by Amy Boyles
I took a menacing step forward. “I am Pepper, and this is Cordelia and Amelia. We smell different because we’re not from here.”
The raccoon’s eyes widened for a split second before he burst into a cackle. “Oh, that’s rich. You’re Pepper and you smell different because you’re not from here. If you’re not from here, where are you from?”
“We made a wish,” Cordelia explained, “asking for a different reality. Sort of like in It’s a Wonderful Life. Well, we’ve been given that different reality.”
“And so we’re here,” Amelia said.
The raccoon’s laughter faded. He stared at us. Our sour expressions must’ve convinced him we were telling the truth—at least our truth as we knew it.
“Oh, jeez. You’re telling me you made a wish and now things as you know it are different?”
I nodded. “That’s why I didn’t know what happened to Mattie, and as sorry as I am to say it, I don’t know who you are.”
The raccoon puffed up his chest. “You’ve gotten us into some crazy messes before, Pepper, but this takes the punch.”
“Don’t you mean cake?” Amelia asked.
“No, I mean punch. I don’t like cake so I wouldn’t take any of that, but you give me a good bowl of punch, the kind where there’s Sprite and ice cream in it, maybe some Jell-O, and I’m in absolute heaven.”
“Well, I wish I could say that this is a mess that you’re in with me,” I said, “but I’m afraid my cousins and I are in it together.”
“Well for starters, you could drop me from this bubble.” The raccoon pointed to his encasement. “That would be showing some good will.”
I realized he was right. Grimacing, I apologized. “Sorry, but you did attack us.”
“Well, I thought you were witches with a glamour on you. Either that or zombies. But you didn’t smell like zombies.”
“Good to know,” Cordelia said sarcastically.
With a zap from my finger, the bubble disappeared and the raccoon dropped to the ground.
He brushed himself off and straightened his back. “Let me introduce myself. My name is Ratchet, and I am your familiar, Pepper Dunn. I would fight through thick and thin to help you or a member of your family.”
He eyed my cousins. “Though I’d prefer to fight for you. You never know what your cousins would make me do.”
I quirked a brow. “Is there a story there?”
Ratchet shook his head. “No story. At least not yet. Now. What can I do for you?”
I bent over and shook his paw. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ratchet. Now. If you could tell me where Hugo is, that would be great.”
Ratchet scratched his chin. “Hugo? Who’s that?”
I frowned. “A baby dragon. Well, he’s not a baby anymore. He’s big. Getting bigger every day. I received him in the mail at the familiar store.”
“A dragon egg? You sold it,” Ratchet said. He grabbed his knapsack from the counter and tied it around his waist. “You didn’t keep the egg any longer than you had to.”
Panic spiked down my spine. This place was cuckoo. I’d sold Hugo, was engaged to Rufus and I’d broken up with Axel? I needed to get out of here and out of here fast.
“Tell us, Ratchet.”
“Anything.”
I licked my lips and prayed his answer would be yes. “Is there a store in town called Southern Wishes?”
Ratchet nodded. “There sure is. I’ll take you to it.”
Chapter 4
“Let’s see if we can get over there and fix all of this,” Cordelia said.
“I thought you said the spell would wear off,” Amelia argued. “That our Fantasy Island experience would only last a few days.”
Cordelia nervously raked her fingers through her hair. “What if I’m wrong?”
“That would be a problem,” Amelia admitted.
My cousins and me as well as Ratchet headed outside. Betty was nowhere to be seen. Probably in the kitchen fixing something to drink.
That was good. I really didn’t want to see her again and set off any alarm bells in her head. My cousins and I needed to lay as low as possible. Not make any waves or else people might think we’d lost our minds.
Of course we could explain there was a magical object involved, but the more my mind started to spin, I wondered what reality I was really in.
Were we in our own reality and everything in it had changed? Or were we in some sort of different dimension and these people really existed?
