Chapter 1

Someone was going to die today. I knew it the same way Gram Mae felt bad weather coming in her knees. Only my aching and stiffness didn’t go away with a hot shower or cold compress. My pain rested square in the center of my chest.

Death was nothing new in my world. After all, one of my husbands was a homicide detective, and I worked alongside him as a part-time victim’s advocate and part-time psychic advisor for the Orange County Police Department. I’d seen more corpses than I cared to count, but this was different. This wasn’t another case. This wasn’t someone else’s grieving family. This wasn’t a stranger lying dead in an unfamiliar house or street or field.

The grim reaper would visit someone I loved today…and frankly, his timing sucked.

My entire family, including the ones I hadn’t seen since my wedding, was coming to celebrate my great-grandmother’s eighty-eighth birthday. I didn’t have time for someone to die. I had beans to bake, eggs to devil, and a gigantic cake to frost.

“Mommy, Gram Mae sent me to check on the macaroni salad—” Jolene tilted her head and studied me with the same Caribbean blue eyes as her father’s. “What’s wrong?”

I wiped my cheeks with the back of my hand and lied. “It’s just pregnancy hormones.”

The former mini-beauty queen glanced from my face to my swollen belly and back again. “What’s really wrong?”

I should have known better than to fib to a girl who spoke to spirits the way most people spoke to themselves. “I’m not sure. Just a feeling I get sometimes.”

“Tessa, where’s the charcoal? I’ve looked everywhere—” Aaron stopped in his tracks. “Why are you crying?”

As if the two of them weren’t enough, Bryson burst into the kitchen and headed straight for the refrigerator. “Is the yellow barbeque sauce in here? I can’t find it.”

When I’d walked down the aisle to not one, but two men, I’d imagined a life filled with love and laughter and double the sexy time. Sure, I had all of that, but I also had twice the honey where’s my…, twice the laundry, and twice the chance of falling into the commode when one of them left the seat up.

I forced myself to smile in hopes some of it would seep into my voice. “It’s on the door between the Darlene’s breastmilk and the ketchup.”

He made a sour face. “Why is your mother’s milk next to our condiments?”

“Gram Mae’s fridge is too crowded.” My voice went warbly, forcing me to clear my throat.

Holding the sauce in one hand and a beer in the other, Bryson gave me a quick once over. “Something wrong?”

“She says it’s hormones.” Jolene folded her arms and gave her fathers a smile that made me wonder who was parenting who.

My men exchanged glances. They’d developed an entire language of nothing more than facial expressions, dimples, and noncommittal sounds. Unless I missed my mark, they’d flipped a mental coin to see who would deal with the crazy pregnant lady.

“I’m fine. Jojo, go tell Gram Mae not to worry. Everything will be ready on time.” I tossed the dish towel on the counter. “Bryson, you should check the ribs. Smells like they’re burning. Aaron, I need you to carry the coolers to the tent.”

All three stared.

Aaron stepped forward and kissed my cheek. One hand on my belly, the other on my shoulder, he whispered, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Peaches and cream. Now go.” I turned to the stove.

Jolene, bless her heart, gave me an unexpected hug. The gesture left me struggling to hold back a fresh set of tears.

Lord, I have no right to ask this, but please, don’t take her or Bryson or Aaron or the baby I’m carrying. I bit my lip and added Dottie and Gram Mae to the list of people I couldn’t live without.

Aaron gave Bryson a quick nod and headed for the door.

Rather than turning to face my remaining hubby, I busied myself by stirring the green beans. “I’m not kidding. There’s smoke billowing out of the grill. Gram Mae will have a fit if the meat is charcoaled.”

“Aaron’s taking care of it.” Bryson moved behind me and took the spoon from my hand. “Talk to me. What has you so upset?”

Dodging the question, I said, “When did you decide who was taking care of what?”

“Around the same time we decided I should be the one to find out why you’re upset.” He wrapped his arms around me and rubbed my belly. “It’s more than hormones. I can sense your unease in your spirit animal. Tell me what’s wrong.”

The warmth of his chest against my back soothed me in ways I still didn’t understand. We were more than husband and wife. We were the last of our kind—mates, two magical beings that up until a year and a half ago, I’d thought only existed in Cherokee fairytales.

