What's a Witch to Do Part 13

My eyes fly open, as do Guy's. Both our gazes whip toward the window behind us. Cora, with her mouth now covered by a hand, is being dragged away by her sister toward the couch. And the mortification hits ... now. Guy chuckles and shakes his head, but I want to go hide in a closet. The mood is dead. "Uh, I guess I better go," he says as he stands.

"Yeah," I say, standing too.

He hands me his empty gla.s.s. "Well, thank you for the tea and Southern etiquette lesson."

"Always glad to help."

"Um, so I'll see you Wednesday night?"

"I'll be there. Will you?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." He takes my hand and brushes his lips across the top. Cue melting. "Goodnight." With another smile my way, he steps off the porch toward his car, giving a quick wave before climbing in. I wait until I spin around before letting a huge smile form on my face. I feel like I'm floating on a cloud. Is it too soon to be looking for a wedding dress? Probably. I'll start after our first date.

The girls are sitting side by side on the couch with expressions of dread on their cute faces when I come inside. I fall from my cloud and drop the smile to glare at them. "What have I told you about spying on people? It's rude."

"Sorry," Sophie says.

"Are you going to marry Dr. Sutcliffe? Can I stay here in my pink room?" Cora asks.

"No one is getting married." Yet. "Now, both of you get upstairs. You've lost TV privileges for the night."

"Aww, but-" Sophie says.

"Zip it. Upstairs. Scoot."

Moping, the girls turn off the TV and tread upstairs. It's almost time for them to head off to bed anyway. With a sigh, I walk into the kitchen and stick our gla.s.ses in the dishwasher. So close, I was so close. Next time I won't wait. Before he says a word, I'll press my lips to his and give him what for. Next time.

The back door is open and I can hear quiet sawing. Through the window, I see Adam still at his post using a manual saw to cut another plank in relative quiet. He sneers at the wood, sweat dripping from his nose onto the wood. I fill another gla.s.s with water. He doesn't stop sawing when I step outside. "Here. Thought you might be thirsty."

He glances at the gla.s.s. "I'm not."

"O-kay," I say, pulling my hand back.

"Is your boyfriend gone?"

"He's not ... yeah, he's gone. He just stopped by to make sure I got the flowers."

"Oh," he says over the gentle noise.

I stand here for a few seconds, water in hand, as he picks up the pace. The excess wood lands on the concrete, and Adam brushes his forehead, bits of wood sticking to it. I have the strongest urge to wipe the sweat and wood from his brow but hold back. That's the s.e.xual frustration urging me on. He does look pretty adorable disheveled like this. "Well, I'm gonna get a little work done, and get the girls to bed. Excuse me."

Just as I step into the house, his voice stops me. "Mona?"

I turn around. "Yeah?"

"I'm going to say this, and I don't want you to take it the wrong way. This has nothing to do with you as a person, okay?"

"What?"

"I don't like that guy."

"Yeah, we all kind of picked up on that," I say.

"It's not ... " He shakes his head. "There's something off. I don't know what it is, but I can feel it. Something is wrong about him. I just don't want you to get hurt."

My back straightens. "Noted. Thank you for your concern. I'll let you get back to work." I step inside before he can say another wretched word.

He's wrong. He wasn't on that porch. Guy's a doctor, not an actor. He couldn't fake the l.u.s.t and kindness I saw in his eyes. No, it was genuine. And lovely. Adam's just paranoid.

I'm staking my heart on it.

Get the girls ready for bed The girls go off to bed with little fuss, and I get the majority of my work done, though I seem to be missing a few oils and herbs I need. I was sure I had enough, but it wouldn't surprise me if I just forgot to write down that I needed more. My brain can only handle so much.

After a shower, I check on the slumbering children and the big baby downstairs still hard at work in the backyard. He's gonna wear himself out if ... oh my. My breath catches when I see him s.h.i.+rtless and sweating, muscles rippling as he saws back and forth. Without a word, I spin on my heel and scurry out of the kitchen before I'm caught ogling my houseguest. My libido is worn out from the past few days, and I'm afraid one more shock will make it break down and do something ... unladylike.

Work. Investigation. Focus on that. So I get my cell phone, go out on the front lawn to activate the perimeter, and dial Lord Thomas as I sit on the swing. He answers on the fifth ring. "Thomas Wellington."

"Lord Thomas, this is Mona McGregor."

"High Priestess McGregor. I was wondering when you would phone."

"Well, I almost called last night but decided I should calm down before we had this conversation."

"Always wise. I do apologize for literally throwing you to the wolves. I had no choice. Mr. Dahl was ... more than a tad upset and concerned as to the fate of his friend. He would not believe me unless I produced the Beta. From the message you left, I a.s.sumed he was with you. He is well? My men tend to take their tasks very seriously."

"He's fine."

"Do tell him I hope there are no hard feelings. I did not know he was a double agent."

"I'll tell him."

"And you? How are you? Has our mystery witch made herself known yet?"

"No, but I'm looking into it, as I'm sure you are as well. I thought we could pool information, as she now has a reason to be p.i.s.sed at you too. You know, cooperation? You are familiar with the meaning of that word, right?" He doesn't dignify this jab with an answer. I sigh. "I've narrowed it down to four possible, two probable suspects: Cheyenne Bell and Erica Fitch. Has Erica called you yet?"

"Erica? No," Thomas says.

"Well, have you found any clues that might lead us to his acc-

omplice?"

