Chapter 17

17

Harlow feltlike she needed a shower after banishing the spirit of Jelly’s cousin. In all of her years dealing with ghosts, that may have been the most ridiculous situation she’d encountered. Usually the spirits that didn’t move on were in the present because they had unfinished business. That certainly seemed to be the case for Wendy, too, but usually it didn’t involve trying to murder a close relative. Did Carl have a magic schlong or something? The thought made Harlow grimace, and she did her best to put the entire encounter out of her mind.

She walked into the house and found Imogen at a small desk in the dining room area. “Hey, that’s new.”

“Yeah. I got it off Marketplace for a steal.” Imogen turned to look at Harlow. “Where have you been?”

Dread coiled in Harlow’s gut as she braced herself for backlash. Imogen had been out running errands and apparently picking up the desk when Cash had called earlier. “Cash called with a ghost emergency. He needed help banishing a spirit.”

Imogen’s jaw tightened, but instead of the backlash Harlow expected, she just asked, “Is this going to be a normal thing now that you and Cash are an item again?”

“No. This was just a one-off. A woman was in danger. He couldn’t just walk away.”

Her sister nodded once and then turned back to her computer. That was unexpected. Not wanting to rock the boat, Harlow moved into the kitchen for some water and asked, “Are you still working on your website?”

“I did as much as I could with that, and now I’m working on a design for my business cards.”

“Business cards. Wow. Moving fast.”

Letting out a sigh, Imogen turned to her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Whoa.” Harlow raised her hands in the air. “I didn’t mean anything. I’m just impressed, that’s all.” So much for burying the hatchet. It looked like they’d still be walking on eggshells for a while.

Imogen closed her eyes and muttered something to herself that Harlow couldn’t hear.

“Sorry,” Harlow snapped. Then she tried her best to keep her voice neutral as she continued. “I’m going to go get cleaned up. If you’re still up for girls’ night, we need to leave in an hour.”

Imogen didn’t say anything.

Harlow ground her teeth together and wondered if there would ever be a time when she and Imogen didn’t have a wall of tension between them. Resigned that there was no way to fix it, she retreated to the back of the house and took that shower she’d been craving.

* * *

When Harlow walkedinto the living room an hour later, Imogen was standing near the door, a jacket folded over her arm, and Harlow gave her sister a genuine smile. “I’m glad to see you’re still venturing out tonight.”

“It’s better than staying in, right?” Imogen asked.

“Definitely,” Harlow agreed and then led the way outside to her Subaru. Neither of them said a word all the way to town. Unable to take the silence, Harlow turned on the radio and hummed along with the latest Silver Scars hit, the band that featured Levi Kelley. When she glanced at her sister, she saw her mouthing the words, too. At least they had common ground somewhere.

When the song ended, Imogen said, “I really like that song.”

“Me, too. I’m hoping we can get Levi to play at Equinox one day when he’s back in town.”

Imogen’s eyes lit up. “That would be amazing.”

They continued to talk music right up until they walked into Incantation Café, and Harlow was grateful for the temporary truce.

“Harlow, you made it!” Hanna said the moment they stepped through the door. “And this must be your sister.”

Harlow smiled at the gorgeous woman and nodded. “Hanna, this is my sister Imogen.”

“It’s really nice to meet you,” Imogen said, shaking Hanna’s hand.

“We’re very happy to have you along. With you here, it makes it even teams,” she said with a giggle.

“Teams?” Imogen asked with her eyebrows raised in alarm. “No one said anything about a competition.”

Hanna laughed. “It’s nothing serious. Just a friendly golf cart race down by the river. Winners get bragging rights.”

“You need teams for golf cart races?” Imogen asked curiously.

“Sure. Someone needs to cast spells while the driver handles the golf cart.” Hanna’s phone rang and she put up a finger. “Give me a second.”

While Hanna answered the call, Imogen turned to Harlow. “Spells?”

“Don’t ask me. This is the first I’m hearing about any of this.”

Imogen looked like a deer in the headlights. “I feel like I should have brushed up on my magic skills a little more. I can’t imagine what kind of a spell someone might need for a golf cart race.”

Harlow had no idea either, but she wasn’t worried. Hanna and the rest of them were good people. Whatever it was, Harlow was just grateful she and Imogen had been included. It was the perfect way to ease back into some fun quality time with her sister.

“Good news!” Hanna said after she ended the call. “Wanda and Abby will be here any moment. Let’s head out so I can lock up and they won’t have to wait for us.”

Once outside, Harlow heard music first, and when she turned, she spotted two golf carts headed straight for them, both of them complete spectacles. One was glittery purple with flashing strobe lights. Prince’s “1999” blared from the speakers as Wanda, the driver, sang the lyrics at the top of her lungs.

Right behind her, Abby drove an orange golf cart that was covered in twinkle lights and had daisy decals and long eyelashes on the headlights. She was also singing along with the lyrics, but she was being drowned out by Wanda.

“Wow,” Imogen said. “They take this golf cart thing seriously, don’t they?”

“You have no idea,” Hanna said with a laugh.

Harlow grinned, loving it. This night out with the girls was exactly what she needed. Wanda and Abby parked their carts right in front of the café, and before they could even hop out, Yvette Townsend-Burton, Brinn Taylor, and Miranda Moon walked up, chattering about Miranda’s latest book signing they’d had at Hollow Books, the bookstore that Yvette and her husband, Jacob, owned.

Harlow waved and gave them a smile.

Miranda grinned when she saw her. “It’s good to see you out, Harlow.”

Hanna, who hadn’t seen them yet, spun around. “You’re here!” She gave each one a quick hug and then waved at Imogen. “You have to meet Harlow’s sister, Imogen.” After she introduced everyone and Imogen looked more than a little overwhelmed by their enthusiastic welcome, Hanna clapped her hands together. “Come on. Let’s get out of here. I’m ready for some fun.”

