THE GRIM SWEEPER

  A PSYCHIC CLEANER COZY MYSTERY

  S.E. BABIN

  Copyright © 2023 by S.E. Babin

  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.

  *Please direct all rights inquiries to authorsebabin@sebabin.com

  *If you find a typo, please send it to the same email. We’re all human (or at least we were, but I definitely still am. I think.)

  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Also by S.E. Babin

  About the Author

  CHAPTER ONE

  My mother stared at Ryan. I stared at my mother. Ryan carefully stared at the floor. Nyx stared at all of us, his brows drawn together as if he’d discovered a particularly perplexing bug.

  “What are they doing?” he stage whispered to Killian.

  Killian covered up his laugh with a cough. “In the Wild West, they’d call this a showdown.”

  “Shut it, Killian,” I said, not taking my eyes off the tiny terror that birthed me.

  “Don’t look at me like that, Kate,” my mother snapped. “I woke up this morning, and this man was sitting in your kitchen drinking coffee!”

  This man she referred to was Ryan. And yes, he was in my kitchen drinking coffee. Quite handsomely, I might add. “So?”

  My mother’s face turned beet red. “So? So! Have I not taught you anything?”

  I counted to five. I loved my mother very much, but I wasn’t a child anymore, and she was a guest in my house. “Mom, I’m going to say this once and only once. Ryan is here at my invitation. He’s never unwelcome in my home. If there ever comes a point when he is, I will be the one to tell him that. You, on the other hand, are a guest. You might be my mom, but you are no longer the boss of me.”

  Nyx cleared his throat. Killian’s mouth stretched into the universal facial expression for yikes.

  “Kathleen Selena–”

  “Mom!”

  She snapped her mouth shut. Tears and the sting of betrayal shimmered in her eyes. I softened my tone. “I care about Ryan. We’re adults. Having you here is wonderful, but I won’t change my life for your sensibilities. If you have an issue with Ryan being here in the mornings, then maybe you should stay somewhere else.”

  A low whistle came from someone. Mom’s head snapped in the direction of the sound. Both men took a frightened step back, eyeing her warily.

  My mom jumped to conclusions. A lot. She assumed something was happening when it wasn’t, and I wasn’t going to dissuade her from the notion. Ryan caught my eye, and his eyebrows slowly rose as if asking me if I was going to tell her, but I gave a sharp shake of my head. She could think what she wanted to. It was my life, and I’d live it the way I wanted to.

  She raised me to be independent, and this was her comeuppance for it.

  Ryan had a key and used it every so often when he took a really late shift and we couldn’t see each other. He was here when I woke up, often with coffee and breakfast already made. We’d always been comfortable with each other, but after the injuries I sustained in our last showdown, Ryan stayed over at the house to help me recover. We kissed a lot, but I wasn’t ready for what came next. Not yet. Too many unseen wounds still ached inside of me.

  I carried around the equivalent of a house full of baggage on my shoulders, and Scott coming back into my life for that brief point in time made it feel two tons heavier. I still had healing to do, and even though I loved Ryan, we both understood taking things slow was the best way to make sure this thing between us worked out.

  A host of emotions flowed over my mother’s face before she squared her shoulders, ran her palms down the front of her jeans, and awkwardly cleared her throat. “I…see,” she said slowly. Her eyes darted to Ryan and then back to me. “And I’m sorry. You’re absolutely right, Kate. You’re an adult, and this is your home.”

  I blinked. She was sorry? Who was she, and when had my mother been replaced by a pod person?

  “Right,” I said slowly, giving her a weird look.

  Mom snorted and waved her hand at me. “I can admit when I’m wrong, you know.”

  No. I didn’t know. But to her credit, she wasn’t often wrong. She’d been here for a while now, long enough for this to start feeling like a long-term deal. We hadn’t talked about what would happen next, but I assumed she’d either leave when she got what she came here for, or she’d start looking for apartments.

  There was one enormous elephant in the room, though. I still hadn’t told her about Max.

  My father.

  Every time I thought about it, anger lit my belly on fire, and I only calmed myself down by telling myself Mom had reasons for the secrets she kept. They’d better be really good ones, but I trusted her enough to believe that. Even so, every time I thought about my father showing up here blindsiding my mom, I ended up with a stomach ache.

  As it was, he was late. I expected him a few days ago and was working up to tell Mom, but he never showed. When I asked Nyx about it, he shrugged and said perhaps the time wasn’t right.

  Even thinking about it made me want to roll my eyes. Mom opened her arms, and I stepped into them. She squeezed me tightly. “I love you, darling,” she whispered, making tears spring to my eyes.

  I’d really missed her.

  She held on for a moment more before releasing me and stepping back. “I suppose this is a good time to tell you I’m looking at a few apartments today.”

  I blinked at her. “So you’re staying? For good?”

  An odd expression flickered over her face. “I don’t know about forever. For a while. I have a feeling I’m supposed to be here, and until it goes away, I plan on parking myself in Hallow Hills.” Her gaze caught Ryan’s. “And, I’m too old and set in my ways to keep taking up space in my daughter’s house, so I figure I’d get a temporary place of my own and let you kids get on with your lives.”

