Witching You Were Here (Wicked Witches of the Midwest Book 3) by Amanda M. Lee Read Free Book Online Page B

talking about Thistle either,” I said. “I was talking about Aunt Tillie. She’s the one you should be afraid of. It’s not like you’re one of her favorite people. She tortures the people she loves, so what do you think she’s going to do to you?”
    Ted visibly blanched. I could tell that thought hadn’t occurred to him during his meticulous planning. “She can’t still possibly be mad?”
    “You’ve met her, when isn’t she mad? Your timing is great, by the way. She was in a right snit this morning because she’s losing her wine closet. Your arrival will just be icing on her  . . . witchy cake.”
    Ted swallowed hard, the meaning of my words wasn’t lost on him. “What do you suggest?”
    “Why should I suggest anything?”
    “Because you love Thistle,” he said pointedly. “You want to make this as easy on her as possible.”
    That was true. If I could go back in time and not answer my phone when Brian called, I would gladly do it.
    “I suggest you go down to Hypnotic and see her now,” I said harshly.
    Ted didn’t look like that was the scenario he had in mind. “I’m going to ask you to do something, Bay, something you’re probably not going to like.”
    “Well, that sounds great,” I said sarcastically.
    “I need you to let me approach Thistle,” he continued. “I don’t want you to tell her before I have a chance to.”
    I opened my mouth to argue and then snapped it shut, mulling the thought over in my mind. I shook my head as I considered it. “I can’t lie to her.”
    “Not lie, just avoid her until I have a chance to talk to her.”
    “I live with her.”
    “Well, just don’t bring it up,” Ted begged.
    Crap.
    “I can’t promise anything,” I said bitingly. “You had better handle this – and you’d better handle this today.”
    Ted pursed his lips, clearly resigned to the situation. “I’ll think about it.”
    “You do that,” I said angrily. I swung around on Brian. “How could you keep this from me?”
    He held up his hands to ward off my anger. “To be fair, I had no idea you would be this upset about it.”
    “I’m not upset,” I snapped. “I’m . . . confused.”
    “That’s understandable,” Ted said in his most placating voice.
    “I don’t understand,” Brian said blankly.
    “I would expect nothing less,” I seethed. Then, for lack of something better to do, I stormed back out of the office. The last thing I wanted to do was continue this conversation. I slammed the door behind me for good effort.
    Well, this day had gone to crap pretty quickly.
Seven
    When I left Brian’s office, I felt myself inundated with a nervous energy that I couldn’t quite contain. Normally, when I was this keyed up, I would go to Hypnotic to vent. That wasn’t really an option in this particular case.
    “What’s wrong?” Edith was curiously watching me pace my small office.
    “You know that guy you didn’t recognize in Brian’s office?”
    Edith nodded, concern etched on her ethereal face.
    “It’s Thistle’s father.”
    Something clicked in Edith’s mind. “Twila’s ex-husband. Of course, now I remember.”
    “How do you know him?”
    “I saw them together when they came into the paper to place their wedding announcement,” Edith said thoughtfully. “And Thistle’s birth announcement. I remember that they seemed so happy. I was a ghost, so they didn’t see me. I just remember thinking how grand it was for them to be so young and in love. I wondered what it would be like to be that happy.”
    “Yeah? Well he happily disappeared from her life, for all intents and purposes, when she was a kid. Now he’s slunk back into town and he’s asked me not to tell her until he gets a chance to.”
    “And you don’t think you can do that?”
    “I can’t lie to her.”
    “Don’t lie to her,” Edith suggested. “Just don’t tell her the truth.”
    “No, you don’t understand,” I said angrily. “I really can’t lie to her. She always knows.