her eyes adjusted to the dark, in the dim light from the window at the end of the hallway she could make things out.

They started out the door but then the steps upstairs quickened. Caught in the middle of the hallway, Sachi pushed her back into the bathroom and quietly pulled the door shut before running across the hall and loudly slamming Ellis’ bedroom door.

Mandaline choked back a sob as she locked the knob. She knew what her friend had done, on purpose.

Heavy footsteps pounded down the attic stairs and stopped in the hallway. A loud, gruff man’s voice screamed, “Miki! I know you’re in here with your friend. I don’t want her. My beef’s with you, you fucking Jew-Jap bitch! I know yer both here because I followed y’all from that witch store.”

Mandaline’s eyes widened in the dark. She bit down on her hand to keep from screaming as she heard Sachi’s muffled voice yelling at him through the walls.

“Fuck you, you assfucking fuckface! I hope some big, black bubba made you his fuck bitch in prison! Come and get me, you fucking pussy! You don’t have the fucking balls to take me out!”

Across the hallway, she heard pounding on Ellis’ bedroom door, accompanied by wordless, enraged screams. All the while, Sachi kept up the taunts. “Bet you learned to love sucking cocks in prison, huh? Bet you loved bending over and spreading your cheeks for them to slide it right up your pooper, didn’t ya? Bet some gang spit-roasted your bubba ass every night and you begged for it!”

“I’m gonna get you, you fucking cunt!” More pounding, like he was trying to beat the door down. “I’m gonna kill you like I should have killed you that day! Soon as I saw you on TV I knew that was you!” More pounding. “Been watching you for days. You ain’t as smart as you think you are, and you ain’t leaving here ’til yer dead as my boy!”

“You’re already eager to get back in prison, aren’t you? Bet you miss those nightly gang rapes, huh?”

“I don’t fuckin’ care about prison, you cunt! I’m dead in a few months anyway, and I’m takin’ you with me!”

Mandaline’s hands clenched into tight fists. Except that the right one wouldn’t.

She realized she still held the Maglite.

Before she could reconsider, she quietly unlocked the bathroom door.

The man had dropped his night vision light on the floor. It had rolled away, the beam shining down the hallway away from Mandaline. He wasn’t much taller than her, his body looking thin and wasted, and he was now slamming his left shoulder into the door.

In his right hand, he held a gun.

Astarte, Hecate, Nokomis, Cerridwen, Nodens! she chanted in her brain as she rushed up behind him, her arm upraised. She swung, hard, catching him squarely in the back of the head, the shock driving up her arm and hurting like crazy. He let out a startled grunt, but before he could turn she quickly hit him three more times, driving him to the floor.

“Sachi! Come on! Run!” As the bedroom door unlocked and flew open, Mandaline grabbed the gun with her left hand from where he’d dropped it.

“What the…Mandaline, run!” Sachi shoved her toward the stairs. Now the beer won out, her legs tangling under her. They both went sprawling, the gun flying from her hand into the darkness.

The man groaned, followed by the sound of him rolling over. “Fucking bitch! Yer gonna get it!”

Mandaline screamed as his hand closed on her ankle. Her towel fell free as she kicked and struggled and blindly struck out at him with the flashlight. She managed to connect with him again, but he got another hand on her leg.

She didn’t know where Sachi had ended up, but she prayed her friend got free and ran for help. A sudden calm engulfed her as she struggled. She kicked out again with her free foot, this time hitting him squarely in the nose.

He let out a roar of pain as she felt hands grabbing her under the arms and pulling her toward the stairs. Sachi won the tug-of-war when he lost his grip on her. The women once again went tumbling backward. This time, Mandaline lost her grip on the flashlight. She heard it bounce down the stairs and into the darkness of the living room below.

“Gonna kill you both now!” he roared.

Mandaline flipped over and got her feet beneath her. She made out Sachi’s lithe and also naked body in the darkness.

Sachi grabbed her, shoved her toward the stair railing, and whispered, “Run!”

Mandaline caught her arm and pulled at her. “Not without you!” she screamed, no longer caring if the guy heard.

They would get out of this. She knew it.

She didn’t know how she knew it, but the calm and peace flooding her system wouldn’t let go of her. It felt like the light in the room grew brighter. She glanced back and saw the guy reaching for the gun.

Time slowed as he raised it, pointing it straight at her. Sachi screamed and threw herself in front of Mandaline.

They both let out a shriek as he fired.

* * *

Brad ran through the rain and the darkness down the driveway. He struggled to ignore phantom images now clouding his mind, imaginary Taliban fighters behind every tree pointing weapons at him.

They’re not real! They’re not real! He kept silently chanting this even as the shotgun shells stuffed into his pockets uncomfortably jammed into his hips. He kept his hands tightly clenched around the shotgun. With the dim light mounted in the trunk lid, he’d broke the gun open, removed the snap caps, and jammed two shells into the barrels.

He just prayed he’d picked right when he flipped the safety switch.

The side door stood open as he took the steps two at a time. Just as he ran through the kitchen, he heard the explosion of a gunshot, a brief muzzle flash illuminating the living room as Mandaline screamed and Sachi let out a bloodcurdling cry.

His wet feet slid on the floor as he skidded through the doorway to the stairs. Mounting the gun to his shoulder, he aimed up the stairs where he made out three figures struggling near the top.

Blood thundered in his ears, drowning out all other sounds. A deadly calm filled him. He heard himself yell, “Mandaline! Sachi! Down!”

Mandaline turned. She grabbed Sachi and threw herself down the stairs, her arm around the other woman. They landed four steps from the top.

He pulled the trigger twice, the first round peppering the wall by the stairs with lead shot, the second catching the man in the chest and driving him back and off his feet.

As the shots roared in his ears and took away all other sounds, he edged toward the stairs. “Mandaline! Sachi! Run!”

He saw Mandaline trying to pull Sachi to her feet. Both women were naked, but he didn’t take the time to try to figure that one out. With shaking hands, he fumbled the shotgun open and dumped the spent shells. He dropped two shells from his pocket in an attempt to jam them into the barrels while Mandaline pulled Sachi to her feet.

