She clapped her hands and I felt a small scaly head press against my neck. Trip chirped in delight and leapt at the little girl. She giggled and fell back, hugging the small creature to her chest.
“Trip! Don’t be rude,” I chided, alarmed by the sudden and unexpected display of affection.
Vince laughed softly and dropped to his knee beside the child. “How on earth did you find one?” he asked, smiling at the creature in awe.
I bit my lip. “I think he found me. He usually doesn’t like strangers,” I told him.
It was then that Jem crawled over, tugging on Trip’s tail. Trip chirped and started darting in the circles around the kids.
“He’s never acted like this before,” I said with a small frown.
Vince shifted so he was sitting, causing him to move closer to me. “They don’t seem to mind it much.”
I bit my lip again. I didn’t know much about kids but I wasn’t sure letting them play with magical creatures who sometimes breathe fire when they get excited and have needle sharp teeth was such a good idea. “Is it safe? He hasn’t really ever been around children.”
“They’re fine, love, relax,” he murmured.
“Are... um, are they human?” I asked softly. Usually, I never would have asked but, given Trips reaction and Vince’s calm, it seemed likely that they were different than most kids.
Vince smiled. “No, they aren’t.”
I blushed, hoping I hadn’t offended him by asking. “I only ask because he doesn’t really like werewolves and he hides from humans.” I ducked my head forward and he reached up to tuck back a lock of hair that had fallen in front of my face.
He didn’t seem offended, he seemed... relaxed, happy even. I closed my eyes for a heartbeat at the fleeting contact of his skin against mine then glanced at the kids.
“Are you into classic literature?” I asked suddenly, to distract myself from the unexpectedly intimate moment.
He frowned a little, clearly taken off guard. “Why do you ask?”
“I was just thinking, because the name- Jem,” I said, by way of explanation.
He still looked perplexed. “His mother named him.”
I smiled, a little self-conscious. “It’s the name of the brother in To Kill a Mockingbird.” The thought made me wonder if I’d once been into classic literature, it was a rather random fact to know and, with my memory loss, I couldn’t actually recall having read the book.
He raised an eyebrow. “It is?”
I nodded.
“That’s interesting, do you read a lot?” he asked.
I shrugged. “Just whatever books Beth has lying around.”
Trip leapt towards me, settling on my knee and watching Vince warily. “He’s smaller than I would have expected,” Vince said.
“I think Dragons must age slower than people, he’s at least a couple of years old, but he hasn’t grown much,” I told him, reaching to scratch Trip’s chin in a way that made him squeal softly in delight. “It’s probably for the best, I don’t know how I’d feed him if he got much bigger.”
“It’ll be easier to keep him hidden this way, there are many people who would kill to see a Dragon,” Vince said seriously.
My eyes widened. I didn’t know what I would do without Trip, as sad as it seemed, he was my best friend most days. “You won’t tell anyone, will you?”
Vince smiled softly. “Of course not.”
He seemed so serious, so genuine, I felt a flutter in my stomach. I glanced down as Jem climbed onto my lap and I was glad for the distraction. “Hey, little one.”
Vince sucked in a sharp breath and I glanced up at him.
“Are you okay?” I asked, just then realising how close he had gotten. We’d both been leaning towards each other as if pulled by some invisible force.
He nodded quickly and I pulled back, blushing as I quickly rose to my feet, carefully setting Jem aside. I’d nearly kissed a man I barely knew, right in front of his child. I was so messed up. It was pathetic, really, that I craved affection so badly I was willing to make a fool of myself.
“I should go, it was nice to see you.”
A last glanced revealed him looking like he wanted to stop me, or at least say something but, before he could speak, I was gone.
I WAS TYPING AWAY AT the computer later that evening when Beth stepped into the room. I’d come downstairs after a few hours of self-imposed isolation only after I was certain Vince was gone.
The last thing I wanted to do was make a fool out of myself, though I’m pretty sure I’d already managed that, given the way I’d run off. Beth hadn’t pressed me on anything, hadn’t acknowledged my weird behaviour, or even mentioned the fact I’d been keeping a pet under her roof without so much as telling her.
But, considering I’d found the beast curled up comfortably in a pile of blankets in the corner of the living room, she didn’t seem mad about that. He’d burrowed into the blankets but the tip of his tail had been sticking out. This made me question how I’d ever thought of him as a stealthy creature.
Now, Beth placed a piece of cake in front of me, on the computer desk, and I could help breathe in the rich chocolatey smell of it.
“You should take a break from staring at the screen, dear, it can’t be good for your eyes.”
“Just a little while longer, then I’ll go to bed,” I promised, offering her a tired smile. She stroked my hair in a motherly gesture before squeezing my shoulder and walking away.
The draw of the cake was too much to resist so I took a break to eat it. She’d even added a scoop of ice cream. The woman was a saint. When I was done I set the bowl aside and focused back on the computer.
The number of people who go missing every year was, frankly, shocking. I’d been scouring reports of missing people in search for, well... me. I didn’t have a name or address but I did have my face and, unless some serious cosmetic surgery had been involved, I figured I’d recognise my own face.
