“I never feared you,” Griffin countered. “I feared you might turn Aisling against me, but I never feared you.”
“That’s disheartening.”
“You did make me extremely uncomfortable, if that helps.”
“It doesn’t hurt.” Dad grinned as he sighed. “The home office is taking care of Neil’s body. I’m not sure what will be done with Evelyn’s remains, but … I’m sure it will be handled with the proper amount of secrecy.”
“That’s just what a cop wants to hear,” Griffin muttered.
“Do you disapprove?” Dad asked, legitimately curious.
“No. It had to be done. I would’ve done it myself if it came to it. Mrs. Grimlock simply beat me to it.”
“Given her history with Evelyn, it was her right,” Dad said. “Plus, well, Lily fought off an entire horde of zombies. She kept you three safe. I can’t find fault with her actions this evening.”
“What about all of the bodies?” I asked. “Do you know where they got them?”
“No, and we can’t get them back where they belong without making things public,” Dad said. “I’m sure most of them had proper funerals and burials the first go around, so hopefully they’re at peace. They’ll be cremated this time. There’s nothing more we can do.”
“That seems kind of disrespectful.”
“Do you have a better idea?”
“No.”
“Then we can only do what we can do,” Dad said. “As for the other issues, we’ll discuss it over breakfast. I think the one thing everyone has earned this evening is rest.”
“Sounds good to me,” Griffin said. “I’m looking forward to whatever food surprise you have in store for Aisling tomorrow.”
“An omelet bar and a waffle bar.” I grinned even though it hurt. “I’m going to eat my weight in breakfast foods.”
“That sounds delightful.” Dad smiled as he stood. “Griffin told me what you did at the mausoleum. While I’m not a fan of you running off half-cocked and taking on the world without backup, I am proud of what you did.”
“It would’ve worked if Neil didn’t hide behind that shed and punch me when I wasn’t looking. Dirty, rotten cheater.”
Dad chuckled. “Yes, well, he won’t be cheating anyone ever again. As for the police, your mother said she had a heart-to-heart discussion with Detective Green. I don’t think they’ll be sniffing around again, at least on this one.”
“I’ll ask around tomorrow to make sure,” Griffin said. “I doubt that Mark will want to admit what he saw last night. He’ll probably deny it to his final day because it will make him look nuts if he tries to spread the story.”
“We’ll watch him,” Dad said. “I doubt he’ll be a problem. You two should get some sleep. It’s late.”
My father looked tired. He so rarely did. Neil’s betrayal weighed heavy on him. I felt the need to ease his burden. “I was thinking you could look at some wedding stuff with us over breakfast tomorrow.”
Dad arched an eyebrow, surprised. “You want to include me in the decisions?”
“You are paying for it. Wait … you’re still paying, right?”
“If you ask me that again I’ll disown you,” Dad warned.
I held my hands up in capitulation. “I won’t ask again. I want your input, though. In addition to paying, you’re my father. You’ll be giving me away.”
“Really?” Dad was caught off guard. “I thought you might find that tradition antiquated.”
“Nope. I’m yours to give away. Wait … I think that came out wrong.”
Griffin chuckled. “I think it came out exactly right.”
I glanced at Dad and found his eyes glassy. “Don’t cry.” I was horrified. “I meant it as a … I don’t know … respect thing. If you don’t want to do it, you don’t have to.”
“Oh, don’t ruin it.” Dad rolled his eyes. “The last thing I want to do is give you away, kid. Part of me would like to keep you forever.”
“That sounds creepy.”
“I couldn’t imagine giving you to a better man, though.” Dad pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Now, sleep. We’ll discuss everything over breakfast. I look forward to watching you eat your weight in waffles and eggs.”
“We’re both looking forward to that,” Griffin teased.
Dad hit the lights on the way out, stopping long enough to smile and offer me a small wave before disappearing into the hallway. I waited until I was sure he was out of earshot before speaking again.
“Do you want to mess around?”
Griffin groaned. “Seriously?”
“Dad is putty in my hands tonight. We can totally get away with it. He let you strip in front of him and only said one passive-aggressive thing. That must be a new record.”
“I heard that, Aisling!” Dad yelled from the hallway. Apparently he wasn’t as far away as I thought. “Don’t make me come in there.”
“Just joking,” I bellowed back.
“Make sure you keep it that way.”
Griffin smirked as he glanced at me and lowered his voice. “How about we save the romance for when we’re back in our own bed and your face doesn’t look as if you’ve gone ten rounds with Rocky. How does that sound?”
“Boring.”
“You’ll live.” Griffin rolled me so I could rest my good cheek on his chest. “You really did scare me tonight.”
“That’s starting to be the norm for us, huh?”
“Yeah. Knock it off.”
I giggled. “Hey, Griffin?”
“What?” He was already half asleep.
“I really do love you.”
I could hear the smile in his voice when he answered. “I know. Now sleep. If you open your mouth again, I’m going to fill it with something.”
“You said you didn’t want to mess around.”
“I meant a pillow.”
“That’s not romantic.”
“Neither is the bag of peas melting on my chest.”
He had a point. “Goodnight.”
“Sweet dreams, baby. You’ve earned them.”
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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
The Trouble With Witches
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
A Charlie Rhodes Cozy Mystery
The Bigfoot Blunder
Table of Contents
Copyright
Table of Contents
Prologue
1. One
2. Two
3. Three
4. Four
5. Five
6. Six
7. Seven
8. Eight
9. Nine
10. Ten
11. Eleven
12. Twelve
13. Thirteen
14. Fourteen
15. Fifteen
16. Sixteen
17. Seventeen
18. Eighteen
19. Nineteen
20. Twenty
21. Twenty-One
22. Twenty-Two
23. Twenty-Three
24. Twenty-Four
25. Twenty-Five
26. Twenty-Six
27. Twenty-Seven
28. Twenty-Eight
29. Twenty-Nine
30. Thirty
Mailing List
About the Author
Books by Amanda M. Lee