Scheming Warlocks: Bellarose Cat Cafe, #3

By L.A. Boruff, Lia Davis and Lacey Carter

Rae is the baby of the family. The only thing she's good at is avoiding responsibility. But when she's forced to come home, her daughter shows up, and she has to share a house with her sisters, everything changes.
Then, things get worse. There's a curse on her family, and her sisters go missing. Rae is suddenly responsible for a household full of people, trying to break the curse, and having to follow the clues to her sisters' whereabouts.
On her search, she meets a handsome police officer who steals her heart in a way no man has before. But after a lifetime of poor choices, she's determined fight for her feelings and stays focused.
Only, what if it's not enough? What if evil warlocks and confusing spells destroy Rae's confidence and stop her from rescuing her sisters?
Hopefully not, or the town might not survive the loss of the three powerful sisters.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Phantom Pen
• Release date: Aug 23, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223341451

L.A. Boruff

L.A. Boruff, a celebrated USA Today Bestselling author, also known by the pen names Lainie Anderson and Lainie Davis, calls the picturesque landscapes of East Tennessee home. Lainie lives with her husband, three children, and a perpetually increasing feline entourage as she weaves captivating tales that transport readers to realms beyond imagination.When Lainie isn't not immersed in the creation of fantastical worlds, she indulges in her love for literature, binging TV shows, and occasionally getting sidetracked by the infinite scroll of social media. Lainie's literary passions traverse the supernatural, with a particular affinity for vampires, a fascination that fuels the pages of her compelling stories.In between crafting gripping narratives, L.A. finds solace in the melodies of heavy metal music, a passion that aligns seamlessly with her eclectic tastes. With a bucket list featuring legendary bands such as AC/DC and Alice Cooper, Lainie eagerly anticipates the day when she can see them live. As Lainie continues to enchant readers with her imaginative tales, she welcomes fans to contact her and, if she's lucky, a concert invitation.

Book preview

1

RAE

Boredom and frustration had me organizing stuff for trivia night and calculating how much money we needed for the property purchase, and still, Heather and Brady were gone. It had been hours, and when I suggested they pick up things to have a moment to themselves, this wasn't what I had in mind.

The potion had been finished for a while now, but we couldn't use it to lift the curse without the power of three, so we desperately needed Heather. Where was she? What was keeping her? It better be something sexy with her man.

I glanced at the clock on the stove, and the worry was getting harder to ignore as I finished cleaning the kitchen to a pristine condition, which wasn't hard, since Aunt Fiona left the house in an impeccable condition. The truth was, that as much as I wanted Heather to be out having fun, my gut said that wasn’t why she was gone.

After throwing the sponge into the sink, I snapped off the cleaning gloves, stomped over to my phone, and called Heather again. It rang several times and then went to her voicemail. I tried Brady's, and the same thing happened.

Heather knew the potion needed to be finished and that we needed to cast the circle. This was important. She wouldn't be unreachable and gone for so long.

Tapping my phone against my chin, I didn't want to sound the alarm with Cate and the girls yet, but this dreaded knot kept tightening inside my gut. Pacing around the kitchen, glancing at my phone and the clock after every circle around the island, I threw my hands in the air. Then, I made my way to the front of the house and went outside—this desire to be out in the open air called to me like something fierce.

I paced around the front driveway, trying to understand why I had this pull from something I wasn't aware of. Since when did I freak out because someone was running late? Since when did I feel like something wanted to drag me through the town? It was weird.

Hesitantly, I headed back up the front ramp we created for Cate, and I sat down rocking in the chair, resting my head against the back. The light warm breeze surrounded me, and it held a bit of agitation as if it wanted to direct me somewhere.

No matter how much I wracked my brain, nothing was coming together. My emotions were getting heavier, and I couldn't pinpoint what it meant. All I knew was that something was severely wrong, but I couldn't figure out what.

Needing to check on the girls, I went upstairs, and found they were all curled up on Jules' bed watching a movie. The sight of them eased a little bit of the pressure on my chest. At least they were safe and happy.

Everything okay? Jules asked.

I forced a smile. Oh, yeah, everything's fine. I just wanted to check in and see if you need anything?

The girls looked around the bed with all the junk food and soda cans everywhere. They laughed, and Allie said, I think we're good.

Smiling, I agreed and left them to watch their movie.

Cate was in the TV room, lying on a recliner, laughing and scratching as she watched Seinfeld. The worry intensified as I watched her closely. I hoped all the itching from the curse hadn’t made her snap. Was she laughing because it was funny or because she’d lost her mind?

Walking in, I sat on a chair next to Cate. Heather and Brady aren't back yet, and I'm getting worried.

Cate glanced over at me with her swollen, bloodshot eyes and smirked. They probably got caught up… in each other. Then she tried to do the awkward wink that always made us cringe when she did it. It wasn't natural with the swelling.

My older sister actually cackled when she caught sight of the look on my face. Rae, they're fine. They just needed time alone.

I don't think that's the case. I don't know why, but I'm getting bad vibes, and I'm restless. I can't stay still. There's this constant pull, but I can't tell what for.

Cate opened her mouth to answer when a knock had us looking toward the front of the house.

Are you expecting anyone? I asked.

No, are you?

No. Rising from the chair, I kept my nerves in check, hoping it wasn't a cop with bad news. I reached the front door, and Mayor Nick stood on our front porch.

Mayor, what a surprise. Are you here for Cate?

Cate walked up behind us. Nick, hi. Did we have a date? Her brows furrowed as she tried to remember if they had made arrangements.

No, I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd stop by and say hi.

Cate continued scratching. That's kind of you. Would you like to come in?

Yes, thank you.

Stepping back to let him into the house, another jolt of that unexplainable worry hit me hard. Cate led the mayor toward the kitchen when I shouted, Cate, I'm heading out to the cafe. I'll be back.

