Prelude to a Witch by Amanda Lee (free novel reading sites TXT) 📕

next to the front door waiting for him, my eyes drifting to the window when something caught my eye. There was a momentary shadow, but it disappeared almost instantly. I narrowed my eyes to look again but saw nothing.

That’s when Rosemary exited the bathroom and almost ran directly into me. I tried to move out of her way, but she was having none of it.

“I don’t know why you feel the need to fixate on Brian,” she said. “He’s a good man.”

“He is not a good man.”

“Who knows him better? I’m pretty sure it’s me, and I happen to know he’s a great man. I wouldn’t have fallen in love with him if he wasn’t.”

“I have no idea how your relationship works,” I said. “I don’t really care to know.” That wasn’t entirely true. I was more than a little curious about how they’d managed to hook up in the first place. I didn’t want her to know I was interested, though. It would give her too much power. “As long as you and Brian stay away from my family, I really couldn’t care less about your plans.”

“We’re going to be happy.” Rosemary was adamant. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

For a moment, my heart went out to her. Her grandmother, Willa, was a tyrant of epic proportions. She made Aunt Tillie look like a fuzzy pet bunny giving nose kisses. Part of me believed Rosemary didn’t have a chance of growing up to be a decent human being. Then I reminded myself that Rosemary was an adult capable of being what she wanted to be. She’d chosen to be this way.

“I hope you find the happiness you’re looking for,” I said. “But I don’t want you near me. I don’t trust you. As for Brian, I definitely don’t trust him. I’m not sure if you believe the lies he’s spouting, but he was at that clearing with the local kids.”

“Why would he hang out with a bunch of teenagers?” Rosemary demanded. “That makes no sense.”

“And yet you think it makes sense for me to make up that lie to drag you away from him.”

“You’ll say anything to ruin my happiness.”

“Why?”

“Because you hate me. You’ve always hated me.”

“I don’t even know you.”

“You were cruel to me when we were children.”

I sputtered. “I wasn’t cruel to you. Why would you think that?”

“Because I was there. My grandmother warned me before our visits that you guys would try to cut me out and be mean to me. She was right.”

“So your grandmother poisoned you against us before you even met us,” I countered. “I wish I could say I was surprised, but that sounds just like Aunt Willa. I’ve never known her to be anything other than unpleasant.”

“That’s rich coming from you.” Rosemary’s lips twisted. “You were raised by that horrible witch Tillie. She molded you into monsters.”

Landon, who had finished paying for our meal, sidled over in time to hear the last part. “What did you just say?” he demanded.

Rosemary’s eyes snapped to him, and for a moment she looked fearful. She regrouped quickly. “You heard me. Tillie raised Bay, Clove and Thistle to be monsters. She did a good job, too.”

“If you believe that, why are you living in this town?” Landon snapped. “If you think that they’re so terrible, why would you want to be near them?”

“I don’t. That’s Brian. He wants his grandfather’s newspaper back. You stole it and he can’t let it go. I don’t blame him. All he has left of his grandfather is that newspaper, and you swindled him out of it.”

Anger, hot and fast, flashed over Landon’s face. “Nobody swindled him out of anything,” he seethed. “He tried to hurt Bay, ruin her livelihood, and steal that newspaper from her.”

“It was never hers!”

Landon refused to back down. “William Kelly left Bay in charge of that newspaper for a reason. He knew she would take care of it, nurture it, and make it what it was supposed to be. There’s a reason he stipulated in his will that Brian couldn’t fire Bay.”

“Brian only fired her because she was a murder suspect.”

“He fired her because he took advantage of the situation.” Landon was furious. “He got what he deserved. The people in this town might not all love Bay, but they know how important the newspaper is. They understand that she’s keeping it afloat. Brian would’ve run it into the ground with his get-rich-quick schemes.”

“You take that back!” Rosemary’s eyes flashed with fury, but that’s not what caught my attention. No, that was the movement in the window behind her. The shadows were back, and this time they were taking form.

“I won’t take it back,” Landon said. “Brian doesn’t want to put in the work. He expected to sit back and collect a bunch of money. He doesn’t understand about dedicating himself to a career.”

“Brian is an excellent businessman,” Rosemary hissed. “Bay just wishes she could be as smart as him.”

Landon slid his arm around my waist. “Come on, Bay. This is a fruitless conversation.”

I didn’t disagree, but I was too focused on the dark figures in the window to give him my full attention. The figures there were evil, dark wisps of smoke flowing off them. I could see right through them.

“Brian is going to get his newspaper back,” Rosemary called out to us as Landon shepherded me toward the door. “Just you wait.”

“Don’t hold your breath.” Landon waited until we were outside to speak again. “She is the absolute worst person I’ve ever met. Like ... the absolute worst.”

“Brian is worse,” I said, my eyes returning to the window. The shadows were gone. It was as if they’d never been there and I’d imagined them.

“Brian doesn’t worry me.”

“Does Rosemary?”

“Rosemary worries me only because she knows a lot about your family and could make life difficult if she applied herself. Of course, if she starts spouting nonsense about witches, people are likely to think she’s nuts.”

I rubbed my cheek, unable to tear my gaze away from