Page 25

Circus

“I need lots of bloody booze,” Seer mutters, looking at the list in her hand.

Laughing, I follow her around Atwater’s as she picks out food and drinks to feed an army. She insisted I come with her to stock the pantry in her shiny new house—the one I didn’t know she was buying until this morning.

According to my irreverent friend, she’s taken a shine to my ‘humble beginnings’ and wants to put down roots here. It’s a bit sus because Seer hasn’t maintained an actual residence of her own for more than the length of her contract the entire time I’ve known her. She stores most of her belongings at her family estate in Ireland and buys what she needs when she moves.

Not once has she considered purchasing a space of her own.. until now.

However, she convinced Jamie to sell her a tract of land that’s down the road from me, and I can’t find it in me to question her about it. I missed my friend in Richmond, and the thought of being alone in this town makes me sad. Obviously, I have the boys, but I’ll make no female friends here with the Bitch Squad on high alert. I could use an ally I trust that I’m not fucking.

Of course, it won’t help my reputation to flit about town with another misfit, but who cares?

I see all the judgmental stares the buddies and genteel Southerners are giving my bestie as we stroll through the store. She’s dressed slightly less wacky than normal, but her mere presence demands everyone gawp like they’re at a carnival freak show.

Fuck them and their shitty attitudes. Seer is the kindest, most loyal person I’ve ever known. If they don’t want to get to know her because she’s more authentic than anyone here, it tells me everything I need to know about their worth.

I link my arm with hers, grinning as I reply, “Definitely. Lots of hooch and lots of terrible food, plus milkshake fixins.”

Her laugh tinkles like a wind chime and I tug her towards the produce section to grab what we’ll need for my biggest vice. As we pick out fruits, she tilts her head and studies me.

“Peanut, I surprised you with my plans, and I’m sorry. I know you don’t take rapid change well. I should have told you where I was going when I headed out to arrange all of this. It’s a big deal for me—my folks are even sending my stuff from the castle. I want to be with you, and whatever brought you back here doesn’t seem like a quick stay.”

Blinking, I whisper, “You’re having your stuff shipped over? Like, all of it? Even the wardrobe?”

She nods, giving me a shrug. “I am. This is my new base of operations, so to speak. Me ma was feckin’ thrilled. You don’t know half of it.”

“Seer, you said you’d never settle down—that you have wanderlust in your veins.”

“Well, I do, Peanut, but we can still travel the world together, even if we have houses like actual adults. It’s not illegal, I’m told,” Seer teases as she tosses me an orange across the aisle.

As I catch the fruit, my vision blurs, and a wisp of a memory flashes in my mind. I’m small, and I’m in Atwater’s—maybe for the first time.

My mother and father are fussing over ripened fruit, and a boy tosses me an orange. I drop it, and my mother scolds me for playing with the store’s stock. The boy winks at me, and I turn away, mad that he got me in trouble. He’s trouble, and I know it.

“She’s not lost, Andrew. They’re wrong. They gave us a fake. I told you not to make Xerxes angry at the meeting. He has no patience for your kind.”

“Relax, Ellie. Jolene is one of them. She’ll grow up stronger than the others and when you train her, you’ll rise the ranks just how you planned. Be easy with her. She’s just getting to know us.”

I suck in a rattling breath as my eyes find focus again. Reality snaps into place and I see Seer pondering over a flat of strawberries none the wiser. When my breathing returns to normal, I steady myself on the cart.

What in unholy fuck was that?

The scene wasn’t part of anything I remember from my childhood, and the things my parents were saying made no sense. Who is Xerxes? What did she mean by ‘lost’? How could their child be fake? Is this part of the mystery I came to solve or a random synapse mis-fire?

Shaking my head, I type the description into my phone. I’m keeping all my notes on the Whistler’s Hollow puzzles there because I’ve never been able to trust my memory. I need all the myriad of clues and thoughts somewhere I can access when I’m searching and where I can noodle them.

I need to figure out why parents were talking in riddles, and as if we’d just met. It’s the key to something, but I don’t know what.

Maybe if I can find out who the hell that boy was, he’ll have answers about my younger years—if he’s even real.

* * *

There’s still construction at Seer’s place, but the speed the crew is working at is inhuman. There’s fifty of them and they move like lightning as they flit around, inside and out. None of them gives me a second glance, but they all dip their heads to her respectfully when we pass.

Maybe her parents hired them?

I’ve only been to her family estate twice, but they have some nebulous connection to royal lineage, and the staff made me feel like I was living in Downton Abbey. I wouldn’t put it past her overbearing mother to find a specific company and pay them through the nose to get Seer’s first house built in record time. At the rate they are going, it’ll be completed by the end of next week.

Seer heads for the kitchen, dropping her bags on the granite counter. “It’s grand, innit, Peanut?”

I arch a brow at her. “Yes, but it’s built to house an army. Who are you planning on kidnapping to fill these rooms?”

She shrugs and winks. “I may invite some old friends to stay once it’s ready. Or... who knows? Maybe I’ll build meself a polycule like yours.”

