“You’re…normal.” Grey crossed her arms over her chest. “Why are you normal?”
She asked as if normal was a bad thing.
“My mom sent me to some magical witches. They said the stone would work.” Lucy lifted the amulet from beneath her shirt. “They were right.”
Grey slid her fingers behind Lucy’s amulet and leaned in for a closer look. Her brows dipped, and she stepped back. “They gave you that stone?”
“I already owned the stone. I’d found it on the beach before I moved away. They just put a spell on it to block my ability.”
Grey placed her hand over her heart. Her mouth parted as if she were trying to process what Lucy had said. “Did your mother happen to send you to a coven in Texas?”
“How did you know that?”
Grey’s lips spread into a wide grin, and she rubbed her hands together as if the fun was just starting. “Intuition. How long did you say you’re in town for?”
“A week,” Lucy said, resting her fist on her waist. “I know that look. It means trouble; it’s the same look you had when you came up with the idea to burn the homecoming decorations in high school. What aren’t you telling me?”
“Nothing.” Grey’s smile grew, as did the sparkle in her eyes.
Nothing? Yeah right.
“My hubby, Beck and I bought your mom’s old beach house, and you’ve got to come over for dinner tonight. Where are you staying?”
“Apparently Mom’s house. She canceled my reservations,” Lucy answered.
“That won’t do.” Grey reached behind the counter and grabbed a key from the drawer and handed it to Lucy. “You can stay at my old beach house next door if you don’t mind a little company. Danny, Beck’s brother, is staying there while he’s looking for a place of his own, but it’s two bedrooms, and he’s hardly there. He’s always at work.”
“Oh, I couldn’t.” Could I? A place on the beach away from her mother? This offer was too good to be true.
Grey glanced up at the loft and raised her brow. Sydney was leaning against the rail, and then she glided down the stairs.
“Lucy should stay at the beach house. Right, Syd?” Grey said as if prompting Sydney as she approached.
“Of course she should. You’re like family.”
A sudden calming urge overcame Lucy’s body, as if she were surrounded and prodded with magic. “Are you using your push on me?”
Sydney’s push wasn’t something that she used lightly. She never had growing up. Making people do things that might go against their free will was something the cousins tried hard to avoid.
“Maybe,” Syd said. “You might as well agree. You know Grey always gets her way.”
Grey always did get her way. The only question left was, why was this so important to her?
“Beach house with a hot fireman or mansion with Mayor Mom.” Grey juggled her hands in the air as if weighing the options in her palms. “The choice is obvious, and if it’s not, then I need to give you more lessons on how to have fun.”
Fun? She didn’t have time for fun, not with the reason she was here.
The calmness claimed her again, and she shot her gaze to Sydney. Sydney grinned. “Just give in.”
“He’s a fireman.” Butterflies erupted in Lucy’s stomach and not for the typical reasons. The reason Grey and Lucy got along so well was because of one of their similar abilities. The fire starter gene in both of them.
“He can put out your fire, or at least you’ll have an outlet, and you can shoot it into the ocean like I used to do,” Grey said and started to usher Lucy to the door. “Try it out. If you don’t like staying on the beach, or you and Danny don’t get along, you can always go to your mom’s house.”
The tendrils of magic surrounded Lucy again, this time almost suffocating as they entered her pores. It was a useless fight. One she wouldn’t waste her energy on. “Sure. I’ll stay. Thanks.”
“Oh no…thank you.” Grey smiled as she shut the glass door behind Lucy. Grey turned the sign to read closed and waved as Lucy walked hesitantly down the street.
Chapter 2
Sydney crossed her arms over her chest as they both watched Lucy cross the street. “Grey, why did you want me to push that poor girl?”
Sydney’s ability to manipulate and push people into doing her bidding came in handy on days like this. She might not understand the urgency of what she’d just helped initiate, but she would. The whole town would.
“She’s got the pendant,” Grey muttered, rubbing her fingers over the smooth glass of the identical one attached to her own necklace.
