Page 54 of Clearly Charmed

Lia’s jaw was pure steel. She looked at Bryce like he was the devil, and to his credit he didn’t flinch.

‘Like I said, it was a straightforward job.’

‘But they said you have unique skills.’ Bryce let his meaning hang in the air. Aster watched the two of them with wide eyes, gulping down her entire glass of wine.

Lia didn’t take the bait. ‘I’ve been doing this since I was nineteen. You want a scoop? Here it is.’

Bryce leaned in, pen hovering over the page.

‘Tourists come and visit. They want to be in the great outdoors because they’ve watched some nature documentary on TV, but they overestimate their hiking capabilities. Don’t pay attention to the terrain, or the heat gets to them because they don’t bring enough water. People forget it can get warm in Colorado, even in the mountains.’

Bryce’s pen scratched across the pad. ‘What about more complicated cases? Lost hikers reported missing?’

‘What about them?’ Lia shot back.

‘How do you know where to start? Do you get GPS coordinates? Use your senses? Your skills on the trail?’

‘It’s called training,’ Lia said through gritted teeth. ‘On most calls it’s a friend or family member reporting a loved one missing. We try to track their phone to find their last known coordinates. The team of volunteers gets a text or a call, grabs their gear and reports to the location. The incident commander or team leader tells us the scenario, what channels to put our radios on, what equipment needs to go with us, and then we hike to the last known location. Sometimes it’s a rescue.’ Her voice quivered. ‘Other times it’s a body recovery. There’s nothing supernatural to it. It’s damn hard work, and I love every second of it.’

Bryce went still. Aster and Clo held their breaths. How had I allowed this to happen? Let him get so close?

The serving fork slid out of my hand and made a loud clank against the platter. Everyone jumped, and I gave a tense smile as I grabbed the fork again and slid turkey onto my plate.

‘More wine?’ Aster squeaked, filling her own glass to the brim.

I stayed still, praying Clo had a plan to turn this disaster around.

Like he understood his mistake, Bryce slid the notepad back into his pocket. He reached for the mashed potatoes and put a large dollop on his plate before handing the bowl to Clo.

‘Ast, are you getting those lilies you need for the wedding next weekend?’ I said, scrambling to ease the tension.

She nodded and swallowed her mouthful of turkey. ‘They’re coming Friday, but, of course, now that Mrs Desiray has seen, and smelled, the Stargazers, she wants them in the table arrangements for the reception.’

Her breathing sped up. Aster always grew nervous before a big wedding, but this was added pressure due to her relationship with Marley, and the current spotlight on her semi-famous friend.

Lia leaned into her and whispered something that made Aster press her napkin to her mouth and stifle a giggle. She could be brusque at times, but Lia also had the ability to say the right thing in an important moment. It was why Chief Malbrough often put her in charge of high-intensity calls. The harder the task, the more my little sister shone.

Bryce watched the two of them with a keen eye. I hoped he saw what I did. Two sisters teasing each other. Swapping small jabs and laughing at inside jokes. That there was no magical charm in this house, or secret mystery about the McGuire women that he needed to document.

As my sisters continued to whisper, there was a sudden ease to his shoulders, a special lilt to his smile you wouldn’t notice if you weren’t paying attention. And, unfortunately, I was always paying attention to him.

We went back to quietly eating until my sisters got more wine in them. With the liquid courage making them brave, they turned the tables on Bryce. Interrogated him about his dangerous assignments in war-torn countries. Clo asked if those assignments made his mother worry, which he admitted they did.

‘She was not happy when I told her about being embedded with an army unit while they took heavy gunfire. But observing that group of brave men and women, seeing their tactics, their determination, how they worked as a cohesive group, was fascinating.’

‘I read about that,’ Clo said. ‘If I understand correctly, you were nominated for quite a few awards for that story.’

The way the tips of his ears pinked up was too damn charming. ‘Yes, ma’am, that’s right. But I got an earful from my mother after that. She begged that I work on more domestic stories. The terror in her voice has kept me stateside ever since.’

Clo made an understanding hum. ‘I’ve been lucky to have my girls close by for most of their lives. When Dani went to school a few hours away, I panicked a little.’

The look she gave me was filled with so much love I had to swallow down the growing knot in my throat. Bryce’s gaze moved to me. That warmth from the truck was back, and it made me feel understood in a way that was beyond explanation. Max and I had lived together for years, but he’d never pinned me with a stare that was filled with such immeasurable tenderness. I focused back on my plate, too afraid Lia and Aster would clock the heated connection between Bryce and me.

‘I understood she needed to leave,’ Clo went on. ‘But it’s hard to let go of the things you cherish, even when it’s necessary. Your mother, I’m sure, felt the same way.’

Clo’s voice shook as she focused on a photo of a young Belladonna on a nearby table. Whenever my mother swirled back into our lives, she brought chaos. I’d never considered how Clo felt when her child returned home, only for her to leave again on a whim with no idea of when she’d return.

Sensing the sadness in the room, Aster started a story about a little terrier who was the ringbearer at a recent wedding. How the dog went rogue on its cue, taking off into the nearby woods and burying the rings.