A Southern Charms Cozy Potluck Box Set

by Bella Falls

  Without looking up from his device, Lee snorted. “I heard all of that. I’m checking to make sure my latest update went through before I send it to all of you. And I definitely don’t fart rainbows.”

  Finishing off the homemade moon pie on my plate, I licked my fingers clean of any chocolate and marshmallowy sweetness. “I thought Flint spoke well tonight.”

  Ben leaned back in his chair and draped his arm around the back of Lily’s. “He did, but Raif had a stronger response for most of the issues. I thought he was slightly out of line when he somehow managed to connect the death of Mrs. K to Horatio whenever Juniper spoke.”

  “It was completely unnecessary bullying,” agreed Lily.

  Lavender took a sip from her drink. “That poor fairy looked like she could burst into tears at any moment, she was so nervous.”

  “Hey, what did her aura look like?” I asked. “Does anxiety show up as a color? Or how about having a massive ego like Raif?”

  “I’ll bet being pompous has to have a really ugly color. Like puce. Pompous puce. Wait, is puce a bad color?” Lily asked.

  Ben squeezed her hand in his. “It’s more of a grayish purple-brown color.”

  “Sounds about like unicorn manure. That could work,” I said, wrinkling my nose at the idea. “So how about it, Lav?”

  My sensitive friend shrugged. “I don’t know. I can’t read the auras of fairies or vampires. I have to rely on my sense of their emotions when I’m with them in person.”

  Her revelation shocked me. “Really? I never knew that. Is it because whatever magic they possess is different from ours?”

  “Maybe. Or maybe they have a way of blocking me,” Lavender suggested.

  Since we all grew up in a town with a mix of different magical beings, it didn’t come naturally to see anyone as that different from me other than maybe the obvious things like size. The whole point of our little home in the Southern sticks was to give a safe place for anyone who didn’t fit in anywhere else. Yes, we started with witches, but our community grew to have a myriad of lives living together.

  “Is it just Raif you can’t read or all vampires?” Thoughts of trying to dig up more on Damien formed in my devious brain.

  “All of them,” admitted Lavender. “I think because, you know, they’re living but they’re not at the same time.”

  “So that rules out mummies,” contributed Lee without looking up.

  “And zombies,” I pointed out, unable not to chuckle.

  Alison Kate took the chair from beside me and dragged it to sit next to her boyfriend. “Who’s a zombie?”

  Lee finally stopped obsessing over his device. “Nobody, sweetums. Okay, everybody take your phones out. The updates should have gone through by now.”

  We obeyed and listened to him give overly elaborate descriptions on how his spellwork interacted with the human technology. Weaved between his excited explanations were detailed instructions on how we could now send texts back and forth to each other. He got stopped several times and started over again from the beginning to our major frustration.

  I waved my hands in front of me. “Whoa. I think you’re making this too difficult. We don’t have to know why it works, just that it does. If I’m understanding you, we press this button,” I showed him which one, “and speak. The text will show up on the screen. Like so.”

  Pushing the button, I dictated, “Lee is a gigantic, glasses-wearing nerd of a witch.” The words showed up on my phone. After selecting his name from my contacts, I finished the action.

  His phone pinged, and he showed us his received text. “You can also use the keypad numbers like Charli says they used to, but it takes longer. And, by the way, I’m proud of my geeky magical status.” He pushed his glasses up his nose and received a kiss from Alison Kate in victory. “Also, if you press the Menu button and hold it down for more than five seconds, an alert will be sent to the warden station. I’m still working on the spell to allow them to locate you if you activate the emergency function.”

  We clapped with enthusiasm, declaring our friend a genius. “You’re going to make a lot of money in magical communities,” I declared.

  “Me and Dash. Part of the idea belongs to him. We have an agreement.” Lee returned to messing with his phone.

  “Where is the wolf shifter tonight? I thought he was going to join us.” He’d sat next to me during the debates, adding his own commentary throughout and trying to make me snort out loud. I couldn’t kick the feeling that I wanted to ask him to take me for a ride again.

