“With me?” I couldn’t contain my surprise. “Why would you want to strike a deal with me?”
“Because you’re really in charge of this family.”
I tried to imagine my mother’s face if she heard those words escape Aunt Willa’s mouth. “Yeah, I think you’re mixed up. It doesn’t matter, nobody in our family wants to deal with you.”
“I don’t want to deal with you either. Heck, I don’t want to be back in this stupid town. I hate it here.”
“And yet ... .” I held out my hands.
“I’m only here because Brian considers this home. He and Rosemary are building a life. I don’t want it to be a terrible life.”
“And you think I’ll somehow ruin it?”
“Not you specifically, but Brian really does seem to hate you. His feelings for your fiancé are even more difficult to untangle.”
“There’s nothing to untangle. He hates Landon too.”
“You’re right. But I’m here to propose a deal.”
She had to be joking. But she had no sense of humor. “What do you want?”
“I want you and your cousins to leave Rosemary and Brian alone.”
“We have no interest in either of them.”
“Then why did Rosemary track me down an hour ago crying because you terrorized her?”
“That’s not how I remember it going down.”
“She feels you’re out to get her.”
“That’s funny, because I can’t help but feel she’s out to get me.”
“That’s why we need to strike a deal.” Willa was firm. “If you agree to keep your arm of the family away from Brian and Rosemary, I promise to keep them away from you.”
“I can’t control Aunt Tillie.”
“You could if you wanted.”
“I don’t want to. I don’t want you people here. This is my town. You might consider that rude, but I really don’t care. I’m not making a deal with you.”
Aunt Willa’s eyes narrowed to slits. “You should reconsider.”
“I want you off my property. I have nothing more to say to you.”
“You’ll regret this, Bay,” she warned. “I came to you with a truce and you threw it back in my face. That’s a mistake.”
“The mistake was you guys coming back. This is our town. You have no place here. Get out or get out of the way. Those are your choices.”
“I think we have a few more choices than that.”
“I guess we’ll see.”
7
Seven
Landon arrived home after I’d relaxed in the tub and dried my hair. I was picking out an outfit for dinner when he strolled into the bedroom.
“You didn’t text me all day,” he announced.
I shifted my gaze away from the blue shirt I was considering to him. “I was with you for half the day.”
“Fine. You didn’t text me all afternoon.”
“So?”
“So, I was worried.” He ran his hands over the shoulders of my fuzzy robe. “There’s a murderer on the loose, in case you’ve forgotten.”
“It’s Hemlock Cove. Isn’t there always a murderer on the loose?”
“This is an especially brutal murderer.”
“Well, as you can see, I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine.” His fingers traced under my eyes. “You look tired. Do you want to skip dinner and stay home tonight?”
“Um ... no. We have nothing to eat but Pop-Tarts.”
“I can live on Pop-Tarts ... and love.”
“I want real food.” I shrugged out of my robe and tugged the shirt over my head. “I’m hungry.”
“You’re upset,” he said.
“I’m not upset.” I avoided his probing gaze. What was I supposed to say to him? “I’m ... conflicted.”
“Tell me what’s bothering you.” He insisted.
“I ... saw something this afternoon.” It came tumbling out. “I know I should’ve said something then, but I don’t even know what it was. I mean ... evil window people? What is that?”
He dropped to the bed, his hand on my waist. “I’m not an expert on this stuff.”
“Apparently neither am I because I’ve never heard of window monsters.”
“Do you think they were ghosts? You can see ghosts that nobody else can.”
“Aunt Tillie can.”
“But you’re the one with the advancing powers.”
“You’ve seen ghosts, too,” I reminded him.
“I think I’ve seen ghosts because you can see ghosts.”
“I don’t think that’s scientific. It sounds like a codependency thing.”
He barked out a laugh. “Maybe it is. The few times I’ve managed it have been because you’ve been in trouble ... or exceedingly happy, like when I gave you the best proposal in the world.”
That made me laugh. He was proud of his proposal, and rightfully so. I would never forget it. “It was the best proposal ever.” I sat next to him and dropped my hand in his lap so he could hold it. “I was afraid when I saw them.”
He didn’t immediately respond, and when I turned to look at him, I found sympathy waiting for me. “Did you hear me?”
“Yes.” He nodded. “Do you want me to say I’m disappointed? I’m not. You’re allowed to be afraid. I’m afraid all the time.”
“I’ve never really been afraid of ghosts. Well, Floyd, but he was a poltergeist. Other than him, I’ve never been afraid of the dead.”
“What about zombies?”
“I’ve never seen a zombie. They’re not real.”
“They might not eat brains, but I guarantee they’re real.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because you’re real.” His fingers danced lightly over my cheek. “You’re my magical witch. Because of you, I believe that everything is real ... including this.” He moved my hand to the spot above his heart. “If you’re afraid, sweetie, don’t keep it to yourself. Tell me so we can deal with it together.”
“I know I should’ve told you. I was just so confused.” I leaned into him as he wrapped his arms around me. “I don’t know what to make of any of it.”
“Well, I don’t either. We’ll figure it out. I don’t think it was a coincidence that your window monsters showed up the same day we found Paisley’s body.”
“I don’t think so either.”
“So, we need to deal with it.”
I pressed my eyes shut and let him rub the back of my neck. “Maybe you should deal with it and I’ll hide in bed for a week. How does that
