| |
After lunch, I took David and Mama’s letters out to Henry’s spot, halfway along the trail betwixt my roost and Fame’s. I needed to visit the cemetery where his tombstone stood, but that empty grave didn’t feel like him.
This did, right here where I found his blood that long ago day, even though Nora cleansed the spot for me and sent Henry’s spirit off into the Great Beyond. The ache I felt back then echoed through me, and my heart squeezed tight on remembered sorrow.
“Henry,” I whispered.
The wind rustled the leaves around the little stone angel planted beside the lone bench, but Henry’s voice weren’t a part of it no more.
I shoulda missed it. Part of me did. But the bigger part of me was glad he’d found some peace now.
I plopped my hiney down on the bench and turned my face to the sun warming the air, then I put Mama’s letter on the bench beside me and opened David’s.
Sunny, it read. I think I’m being followed.
I sat up straight and planted my boots in the dirt. That didn’t sound good a’tall, nor did it feel good. Dang me, why hadn’t I opened his letter sooner?
I scanned it real quick, but the message didn’t get no better, so I set it aside and ripped into Mama’s.
Baby girl, it read, and I knowed right then that trouble was afoot.
I dug out my cellphone and called Sheriff Treadwell. Soon as he answered, I said, “I need a favor.”
Something squeaked on his end of things, then he said, kindly wary and drawn out, “Sure.”
“Can you check on Mama real quick? I think she might be in trouble.”
“Actually, I was about to call you. There’s been some trouble at the state prison. Can you meet me at my office?”
My hand tightened on my phone and dread twisted my stomach into knots. “What’s wrong?”
“Just meet me at my office. And Sunny?”
“Yeah?”
“Make it quick.”
“I will,” I said, though my tongue was so clumsy, I was surprised the words come out right.
I hung up without saying another word and called Riley, then I picked them letters up and headed back to the trailer, trying hard not to ponder all the trouble Mama and David coulda got into when I weren’t looking.
––––––––
Coming soon
––––––––
Vampire Alley
(Sunshine Walkingstick, Book 6)
Sign up for my newsletter to receive a release notice.
* * *
Thank you for reading Devil’s Branch. Please leave a review at your favorite online retailer.
––––––––
Dedication:
For Elizabeth Pruett, a fellow lover of the things that go bump in the night.
––––––––
Acknowledgments:
Many thanks to the members of the Celia Roman Facebook group for their support and encouragement: Amy Harrington Durden, Angela Hodges Howard, Carla Moore, Elizabeth Pruett, Jeanie Wright, Kathy Presley, Mary Flores, Phyllis Short Jeter, Ruth McDade-Wixom, and the other members who help make the group such an awesome place to hang out. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
––––––––
About the Author:
Celia Roman lives in the Southern Appalachians, surrounded by generations of family and myth. Her stories are inspired by a natural interest in the paranormal and too many late night reruns of Supernatural. Find her online at:
––––––––
More by Celia Roman
Sunshine Walkingstick Series
Vampire Alley
Kaya Fox Series
Vanessa Kinley, Witch PI Series
The Single Witch’s Guide to Online Dating
Between a Witch and a Hard Place
Black Witch Rising
A Witch Called Justice
––––––––
Sign up for my newsletter to receive news, bonus content, exclusive giveaways, and more.
