Third Charm: A Reverse Harem Tale (Lovin' the Coven Book 3)

by Jacquelyn Faye

  "I am."

  "No surprise with two of 'em."

  I blushed, not even remotely wanting to talk about it with him.

  "We'll you're still welcome to stay, but we have an apothecary already in the works. You might be hard pressed to find something to do."

  "Or someone?"

  "Oh, I doubt you'll have any trouble finding anything in that department… Unless you meant me. Then, yes. You would be hard pressed," I answered levelly.

  He nodded, half-expecting that answer, but not looking disappointed in the least. "Not much fer sharin'."

  "Well, then. What are your plans now, then?"

  "The apothecary was me mother's life, not mine. I'm more into entertainment. Owned a few pubs in Cork. Sold them to move back. Might open a tavern here to keep me occupied. Think I'll stick around, if ye don't mind."

  That kind of shocked me. I'd been sure he would have packed up and moved back when I turned him down. Hell, I was surprised he hadn't already, if I was being honest with myself. When he found out about Chief and Jimmy, he was less than impressed.

  "I don't mind, at all. Town needs all the help it can get."

  He nodded while I debated internally how in the hell I was going to break the news to Chief. Jimmy might not be happy about his decision, but he was a lot easier to deal with.

  "So, the guy standing in the hallway keepin' an eye on me, another boyfriend?"

  I chuckled. "Jason is my assistant."

  "Not from the way he looks at ye."

  "Pardon?"

  "He likes ye."

  "Well, he is a sweet guy."

  Derek let it go with a little sigh. "Mind if I join yer coven?"

  "I'll need to put it to a vote… But I don't see a problem."

  "Not what I asked, but I wasn't expectin' ye to lie…"

  "Excuse me?" I cocked an eyebrow at him.

  "I asked if you minded." He annunciated very carefully, dropping the accent to let me know exactly who he was talking about. "And I'm sure ye meant run it past yer boyfriends when ye said ye'd put it to a vote."

  I leaned across the table and looked him straight in the eye. "Aye," I said, mockingly, to let him know he'd hit the nail on the head.

  He nodded. "At least yer bein' honest."

  "One of us has to be. If I recall correctly, it was you who lied when you told me you loved me, and we would be together forever. Did you even blink when your mother asked you to move back to Ireland with her?"

  "Aye."

  I sighed, not wanting a couple's therapy session in the middle of the diner. I picked up my drink and took a sip, looking up and seeing Chief standing in the window, staring at me sitting with Derek.

  Before I could motion him in, he shot me a look and headed back toward the police station.

  Shit. Now I have two things on my agenda.

  I kept my face straight, not wanting Derek to know what had just happened. He'd probably find it amusing. If he was going to stay in Cedar Falls, it wasn't going to be easy on my relationships.

  "Well, I'll be going," he said and slid out of the booth.

  "Talk to Herb when he gets back. He can show you some properties for your bar."

  "Looking forward to it," he said and gave me a little wink before heading back up to the counter to pick up his order. Jason came back and sat down as he was walking out the door.

  "You okay?"

  "No. Let's pay and get out of here. Need to drop off a check and go assuage the Chief."

  "You're going to do what?"

  "Assuage. Reassure him. He saw me and Derek sitting together."

  "Oh. Fun."

  "Sure. Let's go with that."

  The bookstore was starting to look like a bookstore. It had walls, paint, floor, and even a new entrance. The broken rolling doors were gone, and they filled in the gaping holes with windows. It was beautiful. I swallowed the lump that seemed to have lodged itself in my throat and gladly handed Freddy Johnson his check.

  "Should have your shelves and all the finishing touches done in a couple of weeks. It's going faster than I thought. You might wanna order some stock for your store," he said with a chuckle.

  In all seriousness, he was right. I did need to and set up everything else, especially the business licenses. "If I do, is there a place to store it here, out of the way?"

  "Sure, in the storage room. It's finished, unless you want some shelves in there?"

  "I do."

