"Yeah. I kind of thought that, too. Just wasn't sure how'd you'd react."
"Don't be silly. There isn't a single person in Ashville I wouldn't object to moving here."
"Even your mother?"
"Okay. Maybe my mother."
I laughed and opened the wine for her, pouring three glasses and dumping my coffee. I was going to need something a little stronger. "What if I wasn't joking."
"About what?"
I took a sip and handed one of the other glasses to her. "Your mother."
"What about her?"
"Moving."
"What?"
"What."
"Huh?"
"Your mother."
"What about her?"
"She's moving."
"Where?"
"Here."
"When?"
"Soon."
"How soon?"
"Very soon."
"Fuck me."
"No."
Josie downed the contents of her glass of wine and poured another. She didn't even look over at Shea as he approached the kitchen counter. I started to fear for her sanity when she lifted his glass of wine and set it down neatly in front of him while she slowly looked up at me. I could feel the storm brewing and I was fresh out of umbrellas.
"Do you hate me?"
"Josie, I swear, I didn't even get a say in the matter. She basically waltzed in and told me when she would be here. She's moving the floral shop and everything."
"Where's she going to live?"
"I'll buy her a fucking house on the outskirts of town if I have to. On the opposite side of town. In the woods or something."
"You didn't offer her a place here, did you?"
"At our house?"
"Yes."
"Oh, hell no."
"And you're not going to kick me out and make me live with her?"
That kind of broke my heart. I set down my glass of wine and wrapped my arms around my friend. "Oh, Josie. Don't be ridiculous. This is our house. Not mine. Ours."
"Okay. I'll let you live."
"Bless your face."
She giggled and pulled away, downing the second glass of wine. I had a feeling I was going to be peeling her off the floor and carrying her to her bed within the hour.
"Is everything okay?"
I looked up at Shea. He had picked up his glass of wine and took a worried sip. "Yes. Josie's mother is moving here."
"Ah. Yes. I can see that would be cause for worry."
"You know her?"
"Miranda? Yes. She often comes to the library. Much to my dismay, I know most of your escapades. She even tried to get me to date you." He looked at Josie and smiled from the depths of his hood.
"She did not!" Josie poured more wine and stared, wide-eyed as she nursed it a bit slower.
"She did."
"What did you say?"
"That a woman of your beauty would not be interested in a recluse such as I." He even bowed, the slick little thing.
I chuckled into my wine. "Be grateful the offer never made it to her. She probably would have eaten you up."
Shea took a step back from her.
"I'm kidding, Shea."
A little bob of his hood was all the acknowledgement he gave.
"You know you can take that off here, right?"
"What?"
"Your hood and cloak."
"Oh, my apologies. I'm sensitive to the light."
I hadn't thought about that, but it made sense. He was a shadow walker after all. "Ahh. I'm sorry, I didn't know."
"We have much to learn about each other. The benefits of a smaller coven. I have spoken to the two of you but a few times. I look forward to rectifying that."
"Me, too." I raised my glass at him and blinked in surprise as Josie clinked hers against mine and then his.
Chapter 7
"Seriously?"
Chief nodded.
"I'm hungry, damnit."
"Sorry. You can eat if you want, but I need to run."
"No. I'll wait. Want me to tag along with you?"
"Sure, but don't blame me if you lose your appetite. Marcus said it's pretty gruesome."
I sighed. A murder scene was hardly a good idea before dinner, but I didn't feel like being alone. I was feeling a little off and I couldn't quite put my finger on why.
"Don't worry. I won't puke on your crime scene."
I'd met him at Bunyan's Steakhouse after offering to buy him dinner as sort of an apology for not telling him about Yuki. We'd made it to the front door when his phone started ringing. I sighed, at least we hadn't ordered yet.
We hopped into his Jeep and I punched the lock button on my remote, making sure I had locked my Sportage. It beeped and the hazard lights blinked as we were pulling away. He took us to the edge of town and didn't stop until we were in the woods out by Jason's trailer. A lump of fear formed in the pit of my stomach.
