Once Hunted, Twice Shy: A Cozy Paranormal Mystery (The Happily Everlasting Series Book 2)

by Mandy M. Roth

  A smile touched her lips. Hugh had done all of this himself? He wasn’t just a talented furniture builder, he was also skilled with interior design. She bet he wouldn’t want that advertised anywhere. It might hurt his manly imagine. She thought it was wonderful.

  Her excitement didn’t wane when they entered the main portion of the house. The living room area had a giant brick fireplace on a wall that was also brick. The wall had been left unpainted while the rest of the room was done in a soft gray. Two full sofas sat facing one another with a reclaimed-wood coffee table between them. On the table sat a small wooden lighthouse that looked remarkably like the lighthouse she’d been at and nearly asked directions from.

  “Did he carve that?” she asked, pointing to the figure.

  Petey grinned from ear to ear. “That is my handiwork. It was my housewarming present to Hugh. He does so much for me the least I could do was make him that.”

  “Oh my stars, Petey, it’s beautiful and looks just like the one on the edge of town.”

  Beaming, Petey nodded. “Sat out there myself while I was making it. It was a way to give a gift to Hugh while also keeping an eye on my woman.”

  Confused, Penelope stared at him. “I’m afraid I’m not following.”

  He gave her a serious look. “Polly has a thing for Cornelius. He’s bound to the lighthouse, so she goes out there a lot trying to see him. Sometimes I take her out when her car is acting up. Even got her a sidecar for my motorcycle. She has a shiny pink helmet. Her niece Anna says we’re a menace on the road, but we don’t agree. Oh, and Polly got me a shiny tiny disco ball for my key chain. We’ve matching ones. It practically means we’re committed. It’s like a promise ring, but not.”

  She wasn’t sure the matching key chains meant what Petey thought they did, but she didn’t want to burst Petey’s bubble. He seemed happy and that was all that mattered. “Do you have eyes for anyone else? Besides Polly?”

  Petey rubbed his jaw. “Nah. I like the chase with Polly. It’s part of the charm.”

  Penelope grinned.

  “Come on, I’ll put on some tea for us while we wait for Hugh and your grandfather to get back,” said Petey, walking down a hall in the direction of what she assumed was the kitchen.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Hugh headed into his house and instantly caught scent of Penelope. His body tightened with need and he hurried in. He found Petey in the kitchen, washing dishes, but there was no sign of Penelope.

  Petey faced him. “Did you catch it?”

  “No,” breathed Hugh, still positive he could smell Penelope. “I’m heading to Wilber’s. I want to check on Penelope. Buster is supposed to be watching over her.”

  “He called, frantic because she wasn’t there when he woke,” said Petey, moving to dry the dishes he’d just washed.

  The air left Hugh’s lungs as every worst-case scenario raced through his head. He turned, his intention to shift forms and run right to Wilber’s shop if he had to. He needed to lay eyes on his woman and know she was safe.

  “Slow yourself there, boy,” snapped Petey. “She’s resting up in your room. I made her something to eat and it became clear she was exhausted. I didn’t give her any choice. I made her take a nap.”

  “She’s here?” Hugh asked. “How?”

  “I ran into her at the coffee shop and she asked me to walk her to the marina. She was looking for you. I didn’t want to leave her alone with everything that’s been happening, so I brought her here, to your place. Figured you’d want that.”

  Hugh went right at the older man and gave him a big hug, lifting Petey off the floor nearly a foot. He set him down and then nodded his thanks, unable to form the words.

  Petey grinned. “She’s a fine mate, Hugh. The two of you will have good-looking babies. I’ll expect them to call me grandpappy. Got it?”

  Having children hadn’t been something Hugh had spent much time thinking about in the past. His father wasn’t the best and Hugh had always held a hidden fear that he’d be the same way if he had children. That was why he’d always pushed the idea of starting a family far from his mind. He’d never met a woman before Penelope that he’d wanted a life with—something more.

