by Rose Pressey
“Well, I was worried, but thank you.”
“What are you going to do now?” I leaned against the door.
“I’m going back to New York.” She picked at her fingernail, looking down. “You know, I’d been thinking of coming back for Rory for a long time, then a couple days ago the desire became so strong, I had to. But that desire’s gone now. I know it’s over with Rory, and I’m okay with that. I never wanted to be alone, but I realize now that I’ll be fine.”
I nodded. “I wish you the best of luck, Kim.”
“Thank you, Elly. Same to you.” She still didn’t know I was the reason she came back in the first place. But after what she’d told me, I wondered if the spell had even mattered. She’d have come back anyway.
After an hour, we were back out in front of the building. Even though I’d declined to press charges for the kidnapping and burglary, I knew she’d have to deal with the organization. And that probably wouldn’t be easy for her. Plus, the organization would take care of the situation enough without me adding to it. Kim never meant me any harm. While inside the jail, she’d paid me for the broken window and extra for the mess she’d caused. As far as I was concerned, I never wanted to see Kim again—too many bad memories. Now that left one thing that needed to be completed.
“Shall I drop you off at home?” Tom walked beside me, our strides synchronized.
I nodded. “Yes, I need to get prepared to pay a certain guy a visit.”
“He’s a lucky man,” Tom said, brushing a strand of hair away from my cheek.
He tilted down and pressed his lips against mine. They were soft and warm. It was nice, but a vision of Rory flashed through my mind. He leaned up from the kiss, shifting his gaze away from mine.
Tom’s actions had caught me off guard and I didn’t know how to react. Did I want Tom to kiss me? He was handsome, had an unassuming sensual quality and a slight cockiness, not to mention he was a part of my new magical world, but was that enough to give up on spending more time with Rory? Plus, it wouldn’t be fair to Tom if my feelings weren’t the same as his.
“I’m sorry if I was abrupt with you when I first came to the café. It’s not every day they send me to a case with someone as beautiful as you.”
My cheeks heated. “Thank you,” I said softly. “You weren’t that abrupt…well, just a bit. I was a little overwhelmed.”
“I wanted to help you, but there’s not a lot I can do in these situations. My hands were tied.”
He handed me the keys to the café.
“Thank you.” I wiped a tear from the edge of my eye.
“Hey, none of those tears, okay?”
I nodded.
“Let’s get you home.” He placed a hand on the small of my back and guided me toward his car.
Chapter Forty-Four
A short time later, I set out for Rory’s place. My thoughts jumped between wondering if Rory would acknowledge the magic, or if he’d warn me never to come near him again. It was asking a lot to expect someone to understand.
Horse farms with miles of black pasture fencing spread out from each side of the road. Occasionally, moss-covered stone fences flanked the narrow country path. Long sweeping driveways sporadically popped up along the way and I barely saw the houses at the end. Horses grazed in the lush fields. I relished the ride along the curvy stretch of highway, soaking in the beautiful summer scenery. But the knot remained, the uncertainty of what Rory would say gnawed at me.
I pulled up to the long dirt road where Rory’s cabin sat at the end. I’d gotten his address from Sheriff Jasper. My car bounced along the long gravel driveway. A cloud of dust twirled behind in my wake. The radio played faintly in the background and I flipped it off out of nervousness. My nerves fidgety, I tapped my fingers against the steering wheel as I navigated the path.
On my right, pine trees lined the path, blocking part of my view of the rolling pasture just beyond—only giving a glimpse every so often. Rory’s house looked like a cozy place in the middle of rolling acres, shadowed by the expanse of trees. The tranquility of the country setting swept over me, easing my stress somewhat, but I still had no idea how Rory would react to seeing me again. His world was isolated, off the beaten path away from civilization.