He thought he heard Mandaline scream, “She’s shot!” but between the temporary deafness from the gunshots and his own frantic heartbeat he wasn’t sure.

He couldn’t get the gun to close again. He broke it open, accidentally ejecting one of the shells in the process. He threw it to the side and raced up the stairs to grab Sachi from Mandaline. He shoved Mandaline down the stairs. “Go!” he yelled. He scooped Sachi into his arms.

Ahead of him, Mandaline had hit the base of the stairs and turned. She screamed something and pointed, but he couldn’t understand her. As he looked back, he saw the man sit up and point a gun at them.

He started down the stairs, praying Mandaline got the fuck out as a dark figure materialized behind her and shoved her toward the kitchen.

He dimly heard what he thought was a man’s voice yell, “Get the fuck down!”

He launched himself toward the bottom of the stairs, his arms tightly wrapped around Sachi. From the base of the stairs in front of him, six shots exploded in quick succession, further ruining his hearing.

The dark form he recognized as Ellis rushed up the stairs past him.

He felt arms pulling at him, trying to take Sachi from him. He almost struck out against them until he realized it was Mandaline.

She was screaming at him, but he wasn’t sure what. He rolled to his feet, grabbed Sachi, and headed toward the kitchen.

* * *

Ellis felt his heart seize in his chest when he pulled up short behind Sachi’s car blocking the driveway, parked behind another, strange vehicle. No way his car could go off-road through the brush around them.

He shoved the spare clip and box of shells into the pocket of his jacket and ran past Sachi’s car.

When he spotted the Montana tag on the back of the other car, he knew.

The rain beat down on him as he dialed 911 and took off running toward the house. The three rings it took before the operator answered felt like infinity.

“911. What is your emergency?”

He gave his name and said their address twice so the operator could get it down. “Intruder with a gun and my girlfriend is in the house with him!” He didn’t know that for sure, but it was an educated guess and would likely get deputies there faster.

As he made it into the clearing, he heard a gunshot and saw a muzzle blast through the living room window. “Shots fired!” he screamed. “Shots fired! Get here now! I have a gun and I’m going in after him!”

“Sir! Don’t go in!”

As he heard a double shotgun blast, he screamed, “Fuck that shit! He’s killing them! I’m going in!” He didn’t bother hitting end as he pounded through the kitchen door. He shoved his phone into his jacket pocket and held the gun with both hands.

He spotted Mandaline first. He didn’t take time to figure out why she was naked, because she was screaming and pointing up the stairs. He grabbed her and yanked her through the doorway and into the kitchen. On the stairs, he spotted Brad trying to get Sachi downstairs.

Above them a man sat up, pointing a gun at them.

“Get the fuck down!” He prayed he didn’t hit Ellis or Sachi as he fired, emptying the gun into the intruder. He rushed up the stairs, past Ellis and Sachi as he dumped the empty clip and slammed the fresh one into the gun.

At the top of the stairs the man lay splayed back in the hallway. He couldn’t tell for sure, but he thought he’d killed him.

He found the man’s gun and picked it up, backing down the stairs as he kept his gun trained on him. At the base of the stairs he put the man’s gun down and grabbed his cell phone. He could barely hear, but the 911 dispatcher was yelling at him.

“I think I killed him. We need an ambulance, I think she’s hurt.” He didn’t want to take the time to explain that he thought Sachi had been injured or who she was. He just wanted to see an ambulance in his yard.

Now.

“The driveway’s blocked by three cars,” he told the dispatcher. “Fucker parked there and we couldn’t get around him.” His hand holding the gun trembled. He flipped the safety on it and lowered it.

The guy wasn’t moving.

He looked into the kitchen where Brad and Mandaline were bent over Sachi. She was moving, and appeared to be talking, but he still couldn’t hear very well. “I’m putting the phone down but I’ll keep the line open.”

He was aware of the dispatcher trying to tell him not to do that, but he did it anyway. He picked up the guy’s gun and took it over to the table, where he broke open the cylinder and dumped the other five rounds in it.

Mandaline had a shirt or something pressed against Sachi’s shoulder. He was aware of the rain finally slacking off outside. “Where’s your keys?” he asked her.

She looked up and pointed through the living room door. He walked back in there, his foot hitting something. He reached down and picked up the Maglite. It came on, and when he trained the light at the top of the stairs the guy looked like he hadn’t moved.

He found her purse and keys and took them back to her. “Get some clothes on. Then move your car and turn the lights on so they shine through the door.” She jumped up to do it. Brad took over holding pressure on Sachi’s wound. It looked like it was through her right shoulder.

He knelt down beside Sachi as the ringing in his ears began subsiding a little. He kept the light from shining in her eyes, but couldn’t see any other injuries on her other than the shoulder wound.

“What’s with the naked stuff?” he teased. “You trying to move in on our girlfriend?”

Sachi looked up at him, then gave him a pained laugh he knew meant she couldn’t be too seriously injured. “Fuck you. Boss lady wanted skyclad rain dancing.” He put the gun in his pocket and took her hand. She squeezed, painfully. “Fucker better be dead, chief, or I’m never taking you skeet shooting again.”

The Element’s headlights illuminated the kitchen. Mandaline ran back in and dropped to her knees next to her.

“I think he’s dead,” he said.

Sachi looked toward the living room. “What the fuck you in here for, then? Watch his fucking ass! Haven’t you ever watched a goddamned horror movie?” She dropped his hand. “Fucking move your ass!”

He stood and walked back to the doorway, where he trained the flashlight up the stairs again.

Still in the same position.

He slowly advanced, watching for any sign of movement. When he got to the top of the stairs he saw the man had no face left.

He reached down anyway and felt for a pulse in the man’s throat.

Nothing.

He made his way back to the kitchen. The sirens sounded louder now, like they were close to their driveway. “He’s dead. Dead-dead.”

Sachi looked at him for a long moment. “You sure?”

He nodded.

She nodded back before she burst into hysterical tears.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

A deputy fished the keys to the dead man’s car from his pockets and moved the vehicle so they could clear the way for the ambulance to get through. The first three cruisers to respond had simply plowed through the palmetto bushes and thin saplings next to the driveway to get around the vehicles.

