He took a breath. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to imply you were just letting this happen. I know you’re not. But it’s been a very stressful day.”
“I can imagine. I’m really sorry about your fire truck. Please tell me the town has another one in case there’s actually a fire before we can get number one down.”
“We do.” He let out a hard exhale and popped his jaw from side to side. “It feels like these pranks are getting worse.”
“To me, too. But first thing tomorrow I’m meeting with Francine, so I’m hoping she can shed some light on what this magic is specifically and how to stop it.”
That seemed to relax him. “Good.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m sorry about the outburst.”
I shrugged. “I get it. Stress happens.” And he was clearly stressed based on the little shimmers of heat coming off him.
“Yeah, but I shouldn’t take it out on you.” He shook his head.
I felt for him. “I bet your chief had a few words to say.”
Cooper snorted. “Boy, did he.”
My phone rang. “Hold that thought.” I pulled it out of my back pocket and checked the screen. It was Greyson. I answered. “Hey, can I call you back?”
“No. We have a problem.”
I had a pretty good idea I knew what that was. “Is this about the fire truck on top of the station?”
He hesitated. “How did you—the all-American elf is there, isn’t he?”
I shifted a little so Cooper couldn’t see my smile. “Yes, and I’ll call you later.”
“Tell me I can take you to dinner tonight and you won’t have to call me later.”
I twirled a length of hair around one finger and decided to make him work for it. “I have an early morning.”
“I could come over. With Salvatore’s.”
Which was only the best pizza on earth. Clearly, the man knew my weaknesses. “Sold.” So much for making him work for it.
“Seven?”
“Perfect.”
“See you then, Princess.”
With a smirk, I hung up. “Sorry about that. This whole magic-gone-wrong thing has made me a lot more popular.”
“I’m sure. Listen, about what I was saying. I really am sorry for taking my stress out on you. How about you let me make it up to you with dinner at Howler’s tonight?”
I bit my lip. Greyson’s timing was impeccable. “I can’t tonight. I’m having breakfast with Birdie Caruthers at eight A.M. tomorrow—she’s going with me to Francine’s—and besides, I already have plans. Another time, though.”
He rolled his eyes. And it sort of seemed like he flexed a little. Like he was trying to show me what I was missing. “Let me guess. You’re going out with the undead leprechaun.”
“Coop.” I shot him a look. “Greyson and I aren’t technically going out. He’s…coming over. Just like you did last night.”
“Touché.” He held his hands up. “Well, I’m not going to tell you to have fun.”
“Understood.” I turned my phone over in my hands. “I should probably get back to work.”
“Me too. The chief will be wondering what happened to me.” He leaned in and kissed me, nothing major, just a soft brush of his lips on mine and enough to raise my pulse a few beats. “See you later, beautiful.”
I swallowed and waved. “Bye.”
He went back through the shop door, and I returned to my office, where I immediately finished the hunk of eggnog fudge sitting on my desk. Men were awesome and confusing, and I was never going to be able to decide between Cooper and Greyson.
Unless one of them gave me an ultimatum, which I really hoped didn’t happen. I didn’t want to be forced to make a choice, and honestly, if one of them insisted I choose, I was probably not going to pick him.
But that wasn’t happening today, and by five, I was ready to head up to my apartment and spend some quality time doing nothing with my talking cat. At least until Greyson came over with the best pizza ever.
I went into the shop to say hi to Buttercup and Holly as they took over for Kip and Juniper. The store was busy with the pre-dinner crowd. “How was the day, Juni?”
“Good.” She waved a hand at the sales floor. “And still going strong as you can see. How was your day? Everything all right with Cooper?”
“It will be as soon as I figure out how to deal with that wayward magic.” I turned to Holly, ready to change the subject. “How are you getting on?”
“Great. Thank you. I love working here.”
“Glad to hear it.” She’d arrived a few days after Kip but seemed to be catching on.
Buttercup came out from the back of the store. “Hey, Jayne. How’s it going?”