  Petey was like family to him. He was like a crazy uncle and a concerned father all rolled into one. He’d learned to control his wolf because of Petey’s help. And he’d made something of his life despite his father thinking it would never happen because of Petey’s encouragement. Of course any children Hugh might have in the future would call the man grandpa. “You got it, Petey.”

  “You going to claim her?” questioned Petey, putting two plates away in the cabinet. He knew that Hugh got antsy when anything was out of place. “And have you discussed it with her grandfather? I don’t want your pelt on his wall.”

  Chuckling, Hugh inclined his head. “I informed him of my intentions while out to sea with him.”

  Petey snorted. “Brave man or very stupid. You’re lucky he didn’t use you to try to chum the waters for the kraken.”

  “I know. Trust me, I know.” Hugh had been worried about extended time with Wilber, but in truth, he was finding the man wasn’t quite the boogieman he’d always made him out to be. Sure, Wilber was no choirboy, but maybe he really had changed for the better. He hadn’t actually hurt Jake when he’d kidnapped him. Something told Hugh that the Wilber of old would have killed Jake and been done with it from the start.

  Progress.

  It was slow but there.

  Petey set the towel down. “I’m going to go check on that Pearson boy I hired to run my bait shop in the mornings. That boy spends more time reading those Japanese comic books than he does helping customers. And he doesn’t know a bucktail jig from a flutter jig.”

  Hugh refrained from laughing. There had been a point in his life when he didn’t know the difference either. Petey had been patient with him, showing him the fishing ropes. He’d do the same with the Pearson boy. As much as the man pretended to be hard-nosed, his heart was big. “I’m sure you’ll set him straight.”

  Petey gave a curt nod. “I’ll show him where a bear goes in the woods.”

  Hugh snorted. “You do that. Just do me a favor. Go easier on the whiskey. I’d like to have you around a long time, okay?”

  “Can do.”

  “You could always switch to water,” suggested Hugh, hopeful he’d finally talk some sense into Petey about his love of the hard stuff.

  Petey looked aghast. “People drown in that, you know.”

  “Rome wasn’t built in a day,” said Hugh more to himself than Petey as he thought of the uphill battle he had to get Petey on the straight and narrow.

  “Did you know ninjas helped build Rome?” said Petey, his expression serious.

  Hugh had learned long ago to avoid trying to reason with Petey when he got on a ninja kick. “I think I heard about that.”

  “Yeah. Might want to talk to your woman. She seems to think they didn’t have a hand in the American Revolution. She’s a sweet girl, but pretty misguided.”

  Hugh coughed. “I’ll, um, let her know the real truth of it all.”

  “She’s been fed and well taken care of. Don’t go messing anything up by talking too much. Your foot likes to get stuck in your mouth.”

  Hugh grinned. “Thanks, Petey.”

  “No problem. Call me if you need me.” With that, Petey headed out the back door.

  Hugh went upstairs and discovered Penelope resting peacefully on his king-sized bed. Her long dark hair was fanned out around her on the white pillow and she had a gray throw blanket over her. Her boots were near the foot of the bed.

  The longer he stared at her there, sleeping peacefully, the more he wanted to wake up every morning to that sight. He wanted her close and with him for the rest of his days. And while he’d already announced to her grandfather and his friends that he was going to ask her to be his wife, he had yet to figure out the best way to go about it all. It wasn’t as if he had any practice.
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br />   He’d never even had a serious relationship. He had nothing more than a long line of one-night stands, and while he’d taken great pride in that knowledge before meeting Penelope, he found himself embarrassed by it now. If he could erase his past he would, but he couldn’t. It was there to serve as an ugly reminder of who he no longer wanted to be.

  He wanted more from life.

  He wanted Penelope.

  It no longer mattered that she was a Messing. She was his destined mate, and that meant the world to him. He wanted to crawl under the covers and join her. Touch her, know every inch of her, but he resisted. He needed a shower to wash away the smell of the chum they’d used to try to bait the kraken.