Another deputy accompanied Mandaline and Sachi to the hospital in the ambulance. Ellis and Brad stayed behind and answered round after round of questions until the detective in charge was satisfied. Ellis’ gun was taken into evidence, as was Sachi’s shotgun.

Ellis successfully stifled a snicker. They better hope they give it back soon or she’ll be livid.

* * *

The good thing was the bullet had only been a .22 and luckily gone through Sachi’s right shoulder without hitting any bones or a lung. Two hours after Sachi was admitted, Mandaline had completely sobered up and was allowed to rejoin her friend at her bedside after they’d both been questioned again by deputies.

With a good dose of painkillers in her, Sachi’s eyelids drooped as she looked up at Mandaline. “You okay, boss?”

She choked back a sob and grabbed Sachi’s good hand. “You damn idiot! What the hell did you think you were doing trying to draw him away from me? And throwing yourself in front of me?”

Sachi smiled. “Job security. You can’t ever fire me now. Not only do you luuubs me, you’d feel too damn guilty.”

Mandaline let out something between a sob and a laugh as she laid her head on the bed and laughed until she cried, then laughed some more.

“Hey, boss. Don’t drown us,” Sachi mumbled.

Mandaline sat up and blew her nose. “You okay?”

“No, I’m not okay. How the fuck am I supposed to shoot skeet with a bum shoulder? Fucker. Couldn’t have shot me in the ass or the leg. Nooo. Had to shoot me in the shoulder.”

She knew what Sachi was trying to do. Mandaline realized she had to short-circuit her now, or her friend would struggle later trying to keep it buried.

“Sachi. He could have shot you in the head or the spine.”

She fell silent. “Yeah,” she softly said. “That would have sucked.”

She grabbed Sachi’s good hand again. “Let. It. Out.”

She looked into Mandaline’s eyes and took a deep breath. She started to speak, stopped, then tried again. “He’s really dead?” she softly asked.

She nodded. “Really.”

“Dead-dead?”

“Dead-dead. I heard them talking about needing the Medical Examiner to be called. Everyone’s said he’s dead. Dead-dead. Really dead.”

Sachi took another deep, shuddering breath. In barely a whisper, she asked, “Can you please call my father for me?” Tears welled up in her eyes.

Unable to hold back her own tears, she nodded, fumbling the phone from her purse. She had to keep blinking back tears as she punched in the number Sachi gave her, then Mandaline held it up to her ear for her.

Sachi’s eyes met hers. From where Mandaline sat, she could hear a man answer the line.

“Daddy?” Sachi sounded like a lost little girl. She closed her eyes and began sobbing. “Daddy, it’s Miki. I need you. Please. He found me… He…he found me…”

* * *

When Sachi couldn’t talk anymore, Mandaline took the phone out to the hallway and talked to Michael Bloomfeld.

“Is she really okay?” he asked, sounding shaken to his core. “She’s not bullshitting me, is she? Trying to downplay it?”

“She’s really okay, sir. They might discharge her tomorrow.”

“I…I’m on the computer now. I can get a direct flight from Spokane to Tampa.”

She dug a pen and notepad out of her purse. “Give me the info. I’ll either meet you myself or have someone meet you.”

They got it arranged. She got his cell phone number, and she gave him not only her cell number in case he couldn’t retrieve it from his phone, but Ellis and Brad’s, too. When she got off the phone, she returned to Sachi’s bedside.

She was asleep.

Exhausted, she collapsed into the recliner chair next to her bedside, put her feet up, and turned on the TV.

It was almost four in the morning when Brad and Ellis appeared in the doorway, where the deputy on guard as a precaution stepped aside to let them in when Mandaline nodded at him that it was okay to let them in. Cried out, Mandaline let out a relieved sigh at the sight of them.

They moved across the room as one. She sat up, and they both dropped to their knees in front of her, their arms around her as she cradled their heads against her. “Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you.”

“Are you okay?” Ellis asked.

“I’m fine. Are you both okay?”

“He’s a little banged up from the stairs,” Ellis said, “but other than that he’s fine.”

Something felt off with Brad. She stroked the back of his head. Stupid! she chastised herself. His PTSD.

When Brad did speak, he sounded like the “other” Brad, the “less there” one. “Is Sachi mad I took her car?” he asked.

She somehow managed to suppress her laugh. “No, sweetie. She’s not mad at all. I’m sure when our Queen of Snark wakes up, she’s going to want to give you a hug and a kiss.”

He let out a deep breath. “Okay.”

Ellis looked up at her, locking gazes. He pointedly looked at Brad, then back to her, and gave a subtle shake of his head.

She understood. He’s not doing well.

She released Ellis and wrapped both arms around Brad, drawing his head into her lap. He curled his body around her legs as Ellis draped an arm around his shoulders.

She kept her face buried in Brad’s hair. “You did good,” she told him. “You did really good, sweetie.”

He shivered. “Julie told me,” he mumbled. “She came to me at the store. Told me. Oh. Ellis?”

He cocked his head. “Yeah, buddy?”

“I dropped my phone and broke it. I need a new one. I’m sorry.”

Mandaline pressed her lips together to force the laugh not to break through. She could tell Ellis struggled to win the same war.

“It’s all right, buddy,” he finally told him. “When you’re feeling better, we’ll go get you a new one.”

“By the way,” Mandaline said. “Sachi’s father is flying in to Tampa tomorrow. I told him someone would meet him.”

Ellis nodded. “I’ll go.”

“I’ll go,” Brad mumbled.

“You can’t drive,” Mandaline and Ellis admonished together before laughing.

Brad lifted his head up. “I’m not supposed to drive. I can drive.” He lowered his head again.

She stroked his hair. “Yes, sweetie, we know you can drive. I think I need you to stay behind with Sachi. She’ll want to be downstairs working and I need someone who can keep her planted on the couch.”

He was quiet for a moment. “Oh. Okay.”

She kissed the top of his head again. “You all right?”

He slowly shook his head.

Ellis looked conflicted. “Do you want me to call Dr. Solomon at the VA and see if I can get you an emergency appointment?” He looked up at Mandaline. Psychiatrist, he silently mouthed.

