Spell Booked (Retired Witches Mysteries Series Book 1) by Joyce Lavene Page A
Authors: Joyce Lavene
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have any choice.”
Where was my wildly romantic husband who would never have kissed my cheek and left me in the bedroom by myself? Maybe he was right and the world had gone insane. It certainly felt that way.
One bit of good news shortly after Mike got home—Elsie had told her daughter that she would move out if Aleese didn’t leave her alone. It didn’t make much sense to me since the house belonged to Elsie. But whatever worked to keep us together was what mattered.
“That’s one piece of the puzzle back where it belongs,” I told Isabelle. “We have to hold on to what we have right now. We can always add the other pieces as we go along.”
She agreed and rubbed her head against my leg, requesting salmon for dinner instead of tuna. I laughed and fed her before we left. It was an easy thing to do that didn’t make my brain ache like so many other things I’d been thinking about.
We left the house in Joe’s SUV and drove to Flaming Amy’s Burrito Barn on Oleander. This was Mike’s favorite place to eat.
“I’m starving!” he told us as we walked into the restaurant. “I’m glad we could come here.”
Joe kind of grunted at his words. The waiter, who knew us well, found us a quiet table in the back so we could talk. The restaurant was packed, as always.
“We’d like to talk about why you left school,” I said as we sat down.
“Does there have to be a reason?” Mike picked up a menu. “I’m old enough to know what I want.”
“And that is?” Joe’s eyes narrowed.
“I want to be free to start my life,” Mike said in a belligerent tone. “I’ve spent years in college. I don’t want to be an engineer anymore.”
Mike didn’t seem to notice how angry his father was. We ordered dinner and got our drinks as Mike went on and on about how excited he was and what a good thing this was going to be.
I kept listening to him, hoping he’d give away what was
really
happening in his life. There hadn’t been anything in his texts or phone calls that had made me think something was wrong. Whatever had happened was sudden, which probably meant he hadn’t had a chance to think it over.
Our dinner had arrived, thankfully. Mike was finally out of words as he started eating. Joe was too angry to speak by this time. I knew it was a slow simmer that would erupt if he didn’t understand the problem Mike was facing. I wanted to prevent that—I had enough unhappy things going on right now without dealing with something between them.
As I gazed around the crowded restaurant, I caught sight of Brian Fuller. He was sitting at a table only a few yards away with a pretty blonde as his companion. They were smiling and enjoying their meal.
Joe got a call from Lisbet and went outside to answer it. Mike went to the restroom.
It was crazy, I know, to approach Brian after his reception on the boat. What can I say? I felt desperate to find closure and put an end to whatever the disagreement was between us. At that moment, I even considered that Brian might
not
have killed Olivia. Maybe he just needed someone to listen to his story. Besides, this was a public place. He wouldn’t dare use magic here.
I got up from my table and crossed the restaurant to him.
CHAPTER 11
Courage take and courage keep,
Bravery in my heart doth leap,
Faith and patience cover me,
Now until the end I seek.
“Molly, isn’t it?” Brian put out a hand and shook mine. “Would you like to join us?”
“No, thank you.” I glanced at the pretty blonde. She wasn’t a witch. “You might want to ask your friend to powder her nose while we talk.”
“Is there a problem?” He actually appeared surprised to see me and not a bit reticent to talk.
“I’m here about
Olivia
.”
Brian took the hint and asked the blonde to give us a few minutes. She sulked, prettily, but left the table. “I don’t know what Olivia told you, but we aren’t only seeing each other. She doesn’t want that kind of relationship any more than I
Where was my wildly romantic husband who would never have kissed my cheek and left me in the bedroom by myself? Maybe he was right and the world had gone insane. It certainly felt that way.
One bit of good news shortly after Mike got home—Elsie had told her daughter that she would move out if Aleese didn’t leave her alone. It didn’t make much sense to me since the house belonged to Elsie. But whatever worked to keep us together was what mattered.
“That’s one piece of the puzzle back where it belongs,” I told Isabelle. “We have to hold on to what we have right now. We can always add the other pieces as we go along.”
She agreed and rubbed her head against my leg, requesting salmon for dinner instead of tuna. I laughed and fed her before we left. It was an easy thing to do that didn’t make my brain ache like so many other things I’d been thinking about.
We left the house in Joe’s SUV and drove to Flaming Amy’s Burrito Barn on Oleander. This was Mike’s favorite place to eat.
“I’m starving!” he told us as we walked into the restaurant. “I’m glad we could come here.”
Joe kind of grunted at his words. The waiter, who knew us well, found us a quiet table in the back so we could talk. The restaurant was packed, as always.
“We’d like to talk about why you left school,” I said as we sat down.
“Does there have to be a reason?” Mike picked up a menu. “I’m old enough to know what I want.”
“And that is?” Joe’s eyes narrowed.
“I want to be free to start my life,” Mike said in a belligerent tone. “I’ve spent years in college. I don’t want to be an engineer anymore.”
Mike didn’t seem to notice how angry his father was. We ordered dinner and got our drinks as Mike went on and on about how excited he was and what a good thing this was going to be.
I kept listening to him, hoping he’d give away what was
really
happening in his life. There hadn’t been anything in his texts or phone calls that had made me think something was wrong. Whatever had happened was sudden, which probably meant he hadn’t had a chance to think it over.
Our dinner had arrived, thankfully. Mike was finally out of words as he started eating. Joe was too angry to speak by this time. I knew it was a slow simmer that would erupt if he didn’t understand the problem Mike was facing. I wanted to prevent that—I had enough unhappy things going on right now without dealing with something between them.
As I gazed around the crowded restaurant, I caught sight of Brian Fuller. He was sitting at a table only a few yards away with a pretty blonde as his companion. They were smiling and enjoying their meal.
Joe got a call from Lisbet and went outside to answer it. Mike went to the restroom.
It was crazy, I know, to approach Brian after his reception on the boat. What can I say? I felt desperate to find closure and put an end to whatever the disagreement was between us. At that moment, I even considered that Brian might
not
have killed Olivia. Maybe he just needed someone to listen to his story. Besides, this was a public place. He wouldn’t dare use magic here.
I got up from my table and crossed the restaurant to him.
CHAPTER 11
Courage take and courage keep,
Bravery in my heart doth leap,
Faith and patience cover me,
Now until the end I seek.
“Molly, isn’t it?” Brian put out a hand and shook mine. “Would you like to join us?”
“No, thank you.” I glanced at the pretty blonde. She wasn’t a witch. “You might want to ask your friend to powder her nose while we talk.”
“Is there a problem?” He actually appeared surprised to see me and not a bit reticent to talk.
“I’m here about
Olivia
.”
Brian took the hint and asked the blonde to give us a few minutes. She sulked, prettily, but left the table. “I don’t know what Olivia told you, but we aren’t only seeing each other. She doesn’t want that kind of relationship any more than I
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