by Louisa West
Declan began to chuckle as Rosie’s smirk broke into a grin. “Only if you want to, Pumpkin.”
“Awesome!” Maggie dashed ahead to the house, forgetting the adults behind her in her youthful enthusiasm.
“That's one way to keep him from being so dangerous,” Declan said, bending by her side. “Come, Your Majesty.”
His hands were suddenly underneath her, wiggling for a good hold. And then he scooped her up, holding her to his chest the way he had done the first night they’d met. Rosie could hear his heart thundering in his chest and the soft scent of his sweat. Something that smelled like woodsmoke and fresh rain enveloped her senses. Those were two of her favorite scents.
“What are you doing?” she asked, worried that he was going to hurt himself but too tired to object. “I only just fixed you.”
“I’m fine,” he replied, stifling a grunt.
She smiled weakly and let him carry her to the house. He walked in silence, the sun rising behind the trees and casting her garden in that magical half-toned light that bathes everything pale gold before the fullness of day.
When they reached the porch, he carried her up the steps to set her down at the front door. But once she was standing, he didn’t move his hands from her waist.
“You saved me,” he told her, looking down into her face with an intensity that was hard to read. Was he annoyed that he’d needed saving? Upset that she’d ignored his instructions to get Maggie? Scared that her power had almost fried a guy to death? Or was it D – all of the above?
“I suppose I did,” she said.
He gazed at her in wonder. “Rosie, I’ve never seen any witch show as much power as you just did. You are a powerful fuckin’ witch.” His voice was soft and lilting, barely a whisper. “And more than that – you’re the witch that all the witches in the world will look up to. Whether ya know it right now, or not.”
“Even you?”
“Especially me.”
Declan lifted his hand to her cheek, letting it hover there for a moment as he drank in the sight of her. And then he bent down, stooping to place a soft, fleeting kiss on her lips that Rosie was just thinking about deepening as they were bumped from the side.
Maggie dashed past them. “Sorry!” she called back, charging into the house clutching her new pet turtle excitedly.
Chapter 15
Rosie carried a bowl of potato salad wrapped in her arms as she made for the front door. She passed the living room and nearly tripped over the tortoise that had once been her ex. She corrected herself and saved the potato salad, tutting under her breath as she stepped away from him. They had tied a cat toy to his shell so that he couldn’t escape under any furniture, but he still wasn't allowed out of his tank without supervision.
“Maggie!” Rosie yelled as she stepped through the screen door. “You know you’re not allowed to let the turtle roam the house!”
“Sorry, Mom!” Maggie yelled right back, abandoning the tire swing Declan had hitched up for her in the old oak tree. She ran for the cottage, aiming to sprint past Rosie as she came down the porch steps.
“Don’t run up the steps,” she told her daughter, who reluctantly slowed down. Rosie fixed her with a look before she could escape. “You’re gonna have to come up with a name for that thing, you know.”
Maggie pouted. “Why can’t I just call him Dad?” she asked.
“Because it’s weird.” Rosie pulled a face, wrinkling her nose. “Now hush, before someone overhears you. Go put him away.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Maggie said, making for the door.
“And don’t let the—” Rosie said, interrupted by the screen door banging shut behind her child. “—screen slam.”
She crossed the lawn, heading for the round table they had set up in the yard. It was for the best that Rosie had a couple of days before she was due back at work. She had slept for fourteen hours after the showdown with Randy, while Declan had bounced back with a resilience that irritated and impressed her. He had been marvelous with Maggie, helping her craft a turtle enclosure for her room and find rocks and other odds and ends to fill it with.
They’d decided to have a good old-fashioned cook-out that afternoon, to celebrate the fresh coat of paint going on the cottage. Matthew Bishop and his buddies were working with paintbrushes in hand and had almost finished the first coat of a pretty yellow that Rosie knew was going to look incredible with fresh white trim once they were done.
Rosie thought manual labor was a much better solution than having to involve the police in the egging incident. Prissy eventually agreed, though Rosie suspected the Pastor had a hand in it. There was a certain amount of poetic justice to it all – if Rosie squinted hard enough, the yellow reminded her of a pastel version of egg yolk.
And as Prissy herself had pointed out the first time she had visited Fox Cottage, busy was the only way to be.
Rosie had just set the bowl of potato salad down when Declan’s voice drifted to her from the grill.
“Uh... Rosie?”
She looked up at the tone of his voice.
Tammy Holt was standing not far away from him, her face puffy and red from crying. Rosie looked at the woman in confusion, and then her eyes fell to Tammy’s hand, clutched in front of the laundry bag full of clothes she hugged in front of her.
Tammy wasn’t wearing her wedding ring.
THE END
Thank You
Thanks so much for reading New Witch on the Block. I hope you enjoyed the beginning of Rosie’s story as much as I enjoyed writing it! The next book in the series, Jealousy’s A Witch, delves deeper into her growing relationship with Declan and her life as a mother, as well as exploring Rosie’s foray into her own powers.
Acknowledgments
Short and sweet is the best policy here, right?
Thank you to my incredible editor, fellow author Kimberly Jaye, for making sense of the story I wanted to tell and persevering with me until we got there! The book is so much richer for her input, and I’m so grateful to have her on my team.
I’d also like to thank my other author-pal, Lana Pecherczyk. If it wasn’t for her, I would never have put NWOTB up for preorder and then freaked out until it was done.
The book wouldn’t be what it is without fantastic input from my wonderful partner, Lindsay. His enthusiasm, encouragement, and incredible plot ideas have kept my fingers to the keyboard for months now.
Lastly, thank you to my beautiful daughter Elizabeth, who helped me create my Mosswood town map and who loves the characters in the book, even though it will be a few years before she’s able to work out what their stories are telling her.
About the Author
Author by day, Netflix connoisseur by night.
Louisa likes Pina Coladas and gettin’ caught in the rain. Determined to empty her brain of stories, she writes across several genres including fantasy, speculative fiction, contemporary and historical fiction, and romance.
She lives in Mandurah, Western Australia, and drinks more coffee than is good for her. When she’s not writing or researching projects, Louisa enjoys spending time with her family, and Harriet The Great (Dane). Hobbies include playing video games, watching copious amounts of tv, and various craft-related initiatives.
She strongly believes that the truth is still out there.
website / facebook / amazon / goodreads
COMING SOON…
Available September 30.
Preorder now on Amazon
Jealousy’s A Witch
She thought that her life couldn’t get any stranger. Boy, was she wrong.
Rosemary Bell’s ex-husband is now a turtle, she’s the Witch Queen of the Lost, her daughter Maggie’s new best friend is an imaginary kangaroo hopping around the forests of Mosswood, Georgia, and her Witch King, Declan, isn’t making her life or her couch’s throw pillows any cushier.
Just as she’s starting to fall for Declan, a shocking confession leaves her reeling and Rosie wonders whether she is really m
eant to be the queen of anything. When a sexy bombshell arrives in town with her eyes set on Rosie’s King and crown, she will have to decide for herself what her destiny is - and soon.
Struggling between caring for Declan and caring for herself and Maggie, Rosie does her best to rise above the woman’s provocation. But when Maggie is kidnapped on All Hallow’s Eve, Rosie has no choice but to trust Declan and work together to get her daughter back. After an intense magical ritual brings her new powers full circle, Rosie finds out that jealousy’s a witch - literally!