  "Tell you what, go to the Depot and order ten or twelve of the metal racks. Have them delivered here, and I'll have some of the boys put them together for you."

  I stared at him, incredulously. Stepping forward, I threw my arms around him, unfortunately it was like hugging a mountain. I think my head came up to his shoulders and I ended up wrapping my arms around his belly. My fingers barely touched. "Thanks, Freddy!"

  He patted me on the head and gave me another chuckle. "Well, I need to deposit this and find a buttload of suitable wood for your shelves. Wish me luck," he said and stepped around me as I let go.

  "Good luck," I said loudly, and whispered, "Ádh mór," to up the odds, pouring a little power at his back.

  "What's next, boss?"

  "Well, I need to talk to Chief. Feel free to look around some more."

  "I will. Unless you want me to go with you…"

  "No. I'll handle this one," I said with a sigh and headed out the open front door, crossing the parking lot between my bookstore and the police station.

  An officer I hadn't seen before was sitting at one of the desks. I knew Chief had hired someone to replace Dane. He must be him. "Hello?"

  He looked up from whatever he was doing on the computer. "Hello, ma'am. I'll be right with you."

  "No worries. Just looking for Chief."

  He stopped what he was doing and cocked an eyebrow at me. "You must be Dot."

  "Guilty as charged."

  "Chief said if you stopped by to tell you he had some things to take care of and he would see you tomorrow."

  "Oh. Okay. Thanks," I said in kind of a daze and turned around, walking out.

  That chicken shit son of a bitch.

  I pulled my phone out of my pocket and texted him.

  Where are you?

  I blindly walked back to the bookstore, staring at my phone waiting for a response that never came.

  "Bill not there?"

  I squawked as I almost ran into Jason while distracted. I tucked my phone back in my jeans and frowned. "No. He's not answering, either."

  "That's not like him."

  "He must be more pissed off than I thought."

  "Well, you just got your chance to find out." He pointed across the street. Chief was walking toward the station, looking at his phone. Without texting, he shoved it in the holster on his side.

  He hadn't seen us yet. I pulled mine back out and texted him a quick, Hello? It was childish, I know. I stared as I saw him reach down and pull it back out, ignoring me once again. My heart cracked a little. It was official, he was ignoring me…

  Crossing my arms, I stood there tapping my foot until he looked up. He literally skidded to a stop. I could see the internal conflict within. He was debating crossing the street to talk to me and running. Running, probably would have been the safer choice at that point. Then the realization that I was acting like my mother set in.

  Sighing, I turned around and walked away, Jason quietly following me.

  "You're not going to talk to him?" He finally broke down and asked as we got into the car.

  "No. If he doesn't want to talk to me, just because he saw my former boyfriend talking to me, then fine. I'll let it go."

  "You sure that's the reason?"

  "If you had seen his face in the window when he saw us, you wouldn't be asking." I reached down and started the car, putting it in reverse while Jason slipped his seatbelt on.

  My phone buzzed in the center console. I didn't even want to see if it was him.

  "Want me to look?"

&nbs
p; I shrugged.

  Jason picked up my phone and said, "Yep. It's him."

  "What did he say?"

  "Hi."

  "Jason?"

  "Yes?"

  "Shut my phone off."

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  "Mom, Dad, I'm home," I hollered as I opened the front door, determined not to let Bill's behavior affect me in any way shape or form.

  Unfortunately, nobody was home, and the tears started falling as I pressed my back against the front door and slid down it until I was a sobbing mess on the floor. I'd forgotten that Candace and Josie were going out. I shouldn't have dropped Jason off at his car, still in the hospital parking lot. Being alone wasn't going to help distract me.

  My eyes were closed, trying to stop my tears from falling, so I nearly had a heart attack when the tongue slid across my cheek, wiping the wet saltiness from them.

  "Hey, Dar," I managed to say when I finally realized who was licking me.

  Are you all right?

  "No. Not really. Stupid relationship issues."

  Want me to bite someone?