“Good, you?”
“Can’t complain.” She smirked. “And if I could you would have heard about it already.”
I laughed. “I’m sure.”
“Thanks for the promotion, by the way.”
“You earned it.”
Juniper and Kip took their aprons off, and we all walked to the elevator. I pushed the up button, but Kip backed toward the warehouse door.
“I’m headed to Howler’s for happy hour. You guys want to join me?”
“Another time maybe,” I said. “I have a date.”
“So do I.” Juniper gave him a wave. “But you have fun.”
He gave us a salute and was gone.
I watched him go. “He seems to be working out pretty—”
Juniper spun around. “Cooper or Greyson?”
“Greyson.” The elevator door opened, and we got on.
She pursed her lips in a rather judgmental way as she pushed the button for the second floor.
“Hey,” I said. “You ought to like him. Or at least give him some credit. He’s the only one so far who’s been able to give me any clue about what was in that box. But I hope to find out more tomorrow.” I told her about my impending meeting with Francine and taking Birdie along.
“That sounds promising. How was dinner with Cooper last night?”
“Good. And before you ask, yes, there was kissing, but that’s all I’m saying about that.”
She shook her head. “I told you so.”
The elevator chimed that we’d arrived, and we got off on our floor. I fished my keys out. “You and Pete going out?”
“Staying in. He’s bringing Thai. We’re going to watch last night’s King of the Kitchen episode. I DVR’d it. What about you guys?”
“Greyson’s bringing Salvatore’s, and then we’re going to make out like teenagers.” Maybe. Maybe not.
She rolled her eyes. “Keep the moaning to a minimum, will you?”
I laughed as I turned the key and pushed the door open. “You too. Pete looks like he has the potential to get handsy.”
She stuck her tongue out at me, then waved and disappeared into her place.
I closed the door behind me. “Spider, Mama’s home. You hungry?”
He came zipping out from the bedroom and slid halfway through the living room until he hit the edge of the new rug and tumbled over once. He popped back up to meow. “Yesssss. Starving. Dying. Mama was gone forever.”
“Wow. Okay, chill. I’m here now. And I leave every day, but I’m always coming back. I promise.” I scooped him up and kissed his head. “Dinner is on its way.”
I carried him over to his dish and put him down, then got to work fixing him a bowl of Chicken Party, his newest addiction. He wound around my legs, purring. Except when I listened closer, he was actually saying, “Hurry, hurry, hurry.”
I put the dish down and watched him dig in. “Don’t forget to breathe.”
He was too busy eating to answer me. I went to freshen up and change into something more comfortable. Not that my sundress wasn’t comfortable, but work clothes weren’t lie-around-the-house clothes. And since I hadn’t dressed up for Cooper, I wasn’t dressing up for Greyson either. Black yoga pants and a tank top was as much effort as I was making.
Once in my new outfit, I pulled my hair
into a high ponytail and went back out to the living room. Spider was sitting on the window sill, cleaning his face.
“How was dinner, baby?”
He looked up. “Spider loves Chicken Party.”
I nodded. “You sure do.” I grabbed a Dr Pepper and shut the fridge. Then, out of curiosity, I opened the fridge again. The space where I’d taken the bottle from was already filled. Yep, just as I’d suspected. The supply was never ending. “Weird. But cool.”
Whatever. I wasn’t going to complain about that. Then I tried to imagine what the falls must look like with all that Dr Pepper spilling over them. Was it weird that I kind of wanted to swim in it? Would I be able to absorb the sugar and caffeine through my skin? Because that could be interesting. Or maybe I was overthinking this. I went to the couch, settled in, turned the TV on low and gave the snow globe a shake.
My dad showed up a few seconds later. “Hey, Jay. How are you, honey?”
“Good. How are you? Everything chill?”
“Everything’s very chill. Did the box come through the Santa’s Bag all right?”
“It sure did. That’s why I’m calling. I want to thank Mom for her care package.”
