Keep Your Twin Up: A Paranormal Women's Midlife Fiction Cozy Witch Mystery (Wears Valley Witches Book 3)

KEEP YOUR TWIN UP WEARS VALLEY WITCHES BOOK THREE L.A. BORUFF LORRAINE COOKE Copyright © 2022 by L.A. Boruff & Lorraine Cooke All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Cover Design Copyright © 2022 Glowing Moon Designs Book Design by L.A. Boruff Printed in the United States of America First Printing, 2022 For Laura, Leigh Ann, & Melissa. When they asked for a blessing, God blessed them twice. CONTENTS 1. Lela 2. Mae 3. Lela 4. Mae 5. Lela 6. Mae 7. Lela 8. Mae 9. Lela 10. Mae 11. Lela 12. Mae 13. Lela 14. Mae 15. Lela 16. Mae 17. Lela Also by L.A. Boruff About L.A. Boruff About Lorraine Cooke Also By Lorraine Cooke 1 LELA My food looked amazing. Of course it did, though. Ted had cooked it. His food was always delicious, but the thought of eating it made my stomach turn. I'd eaten with Mae and him two or three times now, and each meal had been exquisite. "Excuse me," I whispered. Mae looked at me worriedly, but Ted just smiled. Aw, how sweet. He stood when I stepped away from the table. Old-fashioned, but sweet. In the bathroom, I popped a few chalky, chewable stomach tablets from my purse and adjusted the wild red hue of my newly dyed hair before washing my hands and staring at the full-length mirror behind the bathroom door. I'd lost weight from all the food I hadn't been able to eat. Maybe I should find a doctor before it got any worse. Ugh. That was something on my to-do list, but I really dreaded it. Finding a good doctor was such a chore. I'd have to remember to ask Bertha who she saw. Sucking in deep breaths, I got my stomach under control and headed back out to dinner to push the food around on my plate. Mae and Ted both looked a bit worried, but neither said anything. I didn't want to worry them. The next day was the big move, from the camper to the house, and Ted had invited us over for dinner so we didn't have to cook. Bertha had taken Harriet and her friend to some restaurant in Pigeon Forge that was supposed to be a ton of fun. "Are you sure about moving in with construction still ongoing?" Ted asked before taking a bite of his risotto. "Seems like it could be stressful." "There's not much left," Mae said as I nodded and made a hole in the middle of my green beans. Darn it. I'd been fine when we left home. Hungry, even. I was looking forward to a nice Ted dinner. I loved him with Mae and Mae with him. I'd decided to do everything I could to encourage the union. "Yeah, it's just a bit of paint and some trim work. We'll probably do it ourselves." We sat in silence for a moment. Not awkward. Just eating. Well, they ate while I dabbed my mouth with my napkin and took a minuscule sip of my sweet tea. Now that was something I'd discovered since moving to Appalachia that I never wanted to let go of. Sweet tea in a tall glass of ice. Yum. Seriously. "We're open to any volunteers," Mae said brightly with a wink toward Ted. "We'd love to have you over for dinner in the new place if you want. Even if you don't come wielding a paintbrush." He smiled back. "I hate to paint, but somehow I think the time would fly by with you." Oh, gross. That was enough to make me even more nauseated. He really was perfect for Mae. I was only a teensy bit jealous. Mostly I was just happy for her. "You might even see the ghost." Mae shot me a look that said she wanted me to keep my mouth shut, but I just couldn't. "Mae. It's been two weeks since you claim to have seen this specter, and nobody else has seen anything. When are you going to admit it was a vivid dream?" If she was going to be with Ted, he had to get used to being around us. I wasn't going to sugarcoat things just because we were with Mae's new boy toy. That wasn't fair to him. We were who we were. Mae's face hardened as she glared at me. "Listen here—" She was cut off by the doorbell ringing, then a man's voice. "Hello? Ted?" Ted looked toward the dining room door. "That's my brother." He jumped up and hurried out of the room while Mae and I followed slowly, trying not to look too much like we were eavesdropping. "Oh, look at this place," Ted's brother said as he stepped into the foyer. He took his hat off and then looked around the foyer. "You've been cleaning." Ted stepped forward and shushed his brother. I bit back a laugh. Apparently, ol' Teddy boy had taken up better housekeeping habits since he'd met Mae. Too cute. “Joseph, I have company." Mae stepped forward, so I followed, staying just behind her. She was Ted's squeeze; I was just the baggage along for dinner. This was her moment to meet the fam. But Joseph's eyes cut to me in the back. The second his eyes met mine, my nausea disappeared. Oh, it was probably still there, but it disappeared with the sudden feeling of attraction. Joseph had gray eyes, close-cut brown hair with a dusting of gray on the sides, and when he smiled at me,