  The mental image of a hundred-pound-plus German Shepherd latched onto Chief's posterior made me smile.

  "Next time you see Chief, bite him on the ass for me."

  My dog nodded at me.

  "I'm going to bed, you need anything?"

  No. Wait, can you crack the door to the back for me? Your pet roommate locked it and I might need to go out later.

  "Okay. Thanks, Dar." I stood up and walked over, clicking the lock open and pulling it open just a hair, enough for him to get a paw in and pull it open if he needed. I needed to have a doggy door installed. I'd look up a handy man later.

  I pulled my jacket and hoodie off on the way to the bedroom, tossing them on my dresser as I passed by and fell into my bed, but I couldn't seem to fall asleep. The look on Chief's face kept playing back across my vision, every time I closed my eyes.

  The doorbell going off didn't help either. I sighed as I slid over the edge of the bed and stood up, praying silently it wasn't Chief. It became a chant of, Don't be Chief, don't be Chief, with every footfall.

  Leaning forward slowly, I pressed my eye to the peephole, sighing in relief when Jason's face stared back at me from the other side. Turning the deadbolt, I opened the door.

  "I thought I gave you the rest of the day off?"

  "I figured you could use some company."

  "You mean you came to make sure I didn't do anything stupid, like getting falling-down drunk."

  "Shit, no. If you're going to do that, I came over to join you."

  Chuckling, I let him in, heading to the kitchen to grab a couple of beers. Dar peeked at us from over the back of the couch.

  "Aren't you supposed to bark or something?"

  "Woof."

  "Good boy."

  He lay back down on the couch.

  I handed Jason his beer and clinked the neck of my bottle against his. "You're pretty sweet, checking up on me."

  "Well, I worry about you."

  "As I said, you're pretty sweet."

  He blushed as I wandered over to the couch, plopping down in the middle next to Dar and absently scratching his head. He shifted around and put his head on my leg. I could feel the flow of energy between us, like a pleasant humming in my fingers.

  You have two-hours to knock that off.

  Only two, huh? I chuckled softly.

  "What he say?" Jason plopped down on the loveseat across from us.

  "That I may continue scratching his head."

  "He's a beautiful shepherd."

  Dar lifted his head off my lap and pulled back his muzzle over his teeth. I expected him to growl, from the snarl he was giving him, but I think it was a doggy attempt at a smile. Especially since he put his head back down on my lap.

  "Your dog just smiled at me."

  Dar harrumphed.

  "Sorry. Your familiar just smiled at me."

  "He's a good boy," I said jokingly and scratched him a little harder. His leg started kicking against the arm of the couch.

  That's the spot.

  I took another swig of my beer, debating turning the TV on, but settling on the silence and company. Jason was looking at Dar and smiling softly. The guy was just too damn cute. I loved the tiny smile that he had when he thought nobody was looking at him. But I doubted he could go anywhere without someone looking at him. He just had one of those faces, a face you could never get tired of looking at.

  He tilted his head back, and I swear the beer poured out of the bottle and just went straight down into his stomach. He polished it off in seconds. It was pretty amazing, in a frat-boy sort of way. I blinked in surprise.

  "Uh, want another?"

  "I'll get it. You want one?" He stood up and headed for the kitchen. Mine was only half-empty but I nodded anyway, determined to have it finished by the time he got back. We were on a mission it seemed.

  I managed to get mine down to the foam by the time the second appeared over my head. Grabbing it with the hand I'd been scratching Dar with, I leaned forward and set the empty on the table in front of me. Jason walked around the side of the couch and headed for the loveseat. My eyes played over his ass as he walked away.

  "Why you sitting way over there? Not like we're having a meaningful conversation anyway." I probably shouldn't have invited him to sit next to me.

  Bad Dot, I said to myself. Maybe Dar, too. He made a doggy noise that sounded like a laugh.

  Jason turned around and blinked but came over and dropped down on the cushion next to me. I leaned against his shoulder and resumed my ear scratching. On Dar, not Jason.