Did Ratchet really live with a different Pepper? If that was the case, then I didn’t want to upset their apple cart too much. The Pepper I had slipped into had picked Rufus as her husband, not Axel. If I started stomping around in her life and ruining things—like breaking things off with Rufus because I wanted to—then that might leave her with an unfixable, broken situation when she returned and I left.
So you see? This situation wasn’t nearly as simple as I hoped.
We stepped through the front door, and I walked smack-dab into a man’s chest.
“Oomph!”
Arms shot out and wrapped around my shoulders. “I’ve got you. Don’t you worry. You’re not going anywhere.”
The voice was familiar, soothingly familiar.
Rufus.
He steadied me, and I glanced up into his sparkling eyes. Rufus’s dark hair was raked from his face softly as if he’d brushed it with his fingers. His eyes sparkled with tenderness, and the smile on his face offered me the world.
I sucked air. I hadn’t been this close to Rufus in weeks, and when I had, I hadn’t noticed his musky scent or felt his gentle touch.
Sparks flitted down my arms to my fingers.
“Here I thought I was picking you up. Are you going to pick me up?” he said, amused.
Oh crap. I really wished this Pepper had a calendar somewhere so I knew what was going on.
Suddenly my phone pinged. I pulled it from my pocket. DATE WITH RUFUS popped up on the screen.
Well, apparently this Pepper did come with a calendar. Good thing for me.
I smacked my head and laughed nervously. “Oh, silly me. I’d almost forgotten.” I waved the phone in front of him. “Good thing I put it in here.”
“How could you not have?” Rufus said. “This is a special night.”
My gaze flitted to my cousins. “It is?”
Rufus glanced bashfully at my cousins. “Are you all packed?”
A knot lodged in my throat. “Packed?”
Rufus released my shoulders and traced a finger down my arm. “We’re going to the lake. Remember? To give us a break before the week of festivities begins tomorrow.”
A knot jumped into my throat. “A week?”
Rufus looked embarrassed. He probably was. His bride-to-be was suddenly questioning things that had probably been in place for months.
He chuckled. “Yes, a week. So we’re going away for the night so you can rest up, remember?”
No. I didn’t remember. “So I need a bag.”
Rufus chuckled. “You do.”
Cordelia grabbed my arm and lifted a finger. “Can you give us a minute, Rufus? Pepper left her suitcase inside. We’ll just go get it.”
“She did?” Amelia said.
Cordelia kicked her.
“Oh, that’s right. She did.” Amelia pointed to Ratchet. “He packed it for her. Put in lots of crazy things like ice packs. No idea why he’d do that.” She scratched his head. “Crazy raccoon. So we’ve got to fix it.”
Rufus bowed slightly and took a step back. “Of course. I don’t want to get in the way of cousins. Pepper, I’ll just be here.”
The four of us retreated inside. I started to speak, but Cordelia motioned for us to return to my room.
Amelia magicked us up there.
I raked sweaty hands over my hair. “What am I supposed to do? This is obviously a spending-the-night situation.”
Cordelia grimaced. “You could suddenly get sick and not go.”
Amelia n
odded. “I’ll give you a violent case of vomiting if you want.”
Ratchet stepped forward. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if you start acting funny, people will know something’s off. If they found out you used a wish and are screwing with their emotions, well…I don’t think you want to go around hurting people, do you?”
I cringed. I didn’t want to hurt anybody. That was for sure. I looked at my cousins. My shoulders sank. “As much as I hate to admit it, I’m going to have to go along with what the Pepper in this life already has planned. Let me get my things.”
“They’re in your closet,” Ratchet said. “You’re already packed. In fact, I packed for you last night.”
I was suddenly quite appalled that a male raccoon would be going through my personal things.
Seeming to sense my discomfort, Ratchet waved his hand. “Don’t worry, I didn’t go through your underwear. You packed that.”
“Good,” I said, relieved.
“Tell you what,” Ratchet said, “if you want, I’ll go with you.”
The offer was like being handed a golden apple. I so wanted him to come. But Rufus would suspect something strange if I suddenly brought my familiar to a romantic getaway.
