The Hidden Grimoire by Karla Brandenburg (pride and prejudice read TXT) 📕

her.” I followed Sharon up the front steps and into the house. “LeAnne’s not due ‘til next month, is she?”

“No, which means he has enough to worry about.”

The living room had light gray carpeting, a sectional sofa and a large ottoman. A wire bookshelf lined one wall and a television sat on a stand in the corner beside two windows overlooking the front.

Sharon looked genuinely frightened—she didn’t appear threatening.

“Georgia?” I called out.

Another telepathic giggle.

“I’m going to let Ash out of her basket,” I told Sharon.

“The cat won’t destroy anything, will she?”

“She’ll help me find Georgia,” I said more curtly than I’d planned.

Sharon nodded. “I was going to call the police, but last time...”

“Last time I knew where she was,” I finished for her.

Ash hopped out and stalked around the corner, into the kitchen. A breakfast bar with four barstools dominated the room. Perpendicular to the open end of the bar, the stove, refrigerator and cabinets lined the wall to the back door.

Sharon wrung her hands. “What if Georgia’s hurt?”

I put a finger to my lips. “She’s not hurt.”

“How do you know?”

Beside the door, a row of hooks held coats with a tray of boots beneath it. The door was unlatched. “Is Georgia’s coat here?” I asked.

Sharon touched each of the garments—snow pants, a fleece jacket, a knit hoodie. “No.”

I opened the door and stepped onto the wooden porch. A quiet little voice sang Blackbird, missing half the lyrics.

Georgia.

I sang along.

“Georgia?” Sharon called out.

Immediately, the voice stopped. I shot Sharon a glare, then held a finger to my lips.

“Georgia, honey, it’s Aunt Brynn. Can I sit with you?”

“Where...?” Sharon whispered, but again I held up a finger to silence her.

“Okay,” Georgia’s quiet little voice replied.

I walked down and around the stairs before I crouched beside the cement slab beneath the porch deck. Georgia had her sock monkey in her hands and was making it dance.

“Is your monkey getting cold?” I asked.

“A little.”

“Why are you playing out here? You forgot to tell your mommy and your daddy.”

Georgia pouted. “I didn’t want to play with that lady.”

Sharon leaned down beside me. “I was so worried about you.”

“I don’t like you,” Georgia said.

“That’s not a nice thing to say, sweetie,” I said.

Georgia stuck out her bottom lip and went back to making her sock monkey dance.

Sharon’s breath hitched. “Daddy wants you to go to the hospital to see Mommy. We can all go.”

“Will Mommy be better when the baby comes?” Georgia asked me.

“I’m sure she will,” I said.

“Mommy’s having a baby,” Georgia said, a solemn look on her face.

“Yes, she is,” I said. “But maybe not today.”

Georgia shook her head. “No. Today.”

I suspected she knew something the rest of us didn’t. This little girl’s gifts were far stronger than mine or Nora’s. “Then we’ll see the baby when we go.” I straightened to face Sharon. “Do you want to go ahead, and I’ll bring Georgia with me?”

“No,” she said. “I told him I’d take care of her.”

A task she’d already failed once. “It’s too soon for the baby, isn’t it? They won’t let LeAnne go this early.”

“Today,” Georgia said. “Baby’s coming today.”

I gathered Georgia into my arms. “Then you should go see her, don’t you think?”

Georgia pouted. “Baby brother. You come, too?”

Jeannine had told me the baby would be a girl. “I have to take Ash home, but then I’ll come wait with you. Okay? Can you go with Sharon and I’ll meet you there?”

With a pout, she tucked her head in the crook of my neck and nodded.

When I handed Georgia to Sharon, Georgia cried.

“Don’t lose her this time,” I said.

Was I making a mistake? Hannah had told me to be on guard against a reckless woman. Sharon had been reckless watching Georgia, but she didn’t seem to be a threat otherwise. Either that or she was masking her abilities, but then why call for my help? She should have been able to find Georgia as easily as I had. Something didn’t add up.

Chapter 27

When I arrived half an hour later, the hospital receptionist directed me to the maternity waiting room. Georgia was there playing in a children’s corner while Sharon looked on.

Sharon rose from her seat, her expression indicating she wasn’t happy to see me.

“We’re fine here,” she said.

Georgia nearly knocked me off my feet when she launched herself at me and hugged my legs. “Aunt Bwinn.”

“Hi, sweetie.”

Jason turned the corner and stopped. Sharon’s face softened with such open adoration I wondered how he couldn’t see it. Or if he did, maybe he liked the attention or shared her sentiment.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

I glanced at Sharon, who shrugged. No. She wasn’t going to get away with this. “Sharon called me. Georgia hid from her again and she asked me for help. I wanted to make sure everything was okay.”

Jason narrowed his eyes at Sharon, who once again shrugged. “Everything seems to be fine now,” he said. “You don’t need to be here.”

“No,” Georgia said. “I want Aunt Bwinn.”

Jason took a menacing step closer to me. “I don’t know what you’ve done to her...”

“I don’t know what I’ve done to you,” I retorted.

He shot a glance at Sharon. “Do whatever you want. You can both go home.” He knelt beside Georgia. “Are you ready to meet your baby brother?”

“Jeannine told me you were having a girl,” I said.

Jason’s sister rounded the corner as I spoke. “I came as soon as I could.” Jeannine shot a glance at Georgia, tension stringing every muscle in her body.

“Hi, Aunt Jean,” Georgia said from her spot on the floor.

“Hey, Georgie girl.” No hug. No affection. “She can’t pronounce my name,” Jeannine told me. “How’s LeAnne doing?” She drew her lips into a tight, thin line.

Jason looked at his sister with an unguarded look of wonder on his face. “It’s a boy.”

Jeannine blanched. “I thought you were having another girl.”

“So did I. Apparently, sonograms aren’t infallible.”

Jeannine looked like she might come apart at any moment. She reached for the back of