Vision of the Witch (Witches of Keating Hollow Book 10) Read online

  Vision of the Witch

  Witches of Keating Hollow, Book 10

  Deanna Chase

  Bayou Moon Press, LLC

  Copyright © 2021 by Deanna Chase

  Editing: Angie Ramey

  Cover image: © Ravven

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in, or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of this book.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locals, business establishments, or persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.

  Bayou Moon Press, LLC

  www.deannachase.com

  Printed in the United States of America

  Contents

  About This Book

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Deanna’s Book List

  About the Author

  About This Book

  Amelia Holiday never thought she’d be a single mother. But when the father of her child disappears without a trace, that’s exactly what she’ll be. Moving to the enchanted village of Keating Hollow was supposed to be her fresh start. Only it appears her past has followed her. Now she has to decide if she can trust again or if she’s destined to make the same mistakes.

  Grayson Riley met the woman of his dreams. The problem? He’s a man with secrets and when he had to go back to his old life, he had no choice but to leave her. Now his entire life has blown up, and with the help of his visions, he’s looking for a do-over. But will the woman he loves forgive him? Or will he end up losing everything he never knew he wanted?

  Chapter 1

  Amelia Holiday watched as all the color drained from Grayson Riley’s handsome face. That’s what happened when one sprung the news on an ex that he was going to be a daddy in five months.

  “What—I mean how?” he sputtered, his dark eyes wide and full of panic.

  “I think you know how,” Amelia said dryly. “You do remember how we spent those few months before you disappeared last December, right?”

  “Yes, but…” He shook his head, his forehead creased in confusion. “We used protection.”

  Amelia snorted out a laugh. “Yeah. We did. Clearly it failed.” She slipped past him, ignoring the light roar of the festivities happening all around them. They were at Brian and Shannon’s wedding reception at the Pelsh Winery in Keating Hollow, three thousand miles away from the town where they’d last spoken. Every cell in her body was screaming for her to get out of there. To head home and climb into bed under the covers where she didn’t have to deal with him. But there was more to say, and if she didn’t spit it out right then, she’d only have to tell him later. “But don’t worry, Grayson. I don’t want or need anything from you. No one is trying to trap you into anything remotely resembling commitment. I just thought you had a right to know. I’ve got it from here.”

  Not waiting for a response, Amelia hurried out of the reception hall into the night. The cool February air enveloped her, making it hard to breathe. Or was it more from the reality that she’d just bolted after telling Grayson she was pregnant with his child? She wasn’t sure she even wanted to know the answer to that question.

  Her heels clattered on the brick walkway as she made a beeline for her car in the large parking lot off to the right.

  “Amelia! Wait!” Grayson called from behind her.

  Surprise stopped her in her tracks. Although, if she were in her right mind, she would’ve realized he’d follow her. What decent man wouldn’t after the bomb she’d dropped? The problem was that Grayson Riley didn’t do relationships. He wasn’t the marrying type, and kids were completely out of the question. According to him, his life wasn’t built for anything traditional.

  Why? She had no idea. She glanced back at the tall man in his expensive-looking wool pants and fitted white button-down shirt. Damn. Why did he have to be so handsome? His charm and good looks were exactly what had gotten her into her current mess. She needed to leave. Now. “There isn’t anything to say, Grayson.” Amelia gave him a sad smile. “I already know your position on this. There’s no need to talk about anything.”

  He stopped right in front of her and shook his head. “Of course there is. You’re pregnant with my child.”

  She shrugged. “So? I’m having the baby. I’ll be raising her here in Keating Hollow. What else is there to say?”

  “Her?” he asked with an air of awe.

  “Yes,” she said quietly. “I just found out a few days ago.”

  He took a step forward, his gorgeous face alight with wonder as he cupped her cheek with his palm. “You’re having our baby. That’s… incredible.”

  Amelia stared at him, her heart racing. All the emotion of the last few months swarmed inside of her, threatening to overwhelm her. This man, the one she’d fallen head-over-heels for, hadn’t run the moment he heard the news. How was that possible? Had she gotten everything wrong? Was he pleased by her announcement?

  Suddenly, Grayson’s expression hardened, and he took a step back, dropping his hand and leaving her cheek cold. “I came looking for you last month. I left my number at the fire station. Why didn’t you call me?”

  Oh, hell. She knew instantly that she’d messed up. Before, when he’d disappeared without a trace, she’d been the aggrieved party. How was she supposed to tell him about the pregnancy when she hadn’t been able to even find him? But he was right. He had left his number at the fire station, and she’d ignored him. She’d told herself she’d get in touch… eventually. If there hadn’t been a baby involved, she’d have had every right to ignore him. To never even speak to him again after he pulled his disappearing act. However, this was different. But she’d be damned if she was going to apologize.