  Without wasting another minute, Hugh made his way quietly across his bedroom to the large bathroom. He closed the door and then made short work out of cleaning up. He didn’t want to waste another second of his life.

  The hot water felt good sluicing over his sore muscles. His leg still had the smallest of cramps in it, from having been broken the day before when he’d gotten hit by the car.

  A smile touched his lips as he thought about how he’d been reintroduced to Penelope. He’d been truthful when he’d told her hitting him with a car was the only way to knock sense into him. His stubborn side was notorious.

  Stepping out of the shower, Hugh reached for the large bath towel he kept on a hook on the wall. Just as his fingers made contact with the fluffy towel, the bathroom door opened. Turning, he found Penelope there, her blue eyes wide, her jaw open and red stealing its way up her neck to her face.

  “Hold the pickles, you’re naked!” she yelped before spinning and putting her back to him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were home yet. I dozed off and oh my word, you’re naked.”

  Covering himself with the towel, Hugh smiled. “I’m decent now.”

  She stayed facing the other way. “Pretty sure that subject is not only debatable but had a bet wagered on it.”

  “Penelope, really, I’m covered now.” He wasn’t sure how he felt about his mate refusing to see him without clothes on.

  She gulped and stepped forward. “I should, um, do something. I’m not sure what because my brain is soup right now. Men should not come looking the way you do. It’s like walking sin. Really wet, muscle-bound sin too.”

  He walked up behind her and bent, planting a kiss on her shoulder as she faced away and he held his towel. “I think you’re downright sinful and you’re fully dressed. In my book, women should not come as tempting as you are.”

  She turned slowly to face him. Confusion knit her brow. “You think I’m tempting?”

  The sincerity on her face got his dander up. He knew then that her ex Craig had done a number on her. He growled and then went to walk around her.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “Calling your grandfather,” he returned, heading to the phone by the side of the bed. “He and I are planning a road trip to break Craig’s legs.”

  She was suddenly behind him, tugging on his upper arms. “No you don’t. Find something else to bond with my grandfather over. Beating up my ex isn’t on the list.”

  “It’s on my list,” he said, anger still coursing through him. “You’re so beautiful that I want to pinch myself to be sure you’re real, yet you don’t seem to see it. I blame that worthless piece of pumpkin pie you were dating.”

  Penelope laughed.

  Try as Hugh might, he found he couldn’t cling to his anger for long. He chuckled too. “I really hope Polly’s spell wears off soon. Baked goods are starting to sound dirty to me.”

  She ran her hands down his arms, making him shiver in delight. She then kissed his bare back. “Maybe we could do something about that.”

  Hugh froze. “Penelope?”

  She nipped lightly at his skin and his shifter side went wild. He nearly lost control then and there. “We should put distance between us. I’m afraid I can only be a gentleman for so long.”

  “Hugh?”

  “Yes?” he asked, his throat suddenly dry at her closeness.

  “Stop being a gentleman and show me what a beast you can be,” she said, turning him to face her. She went to her tiptoes, her lips finding his, and he knew the time had come to claim his mate.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Penelope woke late in the day to find the sun was already setting. She touched her neck and smiled at the thought of how she’d spent her day—with Hugh. It had been magical.

  At one point, literally.

  When he’d bitten her and said the word “mine,” it had felt like their souls were being tied together. She’d then felt compelled to say the word back to him, making the feeling of soul sharing intensify.

  She found her clothing and dressed before leaving the main bedroom and entering the upstairs hallway in search of Hugh. He’d been missing from the bed when she’d woken.

  Catching the faint sound of voices coming from downstairs, she headed for the staircase. The voices were muffled at first, growing with intensity the farther down the stairs she went. She could make out Deputy March, Curt, Hugh, and then others. Whatever they were discussing had become heated rapidly, thus causing their voices to rise.

  When she heard her grandfather’s voice among the chaos, she quickened her pace. Hugh’s home was large, and she worried that a fight would break out before she got to them.

  She entered the kitchen to find Hugh and her grandfather standing toe to toe. Curt grabbed for Hugh, and Deputy March went for her grandfather as Petey put his body between both men.