“What pendant?”
Grey turned and lifted hers up for Sydney to see. “This one. Her destiny is tied to Danny’s.” Grey dropped the pendant. “She’s going to be my sister-in-law.”
“Shouldn’t you have warned her?”
“Not yet.” Grey walked over to the register to grab her purse and keys from the drawer. “We aren’t done yet. We’ve got more work to do.”
Sydney rested her hands on the counter. “It should be a natural, mutual thing. They meet, fall in love, end of story.”
Grey let out a lengthy aggravated sigh. Sydney didn’t understand the consequences of what was about to happen. Why would she? Grey had kept Lucy’s secret all these years. She’d thought it was a myth, something that would never happen. “That was Lucy Blansett. Do you even realize what this means?”
“Obviously not, but I guess you’re going to tell me.”
Grey led the way to the front door and held it open for Sydney to pass through and locked it behind her. Grey wound her arm through Sydney’s and steered her toward the bar. “Lucy is here for the St. Paddy’s Day celebration. She’d once confided in me that her destiny is written in the family tomes that, on her twenty-fifth birthday, which just so happens to be the day of the celebration, if she hasn’t solved a mystery before the clock strikes twelve, and if she hasn’t fallen in love, the magic in Blansett will be wiped out. She’ll combust, or whatever the hell that means, and take the whole town down with her. Solving the mystery or finding love is the only thing that can stop the prophecy.”
Sydney slowed her steps as if digesting Grey’s words. “You’re serious?”
“As serious as the love spell we’re about to cast.”
Sydney grabbed Grey’s arm. “You remember what happened the last time a love spell was cast? It didn’t work, and you threatened to kill us.”
“What other choice do we have?” Grey pulled her toward the bar.
“That’s why you invited her over for dinner. You’re going to spike her drink?”
“Like you did with mine.” Grey quirked her brow and pulled the door open to the bar. “Danny is going to need all the help he can get if he has one week to win her over.”
“We’re going to need reinforcements.”
“And a shit-load of luck,” Grey mumbled as she spotted their other cousins, Halona and Bethany, waiting in their favorite booth.
* * * *
Lucy walked up the old wooden stairs leading up to Grey’s beach house. The steps creaked beneath her feet. The familiar soothing childhood smell of times spent at the ocean reminded her of times come and gone. She’d never considered any other town as her home. How could she when her soul was happy here?
Lucy used Grey’s key and unlocked the door, shoving the key into her pocket. She walked inside the open, airy living room and paused.
Men’s jeans were strung over the back of the couch. Empty pizza boxes and beer cans covered the living room table. The dishes were piled high in the sink. “What is that smell?”
Lucy dropped her backpack into one of the chairs and started opening windows for circulation.
“Perfect. Looks like I’m living with a slob.” She let out a long tired breath. Her day was getting longer by the minute. “I can fix this. It’s better than the alternative.”
Lucy grabbed her bag and headed toward the bedrooms. The first one she came to had clothes on t
he bed. The dresser had men’s cologne and a wallet. This room didn’t smell like the rest of the house. She inhaled a deep breath and was rewarded with a calming woodsy scent that left her feeling that everything might just be all right. Lucy left the bedroom door open and continued on to the next one.
The room was empty, clean, light, and airy. The perfect hideout from her mom while she tried to decipher the mystery.
She tossed her bag onto the bed and changed into a pair of shorts and a tank top. After twisting her hair up into a messy bun, she grabbed her earbuds and phone and got to work spending the rest of the afternoon cleaning up and doing dishes. It might not have been her mess, but she wouldn’t have her first conversation with her temporary roommate demanding he should clean.
Lucy stood on her tiptoes straining to put a popcorn bowl away when she felt a body behind her. Muscular hands met hers as the same scent from the bedroom surrounded her. She hadn’t even heard the front door open; the music in her ears had drowned out the sound. He slipped an ear bud out of her ear.