As per usual, Bryson was right. My spirit animal, the firebird, hadn’t so much as uttered a chirp since my premonition of an impending death. Normally, physical contact with either of my mates brought her to the surface, but today was far from normal.

“Someone’s going to die today.” My hands flew to my mouth as if to keep more words from falling out. Saying them out loud made them real. I’d given them power by releasing them into the universe.

“People die every day.” He turned me to face him. “But that isn’t what you mean, is it?”

“No.” I nuzzled into his shoulder and breathed in his scent. Beneath the smoky smell of the grill lingered hints of sandalwood and fresh-cut lumber. “I can’t explain it, but I’m never wrong. The last time was the day Charlie…”

Bryson’s arms tightened around me, but he craned his head toward the kitchen window.

I followed his gaze to Aaron and Jolene chasing the chocolate lab away from the barbeque grill. Beyond them, Gram Mae and Dottie hung sheets on the line to dry. Butterflies fluttered, birds sang, and the sun shined in a crisp blue sky.

“Do you know who?” His voice came out as breathless as I felt.

“No. It doesn’t work like that.” I eased from his embrace. “We shouldn’t mention this to Gram Mae and Dottie, or anyone else for that matter. We have a party to pull off. We’ll deal with whatever else lands in our laps when it happens.”

A slow grin crossed Bryson’s face.

I had the feeling I was the punchline in his private joke, but I couldn’t resist touching his dimpled cheeks. “Something funny?”

“That’s a new way of looking at the world for you.” His deep brown eyes twinkled with amusement.

“You’re always telling me to stop borrowing trouble.” I hitched my shoulder. “I thought I’d give it a try.”

“Good.” He kissed my forehead. “Aaron and I will finish cooking and decorating. Go take a nap. I’ll wake you before the party.”

I wanted to argue there was too much to do, but my back hurt. Plus, I was pretty sure my feet and ankles were swollen, though I hadn’t seen them in weeks. “Promise you’ll wake me up if anything goes wrong. I want this day to be perfect for Gram Mae. She’s getting up there. God knows how many more—”

He pulled me back into his arms before I could finish the sentence. “No matter what happens today, we’ll get through it.”

I eased back and frowned at the wet blob of snot and tears on his shirt. “So much for not borrowing trouble.”

Without a word, Bryson scooped me into his arms and carried me to the master bedroom.

“Oh no! Put me down.” I couldn’t help but groan. Don’t get me wrong. I loved getting swept off my feet as much as the next girl, but I’d gained almost thirty pounds during the course of the pregnancy. “You’re going to throw your back out.”

“I’ve got you.” He shouldered the door and laid me on the soft mattress. Gazing over my extra-curvy body, he grinned again. Only this time, his eyes held something other than amusement. “You’re beautiful.”

“You could join me. It won’t take long.” Between the way he stared and his purred words, I forgot about the to-do list and the party and death. I felt like a beached beluga with the sex drive of a rabbit—yet more proof that Mother Nature had a sense of humor.

“Tonight.” He pulled the blanket to my chin and kissed my lips. “Gram Mae would beat me with a switch if I jiggled the baby loose on her big day.”

He had a point.

Chapter 2

“Tessa?” My mother’s idea of a whisper had a lot in common with jackhammers. She touched my shoulder. “Tessa Marie, are you awake?”

She’d pulled me out of such a deep sleep, I didn’t know how to answer the question. My brain sat at the crossroads between dreamland and reality, unsure of which way to turn. I concentrated on keeping my breathing even in the hope that she’d give up and go away.

“Poor thing. She’s exhausted,” Darlene murmured.

Two things dawned on me. She’d brought someone else into my bedroom, and I couldn’t lay there playing opossum all afternoon no matter how tempting. I had a party to host. “I’m up. What time is it?”

“It’s three-thirty.” Darlene planted her backside on the edge of the bed. “You remember Auntie Edna, don’t you?”

Sitting up, I locked gazes with the elderly woman and struggled to place her name. With almost fifty cousins and second-cousins, more cousins once or twice removed, I couldn’t keep track of everyone without consulting Gram Mae’s family Bible.

