Karma's Spell (Magical Midlife in Mystic Hollow Book 1), Lacey Andersen [best book club books .txt] 📗

as for a split second I thought it had to be Henry. I stepped away from them, my gaze searching for my brother, and froze as Daniel’s big form seemed to fill the doorway. For some reason, just the sight of the big man with his kind green eyes made me want to run to him. He seemed like the kind of man who could take all your worries away and swallow you in a hug that made the world seem less frightening.

His eyes found mine, and it was like for one minute someone in this world not only saw how much I was hurting, he felt it too. My vision blurred as more tears filled my eyes, and he took a step forward, as if to offer me comfort.

Carol stepped in front of him. “Daniel, I’m glad you were working today.”

The moment between us shattered, and he looked away from me, his gaze on her.

I felt like a deflated balloon. Daniel was a big man, with strong arms, and the kind of face that women dreamed of. But he wasn’t mine. He was just a ghost from my past here to do his job.

“He only works part-time since his wife died,” Deva whispered in my ear, and I realized I must have been staring. I could have told her that I knew that already, but I didn’t want to deprive her of giving me the tidbits of gossip she thought I’d appreciate.

Daniel arched an eyebrow and glanced at Deva. Had he heard her? No, not from so far away. There must have been a different reason for that knowing look of his, one that said he knew exactly what Deva was briefing me on.

Carol put her hand on his arm. “I think this is a case you’ll want to take a special interest in.”

I tensed. What did that mean? I thought we weren’t supposed to tell them anything? And why did Carol seem to be so close to him? The question bothered me in a way I didn’t understand, or didn’t want to understand at least.

But he simply nodded, glancing at me once more before he said, “Okay, boys, I’ll take it from here. Henry is a family friend.” He spoke to the officers as if he was their boss. And to my surprise, even without him actually being sheriff anymore, they all quickly obeyed him, clearing out of the room with barely a look in my direction.

The next thing I knew, we were all sitting at the kitchen table. All eyes were suddenly on me, as though I had any idea what had happened here. I needed answers, not questions. I needed action, not sitting still while under the watchful green eyes of Daniel Arthur.

8 Emma

“Okay, Emma, tell him the truth,” Carol said. “Anything you know.”

My gaze moved to Daniel. He studied me, and beneath his gentle expression, I could see his thoughts were turning. It was strangely interesting. I got the feeling that he was a really good cop. Which was dumb, because I’d never seen him do anything that logically told me that.

“Tell him what? I don’t know anything.”

Carol lifted a brow. “You can be honest with him.”

Now, I was really confused. Was that just something she was saying, but if I started talking about vampire gambling rings he’d think I was a moron? How much could I really say to Daniel before he thought we were all crazy? Did he have the authority to place us, or rather me, under a psychiatric hold?

I probably couldn’t say much if I wanted to keep my freedom.

I looked at Daniel and then back at Carol, choosing my words with care, which made me speak slowly and probably sound a little odd. “Every once in a while, Henry would ask me for a large sum of money. Well, large in my eyes. Several hundred, usually. Sometimes close to a thousand. I figured he was just managing his money poorly.”

Carol shook her head. “No, it wasn’t that.”

Clearly. Because clearly, I couldn’t do a proper job taking care of my brother when I wasn’t even around him. Apparently, I wasn’t good at being a wife or a sister, and now my brother might be in trouble because of it.

Deva set a tray down on the table, startling me. I hadn’t even noticed she was making tea. And where had the cookies come from? She poured the tea as she talked, the amber liquid rushing into the cream-colored china cups, which had apparently been boring enough for the attackers to leave them alone. “Rumor has it that Henry has been gambling with the vampires and sometimes he loses pretty big.”

Vampires. Okay. Cool. She said it. Totally fine.

I wasn’t going to freak out.

Nope.

I inhaled slowly through my nose and held my breath, releasing it between my slightly parted lips, and hoped that no one noticed that I was on the edge of losing my shit. Again.

Now what?

Carol nodded, then when I still didn’t jump in, she added, “And when he loses, supposedly it’s usually against the shifters.”

Shifters. Okay. We were doing that now. Sparkly vampires and growly, exploding clothes shifters. None of this was weird. Not at all. And it wasn’t weird we were telling a human all of this, and that he wasn’t looking at us like we were nuts. I’d seen movies about shit like this. Someone seeing something that no one else could. Everyone thinking they were crazy. At least I had Deva and Carol to back me up.

“Is that about it?” he asked, his expression unexpectedly frustrated.

Seriously?

Was that it?

I don’t know. Did we want to add mermaids or witches to the story? Everything seemed so comical in that moment that I almost started giggling. It was the kind of laughter that only happened when things were too serious, or too awkward, or too ridiculous. I had to swallow a few times to prevent the giggle that was lodged in my chest from spilling out.

Deva