Page 28 of Rise of the Witch (Witches of Keating Hollow #17)

Briggs sat at his dining room table and listened to Melissa chatter on about how she was actually enjoying living with Kassie now, and he smiled into his cup. He knew that within a few minutes, Kassie would text with some issue or question or demand, and Melissa would be silently cursing her again.

Despite the minor irritations, they really did seem to be getting along now that Kassie’s stepfather was in jail and her mother had stopped talking to her.

She blamed Kassie for her husband going to jail.

It seemed she’d blocked out the part about him kidnapping Kassie and holding Briggs at gunpoint.

It didn’t matter though. Kassie was glad for the silence. She was getting her finances in order and had toned down the clickbait posts on social media. That didn’t mean she didn’t post questionable things anymore, but at least she was reasonable about taking them down if someone objected.

“She even unloaded the dishwasher, Briggs. I’m telling you, it’s progress,” Melissa said as she bustled around the kitchen, making breakfast. They’d started taking turns making breakfast for each other, and it was her morning.

Briggs eyed the waffles on the plate she was still holding. “Do I get to eat those, or are you saving them for your other boyfriend?”

She glanced down at them and chuckled as she handed them over. “Sorry. Guess I got a little distracted.”

He brushed a kiss over her cheek and said, “Thank you. They smell delicious.”

Melissa beamed at him, and he thought he’d never get tired of seeing her pretty face in the mornings.

Life had been pretty good lately. All the charges against Briggs had been dropped, and the sheriff had issued him a formal apology. He’d also gotten answers as to why he’d been the one implicated in the abduction.

Kassie had admitted to picking up his credit card the night they’d had dinner.

She’d said she wasn’t really going to use it, but Briggs had his doubts.

When someone was struggling financially, they did some pretty shady things.

He’d seen it far too often while living in foster care.

The morning that her stepfather attacked and abducted her, she’d offered it as a bargaining chip for him to let her go.

But he wasn’t interested. All he wanted was that safe-deposit box key.

As for the flannel, it turned out that Wayne had actually stolen it out of Briggs’s truck the night before when he’d been watching Briggs and Kassie.

He’d participated in enough criminal activity over the years that he’d picked up a few tricks.

One of them was making sure you dressed in someone else’s clothes so that you weren’t implicated when the law came knocking.

Kassie had finally accessed the safe-deposit box after months of avoiding it so that her mom and stepdad couldn’t get their hands on any of it, and then she sold a couple pieces at auction to get herself out of debt.

King hadn’t told her, but he’d purchased both pieces just in case she wanted them back some day. Their song had released a few days ago and had immediately climbed to #1 on the charts. It was still there, with King and Sadie’s song at #2.

All the success had brought the paparazzi back to town. There had only been a few articles accusing King and Briggs of being a couple. Kassie had even gone on record to retract her earlier comments about them being boyfriends.

The rising pop star hadn’t changed all her spots yet, but she was working on it. And since she was still living with Melissa—and paying rent—they’d all made an effort to include her. She and Melissa and Sadie were all friends, and it was the happiest Briggs had ever seen her.

“What do you think I should bring to cards tonight?” Melissa asked him.

He turned his attention to her and frowned. “You have to bring something to cards? Like what? Some sort of game?”

“No, no. Imogen is handling that. Sadie and I are supposed to bring desserts. I need to make something, and I’m not sure which direction to go.”

“Oh, I see.” The doorbell rang, and as Briggs got up to get the door, he called, “Snickerdoodles!”

“I knew you’d say that,” she called back.

“Then why’d you ask me?” He chuckled and opened the door to find a tall man about his age with thick black hair standing on his porch. “Can I help you?”

The man peered at him and then visibly swallowed. There was something eerily familiar about him, but Briggs wasn’t sure why.

“Brandon?” the man asked, wonder and relief shining in his eyes. “Is that you?”

Briggs felt a rush of warmth running through his veins, followed quickly by that anxious dread he got when he was reminded of his childhood. “Dutton?”

“Oh my gods, it is you,” Dutton said as his eyes misted with emotion. “I can’t believe I finally found you.”

“Who’s this?” Melissa said as she strolled up behind Briggs.

“I’m Brandon’s brother, Dutton.” He held out his hand. “And you are?”

