Witching For Kismet: Premonition Pointe, Book 6, page 12
“Well, sure,” Carly said. “But I don’t want to interfere in your medical care. If your doctors think you should be on pain medication, it’s better to refer to them.”
“I’m not taking any opioids,” Liam said forcefully and then frowned. “I don’t know why, but everything inside of me is screaming no.”
“But a pain potion is all right?” Carly asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Uh, yeah. I guess.” Liam rubbed a hand over his eyes. “What the hell? Am I some sort of addict? Is that why I’m fiercely against opioids?”
“Could be,” Jeremiah said. “Or it could just be that you’re allergic. Or maybe because your mom overdosed. Whatever it is, a pain potion is better anyway. They tend to have less side effects and can be tailored for your needs. Right, Carly?”
“Right,” she agreed. “But I’ll need to make enough to last for the trip up there and back..”
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Harlow asked.
Carly gave her a grateful smile. “You already did it. Breakfast was amazing. Thank you.”
“Sure, but I meant with finding Zane. Did you ever figure out what Enchantment means?” her niece asked.
“No.” Carly shook her head. “We found a few references, but nothing that makes sense. We’re going to ask Sebastian if he can dig anything up. I suppose anything that is connected to the lake or the surrounding area.”
“Enchantment?” Liam asked and then frowned in frustration. “That word means something to me, I just can’t put my finger on it.”
“It does?” Carly and Jeremiah asked at the same time.
He nodded slowly. “I can’t seem to place it. Enchantment is…” He let out a growl of frustration. “I can see Lazer standing there and hear him say the word. But I don’t know why.” He squeezed his eyes shut and cursed under his breath. “Why can’t I remember anything?”
“It has to be a memory spell,” Carly said.
“Can the coven help?” Harlow asked. “Gigi or Iris maybe? Some sort of potion to break the spell or hypnotism to try to unlock his memories?”
“I’m willing to try anything,” Liam said, sounding hopeful again. “If your coven can help, I’m all for it.”
“I can ask,” Carly said, feeling hopeful, too. If there was one thing she’d learned, it was that the coven was badass and could do a lot more than she’d ever imagined in the spell department. She grabbed her phone and sent a group text, asking if anyone was available to brainstorm solutions.
Gigi texted back almost immediately. I’m meeting Grace at the Point of View Café in an hour. Does that work?
Carly quickly tapped out a reply. I’ll be there. She looked up from her phone. “I’m going to make those pain potions and then go out to meet part of the coven for a few hours.”
Liam nodded once. “Sounds like as good a plan as any. I’m going to go lay back down. Wake me if anything important happens.”
“We’ll leave for the lake when Carly gets back,” Jeremiah said.
“Fine.” Liam kept his head down as he shuffled back to the ground floor guest room.
Carly watched him leave and couldn’t help the ache in her chest. The man just seemed so broken. And why wouldn’t he be? The person he cared about most in the world was being held captive somewhere, a place Liam had clearly been to but couldn’t remember due to a scrambled memory. Carly could think of nothing more disorienting than not knowing who she was or anything about her past. The thought sent a shiver up her spine and strengthened her resolve to find Zane and get Liam answers to what kind of life he’d had for the past ten years.
“We’ll find a way to restore his memory,” Jeremiah said softly from behind her. “And we’ll find Zane. We won’t give up until we do.”
She glanced over her shoulder at him, saw the determination in his gaze, and strengthened her own resolve. “Damn straight. We’re not losing Zane a second time.”
Jeremiah placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder then took a step back. “I’ll see what research I can dig up about Picture Lake and will be ready to take off when you get back.”
“Thanks.” She pressed a kiss to his cheek and disappeared into her herb studio, ready to get to work.
Chapter 16
Carly walked into the Pointe of View Café and scanned the dining room for her friends. At first, she thought she’d missed them and felt a wave of disappointment. Those old feelings of abandonment started to set in, but she shook them off, determined not to be brought down by her past traumas. Instead, she ordered an iced coffee and then decided to take a walk through the dining room just to be sure she hadn’t missed them.
