Barbecue & Brooms (A Southern Charms Cozy Mystery Book 4) Read online

  Barbecue & Brooms

  A Southern Charms Cozy Mystery

  Bella Falls

  Evermore Press

  Copyright © 2019 by Bella Falls

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination, or, if real, used fictitiously. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the express written permission of the author, except where permitted by law or for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  All Rights Reserved.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Also by Bella Falls

  Preface

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Epilogue

  Southern Charms Cozy Mystery Series

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Also by Bella Falls

  A Southern Charms Cozy Mystery Series

  Moonshine & Magic: Book 1

  Lemonade & Love Potions (Southern Charms Cozy Short)

  Fried Chicken & Fangs: Book 2

  Sweet Tea & Spells: Book 3

  Barbecue & Brooms: Book 4

  Collards & Cauldrons: Book 5

  Cornbread & Crossroads: Book 6 (Coming Soon)

  *All audiobooks available are narrated by the wonderful and talented Johanna Parker

  For a FREE exclusive copy of the prequel Chess Pie & Choices, sign up for my newsletter!

  Share recipes, talk about Southern Charms and all things cozy mysteries, and connect with me by joining my reader group Southern Charms Cozy Companions!

  For all my Southern Charmers—Thanks for giving me encouragement, barbecue team names, and your patience while you waited for this book!

  Preface

  In Barbecue & Brooms, I had some fun with Lucky the leprechaun and his true origins. In creating his own original tale, I took liberties with real mythology and stories of the origins of the fae and all its kind, so some of Lucky’s story may not match the history books if you go searching for him. But I hope you like finding out our friend may be a little more than he seems.

  Chapter One

  Drinking sweet tea. Bugging my brother Matt. Baking the tastiest chess pie. Gobbling up all the good food Nana makes, like this morning's buttermilk biscuits with fried country ham and grape jelly. Finding things for people. My brain shuffled through all the stuff I excelled at on a regular basis. So why couldn't flying on a broomstick be on that list?

  I squeezed my thighs around the skinny length of wood, trying my hardest not to fall out of the sky. Mason had patiently given me multiple lessons over the past two months, but for the life of me, I still couldn't get the hang of it. Today’s was all about increasing my speed to a respectable rate. But zooming faster somehow made the rest of my lessons leak out my ears.

  When I copied Mason’s movements, I could almost believe that I might master being on a broom. But when he switched places, putting me in the lead, I figured the only place a broom should exist was in my hands, sweeping dust.

  “You need to direct yourself right or left, up or down. Flying in a straight line is only going to work for so long,” Mason called out while soaring slightly behind me to my left. I'd bet a pound of unicorn manure he wasn't sweating at all.

  I let go of the wooden handle long enough to wipe a drop off my brow. “I got this,” I gritted through my teeth at the man. I got nothin’, I admitted to myself.

  The far edge of Tipper’s land, which now belonged to my brother, loomed ahead. Right. Left. Up. All good choices my body couldn't figure out how to execute in order not to crash into the trees.

  “Just lean a little to your left,” instructed Mason. “No, not your right, your left.” He motioned the correct direction with a jerk of his head.

  Somewhere inside of me existed the knowledge of how to maneuver my exasperating flying contraption, but the fear of knocking myself out shadowed any ability to recollect how.

  “I can’t!” I exclaimed, holding my arm up to shield my face from the imminent impact into the protruding forest.

  “Charli!” Mason zipped to my side and nudged me off course.

  I dropped underneath the incoming branch at the last second. Instead of the hard impact of wood knocking me out, tendrils of Spanish moss tickled my forehead.

  In a panic, I aimed my body toward the ground and forgot to slow down for the descent. The second my heels touched earth, I tumbled over the front of the handle and somersaulted a couple of times until I lay splayed out on my back, staring up into the afternoon sky. It wasn't the first time I’d fallen off my broom and I doubted it would be the last.

  When my senses and brain caught up to my body, I remembered why I needed to land. “Mason,” I cried out, “You okay?”

  Like a pro, the detective landed next to me without so much as a mark in the dirt. “I’m more worried about your noggin’,” he joked, holding out a hand to help me up.

  Accepting his offer, I allowed him to hoist me onto my feet. My eyes lit on a few scratches on his face, and I touched the pink lines with my fingertips. He reached up and held my hand against his cheek, leaning into my touch. His eyes went soft with a familiar warmth.

  Biddy’s dark form fluttered down next to us, and she squawked a few times. No, it sounded more like cackling with bird amusement. Her interruption dashed cold water on the moment between the detective and me.

  “No more leftover biscuits on the porch for you, missy,” I taunted the bird, slipping my hand out from under Mason’s. I jutted my bottom lip out to pout, “I’m never gonna get the hang of this dang blasted thing.” For good measure, I kicked the bristles of the broom.

