Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 136425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 682(@200wpm)___ 546(@250wpm)___ 455(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 136425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 682(@200wpm)___ 546(@250wpm)___ 455(@300wpm)
Kala waved him off. “Nah, he’s not going anywhere without his dorogaya. Yeah, we’re going to talk about that. He’s not supposed to speak anything but some high-school level Spanish. Kenz, Tash, and I have had entire conversations we thought he didn’t understand.”
“Did you talk about how hot he is?” It’s what Devi would have talked about.
“No. We might have talked about how we thought he was a plant,” Kala replied. “And long detailed discussions of our periods. We switch to Russian for those to save tender male ears. Tell me about Lacey Rook. I’m serious, Dev. She doesn’t exist.”
“Again, like you don’t exist,” Devi reiterated.
“My point exactly. Zach isn’t thinking straight.” Kala glanced around. “Though I will admit, this place is cool. You know I’ve thought I would make a good bog witch. Like get a cottage in the woods and have a bunch of animals around me.”
“That dream died when we got married.” Cooper moved toward Devi, his arms out. “Did I thank you for all your help? She was both beautiful and comfortable. You did a fabulous job, and the lingerie was chef’s kiss.”
She hugged him. She hadn’t realized how much she missed her family. She’d been so focused on Zach and her own pinging between misery and curiosity. She’d given her cousins permission to raid her apartment. She had lots of samples there, and she was happy they had gotten used. “I’m glad you liked it. I’m sorry you had to cut your honeymoon short to come find me. I really am okay.”
“I’m not sure about that.” Lou looked concerned, and not about her boyfriend. “I’ve discovered some unsettling rumors on the Dark Web. I know it sounds crazy that we went to all this trouble to find you, but Kala wants to make sure you know what you’re getting into.”
“A call might have worked.” Devi was well aware that she needed some pants. Wales was chilly even at this time of the year.
“How could I know he wasn’t influencing you?” Kala asked as Cooper managed to get the rope off her. He loosened it and let her gracefully step out. “Also, I didn’t want to have this meeting over the Internet. I wanted to lay eyes on you. I mean not as much of you as I actually saw, but eyes. Babe, something’s wrong here.” Her cousin leaned over and gently eased Miss Rachel down. The other chickens clucked around her. “I have this feeling in my gut. Something’s wrong.”
“I do not understand this place.” TJ jogged up. “First, it’s the goose. Like I’m never going to think of geese as nice again. I’ll eat that motherfucker if someone wants to roast him up. Then I finally get away and a goat tries to headbutt me.”
Cooper was obviously taking his wife’s instincts seriously. He had his hand on his gun and was taking careful measure of the area around them. “We should move inside. Kala has a bad feeling.”
“Maybe we could go inside and get some dinner,” TJ suggested.
“What did you say the chickens were named?” Kala asked, her hands in fists on her hips. She didn’t seem deeply concerned they were about to be murdered. That wasn’t her cousin’s we’re-in-physical-trouble face. It was her thinking face. She was putting things together.
Devi had zero idea what the chickens’ names had to do with what was going on in Kala’s head, but she offered them up. “You know Miss Rachel. That’s Miss Callie and Miss Jen.”
Kala’s eyes closed, and her expression went blank. “And the goose who only gets violent when he isn’t left alone is Caleb. The cows?”
“What’s going on, babe?” Cooper asked.
“Mel and Cass,” Devi replied, an uneasy feeling in her gut.
“Fuck me.” Kala’s eyes opened, and that was her I’m-going-to-murder-someone face. Yeah, she’d seen that expression a lot growing up.
“That is something you and Cooper should talk about.” TJ had a hand on his gut. “I need a sandwich. Devi, do y’all have any ham?”
“I suspect there is no ham here, TJ,” Kala said between gritted teeth. “Tell me something, cousin. Didn’t you spend some time in Bliss? Do your eyes not work? Or has she gone the full-on Mission Impossible route and she’s wearing someone else’s face? I suppose she could have used her skills in the dark arts to change her appearance. It’s what fucking demons do.”
Lou gasped. “No. No. It can’t be her. Didn’t you see her dad a couple of weeks ago?”
Cooper moved near Lou as though they needed to stand together to face whatever was coming.
“I haven’t been to Bliss in years. Gosh, I think the last time I spent any real time there I was like nine. I went to Carys’s wedding, but I had an interview. I stayed one night and I was on a plane in the morning. TJ went with Seth and Travis more often than I did. I spent summers in Dallas with my friends.” She was confused. Bliss was a small town in Colorado where her Uncle Ian owned a cabin. He spent many weeks during summers there and sometimes went to ski as well. So did the Dean-Miles family, and she’d gone with Brianna a couple of times, but when she was a teen she’d preferred to spend her summers at home.