Halfway Hexed Read Free

relative? Some second cousin that I’d never met or heard of?
    I drove to Zach’s house and tucked the box under his bed. I could’ve left it in the car, but I didn’t think that was a good idea since I was headed to Bryn Lyons’s mansion for advice. When the note said to keep the brooch secret, I assumed it meant keeping it hidden from Bryn, because he and I were the only magical people in town at the moment.
    I pressed the security button at Bryn’s gate and waited.
    A voice that I didn’t recognize said, “Can I help you?”
    “Sure can. Can you open the gate for me? I’m Tammy Jo. Mr. Lyons probably has me on the list as Tamara, even though no one but him calls me that,” I said, slightly disgruntled at the fact that I’d lost the battle with Bryn over my first name. “My last name is Trask,” I added.
    The gate swung open, but I didn’t drive in immediately. Instead, I pressed the button again. “Hello?”
    “Yes, ma’am?”
    “You’re new, huh? Are you Steve’s cousin?” Steve was night security at Bryn’s, and I remembered that Bryn had planned to interview his cousin for the day post.
    “Right. I’m Pete.”
    “Nice to meet you, Pete. Steve’s a good guy. Maybe he told you that we’re kind of friends?”
    “He mentioned you. He said that letting you sneak into the house was how the last daytime security officer got fired.”
    That was what Steve had told him? All he’d told him? What about the fact that I’d saved Bryn’s life. Twice! Once from poison. The second time from a flame-throwing warlock. Steve should’ve practically considered me his assistant when it came to safeguarding Bryn and his property. Unless you counted the cars I’d wrecked, which I didn’t think anyone should, considering what we’d been up against. I couldn’t believe Steve had told his cousin about my brief stint as a persona non grata at Casa Lyons. I frowned.
    “Well, me being off the list and sneaking in—those were unusual circumstances.”
    “Let’s hope,” Pete said.
    I huffed and drove through. I parked on the circular drive near the mansion’s front door and rang the bell.
    Mr. Jenson, Bryn’s elderly butler, opened it and greeted me warmly.
    “Is he here?”
    “In the dining room. He’s just sitting down to lunch. Have you eaten, Miss Tamara?”
    “Breakfast a few hours ago.”
    “Very good. You’ll dine here then. We have a special guest chef for the day.”
    “He had you bring in a guest chef?” Ismiled and shook my head. “Being rich isn’t the worst thing in the world, is it, Mr. Jenson?”
    “It has never appeared to be,” he said with a conspiratorial smile. I followed him down the hall, and he opened the door to the dining room.
    If anybody could’ve resisted thinking wow , it sure wasn’t me.
    There were antique mirrors on one wall and two crystal chandeliers overhead. The wall opposite the mirrors was all windows, showing off the landscaped grounds. The enormous dining room table could’ve comfortably seated fourteen.
    Bryn sat at the head of the table closest to the door. He was take-your-breath-away good-looking, but I mostly pretended not to notice. Bryn looked up when Mr. Jenson announced me, and then stood, matching the room’s formality. Mr. Jenson pulled out a chair for me.
    “She’s agreed to stay for lunch,” Mr. Jenson said before slipping out.
    “That explains the memo I got about hell freezing over,” Bryn said dryly. He’d invited me over for dinner every day since our near-death Halloween night. But I hadn’t been to his house since then, because I’d been working a lot . . . and because I’d been avoiding him. We’d gotten pretty close, which made me nervous. Bryn, of course, never got nervous about anything, even when he had good reason to.
    “I’ve been crazy busy, but here I am now, and it’s real good to see you.” I gave him my sweetest smile.
    He appraised me with a look that said he wasn’t going to be taken in by a pretty smile.