Forever Valentine Read online

  FOREVER VALENTINE

  A Halloween LaVeau short story

  By Rose Pressey

  “Rose Pressey’s book are fun!”

  Janet Evanovich

  Praise for Me and My Ghoulfriends by Rose Pressey

  “Rose Pressey spins a delightful tale with misfits and romance that makes me cheer loudly.”

  Coffee Time Romance

  “Her characters are alive and full of quick witted charm and will make you laugh. The plot twists keep you turning the pages non-stop.”

  ParaNormalRomance

  “I absolutely loved this book! It had me chuckling from the beginning.”

  Fallen Angel Review

  Rose Pressey’s Complete Bookshelf (click title to preview/buy)

  Paranormal P.I. Series

  What the Hex?

  The Hex With It

  Chase Charley Series:

  Book 1: For Old Crimes Sake

  Book 2: Seems Like Old Crimes

  Haunted Tour Guide Mystery Series:

  These Haunts are Made for Walking

  A Walk on the Haunted Side

  Haunt the Haunt, Walk the Walk

  Walk this Way, Haunt this Way

  Take a Haunted Walk With Me

  Haunted Vintage Series:

  Book 1 – If You’ve Got It, Haunt It

  Book 2 – All Dressed Up and No Place to Haunt

  Book 3 – Haunt Couture and Ghosts Galore

  Book 4 – Haunted is Always in Fashion

  Book 5 – Untitled 2016

  Maggie, P.I. Mystery Series:

  Book 1 – Crime Wave

  Book 2 – Murder is a Beach

  The Halloween LaVeau Series:

  Book 1 – Forever Charmed

  Book 2 – Charmed Again

  Book 3 – Third Time’s a Charm

  Book 4 – Charmed, I’m Sure

  Book 5 – A Charmed Life

  Book 6 – Charmed Ever After

  The Hadley Wilds Series:

  Book 1: Dead Girl’s Guide to Style

  The Rylie Cruz Series:

  Book 1 – How to Date a Werewolf

  Book 2 – How to Date a Vampire

  Book 3 – How to Date a Demon

  The Larue Donovan Series:

  Book 1 – Me and My Ghoulfriends

  Book 2 – Ghouls Night Out

  Book 3 – The Ghoul Next Door

  Book 4—Ghoul of My Dreams

  The Mystic Café Series:

  Book 1 – No Shoes, No Shirt, No Spells

  Book 2 – Pies and Potions

  Book 3 — Spells a la Carte

  The Veronica Mason Series:

  Book 1 – Rock ‘n’ Roll is Undead

  A Trash to Treasure Crafting Mystery:

  Book 1 – Murder at Honeysuckle Hotel

  Book 2 – Honeysuckle Homicide

  The Haunted Renovation Mystery Series:

  Book 1 – Flip that Haunted House

  Book 2 – The Haunted Fixer Upper

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form, (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, incidents, places, and brands are the product of the author’s imagination and not to be construed as real. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  Dedication

  This is to you and you know who you are.

  Acknowledgements

  To my son, who brings me joy every single day and is the love of my life. To my mother, who introduced me to the love of books. To my husband, who encourages me and always has faith in me. A huge thank you to my editor, Eleanor Boyall. And to the readers who make writing fun.

  Index

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 1

  LaVeau Manor had an eerie vibe. The house was old and large. No matter which room I entered it always seemed as if someone was watching. The structure came alive the most at night. However, tonight was different… love was in the air. I’d invited the local coven members to the manor for a Valentine’s Day dance. The large parlor was decorated with red and white balloons, red paper heart banners draped across the entrances and fireplace, and pink and red hearts dangled from the ceiling. It had taken forever to climb that giant ladder to hang those.

  As I gazed around the room I smiled, happy with the turnout. Almost every coven member was in attendance. Too bad my best friend Annabelle Preston couldn’t be here. She had a hot date with a mystery man. I hoped they stopped by later. I’d gotten into the Valentine spirit by wearing a red dress with white hearts dotted along the fabric. My blonde hair fell in waves to my shoulders for what I hoped was a romantic look.

  The table with the punch bowl was set up across the room. Nicolas Marcos and Liam Rankin stood at the end of it as if they were trying to hide. They looked handsome in their black suits. With their dark hair, brilliant blue eyes, and chiseled features it was obvious they were brothers. Nicolas and I had been dating for a while, but it was hard not to look at Liam and swoon.

  They must have sensed me staring because they turned their attention to me. Nicolas smiled and waved. It was as if an electric charge had a hold on me every time our eyes met. Liam winked. I was lucky to have them in my life. We’d been through a lot lately. Nicolas had recently been named leader of the Enchantment Pointe Coven. That was where we lived. Liam was the leader of the New Orleans Coven. Oh yeah, one other little detail… My name is Halloween LaVeau and I’m the leader of the Underworld. I’d kind of stumbled into that position, but more about that later.

  Someone grabbed my arm and pulled me out of my daydream. Maybe it wasn’t so much of a daydream, but more like a trance brought on by the brothers’ good looks. Lucy Hamlin spun me around and was now standing in front of me. Lucy was petite. Even shorter than me by a couple inches. Her dark hair was up in a twist with tiny tendrils falling against her heart-shaped face. She wore black pants and a red sweater with high heels the same shade of crimson. Lucy lived just down the street. At forty something she was about ten years older than me.