He smiled. “Hang on, I’ll get her.”
He disappeared for a minute, and I could hear him calling for her. “Jayne’s on the globe. Yes, right now.”
She popped up right after that, waving. “Hi, honey. How are you? Are you doing all right? Are you eating? Did you get my package? Your aunt sent something too. Do you need anything? I can be there in a couple days if you need me.”
I laughed to myself. That was my mom. “I’m good and I got everything you and Aunt Martha sent. And as much as I’d love to see you, there’s no pressing need.” I really preferred that she didn’t visit until this craziness was over. “I had some of the cookies and the fudge today. I gave a piece of the fudge to one of my friends. She’s an employee, and she went crazy for it. You and Aunt Martha are going to have to send me a box at least once a month.”
She beamed. “We’d be happy to. What’s your friend’s name, dear?”
“Juniper. She’s the dayshift manager. You’d love her.”
“I’m sure I would. I’m glad you’ve made a friend.”
“More than one.” But I wasn’t about to tell her about Cooper. Not yet. Plus, it would take me too long to explain why I was once again dating the guy who broke my heart in college.
“You like it there?”
“I do. Very much. Hey, you want to see how I’m fixing up the apartment?”
“Yes, absolutely.”
I carried the snow globe around, showing her the painting and the rug I’d bought. Then I shifted it so she could see Spider, who was now cleaning his back leg. “And that’s my cat, Spider.”
Who I really hoped didn’t say anything right now. I didn’t want to explain that either. I tried to get Spider’s attention. “He’s become quite, uh, vocal lately, but fortunately he hasn’t learned English yet.” I hoped he got the hint.
“Oh, he’s so cute,” my mom said. “What a sweet little baby. I’m glad you have company.”
I looked into the globe again. “Thanks, Mom. Anyway, that’s about it. I really appreciate the stuff you sent. Tell Aunt Martha I said thanks, too, okay?”
“I will, honey. You take care of yourself. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
The snow settled, and her face disappeared.
I put the globe back on the side table and settled in to watch a little TV until Greyson arrived. Spider came over and sat next to me, putting his front paws on my leg.
He looked up at me. “Your mama thinks Spider is cute.”
I scratched his head and smiled at him. “Everyone thinks you’re cute. Because you are.”
He started purring and shoved his head harder against my fingers. A few minutes later, his eyes were closed and he was curled up next to me asleep. We stayed like that until Greyson knocked on my door.
Which was ten minutes after seven. Greyson wasn’t always early like Cooper, but he wasn’t the kind of guy to show up significantly late either.
The look on his face said something was up. I took the pizza out of his hands as he came in. “What’s going on? More magical mayhem?”
“Yes. All the signs on Main Street have had their letters reversed.” He sighed and gave me a look. “Except on Santa’s Workshop.”
Snowballs. “Great. So I’m under some kind of protection because I’m the one who let it loose?”
“Apparently.” He leaned on the kitchen counter while I got plates out. “Hugh Ellingham released a statement saying it was the result of a young witch’s spell gone wrong and would be corrected as soon as possible.”
“Great, one more thing for the witches to get mad about. Like the black wedding dresses weren’t enough.”
“Actually, the story was Corette’s idea.”
“Really? Wow. Nice of her to cover for me. And nice of Hugh to put it out there.”
“Agreed. But despite those efforts, people in town are starting to talk. They’re not idiots. Most of them have lived here long enough to know when something’s planned and when something’s not.”
“Starting to talk?” I snorted as I opened the pizza box. “You’d think they’d be neck-deep in discussions about this by now.”
“I mean about you. Word is out that you’re responsible for freeing this magic, and now with your shop not being affected…people aren’t happy.”
I was losing my appetite. A little. I put slices on both plates. “I’m sure they aren’t, but I can’t help it. I’m going to see Francine tomorrow. I don’t know what else to do, but I’m open to suggestions. Do you have any?”
He nodded. “Go see her tonight.”
