Welcome Back Witches: A Witch Squad Cozy Mystery (Season 2 - Book 1) #10 Read online

  The disgusted expression immediately fell off Holly’s face. She looked over at me and smiled, giving me a polite nod. “It’s a nice house, Mercy. I think we’ll be very happy here.” She put her sunglasses back down on her nose and set about hoisting another bag out of the trunk.

  “Oh, you’re here!” I heard my brother say as he met Alba on the front porch. “Hey, Alba, welcome back.” He held a fist out to her.

  Alba bumped it as she headed inside to use the bathroom. “’Sup, Slick. Miss me?”

  “About as much as I miss having the flu.”

  “Aww. Whaddaya know? I missed you that much too.”

  I rolled my eyes. My brother and Alba had a love/hate relationship. They both loved to hate the other. I cupped my hands over my mouth and hollered. “Straight through the foyer, take a right before the kitchen.”

  She’d already disappeared inside when I heard her holler back at me. “Thank you.”

  Holly approached the house dragging a pair of hard-shelled navy suitcases behind her. Her sunglasses sat low on her nose, covering her eyes.

  Reign stopped right in front of her. “Hey, Holly.”

  Forced to stop because he was in her way, Holly pursed her lips and nodded curtly. “Reign.”

  “How was your summer?”

  “Epic,” she answered in a bit of a sigh, as if they were playing the short answer game. “Yours?”

  “It was good.” With his hands on either hip, his head kind of bobbed. “I, uh, missed you.”

  Holly looked unimpressed. “Did you?”

  “Of course I did. You miss me?”

  Holly lifted a shoulder noncommittally. “Not really.” She pushed forward, forcing him to move or get mowed over by her and her luggage. “Excuse me.”

  “You want some help with that?” he asked as she struggled to pull the suitcases up the porch steps.

  Without bothering to look up at him, she continued to struggle. “No, thank you.”

  Reign and I watched Holly’s bags battle the porch steps. Finally, I gave a flick of my finger and the suitcases lifted easily. I set them down on the top step for her.

  She turned around and gave us a curt little nod. “Thank you.”

  “Don’t mention it,” I said. When she was safely inside the house, I turned to look up at my brother in shock. The year before, Holly had been completely stuck on Reign, but my brother would never give her the time of day. Now Holly was the aloof one and Reign was the chatty one? I was missing something. “What the heck was that all about?”

  Reign swallowed hard and shrugged. Something flickered across his eyes, but my brother was nothing if not private. “Not a clue,” he breathed, somehow managing to wipe all signs of care from his face. “Well, I got the first truck load unloaded. How about I help Holly and Alba unload their stuff from the car?”

  I stared at him hard. I couldn’t exactly put my finger on why he made me suspicious, but he did. Maybe it was because he seemed almost too eager to help. “Nah. I think we can handle it. But we’d take another load of stuff from the B&B.”

  Reign’s face fell. “Oh. Yeah. I guess I can do that.”

  I patted him on the arm as if to dismiss him. “Awesome, bro. Thanks for all the help.”

  Reign stared at the house, one brow quirked up. “You sure you don’t need any help in the—”

  “We got it. Thanks though.” Cutting him off, I pushed him towards his truck in the driveway. I flicked a finger at Jax’s desk, which was just behind his tailgate and blocking his exit. My shot of electrical energy made the desk bounce up and hover in the air. Sliding my finger smoothly across the air in front of me, I put the desk down on a grassy spot beneath the sugar maple tree in the front yard. Then I gave him an exaggerated smile and a wiggle of my fingers. “Bye-eee.”

  He rolled his eyes and walked away in a bit of a huff. He threw a hand over his head and hollered back at me, “I’ll be back in a little bit.”

  “No hurry!”

  Chapter 2

  When we’d unloaded all of Holly and Alba’s things onto the porch, the five of us stood back on our lawn and looked up at the house.

  “I still can’t believe we got a house this year,” said Alba with an actual smile on her face. “This is gonna make this year so much better than last year.”