As soon as she rounded a corner, she spotted not only Gigi and Grace, but Iris as well. All three were huddled in a booth with their heads down, studying some paperwork.
“He’s just not being reasonable,” Iris said, scribbling something on the paperwork. “He went from being a pleasant man with a dream to a tyrant who wants everything done yesterday with zero patience for city permits and public feedback on the zoning issue. I swear, if we didn’t have that stupid contract he asked me to sign, I’d fire him in half a second.”
Carly cleared her throat, announcing her presence to the group. When they all looked up at her, she waved. “Hi. I almost missed you guys way back here in the corner.”
Grace moved over immediately, making room for her. “Sorry. I should’ve texted that we were back here.”
“What’s going on?” Carly asked as she slid into the booth.
“Remember that mansion on the bluff overlooking the sea that I sold some months back? The one that’s south of here?” Grace asked.
“Sure.” Carly took a sip of her coffee. “You sold it out from under your ex. So in addition to a lovely commission, you got to stick it to him. Right?”
“That’s the one,” Grace said with a self-satisfied grin. The smile faded as she added, “The buyer owns a number of high-end restaurants throughout California. Pretty important in the business world apparently, but now he’s giving Iris heartburn. He hired her to help him start his B&B business here in Premonition Pointe and is calling her nonstop. He even has me showing him more properties, hoping to find one that is already zoned commercial.”
“Instead of the one by the sea?” Carly asked, wondering if he’d sell the mansion.
“In addition to the one he already owns. Apparently he wants to start a small chain.” Grace shrugged. “I’m happy to do that, but he does seem a little keyed up.”
“A little?” Iris asked, her eyebrows raised. “The man is driving me nuts.”
Gigi patted her hand. “If anyone can wrangle him and the red tape, it’s you. I swear, I’ve never met anyone as efficient as you are with this stuff.”
“I agree,” Grace said. “No one knows her stuff better than you.”
Iris was the former mayor of Premonition Pointe and had a sixth sense when it came to businesses. If someone came to her with an idea, she always knew if it would be successful. She’d recently opened up a successful consulting business to help grow Premonition Pointe. In addition, she and her boyfriend, Kade, were starting a non-profit to help new startup businesses get on their feet.
“Thanks,” Iris said, closing her folder. “Enough about that. It’ll work out one way or another.” She focused on Carly. “Didn’t Grace say you could use some coven help? What do you need?”
Carly placed her hands down on the table and said, “It’s Liam. The man who was shot in front of my house. His memory is scrambled, almost as if he’s been spelled, and I’m wondering if there’s anything we can do about it. If it is a spell, can we reverse it?”
Everyone turned to look at Gigi, who chewed on her bottom lip before she met Carly’s gaze. “We could try a memory spell.”
Carly couldn’t help the shiver that ran up her spine. “The last time I tried one of those, I ended up aging so fast I thought I was headed straight for the casket.”
“That won’t happen if you have the power of the coven behind you,” Grace said. “But I’m not sure a memory spell is the right way to handle this anyway. All of the ones I’ve read about work more like an amplifier. They’re to recall current memories in more detail. But I seriously doubt one will combat someone else’s magic.”
Gigi nodded. “I agree. It would take a powerful spell to wipe out someone’s memories. Very powerful. We’d need to reverse it. And it would likely take all of us.” She pursed her lips as she thought. “I’d like to see if Hope could hear any of his thoughts. See what’s really going on in his head before we do anything.”
“Hope is over at Lucas’s shop today, working on his monthly open house,” Grace said. “I can give her a call and see if she has some time to help us out.”
“Anyone know where Joy is?” Iris asked.
Everyone shook their heads.
“I just saw her over at Liminal Space Day Spa,” Skyler, Gigi’s neighbor and the owner of the boutique Sky’s the Limit, said as he walked toward them, a grin on his face. He placed a hand on Gigi’s shoulder. “You ladies look fabulous today.”
