by Amy Boyles
I smirked. “Of course not. Sorry about getting all hot and bothered back there. It’s just…I got so jealous when she kissed you.”
Axel scoffed. “You did? I didn’t notice.”
I shot him a harsh look. “Obviously I did.”
“Well,” Axel said, hugging me close. “We made it clear that you and I are together.”
“Yes, so hopefully she’ll keep her lips off you.”
Axel kissed my forehead. “You don’t have to worry about that. The only lips that will be touching mine are yours.”
“Good,” I murmured. “Let’s keep it that way.”
Axel brushed his mouth across my forehead, leaving a heat band, and we walked hand in hand to Betty’s house for refreshments.
Axel noticed the bows on the trees, the decorating we’d just finished up. “The trees look great. Y’all have been busy.”
I smiled. “It’s going to look so good. I’ve got a herd of doves I’m training to actually sit in the trees.”
Alarm filled Axel’s face. “You don’t think they’ll crap on anyone’s head, do you?”
I laughed nervously. “I don’t think so. I’ve been working with them.”
“Why not just use magic?”
“Well, I sort of am, but I really want the doves to want to sit on the trees without me forcing it too much.”
Axel’s eyes sparkled with amusement. “You are the kindest person. You even care about the birds.”
I threaded my fingers through his. “After what happened to the last batch of birds—becoming a flock of harpies that tried to kill me—I want to make sure I’m not forcing anything to do something it doesn’t want.”
Except that Drew, I thought. I wouldn’t mind forcing her to jump off a cliff.
Wait. That was bad of me, wasn’t it? Drew didn’t know Axel was engaged to me when she leaped across the counter and stuck her mouthlike sucker to his face.
She hadn’t known that.
As soon as Axel informed her, Drew backed off. But she still suggested that she and Axel had been close.
Very close.
I shrugged off thoughts of Drew and focused on the now. As if on cue, my stomach growled.
Axel chuckled. “Sounds like someone needs some hot chocolate.”
I laughed. “Yep. Come on. Let’s see what my crazy family is up to.”
For once they weren’t being crazy at all. That was, if you didn’t call Mint and Licky creating fake baby pictures of me crazy.
Photos flashed on the wall as if from a projector, but there was no projector—only Mint using her magic to make the images of a little girl with cinnamon-colored hair appear just to the right of the mantel.
“I like this one—where she’s sitting on the fire-breathing dragon,” Mint said.
“No one will believe that Pepper tamed that creature at the age of two,” Licky argued.
“Yes, they will,” Mint said. “They’ll believe it. After all, she speaks to animals.”
Licky considered this. “You know what, you’re right. The dragon pics stays in. Now, what about this one with her riding the Lock Ness monsters?”
“Monsters?” I said, totally confused. “Isn’t there only one?”
Mint scoffed. “Look at what you know. Of course there isn’t only one. There’s two. One monster couldn’t keep up that stint for so long.”
“There might actually be more,” Licky murmured. “You never know when it comes to magical creatures. They’re wily.”
I pointed to the picture. “Well, they can’t be that wily. You’ve got me riding one. And how do you even know what I looked like as a baby?”
Mint waved away my concern. “Oh, that was easy. We used facial anti-aging magic to turn back the clock and see what you would have looked like.”
I gestured to Axel. He saw me pointing at him and quickly headed to the table, where two cauldrons and a plate of cheese straws had been set up.
He didn’t want to get involved in this conversation. I couldn’t blame him. At all.
“What about Axel’s baby pictures? Do you have any?”
Mint nodded. “His mother is bringing them by after she arrives tomorrow.”
“Great,” Amelia said, appearing from the kitchen. “I’ll be sure to document it with my camera. We can’t have too many pictures of reunions. In fact, the entire week is a reunion.”
“Where are your parents staying?” I asked.
Axel chewed a cheese straw and moaned. “Who made this piece of heaven?”
“I did,” Betty announced, coming down the stairs. “I’ve got more if you want to take some home.”