I pulled up in front of Rory’s cabin. My heart thumped. What would he say? Would he speak to me? The questions whirred through my head. I hesitated for a moment, then forced myself out of the car. Birds chirped as they played tic-tac-toe along the power lines and tree branches ruffled, but the air was peaceful in spite of the slight breeze. I took my time walking up onto the wooden porch. It creaked under my feet. Hesitating with my fist in midair, I finally knocked on the door. The dog barked and I knew there was no turning back now. He knew someone was outside.
When Rory answered, I almost lost my breath. He only wore jeans. His bare chest glistened with beads of water and his hair was wet. He blocked his dog from stomping out the door after me.
“Did I catch you at a bad time?” I asked, trying not to stare at his chest.
“I just got out of the shower.”
“I’m sorry. Should I come back?” I shouldn’t have asked. This was the perfect opportunity for him to say no.
“It’s okay. Do you want to come inside?”
“Thanks.” I moved past him and through the door. He smelled of soap and spicy aftershave. I wanted to wrap my arms around him and pull him close. Feel his hard wet chest pressed next to me.
“Hi there, big guy.” I rubbed the top of his dog’s head as the golden retriever sniffed my arm. “What’s his name?”
“Beau. I’ve got to warn you, he loves women.”
I chuckled. “Well, I love him already.” Beau sat and stretched his right paw out toward me. “Oh, he knows tricks. What a little charmer.”
“I’m not sure I’d call them tricks, but he knows how to work a room.” The little lines at the corners of his eyes appeared as he smiled. So far, so good.
I continued rubbing Beau’s head, but focused my attention on Rory. “I wanted to talk to you about what happened.” I’d get straight to the point. No beating around the bush. “I didn’t ask you to come to the park on false pretenses on purpose. Kim was acting crazy and I didn’t know what else to do.”
“Please sit down.” He gestured toward a spot on the dark brown leather sofa. “I’ll let Beau outside while we talk, I’ve got a fenced-in area for him back there.”
I nodded. As I waited for Rory, I perched myself on the edge of the sofa. I glanced around the room. His cabin was sparsely decorated, but it had all the essentials and appeared clean and neat. When he returned, he sat on the corner of the table in front of me. My heart beat a little faster at his nearness.
“I guess you want to know what all the talk of magic was about. Do you think I’m crazy?”
He let out a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair.
When I thought I couldn’t wait a second longer for his answer, he said, “I don’t think you’re crazy.”
I wanted to jump for joy.
“I figured Kim worked her charm on you and convinced you to say those things, or you practice witchcraft? My mom’s best friend was into that, so I saw a little of what she did when I was younger.”
“Well, it’s not exactly witchcraft. Or, maybe it is. Heck, I don’t know what I’m saying. Like I said, Kim was acting crazy.”
Rory touched my hand. “I know how she can be, believe me. I dealt with her antics for far too long. Elly, I’m sorry. I was angry. I don’t want to be with Kim. My relationship with her was over a long time ago. Then I saw her trying to manipulate you, and I just had to get out of there.”
“I understand why you left.”
“So if it isn’t witchcraft, then what is it?”
“Heck, I don’t know what it is. All I know is my life was normal, fine, nothing out of the ordinary, then I took over my grandmother’s café and now there’s nothing but chaos in my life. Some of it’s bad chaos and some of it’s
good. You’re the good.” I looked down at his hand covering mine.
He squeezed my hand. I looked up and stared into his eyes.
“My grandmother did the magic to help the customers. I don’t know why or how it all started. She has these spices and book of magical spells. Kim stole the book when she busted out the window of Mystic Café. Anyway, Tom Owenton isn’t there to help me with accounting.” I let out a deep breath, thankful to get that much off my shoulders and out into the open. No more secrets.
“He wasn’t?” A crease formed between his eyebrows.
“No, he was there because I messed up the magic spell. There’s an organization that keeps track of magic performed and stops anyone from doing any further damage after something goes wrong. I did damage when you got the wrong spell.”
His expression was one of shock and disbelief. “So you did magic for me? To help me get my ex-girlfriend back?”