“Did someone say fun?” Wanda asked, opening a cooler on the back of her cart. “Anyone ready for a beer, cider, or wine? I’ve got plenty.”

Harlow walked over and glanced inside. “You really are prepared.”

“Always,” Wanda said with a wink. “What can I get you?”

“I’ll try a Keating Hollow cider.”

“Me, too,” Imogen said.

Harlow nearly jumped right out of her skin. She hadn’t realized her sister was standing right behind her.

“Two ciders coming right up.” Wanda grabbed the bottles, twisted the caps off, and then tucked them into bottle koozies. “Here you go. Anyone else?”

The other four each got something alcoholic, but the two designated drivers opted for water.

“Okay, pick a golf cart,” Hanna said, already climbing into the orange cart next to Abby.

Yvette slid into the seat next to Wanda.

And while Imogen and Harlow stood frozen, not sure what to do, Brinn got in Abby’s cart and Miranda took a seat in Wanda’s.

“I guess we’d better pick one,” Harlow told her sister.

Imogen nodded and slid into the back seat of Abby’s cart next to Brinn.

Harlow took a seat next to Miranda. “I guess you’re stuck with me.”

“And thank the goddess for that,” the author said, holding up her drink for a toast. “I can’t think of a better partner in crime.”

Harlow chuckled, tapped her bottle to Miranda’s, and then took a long swig of the delicious pear cider that she’d heard was made by Rhys Silver, Hanna’s husband. He specialized in ciders at the Keating Hollow Brewery.

The two golf carts sped down Main Street and then veered off onto a pathway that led down to the river. The almost full moon shimmered off the calm water. With the mountains illuminated in the background, it was so gorgeous it almost didn’t look real. Not for the first time, Harlow found herself thanking the universe that she’d found the magical town. She couldn’t imagine living anywhere else now.

“Okay,” Wanda said, killing the music and jumping out of her golf cart. “Since we have newbies, we need to go over the rules.”

“There aren’t any rules,” Abby called as she got off her cart.

Wanda placed her hands on her hips and tsked as she shook her head. “There are a few rules, Abby. You just like to pretend otherwise.”

Everyone chuckled at the mock outrage on Abby’s face.

Wanda gestured to Harlow and Imogen. “The plan is to have this golf cart race and then hang out for however long anyone wants to. If anyone is hungry after, we’re headed for pizza.”

“Cool,” Harlow said. “I’m good for whatever.”

“Me, too,” Imogen said, but she kept tugging at a lock of her hair, a sure sign that she was nervous.

Wanda noticed and reached over, squeezing her hand.

Imogen’s expression cleared, and Harlow wondered if Wanda had some sort of calming magic. If she did, it would explain why she was such a successful realtor.

“Okay, rules,” Wanda said, sounding more serious than ever. “One of us will cast a spell for a countdown clock, and when it hits zero, we take off. The rules are that there are no rules except each golf cart has to make it around that tree down there before heading back, and then whoever passes this starting point first wins.”

Imogen cleared her throat. “What does that mean, no rules?”

“It means we can cast any type of spell we want to slow down the other golf cart,” Brinn said. “Within reason of course. No curses or anything sinister like that.”

“See, we do have rules,” Wanda said, giving Abby a look of superiority.

“Pardon me. It never occurred to me that one of our friends might curse someone,” Abby said with an eyeroll. “But you’re right. We do have some rules.”

“Ah-ha!” Wanda said. “You heard her. She said I’m right, and you all are my witnesses.”

Everyone chuckled and shook their heads as Wanda and Abby continued to hurl harmless barbs at each other.

“Um, okay, so what do the winners get?” Imogen asked.

“Bragging rights!” Wanda and Abby said at the same time and then both dissolved into laughter.

“They used to make actual bets on these races,” Yvette explained. “But when the stakes got to be too ridiculous, Drew put his foot down. That’s Abby and Yvette’s brother-in-law, who also happens to be the town sheriff. Their last bet involved some minor graffiti that didn’t go over well.”

Harlow raised her eyebrows. What had she gotten herself and Imogen into? She didn’t mind bending a rule every now and then if circumstances warranted it, but otherwise, she was a rule follower… at least when it came to the law. “Graffiti? Where?”

Abby rolled her eyes. “It wasn’t that terrible, and I used washable paint. It all came off in the next big rain.”

“What did you paint?” Imogen asked, looking amused.

“The sidewalks of Main Street. I lost, so I had to write Wanda is the queen of the world. Then I painted her face with a crown on her head. It wasn’t great, but it got the point across.”

“Some people still call me Queen Wanda,” Wanda said, blowing on her nails and then pretending to buff them on her shirt. “It was glorious.”

“A few business owners complained,” Abby said, rolling her eyes. “And Drew had to hear all about it. He was not thrilled to say the least.”

“That’s because it didn’t rain for a hundred and forty-two days afterward, and we were in drought conditions so we couldn’t just use a water hose to wash it off,” Wanda said with a hearty laugh. Then she sobered. “Drew was ready to throttle us. He made us promise no more bets on the golf cart races. It hasn’t been the same since.”

“Please,” Abby said. “You’re still Queen Wanda. And if you recall, the last time I lost, I made you your favorite shortbread cookies.”

Wanda brightened. “Oh, yeah. Well that didn’t suck. I love lemon shortbread.”

“Oh, I adore lemon shortbread,” Imogen piped in.

“You’re my kind of girl,” Wanda said and then turned to Abby. “Loser has to bake the winner cookies. Baker’s choice?”

“You’re on!” Abby shook her hand and then climbed back into her golf cart.