I rubbed his head. “As much as I appreciate the offer, I have to do this on my own. It’ll be fine.”
Cordelia nodded curtly. “While you’re away, Amelia and I will try to figure out what we can about what happened, exactly, and when we can get back.”
“And figure out what’s changed in our lives,” Amelia said. “We all made wishes. Pepper can’t be the only one with a rewritten life.”
I nodded. “Keep Ratchet with you. He may be able to help.” I turned to him. “You will help, won’t you?”
He scratched behind his ear. “Of course. I’ll do whatever I can.”
I smoothed my shirt, trying to get rid of the sweat that still soaked my palms. I lashed a huge smile to my face and ignored the feeling of eels swimming in my stomach.
“Okay. Time to go.”
“Everything okay?” Rufus asked when we were settled in the car. And when I say car, I meant limousine that he had obviously hired.
“Oh yeah,” I said. “Everything’s great. Sorry, there were just a few things I’d forgotten to pack.”
Rufus studied me. I could practically feel his eyes probing me for the truth. He was comfortable as heck around me, but I hadn’t been around him in ages. I didn’t know what had bonded us. How exactly we’d gotten together.
“How far is the drive?” I asked.
A mischievous smile curled on his lips. “We’ll be there shortly.”
With that, a magical cloud enveloped the car, and after a pop that made the vehicle sound like it was being broken and put back together—the sound of crunching steel and cracking plastic—the trees that lined the road leaving Magnolia Cove disappeared.
Rufus took my hand. Jumbled nerves snaked up my arm. Rufus kissed my palm, and his eyes took on a seductive look. “I’ve been waiting all week for this. I’ve had so many client calls to deal with, and all I’ve wanted was to escape to the mountains with you.”
Uh. What was I supposed to say? I couldn’t lie to him about my feelings, and being with him felt like a betrayal to Axel. But at the same time this Rufus believed I loved him.
I’d already broken Rufus’s heart once. I couldn’t do it again. That wouldn’t be fair.
So I figured the best thing was to dodge his statement about wanting to spend time with me. “What clients?”
He waved dismissively. “Oh, you know. I made a protection amulet for Patrice Potts, and of course I didn’t do it right. And then I made a vampire ward for Wilhomena Wallace, but she said she’d requested a werewolf ward instead.”
He shook his head and sighed, relaxing onto the bench. “All I know is that I couldn’t wait to hold you.”
Then in a flash Rufus tugged me to him. I fell onto his chest, and before I knew it, his arms were wrapped around me. My heart fluttered.
“Oh!” I gently untangled myself. “Wow. Well. That sounds horrible about Mrs. Potts and Mrs. Wallace.”
Rufus’s expression fell.
I pretended to fix my hair. “And I can’t tell you how excited I am to be spending tonight here alone with you, too.” I walked my fingers up his arm. “We’re going to have a great time.”
My stomach knotted.
The voice inside my head screamed at me, Betraying Axel. You are betraying Axel.
I forced a smile and settled back into the seat. Rufus ran his fingers through my hair. I closed my eyes to avoid any sort of confrontation.
“We’re here,” he whispered in my ear.
I blinked and gasped. The limo crested over a hill, and blue crystalline water shimmered in the sunlight. A mountain lodge lay up a winding hill to our right. Large, spacious windows revealed a cavernous hearth with a roaring fire, lots of furs and skins and even antler chandeliers.
“Wow. This place is definitely romantic.”
“There’s a hot tub in the room,” Rufus murmured.
My eyes widened. “Um. Oh great. But I’m starving.”
Rufus took my hand. “I’ve got it all planned out.”
After we checked in and dropped our luggage in our room—there was only one bed, by the way—Rufus escorted me through the lodge to a restaurant that overlooked the lake.
The water looked almost golden. A rock island sat in the center while boats motored by. A woman sunbathed on the rock. She waved at the passing boats.
“Is that a mermaid?”
Rufus snaked his arm around my waist. “It is. Want to meet her?”
I shook my head. “No. That’s okay. I just wanted to make sure.”
