First Moon : A Reverse Harem Tale (Lovin' the Coven Book 1)

by Jacquelyn Faye

  I decided to explore the rest of my newly acquired kingdom.

  The kitchen actually had nice gas appliances of industrial stainless steel. They might be salvageable and of use in the coffee shop. Maybe Josie could turn it into a café and coffee shop. Sandwiches and such. I'd suggest it when she got there. I'd dropped her off a few doors down to pick up donuts and coffee for the hopefully small army of witches on their way.

  The bunk area would make a good storage room. The battalion chief's office would make a nice office. The garage could be the actual book store… I couldn't believe how perfect the place was. The roof was tall enough to add a second floor, maybe with an open center looking down on the first. I made a mental note to ask the general contractor I'd be hiring if it were feasible and how much the cost would be…

  I set my laptop up in the kitchen at the counter overlooking the living area. I could practically see the bistro chairs and tables sitting in the cute café. We could even put a storefront in the one wall overlooking the sidewalk like I'd originally planned. I nearly bounced with excitement.

  I decided to wait on looking for the General Contractor until we magicked what we could into its former glory. I wouldn't make any other changes until the contractor came in and did his work.

  Leaving the computer to boot, I headed for the garage. It wasn't as large as I would have liked, but then again if it were, I wouldn't have a firehouse in my possession. It was one of the reasons the county decided to rebuild instead of repair. It had been built to house smaller firetrucks, not the large monsters prevalent today. A second floor would be necessary to house the stock I'd had planned in my mind's eye. I briefly wondered if there were other nearby areas I could turn into bookstore as well.

  Wonder if the police station is for sale…

  Wonder if the police chief comes with the purchase…

  I giggled at the thought racing through my perverted brain.

  As if by magic, the chief came strolling through the open front door. "Mornin', Dot."

  "Morning, Chief."

  "Anybody show up yet?"

  "Negative. Josie will be here in a minute with breakfast, but you're the first."

  "Well, it's my day off. So, put me to work."

  Dirty thoughts…

  "Oh, I will," I purred. "But let's wait 'til everyone gets here. I'd rather you be around to make introductions and then we can have that small meeting and tear into the donuts. You like donuts, don't you?"

  "Was that a cop joke?"

  "It was! Glad you caught that. I hate explaining my jokes."

  "You're a strange girl. I should arrest you for…something."

  "Cuff me whenever you want. Warning you, I might like it though."

  "I'm sure you would." He laughed and looked around the garage. "This place is going to need a lot of work. And a lot of money."

  "Yeah. I'm not expecting to be open next week. I'm realistic but hopeful. I'll be calling a general contractor to do what we can't. And build some bookcases."

  "You're not going to go with premade ones?"

  "No. I want everything to match and fit perfectly. My mother had a personal library. Custom made bookshelves aren't that much more expensive than boring metal ones and look a whole lot nicer."

  "Your mother the high priestess?"

  I nodded. "That's the one."

  "What coven?"

  "The Coven of the Dark Spring."

  "Dark Spring?"

  "Yep," I said quietly, having made the name up for one specific reason.

  "That doesn't sound right."

  "Really?" Damn him and his unnatural ability to see through lies.

  "Yeah. Dark Spring? Like as in the season or water? Hmmm. Dark spring almost sounds like black well…"

  Shit. "Fine. You're right."

  "Huh?"

  "Yes. The coven is Black Well."

  "Isn't that your last name?"

  I groaned. He just didn't know when to let up. "Huh. I never realized that."

  "The whole coven is named after your family?"

  "Guess so."

  "What aren't you saying."

  "Nothing. Give me a hand opening the garage doors? I want to let some fresh air into the place. It still smells like rubber and ash."

  He nodded and walked over, hitting the button I hadn't noticed. I expected them to be manual pull chains, but they had electric motors. One opened. The other made a hideous grinding noise and he hit the other button to stop it.

  "Well that didn't sound good," I said, grateful for the distraction from the coven name conversation.

  "Yeah. Sounds like the chain slipped the motor. I'll go next door and get a ladder to take a look."

