August 2, Friday

I WAS sitting on the porch, enjoying a plate of fresh scrambled eggs, but my gaze kept wandering in the direction of the graveyard, looking for… I didn't know what.

I wasn't sure who to report the upended slab of granite to—or if it was even my responsibility. I considered calling Sawyer, but realized I didn't have a contact number for him. It occurred to me all I had to do was ride my bike into the small town and ask literally anyone on the sidewalk how I could reach him, but I didn't want to seem… needy.

The obvious culprits were the people who'd gathered in the graveyard, although I couldn't be certain it hadn't happened before they arrived. Plus Sawyer had told me the town of Irving didn't have its own police department but instead depended on the nearby city of Birmingham to provide protection. And this seemed like a small potatoes problem to report to a department that undoubtedly had more serious crimes to solve.

That said, I felt as if I needed to officially document the incident. I was looking up the phone number for the property agent when I heard a vehicle approaching. To my relief, it was the orange El Camino that the groundskeeper Kelly drove.

The car came to a stop and Kelly leaned over to wave through the passenger side window.

"Is the graveyard gate unlocked?"

"Yes."

"I'll mow there first, then I'll come back to mow your grass and clean the coop."

"Okay. Oh, by the way—"

But Kelly was already gone, kicking up dust as the car sped toward the graveyard. I assumed she'd see the stone and could advise me on what to do, if anything.

I finished eating my eggs, then decided to walk down to the cemetery to get Kelly's take on things. I had walked a few yards when I saw the El Camino tearing toward me at a frightening speed. I jumped into the ditch to get out of the way. The car screeched to a halt next to me. Kelly's eyes bulged. "I'm outta here. Sorry, but you need to find someone to replace me."

My pulse blipped with alarm. "What? Why?"

"I don't mess with witchcraft. People told me this place was cursed, but I took a chance since Rose is gone."

"Kelly, please—I need your help."

Kelly barked out a dry laugh. "You need more help than I can offer. Good luck." The car-with-a-truckbed tore away in a cloud of dust, with the mower in the back bouncing up and down.

"Wait!" I shouted, waving my arms and coughing. "Come back!" But she didn't, of course.

A sense of déjà vu washed over me, and I stopped. I'd said those exact words as Curtis had fled in the new SUV I had purchased, stuffed with clothes and furniture I also had purchased. His betrayal had led me to come to this remote place to write a romance novel that would reclaim my reputation, career, and financial security.

Instead, one month in I had a fried laptop, a dirty chicken coop, and a hungry goat on my hands, plus shin-deep grass around the house, a cemetery that needed to be mowed… and possibly an escaped witch.