  Mason chuckled and sighed. “Well, I don't think we’ll be signing you up for the amateur race this weekend, that's for sure. But you are getting faster. That's something.”

  I shot Biddy a sideways glance for her sarcastic caws. “Faster, maybe. But my goal is still at the level of a toddler’s.”

  Mason shook his head. “That's not true. I think Big Willie’s youngest can out-fly you.”

  Life was not fair if the little hairy sasquatch could soar through the air better than me, an experienced witch. “That's because he's using one of Lee's special spellcasted brooms,” I defended my poor abilities.

  Mason threw his arm around my shoulder. “Or maybe flying can be more of a hobby for you, much like knitting or painting. At least that way it will be safer.”

  “But I don't do either of those.” I frowned in confusion.

  The detective’s eyes sparkled with too much glee. “Exactly.”

  His comment earned him a quick punch and a shove away from me. The genuine smile on my lips reminded me how much I enjoyed my time with Mason when there wasn't so much pressure on defining who we were to each other. He never pushed too hard, and for that I was grateful. But I knew time was running out for my avoidance of emotional definitions, whatever they might be.<
br />
  “You are signed up to race, though, aren't you?” I asked.

  Mason lifted his eyebrow with rare cockiness. “At least one. It'll be fun to stretch my proverbial wings again. I've forgotten how much fun it is to compete, plus there may be a few dollars on the line as well.”

  I gasped and covered my mouth in fake shock, putting on my best Scarlett O’Hara imitation. “Why, Detective, you're bettin’ on yourself?”

  “Who better to place my faith in?” He shrugged his shoulders. “Now, why don't you let me show you a little of what it'll be like when I take control of the stick?”

  We'd flown together a few times, tethering our magic and connecting on a very intimate level. Usually after one of those occasions, we came mighty close to taking the intimacy between us to a new level.

  My cheeks heated under his gaze. “I don't know if we have time for a long shared ride before tonight's town hall meeting,” I countered, taking no pleasure in the lie.

  We had time for a short tandem flight, but I wasn't prepared right now to deal with what came after. Sometimes I craved the exhilaration of hurtling through the air with his body pressed against my back and his arms wrapped around me to hold on, but I didn't know what to do after our feet touched solid ground again.

  A slight wrinkle appeared in between the detective’s eyebrows, and I knew my lack of enthusiasm frustrated him. Unable to help myself, I reached up with my finger and tried to smooth the crease out. “I'm sorry, Mason,” I whispered.

  He relaxed a little. “I told you I wouldn't push things between us and I meant it. Being your friend is important to me.”

  Before I could reply, Mason placed a finger over my lips. “You don't have to say anything. Even though I move fast on a broom, slow and steady is my normal pace. As long as the door is still open, I'm good.”

  Doubt seeped into my heart, but I did my best to ignore it and changed the subject. “I wish I could experience what you do when you race.”

  Mason's eyes brightened. “You can if you’re willing to trust me. We've already shared magic before, so it shouldn't be that hard.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  He took a step closer to me. “You can borrow a piece of my magic for a short amount of time. Use it to fly at least one lap around this field. I know we've got time for this.”

  Fear and excitement mixed in my stomach. “Isn't that dangerous?” With my new job not keeping me as busy as I’d like and a lack of murders to investigate, I kind of missed the adrenaline rush. But using big magic always came with a price, and Nana had instilled in me a goodly amount of caution.

  Still…frosted fairy wings, I couldn't let the sheriff’s hairy offspring best me. Besides, when one has the opportunity to capture a unicorn even for a brief moment, one shouldn't turn it down, right?

  Mason thrust the handle of his broom into my hands. “Trust me.”

  With a nod and a willful ignoring of a Nana-type voice blaring a warning in my head, I agreed. “I do. Now how do we do this?”

  He stood in front of me and took both my hands, his thumbs stroking my skin. “This might feel a bit weird at first, and you won't have much time. Try to keep to the edge of the field and don't go beyond the border of the field.”

  “But what if I lose control and the trees threaten to smack my witchy behind back down to Earth?” For goodness sakes, I still had grass stains and bruises on my rump.

  Mason shook his head. “I won't let you get hurt. If something happens, I should be able to steer you out of the way.”

  My eyebrows raised in alarm. “You mean, this would give you control over me?”

  The detective pondered my slightly freaked out inquiry. “Yes and no. That's why you have to trust me not to take advantage. I'll let you use my skills but won't overpower you. You up for it?”

  Nana’s powerful voice echoed too loud for me to ignore in the back of my mind, “Birdy, don't you dare do it!”

  But my curiosity and immediate desires drowned out her sensible advice. “I'm ready.”

  The corners of his lips curved up in gleeful satisfaction. “Right. I'm going take a page out of your spellbook, so to speak. Here we go.” He closed his eyes and squeezed my hands.