She nodded.

“No,” Brad softly said. “I can get through it.” He took a ragged breath before lifting his head again. His voice changed. Mandaline felt the shift back to “more there” Brad. “I’ll be okay.” His brown eyes met Mandaline’s. “I won’t shut either of you out. I promise.” He laced his fingers through hers and kissed her hand. “Julie had faith in me. She knew I could do it. If she could have faith in me, I can have faith in myself.”

She sensed Ellis wanted to say something. “This is the moment of truth,” she told him. “Say what’s on your mind.”

He pursed his lips before finally speaking. “Julie came to me twice the past few days. In dreams. She told me to keep my .38 close and showed me a shotgun. I didn’t know what it was about. When Sachi took me out to shoot skeet, I realized it was her gun in my dreams.” He shook his head. “Want to know how I came to be there at the right time?”

“How?”

He glanced over at the bed where Sachi was sleeping as he related how he’d put the information together and realized Sachi was in danger.

A nurse knocked on the doorway. “I need to get her vitals.”

From the bed, Sachi mumbled, “Tell her to fuck off. I’m sleeping.”

The three of them burst into laughter. “She’s baaack,” they said.

* * *

The deputy assured them he or another deputy would stand guard until they returned in a few hours.

Ellis drove them back to the shop. “Now explain to me, exactly, why you and Sachi were butt naked, please?”

She felt her face heat. “I wanted to dance skyclad in the rain,” she mumbled. “Hey, you told me if I wasn’t hurting anyone, you didn’t care what I did.”

He looked like he was trying to hold back a laugh. “That’s right. I did. And I meant it. But…why?”

She sighed. “It’s fun. And it’s not like I can exactly do it behind the shop.”

“Well, you could,” Brad spoke up from the backseat, “but I suspect you’d get arrested eventually.”

“Exactly.” She looked at Ellis again. “Any more questions?”

He smiled. “So, you always dance outside naked in the rain?”

“Not always. Just when opportunity presents itself. Needless to say, Sachi and I didn’t think we had an audience.”

He glanced at her, a tired smile lighting his face. “Babe, feel free to run around naked at the house anytime you like. You don’t need to wait for it to start raining.”

Back at the shop, Mandaline needed to climb into the shower. When she fell into bed with the men, she thought she’d fall asleep, but instead she rolled on top of Brad and kissed him, hard and deep.

Next to them, Ellis moved close, draping an arm over her back and kissing her shoulder. She lifted her head to kiss him, too.

She wanted them both, right then, to end the evening on a good note.

To prove to her heart they were all alive and well and had made it through.

She reached over to the bedside table drawer and grabbed condoms and lube. She handed one and the lube to Ellis and ripped the other one open to roll down Brad’s now-hard shaft.

As she settled down on him, his cock easily sliding deep inside her pussy, a peace washed through her.

She looked down into his eyes. “I love you,” she whispered.

He smiled up at her. “Love you, too.”

She held still for Ellis, tipping her head back to meet his gaze. “I love you,” she whispered.

He smiled, kissing her. “Love you, too, babe.”

A satisfied sigh escaped her as he slowly and carefully worked his cock inside her ass, the familiar pinch as he stretched her tight rim with his shaft soon turning into delicious pleasure that made her clit throb.

She draped herself over Brad’s chest. “Fuck me, boys,” she said. “Please.”

Together, the men set a slow, steady rhythm her body responded to with no additional help needed. She closed her eyes and pictured their energies swirling around her, joining with hers, forming an unbreakable bond between their souls.

Never in her life had she ever dreamed she’d go through what she’d been through in the past couple of weeks, but she knew with these two men by her side, as well as her friends, she could make it through anything.

I can do this. It will be okay.

She understood.

As she felt her release build, she pictured her fear as a balloon on a string. And when her climax started, bubbling from her clit and spreading throughout her body, in her mind she snipped that string with a pair of scissors and watched the balloon soar free.

She thought she heard Julie’s voice whisper, “Namaste, sister.”

Mandaline let out a cry as another, more powerful orgasm hit her, slamming her back into her body. “Now!” she gasped.

Both men sped up, catching up and coming with groans of their own. Her eyes dropped closed as a peace the likes of which she’d never felt before settled over her.

“Namaste, sister,” she whispered.

* * *

They didn’t get more than a brief nap before daylight overtook them. With a little sleep under her belt, Mandaline shooed Ellis to work instead of going to the airport with her to pick up Sachi’s father later that afternoon. Paige ran her back to the house, which had been cordoned off with yellow crime scene tape, to pick up the Element.

She stared at the house for a few minutes in the daylight.

Her house.

Her home.

With her men.

Yes, something horrible had just happened there, but they’d come through it on the other side. And in some ways, far better off than before. Sachi, once healed from her physical and emotional wounds, wouldn’t have to live her life looking over her shoulder.

She nodded. Matt and Sami would also have a beautiful house when they finished their restorations. Despite the bad history, as Julie had said, things couldn’t be bad.

And Mandaline refused to give negative energies any power over her any longer.

Her own soul felt lighter for having finally released her fear—and in the process Julie’s spirit.

She drove back to the shop where Brad helped her load all of Sachi’s things. There wouldn’t be any reason Sachi and her dad couldn’t go back to her house now. She’d drive him out to the house to pick up Sachi’s car after they got back from Tampa.

She stopped by the hospital before heading to Tampa to check on her. The deputy was still on duty at her door. She was sitting up in bed, a frown on her face, the remote control in her good hand, and a half-eaten plate of something Mandaline assumed was supposed to be lunch on the tray in front of her.

“Do you believe this shit?” Sachi said. “No fucking decent cable channels. And look at this slop!”

Mandaline tilted her head. “I see you’re feeling better.”

“Only if you’re here to spring me.”

“Not yet. I’m going to go get your dad. You’ll be ready for discharge by then.”

A frown flitted across Sachi’s features before she schooled her expression again. She wouldn’t meet Mandaline’s gaze. “I feel bad I called him,” she softly said. “I shouldn’t have. I’ll be okay. Just a flesh wound.”

