Witching There's Another Way: A Cozy Mystery (The Witchy Women of Coven Grove Book 4) Read Online Free

Harvard, just like your brother’s kids, so you can criticize my parenting skills when our boys are the next president and vice president.”
    Charles refrained from further criticism at the moment; though Bailey doubted that would last.
    She waved to the little family as they withdrew, finally. “Come back any time,” she said—not as loudly as she sometimes did, but she did say it.
    Xylian paused at the door, looked at Bailey for a moment, and then smiled as he waved to her.
    Any other time, it would have been adorable.
    This time, however…
    Bailey could have sworn there was something almost… malevolent about it.
    The door closed, the moment, passed, and Bailey shook her head slowly as she left the counter and made her way into the office.
    “Healing vortexes,” Aiden said, his clipped near-British accent giving the words an odd sound when Bailey flopped into the chair across the desk from Aiden’s. “Aliens, too. You know, we could leak some rumors and I just bet—”
    “No,” Bailey said. “Please, no. I’m not opposed to people believing that instead of the truth, but… I’m just not sure I can take whole crowds of people like those two.”
    “The kids weren’t so bad at least,” he said. He tugged at his tie to loosen it—always, Aiden wore an immaculate three piece suit; so far never the same one twice—and then unbuttoned the top button. “The older one had all sorts of good questions. The younger one didn’t speak much after the third or fourth cave. He just started that weird humming.”
    “You know,” Bailey said, “he just gave me the creepiest look, just now when they left. I hope he’s just a genius and not a serial killer waiting to happen because that was the scariest thing I’ve ever seen a little kid do.”
    The two of them laughed together, and as it died out Bailey gestured at the computer. “I got our third quarter stuff caught up. I can’t imagine there’ll be that much more to add, but it should be easy enough.”
    “You are a lifesaver,” Aiden announced, “I’m quickly beginning to be unable to imagine life without you.”
    Bailey blushed despite knowing what he meant. Maybe it was the accent.
    Not that there wasn’t history between them. And something else. What was it about the prohibition against their getting involved that made it so, so difficult not to?
    “Any… news of the babe?” Aiden asked.
    “He’s fine,” Bailey said. “You should… well, Piper wouldn’t mind if you visited with me. If you wanted to meet William, I mean.”
    Aiden waved a hand too casually. “Oh… I’m rubbish around infants. Plus I’m sure Piper doesn’t consider me… well I’m not sure what she considers me but I assume it isn’t a friend. Not in the meaningful sense, at any rate.”
    It was difficult to correct him. After all, he hadn’t known Piper very long—or Bailey, for that matter, or even his apprentice, Avery. But it was different among the three of them. They had magic. It connected Avery and Bailey to Aiden easily enough. But that wasn’t the case with Piper.
    Maybe, though, in time…
    “I understand a certain young man has come to town?” Aiden asked. “Avery has been talking of little else. I take it they’re…?”
    “Complicated is what they are,” Bailey sighed. “Ever since Avery was thirteen, when Thomas first came to visit. Or at least, that was when they met, I think. They first… you know… when Avery was seventeen. Since then he’s been permanently moon eyed, but he won’t leave Coven Grove.
    “Not that I want him to,” she added quickly. “It’s just… sometimes I think Avery is worried that if he and Thomas ever tried to make a real go of it, you know… it wouldn’t work out or something, and then he wouldn’t have either their weird, transient relationship or the fantasy of more.”
    Aiden stared. “I… see. You’ve put a great deal of thought into this.”
    She shrugged. No use denying it. “I want Ave to be happy.