green VW bug was parked in front of the small white-frame corner building, with a bookstore on one side and a yoga studio on the other.
“You’re in luck. She’s here.”
Pulling up next to her friend’s car, Anabel parked and got out. As she headed toward the yoga-studio door, she glanced at Tyler’s strikingly handsome form, floating a few feet off the ground. “Remember, Juliet won’t be able to see you.”
“You never know,” he said agreeably. “She might have a few secrets from you, the same way you keep things from her.”
Resisting the urge to grumble under her breath, she inhaled deeply and opened the door. The set of tiny bells chirped and chimed their usual muted happy sound. The air smelled like spearmint and rosemary. This never failed to make Anabel smile.
At the sound, Juliet glided from the back room, her unlined face serene. “Anabel!” Moving forward, she hugged Anabel and kissed her cheek. “Class was over an hour ago.”
“I know. We came because...” Crap. Not only had she said we, as in plural, but she really didn’t have a good reason for being there.
“We?” Juliet’s perfectly arched eyebrows rose. She peered behind Anabel. “Is someone else with you?”
“No. Sorry.” Ignoring Tyler, who now hovered over Anabel with a look of intense concentration on his face, she swallowed.
“What’s wrong?” Juliet placed a soothing hand on Anabel’s shoulder. “Something is troubling you. I can sense it.”
“Aha!” Tyler crowed. “See? She has powers. I knew it.”
Anabel could have sworn Juliet glanced at Tyler, though she didn’t acknowledge his presence. Of course she didn’t. She wasn’t crazy, like Anabel.
Doing her best to ignore Tyler’s outburst, Anabel nodded. “Do you have a moment to talk?”
“Of course.” Turning, Juliet pushed through the row of beads making a curtain in the doorway and led the way back to her office.
Once inside, Anabel took the second chair, since Tyler had materialized in the first one.
“Now tell me what’s bothering you.” Juliet’s dulcet tones were, as far as Anabel was concerned, one of her best assets.
“Um, okay.” Might as well just blurt it out. “I hope I’m not being offensive, but as a Wiccan, do you happen to practice...magic?”
To Anabel’s relief, Juliet smiled. “We do practice some small, white magic.” She leaned closer. “Anabel, have you come because of your power?”
Stunned, Anabel gaped at her friend and tried to ignore Tyler’s smug smile. “Power?”
“Yes. You have an aura of power surrounding you. More than just your shifter aura. I thought perhaps something had happened to make you realize this, so you’d come to me for help.”
“Power.” Aware she was repeating the word yet again, Anabel shook her head. “You do realize my life is already strange enough, don’t you?”
Smile widening, Juliet leaned over and patted her arm. “No rush. When the time is right and you have questions, please come to me. I’m not an expert by any means, but I can enlist the help of my coven to teach you. It’s far better to use such power for light rather than dark.”
Despite herself, Anabel shivered. “Dark magic.” Her throat felt dry. “You’re telling me that such a thing is real?”
“Unfortunately, very real.” And then, while Anabel was trying to digest all this, she swore her friend cut her eyes and looked right at Tyler. As if she too could see him.
“I think she can see me,” Tyler said, confirming her thought.
“I can,” Juliet admitted, making Anabel gasp. “And hear you too. However, I only see a blaze of energy, not a physical body. Is that what you see, Anabel?”
“No.” Still in shock, Anabel looked from Juliet to Tyler and back again. “I see him like he must have looked when he was alive.”
Tyler flashed a cocky grin. “Of course you do,” he said. “You have way more power than she does.”
“I need to go home.” Anabel stood, suppressing a flash of panic. “I need to go home right now.”
Knowing her friend would understand, Anabel rushed outside and got into her car. She managed to get the key in the ignition, start the engine and put the car in Drive before she realized Tyler wasn’t there.
Fine. He was a ghost. He’d show up eventually. Right now she needed to be alone.
* * *
Tyler remained seated, though with every fiber of his being he wanted to rush after Anabel. Instead he studied Anabel’s friend, taking comfort in the aura of peace and tranquility radiating from her.
“Why are you here?” Juliet asked, apparently having no issues with conversing with a ghost. “Many others have tried to contact her and she’s sent every single entity away. What’s different about you?”
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I really need Anabel’s help,” he answered. “I was drawn to her, by her power.”
“A lot of spirits are. I get the odd few myself, every now and then, but not nearly as many as she.” She leaned forward, her faded blue eyes twinkling. “She thinks I don’t know.”
“Why?” he asked. “What is it about her? Is she a witch? How is it possible she isn’t aware of her power?”
“Anabel is descended from a long line of powerful witches. Unfortunately, her mother died when she was young. There was no one else to teach her. My coven and I have been waiting for the right time.” Cocking her head, she studied him. “It would appear your arrival has signaled that the time has come.”
“Why wouldn’t you have taught her before now? It seems to me she could have used an advantage.”
The other woman shook her head. “Anabel has been very unsettled since losing her husband. There were instances when she might have chosen to use her power for bad rather than good.”
“How do you know all this?”
“I’ve been tasked with helping guide her. My coven has long been aware of her and her family, and we watch to make certain she continues to walk within the light.” Juliet looked pensive. “Of course, she’s given me a few scares a couple of times. Like when she almost caused that poor girl, Lilly McGraw, to get recaptured by that cult. You might know the McGraws, if you’re from around here. They own and operate Wolf Hollow Motor Court Resort.”
“I know the McGraws, but I don’t know Lilly.”
Juliet nodded. “Lilly was here with Kane McGraw. She’d been held captive by some crazy cult, and they were hunting her down even after she was freed,” she continued. “For whatever reason, Anabel helped this cult. Maybe out of jealousy, as she apparently once had a thing for Kane.”
“Helped them?” Tyler wasn’t sure he understood. “Anabel helped cult members locate Lilly?”
“Yes. She led Lilly into a trap. Both Lilly and Anabel almost lost their lives with that one.”
“Why? Why would she do such a thing?”
“She was confused.” Juliet sighed. “And hurting. After David died, Anabel became convinced that Kane McGraw was her mate. She wrote him letters. He never responded. When Anabel learned Kane and Lilly were true mates, she went a little...crazy.”
Now everything fell into place. “That explains the way everyone at the—” about to say police station, he caught himself “—in town treated her. Like she was dirt.”
Expression sad, Juliet nodded. “Folks have long memories