Read Online A Snake in the Grass by K. A. Stewart - Free Book Online Page B

goosebumps across my skin. There was
no danger here, obviously. How could there be? It was the sheer
quantity of magic, laid over everything like a thick comfortable
rug. The souls rippled under my shirt, under Axel’s spell, wanting
to explore their new surroundings. I closed my eyes for a moment,
silently willing them to calm. The last thing I needed was for them
to put on a show when every person in sight would be able to see me
going up like a homing beacon.
    “Jesse!” I had an instant of warning before
arms were around my neck and I was being hugged whether I liked it
or not. With a chuckle, I returned it, then leaned back to look
down at the young woman in my arms.
    “Rosaline. How have you been?” Miguel’s wife,
widowed so very young. My heart hurt, just thinking about it, but I
carefully kept those thoughts off my face. I hadn’t talked to her
much, since the fight to retrieve Miguel’s soul, mostly because I
was never quite sure what to say to her. Every time I tried, all I
could think of was how I’d feel if I lost Mira, and then my throat
got all thick and I couldn’t say anything intelligent. Best to not
subject her to my inane babbling.
    “I have been well.” She grinned as she
stepped back, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She looked
just like she had on the day she wed, dark eyes aglow with an inner
joy that had always been echoed in Miguel’s smile. They had been so
perfect together. “Mama Carlotta is teaching me to be a
midwife.”
    “Oh! That’s…interesting.” I had no idea what
to say to that, but a part of me was very glad to know that
Rosaline had stayed with Miguel’s family after his death. He would
have liked that.
    “It is very good to see you again.” She took
one of my hands in both of hers. “Everyone is so happy to have
Estéban home again, and honored that all of you have come.”
    “Ah, speaking of everyone…” I turned to make
our own small round of introductions. “Sveta, Terrence, this is
Rosaline Perez. Midwife in training, apparently.”
    Sveta inclined her head, which was as good as
a hallelujah chorus from her, and Terrence made a small bow as he
kissed the back of her hand, proving that he could be a charmer
when he was so inclined. “Missus.”
    “Mama Carlotta will be along in a moment, but
she wanted me to tell you that we have rooms set up for everyone,
and there is dinner waiting, because she knew you would all be
hungry.”
    “Wouldn’t say no to a small bite, and that’s
a fact,” Terrence patted her hand with his gnarled fingers, and
Sveta rolled her eyes behind his back. Funny how his mood changed
the moment a pretty face was involved. “And might there be a chair
for an old man to sit in?”
    “Oh! Of course, this way.” Linking her arm
through his, Rosaline led Terrence toward the main house.
    I looked to Sveta. “We just got stuck
carrying the bags, didn’t we?”
    “Mhmm.”
    Before we could pick up our gear and follow,
the crowd parted like the Red Sea, and the matriarch of the Perez
clan appeared, immediately enveloping me in one of those hugs only
moms have. “Jesse. It is so very good to see you.”
    Carlotta Perez was a short woman, her head
barely coming up to my shoulder, somewhere in her late fifties or
early sixties if I had to guess. Her dark hair, cut short but
styled in neat curls, was a bit more salt than pepper since the
last time I’d see her, but her round face still glowed when she
smiled. She still had her apron on, with a fine dusting of flour
decorating one cheek, and I wiped it off for her with a chuckle.
“Baking?”
    She nodded proudly. “There will be cake!” My
stomach growled at that, and she laughed, delighted. “ Carlos!
Pepito! Tomas! Cárguense las cosas!” At her command, several
adolescent boys darted out of the throng to take possession of our
crates and luggage, and began the process of hauling everything
into the house. Despite her short stature, there was something
about Carlotta that