  "It can wait. One door is good enough. I was serious about wanting you here to make introductions."

  "That may not go as well as you think. Don't forget, they stopped wanting to have anything to do with me when I wouldn't give up questioning them about Rebecca's death. Hell, I think half of them thought I did it. You might want to let Jimmy or Dennis handle the introductions."

  "If we don't deal with this, the coven will never be whole."

  He opened his mouth to say something else, but Jimmy and Dennis walked through the open garage door. "Good timing, guys. I'll be right back. Gonna grab a ladder," he said and shot out the door before I could stop him.

  "Everything okay?" Dennis picked up on the awkward situation.

  "Yeah. He's afraid of being around the other coven members, I think."

  "Don't blame him. Things were horrible for a while there. He was almost frantic to find Becca's killer. We all understand that. It cut him a lot of slack. I think everybody is ready to put all that behind us now."

  "Except for the one who killed Richie," I said solemnly. If it were a spell, it had to be one of the coven members.

  Josie walked in carrying three boxes of donuts and two gallons of coffee. "Help," she said angrily.

  "Shit." I strode forward and pulled the two gallons of coffee off the boxes of donuts.

  "Thank you! It was only a couple of doors down. I didn't think they'd be that heavy…"

  Dennis grabbed the boxes of donuts from her, leaving her with the bag of cups and condiments. "Where you want these?"

  "Let's put it in the kitchen. Josie, come look."

  "I'll give the chief a hand when he gets back," Jimmy interjected.

  I nodded. "Want coffee?"

  "I'll get it in a minute."

  "I'll grab you one," Dennis told him and we headed for the kitchen.

  "I was thinking about turning the kitchen into a small café-slash-coffee shop. Sandwiches and such. Whatever you can handle."

  "It's perfect!" She practically ran around the commercial kitchen. She checked the appliances, but the stove didn't turn on.

  "I called for water and electric. Didn't think about the gas. We might want to have someone come in and check everything before we turn it on."

  "The water heater is probably gas, too. You might want to call right away, if you want hot water. I'll check it when I give Jimmy coffee. I'll take one for the chief, too."

  "Thanks, Dennis."

  I didn't even have to use my computer to find the utility number. There was a sticker on the vent hood with Danbur County Gas on it. It even had instructions for having the gas turned on. I made sure everything was off and made the call. They told me they'd have somebody out shortly.

  I hung up. Dennis had just returned from delivering coffee and checking the water heater. "They'll be here soon," I told him.

  "It's gas. The guys said thanks for the coffee. I'm going to go supervise them. Make sure nobody falls off the ladder."

  "Well, they can come get donuts when they're hungry. Gimme cofffeee."

  Josie poured me a cup and I inhaled its delicious aroma before taking a sip. "This is good. We're going to have competition."

  "Not really. They literally serve coffee. No macchiatos, lattes, cappuccinos, or anything iced or frozen. We should be fine."
/>   "That's why you volunteered to go. You were scoping out the competition!"

  She blushed, which told me everything I needed to know. I swelled with pride. She was taking the business very seriously. I gave her a smile.

  "I'm going to go check on the guys. Not that I don't trust Dennise, but there are ladders involved. This never ends well."

  "I'm going to go check the rest of the place out. You wanna come?"

  I shook my head. "I already did. I'm going to go supervise and see if anybody else shows up."

  "Okay. You just wanna stare at asses on ladders. I see how you are."

  "Holy shit. I didn't even think of that!" I fake ran toward the door and chuckled as Josie erupted into giggles behind me. As soon as I did clear the exit, I did walk a lot faster. Asses on ladders were always epic.

  There were four hot guys in my garage. Dane had come over from next door, wearing his police uniform. "Hi, Dane."

  "Hello, Dot. Nice place you have here."

  "It will be. Coffee and donuts in the kitchen."

  He smiled and took off, calling, "Thanks," over his shoulder.

  "And you wonder why we make donut jokes," I told Chief standing on top of a very tall extension ladder. Jimmy and Dennis were holding the base.