  Lee looked up and checked outside the bakery’s window. “I don’t know. I thought he was coming, but when we were heading this way, he said he wanted to stop by Lucky’s bar for a couple of minutes. I’ll be honest, I almost joined him.”

  Alison Kate hooked her arm through his and leaned her head on his shoulder. “But you thought better of it and came in to support me and my shop.”

  He kissed the top of her head. “That’s right, my hot little honey bunny with honeysuckle icing.” Lee flipped us off after the rest of us groaned and threw our napkins at the two of them.

  Standing up, I stretched. “I think I’ll go find Dash. Ben, can I have a quick word with you?” I pulled him to his feet and dragged him with me away from the others. Lowering my voice, I interrogated him. “What did you tell my grandmother?”

  A sheepish look shadowed his face. “What did she tell you that I told her?”

  I placed a hand on my hip. “Don’t play advocate with me and redirect my question with another question. Did you tell her about my problems?”

  Ben squinted. “N-o-t exactly,” he dragged out. “But the woman has a way of getting information out of you. She’d have made a fantastic advocate.”

  I snorted. “Tell me about it. So you didn’t give her any specifics?”

  “Uh-uh.” My legal friend shook his head. “Why?”

  I grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him closer. “Because I had to drink an entire tall glass of that nasty, disgusting, revolting sludge. All because of you.”

  Lily noticed my manhandling of Ben. “Hey, hands off my merchandise, missy,” she called out.

  I let Ben go and pointed a finger at him. “There will be payback. You won’t know when. You won’t know where. But it’s comin’.”

  He lifted his left eyebrow. “You’re trying to start a prank war with me? The king of pranks?”

  The man had a point. He knew how to play it cool and had the patience of a sphinx. No one suspected him or respected his devious mind. He possessed a talent for passing off the blame for pranks onto others and excelled at the long con. We found out after graduation that he had been the instigator of the pimple hex in high school, not young Gerald Tanner. Ben was the provider of the face cream to cure the unsightly acne, so we thought he was our savior, not the sinner. He not only fooled us all but he also made a lot of money off his efforts. Had he not told us himself, we may never have known.

  “Maybe not,” I acquiesced.

  “Still, I’m sorry she made you drink that stuff. But consider that it might have helped you, whether there’s something wrong with you or not. That’s a win-win in my book.” Ever the advocate, Ben talked his way out of trouble.

  I bid my friends goodbye and went on a search for Dash. Waving through the cafe window at the people surrounding Flint, I wondered where Juniper and Horatio had ended up tonight. Had I been able to catch them after the debates, I would have invited them to come with us. I hoped they knew they still had many friends supporting them in Honeysuckle.

  I spotted a motorcycle parked in front of the bar and crossed the street in that direction, my blood quickening at the thought of getting to ride behind Dash again. As I got closer, I detected two bikes instead of one. And neither of them was like the one I’d ridden on today.

  The shattering of glass from the alley between the bar and the next building stopped me from entering The Rainbow’s End. I followed the noise of angry voices and witnessed a struggle at the
end of the passageway. Ducking behind the dumpster, I stood up to see over the bags of trash.

  Two dark figures took on one, fists hitting flesh in muted thuds. The one getting beaten bent over with a blow to his stomach, groaning.

  “Stay out of our business,” warned one of the attackers.

  “You can’t tell me what to do anymore,” grunted the other attacker, pounding his knuckles across the one in the middle’s face with a crack.

  A roar ripped out of the punching bag. Amber eyes I recognized flashed in the darkened alley. Dash. With a snarl, the wolf shifter straightened to his full height and tossed the first guy in my direction. A hard body hit the other side of the dumpster with a crash, pushing the metal container into me. I flinched and crouched down.

  Taking the guy who had punched him in the face by the throat, Dash threw him up against the brick wall with a growl. His voice hovered between human and animal, and he rasped, “Tell me why you’re in my town, Trey, or I will break you.”

