by Cherie Marks
“Where’s your furry friend? Is he going to growl and cry through today’s round too?”
Of course she wouldn’t be the jinxer. If she had done anything like that, the protections of the tournament would have outed her almost immediately. Ivy was still annoyed to have to deal with Pru’s mean-girl poison.
“Prunella, this isn’t the time...”
But she didn’t get to finish as Pru refocused her attention to Zayn. “Who is this? Introduce us, Ivy.”
“Pru, Zayn Gray. Zayn, this is Prunella Viper.” She wanted to add that Pru was the worst person in the world and to be avoided at all costs, but she left it alone, even though the thought of him falling for the blonde made her skin tight. If Zayn couldn’t tell for himself that Pru wasn’t the type of person you got mixed up with, then far be it for her to educate him. Then, why did she suddenly want to shove Pru to the ground and kick dirt on her? Was Ivy jealous?
Prunella bypassed Ivy and stood directly in front of Zayn, her hands on her hips, which were cocked to one side provocatively. “Well, aren’t you something special? How have we never met before?”
“I don’t like golf tournaments.”
“And yet, here you are.”
“Yes, well, it’s a rare occasion.” He glanced at Ivy over Prunella’s head. “I’m offering my services as a caddy.”
“Of course. Well, you’re in for a treat. You might not know me, but you’ll get to see quite the show today. You’ll see me pull away from the field of competitors because I’m about to run away with this whole tournament. You’d do well to align yourself with a winner. Maybe you could caddy for me.” Prunella practically purred that last sentence, and Ivy had to wonder how her current caddy would feel about the offer to replace him. Clearly, Pru could flirt and manipulate with the best of them. Was she really willing to throw away her relationship...or whatever it was...with her bison-shifter caddy just to thwart Ivy? Ivy didn’t want to watch this any longer.
Ivy turned to walk away but slowed as Zayn said, “I know exactly who you are Miss Viper, and I honestly don’t care if you run away with this tournament or if you just run away. You’ll have to put a trophy where you mouth is before you can go bragging so outrageously. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have important things to take care of.”
Without looking behind her, Ivy picked up her pace, but called over her shoulder, “Okay. You’re hired, Zayn. Bag’s next to the putting green.”
The round started the same as yesterday’s, but something was different. Ivy was still hitting her drives into trouble every time, even when her swing was mechanically perfect, yet now, when she started to get down on her chances of winning, Zayn gave her a bit of advice that worked every time. After ten holes, she was actually leading today’s round and was only down four strokes for the entire tournament.
Once again, her short game was ridiculously tight, and she was draining every putt. The only problem was, she wasn’t exactly sure what was going on between Zayn and her.
After she chipped in for a birdie on hole 9, she’d jumped up and down in celebration and turned to jump into the nearest arms, which just so happen to belong to Zayn. He’d held her loosely as she’d hugged him to her body, suddenly aware of every inch of connection between the two of them. Then, his arms had tightened around her, and she’d looked up into his heated brown eyes. A smile lifted his lips once more, and she found it contagious.
“Well, done, Ivy. You really are impressive.”
It was the best compliment she’d ever gotten. “Thanks. You’re pretty special yourself.”
He laughed with a deep sound from his chest and dropped his arms. She felt the loss immediately.
They were on their way to the next tee box when Zayn asked, “So, Ivy Nyx, huh? Was your mom a part-time Fleetwood Mac fan?”
“I don’t know. I never met her. She and my father died right after I was born.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Who raised you?”
“My grandmother took me in. She was my father’s mother and a force to be reckoned with. I never wanted for anything and went to all the best schools. She’s been my biggest supporter with my golf career. I’m lucky to have had her after my parents’ deaths.”
On the next drive, she hit a beautiful fade that actually stopped in the fairway. Ivy couldn’t believe it and began to wonder if maybe the jinx had been lifted. Yet, when the next shot landed in a bunker around the green, and she saw that it was sitting like a fried egg right up on the lip of the sand trap, she knew the jinx was still in full effect.
Fortunately, with Zayn’ help, she played it out to the side and chipped the ball next to the whole for a gimme putt. She walked away with a par and was happy with that.
“If you don’t mind my asking, how did your parents die?”
“Protecting me. A powerful warlock was the head of a powerful school of magic. He recruited children as babies, and for some reason, he chose me. My parents refused, but it wasn’t that easy. They had to fight him to gain my freedom. Somehow, they succeeded, but they gave their lives to do it.”
Ivy walked on, but Zayn was no longer beside her. She turned around to see what had made him stop, but the only thing she noticed was the pained look marring his handsome face.
“What’s the matter? You look as if a ghost just flew by and pinched you.”
He shook his head and looked away from her. “It’s nothing. I just had no idea.”
She wasn’t quite sure he was being entirely honest with her, but she let it go, and they walked on to the next hole.
The rest of the round was the best one she’d played since she hit the ball over his garden wall. She was convinced that he was a good luck charm in disguise, and she’d already gotten his assurance that he’d caddy for her during the final round tomorrow.
As soon as she went to sign her scorecard for the day, Zayn left in a hurry. She had to wonder if she’d said something to offend him. She hadn’t thought she had, so she shrugged it off and figured she could ask him later.