“Thanks, Sky,” Gigi said, smiling up at him. “You saw Joy at the spa?”
He nodded. “She was just about finished getting her hair done.” He held his hands out for inspection, showing off his sparkling blue fingernails. “I got a long-overdue massage and then a manicure. Isn’t this color fabulous?”
Gigi sighed. “How is it that your nails are nicer than mine?”
“It’s because you spend all your time making fabulous skin care products and potions. It’s hell on the hands.” He turned his attention to Carly. “That reminds me, I’m going to need another batch of your miracle cellulite cream soon. You know how hard it is to keep it in stock.”
Carly groaned. “I’m sorry. My life has been a little overwhelming lately. Can I get it to you next week?”
Skyler frowned. “I’ll be out by then, but if it’s the best you can do… then it’s the best you can do.”
“Carly has a couple of unexpected houseguests this week,” Gigi said, patting his arm to soothe him.
“Maybe when this is over, we should consider that production facility again,” Carly said to Gigi. Right after Skyler had opened his shop, they’d talked about a production facility for their products, but then Premonition Pointe had been cursed and everything had stopped while the coven helped Iris save the town. And now Carly was preoccupied with finding Zane. She hadn’t thought about her cream or the idea of the production facility since the day Jeremiah had walked back into her life.
“I like that idea,” Gigi said. “My house is getting overrun with facial products. But we can talk about that later. Right now we need to work on helping Liam get his memory back. Can someone call Hope and Joy? Maybe we can all meet at Carly’s and see what we can do.”
“Who’s Liam?” Skyler asked, glancing around as if the man in question would appear out of nowhere.
“The man who was shot in front of Carly’s house a few days ago,” Grace explained. “We think his memory has been magically wiped, so we’re trying to help.”
“Oh, wow.” Skyler’s eyes widened. “Intrigue. Anything I can do to help?”
“Yes,” Carly said. “He doesn’t have any clothes. Can you bring him some from your shop? New or used. Doesn’t matter. I’ll pay for them.”
“Sure. But I’ll need his measurements.”
“Can you come by the house?” Carly asked, even as she internally cringed. She was inviting practically everyone she knew to the house even though they were supposed to be leaving for Picture Lake. But if the coven could retrieve Liam’s memory, that would be better than snooping around the lake. She had to try. And inviting Skyler was just practical. Liam didn’t have any clothes of his own and had been wearing the same sweats since they’d left the hospital. “He’s still recovering from the bullet wound, and we’re not sure it’s safe for him to be seen in public right now. We don’t know if someone is still looking for him.”
“I’ll grab some stuff from the shop, and he can try them on. Can you give me a verbal description? Approximate height and weight would do it,” Skyler said, already pulling out his phone so he could take notes.
“Um, tall and lanky,” Carly said. “Maybe six feet. I’d guess no more than one eighty.”
Skylar nodded. “That’s enough. Unless you have any idea on shoe size.”
That she did know, but only because her security guard had said his spare shoes fit Liam perfectly. “Men’s eleven.”
“On it.” He tucked his phone back into his pocket. “I’ll go now and meet you at your house.”
“Thank you,” she said, more than grateful. How had she gotten so lucky to find friends like the ones in Premonition Pointe who were going out of their way to help her?
Skyler squeezed her hand briefly. “Anything for you, doll.” He winked and strode out of the café.
“Both Hope and Joy are headed to your house,” Grace said, holding her phone up to show the latest text string. “We should probably get going if we want to meet them there.”
“Okay,” Carly said, somewhat amazed that everyone had jumped into action. She was used to Hollywood types trying to please her, but that was always transactional. She could be certain they’d want something from her in the end. What was remarkable about this group was that she knew they were doing it because they cared about her and not because they wanted anything in return. She wondered if she’d ever stop being surprised by their fierce friendship. She hoped so, but prayed she’d never take them for granted.