  After clearing her throat, she crossed her arms over her chest, lifted her chin defiantly, and said, “I was planning to call. I just wasn’t ready yet. But I would have called.”

  “It’s been two weeks.” There was anger in his tight voice.

  “Right. And it took you over two months to try to find me,” she spat out. “You’re the one who changed your number. You’re the one who said you didn’t do love. What was I supposed to do? Hire a private investigator?”

  He winced at her words and glanced away, fixating his gaze on the rows of grape vines that were just visible under the moonlight.

  “You know, I did think about hiring a PI,” she continued. “But then after cursing you to hell and back, I decided you weren’t worth the trouble.” That was a lie. But he’d hurt her, and in that moment, all she wanted to do was repay him the favor. “My daughter doesn’t need a father who has ‘no room in his life for commitments.’” It’s what he’d said to her after she’d bared her
heart and told him she loved him. His rejection had been immediate, and ten minutes later, he was gone. She spun, intending to stalk off, but he reached out and gently grabbed her wrist.

  “Amelia, please.”

  The pain in his voice stopped her. She glanced back at him. “Please what?”

  “Can we go back to my place and talk? It’s cold out here and we have things to discuss.”

  She blinked. “You’re living here in Keating Hollow now?”

  He nodded.

  “Why?”

  “I already told you. I’m working for a beverage distributor now. This is my territory.”

  “Just Keating Hollow?” That couldn’t be true. The town wasn’t big enough to support its own sales rep.

  “No. I have a large portion of the northern California coast. I could’ve settled anywhere, but Keating Hollow is where…” He paused and ran a hand through his thick dark hair. “Well, when I was here last, I fell in love with it. The people are down-to-earth, and it just felt right.”

  Amelia narrowed her eyes at him. “Did you make that decision before or after you realized I live here?”

  He glanced away again, looking uncomfortable. But then he straightened his spine and stared right at her. Just as he began to open his mouth, she put her hand up, stopping him.

  “No. Don’t tell me. I don’t think I want to know.” She sucked in a breath, knowing that he was right. They did need to talk, and she considered his request. She’d prefer to go somewhere public so that she didn’t have to be alone with him. But it was getting late, and everywhere she could think of would either be closed due to the wedding or was already booked up due to Valentine’s Day. She swallowed a groan. Valentine’s Day. Of course.

  “Amelia?” The sound of her brother’s voice cut through the silence that hung between her and Grayson. “Are you all right?”

  “Yes. Of course I am,” she said, giving her brother a reassuring smile.

  Rex eyed Grayson with suspicion. “Who’s this, and what are you doing out here in the cold?”

  Amelia sighed. “We were just talking. Grayson Riley, this is Rex Holiday, my brother.”

  Grayson turned to Rex and held his hand out. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

  Rex kept his hands in his jacket pockets and eyed Grayson’s hand. He raised his gaze and frowned at the other man. “I wish I could say the same.”

  “I imagine I deserve that.” Grayson shoved his hands in his pants pockets and turned to Amelia.

  Rex scoffed and opened his mouth to say something else, but Amelia cut him off.

  “That’s enough, Rex. I can fight my own battles.” The last thing she needed was for Rex to insert himself into this mess. He was her protective older brother, and who knew what he’d say to the man who’d broken her heart and knocked her up.

  “Fine. But let’s get you back inside. It’s too cold for you to be standing out here. You don’t even have your coat.” Rex wrapped an arm around her and tried to steer her back toward the party.

  Amelia didn’t budge as she shook her head at him. “I’m not going back in there.”

  “Okay,” Rex said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. “Let me just tell Holly I’m going to run you home and then I’ll be right back.”

  “I don’t need—oh. Damn.” She’d been so flustered by seeing Grayson again that she’d forgotten she’d come to the wedding with her brother and Holly. Her car was sitting in her garage halfway up the mountain. “You don’t need to do that,” she said, stopping him from texting Holly. “I’ll just go back inside until you’re ready to go.”

  Rex glanced down at her. “You look exhausted. It’s not a problem to take you home.”

  “I’ll do it,” Grayson said. “We were going to go somewhere and talk anyway.”

  “No,” Rex said, shaking his head. “I’ve got this handled.”

  Amelia stared at her brother accusingly. “I can’t believe you.”

  “What?” Rex asked. “I didn’t do anything.”

  She snorted. “You just went all caveman on me. Did you ever stop to think that maybe I can answer for myself?”