For now, she needed to go find Flint and talk to him. She couldn’t help but be upset that he didn’t even show up to help her today. She had to wonder if there was a reason, and she was afraid she knew what it was. How would she handle it if she found him and he had green paws?
Chapter 13
“I WAS THERE, FRANNY. I watched her parents die, and I couldn’t save them.” Zayn was far from calm, but he worked to keep his voice low, just in case Ivy returned early.
“It wasn’t your fault. You were nothing more than a child, and you did what you could. You kept yourself safe until you were strong enough to take on the burden that you now carry. You did nothing wrong.”
Franny patted his arm across the table as he cradled his head in his hands. The memory of the couple’s death replayed over in his mind. He had only been a child of seven, but he remembered the terror around him. He remembered the flash of magic and the screams.
He also remembered the grandmother.
She had been there, and she had negotiated with Grath, but it had been too late for the parents. Ivy was free, but at what cost? What had her grandmother given up?
“Zayn, you have to forgive yourself. You are not, and never were, evil.”
He lowered his hands and met her gaze. “You only say that because you love me. I might not have liked it, but I followed orders.”
“And, you were the one who finally stopped Grath. No one else stepped up. That shows me that there was a hero inside of you, and when the opportunity arose, you did the right thing.”
“Maybe you’re right.” He stood up and walked to the back door. The rose was definitely smaller. It wouldn’t last much longer. “But what if it isn’t enough? What if the villain inside of me is stronger this time?”
He didn’t wait for an answer, just opened the door and walked outside, closing it behind him. He needed to be alone for now.
As he closed the distance between the rose and him, he saw the damage for himself. It wa
s definitely dying, and that meant there was only one solution. He’d have to leave. He couldn’t put Franny or any of the others in Asscrack in danger. It was really the only way to save them all, and he’d sacrificed himself before. He could do it again.
For now, he’d wait here for Ivy. As difficult as it would be, he had to tell her the truth about her parents and about his role in their demise. It was the right thing to do, and he’d vowed to do the right thing even if it felt impossible. Even if it meant he’d lose any chance he’d had with her—forever—he still knew it was the right thing to do.
And then he could die a hero instead of the villain he was born to be.
IVY FOUND FLINT JUST where Zayn had said he would be. Now, though, he was lying on his side, passed out, and oblivious to the world. The only saving grace in the situation was that his paws showed no sign of green. He hadn’t been the one to jinx her.
Her relief was immediate but short-lived. She rushed to his side and shook him, but other than a loud snort, he didn’t respond. A few more shakes proved to be just as ineffective. He was drunk, and he wasn’t waking up any time soon.
Had he been here all morning? Getting drunk instead of helping her? Yes, she’d had Zayn, and that had been a good situation, but hadn’t Flint thought about what would’ve happened to her if no one had been there for her? It was downright selfish and irresponsible and...so not like him.
Something was wrong, and Ivy needed him to tell her what was going on. Of course, she’d need to get him to wake up for that.
How was she going to move the big screw-up? It wasn’t like she could snap her fingers and send him to bed. The use of that kind of magic would alert the tournament officials and probably get Flint kicked out. Even though he couldn’t caddy for her as a bear, Ivy wasn’t ready to lose him just yet.
“Flint! You better wake up right now or I’m going to turn your fur purple.” That kind of magic would fly under the radar, but Flint hated for anyone to mess with him. He hated pranks. When they’d been kids, Ivy had put plastic wrap under the toilet seat. He hadn’t appreciated the splash, and she hadn’t loved the clean-up her grandmother had insisted on. But, overall, Ivy had thought it was hilarious. Flint—not so much.
“Okay. Here goes. Hope you like the punk look because I’m going to shave a Mohawk down your back, too.”
He stirred and cracked open an eye. He gave a garbled, throaty cry, but she understood it just the same.
“Yes. I’m here, Flint. What are you doing here?”
He closed his eyes tightly and tried to communicate, but it was the same result as all the other times. Ivy couldn’t understand him, and he clearly couldn’t shift back.
Ivy hung her head, trying to come up with a way for them to at least get Flint home.
“I need to call her, Flint.”
That stirred a storm of growls and flying paws. He clearly didn’t want to involve their grandmother, but Ivy couldn’t think of any other way.
“It’s okay. She’ll understand, and she’ll send help. I think we could both use a little.”
Ivy pulled her cellphone from her pocket but nearly dropped it as Flint swiped a paw toward her. Fortunately, she pulled back just in time to avoid the tip of an exposed claw. That would’ve caused some serious damage.
She rushed away from him, and he collapsed on his side again, holding his big, furry head between two paws. That’s what he got for drinking so much.
With a quick scroll, she found her grandmother’s contact and pushed the button for facetime. After a few seconds, her grandmother’s thin, smooth face appeared on screen. Her dark brown hair was perfectly coifed on top of her head, and every bit of her make-up was flawlessly in place. She looked like a model, even well into her seventies. Of course, she was a witch and would age differently than human beings. So, her looks weren’t really that surprising.