  The man who had taken a glorious motorcycle ride with me earlier today no longer existed. Based on the grunts and heavy panting, his animal fought against him to break free. And was winning.

  Pixie Poop.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Unsure of what to do, I slipped my phone from my pocket and flipped it open, steadying my thumb over the middle Menu button and giving thanks for Lee’s genius brain over and over in my head.

  The one Dash called Trey struggled to be set free and gasped out his words. “Let…me go.” With a twist and a grunt, he planted his foot against Dash’s torso and kicked, breaking free. He held up his hands to stop another attack. “Give me a chance to answer.”

  The dark figure on the other side of the dumpster rose with a rolling growl. He shook himself off and cursed at Dash, promising to end his life. I looked around me for anything I could use to beat him with. A stick or broken bottle at least. Unfortunately, Lucky was too fussy of a leprechaun to allow much mess around his bar. My magic would have to be enough, but the second I used it on either one of the guys, I would become a target for the other.

  “Cool it, Butch, and keep your wolf in check,” Trey demanded. “No point in making a scene. Let me talk to Dash first. Go back inside and finish your beer.”

  The hulking shadow in front of me curled his hands into fists. “He has no right to give us orders. He ain’t our alpha. We ain’t got one anymore, remember?”

  So they were both shifters like Dash? A smart girl would avoid trouble and run from the scene to get help. But I wanted to know more. Needed to hear what this Trey had to say and why Dash knew him. I kept my spell phone at the ready just in case but stayed hidden to listen.

  Trey’s eyes flashed a color similar to Dash’s. “Maybe not now. But he used to be mine, and I owe him. I’ll be fine.”

  “I can’t leave you here alone with him,” complained Butch.

  Dash lifted the corner of his lips with another snarl. “What if I promise not to harm a hair on his pretty head until he’s done talkin’? Alpha’s honor.”

  Trey waved his friend off. “Beat it, Butch. I’ll come get you when I’m done.”

  The big guy turned in my direction to leave, and my stomach dropped. I suppressed the scream of alarm building in my throat as hard as I could.

  “Not that way, you idiot.” Trey pointed to the side door. “Go to the bathroom and wipe off any blood first. We don’t need anyone else gettin’ any ideas.”

  Butch stomped off away from me, complaining under his breath and shooting another warning that he’d be coming back out to kick Dash’s behind if Trey wasn’t inside in the next fifteen minutes, whole and pristine. The side door to the bar closed shut with a clang, and the two men left in the alley faced off.

  Trey scoffed. “You might wanna be careful about sayin’ anything about being an alpha or having an ounce of honor to promise. You’re the one that left us behind, deserter.”

  Dash rushed at him, knocking him back into the brick wall and pinning him with his arm that looked far too furry. “Call me that again, and I will end you.” Light glistened off the string of saliva that dripped from his elongating fangs.

  “The truth hurts, doesn’t it,” Trey managed, staying calm in contrast to Dash, fighting to keep his animal at bay.

  “I did what I had to,” protested Dash.

  In frustration, Trey broke free and got in Dash’s face. “Which was what? To take a functioning pack and gut it? Do you know what happened after you left us? Do you know who sits as alpha of the Red Ridge pack right now?” He stepped close enough that his nose almost touched Dash’s. “Do you even want to know? Or are you having too good of a time hiding away in this tiny town to care?”

  Dash growled and pushed Trey away, but his head hung low. Panting, he gritted his teeth. “Tell me.”

  “Only out of the debt from when you saved my life all those years ago when we were young pups, and not because the man that stands in front of me has earned crap.” Trey crossed his arms. “It’s your brother running the pack now.”

  Dash huffed. “I know. I made sure to leave Davis in charge before I left. So what’s the problem? My youngest brother should be running a clean pack.”

  Trey’s wry grin highlighted by the streetlamp from the end of the alley sent shivers down my back. “Wrong brother.”

