White Witchmas (Wicked Witches of the Midwest Book 23) by Amanda M. Lee

Author:Amanda M. Lee [Lee, Amanda M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: WinchesterShaw Publications
Published: 2023-11-06T16:00:00+00:00

16

SIXTEEN

I decided to approach Joanie alone. The others weren’t as invested because I was convinced that Enid was killed due to an affair. Also, Sebastian and Stormy didn’t want to be drawn into it because this was their town, and it might come back to bite them.

I waited until Joanie took a break to make my move, leaving Stormy and Sebastian to entertain Thistle and Aunt Tillie.

I slid past the burger booth when Joanie disappeared in that direction. I followed her to a stand of trees that provided a natural barrier. Maybe she was a closet smoker, I told myself. Maybe she’d gone beyond the trees so her kids wouldn’t see her.

When I emerged in the small clearing beyond the trees, all I saw were two empty benches and several sets of footprints in the snow.

I stood, rooted to my spot, for several seconds. Then I let out a sigh and turned, only to find Joanie had snuck in behind me, hands on hips, scowl on lips.

“Hey!” I made an attempt at being smooth. Just the sight of Joanie was enough to get my blood pumping. I was incredibly nervous. “I was just looking to see what was over here. I thought maybe there was a part of the festival I missed.”

Joanie didn’t immediately respond, which only served to jangle my nerves further.

“Turns out that’s not the case,” I said. “I guess I’ll head back.” I was anxious to get away from her—I was no longer gung-ho about feeling her out regarding the possibility of her husband having an affair. All I could think about was escape. Unfortunately, that wasn’t in the cards.

I made it a grand total of two steps before Joanie made her move.

Now, I grew up with two cousins who were more like sisters. We scrapped with the best of them. There was often dirt involved … and sometimes tree branches … and because Aunt Tillie was something of a weapons enthusiast, Thistle had once hit me with a rifle. She didn’t shoot me, she used it to beat me because she thought I liked the same guy she did.

When Joanie grabbed a handful of my hair and tugged, I wasn’t prepared.

“Hey!” I shoved at Joanie’s hand, but that only increased the pain as she had no intention of letting go. “Let me go!”

Rather than listen, or embrace reason, Joanie yanked even harder. “Don’t think I don’t know who you are,” she hissed. She spit on the side of my face she was so close. I redoubled my efforts to escape.

I used a bit of magic to buck Joanie off. She would never detect it—at least I hoped that was the case—and she tried to take my hair with her when she was tossed aside.

As she geared up for a second attack, she looked murderous. Thankfully, Stormy’s boyfriend—a Shadow Hills police officer—intervened.

“Don’t!” Hunter Ryan yelled, extending a finger toward Joanie as she prepared to throw herself at me. The look on his face reflected pure bewilderment. “Does somebody want to tell me what’s going on here?”

Joanie shot him an incredulous look.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.