The Whisperers: A Three Book Box Set Read online

  “You sure you want to stick with that, Mik?”

  “Yes.”

  Jed advanced on her. “Two of the hands saw you.”

  “So?”

  “At the lake house. With Manning.”

  “So? I told you he showed up.”

  “What you didn’t mention was that you’re involved with him.”

  “What?”

  “The hands saw you kissing him.”

  “I did not kiss him! I mean, he tried to kiss me, but I didn’t kiss back. Damn, Jed, you should know I —“

  “Are a lying bitch that played us all from the get-go.”

  His words had her taking a step back. “How can you possibly say that?”

  “Just calling it like I see it. Seems I was right all along. You are a witch. A scheming, cheating witch. How’d you do it, Mikayla? You and Manning plan the poisoning? Drive us into financial ruin so your rich boyfriend could step in and snatch up the ranch for you? What was it? Was your family farm not big enough, good enough? You wanted more and decided Rocky River suited you better?”

  “That’s enough!” She wasn’t going to stand there and be accused of something she hadn’t done. “I’d never do that and you know it.”

  “Here’s what I know. I’m going to prove that you and Manning are responsible and when I do, I’ll see you both in jail.”

  He looked over at his brothers. “I’m leaving. Hold things together until I get back.”

  “Where’re you going?” Jake asked.

  “Somewhere away from here.”

  He looked back at Mik. “And when I get back, I want you gone. Get your shit and get out. The next time I lay eyes on you will be through bars.”

  With that, he snatched up his hat and stomped out.

  Mik just stood there, shock rendering her speechless. Jake’s voice drew her attention.

  “Mik, is it true?”

  “No,” she said quietly. “Manning showed up just like I said. And I told him no. To everything. Jake, I’d never do anything like that. I love Jed. I wouldn’t betray him.”

  She looked in the direction of the door. “I thought he knew that.”

  “You have to admit that it does look suspicious,” Jesse commented.

  Mik took a seat at the table. “Yeah, it does. But god as my witness I had nothing to do with it.”

  “I want to believe that, Mik.”

  She looked from him to Jake. Maybe there was a way to prove it. “You’re both like Jed, right?”

  Jake’s eyes widened a bit and he cut a quick look at Jesse. “What do you mean?”

  “You know exactly what I mean. Your abilities.”

  “Jed told you?”

  “He told me a lot. And you don’t have to worry. I’m not going to shoot my mouth off about it.”

  “You mean you believe it?” Jake asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Why?” Jesse asked.

  This was the moment of truth. She took a breath. “Because I’m a witch.”

  “Say what?” Jake’s voice rose an octave in pitch.

  “I’m a witch. And if you’re willing, I can prove to you I wasn’t in cahoots with Manning.”

  “How?” Jesse asked.

  “Just use your ability.”

  “Come again?”

  “I’m going to lower my defenses so you can see inside me.”

  Jake and Jesse looked at each other. “It’s worth a try,” Jake said.

  Jesse nodded and they both looked at Mik. She closed her eyes and opened herself.

  At first, it was just a whisper in her mind, the flutter of a butterfly’s wings against her consciousness. Then it grew. She could feel them.

  And she held nothing back.

  Mik had no idea how much time passed. Their minds didn’t just touch and search hers, they merged with hers and in the giving, she received. She saw both men for who they were. Their hopes and fears, their shortcomings and their strengths.

  And what she saw was admirable. Like their brother, they were men of honor.

  When the connection faded, she opened her eyes and to her surprise saw tears in their eyes.

  “Life hasn’t exactly dealt you a lot of winning hands, has it, Mik?” Jake asked.

  “As many as the next person, I imagine,” she replied.

  “You love him.” Jesse said.

  “Yeah, I do.”

  “Then we have to figure this out before he gets back.”

  “How?”

  Jesse frowned, drumming his fingers on the table. “First, I think you need to confront Manning. Figure out what his game is. And I’m going to look into his life and his family.”

  “What about me?” Jake asked.