“No. I mean, yes, that’s what happened, but the magic spell wasn’t meant for you. It was meant for another customer, and...you accidentally got their order.” I took a deep breath. “Mary Jane was talking and she set the wrong plate down.”
“So it wasn’t your fault?”
“Not technically, but I should have watched more carefully. Magic isn’t something to mess around with. Look what happened. I almost ruined your life.”
“But you didn’t ruin my life.”
I grinned, fighting back tears. I’d kept my feelings in for so long, my emotional dam was about to come crumbling down.
“What happened then?” He patted my hand.
“Like I said, that’s why I knocked the food out of your hand. And that’s why all the women were following you around. I wanted to make the other customer’s girlfriend a little jealous. It backfired on me. Not that women wouldn’t follow you, because I know they would.” I was rambling. I wiped at the corner of my eye.
“I don’t want women following me and I don’t want Kim. I think I’ve made that clear.”
“Everything happened so fast and it was so confusing. I know you said that, but I just wasn’t sure.”
“Well, I’m telling you now, so you’re clear, I don’t.” He placed his index finger under my chin and lifted my face to meet his gaze.
I stared at him.
“I can tell you what I do want,” he said.
Oh yes, please, tell me. Unless it was bad, then I didn’t want to hear. Before the words left his lips, the front door burst open and two men stormed into the room. Rory jumped up and so did I.
Rory stood in front of me with his arms shielding my body. The men stared at us as if we were at some kind of Old Wild West shootout. The silence hung in the air as the staring showdown continued for what seemed like an awkwardly long time. They didn’t have their guns pointed directly at us, but in the general vicinity, which was way too close for comfort for me. One wrong move and they’d probably fill us with bullets. Beau’s barking echoed from the backyard. He wanted a piece of these men badly.
“What’s going on?” Rory asked.
“Elly Blair needs to come with us.” The taller of the two men moved toward me.
Chapter Forty-FiveKidnapped twice in one day. That must be some kind of world record. My mama always said I’d be famous, now I knew she was right. In the Book of World Records for being kidnapped multiple times in twenty-four hours. Lucky me. The two men grabbed me and dragged me off. Rory made a lunge for us. I don’t know what the bigger of the two men said to him, but it made him stop in his tracks. I didn’t know where they were taking me.
“I thought everything was taken care of,” I said.
The men held their guns and pointed them at Rory the whole time they dragged me to their car. I kicked and screamed but it didn’t have any effect on the situation.
“Where are you taking me?” I demanded.
“Be quiet and get in the car,” the taller one said.
They both wore black suits with white shirts and black ties. Their black sedan had dark tinted windows. The taller one shoved me in the car and got in next to me as the other one climbed behind the wheel.
We spun out from the gravel drive and, just like that, I was gone from Rory’s house. What was going through his mind? Probably the same thing that was going through mine. Who in the heck were these men?
“I demand that you tell me who you are.”
The driver glanced back in the rearview mirror.
“We’re saving you.”
“Excuse me? Come again? What are you saving me from?”
“We had information that you’d been kidnapped.”
“Had been kidnapped. Had been. That was hours ago. Where were you when I needed you? I was at that man’s house because I wanted to be, not because I’d been held captive. Now turn this car around and take me back this very minute. I order you to.”
“Sorry, no can do. We have to take you to the boss.”
Chapter Forty-Six
“We were told to come rescue you. Although, I was told it was a woman who’d kidnapped you, not a man. Where was she?”
“I was kidnapped by a woman this morning, but not now, you big dummy. Now turn this car around, you’ve made a huge mistake. Huge. Do you mind telling me who your boss is?” I asked through gritted teeth. My heart pounded loudly in my ears. It was one thing to be kidnapped by Kim, but entirely another to be whisked away at gunpoint by two intimidating men. Being kidnapped by Kim was like being kidnapped by a puppy compared to these two roughnecks.
“Do I mind, she asks.” He laughed, holding his stomach. “Do I mind,” he whispered to the driver who glanced at us in the rearview mirror. “Mr. Wibble, of course.”