“Let me help with that.”
The stranger’s voice should have scared her. His tan, muscular arms should have given her pause, but her tension had faded when the scent from his bedroom surrounded her, calming and making her feel safe. Did this guy have abilities? She’d forgotten to ask Grey.
“You must be my new roommate,” he whispered in her ear as he closed the cabinet door and stepped back.
She spun to face him and instantly moistened her lips. He was beautiful, in a tall, dark, sexy kind of way. The smile on his face gave her a glimpse of his dimples. His chocolate eyes held a hint of blue specks. They swirled with mischief. Butterflies took flight, and her heart lifted. Her reaction contradicted the aggravation she’d held while cleaning up his mess. She wasn’t one of those girls that would fall under his manly spell. “You must be Danny. Grey said it was okay if I stayed here.”
He rested his hip against the counter as his gaze slowly traveled over her face. The mischief in his eyes turned into a playful twinkle. This guy was good. They’d exchanged less than ten words, and he already had her giddy like a freshman in high school. She shoved the feelings away; she didn’t have time to analyze them. She needed to reclaim her ground or she’d spend the entire week fighting off his advances, and that was one fight she might have to throw. He was that beautiful, that sexy, and damn….Just no.
“Oh, it’s more than okay.”
She removed the towel hanging over her shoulder and tossed it over his. “I’m glad you’re home. You’ve got garbage duty and putting away the dishes.”
His lips twitched into a suggestive smile, and he stepped back. “How about I repay you with a romantic dinner?”
“No thanks. I’ve already got plans.”
“Let me guess.” Danny winked while walking backward toward the hallway. “Dinner with Grey and Beck?”
“How…”
“I know my sister-in-law.”
Lucy rubbed the amulet around her neck.
His gaze dropped to her fingers, and Danny almost tripped, stopping in his tracks. “Where did you get that?”
“I found it when I was a teenager,” she said, looking down at it and rubbing her finger over the design. “I’ve had it ever since.”
“Were you wearing that when you saw Grey today?”
“Yeah, come to think of it, she asked where I got my stone too.” Lucy shrugged and dropped the amulet against her chest before sidestepping him. “I’m getting a shower unless you’d rather go first.”
Danny shook his head, his mouth parted. He looked confused and, worse than that, a little irritated. She shrugged. She could deal with irritated a lot better than flirty.
“You go ahead. I’m going to run next door and see if my brother is home.” He pointed toward the door and, without another word, walked out, letting the door slam behind him.
Chapter 3
Danny jogged down the beach house stairs and crossed the distance to his brother’s beach house next door. He jogged up the stairs. Passing the window, he spotted Beck inside. Without knocking, Danny opened the door and stomped in.
“Where is your wife?” he asked while rubbing his neck and shoving the other hand in his pocket. Aggravation seeped from his voice and rolled in his gut. He had a feeling he couldn’t shake. One that told him something was wrong even if he couldn’t pinpoint the problem.
Beck lifted his brow. “What did she do now?”
“She stopped by the station and told me that I’d have a new roommate for a week.”
“So what? She said it was the mayor’s daughter, Lucy, and you are technically staying in Grey’s house, so it won’t kill you to be hospitable for a week.”
Danny rested his hands on his waist and dropped his gaze. “She has the pendant.”
“The what?”
Danny lifted his gaze and swallowed around the lump in his throat. He couldn’t believe he was saying this. He’d waited years. He’d been silently jealous when Beck had found Grey. And now that it was Danny’s turn, he felt like he might just get sick.
“The pendant. The stone. My destiny. She’s wearing the crystal stone, and Grey knew it when she paired us up as roommates, and I have this nagging feeling that something isn’t right.”
“Why is that?” Beck asked, walking to the fridge and pulling out two beers. He handed one to Danny. “Did you think you two would meet and she’d fall instantly at your feet? I hate to break it to you, brother, but you saw what Grey and I had to go through to make things work. It wasn’t all fun and games, but I can tell you it was most definitely worth it.”
