What Remains by Bailey Bradford (to read list txt) 📕

“Wasn’t like we needed the money, and what happened to Mrs. Odon was just so wrong.” Carlin shrugged, his gaze dropping to the floor.

Laine was impressed. He knew Carlin was a good man, but to give up a chunk of money the size he must have… That put Carlin in a whole higher class of good. “I bet Mrs. Hawkins is very proud of you,” Laine said, referring to Carlin’s deceased aunt.

Matt and Carlin looked at each other then at Laine. “We figured out on the way in from the airport, neither of us has felt her for days.” Matt slipped his hand in Carlin’s and tugged the man closer to his side. “I thought she was hanging around New York keeping an eye on Carlin, and he thought she was here. Turns out we were both wrong. We thought we’d talk to Severo, if we could.”

“About that…”

By the time Laine had explained that all the spirits had vanished and what his theory on the why of that was, Matt was ready to storm Rich’s place and demand to speak to Miriam.

“Let Laine handle it for now,” Carlin said. He patted Matt’s chest when the man grumbled. “You’re too emotional right now, and I’m exhausted. I’m sure Laine will tell us what he finds out.”

“I will,” Laine promised, then proceeded to encourage the men to leave as politely as he could. With Matt being so upset about the spirits, Laine didn’t know that him running into Rich would be a good thing at this time. Not that he thought Matt would do anything stupid, but Laine hadn’t had the chance to talk to Rich about what was going on, and he’d rather do it himself calmly. He breathed a small sigh of relief once Matt and Carlin were gone then sat down and waited for Rich to get there.

* * * *

Rich had called ahead and told Chris what was going on, and while Chris agreed banishing spirits was something his mother could do, he also had Rich inform Laine it wasn’t something Miriam would do without forewarning or a good reason. All Laine could do was take Chris’ word for it until he talked to Miriam and could decide for himself.

Chris also didn’t think anyone else in the coven would have done such a thing, not even the High Priest, whom he didn’t sound too fond of. According to him, the man’s aura was pretty pure, although it swirled with lusty colors when he was around Miriam. Laine had told Chris to pull on his big boy pants and deal with it. Chris’ response was less polite, but it had made Laine laugh.

He wasn’t surprised to see Miriam and Chris both waiting for him once he found a place to park around the tents. Unless he was mistaken, there were more now than there had been the last time he’d stopped by. Made him wonder just how big the blessing ceremony for Hawkins’ Senior and Youth Center was going to be. If it went by participant body count, it ought to be the most blessed place in the world.

“Come on inside before the tea gets cold,” Miriam called out to him as Laine strode toward them.

That wasn’t really an incentive for him to hurry. He liked his tea iced and sweet enough to cause cavities.

“It’s a special mix I made just for you,” Miriam crooned. Laine was pretty sure she was teasing him, what with the way she waggled her eyebrows and such. He hadn’t had a problem with Miriam—she seemed like a decent person, and just because Laine didn’t share her religious beliefs didn’t mean she was weird.

For all he knew, Wicca could be The Way. If so, he’d just stay off trail. Religion wasn’t his thing, although he couldn’t say whether or not there was some sort of god. Laine didn’t dwell on it much, choosing to believe each person was responsible for their own lives for the most part.

The bangles on Miriam’s wrists jangled as she gestured at him to hurry up. She was grinning, obviously enjoying poking at him. He gave her a narrow-eyed look because he knew she’d get a kick out of it. Miriam laughed and tucked a long strand of blonde hair behind her ear. “Oh, come on, I know you’re happy to see me.”

Laine glanced at Chris, who shook his head. The man hadn’t filled his mother in on the reason for Laine’s visit. Did he wait so Laine could see Miriam’s reaction?

“Quit thinking so hard,” Chris told him when Laine stopped in front of them. “I figured you should explain everything to Miriam, since you’re involved.”

Miriam’s smile dimmed as she looked at Laine. “What’s going on? Is someone protesting the blessing? I know how people can be about Wicca. They think we’re all witches brewing cauldrons of cute little animals or casting evil spells. Ignorant idiots.”

Laine had kind of thought that way himself until he’d met Miriam and started doing a little research. “There might be some people who aren’t happy with it, but in general, the people of McKinton aren’t ignorant idiots.”

Miriam looked contrite. “Oh. Well, I shouldn’t generalize like that. Sorry. That made me the ignorant one.” She rolled her eyes then turned and started walking to the front door. “You’d think I’d have learned to be more tolerant and less judgmental…”

Laine greeted Chris, his eyes drawn, as usual, to the labret piercing on the man’s chin. Every time he saw the dangling silver jewelry, he thought of Sev mentioning he’d like a Prince Albert piercing. Laine thought that had to hurt like hell, but he’d told Sev if he really wanted one to go for it. The fact that Sev hadn’t yet gotten his dick pierced made Laine think Sev had decided against it after all. He didn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed.

Once inside the house, they sat in the living room, Laine in a leather recliner