“So, what time’s your date?” Pike called from the kitchen.
I glanced at the clock. Shit. Carter was going to pick me up in ten minutes.
“Not long now,” I answered. “What time is yours?”
Zach was in town. He’d told Pike he was down to meet some of his buddies, but my gut told me he was here just for my daughter. I wasn’t born yesterday. What did I know about this boy? Absolutely nothing. But I knew Pike. So I wasn’t too worried. Well, maybe just a bit.
“Any time, really.”
“Don’t let him keep you out too late.”
“I won’t, Mom.”
“I mean it.”
“I know.”
The perch had come with rather convoluted assembly instructions, and I turned it upside down, trying to make more sense of it than I had so far. Pike and I were supposed to be doing this together––the old-fashioned way––for fun, but it was taking forever, and we were never going to get it done today!
“Oh, crud.” I pulled out my wand and pointed at the left-over rods and screws in the box. “Et ornamentum figere!” I exclaimed, and a series of rods, poles, and Allen keys floated in the air and came together like an efficient Erector set.
When it was done, I spotted one last screw left in the box. I picked it up. Where the hell was that supposed to go?
The phone rang in the hall, and I was about to get it, when I heard Pike pick it up.
“Hello–– Oh, hello, Principal Wells. Sure, I’ll get her. Hold on. Mom,” Pike yelled, “it’s for you!”
I wandered out into the hall and picked up the phone. “Hey. I’m almost ready.”
“Hi, Tam.” There was something in Carter’s tone that made my gut lurch.
Oh, boy, not again. “What is it?” I said, already prepared for the worst.
“Something’s come up at the school.”
I groaned. “You’re kidding me, right? What is it this time? Gremlins in the gymnasium? Pixies in the plumbing? What?”
“Err, nothing like that. The fire department just called. The alarms are going off at the school. It’s probably nothing, like dust in the vents or something, but I still have to check it out.”
“Please don’t tell me you’re going to cancel on me again?” I asked, pushing my back up against the wall. “No way are you doing this to me a third time!”
“Look,” Carter said. “I know it’s a pain, since I promised to drive tonight so you could drink heavily and make an exhibition of yourself, but is there any chance you can meet me at the school? I have to be there, but it shouldn’t take long, I promise.”
I sighed. At least he wasn’t blowing me off. “Sure. I’ll get my stuff together and see you there.”
As I hung up, the doorbell rang. I opened the door to find Zach all polished and groomed, his long hair still messy but in a trendy way. I noticed he had his hand behind his back. I sniffed the air. Roses. Nice touch.
“Hey, Zach,” I said, opening the door wide to let him pass me. “Nice to see you again.”
“You too, Mrs. Candlewick.”
“Oh, please. Call me Tamara. ‘Mrs. Candlewick’ makes me sound like an old lady. I’m not dead yet. I see you’ve come prepared to seduce my daughter.”
“Eh, we’ll see how it goes. I’m not that easy on a first date.”
I nodded my approval… good comeback.
I was about to call Pike, but I didn’t have to. She bounced energetically down the stairs, not too eagerly, thank God, and she grinned at me. She was wearing make-up. And wow. A dress. She looked nice. Maybe too nice.
“Hey, Zach,” she said.
“You look lovely. Oh, these are for you.” Zach pulled the roses out from behind his back and handed them to her.
Pike sniffed them and grinned. “Oh, roses, they’re gorgeous. Did you steal them from someone’s garden?” She looked out of the window as if trying to guess which one.
“Yes, I did, several gardens actually. The dogs nearly got me, but I’m pretty fast for a warlock. I didn’t need to whip out my wand or anything.”
Pike laughed.
I smiled. I was liking him more and more. Pike needed some cheeriness around her, and there was more to Zach than just a pretty face.
“Do you want me to put those in water for you?”
“Oh, sure,” Pike said, handing me the roses. “Oh, and Reggie’s in my room.” She looked around me to the perch now assembled in our sitting room. “Oh, cool, you finished it. Can I let him out so he can try it?”
“Aren’t you taking him with you?” I asked.
“Not tonight,” Pike said. “Next time, maybe.”
I thought of the big fuss she’d made about getting a familiar, and now that she had one, the first thing she did was leave him behind. Teenagers. “Sure.” I shrugged with a smirk. “But you get to clean up his poop when you get home.”
“Mom!”
Zach grinned.
“Just leave the window open,” Pike said. “He can take care of himself.”
Pike scurried back up the stairs and returned a moment later, the bird flying down just ahead of her. He flew straight to the perch and shifted from talon to talon, trying it out.
“Where are you two going?” I asked.
“Oh, just hanging out with friends,” Zach replied. “I’ll have her back before eleven.”
“Ten-thirty,” I said. “And make sure you do.”
Pike leaned up and kissed me on the cheek. “See ya, Mom. Have a nice time.”
“You too,” I said. “But not too nice.”
“See ya, Mrs. Can––Tamara,” Zach said.
I opened the door for them to leave and waited as they climbed into Zach’s beaten-up old Kia.
“You’re insured, right?” I called after them.
“Yes, fully comp, accidental death and dismemberment. I’ve never run down anyone under fifty,” Zach shouted back.
I felt the tingle of fur as MacGuffin appeared by my feet, wrapping his little body around my legs.
“Follow them,” I said.
There was a puff of green smoke, and when it cleared, I looked down to see MacGuffin had popped out a little pair of batwings.
I smiled at my trusty familiar. “Keep her safe.” MacGuffin’s little wings unfolded, then, after brushing up against my calf, off he zoomed, my flying cat eyes and ears.