  Jesse cut his eyes at Mik before answering. “You need to keep things running around here. That’s more than a full time job. Think you’re up to it?”

  “Damn Skippy.”

  “Good.” Jesse stood and rounded the table to Mik.

  She stood to meet him and he enveloped her in a hug. “Don’t worry, Mik. We’ll set this right.”

  “I hope so.”

  He gave her a kiss on the forehead. “And if the old man doesn’t come to his senses, I’m still available.”

  She smiled and hugged him again. “Thanks, Jesse.”

  “What’s family for?”

  Her heart swelled. She would find a way to prove her innocence to Jed. She wasn’t going to lose him, or the extended family she’d found.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “A call for you, Mr. Manning.”

  Dalton paused in what he was saying to his Aunt Henrietta at the sound of his assistant’s voice on the intercom.

  “Who is it, Diane?”

  “She said her name is Mikayla Morgan and that it’s urgent.”

  “I’ll take it, thank you.”

  “Mikayla Morgan?” Henrietta asked with lifted brows.

  Dalton shrugged and lifted the phone. “Mikayla, this is a surprise.”

  “I need to see you.”

  “Of course. Where shall we meet?”

  “Your office is fine. Where is that exactly?”

  Dalton looked at his aunt and she nodded. He rattled off the address.

  “Fine. See you soon.”

  “That was abrupt,” Henrietta remarked as he hung up the phone.

  “She seemed upset.”

  “That can hardly come as a surprise, now can it? Dalton, I warned you against acting too quickly. She’s obviously emotionally involved with Jed Nash and if she suspects that you had any hand—“

  “As I told you, it was necessary. This is the surest way to turn suspicion on Deidre and make Mikayla feel I’m on her side.”

  “Perhaps, but she may be smarter than you give her credit.”

  “Smarter than me?” He laughed at the notion. “I think not. And despite your misgivings, I do have things well in hand. Once—“

  The door to his office burst open and Mikayla strode in, his assistant one step behind squeaking, “you can’t just walk in there Miss…”

  “It’s fine, Diane.” Dalton stood. “Mikayla I was not expecting you so soon.”

  Mikayla just then realized that he was not alone. An older woman sat in one of the matching chairs in front of the desk. “I’m sorry. You’re in the middle of something.”

  “Mikayla Morgan, this is my aunt, Henrietta Manning-Mills.”

  The older woman stood and turned to face Mikayla. And the world swam crazily around Mik. She shook her head to clear her vision. What the hell was that? And why did the woman look so familiar?

  Mik knew she’d never set eyes on Henrietta Manning-Mills in her life, yet she felt as if she should know her.

  It was just stress. And she couldn’t let anything distract her from her mission. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Mills. I’m sorry to intrude but I need to talk to Rob. Now.”

  Henrietta smiled. “Of course, my dear.” She turned to Dalton. “Darling, I believe I’ll have Diane fetch tea and will wait for you in re
ception.”

  “Thank you,” Dalton replied.

  As soon as Henrietta left, Mik started in on Dalton. “You lied to me.”

  “I did?”

  “Yes! I told you to back off the Rocky River ranch and you said you would. Now the whole family’s in a flap and thinks I’m in cahoots with you. That we’re responsible for poisoning the water so we could get our hands on the ranch.

  “You really fucked things up, Rob and I want to know why. Did you have something to do with poisoning the water?”

  “Mikayla, please. Listen to yourself. And look around. Why on earth would I go to such lengths to procure a financially unsound ranch? Manning Enterprises is not interested in ranching or cattle.”

  “Then why did you want to buy the place?”

  He turned away from her.

  “Answer me. Why did you want to buy the place?”

  “I cannot say.”

  “Oh, hell yes you can!” She rounded the desk and took hold of his arm to turn him to face her.

  “Mikayla, just believe me that I intended no harm to you or anyone on the ranch. I was just trying to undo a terrible wrong.”

  “What does that mean? What wrong? Shit! You did have something to do with it!”