Axel’s eyes widened in surprise. “Are you offering me something to eat? To take it home? What have you done with the real Betty Craple? She would fill my bottom with buckshot before letting me snag extra cheese straws.”
Betty frowned away a smile that tugged on her lips. “Let’s just say I’m feeling generous, kid. I want to make sure that sweet mother of yours gets as many cheese straws as possible.”
Axel bowed in reverence to Betty. “I will make sure she gets them, and to answer your question, Pepper, they’re staying at the old house. I’m finishing up decorating the new one.”
I quirked a brow. “What do you mean, decorating the new one?”
He popped the last bit of cheese straw in his mouth before answering. “What I mean is—it’s none of your business.”
“That’s not playing fair.”
“All’s fair in love and war,” Axel said with a glimmer in his eye.
“I’m pretty sure a man created that statement,” Cordelia said, ladling up a cup of hot cocoa for herself. “So it doesn’t count.”
“I get the feeling I’m outnumbered here,” Axel said.
I sidled up to him and pressed my hip to his leg. “Looks like you might be right.”
He handed me a cup of cocoa, and I blew a bit on the top, letting it cool a moment before taking a sip.
I moaned with pleasure as rich chocolate slid across my tongue. “Did you use heavy cream in this?”
Betty winked. “Sure did.”
“Oh my gosh!” Amelia looked around the room. Her face twisted in panic as her gaze darted around the room. “I almost forgot. Cousin Molly is arriving any minute now.”
“You mean the same Cousin Molly who Cordelia asked on the hike down to the big tree before inviting you?”
Amelia’s eyes narrowed. “The very same.”
A couple of weeks ago Cordelia and Amelia had gotten into a huge fight about Cousin Molly. When Amelia discovered that Cordelia had invited Molly on a hike before Amelia had been invited, she was ticked—so ticked that Amelia and Cordelia ended up in a magic fight.
By the end of their duel, both women looked hideous. It was actually the stuff of nightmares. Funnily enough, I’d wound up dreaming of a creature that was a mesh of my cousins, and that creature became Grumpy, an ogreish sort of fellow who lives in the woods behind the new house that Axel had purchased for us.
But anyway, back to Molly.
“She’s supposed to be here?” I asked.
“Molly is staying with us,” Cordelia said. “In my room, with me. It’s only for a few days and she’s easy. Molly won’t get in anyone’s way.”
“So you say,” Amelia quipped.
Right then the doorbell rang. “There she is.” Amelia batted her lashes coyly at Cordelia. “Do you want to answer it since you’re best buddies and all?”
Cordelia rolled her eyes. “Fine.”
As she crossed to the door and opened it, I noticed my aunts had a new fake baby picture of me—one where I was riding a wave of water.
“What’s with all the riding pictures?” I asked.
“We like them,” Mint said.
Cordelia opened the door. “Molly! So great to have you.”
Molly strode in rolling a designer suitcase behind her. She wore huge sunglasses, a winter cap, tight leather pants and a fur vest.
“It’s so
great to see y’all,” Molly said, hugging Cordelia. “I can’t wait to meet Pepper.”
She pulled off her glasses. Y’all, Molly was stunning. Absolutely stunning. Like, thick chestnut-colored waves that hung nearly to her navel, luscious chocolate-colored eyes and a figure to kill for.
Not die for—kill for, that’s right.
Molly hugged Amelia, who I noticed wrapped her arms around our cousin rather stiffly. Then Molly greeted Betty, Mint and Licky.
“So good to see you, Aunt Betty. Mint and Licky, y’all look fabulous.”
“Glad you’re here, Molly,” Mint said. “Mind our daughters and make sure they’re nice to you.”
Molly swatted them away. “Of course they’re nice. We’re cousins.”
I shot Amelia a warning look. She hiked her shoulders to her ears in an innocent shrug.
What? she mouthed.
Before I could answer, Molly’s gaze settled on me.
“Well, you must be Pepper.” She crossed over and pulled me into a hug. “So you’re the lucky girl who stole Axel Reign’s heart.”
Excuse me?