As they walked out of the café, Carly paused and said, “If I forget to say it later, thank you. Just thank you.”
“We haven’t done anything yet,” Gigi said, squeezing her hand as she smiled at her friend. “Wait to see what kind of results we get before you thank us.”
Carly shook her head. “No. Even if nothing works, I want you to know I appreciate all of you. More than you know.”
Grace came up and gave her a tight hug. “We love you, Carly, and it’s not because you throw fancy parties with famous people, either.”
“Yeah, that’s just a perk,” Gigi teased.
Iris rolled her eyes. “Celebrities are overrated.”
Carly slipped out of Grace’s embrace and snorted a laugh. “No truer words were ever spoken. Thanks again, everyone.”
They all waved off her gratitude, indicating it was no big deal, and then they followed her back to her house by the sea.
Chapter 17
“I thought we were headed to Picture Lake,” Jeremiah said into Carly’s ear as he stared at all the women gathered in her living room. Hope and Joy had already arrived when she and the rest of the coven got there.
“We were, and we still can if this doesn’t work,” Carly said. “But the coven was free now, so I figured we’d try to break the spell that’s making Liam forget his past. If it works, we won’t need to go to the lake, right? And if it doesn’t, Gigi is going to research other ways to access his memory.”
Jeremiah stuffed his hands in his pockets and nodded. “Makes sense. What can I do?”
“I don’t know yet.” Carly turned to him and placed both hands on his chest as she looked up at him. “I really think this might work, though. And it feels like we’re getting close to finding Zane.”
He brushed a thumb over her cheek, giving her a half-hearted smile. “As much as I want to believe that, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. One step at a time.”
Carly knew he was just managing his own expectations. Honestly, it’s what she should do as well, but she just had a feeling that they were getting really close. That today might give them the clues they needed to find Zane. She cupped his cheek and nodded. “You’re right, one step at a time.”
Jeremiah took her hand in his and walked with her over to where the coven members were gathered and discussing what spell they wanted to try.
“I thought I was here to eavesdrop on his thoughts,” Hope said. She was leaning against the stairwell banister, and she looked chic in her tight jeans, oversized sweater, and knee-high black boots. Her dark curls perfectly framed her face, making Carly slightly envious of her natural good looks. She looked like the type of woman who could roll out of bed and be ready in five minutes while still looking fabulous. Carly had to work a lot harder than that and always had. Her classic features only got her so far.
“Yes, of course,” Carly said when Jeremiah nudged her because she hadn’t responded. “Let’s go see if he’s awake.” She gestured for Hope to follow her and told the others to send Skyler in when he arrived.
With Hope right behind her, Carly knocked on Liam’s door.
“Come in,” he called.
Carly pushed the door open to find him sitting in one of the chairs near the window and staring out at the ocean. “Hey. I wanted to introduce you to my friend, Hope. She’s one of my coven members.”
Hope walked right over to him and sat in the matching chair. She held her hand out. “It’s nice to meet you, Liam.”
He hesitated but then shook his head before clasping his hand over hers. “Are you here to do some sort of memory spell?”
“Actually, I’m here to try to read your mind.” She flashed him a smile.
He blinked at her and then let out a breath as he leaned back into his chair. “Seriously? You can do that?”
“Sometimes,” she said with a shrug. “I try not to, because honestly, I don’t want to know what people are actually thinking. Especially if it’s about me.” She paused and eyed him. Then she cackled. “Funny.”
He chuckled along with her. It was the first time Carly had heard him laugh. She placed a hand over her heart, hoping she’d hear it again sometime soon. She hated seeing and feeling so much of his pain.
“What were you thinking?” Carly asked him.
“Nothing. Just wanted to see if she was for real.” Liam’s laughter had faded, but his smile was still there.
“He was thinking that if I had blue eyeshadow and red hair dye, that I’d look just like Endora from Bewitched. And you know what? I can kind of see it,” she said, cackling again.