“Hey, Gigi! How’s it going?”
“Fine. Get to the point, Ivy. You only call me when you need something. What’s the problem?”
Where to begin? Ivy glanced at her cousin in all his fuzzy drunkenness and decided he was the priority. “Flint is sick. He shifted and can’t shift back, but that’s not the worst of it. He’s behind a maintenance shed, and I need help getting him to his hotel room.”
“Hmmm. How did he fall sick behind a maintenance shed? No, nevermind. I don’t really want to know. I’ll send someone I know in Asscrack right away. But, for goodness sake, you two need to get things straightened out there. You should be focused on winning the tournament. No more distractions, right?”
“Of course, Gigi. I’m working on that. I’ve just had a...setback...or two.”
“Well, get over it. You need to work through whatever setbacks you encounter and push yourself to be the best you can be.”
Ivy felt the sweat beginning to dot on her forehead and upper lip. The same old anxieties began to overtake her. Would she ever be good enough? Could she ever do enough to get into this woman’s good graces? It seemed an impossible task on a good day, but especially now, when she had so much stacked against her.
“I’m trying. I mean, I’ll do it.”
“That’s my girl. Now, I’ve got to head off for a charity dinner I paid some outrageous price to attend.” Gigi gave a quick wave goodbye, and Ivy froze in place as she heard the woman who raised her say, “I’m always rooting for you.”
Then, the call ended and the screen went back to the ocean background and apps covering it, but not before Ivy acknowledged that she’d actually seen what she thought she’d seen. She backed up until the backs of her legs hit a wooden crate with a flat top. She sat down heavily.
She couldn’t believe what she’d just witnessed. The last person she would have suspected. Yet, green as a Granny Smith apple, her grandmother’s hand had flashed across her phone screen, leaving absolutely no doubt as to who the jinxer was.
Now what? How did she reconcile this situation?
Ivy looked around her. Had Flint known? Was that why he drank until he passed out?
She covered her face with her hands and pictured her grandmother’s constant frown and raised eyebrow. So often, she’d just dismissed the lack of warmth as a reaction to losing her son and daughter-in-law and being afraid the same would happen to Ivy. But, now she knew the truth.
Her grandmother hated her.
Chapter 14
IVY LEFT FLINT THERE before someone came for him, but she couldn’t stay there any longer. Not after finding out she had no one in her corner and never had. She wanted to run fast and far from Asscrack, from her grandmother’s jinx, from the imprisoned rose, from Zayn’ spell, but mostly, she wanted to run from herself. She wanted to escape who she was and who she’d become.
But she found it an impossible task as the evening closed in and the urge to go to the garden was too powerful to overcome. She fought it as long as she could, but when she couldn’t fight it any longer, she eased the outside door to the garden open and staggered inside.
She hadn’t gotten but a few feet in when two hands grabbed her by her upper arms and she came face-to-face with an angry visage she recognized as Zayn’, but his behavior seemed erratic.
In a gravelly voice, he asked, “Where have you been?”
“I...I...” She let her chin drop to her chest as the reality of her situation began to sink in. She was at her lowest point in her life and the last thing she needed was to be reminded of just how bad things had gotten.
A white, hot fury began to build inside her. How dare he treat her like a child! She might be later than yesterday, but the idea that she was at his beck and call rubbed her like a grain of sand in her shoe. He might have made it impossible for her not to come here eventually, but she still had some control over when she walked through that door, and she refused to let him take that away from her.
Her head snapped up, and she straightened her spine, standing as tall as she could. She was still shorter than him but not by much. He was about to feel all the emotion that had
been compounding the past couple of days. She couldn’t have stopped it any more than she could stop an oncoming train.
“Are you serious with this right now?” She yanked free of his grip. “I can’t deal with this right now. I’m here, aren’t I? Who cares when I show up as long as I show up at all? Let’s fix your rose.”
He ran his hands through his hair as he explained, “There are only a few petals left on the rose. And I’m not going to be able to stay here any longer any way.”
That took the fight right out of her. “What do you mean? How is that possible?”
She pushed around him and practically ran toward the rose, but as she got closer, she slowed at the sight. It was the smallest bud, the petals hung loosely, and she realized the devastation of what she’d done.
She swiveled back toward Zayn who had approached slowly. “I’m so sorry. I tried to fix it. I don’t know what else to do at this point.”
“It’s over. There’s nothing more that can be done.” He slowly looked around him as he continued, “The only thing left to do is to leave all of this. I just can’t believe it’s come to this.”
“This is so unfair. This is all her fault! I just...I’ll...Wait! I’ll go to her, Zayn! I’ll go to her, and I’ll beg her to fix this. I’ll make her fix all of this!”
He met her gaze. His nostrils flared. “You know who jinxed you?”
Ivy nodded and dropped her gaze to the ground. She chewed nervously at her bottom lip. The last thing she wanted to admit was that the person who should’ve loved her unconditionally had tried to ruin her.
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“What? Well, you don’t get to make that decision. I need to know who put that jinx on you, and I need to know right now.”
“No! It’s done. There’s nothing that telling you that will do to change this moment, but suffice it to say, it was the last person I would have suspected.”