Molly pulled back and winked at Axel. “And I thought no one would ever be able to capture him. After all, we didn’t used to call him Mr. Sexy for nothing. I thought it would be me who became Mrs. Reign.” Molly licked her thick, full lips. “But I see you’ve tamed that beast.”
She locked gazes with him. “Isn’t that right, Axel? Pepper tamed you when the rest of us could not.”
My jaw dropped. I shot Axel a look full of confusion. “Well?” I said. “Is that right, Axel?”
Axel threaded his fingers through his ebony hair. “Pepper, in case you haven’t guessed it, Molly and I went out a few times.”
I folded my arms and glared at him. “Looks like I have guessed it.”
I started to wonder—did Axel have any more ex-girlfriends who were going to basically rise from the dead to haunt us in the days leading up to our wedding?
I had the feeling the answer to that question was yes.
Chapter 3
After my initial and somewhat frustrating introduction to Molly, things settled down. For one, after Molly gave Axel a hug and not a kiss, she didn’t seem too concerned with him.
That at least made me feel a whole lot better about things.
Betty cooked up a big supper that consisted of turnip greens, a skillet of steaming cornbread, butter beans with thick chunks of ham floating in them and a baked chicken.
I took one look at the meal that would add at least two pounds to my thighs and opted for just the turnip greens with a sprinkling of pepper sauce on them.
Molly, on the other hand, plated up just about everything offered. “Pepper, aren’t you going to eat more? From what I remember, Axel always liked a girl who could eat, don’t you, Axel?”
Okay, so what I said about Molly earlier seemed to vanish when suppertime hit.
“I don’t think that’s true.” Axel squeezed my hand. “I’ve never cared about what someone else ate.”
Molly scoffed. “I seem to remember that you loved it when I stuffed my face with a shovelful of grits. Said you’d never seen a woman eat so much in your life.”
Axel’s cheeks crimsoned.
“So, Molly,” I chirped, “where’s your boyfriend?”
You could practically cut the tension with a hot blade. Look, if girlfriend was going to dish it out, she sure as heck better be ready to take it, too.
“My boyfriend?” she said. “Well, I don’t have one. I mean, I was dating this one vampire for a while, but it didn’t work out. He just couldn’t keep his hands off me.”
She winked at Axel. “Reminds me of someone else I know.”
“Some trips down memory lane need to stay in memory lane,” Axel said pointedly.
I nearly cheered. A victory over the exes. One point for Axel versus a million points for Molly and Drew.
Axel rose. “Betty, that was a great meal. Pepper, can I talk to you outside?”
I dropped my napkin next to my plate. “Sure thing.”
Once we were outside, Axel wrapped his arms around me and buried his nose in my hair. “We didn’t see each other for very long.”
I couldn’t keep the skepticism from my voice. “You’re kidding, right? The way she makes it sound, y’all dated for years.”
“More like weeks.” He pulled back and, holding me at arm’s length, studied me. Axel drank me in for a moment. I felt heat flush my cheeks as the weight of his stare embarrassed me. “You’re the only woman for me.”
I unthreaded my fingers from his and tweaked his nose. “And you’re the only werewolf for me.”
He smiled warmly. “Glad we’ve got that settled. Don’t let Molly or anyone else get you riled up. They’re just jealous.”
“I know but sometimes that doesn’t quite make it better. I’d rather they be tied to a chair and forced to eat enough food that they grow ugly.”
“Not get fat?”
I shook my head. “No. Fat isn’t necessarily ugly. But ugly is ugly.”
He tipped his head back in understanding. “Ah. I see.” Axel pulled me into a kiss. I melted against his chest and let his strong arms squeeze me tight.
When we parted, he sighed and brushed a strand of hair from my face. “In only a few short hours we’ll be married. I can’t wait.”
“Me neither.”
We said our goodbyes, and Axel slipped off into his car and drove away. I waved until he was out of sight, and I stood on the porch for a moment.
Jenny the Guard-vine uncurled from the porch’s ceiling and dropped a bud to my eye level.
