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22
Arriving in Estelle Falls I couldn’t shake the feeling that something felt off. Staring out the window at the mom-and-pop shops on Main Street, and the people out and about walking their dogs, my stomach roiled. There was something here that I needed to see, that I should’ve understood, but it was just out of reach. I couldn’t put my finger on it.
“Is it me, or are we suddenly in Pleasantville?” Jamie asked, drawing my attention.
“What?”
“Every single person we’ve passed since we crossed the town line, has stopped, turned to look at us, smiled, and waved,” he said, turning the corner to get off Main Street.
“Wonderful.” I groaned. “So much for being stealthy about this.”
“They couldn’t all be witches, right?” He asked, turning another corner.
“God no,” I shook my head. “Annie said maybe one in every hundred thousand people could be a witch. I’m sure she would’ve warned me if an entire town was full of them so close to the Cape. They’re probably just excited to see some new faces.”
“Alright, well I hope you’re ready to face some of the actual witches, because I think that’s the house,” he said, rolling the car to a stop out from of an old Victorian style home a few houses down from our destination. “How do you want to play this?”
“I think we just go up there, and ask for…what was the family name out here?” I asked, digging through the bag sitting at my feet. “You wrote it down, didn’t you?”
“This would be the Grey family, I believe.” He said, squinting at the house in the distance.
“Alright, so we go up there, and we just ask for Mrs. Grey. We play nice, get invited inside if we can and then we question them about witchcraft.” I shrugged.
“And if they’re the wrong Greys?”
“Then we look like nutcases, and we leave town and go find the next family.”
“You’re the expert,” he said, putting the car back into drive, rolling down the block to stop in front of the house in question. “I’ll follow your lead.”
“Brave man,” I snorted, opening the door to get out.
Jamie grabbed my wrist before I could exit. “If something goes wrong in there, you get out as fast as you can. Okay? Even if it means leaving me behind.”
I arched my eyebrow at him. “Would you leave me behind?”
He sighed, closing his eyes. “I had a feeling you’d say something like that.”
“Come here,” I said, leaning over the center console.
He smiled weakly and leaned in to give me a gentle peck on the lips. “I just want you to be safe.”
“I know. I want you to be safe too, so we’ll handle whatever comes together. Shall we?”
“Sounds like a plan.” He nodded, reaching up to brush his thumb over my lower lip.
Pulling away from him sent, a delicious ache through my body, but any warmth he’d conjured in me vanished the moment I saw the woman watching us from the porch. She had her arms cross over her chest, pulling a grey and black sweater tight around her thin form. Her white hair blew around her shoulders like a veil, and her blue eyes cut across the open grass like twin daggers aimed at my heart.
I cleared my throat, waiting for Jamie to join me on the curb. Old woman aside, the house was beautiful. It had a large white wrap around porch, blue painted shiplap walls, and a lush garden. Jamie squeezed my hand and we started up the stone walkway that cut through the front lawn.
“Hi,” I called out. “I’m sorry to bother—”
“Come inside child,” she said, turning to walk back into the house. “I’ve been expecting you.”
“Of course, the first thing out of the witch’s mouth had to be something creepy.” Jamie shuddered.
“Buck up, Buttercup. I get the feeling this may be a bumpy ride,” I muttered, leading the way up the stairs.
He snorted. “Buttercup? Really? You need to work on your nicknames, Snowflake.”
