The Witch of Belladonna Bay Read Online Free PDF

this is lovely. Almost … Celtic.” The ring made me wonder about this man I’d lived with and loved for seven years. He’d had it in his family for generations? For all the years we’d been together, I really didn’t know anything about Ben or his family. We’d stayed pretty true to the decision we’d made those seven years ago—the one to keep our past separate from our present. “What and where are you from, Benjamin Mason?”
    â€œWhy, what were you expecting? An African mask? I’m from Massachusetts for Christ’s sake! Why do you white people all think every single black American is a direct descendent of Kunta Kinte? It’s a disease or something. Really, Bronwyn, I thought you’d know better.”
    It was a funny thing to say, especially for Ben who didn’t crack jokes very often, so we laughed together as he placed the ring on my finger.
    We stayed quiet for a little while, until Ben finally asked the question I’d been turning over in my own mind since Jackson’s call.
    â€œDid he do it, Bronwyn? Do you think your brother killed those people?”
    Those people.
    Lottie, who wanted to be a ballerina. My best friend. Beautiful, dark-haired, sparkling Lottie. Me and my brother. Lottie and Grant. The four of us, together forever …
    â€œNo. There is no way on God’s green earth that Paddy killed anyone.” And I knew it, too. I knew it with the sight my mother passed down to me through magic DNA. That’s when the panic started to rise: Patrick was in prison for something he didn’t do. How on earth did that happen?
    â€œBut he was already convicted,” said Ben. “They must have proof.”
    â€œI don’t care what proof they think they have. I’m going to find out what really happened. I owe it to Paddy. I owe it to all of them.”
    I was going to have to use all my instincts, all the “shine” I could muster, to exonerate my brother. And maybe get a chance to redeem myself in the process.
    But how?
    *   *   *
    My plane was delayed and I had to call Jackson, who I knew would send a car to pick me up at the airport. He loves to flaunt his wealth. The phone rang too many times for any good to come of the conversation.
    â€œâ€™lo?”
    He was drunk.
    â€œHey, it’s me. My plane is delayed.”
    Keep it informal, like you saw him yesterday .
    â€œNo worries, darlin’, I’ll let the driver know.”
    I knew it.
    â€œYou don’t have to send anyone, I can rent a car when I get in.”
    â€œNope. You’ll come home in style, sugar.” Sugar. I hadn’t heard that in a dog’s age. I broke out in a cold sweat right then. Maybe I shouldn’t go. But there was Paddy. Who would fight for him if I didn’t? Jackson’s fighting power had to be depleted. And Lottie deserved retribution … and I had a niece who was growing up alone. I had to go.
    Then there was Grant.
    It seemed an age since I’d loved him …
    â€œHow’s Byrd?” I asked abruptly, pulling myself back from the edge. I couldn’t start thinking about Grant or I’d never get on the plane, period.
    He cleared his throat. “Byrd? Well, now. What should I tell you about our girl? I suppose you should know she has strange ways. Not like yours or Minny’s, more like your mama’s were when I met her, strong. Only she likes ’em and uses ’em all the time. Oh, and don’t let this one shock you. She looks like your mama, too. Sometimes I can’t even look into those green eyes of hers.”
    She has strange ways. So much in one little sentence. Byrd had the Green blood coursing through her. That, mixed up with whatever Stella gave her, meant Byrd was destined to shine.
    Paddy and I believed in magic. When you’re little, everything around you is “normal.” It’s simply what you know . Besides,