Briggs felt Melissa tense beside him and quickly squeezed her hand. “It’s okay, Mel. He’s my older brother from my biological parents. I just haven’t seen him since…”

“It’s been over fifteen years,” Dutton said. “Not since the night we were both put into foster care.”

Briggs’s heart was beating loudly in his own ears. Had he heard him correctly? Dutton had been forced into foster care, too?

“I can see you two have a lot to catch up on,” Melissa said carefully. “Briggs? Are you going to invite your brother in?”

“Huh? Oh, right. Of course. This way.” He held the door open for him and gestured for him to take a seat on the couch. “Do you need anything? Water? Coffee? A shot of whiskey?”

Dutton chuckled. “Maybe just water.”

“I’ll get it,” Melissa said. “I’ll be right back.”

The two brothers sat down across from each other.

Neither said anything as they took in the other one.

Dutton was a slightly taller version of Briggs, only he had bright blue eyes and a dimple in his left cheek.

Briggs guessed he’d never had trouble catching the eye of the opposite sex.

Not that he’d ever had to worry about that either.

Finally, Briggs’s curiosity got the best of him. “What are you doing here, Dutton?”

“I came to find you,” he said simply.

“Okay, but why now?”

Dutton pressed his lips together as he leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “I’ve been looking for you since I was twenty years old, Brandon.”

“It’s Briggs now,” he corrected.

“Right. Briggs. Sorry.” Dutton gave his brother a small smile. “I read that, but seeing you in person, I just see my little brother again, and that makes my brain short-circuit a little.”

“I won’t lie. Mine’s not exactly firing on all cylinders at the moment either,” Briggs confessed.

“It’s kind of blowing my mind seeing you here.

” He hadn’t ever really expected to see his brother or his parents again.

He and his brother hadn’t exactly been close growing up, but that was likely because their father always pitted them against each other.

“I read about that singer being abducted in an article the other day. Kassie Kinny? And somewhere in the article they mentioned you by your given name. I wasn’t sure it would be you.

Williams is such a common last name that I was afraid to get my hopes up, but when I saw your picture and then found you online via Kassie Kinny’s and King McGrath’s social media pages, I knew it was you. And here I am.”

But why? Briggs wanted to ask. What was the real reason? “Okay, you found me. Now what?” he asked with a smile.

Dutton glanced at the floor and then back up at him. “I just want my family back, Bran—Briggs. And you’re the only family I’ve ever had. That’s all.”

Briggs swallowed hard. He knew what it was like to have no one. He’d been there before King had come along. He recognized the haunted look in Dutton’s eyes and nodded. “Okay. How long are you in town?”

He shrugged. “Not sure.”

“Do you have a place to stay?”

“I was going to try the inn if it turned out that you’re really my brother,” he said as he got to his feet. “I should go see if they have a vacancy.”

Briggs scrambled to get up and put his hand out to stop him. “You don’t need a room at the inn. You can stay here.”

Dutton stared at him, his eyes searching his brother’s face. Then he said, “Are you sure?”

“I’m positive. Go get your stuff. We’ll get you set up in the guest room.”

His brother gave him a slow, easy smile and then nodded. “I think I’d like that.”

As Dutton went outside to get his luggage, Melissa came up behind Briggs and wrapped her arms around him. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

He laughed softly. “No, but the offer’s been made. I guess we’re about to find out.”

She kissed the side of his neck. “You know what? It’s never a bad thing to have more people to love.”

He leaned back against her, enjoying her soft touch and the warmth she radiated from within, and nodded. Then he chuckled and said, “I’m pretty sure he owes me a wrestling match. Better watch out. The last time we wrestled, we nearly broke the television.”

She just shrugged. “It’s your furniture. What you do to it is your business.”

“It is now, but someday it’s gonna be yours, too.”

“Is it?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Definitely. Because make no mistake, Melissa Benson. I fully intend to marry you one day. One day soon.”

“That’s good,” she shot back. “Because I already picked out a dress.”

He waited for the panic to settle in, and when it didn’t, he spun her around and kissed her until she was breathless.

“Should I reconsider that room at the inn?” Dutton asked.

They both laughed.

“No,” Briggs said as he winked at Melissa. “Let me show you to the guest room.”

And as he helped Dutton get settled in, Briggs felt a contentment he’d never known before and grinned when his brother turned to him and asked, “Ready for that wrestling match?”