Page 60 of Air Of Mystery
“Correct,” I said.
“There are memories here,” George said as we walked along. “Happy ones from the recent weddings, but also sad ones. A mother mourning for her child, and another female—her spirit is no longer roaming but I’m picking up on echoes of anger and frustration. I’m figuring that’s the missing bride, Bridgette Ames.”
To that, I simply nodded. I’d sworn to keep the information of how I, my sisters and grandmother, and the Daughters of Midnight had formed a Grand Coven to banish that particular entity from the grounds. The popular theory was thatafterBridgette Ames’ remains had been found, the haunting had ended. And I was willing to allow that story to continue.
Now that we were closer, I spotted Charlie outside on his patio working at the grill. A string of party lights was lit, and it went from the side of the carriage house to a tall pole outside of the patio. It made the area look warm and welcoming. The scent of the steaks grilling drifted over to us and my stomach rumbled.
“Didn’t eat lunch today again, did you?” George tsk-tsked at me.
“I plan to make up for it with dinner,” I told him.
Dinner was great. The four of us sat outside at the round metal table on the patio, and afterward we hung out there for a while talking. Eventually the guys went back to the hotel to get some sleep, as Larry planned to be up at dawn to get exterior shots of the mansion and the grounds before any guests were up and wandering around.
I went inside with Charlie and helped him with the dishes and the clearing up.
“I like your friends,” he told me as I dried the final glass.
“I’d say that’s mutual,” I told him. “Dinner was great.”
He nodded. “I noticed you cleaned your plate and had two servings of salad. Forgot to eat lunch again, didn’t you?”
“Did George snitch on me?”
“No.” He shook his head. “I figured out a while ago that you tend to get so busy that you forget to eat.”
I shrugged. “Bad habit of mine.”
“You need someone to keep an eye on you, Skye.”
“I’ve managed okay so far.”
“You burn up a lot of energy with everything that you do. I’ve been reading about how psychic protection—which you would have to do all the time during your investigations—can be very draining for people.”
“You’ve been reading up on psychic protection?”
“And hauntings too,” he said. “I spoke to the librarian about it, and she recommended a few titles.”
“That’s why you were at the library,” I realized.
“I’ve been reading a lot lately. The head librarian knows her stuff.”
“You mean, Amanda Beaumont-Parker?”
“Yes.” Charlie nodded.
I blinked in surprise. “So, Amanda gave you books on psychic protection and hauntings?”
“And a couple on the Craft too.”
My jaw dropped. “Charlie Smythe, are you telling me that you’ve been reading books on witchcraft?”
He folded his arms across his chest. “I figured if I was dating a Witch, the least I could do was to learn more about what makes you...you.”
Touched, I blinked rapidly trying not to let my emotions get the best of me.
“Are you okay?” Charlie asked, brushing his hand through my hair.
“I’m terrific, and I’m absolutely crazy about you.” Reaching up, I planted one on him.