“Of course. Do you mind if I call Tom Owenton and tell him about this madness? I think he’ll have something to say about this.”
The back of the limo had black leather seats, of course, and smelled of cigar smoke and old liquor. The last time I’d been in one of these was in New York when I dragged my drunken, half-naked boss out of the back of one and helped her inside her apartment. She had called me at two a.m. from a nightclub insisting if I didn’t pick her up, she’d end up in jail. That was probably one of her more sane assumptions, which were few and far between.
The limo had a small bar stocked with a variety of liquors. I wasn’t much of a drinker, but now seemed like a good time to take up the habit.
“I’ll call him.” He fumbled in his jacket pocket and pulled out his phone. He dialed the number and handed it to me.
Tom picked up on the first ring.
“What is going on, Tom?” I yelled into the phone.
“I’m eating a doughnut,” he mumbled. I envisioned the crumbs all over the receiver.
“Can you explain to me why I’m being held against my will in the back of a black limousine?” I asked matter-of-factly.
He coughed. I assumed over the chunk of doughy goodness. “What the hell. Where are you?”
“I went to Rory’s like we discussed. But in the middle of our conversation, these two scary-looking…” I cleared my throat. “Um, gentlemen stormed in and took me away.” I glanced over at my backseat abductor. He frowned as if he were offended by being called creepy. I just called it like I saw it.
“What are the two goons’ names?” Tom asked.
I moved the phone from my face a little, then asked, “What are your names?”
He hesitated, then finally answered. “I’m Bob and that’s Charlie.”
I put the phone back up to my ear. “Charlie and Bob. That’s all they’ll tell me.”
He groaned. “Put one of them on the phone, would you?”
“No problem.” I handed the phone toward Bob. “He’d like to speak with you.”
He quirked a brow, then took the phone. “Hello,” he said. “Uh-huh. Okay. Yeah, but I was just following orders. Whatever the boss says is what goes. Yeah, well, why don’t you have the boss call me?” He hung up the phone and glared at me.
Apparently, he was upset that I’d ratt
ed him out. I shrugged. “It’s not my fault you messed up,” I said.
His phone rang and he answered. “Uh-huh. Yes, sir. Yes, right away.” He hung up. His face had turned a shade whiter.
“That man is following us,” Charlie said.
I whipped around to look out the back window. Rory was in his truck, now tailgating the limo. He’d come for me. Aw, my hero. How he planned to rescue me from these numbskulls, I had no idea, but that was beside the point. He’d cared enough to come after me. Did that mean he was willing to accept the magic? Did he no longer think I was one pudding cup short of a six-pack? With any luck, I’d soon find out. Jumping out wasn’t an option. I wasn’t brave enough for that. Plus, at forty miles an hour, I’m guessing it would have been a tad painful.
“Do you mind pulling over now?” I demanded.
“No can do,” Charlie said, glancing in the mirror at me, “we have to take you to the boss.”
Bob cleared his throat. “Um, about that…We may have made a teensy mistake.”
“What?” Charlie straightened behind the wheel, glancing back in the mirror again.
“Um, apparently I didn’t listen to a voice mail that said we weren’t supposed to pick her up.” He shifted in the seat.
“You two are the worst rescuers in the history of rescues. Now pull over.” I glanced out the back window again. Rory’s truck remained inches away from the limousine’s bumper.
Charlie guided the long car over to the side of the road, gravel crunching under the wheels. Rory had almost rammed us when Charlie had slowed down. He pulled his truck up behind us and jumped out, not bothering to close the door behind him. I pulled on the handle, but it didn’t budge. Rory pounded on the window. I was afraid the glass would break into a million pieces he was beating so hard.
“Unlock the door now,” Rory’s voice boomed through the glass.
The door clicked and unlocked, but before I had a chance to grasp my fingers around the handle, Rory yanked it open. When I jumped out, Rory captured my hand, pulling me toward him. Once away from the car, he grabbed me with both arms.
