Page 50 of Big Witch Energy

Chapter 10

Caroline

Gert Wilton dropped her cell phone on the kitchen counter, narrowly missing the sink where Mina and Caroline were de-funking walk-in racks that probably hadn’t been washed in years—which wasn’t surprising, really, given Will’s kitchen management.

“Well, for Pete’s sake,” her mother sighed.

“Which one was it now?” Caroline asked carefully. Mina picked up the racks and excused herself, carrying them to the supply closet to dry. Caroline smiled at her.

“Your cousin Gus fell off a ladder,” her mother said, frowning. “The man’s been a roofer here for fifteen years, and he fell off a ladder changing his porch light bulb. Gave himself a concussion. Your father says he’s lucky he didn’t fracture his skull.”

One would think that Caroline would blame the upheaval on the magical landscape of Shaddow House. But no, over the last week, her great-aunt Myrtle had slipped on a freshly mopped floor, dislocating her hip. One of her uncles tripped down the stairs in front of his house and landed face-first in a birdbath. And now, cousin Gus nearly got taken out by a light bulb. All while they remained on Starfall Point.

Was the curse escalating because the coven had been trying to communicate with the ghost at Vixen’s Fall? If anything, the purple lady ghost here at the Rose had gone quiet. Not so quiet that they felt comfortable with Mina working at the bar without Caroline around, but not trying to directly communicate with either of them. She just lurked in the shadows, glaring. If Mina tried to approach, she disappeared. It was sort of passive-aggressive, as far as ghosts went, but still effectively creepy. And if Caroline tried to approach, to talk about her unresolved business or whatever was making her creep around the bar, she just faded into the darkness.

Gert sank against the counter. “It just feels…wrong, all these accidents, on top of your moped incident. The island is supposed to be safe for us. I couldn’t bear it if something happened to one of you.”

Caroline wished she could tell her mother about what the coven was trying to do, looking into the curse, trying to resolve what had plagued their family for so long. But they’d already expanded their little circle of trust beyond what Caroline had ever imagined, thanks to Plover’s impulsive decision-making skills. The idea of including her parents in that circle, which would include her brothers, because they were incapable of keeping secrets—that was just a bad idea.

“I don’t know,” Caroline said. “But none of them have suffered fatal injuries, right? And in terms of clumsiness, our family has always been a little above average.”

Gert’s smile was thin. “That’s true.”

“But I’m almost healed up,” Caroline said, even as she winced at the soreness in her middle. “I’ll be back on my foot, the other one, at least, before you know it.”

“Good, because I really need the help around here,” Gert sighed. “I can’t believe how grimy we let the place get over the years. Will’s gonna need to do a deep clean before we reopen.”

Caroline decided that progress was the better part of valor and chose not to mention that Will was going to pitch an absolute fit when presented with the word “deep” combined with the word “clean.” She pulled the last rack out of the sink, wincing at the pain in her ribs. Mina rushed out to grab it and take it from her.

“You all right?” Gert asked. Caroline nodded, even if it was a lie, and carried several racks into the storage closet at the back of the kitchen. It was right next to the office, or at least, the little cubby where they’d managed to shove a desk. She noticed as she passed that the box of memorabilia was on her mother’s shelf, shoved between messy stacks of paperwork and bottles of whiskey. Caroline had decided to bring the canvas back here after they’d experimented at Shaddow House. They weren’t sure if it was haunted and if it was, she didn’t want to take a chance of somehow dragging the ghost into the house with Riley. But she’d left it sticking up out of the box, among the trophies and picture frames. It was gone, and so was the landscape that had been nailed over it.

“Did you move the painting of the purple-dress lady?” Caroline whispered.

Mina shook her head emphatically, glancing around, as if the ghost was listening. “No, that thing…gives me upsetting feelings. And Josh won’t go near it…because I told him not to. It’s really the first time he’s actually jumped at the chance to do what I’ve asked.”

Caroline snickered. “Mom, what happened to the painting?”

“What painting?” her mom asked. “The sad little landscape your father has always refused to throw away? I don’t know.”

Caroline walked through the kitchen to the barroom. Cole was finished with the upstairs repairs to the second level and bolstering the patio outside, which didn’t require much beyond bracing with proper lumber. He had moved on to patching the hole in the ceiling. It was sort of nice, not being able to see through the floor upstairs.

“Hey, Cole?”

Cole turned on the ladder, plaster trowel in hand—and woo, a few months ago, she would have taken full advantage of the delectable derrière at her eye level. Cole was a treat that she would have gladly added to her no-guilt rotation. Well, maybe she would have waited until the renovation was done because she knew better than to mess around where she ate.

But now Ben was in the picture. Bright, beautiful Ben, who knew what could make her laugh and cry and scream with pleasure. Suddenly, the idea of taking Cole home for some enthusiastic and aerobically effective sex seemed a little hollow and sad. Dammit. She had gone and made progress to being a fully emotionally evolved adult.

In the corner, she saw the purple-lady ghost materialize. She was smirking, as if she was enjoying Caroline’s butt-based bewilderment.

“Everything OK?” Cole asked.

“Yeah, that canvas, the one you offered to reframe?” Caroline said, jerking her thumb toward the kitchen. “Have you seen it?”

Cole grimaced. “Not since the day I broke the frame, like a jackass.”

“It’s fine,” she assured him. “It’s not like we found out it was an heirloom or anything. I just can’t find it in the junk box.”

“Huh.” Cole climbed down from the ladder, wiping his hands on a bandana in his back pocket. “I haven’t seen it.”

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