Crouching beside a pile of evergreen branches, Sean turned his flashlight beam to low and swung it over the ground. “Paw prints,” he murmured. “Good deal.”
“Is the trap closed?” Maggie called out softly.
“Not yet.” He reached under the branches.
Maggie held her breath. Belatedly she remembered that skunks had teeth. They could bite the hand that was trying to save them.
Then she heard some soft murmurs and realized that he was talking to the skunks. Now that was seriously weird, but touching, too. His voice was low and soothing, and his words simple, as if he were consoling a child.
“You’re okay,” he said. “I’m closing this, now, but I won’t hurt you, I promise. You need to find a new home, and I’m going to help you. Take it easy. Don’t be afraid.”
After snapping something metal into place, he stood. “Now I’ll see if they’re all inside or not. I was afraid to shine the flashlight in for fear I’d startle them.”
“Can I come over there, now?”
“Sure. They’re either in there or they’re not. Let’s find out.” Slowly he removed one of the pine branches covering the trap.
She walked cautiously over the soggy ground toward him, her running shoes making a squishing sound. “I didn’t know I was hanging out with the Skunk Whisperer.”
“Yeah, well, that’s probably dumb, but I’ve gotten in the habit of talking to them.” He moved another branch and peered through the wire mesh. “Wow, they really are snoozing in there. Dorcas was right about the effects.”
“Dorcas? What does she have to do with this?”
“She gave me the bait and said it would have a tranquilizing effect. It works on their cat when they travel.”
“And where does she get this stuff?” Maggie’s suspicions about Dorcas and Ambrose were growing with every new bit of information. Now she was adding drug runner to the potential list of their crimes.
“She makes it.”
“I see.”
“She makes all kinds of herbal things.” He leaned closer to the trap. “I’m trying to count them in there, but they’re all lumped together in a pile. I think there’s five, though. That would be right. Two adults and three babies, although the babies are pretty big by now.”
“Sean, have you ever considered that Dorcas and Ambrose put something in that wine they gave you?”
“Like what?”
“An aphrodisiac.”
He looked up and gazed at her a moment. Then he shook his head. “Nah. It was sealed and everything.”
“Maybe they bottled it themselves.” From his silence she could tell he was thinking about it. “If it was a strong enough aphrodisiac,” she said, “then we could still be feeling the effects.”
“So what you’re saying is that instead of us having natural chemistry, we’re under the influence of some substance Dorcas put in the wine.”
“You have to admit that would explain a lot.”
He sighed. “I don’t like to think that’s what’s been going on. I’d rather believe this was our idea, not the result of some artificial stimulant.”
“Me, too.” Thinking they’d been manipulated like that did take some of the joy out of their romp tonight. “Maybe I’m wrong. Didn’t you say you were attracted to me this morning when we first met? That was before you’d had any wine.”
“No, it wasn’t. Not really. Don’t forget I had it the night before. That’s how I knew it would be great stuff.”
“Well.” She took a deep breath. “I guess we’ll find out, won’t we? It should wear off by tomorrow. If we see each other tomorrow and there’s no spark, we’ll know it was the wine.”
“That’s a depressing concept. That would mean my sex life is still down the tubes.”
“And I’m not as uninhibited as I thought.”
He put his arms around her and drew her close. “I think you are. And if we didn’t have the skunks to worry about, I’d prove it right out here in the front yard.”
Just like that, her libido spiked. “By doing what?”
“We have pine boughs.” He reached in his coat pocket, pulled out a packet and rubbed it over her nose. “I have a condom.”
“We’d freeze our tushes off!” But the idea had her juiced up and ready to go.
“I might, being the one on top, but you wouldn’t.” He pulled her in tight against his crotch. “I’d keep you warm. Very, very warm.”
She moaned softly. “No fair. Now I want to.”
“After we take care of the skunks, we can see about having some outdoor sex.”
“If the wine hasn’t worn off.”
“If it’s the wine, then we might as well make the most of it until it does wear off.” He kissed her swiftly. “Let’s move the skunks so we can start having more sex.”
* * *
Sean carefully loaded the trap into the back of his pickup, expecting at any moment the skunks would wake up and start spraying everything in sight. Fortunately for him and Maggie, that didn’t happen. He covered the trap with the pine boughs and put a shovel and a tarp in the back so he could create a home for them in the woods. Then he helped Maggie into the passenger seat, and they were off.
The wine situation was bugging him, though. He would love to call Dorcas and Ambrose on his cell and ask them flat out if they’d spiked it, but he didn’t want to do that with Maggie there. He might slip up and say something he didn’t want her to hear about the nerd herbs. For now, they seemed to be a non-factor.
No, that wasn’t really true. His brain was working much more creatively than it had yesterday, especially when it came to sex. He’d started planning ahead, which was why he’d brought along a condom, even though he’d had no idea when and where he’d use it. He’d never made love to a woman on a bed of pine boughs before, either, and yet the thought had come to him so easily.
He wouldn’t mind hanging onto the creative ideas that seemed to be part of his nerd transformation. Maybe Dorcas could isolate that particular ingredient and give him more of a nerd brain and less of a nerd body. That would be an awesome combination.