  “Yeah, it is,” I agreed. “Last year at this time I was moving into a Pottery Barn commercial.” I glanced over at Jax, who had been my very first roommate. She’d been annoyingly chipper that first day, not that she’d changed even an ounce over the past year. And I’d been—well, exceptionally jaded about being forced, by my mother (and the law) to go to witch school. When I’d walked into our dorm room and found fluffy girly stuff all over and boy band posters on the wall, I’d been none too excited. Thankfully, it hadn’t taken long before Jax had grown on me.

  Jax beamed at me.

  “Last year at this time, Cosmo was blowing up our room,” said Alba.

  I laughed, leaning on Holly’s shoulder. “Oh my gosh, I remember that. That was hilarious. Alba came out covered in black soot! She was furious! That’s how I first met you two.”

  “Don’t remind me.” Shooting a furtive glance over at Alba, Holly blanched. “Alba didn’t let me live that one down for months after.” She made a little clicking sound with her tongue. “It’s gonna be weird not sharing a room with you anymore.”

  “It’s gonna be sweet, that’s for sure,” said Alba, grinning. “No more messy room. No more earrings in the bottom of my feet at two a.m. No more makeup all over my clothes. No more boys calling at random hours.”

  Holly swatted at Alba. “Oh, you’ll miss me and you know it.”

  “Nah. Not really. You’ll be down the hall. That’s good enough for me.” Alba looked up at the house. “Speaking of down the hall, which one’s my room? I wanna get settled and have a shower. I feel gross.”

  Jax drew a deep breath and then sprinted up the stairs to clap her hands together excitedly. “Oooh! Room assignment time, yay!”

  My eyes swung up towards the sky. “Jax wouldn’t let us pick our rooms out without you two,” I explained.

  “I didn’t think it was fair at all,” said Jax with a serious face. “But before we get to that, first I think we should start with a tour. Who wants a tour?”

  “I do!” said Holly, raising her hand.

  Sweets raised her hand. “Well, I’ve already been inside, but I want to help show the girls around.”

  Alba shrugged and started up the stairs. “I’d take a tour. I already know where the bathroom is.”

  Jax squealed and led the way inside. She’d been waiting for weeks to move in and proudly show off our new digs and, as such, stopped just inside the foyer and held her hands out on either side of herself like she’d practiced and this was the first choreographed portion. “This is the foyer.” She leaned forward and put a hand to the side of her mouth, as if to share a secret, whispering, “That’s just a fancy word for entryway.”

  Alba rolled her eyes and shot me a look.

  I smiled, keeping my lips pressed together. If Jax was enjoying herself with this little production, what skin was it off my nose? I thought it was actually kind of funny.

  Inside the foyer, light from outside spilled in through the screened door, drawing a long triangle across the threadbare antique rug covering the hardwood floor. The foyer walls were papered with navy-and-white flowers, and the doorways were framed in thick, dark woodwork. The house, which had come fully furnished, was old and full of vintage pieces, and it had a very homey, cozy vibe to it.

  “To your left, you’ll find the parlor,” said Jax, quickly adding, “but I just call it the living room.”

  The parlor was a large room crowded with furniture, a mix of old and newish pieces, like the previous owner couldn’t make up their mind whether they wanted a fancy sitting room with antique pieces or a comfortable living room with modern pieces and instead decided to compromise and have both.

  Straight ahead of us on the opposite side of the room was a fireplace with a dark wooden mantel and a decorative brass mirror hanging above it. Flanking the fireplace were a pair of built-in wooden bookshelves filled with books and little knickknacks.

  In front of the bookshelves were a well-worn recliner with a wooden end table and a lamp on the right and an antique chaise lounge with burgundy upholstery and dark, carved wooden legs on the left.

  Halfway between us and the fireplace, a short mustard-colored sofa lined the side wall, facing a bay window overlooking the front porch. Throw pillows lined the back of the sofa, and a gaudy afghan was thrown over one arm. In front of the couch was a rectangular coffee table, and in front of that was a free-standing wooden television set. It looked like the perfect place to cozy up and do homework or have movie night with the girls.