  “Halloween, something terrible has happened,” she said breathlessly.

  No. That was the last thing I wanted to hear. Too many terrible things had happened lately. The way Lucy’s big cinnamon colored eyes bugged out and her bright red lipstick-covered mouth twisted into a grimace I knew I had a real problem on my hands. A panicked witch was never a good thing.

  I grabbed her arms. “Calm down, Lucy, what’s the problem?”

  “It’s the cookies.” She stared at me without as much as a blink.

  I quirked an eyebrow. “No one likes the cookies you brought?”

  She shook her head. “It’s much worse than that.”

  I wasn’t sure I even wanted to know. Unfortunately, as the leader I had to know.

  “You have to tell me, Lucy.”

  She chuckled nervously. “Well, I thought it would be fun to do a spell with the cookies. A love spell of sorts.”

  My stomach turned. “Lucy, I specifically said no spells in the food or drinks. This can have a bad outcome.”

  “Obviously,” she said under her breath.

  I looked around the room and noticed it didn’t look romantic or festive. Couples weren’t dancing to the carefully selected love-themed soundtrack I’d selected. They really weren’t talking either. Now that I truly paid attention, I realized the musi
c was the only noise in the room. Heaviness hung over the parlor like a thick wool blanket. This was the exact opposite of how I had wanted things to turn out tonight. And I’d thought love was in the air. Once again, I was wrong. This was far from love. It looked more like hostility and anger.

  “How did you mess up the spell?” I asked.

  Maybe if I knew how she did this I’d know how to fix it. I thought Lucy had perfected her witchcraft skills years ago. A young couple standing in the corner of the room looked as if they were already fighting.

  She brushed the hair off her cheek. “I don’t know how I messed it up. I’ve always been good with my spells.”

  That was true. I’d never known Lucy to cast a bad spell. Me on the other hand… that was a different story. I’d been so bad at witchcraft that I’d messed up the spells of other witches for miles around. However, that was all behind me now. Ever since I’d found the spell book my great aunt Maddy had left me things had changed. The book had been included with the home. It was what had given me the leader of the Underworld status.

  “Okay, just take a deep breath. We a can figure this out,” I said.

  Being the leader meant I had to remain calm. Or at least it needed to appear that I had things under control. Right now, I felt anything but in control. Tension hung in the air. Maybe a panic attack was coming. My chest felt tight and my stomach turned. It seemed as if things were only getting worse. How long would this messed-up spell last?

  “Everyone must have really loved those cookies,” I said.

  “I added extra sprinkles,” she said sheepishly. “Halloween, I’m really sorry about this. I just thought I was helping.”

  I could definitely relate to how she was feeling right now.

  “Don’t worry, Lucy, I’ll think of something.” My thoughts raced.

  The loud crash caught our attention. Something had to be done right away before this got out of hand. I knew all too well that these things could escalate quickly. Wendy Carter had thrown a vase at Carl Webber’s head. He held his hands up, pleading that she not toss something else his way. They’d been recently engaged. If this continued there would be no wedding bells.

  “Oh, this is awful. I can’t believe what I’ve done.” Lucy’s words were full of regret.

  I glanced back toward the table to see if Nicolas and Liam had noticed. How could they not? The arguing in the room was now loud. The couples were really going at it. Nicolas was chewing and had one of the heart shaped cookies in his hand. Liam was moving a cookie toward his mouth. I ran over and knocked the treat from his hand. Sprinkles flew through the air like confetti. The brothers stared at me with stunned expressions.

  “Hallie, if you wanted a cookie you could have asked.” Liam gave me a lopsided grin.

  Chapter 2

  “This isn’t funny, guys.” I picked the cookie up from the floor and set it on the platter.

  I grabbed the dish and held it close to my body so that no one else could take one.

  “They weren’t that good anyway,” Nicolas added with a chuckle.

  “Hey, I made those cookies with love.” Lucy placed her hands on her hips.

  “Not exactly love,” I said. “The cookies have a spell gone wrong.”

  Nicolas’ blue eyes widened. “What kind of spell?”

  Liam laughed. “Ha. You ate a cookie. Will it turn him into a frog? Please tell me it will turn him into something.”

  I poked Liam’s arm. “Be nice.”

  “Dude, you’re screwed,” Liam added.

  I grimaced and then said, “It’s a love spell gone wrong.”

  When I looked at Nicolas for a reaction, I realized that his eyes had changed. They were now a dark brown, almost black.

  “Uh oh,” Lucy said. “I guess the spell is getting to him.”

  Nicolas narrowed his eyes. “Hallie, how could you let this happen?”

  “I’m going to assume that’s the spell talking, Nicolas,” I said.

  Nicolas glared at me. The charm had faded from his eyes. His lips curled downward into a snarl. He’d never looked at me that way before. For a moment my feelings were hurt, but then I reminded myself that it was the spell. It had to be, right?