  I knew she didn’t mean for it to sound like she was guilt-tripping me, but the feeling didn’t escape me nonetheless. “Mom,” I began.

  She shook her head. “I’ve already got a bag packed up just in case. Everything is back home, so if I decide to stay more than a few months, I’ll hire some movers to bring everything over.”

  Now would be a great time to tell her about Dad. My gaze flicked over to Nyx. The silver being merely stared back, his eyes flashing with wicked amusement. He knew exactly who my dad was and had withheld the information for as long as he could, something I was still annoyed by. Killian ended up being the one who broke the news, followed by my mother randomly showing up with suitcases and an attitude.

  Needless to say, the last couple of weeks had me walking on eggshells, much to the amusement of almost everyone in my life. Few things were funnier than an adult daughter and her mom keeping massive secrets from each other.

  There wasn’t much I could say. “Alright. There’s a few cute apartment complexes in the area, but if you want something a little bigger, I can reach out to a few people in town and see what they have.”

  Mom nodded and picked up her purse, adjusting the strap over her shoulder. “Thanks, honey. I’ll text you if I find anything today.” She brushed a kiss against my cheek and nodded to everyone before heading out the door. I pretended not to notice how Nyx’s eyes followed her all the way out. Thinking about that was one too many weird things to think about, so I shoved it down into a locked box deep within my brain cavity.

  I released a slow breath once it shut behind her. Ryan gave me a sympathetic glance. “When are you going to tell her?”

  “Never,” I mumbled.

  “That will work. Until your dad shows up,” Ryan said with a chuckle. “Speaking of…” he glanced over at Nyx. “Wasn’t he supposed to be here already?”

  Nyx shrugged and uncurled his long, lean length from the couch, snagging his coffee mug as he stood. “No one ever questions Max. He’ll be here when he gets here.”

  I frowned. “That doesn’t sound all that respectful. What if I have things to do?”

  Killian laughed this time. “What things? You managed to suck every single spirit right out of town.”

  Snatching up my mug, I followed Nyx over to the pot. “Don’t remind me,” I grumbled. “I have rent to pay, and I’m taking up regular house cleanings to make ends meet.” Thankfully I never completely scratched that side of my business out. The spiritual cleaning side took up the bulk of my work, so I didn’t have many regular cleaning clients, but I’d kept a few for lean times. I never expected it to ever get quite this lean, though. There was no real way for things to catch up either, not without people dying. I couldn’t give voice to that without sounding really insensitive, so I kept my thoughts to myself and wondered for the hundredth time how I’d get out of this pickle.

  Nyx gave me a long look once he filled his mug. The being, or whatever he was, held it to his nose and inhaled deeply. He might not want to be here as long as he had been, but there were things he’d have trouble giving up once he went home. Coffee being one of them. “It’s unnatural for souls to disappear l

ike they have.”

  Ryan tugged me around the waist gently, and I leaned against him, soaking up his warmth. “Nature abhors a vacuum.”

  Nyx nodded. “Yes. If we don’t get them back, other…things might find their way here to replace them.”

  Killian snorted. “Just what we need.”

  “Max will be here as soon as he can, Kate,” Nyx said. “Take care with him. He might be your father, but he is also a powerful magician.”

  “He has a reputation,” Killian interjected. “Not a good one.”

  I sipped my coffee. “Reputation?”

  Nyx gave Killian a dark look. “All powerful teachers have one. Usually given to them by their ruffian students.”

  My lips twitched. “What you’re not saying is Killian is the class clown?”

  Killian scoffed. “Hardly. Do I look like I’ve ever been a clown?”

  Nyx gave him a dark look. “Perhaps not a clown, but whatever the word is for someone who does things for their own amusement.”

  “Self-serving?” Ryan added.

  “Egotistical?” I offered helpfully.

  Killian’s lips thinned as he looked between us. “Very funny. Magic is about experimentation.”

  “Safe experimentation,” Nyx said. “With a trained tutor or mentor. Going off willy-nilly can do more harm than good.”

  I shrank down within myself. Nyx’s gaze flicked over to me. Sympathy bloomed in his eyes. “Even when it’s the only path,” he added, staring directly my way.

  Killian sighed and rubbed a hand over his chin. “I get it, alright. Less willy-nilly and more apt pupil.”

  Nyx snorted. “It’s a little late for that now. As much as I hate to admit it, your power has grown in leaps and bounds, and there are unusual things happening around you. But you still need to be safe before you get yourself into a situation you can’t get out of, even with my help.”

  Chastened, Killian gave a short nod. “The priority is Kate, right now. At least until she gets a better handle on her powers.”

  Ryan pulled me a little closer, popping his chin on top of my head. “Yes. If the town remains unbalanced, I don’t want to think about what might happen.”

  “Should we wait for Max or get started?” What I really wanted to do was putter around my greenhouse and stay in my pajamas, but I had bills to pay and the future to worry about.”

  Nyx must have seen my expression. He waved a hand at us. “Go. Take the day off. I’ll see if I can contact Max and find out what the delay is.”

