Free No Shoes, No Shirt, No Spells (Mystic Cafe Series) by Rose Pressey

following their mama. If I didn’t speak the words, maybe it wouldn’t be true. But Mary Jane knew just as I knew. The spell had worked. The ex-girlfriend had returned and she’d soon be furious with jealousy over Rory’s newfound animal magnetism.
    I bit my nail. Nothing short of a natural catastrophe could have forced my gaze from the sidewalk debacle.
    “ What do you make of that?” Mary Jane asked.
    I was afraid to say it aloud. “It can’t be, can it?” I grabbed Mary Jane and she faced me. “Say it isn’t so, Mary Jane. It’s the spell, isn’t it?”
    Her eyes widened and she nodded her head.
    “ What do I do now? I mean, I didn’t think my magic would really work. This is not good.”
    “ Calm down. We’ll figure it out. The investigator can help.”
    “ No. I don’t think he should know about this.” I tightened my grip on her arm.
    “ What do you mean? He already knows.”
    “ He suspects that maybe the magic might have had an effect on Rory. He doesn’t know for a fact.”
    “ Somehow, I think he’ll find out.” She motioned over my shoulder. I groaned when I saw Tom approaching the café door.
    We raced away from the window as if we weren’t guilty of anything. Tom ambled up to the counter and casually leaned against it. “Well, I guess there’s no time like the present. I need to interview Mr. Covington today. I haven’t found him yet, but I have his address now.”
    I swallowed hard and didn’t mention that Rory had just been across the street moments earlier. No need in helping to put the final nail in my coffin.
    “ Are you sure talking to him is one hundred percent necessary? You’ve told me about this mistake and I promise to never make it again.”
    “ Oh, I’m positive. And promising won’t cut it.” He studied his fingernails. I had to admit, he had nice hands, and I was a sucker for nice hands.
    I scowled. “And how do you plan on doing this? What makes you think he’ll answer your questions? He doesn’t know you, and from the looks he gave you earlier, I’d say he doesn’t care for you all that much.”
    “ I have my ways.” He wiggled his eyebrows.
    “ What does that mean?” I stared, wide-eyed.
    “ You aren’t planning to use violence?” Mary Jane asked.
    He frowned, but his eyes twinkled with mischief. “Do I look like a violent man?”
    I studied him. A gangster in Dockers and a button-down shirt? “No, I guess not.”
    “ I’ll use a little bit of magic. And you’ll even get to be there to hear his response for yourself. So don’t worry.”
    “ Are you going to hypnotize him?” I placed my hands on my hips.
    “ No, I told you, it’s magic. Just a little, to help him open up. It’ll make him want to talk to me. It won’t hurt him and it’ll only last a few minutes.”
    I breathed a sigh of relief for small favors. “Kind of like a truth serum? I don’t like the sound of it. Not one bit.” Tom seemed way too casual about all this. But I guess he knew what he was doing. I’d have to take his word for it.
    “ Well, no offense, but you don’t have any say-so in the matter.” He winked.
    “ I didn’t think I would.” I rolled my eyes.
    Mary Jane rang up the last of the customers. The café was quiet for the first time all day. But the quiet didn’t help, all it did was allow me time to focus on how messed up things really were. I’d walked out on my cheating fiancé, quit a job I hated, and moved back to my hometown. I should be happy to be home, surrounded my family and friends, but I’d made a mess of my chance of a new life in less than twenty-four hours. That left me little reason to do a happy dance.
    Tom slid into one of the booths and closed his eyes. He spoke words I didn’t understand. It wasn’t that he spoke a different language, it was just the words were so low, it was barely a whisper. It was more like chanting.
    When he’d finished, he clapped his hands together and said, “That should do it. I’ll be back with