“Sachi!” she snapped, harsher than she meant, but it got her attention. “Fucking cry it out already, okay? If I can cry, so can you!”

She closed her eyes for a moment, but the tears began to spill from under her lids. “I thought we were both going to die,” she whispered. “I couldn’t have lived with myself if he’d hurt you when he was after me.”

Mandaline sat on the edge of the bed and held her as best she could with Sachi’s right arm in a sling. “It’s okay,” she said. “Let it out. It’s my turn to be the sponge.”

That got a short laugh out of Sachi.

“Listen. Mandatory minimum of one week paid vacation for you, lady. And when I bring your dad back here, we’re taking you to your house. I think we all know who was behind the break-in. You two need some alone time. You don’t come into the shop unless it’s you bringing your dad in to meet everyone. Got it?”

Sachi tearfully nodded as she wiped at her eyes. “Got it, chief. Thank you.”

“No problem.” She kissed the top of her head. “And that’s sister to you.”

Sachi let out another barking laugh. “Sister.” She hugged Mandaline even more tightly. “I like the sound of that, sister. I like it a lot.” She looked up at Mandaline. “You’re my sister, too, even if I can’t get you to shoot skeet.”

* * *

Sachi had gotten her blue eyes from her father. Instead of going to the cell phone lot to wait for him, Mandaline opted to park and go inside to the main terminal and wait by the airside shuttles. When his plane landed, he called her and she told him where she was waiting.

He looked worried and exhausted as he hurried over to her after craning his neck looking for her. Barely taller than Mandaline, his skin was tan from many hours spent outside, his short grey hair peeking out from under a Cessna baseball cap. “Mandaline?”

She hugged him. “Hi, Mr. Bloomfeld, it’s nice to finally meet you.”

“Please, call me Michael. Miki. How is she?”

“She’s about ready to take the hospital apart piece by piece.”

He froze before he burst out in tearful laughter. Putting down his backpack, he pulled out a handkerchief and blew his nose. “That’s my Miki.”

On the way back to Brooksville, she related what happened to him from the start. He slumped against the door and stared out the windshield as he listened. “You must think I’m a horrible father for letting her leave home the way I did.”

“No! Not at all. Sachi…Miki is a very independent woman. I don’t see how you could have made her stay.”

“I’ve thought about moving down here the past few years. It gets so damn cold out there and I’m not getting any younger. And there are a lot of airports down here, small ones. I could find work I’m sure.” He looked at her. “Do you think she’d have me?”

“Why wouldn’t she?”

“I’ve always wondered if she maybe blames me. For moving us out there. For not being home when it happened.”

More hidden pain. More unspoken fear. “Sir, not that it’s my business, but I don’t think she does. I think you and her need to settle that issue now, before you think about flying home.”

“She’s always so…you know how she is. She brushes things off. Never thinks about herself, always worries about others. I’ve been worried about her even before now that she’s not as good as she says over the phone.”

She made the turnoff to Brooksville. “Then I think that’s a great place to start the conversation. She’s got a spare bedroom at her house. And I’ve ordered her to take a week’s paid vacation, so she’s going to have to do something since, as she’s already bitched, she can’t shoot skeet.”

He nodded. “Thank you, Mandaline.” He paused. “She told me about your friend, Julie. I’m really sorry I didn’t get to meet her. I know Miki loved her.”

“Thank you.” She mentally braced herself for a wave of grief that didn’t hit, surprising her. “We’ll all miss her, but she’d want us to move on with our lives.”

* * *

It was nearly five o’clock in the afternoon when she returned to the store to find an unmarked sheriff’s cruiser parked behind the store in her spot.

Heart racing, she hurried inside through the back door. There was what sounded like a noisy crowd gathered in the front of the store. She pushed her way through people until she found Brad being held back by Detective Haines while he still tried to take a swing at an older man cowering away from him.

“For fuck’s sake!” she screamed at the top of her voice, making everyone else fall silent and look at her. “What in the name of Hecate is going on?”

“I was going to ask you that,” Haines said as he struggled to hold on to Brad.

She stepped in front of Brad. “What the hell is going on?”

He tried to look around her, but she grabbed his head and made him look at her. “Just let me take one fucking swing at him,” he said. “That’s all I ask!”

She glanced at the man and back at Brad. “Who is he?”

“He’s my goddamned father.” He stopped fighting the detective. “Just one punch, that’s all I need.”

Anger flared from deep within her. She whirled on the man. “That right? You his father?”

Somewhere behind her, it sounded like a lightbulb in one of the store display cases exploded with a loud pop, making a couple of people jump and even a few let out startled cries.

The man nodded. “I just wanted to talk to him. I saw the news story and thought I’d—”

“OUT!” she roared. Everyone behind her took an involuntary step back, including the detective, who pulled Brad with him.

The man’s eyes widened. “But, I—”

Another lightbulb exploded and, somehow, the front door flew open. The thought that a sudden gust of wind must have pushed it, as it sometimes did, swept through her mind. She stepped forward as the guy stepped back toward the open door.

Her hands balled into tight fists. “You didn’t just see a news story. That fucking reporter sent you. Get. Out. Of. My. Store. And if you ever come back or say anything to that fuckface slimy reporter about Brad, I will forget I’m not supposed to hex people!” She walked over to the door and pushed it shut, even though the pneumatic arm on it wouldn’t let her slam it in his face.

She turned, stunned silence and wide eyes meeting her. Someone started applauding, and before she knew it, the whole room of twenty or so people were applauding her.

Breathing hard, she walked up to Brad again. “What the hell?”

“I was here getting another statement,” the detective said. “About last night, when that man came in.” He looked around her. Brad’s father was scurrying down the sidewalk and out of sight. “You walked in about twenty seconds after it all started.”

She pulled herself up to her full height and nodded. “Is Brad under arrest for anything?”

“No. Like I said, it’d just happened when you came in. I’m not going to arrest him for not taking a swing at someone. I’ve got enough paperwork.”

“Good.” She looked at Brad and pointed to her office. “Now.”

Without a word, he went.

She took another deep breath to calm herself. “Please, detective, feel free to use my office to take his statement. You can close the door for privacy.”

“Thank you.”

She didn’t know if he looked scared or like he admired her.