But so far I’d come up with nothing. Countless women, roughly my age, had been reported missing in surrounding towns and cities at the same time I’d found myself lost in the forest without a single memory of my past.
None of those women looked even remotely like me. My hair was a rich brown, my eyes a grey-blue colour that wasn’t common. I was average height and curvy but also a little more muscular than most women.
The only other distinguishing was a small tattoo but it was kept beneath my clothing so there was no guarantee that anyone but the person who’d put it there would know it existed. It also wasn’t complicated enough to need a particularly talented hand so literally, any tattoo artist could have put it there. Hell, a college kid with a steady hand and a needle could have done it.
I finished a search on the last missing person I’d discovered until I found a picture of Nina Daley on a social media account. Her hair was brown but the ends were pink and one side of her head was partially shaved. She also went a little heavy on the eye makeup.
The look was pretty badass but it wasn’t me. Beth had tried to apply eyeliner to me once but I had kept twitching, making the task impossible. I didn’t like things near my eyes, though I could manage mascara.
I rubbed my forehead warily and shut down the computer. It seemed hopeless. How many people went missing but were never even reported?
I was just one face among thousands, probably nobody important but that didn’t matter to me. I didn’t need to be important, I just needed to be wanted by someone, anyone. Beth and her boys were my friends but their kindness also sometimes felt like charity.
Rising to my feet, I stretched before taking the bowl to the kitchen and rinsing it out. I was beyond tired, and not just physically. It had been a long day.
Chapter Five
“Thank you, dear, I don’t know what we’d have done without your help,” Ethel said, patting my arm. I’d found her already getting started up in the attic.
“No problem, I’m happy to do it,” I said as I placed another box
into the bed of the truck. For the task, I’d forgone my usual outfit for some of my workout gear, thick leggings, an old shirt, and a hoodie.
“Right, now, Miss Tulip has already removed the things she wants to keep so all of it can go on the truck, but if you see anything you think she’d want to keep you can set it downstairs in the main hall,” she explained.
“Okay, got it.”
“There’s some furniture up there too, but that might be too heavy for you to shift, even with the other help. If so, don’t worry, we’ll have someone else come take those later.”
“Great.” I smiled politely.
“You can keep going, I’ve already piled some things into my car. So, now you’re here, I’ll drive that over to the shop but it shouldn’t take me too long and I’ll be back straight after.
“Hey, Ethel, sorry I’m late.”
I glanced up in surprise as Adam stepped around the back of the van. He also had a new look, having lost the usual business suit, and was decked out in jeans and a leather jacket. It was a look I hadn’t seen on him before and I approved.
“Oh, don’t worry about it, lad, we’re just happy you could come,” Ethel said, waving off his apology. “I’m just stepping away for a bit but Elsa knows what to do and I won’t be long,” she said, squeezing his arm before offering me a small wave and heading over to her car.
Adam smiled at me and my heart may have sped up a little. “Good to see you, Elsa.”
“Mm, and you.” I quickly turned away to head back inside. “With your help, this shouldn’t take long.”
“I’m not in a rush, I’ve got no other plans.”
His mention of plans reminded me on the invitation and I was glad I was facing away cause it meant he didn’t see me wince. “Yeah, I’ve got plenty of time, though Beth will probably be expecting me back for dinner.”
“Yes, how is Beth?”
“She’s good, keeping the boys in order,” I said as I made my way up the narrow steps of the hotel.
“Ah, yes, the werewolves. How is it to live amongst shapeshifters?”
“It’s pretty normal, most of the time. Though, one day out of the month they get a little wild.”
“Are they all born werewolves or were some of them bitten?” he asked.
“You are awfully curious about the werewolves,” I observed as we reached the attic. The space was actually pretty large, though the sloped walls made it feel very enclosed.
The owner had been thoughtful enough to dust and air the place out the day before but it still smelled musty and I felt as if dust clung to my hands from the boxed I’d already shifted.
He smiled. “A bunch of athletic guys strip naked and then go hunting in the woods behind your house once a month, can you blame me for being curious?”
“No,” I said, with a smile of my own.
“So, you’ve never...”
I picked up a box and placed it in his hands, pretending not to get the implied question. Then I snagged a box to carry myself. “I’ve never what?”
“Taken an interest in any of those alpha males?” he asked, subtle like a bulldozer.
I headed back to the stairs so he wouldn’t see the way my lips twister with wry amusement. “Not so far, and they aren’t all alpha males.”
He followed closely as we headed back down. “And how can you tell the difference?”
I shrugged. “I think it’s in the way they carry themselves, alphas are confident and hard to rattle.”
“And, that doesn’t appeal to you?” he asked, his tone deceptively casual.
“It’s comforting,” I confessed. “But there’s more to life than being an alpha male.” I slid the box onto the back of the van and stepped back as he did the same.
“Yeah, I was always more of a bookworm than an alpha,” he confided.
I quirked an eyebrow at him. “Really, you?”
“Yup, don’t let the rugged good looks fool you, I’m very intellectual.”
I laughed softly as we headed back upstairs.
I nudged a couple of boxes aside and approached a large old-fashioned wardrobe. On top was a box that was full of what might have been photo albums.