  To our left, and closest to us, there was an antique high-backed chair with ornate wooden arms and legs and fancy embellishments. The chair looked expensive and about as comfortable as an electric chair, and I promised myself then and there I’d never try it out. In the corner and to our right sat a trio of wooden plant stands complete with potted plants and a little free-standing birdhouse for decoration.

  “Looks fancy,” said Alba.

  “Looks old,” rebutted Holly, wrinkling her nose. She sniffed the air. “Smells kind of old too.”

  I waved a hand. “That’s because no one’s been living here for a while. It just needs to be aired out.”

  She looked disdainfully down at the mustard sofa. “And you’re sure no one died on this furniture?”

  I lifted a shoulder. “If they did, it wasn’t recently.”

  “Oh my gosh, I don’t know about this place, girls. This was the best we could do?” Holly nibbled on her nails as her eyes skirted the corners of the room like she was expecting a ghost to pop out at any second.

  “You mean the best we could do with Daddy’s money?” Alba asked, looking straight at Holly.

  Holly’s posture straightened and she flipped her long blond hair off her shoulder. “Jax. Let’s continue with the tour.”

  Jax’s eyes bounced from Alba to Holly and back. “Ohhh-kay,” she sang as if trying to get us all on track again. “If you’ll follow me right this way, please?” She led the tour group back through the foyer towards the back of the house. “As you can see, this is the kitchen. We’ll come back here in a second. First I think we’ll go down this hallway.” She led us down the hallway to our right, opening the first door on the right. “Laundry room.”

  “Our own washer and dryer!” said Sweets excitedly. “Finally!”

  Jax pointed to the second and last door on the right. “The first of the three bathrooms.”

  “That’s the one I used when we got here,” said Alba. “It’s got those little carved soaps in a dish in there. Like they have in fancy stores. You’re not supposed to use ’em.”

  My head bobbed. “Thanks for the tip, Emily Post.”

  Alba elbowed me in the ribs while Sweets giggled, poking her head into the bathroom. “They even have monogrammed towels. Mercy, what does KL stand for?”

  “Katherine Lynde,” I said. “She was the friend of Gran’s that passed away. She went to the Institute when Gran did too.”

  “I just think that’s so cool,” said Jax, shaking her head. “They’re just like us! They were a group of witch friends that went to the Institute. We’re a group of witch friends that went to the Institute. It was kind of like this was all meant to be! Like serendipity!”

  “Yeah, well, that lady died,” said Alba. “So let’s not get too they’re just like us here.” She opened the only door we hadn’t opened yet. “What’s in here?”

  “Oh, that’s a bedroom,” said Jax. “The first of the six.”

  “Where’re the rest of the rooms?” asked Alba, bending backwards to look down the dead-end hallway.

  I pointed at the ceiling. “Upstairs.”

  We all followed Alba when she walked inside the bedroom. Alba and Holly strolled around the room, quietly debating whether or not they wanted to pick door number one or hold out for one of the rooms upstairs. Jax and I already knew which rooms we wanted upstairs, so we didn’t say anything.

  “Whose stuff is that?” asked Holly, pointing to the pile of mismatched duffle bags and garbage bags that had been placed at the foot of the bed.

  I looked down at the pile with a frown. That stuff hadn’t been there the day before when Gran and her friends had come over and given Jax, Sweets, and me the keys and done our walkthrough with us. “You know, I’m not really sure. Maybe Gran and her friends are planning a yard sale or something?”

  “But why would they put it in here? Why not the garage?” asked Alba.

  I tossed up my arms. “I have no idea. I’ll have to ask Gran.”

  “Okay, well, we can figure this room out later. Let’s head to the kitchen,” said Jax.

  The combined kitchen and dining room was large and bright, with cream-colored wallpaper sprinkled with little sprigs of green. The cabinets appeared original to the house, but as if they’d been painted in the last ten or fifteen years. They were now a warm teal with vintage crystal knobs, and the Formica counters were cream-colored. The appliances were cream also and vintage eighties, and the worn wood floors continued into the kitchen, but cozy, mismatched braided rugs had been tossed down around the room.

