Page 85 of Where the Roses Bloom

And the house creaked and moaned…but it was that familiar creak—like our resident ghosts were trying to chase the new spirit away.

CHAPTER 29

Willow

I woketo the sound of rustling fabric and Rhett’s quiet voice humming low under his breath—some old song with no real words, just a rhythm that made me feel safe before I even opened my eyes.

Light poured through the curtains, soft and gold. I blinked against it and stretched, only to find the bed next to me empty, still warm. Rhett stood at the dresser, halfway through pulling on a worn white Waylon Jennings t-shirt, his gaze fixed on me like he hadn’t looked away since I fell asleep.

“You watching me sleep?” I asked, voice rough.

His lips curved, eyes crinkling at the corners. “Just makin’ sure you stayed.”

“I’m not going anywhere, Rhett.”

He crossed to the bed and leaned down, pressing a kiss to my temple. “Good.”

I sat up slowly, feeling the ache of yesterday settle back into my bones. It had been a long day and an even longer night…hard to sleep, even wrapped in Rhett’s arms. But when I had fallen asleep, it had been to good dreams, not nightmares. “Where are you headed?”

He hesitated, brushing a strand of hair back from my face. “Nowhere. Wasn’t gonna leave you alone. Not after last night.”

My heart tugged. “Thank you.”

Then I heard it—voices downstairs. Not just one. Several. Warm and familiar and…cheerful?

“Wait,” I said, squinting toward the door. “Who’s here?”

Rhett straightened, something like amusement flickering through his features. “Delilah showed up about twenty minutes ago. Said she thinks she’s got a solution.”

I blinked. “She what?”

“And she brought backup,” he added. “You better get dressed, baby. Looks like the whole damn family came to rally.”

I swung my legs over the side of the bed, the hardwood cool beneath my bare feet. “Backup?”

Rhett just grinned like he’d been waiting for me to ask. “Silas is still on the couch, but Beau came by not long after with Mabel in tow. Whit showed up out of nowhere like he always does—didn’t say where he’d been, just made coffee like he lived here. Delilah’s got ‘em all in the kitchen like she’s runnin’ a war room.”

I stared at him. “And they’re here…because of me?”

“They’re hereforyou,” he corrected, kneeling to grab the hoodie I’d draped over the armchair the night before and handing it to me. “Because they care. Because something’s messin’ with our house and our people, and that means it’s their problem too.”

My fingers closed around the soft cotton of the hoodie. I looked down at it, then back up at him.

“Is it weird that I’m…kind of emotional about that?”

His smile softened. “It’s not weird. It’s Willow Grove.”

I slipped the hoodie on over my tank top and padded to the door, my body still heavy with sleep, but steadied by thequiet resolve in Rhett’s voice. We walked down the hall together, side by side, and by the time we hit the stairs, I could smell bacon and coffee and hear Delilah’s unmistakable laugh.

She was holding court at the kitchen table, red lipstick already on and glowing like she’d just waltzed in from a magazine spread. She had her a leather-bound book open—the red book she carried everywhere, which I now realized was some combination of address book, journal, and grimoire—and a mug that saidHex the Patriarchyin bold script. Mabel stood behind her, pouring coffee. Beau leaned on the counter, arms crossed and curls still damp from a shower. Silas looked like he hadn’t slept at all, but someone had given him a biscuit, so he was halfway to human.

Whit sat on the windowsill, a toothpick in his mouth, sleeves rolled up to show his tattoos. He caught my eye and gave me a lazy two-fingered salute.

“Morning, darlin’,” Delilah said like we weren’t all dealing with a haunting. “Hope you’re up for a little sacred mischief, because we’ve got plans.”

I looked at Rhett.

He just smirked and said, “Told you.”