17
Evan
Around mid-morning, I wasfeeling tired and lay down to rest. The research of my evil ancestor proved what I already thought. Few people had good things to say about him.
For the most part, he was a jerk. He was well-documented, though, and I even found his eulogy online in the local newspaper’s archives. The mayor at the time had written it.
The tragic end of Leon Cordelia doesn’t negate the influence he brought to the southern Oregon coast. His efforts brought jobs and prosperity to the region even after the short-lived gold rush ended.
That was it. He’d been good at business, basically. It took more digging to discover he’d been found dead in the basement of the manor. There weren’t many details other than my ancestor, Inez, had been accused of killing him and not long after, she’d been convicted of killing his son Andre.
Of course, now I knew that wasn’t true. Inez had been living at her friend’s Elisa’s home, and her friend even testified to that fact. That left the question of who had actually killed LeonCordelia. Being the total asshole he was and still seemed to be probably made for a long suspect list.
I lay back on the bed, letting my mind drift away from the horrible man. Luckily, I didn’t have to check out early since I had a standing reservation thanks to the sexy Cary Beacroft. Having gotten some distance, I was able to think about him without all the estate drama involved.
My somewhat harsh first impression notwithstanding, Cary was in every way my type. Tall, fit, brooding, and handsome in a rugged way. The witch thing confused me, though. I didn’t know what I thought of when I envisioned a witch, but it wasn’t him.
My mouth watered as I thought of his six-pack and strong arms. I mean, the truth was, Cary was out of my league. I was just a short, skinny, and not all that handsome guy. Lord knew, my ex Andy had told me often enough how plain I looked.
Ugh, why had I stayed with him so long? I’d come to realize, our relationship was all in the timing. I’d lost my dad in a horrible car accident just when I’d started dating Andy. I’d already moved in with him when, a few months later, Grandma succumbed to cancer.
Clearly, I’d rushed into things with Andy. But even with him being a complete asshole, he was still better than being alone. Or at least that’s what I’d told myself. Now, I wasn’t so sure. If only Andy had been a little kinder, a little more understanding, a little more like Cary seemed to be, maybe we would’ve worked out in the long run.
The knock on the door made me jump. “Who is it?” I yelled from the bed. The irrational fear coursing through me told me I was far from overcoming the trauma of the past couple of days.
“It’s me, Cary. I wondered if we could talk.”
The memory of seeing his defined muscles when he’d had only the muslin wrap on infiltrated my brain before I could respond.It didn’t help that I’d just been thinking about them… I mean him.
“Um, I need a moment. Can you go down to the lobby and grab us both a cup of coffee?” I yelled through the door.
“Yeah, I’ll be right back.”
I rushed to the bathroom, splashed water on my face, then quickly brushed my teeth, not wanting him to smell my nasty coffee-infused morning breath. Not that we’d necessarily get that close, but still. Damn, my hair was a fucked-up mess too.No time to fix that, I thought, rummaging through my bag until I found my Cavaliers’ ball cap.
My dad had been a huge fan of the Virginia Cavaliers, which meant I was also a fan. You couldn’t love my dad without catching his excitement about all things baseball, especially NCAA. He’d adopted his new home state’s main college team with wild abandon and whenever their games were broadcast, we’d watch together.
I opened the door just as Cary came up the stairs holding two coffees. “Hey, thanks for doing that,” I said, taking my cup from him.
I stepped aside to let him in, and he barked out a laugh at the over-the-top décor. “Wow, I heard about this place, but had no idea it looked like a pink flamingo threw up in here.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle as I followed his gaze around the room. “I’m lucky I’m here this early in the year. The place is almost full as it is, and one of the owners told me this morning they’re booked up from the end of this month throughout the entire summer.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard it’s popular,” he said as he picked up a furry pink pillow and dropped it on the floor before sitting down on it. “Um, so I wondered if we could talk. I think we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot, and I want to apologize.”
I studied the man before sitting down on the edge of the bed. “If you’re worried about your job, I can stipulate whoever buys the place will have to keep you on.”
Cary’s eyes grew large before the smile lines danced around them. “I’m not worried about my job. Although, it’ll be hard to give up the cottage. But, no, I mean you and me. With all that happened.”
“Oh, yeah. Sorry for bolting like I did from the bed-and-breakfast, but that really freaked me out,” I said, and sighed. “I don’t know much about spirits or witchcraft, but having my mind controlled was more over-the-top than this hotel room.”
Cary’s smile wavered. “Christie shouldn’t have done that. We aren’t supposed to, and I think she believed we were friends. I don’t hide my abilities, at least not from most people I get to know, so she just assumed you were aware.”
“Even so, I bet most people don’t know witches actually have powers like that.”
“If it helps,” Cary said, the smile brightening on his face, “…most of us don’t.”
I stared at him a moment too long as I wondered if maybe my attraction to him was because of his abilities. Then I glanced down and saw his huge biceps and almost laughed. Nope, I didn’t need him using his power on me to cause me to drool.