Okay.

I was shocked to have received a response from her because she had moon eyes for Nick.

Grabbing my purse and car keys, I ran out the front door and hopped in my car. I was going to find Heather. If she and Brady were catching up, then fine, but I couldn't handle this worry anymore. It was eating me alive.

2

RAE

Rushing around like my head was cut off wasn't how I wanted to start my morning, but spending the night trying to track my sister Heather and her ex-husband/current crush/‘it’s complicated’ didn't come up with anything. They were just gone!

Me pushing Heather and Brady to go to the cafe so they’d have alone time under the guise of Cate and I needing some items for a spell, didn't mean I wanted them to rush off and disappear somewhere. After all, Allie, their daughter, was home.

The whole thing was just troubling.

Then, after a fruitless search for Heather and Brady, I made it home to see Cate going out with Mayor Nick Blake. They were clearly dating, or at least trying to. It was just another ‘it’s complicated’ scenario within the Bellarose manor. But what made things even more complicated was when they never came home.

I was getting tired of these difficult scenarios. I think we need more simple situations in our lives.

When I woke up this morning, Cate’s bed, the one we'd moved into the large pantry downstairs because of the blasted 'S' curse, didn't look slept in, which added another layer of worry. Cate has been headed toward a breaking point with the curse as she couldn't be around anything starting with the letter S, say anything beginning with the letter, or hear anybody say a word starting with the cursed letter; hence, moving her downstairs to avoid the stairs. She even had to stay away from the kitchen because of the stove. My sister, the renowned baker and caterer, wasn't allowed to cook. The consequences had her scratching her body like a fiend and erupting in hives like nobody's business.

The curse put a lot of pressure on the family in a situation where we were already under a lot of pressure. We were all recently forced to come back to town to live together and run the family cafe. Add on the fact that we only recently discovered we were witches, and it was a lot to take.

The chaos constantly increased, but my sisters missing made everything a thousand times more problematic because now everything rested on my shoulders. Me. The youngest sister who never held any kind of responsibility outside of my business and occasionally took my daughter for a weekend.

I’m supposed to run a household, a business, and take care of all these kids. A person who couldn’t even take care of her own kid. Technically though, I never really had the chance. My ex wanted her full-time, and since I had her for him, I figured it was best for her to be with the parent who was prepared for a kid. She didn't need a screw-up like me having her all the time. She deserved more than me.

Normally I didn't work the morning shift, but Jules, Cate's twenty-two-year-old daughter, called me in a panic about the cafe being attacked and going crazy. Only being able to tackle one problem at a time, I rushed to help my niece and everybody at the cafe with whatever craziness had ensued.

Walking into the cafe, the creepy Siamese cat from the house now seemed to have multiplied by three, and they were acting as if they had too much of a bad batch of catnip. They were racing around hissing, growing, rolling around, and jumping up and knocking things down. The other adoptable cats belonging to the cafe were on the shelves installed on the walls, and none appeared to want to come down. I didn't blame them.

Cat, the self-appointed leader of our adoptable lovies, glared and patrolled the cafe ensuring the safety of all the other cats every time the Siamese cats tried to reach them. For whatever reason, the Siamese cats avoided him and I counted it as a small favor since the crazed cats were attacking just about everything else.

Aunt Rae, I don't know what to do with them. They're psychos, Jules yelled across the room, looking frazzled and nothing like the normally well-put-together young woman she naturally was. Customers tried to get out of the way and reach the front door. Some luckily made it out and were watching the chaos from the safety of the outdoors, but others were standing on chairs looking between their escape and the cats.

The crazy redhead, who poked in when my sisters and I first arrived here, looked around and wide-eyed me, shook her head, and darted out the door. When she arrived the first time, she informed us she moved back here because of the power of three returning to town. At the time we thought she was a nut job, but now she proved to be right. Apparently, we were leaving something to be desired at the moment though.

Preventing myself from getting too distracted, I turned away from the windows, grabbed a broom by the door, and fought my way further into the chaos zone known as Bellarose Cafe.

Aunt Haddie and our day shift worker Chivonne were chasing after the cats as they spilled sugar and sweeteners all over the store. The cats even pushed a stucco pot holding a flowering sage plant off the counter, and it smashed into smithereens. They kept swiping straws from the counter and running around with them in their mouths.

One of the Siamese cats jumped up on the back counter and eyed me evilly, and I swore it smirked at me as it nudged the pitcher of cream off the counter, smashing the porcelain and making a large puddle of cream everywhere. The audacity of the act had me fuming and for once in my life I wanted to strangle another creature.

Okay, now that was uncalled for. It's cream. You're doing it for spite now, I hissed at the cat because it was clear this had everything to do with the curse. The curse of the S was turning the Siamese cats into little monsters.

Jules grabbed Patch, one of our adoptable cats, and lifted him to the shelves with the other cats, so he was out of the way. Aunt Rae, it's sweet cream, so…. Jules shrugged as there was nothing more to say.

Wiping my hand through my hair, I had no idea what to do. This was all becoming way too much. Then a loud hiss popped from behind me, startling me and making me jump and swivel. The soda machine started spritzing the syrup out of the nozzles, barely missing me as I moved out of the way. The smoke alarm began blasting as the steamer erupted, and the pressure of the steam stayed high.

Chivonne, Aunt Haddie, and Jules dropped to the floor and started to clean the never-ending mess with every towel, rag, and paper products they got their hands on. This was just too much. I needed to do something about this mess before all our friends and employees just took off, and I was left by myself.

Desperate, I pulled out my cell phone and called Allie. We needed the power of the three, and with my sisters missing, we had to try the next generation because we needed some big magic right now. It was the