"It's not Jason. It's Frank Dunbar."
"Who's Frank Dunbar?"
"A friend of Dwight's who's just about as sociable. He lives in a trailer on ten acres, pretty close to Jason."
"Survivalist?"
"No. Convicted felon. Robbed a bank twenty years ago. Did ten years in prison and then moved out here, trying to make ends meet, not meet his end." Chief sounded upset.
"You know him?"
"I kept tabs on him. Nice guy. Made a mistake in his youth, but never started any other trouble. Dwight got him a job at the factory, even with the conviction."
I nodded, not knowing what to say.
Chief pulled off the road and onto another dirt drive. Jason's trailer was relatively close to Branner Parkway. This one was set another five minutes back. He must have parked the trailer pretty damn close to the back of the property.
"Is that Marcus?" I pointed at the police officer leaning against his squad car.
"Yeah. Call him Officer Brown though."
"Roger." I even gave him a small salute.
"You're a dork."
"Yep."
He pulled the Jeep up to the squad car and shut the engine off. It immediately began ticking in the cold November air. "Come on. Let's get this over with."
He got out of the vehicle and I did the same, nodding at Officer Brown as we walked up.
"Hey, Chief." Marcus had a nice speaking voice, smooth like silk but deep enough to still sound very masculine. He should have a job on the radio, not police work. He definitely didn't have a face for television, though. He wasn't ugly, but his skin was scarred and pitted. From what, I had no idea.
"Marcus. This is Dot. Dot, this is Officer Brown."
"Nice to meet you," I said and offered him my hand, which he accepted with a firm, but not overbearing, shake.
"Call me, Marcus. I've heard a lot about you…"
"I'm sure it was all sugar-coated."
His chuckle told me all I needed to know. I probably should have been flattered Chief talked about me at work. Marcus' reaction told me it was more ranting than talking.
Oh, well. We all need a place to vent.
"Where's the body?" Chief asked to either change the subject or get the ball rolling. I was happy with either.
"Out back, what's left of it. Looks like he was grilling when he got mauled."
"Did you say mauled?" Chief had told me there'd been a death, and that it was gruesome. I'd assumed it was a murder because he left out the fact that it had been caused by an animal.
"Yeah. Looks like a bear or wolf chewed him up pretty good."
Chief flipped on his flashlight, heading around the trailer. The sun wasn't completely down, and a chill ran down my spine that had absolutely nothing to do with the frigid temperature. Officer Brown followed behind Chief, and not wanting to be left alone, I quickly caught up to the two of them before they disappeared out of sight.
I almost ran into the back of Chief. He'd come to a complete standstill as soon as he rounded the corner. Letting out a little squawk of surprise, I stopped just in time. He gave
me a look over his shoulder.
"What?"
"You…um. You might want to stay here." He strode forward and that's when I saw the blood. Blood and bits and pieces. For the first time in our very brief relationship, I did exactly as he said. I was no stranger to gore, but it looked like someone threw Frank into a woodchipper. For good measure, I turned around and put my back to the grizzly scene.
I could hear their muffled conversation and they mentioned wolves and bears, again. My eyes began darting around and I slowly started to back up closer to the two guys with guns. Whatever ate Frank might still be around. I raised my hands up, just in case I needed to make a wildlife flambé.
"You okay?"
I shrieked and spun around. Chief had one hand in his pocket and the other was shining the flashlight at me.
"Yeah. Just don't want to get eaten."
He flashed me a mischievous grin. I sighed. A guy had just been torn to shreds, but something like that never stopped little boy humor. Hell, if the ground didn't look like someone had just busted open a fifty-gallon drum of Spaghettios, I might have giggled a little.
"Whatever did this is probably long gone, Dot. You can relax." He turned back to continue inspecting the carnage. I sighed and did the same.