She turned to everyone else. “Well? What are y’all waiting for? Get back to doing whatever you were doing. Show’s over.”

Paige, wearing a look of awe, followed her down the hall to the washroom where Mandaline splashed cold water on her face as the shakes hit.

“Holy…holy shit!” Paige whispered. “Sachi is gonna crap herself when I tell her what you just did!”

“What’d I just do?”

“You…Jesus, Mandaline? Seriously? You blew two fucking bulbs out and made the door open!”

Heat filled her face again. She splashed more cold water on it. “That was the wind that made the door open.”

“It’s not windy!”

“And with all the storms lately, it was probably just some sort of power surge or something that did the bulbs in. Weakened them and they coincidentally blew.”

When Paige didn’t respond, Mandaline looked at her in the mirror.

Paige’s jaw gaped. “Fuck. Me. Mandaline, quit trying to play the Queen of Denial! You did that!”

“I’ve never done anything like that before!”

“You’ve never been as angry before as you were out there. I’ve never seen you that angry!”

Mandaline grabbed a paper towel to dry her face. “Maybe Sachi’s right,” she muttered. “Maybe I should take up skeet.”

* * *

She didn’t mention what happened to Ellis when he returned from the office around six thirty. Exhausted, she placed a quick call to Sachi to check up on her before going upstairs. “You guys, please, just fend for yourselves for dinner. I’ll make myself something if I wake up before morning. Someone please walk Pers.”

Ellis looked concerned. “Are you okay?”

“Just tired.” She gave him a kiss and headed upstairs. After stripping, she fell into bed and crashed immediately into sleep.

She found herself standing in a sunny, gorgeous bedroom full of IKEA furniture. At first she didn’t recognize it until she heard a laugh and saw Julie spread out on the bed.

“Good choice, sister.”

Mandaline smiled. “Thank you, sister.” The walls had been painted a cheerful pale yellow that perfectly matched the decor.

“That’s ‘Seaside Yellow,’ by the way,” Julie noted. “Don’t forget it.”

Mandaline laughed. “I won’t.” Her smile faded. “About today…”

Julie waved her comment off as she sat up. “You did it. Quit being bashful. You had a lot of anger and fear and energy pent up.” She stood and walked over to Mandaline, where she put her hands on her shoulders. “And thank you for releasing me.”

Mandaline sighed, but she didn’t feel sad. “I guess I won’t see you again, will I?”

Julie shrugged and looked around. “You’ll see me everywhere. In the trees, in the breeze.” She touched Mandaline’s chest. “In your heart.” Then she touched Mandaline’s forehead, between her eyes. “In your mind.”

Mandaline smiled. “Thank you, sister.”

Julie hugged her. “You’re welcome, sister, but I didn’t do anything. You did it.” She kissed Mandaline’s cheek before stepping back. “And the world moves on and on. Namaste.”

As the dream faded from her mind, Mandaline whispered, “Namaste.”

She awoke to find Ellis and Brad trying to carefully get into bed on either side of her without disturbing her.

“Sorry,” Brad said.

“Sorry, hon,” Ellis echoed.

She smiled at them. “It’s okay. I want to paint the master bedroom ‘Seaside Yellow.’”

The men exchanged a confused look before bursting into laughter. “Okay,” Ellis said, “that’s an odd thing to wake up and state, but whatever.”

Brad, however, smiled. “Julie?”

She nodded. “She’s free.” She snuggled between them after giving them both good-night kisses, sleep already dragging her back down again. “And now, so am I.”

Epilogue

They gathered at Julie’s tree at dusk on Summer Solstice, which happened to fall on a Saturday. That evening’s coffeeshop coven would be more a wedding reception than their usual get-together. With Grover, Libbie, Ellis’ parents, her parents, Sachi’s dad, Matt and Sami, everyone from the store, and a few others in attendance, Sachi stood before the three of them with a wicked grin.

Sachi had refused to reveal what she planned to say or do for the handfasting.

Mandaline felt equal parts love and terror over that.

“Well, we’re gathered here tonight because the Universe finally forced Mandaline to quit running from love,” Sachi said.

The onlookers softly tittered.

Here we go. Mandaline suspected Sachi would be her playful, snarky self.

She wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Ellis and Brad,” Sachi continued, “I think you all will agree with me, have more than proven themselves worthy of our mighty leader. I for one am happy to have them around.” She touched her right shoulder, which while mostly healed, was still tender and sore.

More laughter and nodding heads.

“No, their relationship isn’t conventional, it isn’t normal, but it’s perfect for them. So screw anyone who thinks otherwise, because it’s not anyone else’s business.

“Join your right hands,” she told them. “Lady’s hand sandwiched in the middle.”

More giggles from the group as the three of them shuffled around, the men standing shoulder to shoulder and facing Mandaline, Brad to her left and Ellis to her right.

“You three have rings, I take it?” Sachi asked.

“Yes,” Ellis said. He pulled the small velvet box from his pocket with his left hand and handed it to Sachi.

She opened the box for him. “Ooh, nice.”

Mandaline giggled with the audience.

Sachi held the box for Mandaline. “Ready to bell these bulls, girlfriend?”

Mandaline snorted. “Yeesss.” Fortunately, the men wore the same ring size, so it didn’t matter who got which. Brad had privately told her that morning he wanted her to put Ellis’ ring on him first, which she did, then his.

“Boys?” Sachi asked, holding the box up. “Who gets the honor?”

With his left hand, Brad held up Mandaline’s left hand. Ellis plucked the ring from the box and stared into Mandaline’s eyes as he slipped it on her fingers.

This would never get old, the thrill her heart felt when she looked into his blue gaze.

“Mandaline,” Sachi said. “You have vows you wanted to say?”

She nodded and took a deep breath. She glanced out at her friends and soon-to-be family before looking back at her men. “I’d honestly written off a relationship when I met you two. You came into my life at a time when I had no idea how badly I needed both of you. I know there will be some challenges ahead from people who won’t want to accept what we have, but I know I can face that and more with you both by my side.