I closed the pizza box and handed him a plate. “If only I could.”
His expression darkened a bit. He took the plate and set it on the counter. “You can if you want to. I can make it happen.”
“Greyson, getting an appointment with her took some serious finagling. If you’re telling me you can just call her and it’s a done deal, then why didn’t you offer to do that sooner?”
“I’m not talking about calling her.” The muscles in his jaw tightened, and the light in his eyes took on a hard, metallic gleam. I’d seen that light before, but not combined with this dark demeanor. “I’m talking about going over there and demanding she explain this mess. And using whatever means necessary to make that happen.”
“I’m not that kind of elf.”
“Maybe not, but I can be that kind of vampire.”
“I don’t know. That sounds dangerous. We don’t know what Francine is capable of. What other magic objects or devices she might have up her sleeve.”
“No, we don’t.” The hard line of his mouth relaxed. “But I’ll be there to protect you.”
I studied him a moment while I thought about all the nonsense my little purchase had caused. I did not want a reputation in this town as a troublemaker. It could ruin the shop’s business. Plus, I was the Winter Princess. Someday I was going to have an entire kingdom to safeguard. There was no better time to practice those skills than now.
“I’d better change.”
“We’ll go after we eat.” He opened the pizza box. “Some things are better done under the cover of darkness. Even in this town.”
The Greshams’ old Victorian looked a lot different at night than it had yesterday morning. For one thing, it had gone from slightly creepy to full-on eerie, and for another, its potential to be a haunted mansion seemed more like a probability now.
I stared at the house from the safe interior of Greyson’s Camaro. “I think it’s only fair to tell you that this is freaking me out a little. The house looks…menacing. That’s really the only word I can come up with.”
He laughed.
I looked at him. “You think my fear is funny?”
“Not at all. But it amuses me that a house can scare you when you’re sitting next
to a vampire, one of the most dangerous of all the supernaturals.”
I squinted at him. “If this was all some elaborate plot to turn me into your dinner, I’d like to remind you that an ice dagger leaves no trace when it melts. So you’re also sitting next to a very dangerous supernatural. Just saying.” For added emphasis, I lowered the temperature in the car by about thirty degrees.
He shivered. Probably more for show than anything. I didn’t get the sense that vampires were much affected by temperature. Unless they were frozen solid. Hmm. Come to think of it, he might not have been acting considering what had happened a few months ago when he actually had been frozen solid. He put his hand on the door handle. “Point taken. But this needs to be done.”
We got out of the car and walked up the long drive to the front door, the deep shadows of twilight fast turning into the full black of evening. I hugged the shopping bag to my side. There were a few lights on in the house, but the curtains were drawn, and the place was silent. No television, no radio, no music, no tortured wailing from anyone being held captive. Just saying.
He knocked. We waited. Nothing.
Then the lights went out.
He grunted. “I guess we’re doing this the hard way.”
I put my hand on his arm. “You’re not going to hurt her, are you? She is an older woman living alone. And we’re knocking on her door after dark. I’d be wary too.”
“I’m not going to hurt her.” He frowned. “But we need some answers. I’ll be as nice as I can.” He leaned in and kissed me, a fast little peck of reassurance. “Be right back.”
And then he was gone in a blur of movement that was barely discernible in the dark. I stood there, waiting, looking around for any neighbors who might be watching. I didn’t see any. I heard some soft noises. A faint rapping sound, the scrap of a window sash, quiet voices. Then silence.
Which was finally broken by footsteps and the door opening.
Francine Gresham stared out at me, a thin woman with a pinched face and a permanent frown. Greyson stood deeper in the foyer, his gaze on Francine. She looked me over, then sighed. “Come in.”
It was about as cheerful a greeting as one might expect from a woman in a nightgown with a scowl on her face and a vampire at her back. I tried to smooth things over. “I really appreciate—”
Miss Frost Ices The Imp: A Nocturne Falls Mystery (Jayne Frost Book 2) Page 9