  "He's new. After twenty years, he'll be sick of them, too."

  "How long have you been chief?" I realized I'd never asked.

  "Five years. Been on the force for twenty."

  "How old are you?"

  "Fifty."

  "Oh, my Lady. You're a baby?"

  "I am not. I'm just not old."

  "How old are you two?" I shifted my conversation to the other two.

  "Thirty-five," Jimmy said.

  "Twenty-seven," Dennis answered.

  I felt like an old maid, I was older than almost all three of them together. And I'd just moved out of my mother's house…

  I decided to change the topic. "Well, how's it look?"

  Chief looked down and shrugged. "The teeth were ground off the motor assembly. I magicked it back. Just trying to get the chain back over it."

  "Be careful," I called up and stared at his ass, not wanting to waste the opportunity.

  Jimmy noticed the direction of my gaze and poked me between the ribs. I blushed and wiggled my eyebrows at him. "Perv," he whispered.

  "Would you prefer it if I were up on the ladder?"

  He nodded vigorously.

  Dennis said, "Please?''

  "So, you're telling me it's okay for you to stare at my ass, but I'm not allowed to look? It makes me a pervert if I do?"

  "Yeah. Pretty much."

  "That's kind of chauvinistic."

  "It's not chauvinistic. It's territorial. I wouldn't mind at all if it were me up on the ladder and you were staring."

  "Oh." I was a little shocked at his openness. "So, you want me to look at your ass?"

  "Anytime you want."

  "I'll keep that in mind. What about you, Dennis? Do you want me to stare at your ass, too?"

  He nodded and smiled before blushing. He was just too damn cute. I sighed. I was gonna have my hands full with those two. I wasn't necessarily done talking about asses either…

  I moved around Jimmy and pretended to be focusing on Chief's work, not his posterior. Reaching down I pinched his left butt cheek. He looked behind him, but didn't swat my hand away. I did it again and a soft chuckle escaped his lips.

  Dennis looked over, but I was blocking his view and pretending nothing was going on. I slipped my hand in my front pocket and looked around the garage. He shrugged and focused on the chief again. I slipped my hand out of my pocket and instead of pinching, ran it over Jimmy's butt cheek, palming it and giving it a gentle squeeze. He shifted his stance. I took a step forward and ran my fingers over his hip, just above his jeans. Turning a bit, I started to reach for the front of his jeans… I stopped myself just short and started blushing furiously. I couldn't believe I had almost gone that far. Jimmy was staring at my hand. I could visibly see him swelling in his jeans.

  "I'm hungry. I might not be a cop, but I like donuts." I pulled my hand back and headed toward the kitchen, leaving him standing there in the open with an inflation problem.

  "Keep the chief safe, boys."

  "I think I got it," Chief called down and started descending the ladder.

  I stopped and turned around to see the result. They moved the ladder out of the way and Dennis hit the button. The motor whined to life, sparked, and died in a puff of smoke.

  "Maybe not." The chief looked chagrined.

  "It's okay. I'll have the GC replace the damn thing. Not sure if I'm keeping the doors, anyway. I'll probably put the entrance there."

  "Sorry."

  "Seriously. Don't be. One door should be enough for ventilation now. If you three want to start restoring things, I'd appreciate it. I'll go start looking for contractors. Let me know when everyone is here."

  "Give Johnson Brothers a call. They're reliable and honest."

  "Thanks, Jimmy," I said warily. Unsure if he was serious or making a Johnson joke…

  "Seriously. They're the biggest contractors in Cedar Falls," he added, answering my question. Dennis nodded.

  "I think they might be the only contractors left in the area," Chief added.

  "I'll give them a Google." I opened the door to the living area and headed for the kitchen. Josie was talking to a blonde woman, casually drinking coffee and eating a donut.

  "Hello?" I slipped into the kitchen, making my greeting a question.

  "You must be Dot." She set her coffee down and held out her hand.