So, it seemed I had a hot date with the Misty Cedars Fire Department. As I drove through town, I wondered how many single moms had as much trouble getting a date as I had.
At least this time Carter hadn’t canceled outright. My hands gripped the wheel more tightly as I looked down at my outfit, anxious I’d made the wrong choice. I’d chosen a little black dress for tonight, and damn it, it wasn’t my fault that we’d had to exchange a candlelit dinner for bunker gear and a fire hose. In any case, I still didn’t know where he’d be taking me after that. If anywhere.
I pulled into the school parking lot, now a blaze of color from the dozen or so firetrucks parked at angles to the main building. I looked up at the school sign over the entrance. Someone had hexed it, and instead of reading, “Margaret Beauchamp’s School of Magic for Girls and Boys,” they’d changed it to “Magic and Mayhem Academy” in bright orange lettering. Kids. Someone was going to pay for that, with many long hours of detention.
Thankful my heavy coat concealed my evening wear; I went up to one of the firemen and stared up at the school building. “What’s going on? I thought it was a false alarm?”
The fireman looked like he probably hadn’t been out of school that long himself. He had a lean, muscular body that would have done well as a sexy Facebook GIF. Which I totally did not look at.
“No,” he said. “There was a small fire in the gymnasium.”
“Anyone hurt?” I said, alarmed.
“No, we checked; it’s out now.”
“Any idea what caused it?”
The fireman nodded and looked back to a group of his colleagues who were standing close b
y. One man was waving at him, signaling they were leaving.
“Yeah, would you believe it? It was a baby dragon.”
“You’re kidding me?” I tried to keep my mouth from falling open. “On purpose?”
“Nah.” The fireman grinned. “It looked like it was just nesting in the eaves, but accidentally set the rafters on fire. The sprinklers took care of it. Anyway, the baby dragon is fine and the show’s over.”
Well, at least it wasn’t student arson, I thought, relieved, thinking about that sign. “Can I go in?” I asked. “I had––an appointment.”
“Oh, you’re Carter’s hot date? Why didn’t you say so?” He looked me up and down appraisingly. Warmth bloomed in my cheeks. “Yep, I should have guessed, sorry. In you go. Oh. While you’re at it, tell him we’re leaving.”
“Uh––sure. Thank you.”
Once inside, I was conscious of the clack of my heels as I climbed the wooden steps to the Principal’s office. The air reeked of burnt timber and dispersed smoke, though the smell grew fainter as I got further away from the gymnasium. Blue-and-red lights retreated outside as the fire department withdrew, emergency over.
The principal’s office door was open, and seeing Carter on the phone, I rapped my knuckles softly on the door. He motioned for me to come in.
“Yes, yes, he’s sleeping now. We were able to settle him for the night in the equipment shed. He seems perfectly happy in there. Anyway, Tamara is here, I’ve got to run. Yes, I will. See you later. ‘Bye.”
I raised my eyebrows, surprised at hearing my name.
“That was Maisy,” Carter said. “She says hi. I’ve asked her to let the other governors know so we can decide what to do. At the very least, we need to raise funds to fix the gymnasium. I suppose you heard about our dragon?”
I grinned. “I did. Was it the same one?”
“Yup. I’ve named him Rawr. Seems he likes it here.”
“Rawr?” I repeated. “Hmmm. I like that. Well, who would have thought? Good for you. Are you going to keep it?” I couldn’t help but wonder whether it had followed us here, and for what reason. Could it be linked to Reggie somehow? Great Gaia, it couldn’t have anything to do with me, could it? I didn’t think my dusty attic could take a fire-breathing dragon. Then again, if it was grateful for our repairing its wound, then why wasn’t it sleeping on Mr. Reynolds’s roof?
Contrary to common sense, it was good luck to have a dragon settle in a building. Unless, of course, it burned down.
“So, what are you going to do? Cute as he is, he’s still a living, breathing fire hazard, how is this not going to happen again?”
Carter scratched his chin, perplexed. “Right now, I’ve no idea. They’re protected, so now he’s settled in, I can’t exactly turn him out.”
“That bites.”
“Indeed. Anyway, I’ve been on the phone to the dragon rights people, and they’re sending people over first thing.”
“So, he might have to stay here?” I said, wandering over to the window and looking out toward the equipment shed. The lights were on, and I imagined our little friend tucked up inside.
Carter grinned. “That’ll be up to the experts, but I hope so. I kind of like him.”
“So do I.”
Carter stood up and grabbed his jacket which had been hanging on the back of his chair. He pulled it on, then walked round the desk and turned off his office light.
We were standing there in the semi-darkness, and he was about to close the door, when I took his hand in mine.
“No,” I said, staring back at his empty office. “You’ve been keeping me waiting long enough.” My voice became deeper, and a warm sensation that had nothing to do with the fire spurred me on. “I think it’s time someone sent you to the Principal’s office for punishment, Mr. Wells.”
“Oh, you do, do you?” Carter grinned.
I smiled seductively, and pushing him gently back inside, I closed the door behind us.
Also by Adrienne Blake
The Misty Cedars Series - Vampire Edition
Blood Curse
The Necromancer’s Curse
The Misty Cedars Series - (Short Story)
Spelling Bee
Partnered with Stormy Nights
Tamed by the Alien
Taken by the Alien
Tamed by the Rancher
The Rancher’s Runaway Bride
Historical Romance Books
The Cardinal’s Whores
London Lady
The Duke’s Daughter
Historical Heroes (anthology)
About the Author
Adrienne Blake is a USA Today bestselling author - her paranormal mystery and UF books blend plot, humor, and darkness, all in one sizzling cauldron. Born in the UK and writing in the US, she loves apple pie but it has to be served with hot custard.
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