  Between the dining area and the kitchen was a slider to the back deck and backyard. And on the dining room side of the kitchen, a formal table and chairs took up much of the room. The set was vintage mahogany with fluted legs and high-backed padded chairs. A matching china cabinet was up against the wall behind it. The whole thing blended old world charm and cozy comfort perfectly.

  “I like it,” said Sweets, grinning.

  Of course Sweets had already seen the house and had fallen in love with the kitchen. She was our resident baking matchmaker and felt more at home in a kitchen than anywhere else in the house. This would be the room she spent most of her time in.

  “It’s okay,” said Holly, lifting a shoulder. “It’s like my grandmother’s kitchen.”

  “Your grandmother had an old-fashioned kitchen like this?” asked Alba, looking surprised.

  Holly frowned. “Oh. Well, no. Not really. My grandmother lived in a condo in Laguna Woods. Isn’t that just an expression people say?”

  We all stared at her.

  Wide-eyed, she shrugged uncomfortably. “No?”

  “No,” said Alba.

  Jax’s eyes brightened and she swooped the air with her hands. “Moving on,” she sang. She pointed to her left. “If you go this way, it’ll take you back to the parlor, and the garage is through there.” She pointed at a door beside the stairs. “But up this way are the bedrooms.”

  The stairs creaked as we followed Jax single file to the top of the wooden stairs.

  “Okay. We’ll call this one bedroom number two.” She opened the door at the top of the stairs. It was the largest of all the bedrooms as it was over the garage—possibly an add-on to the house. It had three large windows, each covered with sheer white curtains and facing a different direction of the yard. There was a sunny yellow quilt on a white metal-framed bed and a window seat that faced the driveway.

  “Not mine,” said Alba immediately. “That quilt is doing something to my gag reflex.” She held a hand to the base of her throat and pretended like she was going to puke.

  “Not mine either,” said Holly. “How do you sleep until noon with this kind of light?!” She frowned. “Apparently the lady who lived here before never heard of blackout shades.”

  Sweets looked over at me, clasping her hands to her chest. Her face was covered with an enormous smile. “If y’all don’t mind, I’m sort of in love with this room. I love all the natural light and the quilt. And the window seat…”

  Holly held up a hand. “Say no more. As far as I’m concerned, it’s all yours.”

  Sweets had already conveyed to Jax and me that that was her favorite room, and I had no problem with that. What would I do with all that space? Plus I agreed with Holly. It was much too bright for my taste, and Jax didn’t like the fact that it was at the end of the hallway, as opposed to in the center of the hallway where all the action was sure to be.

  “It’s yours, Sweets,” I declared.

  “Yay!” she cheered.

  Jax led us around the stairs. There was a little open area with a window that faced the sugar maple tree out front. “I was thinking this would make a nice little study area,” said Jax. “We could put a desk here and maybe find some beanbag chairs or something?”

  “Beanbag chairs, Shorty? Really? What are we, six years old?”

  Jax gave a bashful shrug. “I don’t know. I thought it would be cute.”

  “Whatever,” said Alba.

  “There’s the second bathroom,” said Jax, pointing to the door next to the study space.

  Across from that was another set of stairs leading up to the third floor, and next to that was bedroom number three. Everyone poked their head inside. It was smaller than the first two bedrooms, but still fairly large. It faced the backyard and was about two shades darker than Sweets’ room. It had a wooden four-post bed with a vanity and chair next to the window, and the walls were a pale shade of pink.

  Next door to bedroom number three was bedroom number four, and across the hall was bedroom number five, which faced the front yard. Both of those rooms were the same size as bedroom number three. They each had a double bed, a dresser and an area rug on the wood floor.

  “If you guys don’t care, Mercy and I want these two rooms,” said Jax, pointing to the two rooms directly across the hall from each other.

  While I really didn’t have a preference, when we’d seen the rooms, Jax had launched into a speech about wanting to be across the hall from me. And since I really didn’t care one way or the other, I was fine with that room.

  “Fine with me,” said Holly, shrugging. “They don’t look very big.”

  “I’m okay with that,” I said. “I don’t have a lot of stuff, so I don’t need a lot of room.”