  “I have to get rid of these.” I rushed toward the kitchen to shove the cookies in the garbage disposal.

  Liam grabbed my arm from behind to stop me. “You can’t do that.”

  I frowned. “Why not? I can’t let them set around so someone else can eat them.”

  “Unless you know what kind of spell and how to get rid of it right away, then you should keep them. There could be a clue in the evidence that will tell us how to reverse the spell.”

  “What am I going to send it off to a lab for results?”

  He raised an eyebrow. “If need be.”

  My stomach sank. I hoped it didn’t take that long. Nicolas stood by the table still. His face was blood red as he sent a death glare our way.

  “What do we do now?” Lucy asked.

  How was I supposed to know? Oh yeah, the leader was expected to have the answers. Blah, blah, blah. “How do I reverse it?”

  The room was becoming tenser by the minute. Liam stared at me. Clearly he didn’t have an answer either. Why should he? He wasn’t the leader. This was my job. I motioned for Lucy and Liam to follow me to the kitchen. The room was done in shades of white. Cabinets, shelves full of jars, and an island in the middle were all white. The hardwood floor was a black walnut finish.

  “Lucy, tell me exactly what happened? Where were you when you cast the spell?” I asked.

  Lucy fidgeted from one foot to the other. “I was in my kitchen.”

  “Did anything unusual happen?”

  She shook her head and then paused. “Well, wait. Maybe… but I doubt it has anything to do with the bad spell.”

  “You never know.” Liam leaned against the counter and crossed his muscular arms in front of his chest.

  When I peeked out the kitchen door into the other room, Nicolas was gone. Immediately worry set in. This wasn’t normal circumstances so of course I worried where he’d gone. Now I felt as if I had to watch him like a toddler.

  Lucy snapped me back to the conversation. “As I was saying, the lights went out. See, I made the cookies last night. Anyway, this strange feeling came over me when that happened.”

  “What kind of strange feeling?” I asked.

  She shrugged. “It just felt as if someone was in the room with me.”

  I frowned. “That’s odd. Maybe it was just the scariness of the dark.”

  Lucy paced across the floor. “I guess. Anyway, I lid a candle and then I thought I saw something shadowy dart around the corner. I went over to the doorway, but nothing was there.”

  “You think someone was in your house?” I pressed.

  “If they were I don’t know why. It’s a scary thought though. The person could have been there to hurt me.”

  “Maybe they were there to do something to your cookies,” Liam said.

  I picked up one of the cookies. Red and pink sprinkles fell around me. “Liam’s right.”

  Regardless, I wasn’t sure I had time to figure out who might have done something to the spell. Based on everyone’s behavior that would have to come later. First, I would have to try a spell that would allow me to correct the bad spell. Funny that I needed a spell to stop a spell.

  “I need you all to help me.” Since it looked as if Nicolas had disappeared in his anger-induced trance, it would be just the three of us.

  “What should we do?” Lucy twisted her hands together. At least she was no longer pacing.

  “I can cast a spell that will, with any luck, tell us what ingredients we need to counteract against this spell.” I tapped my finger against my bottom lip as I studied the shelves full of witchcraft ingredients.

  I would have gone to the spell book for help, but I’d memorized a lot of the spells from doing them over and over. On the other side of the kitchen was a large stone fireplace. That wa
s where I kept my cauldron. It had been my great aunt Maddy’s. When I first moved into the manor, I hadn’t utilized it much, but now it was used almost every day.

  The fire was already flaming underneath the water. I suppose something had told me that I might need the cauldron tonight. Liam and Lucy watched as I rushed around the room, gathering herbs and spices to add to the water. Cinnamon, cloves, and sage should work nicely.

  “This should do the trick,” I said as I hurried over to the fireplace.

  My arms were full as I placed each item on the mantel. One by one I added them to the cauldron.

  “Come hold hands with me.” I motioned for them to join me by the fire.

  Liam wiggled his eyebrows. “Gladly.”

  We held hands as we stood by the water. It bubbled and popped after I’d added the ingredients. Slowly blue and red lights emerged from the water. Easily at first like movements of a ballerina. Then the lights sped up. They danced and swirled from the water toward the top of the fireplace.

  “Wow, I’d heard you were good with magic now, but I’ve never seen water act that way before.”

  “It’s too early to tell if the spell will work. Repeat after me,” I said.

  They nodded, so I said, “Element of Earth, I call to you… empower me with the knowledge to reverse the bad.” I continued, “Element of Air, I call to you to ease the forces of the bad spell.” The lights swirled even faster. “Element of Fire, I call to you for protection from harm.” To complete the spell, I recited the words, “Element of Water, show me the way to stop the bad spell.”

  The more we talked the more the water bubbled. Finally, when I thought it might overflow, I peeked into the cauldron.

  “What do you see?” Lucy leaned closer.

  “There’s an image of a four-leaf clover.”

  “What is that all about? It wants you to add a four-leaf clover?” Liam asked. “Who messed up Lucy’s spell? A leprechaun?”

  “Where would I find a four-leaf clover?”

  “Don’t you have clovers in the back yard?” Lucy asked. “I noticed them during the last coven meeting that we had down by the water.”