I stepped closer and lifted myself up on tiptoes and reached. My foot slipped a little on an uneven board and I wobbled. I might have fallen if hands hadn’t steadied me. I let out a breath and carefully lowered the box to rest on a chest of drawers next to me.
“Are you alright?” he asked, his hands still on my hips.
It took me a moment to respond. He was so close, I knew that if I leaned back I’d feel his body against mine. If I turned around and kissed him, he’d kiss back. Maybe he’d even brush back my hair and pull me closer.
Briefly, I lost myself to the fantasy but I knew it was just that, a fantasy. Was I ready for the reality?
I wasn’t sure. But, I did know that a musty old attic wasn’t the place I wanted to find out.
“I’m fine,” I said softly, “next time, you’re getting the ones from the top.” I hefted the box back into my arms and turned, using it as a shield to put space between us.
I hurried back downstairs, eager for some fresh air. Suddenly, I was feeling overheated.
We worked for a while longer in silence. There was a tension between us, I got the sense that he wanted to say something but he hadn’t yet worked himself up to blurting it out.
I let out a relieved breath when Ethel returned and we met her downstairs just as we were lifting a narrow desk onto the truck. “Oh, you’re doing such a great job,” Ethel said, glancing casually between us.
That look caused me to grow suspicious. Was Ethel trying to play matchmaker? Otherwise, why would she ask a waitress and a businessman to help shift this stuff?
We sure wouldn’t be my first pick for moving furniture.
Was ever the local knitting circle getting tired of me being single? I knew I was, I thought, remembering the feeling of Adam at my back and the urge to turn around and kiss him. It had been a strong urge.
“Yup, nothing to it.” I smiled, trying to get my libido back under control as a flush threatened to break out across my cheeks.
Luckily, as it turned out, elderly women made pretty good buffers. Even if her comments and questions to Adam were blatant attempts to show off his finer qualities to me.
Oh, he had an apartment in the city as well as a house out here? He must be doing very well for himself.
Just where did he get his haircut? Ethel would give anything to have her son look so neat and refined, instead of scruffy and unwashed.
And, it was extra impressive as most men these days fail to take such good care of themselves.
I endured almost two hours of this but it wasn’t too bad as Ethel did most of the talking. Adam just seemed sheepish, embarrassed by her increasingly less subtle attempts at flattery. He got points for not encouraging her. He even opened his mouth as if to cut her off once or twice, but she didn’t give him a chance and he offered me a helpless look instead.
Chapter Six
I bit my lip as I saw the small group of people who stood outside the house as I returned after work. I braked and came to a stop in the driveway, then I walked the bike to the wall where I left it before continuing on towards Beth.
She smiled brightly at me. “Hello, dear, Murray is talking to Vincent and Sandra about an event at the school. They’re dedicating a day to learning about supernatural creatures and Sandra’s trying to convince the alpha to talk to the kids,” she said with amusement.
“Cool, and is Vince going to talk about, um, whatever he is?”
She smiled. “I don’t think so but that boy’s fairly knowledgeable about most supernaturals so he’s agreed to pitch in.”
I nodded thoughtfully. “If- um, if Murray needs it, I could also help out.”
She gave me a knowing look which made me realise it may have seemed like I’d made the offer in order to hang out with Vince. Shit. But denying it would only make me seem more guilty.
> I’d actually been thinking I’d like to learn more about supernaturals myself.
“I’m sure he’d love your help,” she told me before turning her attention back to the kids on the lawn, Jem and Evan, Sandra’s son. They were lightly kicking a ball around, well, sometimes they kicked but mostly they used their hands and sometimes they fell over.
Kids were cute.
I noticed Beth was watching me with an amused smirk and blushed. She had a knack for making me feel awkward. “Will you watch them while I grab some juice?” she asked suddenly before I could escape up to my room.
“Um, sure.”
If I’d been worried, it had been for nothing, the boy just played quietly without making a fuss. Even still, I was relieved when another adult stepped outside.
I glanced back at the sound of footsteps and caught sight of a familiar face. “Hey there,” Vince said with a small smile.
“Hey,” I said, glancing down shyly.
“Thanks for watching them,” he said, tilting his head towards the boys.
“Oh, they’re no trouble.”
“Still, I appreciated it.” He shifted discreetly closer. “How are things at the cafe?”
“They’re fine. Same as always.”
“I’ll have to stop by again soon, cake is my only vice,” he informed me.
I risked a glance at his midsection. “No one would ever guess,” I murmured.
He laughed softly. “I’m glad you think so, standing next to a girl as pretty as you is enough to make any man feel a little insecure.”
Was it suddenly warm out here? “I’m not sure if I should be flattered or concerned.”
He smiled sheepishly and reached up to brush my hair behind my ear, like he’d done before. “Flattered. Trust me, Elsa, my intention will always be to flatter you.”
I blushed. The name I’d been given sounded strange coming from his lips and I wished that I knew my real name, if only so I could hear him say it. In an attempt to hide how much he’d flustered me, I smirked playfully. “Wow, laying it on pretty thick, aren’t you?”
“Sometimes fortune favours the bold.”
Magic & Memory Loss Page 3
