I raised my eyebrows. “I don’t think I have much of a choice. I have to tell them the truth.”
“You always have a choice,” Aunt Tillie countered. “Everything is back to normal. The girls are safe, the dog is home and those derelicts in the field promised to leave first thing in the morning. You don’t have to tell the whole truth if you don’t want to.”
“That’s a nice offer.” It really was. “I don’t think that’s the message I want to send the girls, though. I screwed up. I need to own up to it.”
“Ugh. Sometimes I think we’re not even related and you stole me at the hospital or something,” Thistle rolled her eyes. “We’ll lie for you. It will be fine.”
I pursed my lips as I risked a glance at Terry and found him frowning.
“You’re not going to lie,” Terry argued. “Twila made a mistake, but it was an honest one. There’s no reason to lie.”
“Aunt Tillie says there’s always a reason to lie,” Clove countered.
“Yup, I’m taking you all to live with me,” Terry muttered, shaking his head. “I’m your only hope. I can feel it.”
“You are.” Bay giggled as he poked her side.
The sound of doors closing and conversation at the front of the house caught my attention. I squared my shoulders as I readied myself for a big battle. Winnie and Marnie would be furious. There was no doubt about that. They wouldn’t care about my reasons for doing what I did. They would only care about what happened.
They’d yell and scream.
They’d threaten me with any number of curses.
They’d never let me live it down, bringing it up over and over again until they finally broke me and I cried.
Wait … what was I thinking about again? Oh, right.
Winnie walked through the door, a bright smile on her face. “How is everyone? I was worried for some reason, but you all look fine.”
“Everything is great,” I said, forcing a smile. “Absolutely nothing bad happened and everything went exactly according to schedule.”
“Oh, geez!” Terry slapped his hand to his forehead and stared at his lap.
I puffed out my chest and smiled as I locked gazes with Aunt Tillie. I expected her to be proud. She was anything but.
“That was pathetic,” Aunt Tillie announced. “I’ll expect you in class with the girls tomorrow morning. You’ll be the class dunce if you’re not careful, because these girls are ready to do laps around you.”
Well, crap. I slid my eyes to Winnie and found her glaring. She didn’t know what had gone wrong, but she definitely knew things didn’t run smoothly.
I took a step away from her and held up my hand in a placating manner. “I’m going to start running now.”
“That’s probably a good idea.”
No, it was a great idea. I’m so over being in charge.
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About the Author
I want to thank everyone who takes the time to read my novels. I have a particular brand of humor that isn’t for everyone – and I know that.
If you liked the book, please take a few minutes and leave a review. An independent author does it all on their own, and the reviews are helpful. I understand that my characters aren’t for everyone, though. There’s a lot of snark and sarcasm in my world – and I know some people don’t like that.
Special thanks go out to Heidi Bitsoli and Phil VanHulle for correcting the (numerous) errors that creep into a work of fiction.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
For more information:
author@amandamlee.net
Books by Amanda M. Lee
An Avery Shaw Mystery
Who, What, Where, When, Die
If it Bleeds, it Leads
Buried Leads
Shot Off The Presses
The Preditorial Page
Misquoted & Demoted
Headlines & Deadlines
Misprints & Mistakes
Bylines & Skylines
Off the Record
Unwritten & Underwater
A Wicked Witches of the Midwest Mystery
Any Witch Way You Can
Every Witch Way But Wicked
Witching You Were Here
Witching on a Star
Something to Witch About
Witch Me Luck
Life’s a Witch
Charms & Witchdemeanors
Murder Most Witchy
A Wicked Witches of the Midwest Short
Careful What You Witch For
Wicked Brew
On a Witch and a Prayer
You Only Witch Once
The Christmas Witch
Bewitched
A Solstice Celebration
Witchdependence Day
Happy Witchgiving
Merry Witchmas
Four-Leaf Clover
Thistle While You Work
Landon Calling
I Dream of Twila
How Aunt Tillie Stole Christmas
A Wicked Witches of the Midwest Fantasy
Witchy Tales
A Witch In Time
Make A Witch
A Witchmas Carol
An Aisling Grimlock Mystery
Grim Tidings
Grim Offerings
Grim Discovery
Grim Reunion
Grim Expectations
Grim Holiday
Covenant College
Awakening
Whispering
Conjuring
Waxing & Waning
Graduating
Living Covenant Trilogy
Rising Covenant
Dark Covenant
Eternal Covenant
Dying Covenant Trilogy
Haunted Covenant
Desperate Covenant
Everlasting Covenant
A Mystic Caravan Mystery
Freaky Days
Freaky Lies
Freaky Hearts
Freaky Games
A Charlie Rhodes Cozy Mystery
The Bigfoot Blunder