Long gone or not, my eyes still darted all around, scanning the edge of the trees. When I saw the two large eyes staring back at me, I screamed like a little girl. The German Shepherd stepped out from its hiding place and gave me a scared look. I felt bad for screaming at the exact moment the gun went off behind me as Chief shouted my name.
I watched in slow motion as the red splotch appeared on its chest and it fell over to the ground, yipping in pain. My heart broke. Ignoring the shouts behind me, I ran to it and dropped down beside it, already calling the words for my healing spell. I put my hands over the wound and sent out a tendril of power, trying to find the bullet in the deep wound. The poor dog was thrashing, crying, and growling. Blood splashed across my arms as it moved. Whoever pulled the trigger must have hit an artery. Insane from the pain, he bit down on my forearm. I cried out but didn't pull my hands from the wound. I had just found the bullet and was slowly working it out in reverse, using my magic to pull it. I would heal it after it was free.
After what felt like an hour, the slick feel of metal touched my palm. I tossed it away and changed spells, sending healing magic into the wound. It was working or the dog was dying. His grip on my arm lessened and the pain started. My arm was on fire as Chief's hands settled on my shoulders, steadying me.
"I sent Marcus for a first aid kit. Bind the wound, even if it's healed. That way he won't ask questions."
"Grab it from him, don't let him see."
"Sorry, Dot. I thought it was a wolf."
I let go of the wound and ran my fingers over it. I could feel the bump of a scar, but no hole. I'd healed him, hopefully in time. He let go of my arm and looked up at me with his ears back against his head.
"I'm sorry, puppy. You okay?" I asked, soothingly.
His eyes widened and he started scooting back away from me. I let him go and he stood, unable to get his legs under him for a moment but finally succeeding.
"Tell Marcus you only nicked him." There was no way the dog was going to let me get close enough to wrap an unnecessary bandage around a healed wound. If I were the dog, I'd be pissed off as all hell.
"You're turning into quite the healer."
"Tell me about it. I'm just tired of having to practice."
I turned and gave Chief a tired look. He tilted his head. "You have blood all over your face. There's a bunch on your lips."
I wiped my mouth off on the back of my arm and instinctively ran my tongue over them. The metallic taste of iron made me almost gag. I hated the taste of blood, and dog was no better. "Ick. I didn't get it all."
"No. You're covered."
Marcus returned with the first aid kit. "No need. I just nicked him. He seems to be fine."
Marcus looked at the dog and shook his head, then his gaze drifted over to my arm. "Glad you're worried about the dog and not your girlfriend."
He quickly strode forward and opened the case, setting it on the ground by my feet. Chief shined the light on my arm. A German Shepherd dental impression completely covered my forearm, halfway between my wrist and elbow. You could see every puncture wound from every tooth in the dog's mouth. I looked down at him, surprised he hadn't run.
"Bad puppy."
The dog cowered and lay down on the grass.
Sorry. It hurt.
I blinked at looked up at Chief. "Did you say something?"
"No?"
"Never mind."
"Let me wrap it for you," Marcus said and did just that.
I sat patiently and let him bind the wounds. I'd have Josie heal it up when I got home. I didn't have any strength left. Marcus expertly finished, closed the kit, and headed back to his car.
"Are we almost done here? I want to go get these," I motioned at my punctured arm, "healed up. And, I'm hungry."
"Yeah. It's not a murder investigation. Poor Frank just picked the wrong night to grill a steak. That must be his dog."
The Shepherd was lying there with his head between his paws, blinking at us as Chief shined the light at him. I walked back over to him and squatted down, moving slowly to not spook him anymore than he already was. "Good boy," I said and reached for his neck. "No collar. I don't know, maybe?"
"Well, we can drop him at the pound."
"Yeah. I hate to, he's beautiful, but a dog is the last thing I need right now. I already have a Josie."
The dog sat up straight. Yours. No pound.
I blinked at him again and my mouth fell open. My mind flashed to him chomping down on my arm, my blood filling his mouth, and me licking my lips and making a face at the disgusting flavor of his blood…
"Shit." Can you hear me?