Rufus eyed me curiously. “That’s why you wanted to come here, remember? Because they have mermaids and other fantastical creatures.”
“Oh, silly me.” I laughed. “I’d forgotten. I just need some food. My blood sugar is low.”
After we’d ordered and I did my best not to chug my glass of wine, I propped my chin on my palm.
“So,” I said, trying to figure out a way to make it through this night, “tell me about us.”
Rufus straightened in his chair. A smile quirked his lips, and I instantly remembered why I’d felt anything for him in the past. The air of confidence he held mingled with the little bit of refined danger made Rufus a creature all his own.
“Tell you about us?” His brow arched with interest. “Feeling nostalgic, are you?”
I traced my finger across the tablecloth. “You could say that. We’re getting married. I want to know about that. I like to relive it. Remind me of how we got together and the events that happened after.”
He smiled, and the corners of his eyes crinkled. “You want to know? Okay. I knew I loved you from the moment I first saw you.”
I balked. “You mean the day you attacked me?”
Which seemed like a lifetime ago. Rufus nodded.
“Are you kidding?”
He shook his head. “Wish I was. I wanted your power, as you know”—he chuckled uncomfortably—“but once I got to know you, everything changed. For me. You took some convincing, but you know that.”
Right. But I wanted more information. More in-depth stuff about what exactly had happened that would make me dump Axel.
Axel.
A spear of pain ripped through my heart. I shoved it aside. I mean, seriously. Since I wasn’t with my cousins helping figure out how to get out of here, I could at least find out what had transpired.
“But I know what happened from my perspective. What I want to know from your perspective is how it all played out.”
“Well…” Rufus paused as the server appeared to deliver our food. Once everything looked fine, he continued. “If I’d never gotten hurt when the Head Witch Order arrived, we’d never be together. I never would’ve told you my true feelings about you.”
I nodded. “I remember. You were hurt.”
“Badl
y and of course I started babbling about my feelings, and that was when you kissed me.”
I dropped my fork. It clattered onto the plate. I jumped. “Sorry,” I murmured. “That’s right. I kissed you.”
“That’s when you confessed your true feelings.”
I nodded dumbly. “But the Head Witch Order only came to Magnolia Cove…”
“Five months ago,” Rufus said.
My jaw dropped. In my world the Head Witch Order had arrived much, much later. Only a couple of months ago, and here Rufus was telling me that in his world everything was different.
That was when I’d dumped Axel.
My phone buzzed, and I squealed, frightened by the intrusion. “Oh. Sorry.” I glanced at the screen. CORDELIA flashed.
I slipped from the chair. “I’ll be right back.”
I crossed to the windows, far enough away where Rufus couldn’t hear me. Night was descending quickly. The mermaid had dipped down below the surface, and lights flickered on, illuminating a walking path.
“What do you know?” I didn’t wait for an answer. “Please tell me we can get out of here tonight. There’s only one bed in the room.”
“This isn’t going to be that easy,” Cordelia said.
“Why not?”
She sighed. “My dad is doing some research.”
My hopes plummeted. “Oh no. It’s that bad?”
“It’s that bad.”
I jabbed my toe into the tile floor. “Great. Well, I can’t do anything until tomorrow. Or should I leave? Tell Rufus I’ve got to go now?”
“No. Stay where you are. Keep with the plan.”
I exhaled. “Okay. I’ll call you when I get back.”
I hung up and sauntered back to Rufus. “Sorry. Cordelia’s got some stuff going on.”
He arched a brow. “Doesn’t she always.”
“Yeah, right. She’s the most drama-free person I know.”
Rufus stopped. “Cordelia? You must be joking.”
I twirled my fork absently, remembering I had not one freaking clue what the Cordelia in this reality was like. “Yes. I was kidding. You know me, always joking.”
Rufus wiped his napkin over his mouth and smiled. His eyes filled with love and kindness. He’d come so far from the Rufus I’d originally met. Part of me wished I could make him happy, but that wasn’t my place.