“You’ve helped me heal my heart, helped me learn to live again, helped me want to live again…” She choked up and had to clear her throat before continuing. “I know that I am a complete person without you, but my life and heart are whole again with both of you. I love you both and pledge to walk beside you both, regardless of how difficult the path, for the rest of our days.”

Both men wore identical smiles.

Sachi might have wiped a tear away, but Mandaline wasn’t sure because she did it so quickly. “Okay, which one of you is next?” she asked.

Brad pointed at Ellis, who shifted feet and cleared his throat. “I’ve had to accept a lot of changes in my life,” he started, “in a very short time. Rearrange my thinking. Open my heart. I wouldn’t have it any other way, because you are the most beautiful person in the world, and I don’t just mean your body. You have a beautiful soul and a beautiful heart and I think if I tried to love you any harder than I already do, that my heart might explode because it’s so full. I promise to spend the rest of our lives together loving you and walking beside you, because I’ve seen how empty my life was before you came into it. I don’t ever want to feel that lonely again.”

She sniffled back tears as he leaned in and kissed her.

“Brad?” Sachi asked.

He gave her his panty-dampening smile. “I’m not scared of Hell, because I’ve already been there and back a couple of times in my life so far. The only thing that scares me now is the thought of ever losing you, of losing the beauty and love you’ve brought into my life. The happiness. The joy. That scares me. The difference between before you came into my life and after is like black and white versus the richest color palette you can imagine. I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to bring you the kind of joy that you bring me.” He leaned in and kissed her.

Mandaline hoped she could get the coven over with as early as possible to get alone time with her guys.

“Beautiful,” Sachi said, without a hint of snark. “These three,” she continued, “stand before you, their family and friends, to proclaim their love and devotion for each other. They don’t need a piece of paper to do that, they don’t need permission from any authority other than their own hearts. But they wanted all of you to witness their commitment to each other in this handfasting.”

From a colorful hobo bag slung across her shoulders, Sachi pulled out three ribbons, one green, one red, and one blue.

She looped the green one around their hands first. “I call upon Father God and Mother Goddess to bring these three prosperity, health, fertility, and happiness. So mote it be.” Sachi waved her hand at the audience, indicating for them to repeat the last part.

“So mote it be,” chanted the audience.

She looped the blue one around their hands. “I call upon the Universe to bring them protection, loyalty, wisdom, peace, and harmony. So mote it be.”

“So mote it be,” the audience repeated.

Mandaline looked up at Brad, who smiled down at her. When she looked at Ellis, she thought his blue eyes looked a little too bright, like maybe he was close to tears. The smile on his face, however, warmed her heart.

Sachi looped the red ribbon around their hands. “I call upon Astarte and Freyja to bring them love and passion. So mote it be.”

“So mote it be,” the audience repeated.

She loosely knotted all the ends together, securely enough they wouldn’t come untied, but with enough slack they could pull their hands free without untying the ribbons. Then she pulled a small, glass jewelry box from the bag. Etched on the flat, hinged lid was a triple Goddess symbol. She carefully removed the ribbons from their hands and tucked them into the box before handing it to Mandaline. “Three as one,” she continued. “May you have a life together full of joy, peace, happiness, and love. Namaste. Aho.”

“Aho,” the group repeated before breaking into applause. Everyone came up to give them hugs and congratulations before breaking up to head back to the shop.

* * *

A little after eleven, Sachi started giving people hints it was time to leave the lovebirds alone. Both sets of parents were staying at a hotel by the Interstate, and they’d all have breakfast together in the morning. Mandaline had decided she didn’t want a vacation right now. Once they had the house finished, she promised Sachi and the men that she’d take two weeks off for vacation.

By midnight, the guests had cleared out and Sachi and the crew finished cleaning up. Sachi, of course, was the last one out the door after a final walk-through and giving the three of them hugs. “Remember, tomorrow’s Sunday. You can run around nekkid all day if you want and no one will bother you,” she teased before leaving.

Ellis laughed. “We really do need to find her a guy.”

“So mote it be,” Mandaline and Brad automatically chanted together before breaking into laughter.

They ushered her upstairs to their bedroom. With Ellis in front of her, and Brad behind, and both men sporting hard bulges in their slacks, she knew it wouldn’t take them long to get her naked.

She wouldn’t have it any other way.

Brad slid the right strap of her dress down her shoulder, his lips feathering across her flesh as he did. “Our beautiful witchy bride,” he teased.

Ellis started on her left strap. “All ours.”

She closed her eyes and breathed in their scent as she felt their energies rise. No, Ellis still didn’t believe in everything she and Brad did, but it didn’t matter. He’d finally admitted there were things he didn’t understand, and even better, that it was okay he didn’t understand them.

He’d even learned to make a good cappuccino.

“Let’s make magick, boys,” she whispered, her clit already throbbing in anticipation and her juices flowing.

Just the thought of their bare skin against hers was enough to get her wet. She suspected one day she might be able to stop thinking with her libido when it came to her two hunks, but for now, this early in their life together, she’d soak up every last drop of them that she could.

Even better, her pill had kicked in. That had cut their expensive condom use to half, which made her thrifty nature happy.

Ellis slowly unbuttoned her dress, until they had her breasts bared to them. As one, they moved to take her nipples between their lips, drawing a soft gasp from her.

She cradled their heads against her body, stroking their hair. Every pull of their mouths only intensified the throbbing between her legs.

Brad reached down and pulled the dress up until he could slip a hand inside her panties, his fingers unerringly finding their target. She let out a moan as two fingers easily slid inside her soaked cunt and her hips began rocking against him.

Ellis chuckled and looked up. “Somebody’s wet.”

She nodded, her lower lip caught between her teeth.

Ellis changed positions, stepping behind her. Brad released her breast with his mouth and dove under her dress. He yanked her panties down. Then she let out a moan as he added a third finger to her pussy and began licking her clit.

Ellis cupped her breasts in his hands. She leaned against him, head thrown back and eyes closed as he rolled and pinched her nipples between his fingers. She loved this, being taken by them, the way they worked together to bring her pleasure, they way they took their pleasure from her.

Nothing had ever felt so good or right.

“Come for us, baby,” Ellis urged. “Give us one just like this.”

