enjoy a cooking lesson with our moms while we ran an errand.”
I furrowed my brow. “What are we going to do?”
“I thought we could take a quick walk out to the bluff,” Bay said. “With candles.”
Crap. She wanted to do a spell. “What kind of candles?”
“The blue ones.”
The blue candles, in addition to smelling like blueberries, are used in locator spells. Now that she brought it up, I didn’t know why we hadn’t thought of it before. “That’s a good idea,” I said, forcing a smile on my face for Annie’s benefit. “Do you think we should do it now, though?”
“I think we should do it before Landon and Chief Terry get here for dinner,” Bay said pointedly. Even though both men knew about our witchy secret, neither of them liked to engage – or witness – our activities unless they absolutely had to.
Annie’s gaze bounced between us curiously.
“Let’s do it,” I said, getting to my feet. “Come on, Annie.” I held out my hand. “I know three women who are going to shower you with frosting and cake while you cook. I promise it will be fun.”
I had her at frosting. She jumped up and followed me into the kitchen.
“What’s going on?” Winnie asked, shifting her gaze from the roast she was tending as we entered.
“We were hoping you guys would give Annie a cooking lesson,” Bay said.
“And what are you going to do?” Marnie asked, suspicious.
“We’re going to take the blue candles out to the bluff for a little bit,” I said.
The three women soaked in my admission.
“We would love to teach Annie to cook,” Mom said, collecting the small girl from me smoothly. “I’m betting you want to learn how to make some vanilla frosting for a red velvet cake, don’t you?”
Annie nodded eagerly.
“Thanks,” I said. “We won’t be gone long.” I sent a reassuring look in Annie’s direction. “And we won’t be far.”
“I DON’T understand why we’re doing this,” Clove said, clasping her hands together as she looked around the bluff.
She’s such a worrier. It’s beyond annoying. When we were in high school, she was the one who would admit to misdeeds before we were even called into the principal’s office.
The piece of property where The Overlook is located has been in our possession for generations. The Overlook wasn’t always an inn. In fact, it’s only been an inn for several years. Before expanding on the homestead, the family was known for selling homemade goods and food. That’s how we made our living. Eventually, we turned the big house into a bed and breakfast, and then expanded our brand a little every year. Since expansive construction on the inn, our family has flourished. Our moms have found a calling, and we’re exceedingly popular. The one thing we all agreed on, though, was that the bluff would remain untouched. That’s why none of the expansion on the property has ever encroached on its beauty.
“We’re going to do a locator spell,” Bay said.
“To find Belinda, I know,” Clove said. “How do we even know it will work? We don’t have anything of Belinda’s to use for the spell.”
“We have her daughter,” I pointed out.
“Then why isn’t she out here?”
“Because we don’t want to traumatize her even more,” Bay said, shooting Clove a disgusted look. “If you don’t want to be here, then go. No one wants to make you do anything you don’t want to do. I mean, we’re just trying to help a small child find her mother. Of course, your needs should come first.”
I snickered. Bay was pushing Clove’s buttons on purpose. I usually did that, but Annie’s arrival had knocked me off my game.
“I didn’t say I didn’t want to help,” Clove grumbled.
“Then shut up and help,” I snapped. I reached into the duffel bag at my feet and pulled out a few candles. We’d returned to the guesthouse long enough to gather supplies, and while I knew Annie was perfectly safe with our mothers, I didn’t like the idea of