  "So, how come you don't have a girlfriend?"

  He tensed a little and gave me a little shrug. "I live in the middle of nowhere, in a rusted-out shithole trailer with a big gaping hole in the middle of it. Up until recently, I worked all night, slept all day, and it's not like my vehicle is going to be scoring me any points with the ladies…"

  "Shit! I forgot to fix your trailer."

  "No worries, I put some plastic over it. I tried fixing it myself, but my magic might have made it a little worse…"

  "Well, stay at Farrell's until it's fixed. I'll come do it right away. I should swat you for not reminding me."

  "As I said, it was totally worth it to see you drop Chief into it. He's been a lot more…nicer since then."

  "Until today."

  "Yeah. Well, there is that. But, look at the bright side, he's internalizing his anger instead of being an asshole."

  I nodded my head, not thinking about it that way. Again, Jason shocked me with his observations and perspective. "Sweet, hot, and wise," I said without thinking. "Tell me again why you don't have a girlfriend?"

  "I'd never really wanted one. Until… Never mind."

  I looked up at him. "Until?"

  "Nothing," he said shyly and took another sip of beer.

  I wanted to push him, needing to know what he was going to say, but I let it go. My beer seemed way more interesting than it had, moments ago.

  Want me to give you two some more room? Dar was looking up at me from my lap.

  I should have said no. Hell, I should have left Dar on the couch and gotten up myself, but I didn't. Please.

  Without another word, he slid off the couch and stretched before meandering over to the love seat and making a nest there. I took the opportunity to turn sideways, stretching my feet out and putting my back against Jason's side. He was far too muscled to make a good pillow.

  He must have sensed it. He reached over and grabbed the cushion beside me. "Sit up for a second."

  I leaned forward and he put the cushion between me and him, inviting me to lean against his leg. "Thanks," I said and leaned back again.

  "I should be the one saying thank you. Not every day a guy like me has a beautiful lady in his lap…"

  I could see him from my new angle, catching the blush as it slowly colored his cheeks. He stared at the off television and drank more of h
is beer. Nervously polishing off my second one, I set it on the table, rolling over and lying on my side, cheek pressed against the cushion over his leg and sighing very happily.

  His hand slowly slid down the back of the couch and found my shoulder, resting there gently. It seemed so natural, but I could feel his nervousness. I smiled, loving every moment of it.

  "Thanks for being here, for me." I put my hand on his leg, just above his knee. "I really didn't want to be alone."

  "My pleasure," he chuckled nervously.

  "This cushion smells like Dar," I said and slid it out from under me, putting my head directly on his leg. It wasn't as comfortable, but I enjoyed it more.

  And what, pray tell, do I smell like?

  Shush. I'm using you as an excuse.

  I can see that. He chuckled.

  I could feel a tiny bit of movement coming from somewhere by my ear. If it hadn't been pressed so close, I might not have felt it…

  "You want another beer?" Jason's voice cracked as he lifted my head and slid out from beneath me, gently shoving another cushion under me before he practically ran into the kitchen.

  I put my hand over my mouth so he wouldn't hear me laughing.

  Chapter 11

  I didn't try to put my head back down on his lap. Maybe it was for the best. When he brought the next round of beers, I sat up next to him and tucked my feet underneath me. At least I would be able to see his eyes when I teased him.

  "Been a while, huh?"

  "For what?"

  "Since you were close to a woman."

  "Yeah. Long while."

  "How long?"

  He grinned awkwardly and swallowed some beer. "Too long."

  "Well, at least I know you think I'm pretty. Or has it been so long you would have had the same reaction if Dar was sitting next to you?"

  Dar lifted his head and whined pitifully.

  I nearly spilled my beer, I was laughing so hard. Jason just hid his eyes behind his hand, shaking his head in embarrassment and more than a little bit of laughter. At least he could laugh at himself. I doubted there was a better quality to be had in a person. Chief and I, both, could learn a thing or two from Jason.