Auntie Edna smiled. “I haven’t seen you since you were knee-high to a toadstool. I’m Jed’s momma.”

“Nice to see you again.” Jed? I hadn’t seen my third step-father since I was in grade school. The woman hadn’t liked me back then. So much so, she’d forbidden me from calling her Grandma—thus the Auntie Edna business. Why on earth would she pay me a visit today? I gave Darlene a quick what-the-heck glance.

My mother lifted her chin. “Sorry to wake you, but this is a matter of life and death.”

Oh boy. To Darlene a matter of life and death could mean anything from chipped nail polish to cancer, but it usually involved money. “Okay?”

Edna’s voice softened. “It’s Jed. He needs a new liver. The doctors say it’s from too much salt.”

Nodding, I struggled to keep my eyeballs from rolling in their sockets. In the six months my mother had dated, married, and divorced Jed, I couldn’t recall an instance when he hadn’t had a drink in his hand. I highly doubted excess sodium intake had pickled his liver.

Darlene set her hand on mine. “The family can’t afford the medical costs.”

“That’s awful. I can talk to Bryson, but I doubt we have any herbs or tinctures that can heal a failing liver.” As the last of the Nunnehi, the Cherokee version of fairies, we’d served as the medicine man and woman for the local tribe for nearly two years. However, I doubted our magic could cure advanced cirrhosis.

“Oh no. That’s not the sort of help we need.” Darlene laughed too high and too loud. “We need you to help us find something.”

Edna said, “My husband, rest his soul, hid our retirement money. The man didn’t believe in banks.”

“Uh huh.” I seemed to recall Gram Mae going on about my step-grandfather’s shenanigans. He had believed in banks all right, but his withdrawals allegedly involved ski masks and shotguns. “I’d love to help, but—”

“Please. You’re our last hope.” Edna’s voice rose. “Your momma showed me your wedding video. I never would have believed it unless I saw it with my own two eyes.”

“She’s talking about Charlie’s ghost raising your veil.” Darlene beamed with the sort of pride most parents reserved for winning spelling bees and high school graduations.

I needed four more hours of sleep and a pot of coffee before I had this conversation. Yes, the spirit of my deceased grandfather had accompanied me down the aisle. While most of the guests couldn’t see him, everyone present had witnessed my veil mysteriously rising and settling back into place when he’d kissed my cheek.

“All you have to do is reach out to the great beyond and ask a simple question.” Darlene’s voice held an edge of irritation.

I could do a summoning spell, ask the man where he’d hidden the money, and send him back. Only nothing involving magic was as easy peasy as it seemed. One, I had mixed feelings about finding stolen money. Two, spirits didn’t always cooperate. Three, I’d promised Bryson I wouldn’t use magic until I had the baby. “I’m not sure I can help you.”

My mother’s eyes widened. “Why ever not?”

“Even if I did reach him, which I’m not sure I can, there’s no guarantee he’ll share his secrets.”

“Regardless, you have to try.” She spoke as if the matter were settled. “You can’t go and do something spooky in front of all those people and turn around and pretend you aren’t a channel.”

Her word choice surprised me. Alarm bells went off in my head. “Channel?”

“Yes, that’s what people who talk to the dead are called. The technical term is channeling psychic forces.” My mother stiffened her spine. “Some people are downright jealous of your powers.”

The alarm bells turned to tornado sirens. Of course, she had it all wrong. I was neither of those things, but I couldn’t set her straight for several reasons. One, we weren’t alone. Two, the I’m not human talk would lead to her learning she wasn’t my real mother. Three, I didn’t have time for this.

Thankfully, Edna interrupted. Wringing her hands, she glanced from me to my mother and back again. “Jed will die without a new liver.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t—”

Darlene flubbed her lips. “Tessa Marie, you’ve talked to spirits since you were a little girl. You’ve found missing kids and solved countless murders. When will you start believing in yourself and your abilities?”

“Momma…” I scooted to the edge of the bed and pushed to my feet. I didn’t want to have this conversation at all, but I certainly didn’t want to have it while in bed.

My mother stood and smoothed her too-short skirt over her hips. “If you can’t do it, I know someone who can.”

