I washed down the crumbs with a gulp of mocha. “Tell me about it.”
Holly sipped at her coffee and considered me. “You look happy. And not just because of the copious amounts of sugar now running through your veins.”
I smiled and finished the cookie. “I’m doing pretty good. Although, I do have some bad news for you.”
She arched a brow.
Grinning, I twisted and retrieved a sheet of paper from the printer tray. “You’re stuck with me for the next year,” I told her. “Just signed the lease extension this afternoon.”
“That’s great, Nick!” Holly beamed. “I guess I picked the right day for a cookie delivery.”
I barked a laugh and reached for a second cookie. “Why do you think I asked if you had a telepath bugging my head?”
She laughed, the sound light and melodic. “I don’t think I’d need to involve Lucy. Really, all I’d have to do is lace your mocha with some of the Loose Lips potion. I still have some floating around, you know.”
“Don’t those things have an expiration date?”
Her lips quirked to one side. “Only one way to find out …” she replied, wiggling her eyebrows.
“I’ll pass,” I told her, still smiling. “I don’t want to be the guinea pig in any experiment where there’s at least a sliver of a chance I’ll be turned into one!”
“That’s too bad,” she said. “You’d be a cute guinea pig.”
“Um … thanks. I think.”
We laughed and munched through another cookie apiece.
“Seriously though,” she continued, her expression soft. “I’m really happy to hear that you’re staying. Like it or not, you’re part of our crazy little makeshift family and I don’t think we’d be the same without you.”
My nose burned and I swallowed hard. “Thanks, Holls. That means a lot. Really.”
Our eyes met for a moment before she glanced away, her emerald gaze landing on the commemorative copy of my issue of the paper I’d left on the corner of my desk. Smiling, she swept it up, marveling at the cover. “I still can’t believe all this new business is thanks to an article in this thing. I seriously didn’t think anyone read it.”
I laughed. “Well, maybe not a ton of people, but enough to make a difference for me. In fact, just last night I got a call from a Joseph Wellington. He’s a lawyer with a practice one town over. The way he tells it, he represents some of the wealthiest people in the area and frequently needs an investigator to run things down for him.”
She lowered the paper and met my eyes again. “So, you’ll be working for a law firm?”
“Contracted, but yes. At least for the time being, he’ll take up the bulk of my schedule. I imagine it will be a lot of discovery work for divorce cases. Not my favorite, but it’s work.”
Holly paused, and though she was still smiling, I could see her mind whirling into action behind her emerald eyes.
“What?” I finally asked.
Her lips parted but then clamped shut. She shook her head. “Nothing.”
“No, no, no. Come on. What is it?”
She leaned back in her chair. “I was just thinking about my new position at the SPA. I’ve been making a lot of connections over there and I’ll bet I could tug on a few strings and get you a job.”
I turned the idea over once and then frowned. “No. I don’t think so.”
“Nick—”
“It’s nice of you to offer, Holls. Really. But I don’t think I’m ready.”
Since being cursed, I’d waded into the supernatural world step-by-step. My reticence to dive in whole-heartedly caught Holly and—if I was being honest—even myself, off guard. After years spent telling spooky tales around a campfire and spending my weekends on ghost tours, I’d backed off completely once I found out it was all real. Spending time with my friends, like Holly, Adam, and Evangeline, was as close as I was willing to get for the time being. Working for the Supernatural Protection Agency on special investigations wasn’t a step I was willing to take.
At least, not yet.
I figured someday I would change my mind, but in the meantime, I was happier—or, at least more comfortable—tracking down philandering spouses and chasing money trails of suspected embezzling business partners.
Holly cloaked her surprise and reached into the bag for a cookie. She took a bite with gusto and nodded. “Fair enough, but the offer stands if you get bored spying on the desperate housewives of the harbor.”
I smiled at her. “You’ll be my first call.”
We stared at each other for a moment, unblinking.
Holly broke the silence, clearing her throat and then making a production out of taking a deep drink from her paper cup as she stood. “I’d better get going.”
“Thanks for these,” I said, gesturing at my still-untouched coffee and the bag of remaining cookies. “Have a good weekend.”
She paused at the door, her hand resting on the handle. “Hey, as long as it doesn’t involve pretend laser guns, and people wearing capes and full-body latex, I’m a happy girl.”
I laughed, the full-throated sound vibrating off the walls. “We’ll make a convert out of you yet.”
“Keep telling yourself that.” She smiled and tugged the door open. “Trust me, my real life is weirder than anything cooked up in a comic book.”
Cocking my head to one side, my lips twitched. “You’ve got a point there.”
“See you later, Nick.” She smiled and slipped out into the hallway.
The door swung closed behind her and I exhaled a laugh under my breath. Though I might want to escape the strangeness of the new world I’d been thrust into, I was grateful to have friends like Holly by my side. As long as I had their friendship, I knew that everything was going to be all right.
I slipped the signed lease paperwork into my top desk drawer and closed it quietly. It had been a long way ‘round, but somehow I’d ended up right where I was supposed to be.
Wolf or not.
Afterword
Thank you so much for reading Betwixt. I hope you these little peeks into Beechwood Harbor.
I’m cooking up more magic and mayhem, so make sure you stay in touch. One great way to make sure you don’t miss an update is by joining my readers’ group. It’s free, and quite often, the stories like the ones you’ve read in this collection go out as exclusives to that group first.
You can sign up by clicking here.
Beyond that, I’d love for you to leave a review if you enjoyed this book.
Finally, come visit me on Facebook. It’s where I hang out when I’m procrastinating doing house chores!
Until next time,
Danielle Garrett
www.DanielleGarrettBooks.com
Facebook
About the Author
As a lifelong bookworm, Danielle Garrett has always loved dreaming of fantastic places and the stories they have to share. Through her love of reading, she’s followed along on hundreds of adventures through the eyes of wizards, princesses, elves, and some rather wonderful everyday people as well. This lifelong passion led her into the world of writing and she has now achieved the dream she’s held since the second grade and become an author herself.
Danielle lives in Oregon, and while she travels as often as possible, she wouldn’t call anywhere else home. She shares her life with her husband and their house full of animals. When she’s not writing, she can be found serving as the dedicated servant to three extremely spoiled cats or chasing down the most recent item the puppy has turned into a chew toy.
Visit Danielle today at her website or say “hello” on Facebook.
www.daniellegarrettbooks.com
yscale(100%); -o-filter: grayscale(100%); -ms-filter: grayscale(100%); filter: grayscale(100%); " class="sharethis-inline-share-buttons">share
Betwixt Page 24
