Mocha Brewed Monsters by Selina J. Eckert

Author:Selina J. Eckert
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: cozy, autumn, fae, halloween, mystery
Publisher: Selina J. Eckert
Published: 2022-10-31T00:00:00+00:00

UNCLE HERSCHEL ARRIVED back at the cottage not long after Forrest and the sprites left for the evening, but unlike last night, he didn’t stick around to socialize. The day must have been busier than that small snapshot we’d seen in the park, especially since he’d also fixed my refrigerator—his shoulders drooped, and his eyes were shadowed with fatigue. I gave him a hot tea, and he went straight to bed. Or at least he did for about half an hour. Then he went out the back door, toward the woods. I didn’t have a chance to ask where he was going, but he was a grown man with a key to the house, so I couldn’t worry about him too much. He probably just needed a walk in the fresh air before bed.

Or so I hoped.

Yet I found myself watching him until he disappeared into the trees, wondering where exactly he was going—and why. I toyed with the idea of texting Forrest to ask him to send a patrol out that way, just to scope it out, but Thea reappeared right then, distracting me. She hurried into the living room, and I tried to head her off, to clean up the games myself.

Thea bustled around, doing more than I had ever asked her to, scrubbing out the mugs and the kettle, cleaning up all the dishes, and polishing the coffee table until it shone so bright I practically needed sunglasses. Then she was vacuuming, mopping the kitchen floor, even scrubbing the walls with a mix of cleaner and vinegar water. There was no trace of the slime, if there had even been any in some of these places at all, which I doubted.

“Thea,” I finally said, “you know you don’t have to do all this. It seems... extraneous? You just did this last spring. And I can wash my own dishes, you know that.”

She didn’t acknowledge me, turning to tackle the cat hair on the sofa.

I sighed and took myself up to bed. She would do what she was going to do, and it seemed nothing I said would stop her. I hoped it wasn’t a stress reaction or anything. As far as I knew, she wasn’t having any problems. But with all the family issues among my friends and loved ones lately, maybe there was a problem with Lin.

I quickly changed and slipped under the covers, pulling off my glasses and setting them on the nightstand. I was about to curl up with Nutmeg when I remembered that I’d intended to text my sister and Dad about Uncle Herschel. Pulling the phone off the charger, I set up a new group text thread and tapped out a question: Do you know why Mom has a problem with Uncle Herschel?

I waited a few minutes, but it must have been too late. Neither of them answered.

Sighing, I put the phone back on the charger and rolled over, trying to fall asleep. Tomorrow would be another big day.

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