  A string of curses flew into the night air, and Dash screamed long and loud until he ran out of breath, ending in a pained howl.

  Trey continued without giving Dash a break. “Cash turned the entire pack into his personal ATM. He forces all of the members to make money any way they can. Turns out, he has a real head for business.” Trey spat on the ground.

  “Of the darker variety, I’d bet.” Dash swore again. “He always had a thing for booze, drugs, and unsavory women.”

  “Hey, when everyone longs for the days when your father was alpha, you know they all feel the hot flames from down below lickin’ at their furry butts.” Trey ran his hand through his hair. “Look, man. I get why you left. Survival and all that. And you’d been through enough, tryin’ to fix the pack after what happened to your mom.”

  My mind raced, attempting to swim against the flood of information. The little I knew about pack politics came from Dash, and I knew he had no love for his family except the unconditional devotion to his mother. The darkness he’d warned me about time and again—maybe I should have listened. The man I’d wrapped my arms around on the motorcycle with unabashed trust rode off into the distance, far away from the one with the haunted shadow on his face, standing in front of me.

  “So why are you here in Honeysuckle? Is the pack makin’ moves out this far?” Dash asked.

  Trey sighed. “No. I went rogue, like you. Had to find a way to make my own money to keep my family safe, and maybe give them a chance to leave, too. Dina’s in her second year at Red Ridge State, and I’ll do anything to keep her future clean.”

  “Your little sister’s old enough to be in college?”

  Trey’s shoulder’s relaxed. “Can you believe it?”

  “I’ll bet she’s a looker,” ventured Dash, earning him a light punch against his arm. Their shared past brought a temporary peace between the two shifters.

  “Better than me, if you can believe such beauty exists,” chuckled Trey. He took a deep breath and blew it out. “Look, if my being here is a problem for you, Butch and I will leave. He’ll give me a bunch of grief, but it’s nothin’ I can’t handle.”

  After a long pause, Dash nodded. “I’d appreciate it.”

  Trey clapped him on the shoulder. “You know, you still hit like a female pup,” he joked.

  “I dominated you the whole time,” bantered Dash. “Just like the old days.” He walked forward and opened the side door to the bar.

  I couldn’t make out the underlying emotion underneath the glance Trey shot him from behind, but the hairs on the back of my arms stood on end. “Yeah. Like the old days.”

  Dash held the door open for him. “
I’ll be with you in a sec. Have to check on somethin’ first.” His head swiveled in my direction.

  Pixie poop. I ducked back down, hiding behind the edge of the dumpster. Listening for the metal side door to shut, I held my breath. It clanked into place, and I thanked my luck, standing up to leave.

  “You have a serious problem.” Dash’s muscled frame took up all the air around me.

  “You’re bleeding,” I replied, unable to come up with a different response. I reached out to wipe the blood from the corner of his lip, and he flinched away. My heart sank with the sudden move.

  “I’ll heal. What were you thinkin’ hanging around three fighting shifters, Charli?”

  “I…I heard the commotion, and then I thought I could help you,” I offered.

  He snorted. “Exactly how? By shooting one of your sparking hexes at them? You could have done more harm than good.”

  “I could have done something,” I complained.

  “But you didn’t. You sat there, watching and listening. Hearing things that should never have followed me here.” He cast his eyes down with a frown and shook his head. “It’s done now.”

  I swallowed hard, not knowing what he was declaring over. I wanted to understand the stories behind Trey’s words, to get to know Dash’s history. Even if it meant I had to be exposed to darkness, maybe I could offer him some light.

  “Go home, Charli.” Dash refused to look at me.

  “Not until I know you’re okay.” I touched his arm. “Talk to me, Dash. Let me help.”

  A smile spread across his lips, but it held no joy. His eyes flashed, and his teeth sharpened into fangs, his nose appearing to grow a bit longer. A low noise rumbled in his chest, vibrating so hard that it shook through me. The animal in him threatened me with a growl, and I jumped. With a little effort, he hid his other half again.