The shepherd barked.
"What?" Chief asked suspiciously.
"Guess he's going home with me."
"Why?"
"Well, I can't exactly send my familiar to the pound now, can I?"
∞ ∞ ∞
"What's his name?" Josie was leaning against the open door of the bathroom, impatiently tapping her foot. She was waiting to pet the damn dog. I told her she had to wait until I gave him a bath.
"I don't know," I said and scrubbed the last of the blood from his fur. The water in the tub was still pink as it slid down the open drain. I just prayed the old pipes didn't clog with all the dog fur.
"Well, ask him."
"What's your name?"
The dog stopped enjoying the feeling of the brush against its fur and looked up at me, tongue lolling to the side of its mouth.
Dar.
"Why on earth would somebody name a dog Dar?"
He gave me a German Shepherd shrug. I didn't know there was such a thing, but there was no doubt that's what he did. Josie started laughing.
"Are you done yet?"
"Yes! Oh, impatient one. Grab a towel, you can dry him."
Josie squealed in joy and grabbed the towel out of the linen closet by the bathroom door. I shut the water off and let the last of it drain. Dar tensed and twisted, getting ready to pelt me with a deluge of shake-water…
"No!"
He stopped. I could see the fur rippling over his tensed muscles.
I hate being wet.
Wait until I leave, and Josie comes in, I said conspiratorially.
He gave me a wink and I scratched his head before getting up off my knees and opening the shower curtain as far as it would go. Josie was walking in as I was walking out. By the time I got into the living room she was screaming, and I was smiling. Maybe having a dog around would be fun…
Dar ran past me and into my bedroom, Joie chasing after him and swinging the towel over her head like a helicopter.
"You friggin' ungrateful mutt!"
I laughed, went to the fridge, and poured myself a large glass of wine, wanting nothing more
than to get the taste of fast food out of my mouth. Chief's and my dinner had gone from steak to hamburgers. The rim of the glass was at my lips when the doorbell rang. Taking one quick sip, I set it down on the counter and headed for the front door, unlocking it when I got close enough, and pulling it open.
Yuki was standing on my porch, ignoring the snow falling on her as tears ran down her face.
"What's wrong?" I stepped outside and tried to pull her into a hug when she stepped back.
"How could you? After everything you promised? Was I not good enough?"
"Hold on. Slow down. Come inside and tell me what the hell you're talking about." I turned around and walked back in the house, my fluffy socks no match for the cold concrete I'd been standing on. I almost half-expected her to stand there defiantly, but she was my familiar. She didn't have a choice.
I walked back into the kitchen and she followed. I pointed at the couch in the living room and followed her, letting her choose a seat. Once she had sat down, I took one on the opposite couch, so I could face her.
"Want to start over, slowly?"
"You took another familiar? Was I not good enough? Is it because I can't guard you during the day?"
And just like that, it all made a little more sense.
"Dar!" I shouted over my shoulder, toward my bedroom.
The shepherd came trotting out and sat down in front of me, staring at me intently. His fur was still damp, but not dripping wet. Hopefully my bed wasn't soaked.
"Yuki, this is Dar. Dar, this is my other familiar, Yuki."
Yuki was blushing horribly. "He's a dog."
"Yep."
"But… I could have sworn you took a powerful familiar. I felt the bond form and the strength of it almost hurt. He's a dog?"
"Yep." I cocked my eyebrow at her.
"I was jealous…of a dog?"
"Yep. And how does that make you feel?"
"Kind of stupid. I'm so sorry, master."
"First of all, never call me that again. Ever. Second, never ever jump the gun again like that. I promised you I would never do anything to hurt you, and I meant that. Didn't you believe me?"
"When you said it, yes. But then the sun went down, and I woke up, and then bam. I felt another familiar. I'm truly sorry," she said and bowed her head.
Third Charm: A Reverse Harem Tale (Lovin' the Coven Book 3) Page 7