  “No!” He grabbed her hands. “No,” he said more calmly. “Please, you have to believe me.”

  “No, I don’t.”

  “Mikayla, please.”

  “Tell me!” She shouted.

  “Please,” he pleaded.

  “I want the truth and I’m not leaving until I get it.”

  He sighed heavily. “Very well. Since you will not be dissuaded otherwise, I do know who is responsible for the poisoning the water.”

  “Who?”

  “My step-mother.”

  “Say what?”

  “My step-mother, Deidre Manning.”

  Mik’s mind was in a whirl. That made no sense at all. “Why in the world would she want to do that?”

  “Many reasons.”

  “Which are?”

  He looked away from her. “First, she knows that I… that I am interested in you.”

  Mik felt her heart sink. How horribly awkward. She didn’t want to know that Rob was interested in her. But him being interested didn’t seem a very compelling reason to hurt Jed and the ranch.

  “And she thought that would change things?”

  “No, but she knew I would be upset.”

  “So your feelings were—were just a perk for her real reason?”

  “I suppose.”

  “And that real reason?”

  “Let’s just say there’s bad blood between my step-mother and the Nash family that dates back some time.”

  “What the hell does that mean?”

  “I’m sorry, Mikayla. I can’t say any more than that. Please understand. I do want to help but I have to look out for myself in this. Deidre is a very powerful and spiteful woman. If I cross her… well, let’s just say that wouldn’t bode well for my future.”

  Mik considered it. Was he telling the truth? She honestly couldn’t tell. And that bothered her. Normally she could spot a lie, but trying to read Rob Manning was like trying to read a book through its cover.

  Some people were naturally gifted at shielding themselves. Maybe he was one of those folks. Maybe, having a step-mother he obviously feared made it a necessary skill.

  But something nagged at her. Something that had her thinking he wasn’t being entirely honest.

  “It’d really help if you could be a bit more specific.”

  “I’m sorry. All I can tell you is that the evidence is a matter of public record.”

  Now there was a clue. Public record would indicate some type of legal or criminal act. Surely, something Jesse could look into.

  And clearly all she was going to get from Rob.

  “Okay. Fine.”

  “Mikayla, I didn’t mean to cause you any trouble. I was just trying to help.”

  Now that didn’t ring true at all, but she let it slide. “I appreciate any help you can give and apologize again for bursting in on you like this.”

  “No need for apologies. Please, if there’s anything I can do…”

  “Thanks. I’ll let you know.”

  She turned to leave and had reached the door when he spoke up again. “Mikayla, what do you know about your biological parents?”

  That was unexpected. She turned toward him. “Nothing, why?”

  “Just curious. Drive safely and again, if I can be of assistance, don’t hesitate to call.”

  She nodded and left. The woman he’d introduced as his aunt was sitting on a leather sofa in the reception area. As Mikayla passed, their eyes met and something told Mik that she needed to find out more about Henrietta Mills, as well.

  The moment she cleared the building, she snatched out her phone and started making calls. First to Jesse with the information she’d gotten from Rob. Then to Alex and Teddy.

  There had to have been a reason for Rob to ask about her biological parents. How that connected to the trouble at the ranch was a mystery but it was too strange to ignore. There was no one alive to ask about her parents, which meant the only information channel open to her was the coin. And if she was going to take on that evil thing, she’d need her sisters.

  By the time she arrived back at the ranch, Teddy was already there, in the den with Jake.

  “Alex called and said she was on her way,” Teddy announced.

  “Did you bring the coin?”

  Teddy pointed to the coffee table. Mik nodded and looked at Jake. “Any word from Jed?”

  “Not yet.”

  She nodded and wandered over to take a seat on the couch, watching Teddy roam around the room, touching items. Mik knew what she was doing. Gathering impressions. She wondered if Jake realized it.

  Teddy picked up a small frame containing an old sepia toned photo. A frown appeared on her face

  “What?” Mik asked.

  “Jedidiah is missing from the picture.”