“Your friend Jeremy seems like a nice guy,” Maggie said as they drove down the dark, deserted highway.
Sean went on alert. “He didn’t ask you out, did he?”
“No, of course not.”
“Why say of course not as if you didn’t expect him to?” Sean needed to talk to Jeremy and make absolutely sure he had no designs on Maggie.
“Because if he’s like most men, he was warned off by my attitude.”
“I don’t know what you mean.” Sean thought she was totally hot and Jeremy would see that, too.
“When I’m on the job, which I was this afternoon, I’m all business. That usually scares men away.”
“It had zero effect on me.”
“But that could have been the wine.”
“I don’t think so.” At least he didn’t want to think so.
They reached the dirt road that led off into the forest on the north side of the road. Sean slowed the truck and crossed the road with care. He didn’t want to jostle the skunks unnecessarily. That meant taking the dirt road slow, too.
“It sure is dark out here,” Maggie said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever been in a place where there are absolutely no lights.”
“I wanted to release them where they wouldn’t bother anybody. And nobody comes out here.”
“Looks like the perfect teenage make-out spot to me. Much better than the area behind your house, especially when it’s so cold out.” She paused. “Um, I meant to say, the area behind that old house.”
“I heard you the first time. It is my house. You just haven’t admitted that yet.”
“Let’s not talk about it tonight.”
“Okay, let’s not.” Sean eased the truck down the dirt road at a pace slower than he could have walked it. But he couldn’t very well carry a cage full of skunks, so driving was the only option.
“So how come there ar
en’t kids out here parking?” Maggie asked. “It’s Friday night. Or don’t kids park in Big Knob?”
“Oh, they park. Just not in this part of the woods.”
“Why not? They’d have all the privacy in the world.”
“Oh, you know. Silly rumors.”
“Sean Madigan, if this is the place where the guy with the hook for a hand is supposed to hang out and prey on teenagers making out in the woods, we’re leaving.”
He laughed. “Where did a city girl like you hear that story?”
“Every teenager in America has heard that story, whether they’ve ever gone parking in the woods or not.”
“There’s no guy with a hook out here.” Watching the road in the truck’s headlights, he found the spot he’d located some time ago. Back in the trees a little ways was a hollow log that would make a good hiding place for the skunks in addition to the cage, which he planned to leave out here for them to use as home base.
“You still haven’t explained why nobody comes out here.”
Sean pulled the truck to the side of the road and shifted into neutral. “Well, the pioneers called this section Whispering Forest.”
“That’s kind of cool. Trees do seem to whisper when the wind blows.”
“Yeah, but apparently some people hear actual words. They say the place is haunted.”
“What?”
He glanced over at her. “Don’t worry. It’s not.”
“Of course it isn’t. That’s crazy.” In the glow of the dash lights her freckles stood out as if she might really be scared. “But just for kicks, is there anything besides the whispering going on?”
“Oh, you know. People let their imaginations run away with them and think they see and hear things.”
“Such as?” Her voice sounded a little higher than usual.
“Oh, strange noises. Roaring and grumbling, mostly.”
“Are there bears in these woods?”
Sean shook his head. “Not for years.”
“Then the noise could be a plane going overhead.”
“Yeah, or a semi driving by on the road.”
Her voice steadied. “Right. Out here you could dream up all sorts of things that weren’t real. So, what else?”
“The usual spooky stuff—disembodied eyes.”
“For heaven’s sake. Talk about ridicu–” Suddenly she gripped his arm and pointed a shaky hand at something over his left shoulder. “L-like that?”
Chapter Eighteen
Sean looked out his window. “I don’t see anything.”
“They’re…they’re gone.” Maggie stared at the spot, her heart racing. “But I swear to you, I saw eyes.”
“I believe you. Probably an owl.”
“No. I’ve seen owl eyes, and these were no owl eyes. They were red.”
“You’ve seen owl eyes? I thought you were a city girl.”
“I saw them in the movies, okay? And they were yellow, not red.”
He turned back to her. “Was this in a cartoon?”
“Yes, but don’t go all Davy Crockett on me and act like I don’t know what I’m talking about. Owl eyes are big and round, like this.” She held circled fingers up to her eyes. “These were oval, like this.” She shrank the circle.
“So it was a bobcat or a raccoon.”
“Six feet off the ground?”
“A bobcat or a raccoon in a tree.”
She didn’t believe that for a minute. “Shine your flashlight over there.”
He did, sweeping the beam over a bunch of leafless trees with a few evergreens mixed in. No eyes showed up. Nothing showed up except the trees.
Maggie was starting to feel like a wuss, except that she had seen something. He was right, though. Her knowledge of wildlife was pretty much confined to the zoo and whatever Disney had to say on the subject.
“You can stay in the truck with the doors locked while I take care of the skunks,” he said.
“No, I want to help.” A tough cookie like her couldn’t let a pair of red eyes scare her off. Besides, Sean had put a shovel in the back of the truck. A shovel made a decent weapon. She wasn’t sure how well it worked against a ghost, but she didn’t believe in those. Much.