  “No killing each other,” said Buster from the sidelines, looking like he wasn’t about to try to get between anyone.

  Penelope stepped into the kitchen and all eyes went to her. “What’s going on here?”

  Deputy March snorted. “Shock of all shocks, Wil and Hugh are at it again. I should have known when Hugh called us over to discuss tonight’s hunt that all hell would break loose. Honestly, I’m the one who should want to start a fight with Wil because he kidnapped me. Yet here I am, playing peacemaker—again.” It was strange seeing Deputy March in everyday clothing. There was still an air of danger to him that didn’t lessen with the uniform missing.

  Curt gave her a pleading look. “Can you tell them to stop acting like children?”

  Her grandfather turned his gaze to her. “He claimed you?”

  Unsure what that meant, she just stood there, staring at all the men before her. “Uh?”

  “I did,” said Hugh, answering for her. “It’s done. She’s my wife now. Deal with it.”

  Wife?

  Penelope put her hands up, making the shape of a T. “Hold the pickles. Wife?”

  Buster eased his way around the edge of the kitchen, bumping into the table as he did. A saltshaker tipped over and he grabbed for it, keeping it from falling to the floor. Nervously, he set it back in place and then continued around the edge of the kitchen, in her direction. When he reached her, he leaned and lowered his voice. “The claiming ritual left the two of you mated. In the eyes of our people, you’re now husband and wife.”

  “Claiming ritual?” As the words left her mouth, she remembered Hugh biting her neck during the height of passion. She touched the spot that was totally healed over as if nothing had happened. Her eyes narrowed on Hugh. “Start talking, bucko.”

  Gulping, he stopped trying to go at her grandfather and began a quick retreat. He ended up behind Curt. He glanced around the man who was a match to him in size and build. “You’re adorable when you’re mad. Don’t geld me.”

  “I’ll geld you,” said her grandfather, making a move at him.

  It took Jake, Curt, and Petey to pull him back.

  Penelope came to her senses. “Stop!”

  Everyone stopped in place like a game of freeze tag on the playground. She pointed to her grandfather. “You, go stand over there and stop trying to maim my boyfriend.”

  “Husband,” reminded Buster before skulking away.

  Her ga
ze whipped to Hugh, who was still acting like a giant baby and hiding behind his friend. “Explain this to me before it’s me shoving my sunflower up your whoops-a-daisy.”

  Deputy March and Curt snickered.

  Hugh paled as he took the smallest of steps out from behind Curt. “Honey, listen, don’t be mad.”

  “Want me to kill him?” asked her grandfather, a hopeful note to his voice. “I’ll do it. Say the word, sweetheart.”

  “No comments from the time-out corner,” she said in her grandfather’s direction. “Am I really married to Hugh now?”

  “Unfortunately,” stated her grandfather. “I really wish it would have been Curt.”

  “Again with the love and support, Gramps,” said Hugh before snapping his mouth shut quickly.

  Her hands went to her hips. “You should have asked me first. Before just up and claiming me. I didn’t fully understand what was happening.”

  The look on Hugh’s face said it all (she’d been more than on board with what they’d spent the afternoon doing). She’d have been embarrassed if she wasn’t so stunned by the news they were now man and wife.

  “I would have thought you’d have had the birds and the bees conversation by now,” Hugh said with a wink.

  Her grandfather stiffened.

  Penelope pointed at Hugh. “You’re on thin ice.”

  Curt smiled. “I’ve got this. You see, when a mommy bird meets a daddy bird and they—”

  Penelope looked at her grandfather. “Okay, maim that one.”

  Curt’s eyes widened. “I surrender!”

  “Wimp,” added Jake.

  “I kind of like not being a rug,” said Curt. He looked at Hugh. “You’re on your own here. I know you love her and that it was fate, but she’s right, a heads-up on it all would have been nice.”

  “Yeah, well you try to think clearly when love has your head spinning. Let’s see how good you do,” said Hugh with a grunt.