  I took the unguarded opportunity to gawk at him, marveling at his intense sincerity in wanting to share so much with me. My fingers itched to scratch the slight stubble he allowed to grow out because he knew how much I liked the bad boy vibe it gave him. Too caught up in my scrutiny of the man in front of me, I almost forgot to throw up a wall of protection. Without one, I risked his magic short circuiting me. Closing my eyes, I focused on keeping us both safe.

  Mason spoke with a clear tone. “In this time and in this hour, let us share our magic power. Into her body, my powers pour and let her take the broom to soar. This special skill I give for free. As I will it, so mote it be.”

  The traditional end of his spell surprised me, and my eyes flew open only to find him smirking at me.

  The cheeky detective winked and finished his spell in a little more my style. “With my magic, let Charli fly, and give her confidence that she won’t die.”

  Power tingled in my hands and jolted up my arms. I drew in a breath and closed my eyes again, trying hard not to pass out from the sudden sensation. After a few moments of concentration, I let my guard down and relaxed. The foreign yet familiar magic settled down and flowed inside my body until it filled me to the brim.

  With relief that I didn’t faint, I blinked my eyes open to find Mason staring with concern. Determined for him to stop seeing me as weak, I licked my lips and snickered. “Mmm. Kind of tastes like chocolate.”

  The tension from Mason’s shoulders dropped. “Good, but you better take advantage fast. I’m not sure how long the spell will hold,” he reminded, tapping the wooden handle.

  Following the instructions he’d given me since day one with a broom, I kicked off the ground with more grace than I'd ever known. Leaning forward, I willed the flying instrument to go, and it bounded off like a rocket. Instead of normal fear coursing through my veins, adrenaline pumped excitement through, fueling pure joy inside me.

  No longer struggling to control the simplest maneuver, I loosened my grip and allowed myself to enjoy the ride. Testing my limits, I leaned forward and pushed faster.

  Biddy dropped out of the sky and joined me on my left flank, her wings spread wide enough for her dark feathers to almost brush my arm. The first time I flew together with Mason, we'd allowed her to guide us. I sent a silent wish, hoping she’d rise to the challenge. With a slight cock of her head, the crow banked a hard left, and I dove with ease right behind her.

  A loud whoop escaped my throat as I zigged and zagged right behind her feathery figure. She tested my ability to keep up with a few dips and climbs that would have stumped me before, but with the borrowed magic I tapped into, it felt like child's play.

  “What else you got?” I dared with a grin.

  Sensing my newfound skills, Biddy let out a defiant caw and led me closer to the woods at the far border of the property. I dodged outreaching branches with ease, no longer acting out of fear at the threat of one of them knocking me out. Effervescent giggles bubbled up and burst out of my mouth at the thrill of the ride. If someone could fly like this, why would they ever want to walk on the ground again?

  Without thinking, I performed a barrel roll in the air, much to Biddy’s and my own shock. Maybe I could talk Mason into doing this again and letting me enter one of the races after all. Wouldn’t it knock the socks off of all my friends and shut down my brother’s teasing for good?

  My vision blurred and my ability to see Biddy faltered. The broom lost a little altitude, and I shook my head to try and clear it. The taste of sweet chocolate in my mouth turned bitter by the second, and my confidence evaporated into concern.

  Instead of coasting through the air with ease, it took a considerable effort for me to turn in Mason’s direction and head back. I needed his assurance that everyt
hing was okay, but seeing him doubled over and breathing hard freaked me out. Another wave of unsteadiness hit me and the broom shook underneath my thighs. I struggled to shake it off, but an overwhelming exhaustion weighed on top of me and my eyelids drooped.

  “Charli, stay with me,” called out Mason.

  A little more power zinged through me, and I gripped the handle tighter. My shaky descent slowed with considerable effort on my part as I struggled to stay upright. My legs and feet dropped down in preparation for the landing even though I hadn’t intended for that to happen.

  “I’ve got you,” reassured Mason, his outstretched hands glowing with power as he assisted me.

  The second I hit the ground, my body crumpled against his. “What’s…happening?” I struggled to catch my breath.

  The detective pulled me into a sweaty embrace. “I guess we pushed it a little too far,” he managed. “Maybe next time we need to put a time limit on things. Or eat a full meal first.”

  Even a fool like me understood there shouldn’t be a next time if it affected both of us this way. If I had pushed any harder or been further away, the whole experience could have put us both in serious jeopardy.

  Mason plucked a strand of hair stuck to my face and curled it behind my ear with a gentle touch. “I can’t wait for the others to hear about your incredible flying talents.”

  “Yeah, I could shut them all up with the shock and awe of it all.” I smiled at first, but the realization of them not believing me and then asking more questions erased my amusement. “Wait, you’re not gonna tell, are you?”