A Little Night Magic
Page 21
"You're a good person, Rosie," she said, softly. "You get that, right? You didn't set out to hurt me. Jealousy can be as dangerous as black magic. It fuels the bad and gives it an opening to hurt us. That's why you have to be careful. Pish! I don't need to lecture you. You saw the consequences up close and personal tonight. But we need to be very clear. One mistake doesn't wipe out four decades of doing the right thing."
Tears filled her eyes and her mouth twisted into the first smile I'd seen from her since Grandma got sick. "Thanks. I suppose you're right."
"You bet your ass I am," Grandma said, leading Rosette away. "Now I know just the thing to get that man off the fence."
Chapter 5
We walked Rosette back inside. Frieda still slept in one of the tan chairs in the hallway. But her color was good and she seemed to be snoring comfortably. I shook her awake.
"Oh my," she said, her eyes fluttering open. "I had the strangest dream."
Grandma and I helped her up while Rosie ducked into her room for an emergency lipstick-and-hair-arranging session.
"You okay?" Grandma asked.
Frieda stood straighter. "Yes, of course. What do you need?"
Grandma clapped the blonde biker witch on the arm. "If you're feeling up to it, I'd like you to go to the second floor and make sure a man named Eddie Turner comes down to the party."
"You got it," she said, straightening her black catsuit and fluffy ears.
"And you," Grandma turned to me. "Get me one of your fancy cupcakes."
"Right." I went to go show Frieda where to find the elevator. Then I headed into the party to grab a cupcake and to have a word with Bob at the karaoke machine. "We're going to need a love song coming up," I said, patting him on the shoulder.
He merely grinned.
I returned to the scene of the crime with the cupcake just as Rosie emerged from her room. She'd changed into a fresh purple gown. A gold scarf wound in her hair and her cheeks flushed with natural excitement.
"You look good," I told her.
A shy smile tickled her lips. "I feel good," she said, glancing at Grandma.
I handed her the cupcake. "I think you're supposed to give this to Eddie."
Grandma nodded. "Tell him you picked it out special."
Rosie looked down at the cupcake, as if it would come alive and bite her. "But isn't that forward?"
"Then you're going to ask him to dance," Grandma said. "A slow song."
Her friend blushed all over again. "I can't."
"Come on," Grandma said, coaxing her down the hall. "You said you wanted to pay me back. This is how you do it. You reach outside yourself and you be happy. I won't accept anything less."
"He's going to think I'm a fool," she said breathlessly, her fingers digging into the paper surrounding the bottom of the moist cupcake. "He's going to say no."
"And what's the worst thing that can happen?" Grandma asked, as we neared the party.
Rosie swallowed as she looked from Grandma to me. "The worst is over," she said, as if realizing it for the first time.
I opened the doors and Grandma nudged her inside. "Go get 'em, tiger."
Rosie took a few confident steps, and then slowed as she saw an older man in a blue sports jacket. It must be Eddie. He'd made it to the party.
He stood at the edge of the dance floor, watching the others have fun. The biker witch Creely spun in the middle, a human disco ball, as others danced around her.
As if drawn by a force more powerful than him or her or anyone else in the room, the man in the blue sports jacket turned and saw Rosie through the crowd.
She made her way to him and shyly greeted him, handing him the cupcake. He barely looked at it. He was too busy noticing Rosie.
I caught Bob's eye and gave him the thumbs-up. He nodded and changed up the music. A slow, sultry melody captured the room. "At Last" by Etta James.
I felt a wet nose on my knee and smiled down at my dog. He'd lost his pirate outfit and was instead wearing a crocheted hot dog and bun on his back that really did make him look stupid.
"Where on earth did you get that?" I asked, picking him up.
He tried to shake it off and failed. "Mrs. Levinson said she could take my pirate costume off. I never expected the bait and switch."
Ah well. "At least you get to be food." It was his favorite thing. "Look," I said, as we watched Eddie lead Rosie out onto the floor.
"Aww," Pirate said. "Now, that's nice."
It truly was. Eddie gazed down at Rosie as though he'd never seen anyone so lovely. She beamed and she was beautiful.
I remembered that feeling, when I'd first realized I belonged with Dimitri. It was astounding in its pure joy and simplicity.
Grandma joined us, appearing quite satisfied. She had every right to be.
"What did you do?" I asked. I could see the change in Rosette already.
She smiled knowingly. "Not a damned thing," she said, leaning on her broomstick. "Some things are better than magic."
* * *
Enjoy more of Lizzie’s adventures in the Accidental Demon Slayer series by Angie Fox
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SOUTHERN SPIRITS
Available now!
Book 1 in Angie Fox's brand new
Southern Ghost Hunter series
When out of work graphic designer Verity Long accidentally traps a ghost on her property, she's saddled with more than a supernatural sidekick—she gains the ability see spirits. It leads to an offer she can't refuse from the town's bad boy, the brother of her ex and the last man she should ever partner with.
* * *
Ellis Wydell is in possession of a stunning historic property haunted by some of Sugarland Tennessee's finest former citizens. Only some of them are growing restless—and destructive. He hires Verity to put an end to the disturbances. But soon, Verity learns there's more to the mysterious estate than floating specters, secret passageways, and hidden rooms.
* * *
There's a modern day mystery afoot, one that hinges on a decades-old murder. Verity isn't above questioning the living, or the dead. But can she discover the truth before the killer finds her?
Also by Angie Fox
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Most of the following Angie Fox titles are also available in print format.
* * *
THE SOUTHERN GHOST HUNTER SERIES
Southern Spirits
A Ghostly Gift (short story)
The Skeleton in the Closet
Ghost of a Chance (short story)
The Haunted Heist
* * *
THE ACCIDENTAL DEMON SLAYER SERIES:
The Accidental Demon Slayer
The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers
A Tale of Two Demon Slayers
The Last of the Demon Slayers
My Big Fat Demon Slayer Wedding
Beverly Hills Demon Slayer My Book
Night of the Living Demon Slayer
* * *
THE MONSTER MASH SERIES:
Immortally Yours
Immortally Embraced
Immortally Ever After
* * *
SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS:
A Little Night Magic: A collection of Accidental Demon Slayer and Southern Ghost Hunter short stories
Murder on Mysteria Lane (from The Real Werewives of Vampire County anthology)
What Slays in Vegas (from the So I Married a Demon Slayer anthology)
About the Author
New York Times bestselling author Angie Fox writes sweet, fun, action-packed mysteries. Her characters are clever and fearless, but in real life, Angie is afraid of basements, bees, going up stairs when it's dark behind her.
Angie earned a Journalism degree from the University of Missouri. During that time, she also skipped class for an entire week so she could read Anne Rice’s vampire series straight through. A
ngie has always loved books and is shocked, honored and tickled pink that she now gets to write books for a living. Although, she did skip writing for a week this past fall so she could read Victoria Laurie’s Abby Cooper psychic eye mysteries straight through.
Angie makes her home in St. Louis, Missouri with a football-addicted husband, two kids, and Moxie the dog.
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Copyright © 2016 by Angie Fox
A Little Night Magic
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any informational storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
* * *
This edition published by arrangement with Moose Island Publishing.
* * *
First Edition
ISBN: 978-1-939661-32-6