Never Again by Michele Bardsley Read Free Book Online Page B

father had run off with a Rackmore witch—at least that was what Edward had admitted to in his note. He’d been too cowardly to face the woman he’d betrayed and then he’d left his wife, Sarah, to raise their seven young children alone. Taylor had been the oldest at fifteen and had taken over as “man of the house.” Gray’s lips twisted into a frown. Taylor probably wouldn’t stick Lucy into the equivalent of wizard jail just because she shared a lineage with the woman responsible for breaking up his family.
    Then again . . .
    No one was on the road. Only a fool would be out in this weather—and he was definitely feeling foolish. Annoyed with his need to rescue the damsel in distress, he turned the truck around and headed back into town.
    He parked in front of the Piney Woods Café. If Lucy had dared to go inside, she wouldn’t have received a warm welcome. Cathleen Munch was a bitter woman, and it was definitely a case of the apple not falling far from the tree. She and her mother, Cora, had lived in a run-down trailer by the lake. Apparently, Cathleen’s father had drowned in the lake, though that happened before his time. Losing her husband turned Cora mean. She raised her daughter to hate everyone and everything as much as she did.
    The café was the only place in town to catch a bite, so even people who didn’t like Cathleen or the imbalance of energy around the place would stop by—mostly to order their food to go. But Cathleen didn’t care about making friends. She liked money.
    Another reason she would’ve tossed penniless Lucy out on her ass.
    He sucked in some deep breaths and reinforced his magic shields. He didn’t want anything he picked up in the café sticking to him. The shield acted like Teflon to bad vibes. And Cathleen had plenty to go around.
    Gray hurried through the rain and ducked inside. He stopped in the foyer, shaking off the drops that clung to his duster, and nodded to Cathleen. She sat, as usual, behind the register smoking a cigarette and perusing a gossip rag.
    “Get something for you, Guardian?” she asked. Her voice echoed with a sneer, but she tempered it with a thin smile.
    He knew better than not to order. Nothing made Cathleen surlier than someone trying to breathe her oxygen for free. Luckily, the food was actually good. “Piece of coconut cream pie,” he said. “You got any doughnuts?”
    “Late in the day for those,” she said, lips puckering. “But I think there’re some jelly ones left.”
    Gray grinned. “I’ll take ’em.” The grin was for what would result when he plopped noncake doughnuts in front of Grit and Dutch, and boy, was he looking forward to that, but Cathleen straightened on her stool and fluffed her hair.
    He toned down his smile, and looked away, catching a glimpse of Marcy dashing through the door marked RESTROOMS. Her distress seeped through his shields.
    “That girl,” snapped Cathleen, “deserves everything she gets. You know, she tried to help that Rackmore bitch?”
    Gray resisted the urge to aim a fireball at Cathleen’s head. Instead, he kept his smile, and turned. “Rackmore?”
    “Yeah. Came in earlier all wanting me to feed her. I made Marcy mop the foyer. Didn’t want no Rackmore germs infecting my place.” She sniffed. “You gonna do something about her? Went over to Ember’s. Walked herself right into that hoodoo bitch’s shop.”
    It seemed that all women, other than herself, qualified as bitches in Cathleen’s estimation. He hadn’t met Ember, much less been in her tea shop. He’d asked the sheriff to welcome the new residents in his stead.
    His gut twisted again. Had he really the nerve to think he’d been doing his job? Guilt crawled over him like red ants, stinging him endlessly. He didn’t like feeling this way. He didn’t like feeling any way.
    “How’s that pie and those doughnuts coming?” he asked.
    Cathleen realized that her only help had stepped out, so she would have to wait on him. She