With his strength to lean against, she hooked an arm back around his neck as she rocked her hips against Brad’s face when her climb began. The men had quickly figured out what buttons to press to get her off as many times as they wanted her to, even if she didn’t think she could.

She’d quit doubting their abilities weeks earlier.

In her ear, Ellis softly said, “He’s going to make you come. Then we’re going to strip you, and he’s going to fuck your pussy while I slide my cock up your tight ass. How’s that sound?”

Her fingers found purchase against his shirt, grabbing on as she let out another moan. She loved it when they talked dirty to her.

How could any woman not like this?

He pinched her nipples a little harder. “Answer me, baby. Tell us what you want.”

Brad slowed his movements, making her whine. “I want you both to fuck me,” she said, breathless and needy. “Please, fuck me hard and fast.”

Between her legs Brad groaned, vibrating through her clit and triggering her first orgasm. His mouth and hand sped up as he realized she’d tipped over the edge, pushing her harder and faster into a blissful release that nearly took the strength out of her knees. If not for Ellis holding her up, she would have collapsed into a puddle of flesh on top of Brad.

Before her clit even stopped throbbing from that, Brad stood, pulling her dress up and over her head with Ellis’ help. Ellis scooped her up and dropped her onto the bed.

Both men quickly undressed, their hard cocks straining against their briefs until they freed them. Brad jumped into bed next to her and rolled her on top of him.

“Right there, baby,” he said as he grabbed her hips and thrust his cock into her pussy.

He wouldn’t let her ride him, though, holding her still until Ellis had climbed onto the bed behind them, his cock sheathed in a condom and the bottle of lube in his hand.

“Hold still, baby,” he said, his voice low and straining with need. “Don’t want to hurt you.”

He quickly had himself and her ass well lubed. Then he lined up his sheathed cockhead with her rim. “Ready, baby?”

She nodded. “Please!”

Ellis grabbed her by the hair and gently pulled her head back so he could look her in the eye. “Please, what?”

She thought her clit might explode if they didn’t start fucking her soon. “Please fuck me!”

He leaned in closer, his blue eyes blazing. “Who do you belong to, little witch?”

Her heart raced, not just at his playful words but from his commanding tone. “To both of you.”

He kissed her. “That’s right. And don’t you ever forget it.” He let go of her hair and started fucking her, hard and fast.

Brad grabbed her hair and had his fun. He wrapped it around his fist and held her steady, his brown eyes boring into hers. “Tell us how it feels, baby.”

She could barely draw breath into her lungs. “I love having both your cocks in me. I love when you both fuck me at the same time. I love how you both fill me up, and I love the energy.”

He smiled as he thrust up into her, beginning to seesaw in time with Ellis. “You’re our dirty little witch, aren’t you?”

She shivered with pleasure. “Yes!”

“When we get the house done,” he said, “you’ll spend every Sunday naked and impaled on our cocks. We’re going to fuck you anytime we want, even outside. You’d like that, wouldn’t you? Us taking control of you and you helpless to do anything but let us make you come all day.”

She closed her eyes as an orgasm rippled through her at the mental image. Yes, letting go to them, knowing she could trust them, that was the most powerful aphrodisiac she could ever imagine.

Brad felt it and amped things up. He tightened his grip on her hair and pulled her face down to his. “Starting the morning out with one of us fucking you and driving you deep onto the other one’s cock, fucking your sweet, beautiful body between us, filling you with our cum from both ends—”

She let out another, louder cry as a more powerful release rocked her body. Their energy filled her soul, merging with hers. Her world ended just beyond their bodies, their heat, their love.

“That’s it,” Brad cooed. “You know what you want. You take it. You take as much from us as you want. You use our cocks and fuck us as hard as you want.”

Her clit rubbed against his body with every stroke, now triggering a series of orgasms she knew from sweet experience wouldn’t stop until they did.

And they knew it, too.

Brad let go of her hair and grabbed her hips. She gasped for breath, wave after wave of pleasure bouncing through her body. “There she goes,” he grunted as he sped up, fucking his cock harder and faster up into her and only amplifying the pleasure she felt.

“Thought so,” Ellis said from behind. “Didn’t know how much longer I could hold out.”

She squeezed her eyes closed, her fingers clawing at the covers as they rode her body, the orgasms coming harder and faster with each breath until she thought her world would rip apart at the seams.

She let out another cry at the intensity, her cunt and ass eagerly squeezing their cocks with each thrust they made, her body out of her conscious control. All she could do was hang on and enjoy it.

A white flare crossed her mind, bringing a brief, ghostly picture of the three of them together, making love in the grass outside their house, her belly rounded and swollen.

Her eyes flew open but before she could process the image, one last, hard climax split open as both men came at the same time, the three of them collapsing in a tangled heap of sweaty arms and legs.

Too tired and sated to think about what she saw, and knowing the future wasn’t written until it was the past, she decided not to tell the men about it.

* * *

The sound of Pers whining woke Mandaline out of a sound sleep. Prying her eyes open, she saw it was almost three o’clock in the morning.

“What’s wrong, puppy?” She crawled out of bed without waking the men up. She pulled her robe on and followed the dog down the stairs. He ran behind the counter, where he put his front paws up on it.

She stared. The little zen garden sat there undisturbed, freshly raked from earlier. “Nothing here, pup,” she softly said, her heart pounding. She scooped him up and took him to the back door. After a quick walk, she locked the door again and set the alarm. She headed for the stairs, but Pers whined.

When she set him down, he once again raced over to the zen garden.

Only now, the rake lay on the counter next to it.

A sense of serene calm slipped through her soul. Forcing her feet to move, she walked over to the counter and grabbed Pers again.

Written in the sand, as if drawn with a finger, was a smiley face and one word.

Believe.

She let out a breath and looked up, blowing a kiss toward the heavens. “I do believe, sister,” she whispered. “I won’t forget. Namaste.”

She couldn’t be sure, but as she walked toward the stairs she thought she heard a whispered, “Namaste,” in return.

THE END

WWW.TYMBERDALTON.COM

Content

Many Blessings
Coffeeshop Coven -1
by
Tymber Dalton

AUTHOR’S NOTE

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Epilogue