  Rex blinked at her and then pulled her into a hug and whispered, “Sorry, sis. Are you sure you want to go with him?”

  She nodded. “I’m sure. We have to work this out, and it’s better we do it now than later.”

  Tightening his hold on her, he said, “Call me if you need anything. And let me know when you’re home safe.”

  Amelia chuckled. “He’s not dangerous, you know.”

  Rex let her go and gave Grayson a skeptical look. “We’ll see.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Go back in before Holly starts to worry. I’m fine.”

  “If you say so.” Rex turned to Grayson. Her brother was a few inches shorter than her ex and had a slimmer build, but his intimidating expression was enough to make Amelia want to take a step back. Whoa. Her normally easygoing brother had turned into someone she barely recognized.

  “I’ll take care of her,” Grayson said, appearing unfazed.

  “I doubt that.” Rex narrowed his eyes at the other man. “But if you hurt her, you’ll have me and half this town to answer to.”

  Grayson nodded. “I would expect no less.”

  Rex took a step back, his expression turning to one of understanding, and then nodded to Amelia. “See you at your place.”

  “We’re going to Grayson’s,” she said, just so he wouldn’t worry if she wasn’t home when they arrived. Rex and Holly lived in Christmas Grove and were staying with her for the weekend.

  He frowned at that but didn’t say anything as he turned to go back inside.

  “Ready?” Grayson asked her.

  “Was that some sort of bro code that just went down between you and my brother?” she asked as he led her to a gray Toyota Highlander.

  “It was just a mutual understanding.” He opened the passenger door for her.

  “What? The one that says you understand that he’ll remove your balls with a spoon if you hurt me?” she asked.

  He chuckled. “Pretty much.” Grayson nodded to the door. “Get in before you get hypothermia.”

  “It’s not that cold,” she said as she climbed into the passenger seat.

  “Not yet, but it will be.” He glanced around at the darkness. “Looks like snow’s coming.”

  “Snow?” She smirked at him, knowing already that the forecast called for a little drizzle and that it wasn’t going to get below forty degrees that evening. “Is that wishful thinking or did you just have a vision?”

  “I guess we’ll just have to wait and find out.”

  Chapter 2

  Grayson couldn’t stop hearing Amelia’s words repeat in his mind. Congratulations, Grayson. You’re going to be a daddy in about five months. That statement had scared the shit out of him. But if he was honest, it also did something to his insides that he couldn’t quite explain. There was an ache in his chest that had made him feel both warm and chilled all over.

  What exactly was that about? Maybe he was getting a cold. He let out a little scoff and steered his Toyota down Main Street.

  “What was that for?” Amelia asked, peering at him from the passenger seat.

  He glanced at her, still taken aback by the change in her appearance. He’d always known her as a blonde. But now, her hair was brown and slightly longer than it had been. There’d been no mistaking the curve of her hips or those big brown eyes of hers, though. “I was just… It’s nothing.”

  “Right.”

  He could almost hear the eyeroll in her tone. And who could blame her? Grayson was the poster child for keeping secrets. He understood her frustration with him. During the time they’d dated, he’d told her almost nothing about himself. Not anything that was important anyway. It still made him wonder why she’d fallen for him or if she’d only thought she had. How could anyone fall in love with someone who never opened up to them? “Sorry,” he said, giving her an apologetic smile. “I
t really was nothing important. Just me being an idiot.”

  “Again?” she asked.

  Grayson couldn’t help it; he laughed. She had every right to call him out on his crap. In fact, it was one of the things that had drawn him to her in the first place. She was strong, self-confident, and definitely didn’t need him or any other man in her life to be a success. And even though he knew she didn’t need him, he desperately wanted to take care of her. But he’d been down that road before with a woman he’d cared about, and the results had been disastrous. That wasn’t a path he could let himself go down again. Not that Amelia would allow it anyway. “It appears to be a pattern.”

  “I’d say so.” She stared out the window at the magical town that was covered in red and pink lights.

  Main Street had gone all out for Valentine’s Day. The glass globes on the streetlights had been switched to heart-shaped covers; the water in the fountain in the park where they held the farmer’s market had been replaced with bubbling pink champagne; each store display had a magical theme; and animated cupids could be spotted periodically, running around shooting their plush arrows at couples strolling down the street. He’d even heard that Incantation Café was selling hot chocolate love potions. Grayson said a silent thanks that he’d managed to avoid that particular concoction. Adding that complication was the last thing he needed.

  “It’s really something, isn’t it?” Grayson said.

  “What is?” Amelia turned to him, placing her left hand on her lower stomach.