  "I am," I replied and shook it gently. She was a wisp of a woman. If she were taller than five-feet it would have been a small miracle. No pun intended. She couldn't have weighed more than eighty or ninety pounds either, but she didn't look like a child. If anything, she looked elven. Her ears were even slightly pointed.

  "I'm Candace. One of the coven. The chief said you were new to the area and needed some help. Josie," she paused and gave my friend a smile," just filled me in. Welcome to Cedar Falls."

  I relaxed. "Thanks, Candace. And thanks for the help. Sorry, we were in the garage trying to fix one of the doors." I took in the rest of her. She was wearing denim overalls that were two sizes too large, but not too tall for her slight frame. If she'd been wearing a jacket, she'd taken it off in the warmer kitchen, leaving her midriff bare beneath the overalls. Her billowy half-shirt had long sleeves and were red and white striped. She was actually quite adorable. I wanted to pat her head.

  "I'll go say hi," she said and pointed at the door.

  "Yep, just go straight across the hall. Entrance to the garage is there."

  "Thanks."

  She disappeared, and I turned toward Josie. "I thought she was a kid at first."

  "I know. She came in and I didn't even notice her for a minute. She's quiet."

  "What were you talking about?"

  "The area, why we were here. You."

  "Hope you had nice things to say."

  "Yeah. I made some up."

  "Good."

  "Wouldn't want to scare her on the first day."

  "True story."

  "Don't eat her."

  "That's your department."

  "Oh, my Lady. I can't believe you went there." She busted out laughing.

  "That's my line."

  "Stop!" She had wrapped her arms around her stomach, laughing. "I'm going to pee."

  "That's too kinky. Even for me."

  She ran to the bathroom. My work there was done. I headed for the front door, wanting to grab a breath of fresh air and get the smell of woodsmoke and rubber hose out of my nose. I should have grabbed my jacket. It was getting colder instead of warmer. My breath fogged in the morning air. A minivan passed by me and turned into the parking lot beside the store. Four people were inside and waved as they passed. I guessed they were more coven members.

  I guessed right. Two youngish-looking couples came aroun
d the corner, chatting as they walked.

  "Hello," I called out to them.

  "You must be Dorothy?"

  "It's actually Dorothea, but I absolutely abhor that name. Call me Dot, please."

  "I'm David. This is my wife, Connie."

  I shook their hands. "Nice to meet you both. Thanks for coming today."

  "I'm Blake and this is Cindy. We're the Connors."

  "Hello, Connors. Thank you for coming, too. If you want to head inside, there's coffee and donuts. Everybody else is in the garage, I believe."

  "Thank you!"

  "Wow. You are gorgeous," Connie managed to say nervously.

  "Um. Thanks?" I didn't know what else to say.

  "I mean it. Why did you move here? You should be a model in the city or something."

  "I hate cities. Grew up in a small town like this. And I'm not that pretty."

  "I've told you a million times you are," Josie said behind me.

  I moved out of the way. "Everyone, this is my best friend, Josie. Josie, this is David, Connie, Blake, and Cindy," I said proudly, remembering their names. I usually sucked at them.

  "Nice to meet you all."

  "Come in. Get out of the cold."

  We headed into the kitchen, letting them grab some coffee and food. Chief came in and nodded to everyone. "Hi, guys," he said nervously.

  "Hey, Bill!" They sounded happy to see him. I didn't understand his hang-up. Blake even gave him a brotherly hug. The women kind of gushed, I noticed. Amusedly. Maybe jealously.

  He turned to me. "We have one more on the way. Jason. Dwight can't make it. He's got a shift at the factory this morning. I'll introduce you to him later."

  "Sounds good. As soon as Jason gets here, we can get started. Want some more coffee?"

  "Please."

  I grabbed his cup and filled it from the box of joe. "Here you go." I managed to splash some on my hand. It was still hot enough to burn. I wiped it off on the back of my leggings.

  "Thanks, Dot."

  "You're welcome, Chief."

  He took his cup and headed back toward the garage. The rest of them sort of followed him. I heard woops and greetings through the closed door and smiled. It was good for all of them to be together again. I wondered how long it had been.