"There were women's undergarments and spell paraphernalia in Alejandro's house. However, he was quite popular with the fairer s.e.x, so a mult.i.tude of women were seen leaving his home. Try as we did, he would not give up the name."

"So you have nothing, either."

"They were careful. Was the wolf's information any better?"

"No. Alejandro never gave any indication as to who she was."

"Then we will have to soldier on as we are. If I uncover anything pertinent, I shall phone."

"Same here. And if Erica calls, let me know. I set up a little test for her."

"I will. Have a good night." He hangs up.

"Any news?" Adam asks behind me through the window.

People have no sense of privacy anymore. "No." d.a.m.n it! Our dead ends have dead ends. I return to the house and am relieved to see Adam's s.h.i.+rt is firmly on his torso. Very firmly. Kind of clinging. I lock the front door and hand him the keys. "Here. You can take my car for your date tonight. Just lock the door behind yourself. I'm going to bed."

"I don't think I'll go," he says.

"Why not?"

"I don't want to leave you unprotected."

I sigh. "Look, you were right, and I was wrong. The date was a good idea. Anything you can get out of her will be helpful at this point, so go. Please."

"You don't ... mind?"

"I'm not your keeper," I say wearily. "And I have a shotgun, a pistol, and the elements to defend myself. Don't worry about me. This has to be done. Go. Maybe even try to have fun. You deserve it."

"Fine then. I will. Excuse me." He brushes past me without another word.

G.o.ddess, why are all werewolves so moody? We women got nothing on them.

I do one final sweep of the house before jumping into bed face first. It's odd not having the Captain waiting for me on his pillow, but he refuses to come out of the chimney. Add that to my To Do list: cat love potion so he'll tolerate Adam. It's not illegal to use on animals, at least I don't think so. That's a theoretical debate for tomorrow.

I shut off my lamp and snuggle into bed. I fall asleep to the rhythm of the shower in the next room and visions of me walking down the aisle in Granny's wedding dress.

I'm jolted awake a short while later by the knowledge that someone is breaking the perimeter: Adam on his way out. Hope his date is as frustrating as mine was.

TUESDAY TO DO:.

Cat love potion Continue investigation Find a dress for auction Work Paint front window Organize store for renovation Lose thirty pounds by tomorrow night 12:52 A.M. OKAY, THE psychic alarm system is getting on my nerves. I wake again as someone walks through it. I listen as the door opens, closes, and keys are set on the end table downstairs. Adam. He walks up the creaky steps and finally the bedroom door shuts across from mine. I fall back asleep ... until the phone rings. "For f.u.c.k's sake." I pick up the portable, turn it on and off, then on again to leave it off the hook. No way. Not tonight. Within seconds, I'm asleep again.

What the f.u.c.k?

I sit straight up in bed, every one of my nerve endings buzzing with warning. There are goose pimples all over and the hair on my arms stand on end. Danger. I've never felt this before, but instinctively I know the cause.

I am in such deep s.h.i.+t.

"Aunt Mona?" Sophie calls, voice filled with terror.

I leap out of bed and run to the door. Both girls stand in the hallway, Cora clutching onto her shaking sister. They're as petrified as I am. "Are you okay?" I ask, trying and failing to hide my own fear.

The door across from me swings open, and we all almost pee our pants. Adam steps out, hair wild from sleep. "What's the matter?"

"You don't feel that?" I ask.

"What?"

"Demon," Sophie says, voice quaking. "There's a demon outside."

"A demon?" Adam asks.

"You two, my office, now!" The girls spring next door with me close behind. Oh f.u.c.k, this is not good. This is as far from good as we can get. The girls huddle in the corner while I get to work. Off the top of my head I know they don't like white musk and myrrh, so I light those incense sticks. I go through my shelves, knocking things down left and right.

Adam steps in. "Mona, what-"

"Shotgun in the closet, sh.e.l.ls in my underwear drawer," I say as I fumble with the top to the carnation oil. He runs out.

"What's it going to do to us?" Cora cries, tears streaming down her face.

I bend down right at her level, meeting her eyes. "Nothing," I say with utter certainty. "It is not going to do anything to you. Adam and I will make sure of it."

"Promise?" she sobs.

"On my life."

"They-they hate sage and sea salt," Sophie says. "It hurts them. Hyssop too. It burns them like acid."

How she knows that is a question for later. "Then burn some," I say, anointing them with carnation oil. "Now, you two stay here. Run some black salt across the floor, okay? It shouldn't be able to cross it."

"Don't leave!" Cora shrieks.

Her voice cuts me so deep it brings tears to my eyes. "I have to, sweetie. I have to get him away from the house. But if anything happens to me, you call 911 and wait for them in here, then go to Auntie Sara's, okay?" I quickly kiss each of their cheeks and rise. I grab some sage, hyssop, a silver athame, and two protection amulets. I light the two herbs. "Lock this door and black salt it, okay?" Sophie nods her head. "Love you. It'll all be fine."

I shut the door and run into my bedroom just as Adam sticks a cartridge into the shotgun. "Will this work on a demon?"

I retrieve the gun safe from the closet. "Aim for the head. That'll stop anything." I press in the code and pull out the .38. "Come on." He follows me down the hall and stairs. I hand him one of the amulets and the hyssop on the stairs. "Put that on," I whisper. The house is dark, and I don't want to give away our location, so we carefully pad into the living room.

"Could it be in the house?" Adam whispers.