“Lucy cleaned the beach house.”
“Then she’s seen you at your worst.” Beck patted his brother on the back, and they both stepped out onto the porch. “That’s a good thing. It’s only uphill from there.”
The wood steps creaked, announcing Grey before they even caught a glimpse of her red hair drifting on the breeze. Her face was pinched in determination, her cheeks flushed as she lugged a huge old leather-bound book in her arms.
“Great, you’re here,” Grey said, looking at Danny before shrugging the book into Beck’s hands. “The mayor said you would be. I don’t know why I second-guess her. That woman is never wrong.”
Beck rubbed his finger over the faded leather design on the cover of the book. “Did you steal this from Sydney’s collection?”
“She wishes,” Grey said, walking into the house. “There’s something Danny needs to know.”
The guys followed her into the kitchen, and Beck set the book on the table and helped Grey reach the top cabinets where the liquor was stored, along with shot glasses.
“This must be bad since you’re pulling out the good stuff.” Danny plopped down into one of the kitchen chairs.
Grey kissed Beck before pointing to the book. “You guys need to read it. Turn to page 203.”
Apprehension swirled in Danny’s gut, twisting like a waterspout over the open ocean as he and Beck thumbed through the pages.
“Third paragraph,” Grey called out while pouring the shots.
The fate of Blansett is tied to the descendant who doesn’t need rose-colored glasses. She’s the embodiment of Be-All. No one will be able to withstand her charm, seeing in her what needs to be seen. Her abilities strum through her veins like that of an empress; men and women will not be able to fight the need to want to please her.
Danny’s gaze shot to Grey. “Are you saying this is describing Lucy?”
“Yeah, but don’t worry. That pendant she wears was spelled to block her “Be-All” ability. You can thank your mother and grandmother’s coven for that.”
Beck’s mouth parted. “She’s been to Texas, to our town?”
Grey passed out the shot glasses and clinked them against Beck’s and Danny’s. “Drink first and then keep reading.”
Danny threw back the shot of vodka. The liquid slid down his throat, coating it and settling the nerves in his stomach, leaving an aftertas
te of something minty.
He peered into the shot glass and lifted it to his nose, inhaling a deep breath. “That wasn’t just vodka. What did you do?”
“Oh, baby,” Beck said, wrapping his arms around Grey’s waist and kissing her cheek. “Tell me you didn’t.”
“I had to,” Grey said and gestured to the book. “Keep reading.”
“What did you do?” Danny asked, ignoring the book.
“She spiked your shot.”
Danny’s heart hammered in his chest. His mouth parted as he stared between them both. He snapped, “You what!”
“A love spell,” Beck answered. How he knew, Danny had no idea.
“You’re going to need help. The whole town depends on it.”
Danny’s brows dipped, and he ground his teeth while clenching and unclenching his fists. He took a deep calming breath. He’d deal with Grey and her spell later after he figured out what he was up against. He returned his gaze back to the book.
Before the clock strikes midnight on the eve of her twenty-fifth birthday, she must find the love in and of her heart or the energies within will contract and expand, touching everything within the town boundaries. Should this come to pass, the townspeople will be the last magical descendants in each of their lines.
“You’re joking, right?” he asked, slamming the book closed. “You think this passage is about her and she has to fall in love before her freakin’ birthday? When is it?”
“St. Patrick’s Day, and Danny, I don’t think that passage is about her. I know it is. Lucy told me about it a long time ago, and today, I confirmed it with the mayor. That book is from their family vaults.”
He shook his head and walked into the living room. His mind raced with how any of it was possible.
“Her ability was strong. You just don’t know. Anyone who saw her wanted to be her best friend or date her or would do anything for her to notice them. It was a compulsion that they couldn’t help. Some people would have used it to their advantage. The people in this town turned into stalkers. Granted, they were harmless, but they wouldn’t let up.”
Mystic Luck (Mystic Tides Book 2) Page 25