“A… a what?” I choke.

“ Please , Peanut. You’ve got the three eejits wrapped around your pinky, and I’ll bet they aren’t the only lads you’ve had run-ins with. If you keep at it, you’ll have an entire group of lovers feeding you grapes within the month.”

My eyes widen and I shake my head. “No way. Not a fucking chance. Three dudes and three pets are more than enough. I’m already feeling claustrophobic because I’m almost never alone. That stupid prankster is making them all edgy.”

As she puts away the groceries, Seer gives me a wry look. “Prankster? I doubt the animals would react this way if they felt you were safe. Men overreact all the time, but animals have good instincts.”

“I don’t understand why anyone would lurk around my house. I don’t have a lot of valuables; hell, I’m not even in the top twenty wealthiest people in the Hollow. They don't want to steal something. I’ve only just returned, so I haven’t made any new enemies.”

Giggling, she waves a bottle of vodka at me. “Maybe it’s your old enemies. They can’t be happy that you’re gobbling up all the eligible bachelors. Are all of your ex-bullies spoken for?”

I frown, pulling my laptop out of my messenger bag. “You know, I haven’t delved that deep into the townsfolk yet. Lemme do a cursory check.” With that, I plop on the stool by the counter and connect to the hotspot on my phone. “You gotta get your Wi-Fi squared away.”

Seer rolls her eyes and continues putting away the rest of the food and drinks we filled our cart with. “Yeah, yeah. Give me time. I’ve got a mess of plates in the bloody air, you know.”

“Mmm,” I reply, clicking at the keys as I surf through the dark web sites until I find one that should give me enough background to be useful. I pull up another screen with a list of ex-schoolmates, humming under my breath as I start queries.

“Speaking of animals, how did you get away from your menagerie?”

Blinking, I look up. “Uh, Teddy took them to the park with Kali and Hecate. I’m thinking that idiot doesn’t work at all. The Judge thing is just a feint.” A beeping noise catches my attention and I watch the crawl of information trickle into each small window. “Sherilynn is getting divorced. No one knows why, but it’s recent, and it’s going to be ugly. At least, that’s what Hugo told me.”

“Hugo? And who is this valiant young suitor?” she cackles.

“Another teacher, you silly woman. He’s not a suitor. In fact, I’m not even sure he likes me. He’s incredibly hard to read and super mysterious.” Another ping shows me the next name’s info and I grin. “Jillian married Billy and has five boys. She has to be livid with her uterus.”

“Why? Seems like she’s had a good run and can shut it down for a bit. This Billy should climb off her for a decade or two,” Seer says, bobbing her brows. “Five boys is enough for you Yanks to field a basketball team, you know.”

I snort, covering my mouth. I doubt Billy’s kids will play basketball; he never grew beyond 5’6” when I knew him. “I guess that’s true.” I watch the next query finish and curse. Damnit. “Ophelia married Jax and has four kids. They’re all old enough to be pains in my ass—some are starting WHFS. That’s gonna suck .”

“Only you would worry about the kids of your childhood bullies. Even if the little shites are clones of their parents, you’re in charge, Peanut. Teach them a lesson if need be.”

“If only, Seer. The parents have control of that school, I guarantee. I like Bobbi Jo, but I don’t get the impression that she’s in charge of anything. The staff run roughshod over her, and I’d bet the rest of the town does, too. It’s a shame—she seems like she could be a good boss.” My friend hands me a rocks glass with a neat bourbon and I laugh. “Well, a shot of bourbon fixes damned near everything.”

“Shot of bourbon for you, Jameson for me,” she agrees. “Is that all of them?”

My hand flies to my face as the last two results flash on my screen. “No. Reese has two girls starting high school, and Amy Behle—the queen belle herself—has three kids in various stages of schooling. The Universe hates me, Seer; I told you! That woman makes the arctic tundra look warm, and just because she wasn’t there last night doesn’t mean she won’t come after me to amuse herself. Amy Matilda Behle is nightmare material.”

Cocking her red brow at me, she shakes her head. “I don’t believe someone that small can hurt a woman like you, Peanut. But if you’re worried about these bitches, I suggest you circle the wagons with your boys before they take aim there. Women don’t fight with fists—more’s the pity. They fight by taking away the things you love.”

A sharp ache builds in my chest as that statement hits me. Oh, hell no. Hell no . Those bitches aren’t taking my men. “I mean, they’re married, except for Sherilynn. Outside of cheating, which I think would go poorly within town, what can they do?”

Seer’s expression is grim. “They could send single friends or family members, Peanut. Never discount the ugly things sisters—familial or organizational—will do for one another.”

The look in her eyes makes me want to question how she knows this, but I’m too busy having a mini panic attack of my own. “I’ve… I’ve got to go home. Now.”

Her harsh snort follows me as I race out the door, headed for my house before I lose my shit in the kitchen.

“Good luck!”

I’ll need it. There are serious conversations to be had, and I don’t have a fucking clue what to say.