“If you’re sure.” His gaze was gentle. “I can handle it if you’d rather not get out.”
“Yeah, but would you respect me in the morning?”
He smiled. “I don’t blame you for being spooked. You’re not used to the woods at night.”
She didn’t point out that the entire town, with the exception of Sean, Mr. Ghost Buster, was spooked by Whispering Forest. She didn’t want to align herself with that superstitious lot. She wanted to align herself with Sean. Preferably naked and horizontal.
But she did have one concern. “When you talked about having outdoor sex, did you mean here?”
His smile widened. “Would you do it?”
No, and hell, no! “Absolutely.” She tried to keep her teeth from chattering. “If you’re game, so am I.”
“I wasn’t planning to have outdoor sex here,” he said. “We might scare the skunks.”
She relaxed. “Well, there’s that.”
“I meant back at my place, and maybe we shouldn’t even do it then. The bed’s more cozy.”
“Well, just so you know, I could get it on right out here in these dark woods. I could do that.”
“I’m sure you could.” He leaned forward and kissed her firmly, then released her and opened his door. “But we need to stop talking about sex, because I can’t carry a skunk trap when I have an erection.”
“Are you going to leave the motor running?”
He glanced over his shoulder. “Mine or the truck’s?”
“Good one.” She laughed, feeling braver by the second. “I meant the truck’s.”
“I’m leaving the truck running so I can use the headlights to see where we’re going. As for my own personal motor, I can’t seem to find the off switch where you’re concerned.”
Maggie savored that for a minute. She couldn’t recall any man ever saying that he was overcome with passion whenever he was with her. Now that one had, she felt a new image coming on, one that involved living lusty and living large. She was definitely getting out of this truck and helping Sean with the skunks.
The air was cold after the warmth of the cab. She belted her trench coat more tightly and walked to the back of the truck, where Sean had lifted a pine bough to check on the skunks.
“Still asleep,” he said. “Let’s leave them there while we dig a pit for the trap.”
“Right.” Maggie rubbed her hands together. “I’m good with a shovel.” A snow shovel, that was, and she hadn’t wielded one of those since leaving Chicago.
“Then let’s do it.” He handed her the shovel. “You can carry that and I’ll take the tarp.” He gathered the folded blue vinyl into his arms. “This way.”
In the glow from the headlights, she followed him into the forest, being careful to step over tree roots while she watched for red eyes. Ahead of them lay the hollow log Sean had mentioned. Something could be in that hollow log. She hoped nothing was.
Little puffs of fog came out with each exhale. “I feel like a fire-breathing dragon,” she said.
“I’m really glad you’re not,” he said. “I’m not into interspecies sex.”
“I thought we weren’t going to talk about sex any more.”
“I can’t help myself. You’re walking along beside me through the woods, so naturally I keep thinking of your warm silky body and how much I want to touch you again. Nobody else is around, so we could do anything we wanted to. It’s tempting.”
She was tempted, too, but probably not as much as he was. Red Eyes was out there somewhere, and she thought that might prevent her from totally enjoying the experience. “But we don’t want to risk scaring the skunks,” she reminded him.
“They’d probably sleep right through it.”
Maggie sucked in a deep breath, hoping the extra oxygen would gi
ve her courage. She’d already announced her willingness to have sex in the woods, so she couldn’t back out now without looking like a chicken. The air smelled like the bag of potting soil she’d bought last summer when she’d had the urge to grow some houseplants. It also smelled like something burning.
“Sean, do you smell smoke?”
He stopped to sniff the air. “A little. Probably drifted here from someone’s chimney.”
“We seem like a long way from the nearest chimney.”
“I suppose. Maybe somebody’s camping on the other side of the highway.” He shrugged. “At least I know we don’t have to worry about a forest fire. Everything’s so wet it would never burn.”
They reached the hollow log and Sean laid down the tarp. “I’ll take the shovel, now.”
“But I want to dig.”
“Really?”
“Really. I’m invested in this project.” She hefted the shovel, ready to jab it into the wet dirt. “Give me the plan.”
He sent her a glance that warmed her in places that had nothing to do with sex. She had the fleeting thought that if they started liking each other a lot, that would be inconvenient. She could give up the sex, but she’d hate to lose a friend, too.
He drew a square in the dirt with the toe of his boot. “We need a pit about this size, so the trap will fit down in it. Once it’s dug, we’ll lay the tarp in the hole so they won’t be on wet dirt to start with.”
“That’s sweet.”
“It’s probably totally unnecessary. But they have a dry place under the house, so I wanted them to have a reasonably dry place out here, at least to start with.”
Yep, she was really starting to like this guy. Jabbing the shovel into the damp dirt, she shoveled until she was breathless.
When she paused, Sean came over. “Let me take a turn.”
“If you insist.” She hated to let him know that her arm muscles quivered from the effort. And she’d made a hole about the size of shoebox. As Sean went to work on the hole, she saw immediately that her technique had been flawed. After sticking the shovel partway into the ground, he stomped on the flat edge, forcing it another six inches in.
Over Hexed: The Hex Series Page 18