I patted the red blossom. “I can’t wait until all this drama is over, Jenny. Hopefully it’ll be soon.”
I stood for a moment recounting the day, and I realized that neither my cousins nor Betty ever mentioned that Molly had dated Axel. You would think that would be something important—something I should have known.
Anger built inside me. Why hadn’t they told me? Maybe they had a good reason. Maybe they felt I didn’t need to know. That by me knowing, that would somehow tarnish the feelings I had for Axel.
Maybe they’d wanted to give my relationship with him a fair try, and that’s why they hadn’t mentioned it. Yeah, maybe that was it. Just some simple reason. Nothing nefarious or underhanded about it. I mean, this was my family. When they made choices, a lot of times the decisions were to protect each other, not to hurt one another.
Accepting that was the reason why no one had ever told me about Molly and Axel, I gave Jenny one last pat and headed inside.
When I entered, Amelia rushed up to me. “I am so sorry no one ever said anything about Molly and Axel.”
“Oh, it’s okay.” I patted her hand. “I’m sure you had good reason for not saying anything.”
Amelia nodded. “For one thing, Molly said that their relationship hadn’t been a big deal. That she’d ended things with him because she thought he was boring.”
Amelia rolled her eyes. “I mean, how could Axel ever be boring? He’s way too good looking for that.”
I stifled a laugh. I didn’t want anyone to hear. “Where is she?” I whispered.
Amelia scoffed. “She and Cordelia went upstairs to catch up.” She lowered her voice to whisper. “To be honest, I don’t know why Cordelia likes her so much. Molly is just the worst. I mean, the way she was acting about Axel was immature and embarrassing.”
“She’s almost as bad as the new girl working at Della’s venue shop.” I gently shoved Amelia. “Apparently she dated Axel way back. When she saw him, the girl practically leaped over the counter, threw her arms around him and kissed him.”
Amelia gasped. “In front of you?”
I nodded. “In front of me. In her defense, I don’t think she realized Axel and I are together.”
“You better watch him good this week,” Amelia warned. “Seems like the ladies are after your man.”
I laughed uneasily. My chest constricted, and I f
elt my heart tighten. I hoped Amelia wasn’t right. In fact, I prayed she was dead wrong.
“Pepper.” Betty strolled into the living room from the kitchen. “Sit down, kid. You and I need to talk. Amelia—”
Amelia nodded her head enthusiastically. “Yes?”
“Scat,” Betty said sternly. “Get yourself gone. What Pepper and I have to talk about doesn’t concern you.”
“That’s not very nice,” Amelia said.
Betty shrugged. “Since when have I ever been nice?”
“Good point.” Amelia picked up her camera and aimed the lens at us. “How about one for the road?”
“Sure. Wait. Let me light my pipe.”
Amelia shook her head. “Right. Because we can’t have enough photos of Betty smoking from her pipe.”
“That better not be sarcasm, young lady. I hate to see you grounded again.”
“Don’t worry,” Amelia said quickly. “It wasn’t sarcasm.”
“That’s what I thought,” Betty said.
I hid my laughter behind my hand. Both Amelia and Cordelia had been grounded recently by Betty. Being grounded meant having a curfew and no handheld electronics in the house. I knew my cousins didn’t want to put up with that again.
Betty and I stood in front of the couch and allowed Amelia to photo us.
“Cheese,” I said.
When Amelia was satisfied with the picture, she retreated upstairs to her room. “Good night,” she called.
“Good night,” I said.
Betty waddled over to the recliner, and I sat on the couch, my tummy rumbling. I was suddenly regretting only eating a handful of turnip greens. I really should’ve at least splurged on some cornbread.
“So,” I said, “what do you want to talk about?”
She pointed to the hearth. “That.”
“The everlasting fire? Or the cauldron inside it?” I tried to turn it into a joke. “Betty, are you giving me your cauldron? That thing better be seasoned correctly. I don’t want any cast iron that isn’t properly seasoned.”
“I ain’t giving you my cauldron,” she griped. “Don’t you pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about.”
I squirmed in my seat. “You want to talk about the heart fire.”