  He chuckled at the grin tugging at my lips. Ryan dropped a kiss on my head and turned me around to face him. “Lunch in a few hours? Maybe antiquing?”

  Ryan knew my love language. “Or we could do something you want to do?”

  He laughed. “I want to do whatever makes you happy. I’m easy.”

  Killian snorted and I rolled my eyes. “You need a girlfriend, Killian.”

  Nyx chuckled. “She isn’t wrong. There may be complications if you ever revert back to your spirit form permanently, but from everything I can tell, whatever Kate did seems to be sticking for the long term.”

  I winced, but Killian waved me away. “It’s a good thing, Kate. Being able to eat food and smell things has been surprisingly wonderful. Hugging someone seemed like a dream I’d never fulfill again.” He shrugged. “I suppose I need to find someone to hug then.”

  “Can he tell them about…what he is?” I ventured.

  Nyx lifted his shoulders. “I don’t see why not. As long as she’s within the magical community, I don’t think it’d be an issue. Better prepared than taken by surprise.”

  I flicked my fingers at Killian. “Go forth and be fruitful,” I snarked.

  Killian tossed an apple at me, and I barely dodged it from pinging me in the head. Ryan caught it in mid-air, his reflexes like a cat.

  “I’ve been dead for generations. Finding a girlfriend won’t be like walking in to order a hamburger,” Killian said darkly.

  “I believe in you.” I winked at him and headed back to my bedroom. “Give me half an hour to get ready?”

  Ryan nodded. “More coffee?”

  I wiggled my eyebrows at him. “You don’t even have to ask.”

  His eyes darkened as he smiled. Swallowing hard, I turned away and hurried to the back. How is it that man got more handsome every time I saw him?

  CHAPTER TWO

  The modest swing dress I wore swung as I walked into the kitchen. Nyx, Killian, and Ryan stared as I slid a pair of red flats on and smoothed a hand over my hair.

  “Wow,” Ryan breathed.

  My cheeks colored. Most of the time I chose comfort over fashion. Sometimes chasing spirits out of houses ended up being a lot dirtier than people suspected, so my uniform tended to be a pair of soft jeans, flats, and a comfy blouse. On the easier days, I allowed my full rockabilly style out, while still choosing comfortable shoes.

  Even though dresses were a little higher maintenance, I still only purchased for comfort. Today’s choice was a teal swing dress with a sweetheart neckline in a heavy jersey material. The weather was surprisingly mild, but I still added a soft, lightweight cardigan just in case we were still out in the evening. I took the time to curl my hair, allowing it to bounce along my shoulders and back.

  “Kate, you look stunning,” Nyx said, smiling kindly at me. The Reaper, or whatever he was, was handsome as sin, but we’d managed to form a strong friendship and nothing else. I never got weird vibes from him, and that was all I could really ask for, so I took his comment in the way he intended it.

  “Thanks.” Tugging the cardigan on, I brushed past the men and grabbed a spill proof mug from the pantry. “Want one?” I asked Ryan as I made myself a to-go cup.

  He cleared his throat. “Sure.”

  Grabbing another one down, I made a cup for him too. Sliding it over, I took a sip of mine and closed my eyes.

  “You really should cut down on the caffeine,” Killian groused, though his words had no heat. Ever since he’d been able to eat, Killian had made it a mission to dive into the world of nutrition and figure out what was good or bad. Though he enjoyed coffee too, he never had more than two cups a day, and he only drank organic. So now the coffee I had in bulk at the office was slowly replaced with a more expensive grind. I liked it. A lot. But I was on a budget. When I voiced this, Killian brushed me away and told him he had a connection.

  Whatever that meant.

  So now, he’d stocked my cabinets with the same coffee, and I didn’t argue because who in their right mind argued about free coffee?

  “What are you two getting up to today?” I asked as I grabbed my purse, opening my wallet to ensure I had my ID and debit cards.

  “Nyx is waiting for your mom to come back so he can ask her out on a date,” Killian said with a sly grin toward the Reaper.

  My mouth fell open. “What?” I blurted.

  Shooting him a dark look, Nyx rolled his eyes. “False. Your mother is a beautiful, powerful woman, Kate.”

  I held up my hand and made a gagging noise. “No. For the love of all that’s holy, do not say another word.” Letting out a breath, I composed myself. “What happened with Amara?”

  Those two had some strong vibes together when we were all out trying to stop Hallow Hills from being overrun with spirits. They worked well together and had serious chemistry, so I fully expected them to shack up together or whatever freaky powerful magical people did these days.

  Nyx looked down, his expression chagrined. He said nothing for a long moment.

  “Nyx?” I asked again.

  “Amara is…”

  Killian snorted and turned to fix himself another cup of coffee. I glanced over at him. “Something to say?”

  Killian shook his head, his face the height of innocence.

  Ryan’s gaze bounced between us all. After a moment, his expression cleared, and his eyebrows lifted.

  He obviously understood something I didn’t. “What is it? Why do I feel like the only one out of the loop here?”

  Nyx’s pale cheeks colored. “Amara is not your mother.”

 

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