  “He wasn’t even born when that was taken.” Jake walked over to her. “That’s of my dad and his father and brothers. That one there’s my dad, Jacob. That’s his father, Jeremiah, and his brothers, Joshua, Jonas, and James.”

  “And Jedidiah? Where was he when this was taken?”

  “There wasn’t a Jedidiah.”

  Teddy frowned again. “Could I remove this photo from the frame?”

  “Sure, why?”

  She took the picture from the frame and moved to the couch to sit beside Mikayla. Her fingers stroked idly over the image and her eyes took on a faraway look. “There was another brother. Jedidiah. He was the second to the youngest.

  “When he was seventeen he got into some trouble. A fight. Yes, fight with a man over…over something that happened between his family and the man’s. The man was bigger. Stronger. But Jedidiah managed to push the man off him. The man fell back.

  She gasped. “He fell onto something. Something that impaled him. He died!”

  “What?”

  “Shhh,” Mik raised a finger to her lips to silence Jake. “Go on, Teddy. The man fell and died.”

  “Yes. Jedidiah was scared. Scared he’d be accused of murder. He ran. Ran away and changed his name.

  “The family never spoke of him again. At least not in public. But someone heard from him. One of the brothers… Jacob! Jacob knew where Jedidiah was. He went to Florida and got a job running cattle. Changed his named to Jason. Jason Weathers.”

  She looked up and blinked. “Guess you have more family that you realized.”

  Jake blinked, looked at her and then Mik. “Is she… is this for real?”

  “Yeah,” Mik answered. “Teddy has psychometric abilities. She can pick up information from objects.”

  “And are you right?” Jake asked. “I mean what you see. Is it right?”

  Teddy nodded and he blew out his breath. “Damn, that means we could have an uncle somewhere in Florida. Maybe cousins. Wait
till I tell Jesse and—“

  “What’s the emergency?” Alex interrupted with her arrival. “Hi, Miss Ellen let me in and said you all were back here. What’s so urgent?”

  “That.” Mik pointed to the envelope on the table.

  “What is it?”

  “The coin.”

  “The one mom and dad left you that knocked you out?”

  “That’d be the one.”

  “So what are we going to do?”

  Mik looked at Teddy. “Well, we’re going to see what happens when Teddy touches it. If she can get anything from it. If she can then I’m going to need you to get in touch with whoever it belonged to.”

  “Get in touch?” Jake asked.

  “Alex can talk to the dead,” Teddy said in a matter-of-fact way.

  “Talk to the dead?”

  “Yeah, you know Ghost Whisperer and all that?”

  “Holy shit!”

  “Yep, we’re a crew aren’t we?” Mik quipped.

  “I’ll say,” Jake agreed. “I mean … well if you’re not real sisters. I mean not blood then why do all of you have … powers?”

  Mik looked at her sisters and then at Jake. “My step-parents, their real parents, were … special. They were Wiccan and they had abilities. Teddy and Alex inherited abilities that were passed down, I guess. Me? I’m just a fluke, I guess. I was lucky to end up with them. They understood and so didn’t make a big deal about it. You know what I mean. When you’re born with an ability it’s just natural to you.”

  “Yeah, I guess. But still … three sexy witches. Gotta admit it’s not an every day thing.”

  “Like a family of sexy Whisperers,” she teased then grew serious. “But back to it. Teddy if that coin does anything and I mean even makes a toe twitch you let go. Okay.”

  “Deal.”

  “Okay, Alex get over here.”

  Everyone gathered around the coffee table and Teddy removed the box housing the coin from the envelope then opened it.

  “I’m a little embarrassed to admit it but that thing gives me the creeps,” Jake said from where he sat on the floor watching.

  “Amen,” Mik replied.

  Teddy plucked the coin from the box. Mik held her breath. “Well?”

  “I’m fine. It’s just … hold on. Hold on. I’m getting something.

  “Holy shit!”

  In the next instant, Teddy’s eyes rolled back in her head and she fell sideways against Mik.