Jolene. My adopted daughter had more psychic talent in her pinkie toe than I did in my entire body, but I’d be damned if I allowed Darlene to drag her into the drama. “Uh uh. No way. You leave her out of this. We’ve worked our butts off to give her a normal life.”

Darlene lifted an eyebrow. I recognized the expression as an ultimatum. One way or the other, she intended to get her way.

“What are you getting out of this?”

She laughed and waved her hand. “That’s none of your concern.”

I turned to Edna. “You promised her a cut of the money?”

The elderly woman pressed her lips into a thin line.

My spidey sense went from a tingle to all out electric shocks. “How much?”

The women exchanged glances.

Darlene frowned. “Fine. She’s giving me fifteen percent of the loot. I’d planned to give you half…for my soon-to-be-born grandbaby. A college fund.”

I met Edna’s gaze. “I’ll do it, but you can keep my cut.”

Darlene bristled but remained blessedly quiet.

The older woman sighed as if she’d set down a heavy load. Against my better judgment, I found myself feeling sorry for her. I couldn’t imagine losing a child, even one that’d knocked back a bottle of whiskey a day for half his life.

The thought stopped me cold. Could Jed’s situation be the cause of my premonition? Would he make it to see another sunrise? Technically, he was family. I doubted a former step-dad would count, but a girl could hope—not that I wished for his death, but if I had to choose…

Edna pulled an old bandana out of her handbag. “This belonged to my husband. I saw one of those psychics on the TV. They needed a personal item to contact the spirit.”

I took a closer look at the fabric and cringed. Holey and faded was one thing, but it looked like it hadn’t been washed in decades. “Is that mud?”

“Blood.” She shrugged. “He had it on him the day he died.”

I took an involuntary step back. “Thanks, but all I need is his full name.”

“Tessa?” Aaron stood in the doorway, staring between me and the bloody bandana. “People are starting to arrive.”

I could have kissed him for saving me from Darlene and her ex-mother-in-law. Instead, I plastered on a smile and turned back to Edna. “Write his full name on a piece of paper and leave it with Darlene. I’ll see what I can do tomorrow night.”

“Why not now?” Once again, the pitch of my mother’s voice made my molars ache.

“Because tomorrow is a new moon, and the spell will work much better.” I lied through my teeth. Human magic relied on moon phases and candles and props, but I wasn’t human. As half-Nunnehi, my powers were as much a part of me as my heart or lungs.

Aaron folded his arms and studied the women as if daring either one of them to say another word. He’d always been protective of me, but since we’d learned I was pregnant, he’d gone full-on papa bear mode.

“Thank you.” Edna stuffed the bandanna back into her bag and headed for the door.

Darlene, on the other hand, smirked and shook her head. “Honestly, Tessa Marie, would it kill you to make a little money off your God given abilities?”

“It just might.” I flashed her a grin. “We better get out there before Gram Mae comes looking for us.”

She huffed and eased past Aaron.

He waited until she’d left the room before whispering, “What was that about?”

“They want me to summon the spirit of a bank robber and ask him where he hid the money.”

He gave me a yeah-right look.

Holding his gaze, I remained silent until he shook his head.

“And you agreed to it?”

“Darlene wasn’t going to take no for an answer.” I walked to the dressing table and pulled my hair into a messy bun. “Stepdad number three needs a new liver and the family can’t afford the medical bills. Besides, my mother threatened to get Jojo involved.”

He made a sound far too close to a growl for my liking.

“Relax.” I slid my arms around him and rested my head on his chest. “I’ll give it a shot. The chances of actually getting information from the spirit are slim to none.”

“Bryson isn’t going to like this.”

“Neither do I, but it’s a teensy little spell. I’ll be careful.”

Aaron embraced me. “Promise me you won’t exert yourself. Magic comes with a price.”

“I promise.” I eased back and stared into his blue eyes. “Kiss me. I need strength before I face the insanity known as my family.”

He brushed his lips across mine. “All families are crazy. We don’t get to choose them. All we can do is love them for who they are.”

“I admire your optimism, but I’ll consider the day a success if we get through this without anyone calling 9-1-1.”