Cloudy with a Chance of Witchcraft: A Paranormal Women’s Fiction Romance Novel

by Roth, Mandy M.

  Poppy chuckled. “Yucca root. Its anti-inflammatory properties have been well documented and it’s something that has been around a very long time. I have a wonderful journal article on it if you want to read it. It discusses its anti-arthritic properties too.”

  Brett shook his head quickly. “No, uh, I’m good. I don’t need to read about it.”

  “But you’ll try it, and the salve, right?” asked Poppy, looking hurt.

  Brett was about to answer when Marcy interjected.

  “Of course he will. Yucca root is used in some canine supplements too. He’ll have to watch for stomach irritation, but still,” she said.

  Poppy appeared confused. “Okay, I’m not sure how that is a selling point here but thank you. Should Brett want to give it to a dog, he’ll now possess that knowledge.”

  Brett eyed Marcy. Did she know the truth about him?

  The blonde woman winked and smiled wide as she stood and hurried into the house. When she returned, it was with a small glass jar and a tiny tin can of something that was a deep red color.

  Poppy grinned as Marcy handed them to her. “Thanks. Okay, Brett, I’ll write down how to take the drops. As for the salve, apply it directly to your skin. Kind of like a wax on, wax off thing. It will burn just a bit. You should notice a difference. I swear by the stuff. I’ll make you more if you like it.”

  Brett took the items, unable to deny her. She seemed to be excited, and he had to admit that it might be nice to get some relief for his knee, since he didn’t take any type of painkillers the doctor had prescribed. Basically, he didn’t take anything stronger than aspirin if he could help it. “Sounds like a plan.”

  She locked gazes with him. “You should have told me that you have a bad knee. We could have sat somewhere other than the floor and I wouldn’t have had you help today with everything.”

  He set his sights on her. “Woman, don’t you dare try to limit my time around you.”

  Her lips twitched. “Fine, but I’m going to rub you down with the salve.”

  Naughty thoughts filled his head, and he grinned suggestively.

  Dana snorted. “Dude, before you say what we all know you’re thinking, did you catch the part about that stuff being made with cayenne pepper? I don’t think you’re going to want that rubbed on any sensitive surfaces, if you catch my drift.”

  Jeffrey laughed long and hard.

  He flipped them both off this time.

  Poppy snuggled against him with the tin and bottle in her hands. “Leave him be. I didn’t mean it like that. Besides, I have other things I can rub him down with on sensitive areas that are much more pleasurable than cayenne.”

  Dana nearly spit the beer she had in her mouth and pounded on her chest as she snorted and laughed.

  Jeffrey came to her aid, patting her back, laughing as well.

  Marcy smiled wide. “Did you get a chance to look over the information I emailed you about natural aphrodisiacs?”

  Poppy nodded vigorously. “Yes. And I agree. Myristica fragrans oil has shown great promise in studies with mice.”

  “I never know what they’re talking about,” said Dana.

  Marcy and Poppy looked her and spoke at the same time. “Nutmeg oil.”

  Dana snorted. “Because saying that to start with was too much work.”

  They pretended as if she hadn’t lodged a complaint and kept going, discussing all of the various natural ways to stimulate sexual energy.

  Brett did his best not to laugh.

  “Something amusing?” asked Marcy, a knowing look on her face.

  “Speaking for myself, and maybe most males, all I need to be ready to go is…” He shut up, realizing he was about to stick his foot in his mouth.

  “Poppy in a wet skirt?” asked Marcy, still grinning.

  “Nah, just her hand on his thigh will do,” added Dana from her spot. “Or did you miss the way he’s been trying to sit a little tipped to the side to keep us all from noticing the effect her touch has on him? Come on there, buddy. We’d need the lights to go out to avoid noticing what you’re packing there.”

  Jeffrey’s expression hardened. “How about you do your best to not notice, okay?”

  Dana stuck out her lower lip in a pouting manner. “Someone hurt he’s not getting the attention?”

  Jeffrey grunted. “Woman, you’re exhausting.”

  “Am I, or are you just too old to keep up?” she shot back.

  Jeffrey looked like he was more than willing to take her on in the bedroom if given a chance. “One way to find out.”

  Poppy giggled. “Are they going to dare each other to get naked and then argue over who gets to be the dominant one?”

  Brett turned around to stare at her. “Poppy?”

  She grinned. “What? I can keep up with the sexual innuendos and drop my own too.”

  “So I see. Carry on.”

  She winked. “Thanks.”

  Seventeen

  Brett

  Brett heard faint ringing from the front parlor area and put his hand on Poppy’s thigh, still disappointed she’d changed from the white skirt. She now wore a pair of yoga pants, which he had to admit looked great on her, but they weren’t wet and see-through like the skirt had been. “Someone’s cell phone is ringing.”

  Her brow creased, and he knew she didn’t believe him. “I don’t hear anything.”

  “Oh, it’s ringing,” said Jeffrey, backing him up because he too had shifter hearing.

  Travis burped. “Buzzing actually. Sounds like it’s on the side table in the front room. Want me to go grab it?”

  Dana stood. “You guys have great ears. I don’t hear anything, but I believe you. I’ll go get it. It’s probably mine.”

  She left the back porch only to reappear a couple of minutes later, looking annoyed as she spoke to someone on the phone. “Yeah, well I think you’re a peach too, Thomas. How about you kiss my—”

  Poppy shot up and off the floor, going for the phone and prying it away from her friend. “Thomas?”

  Jeffrey looked straight at Brett and mouthed the word “behave.”

  With a grunt, Brett nodded.

  Poppy stared at her phone and then shrugged. “He already hung up.”

  “Nope. I hung up on him,” said Dana. “And if you’re smart, you’ll shut your phone off for a bit. You don’t need his drama tonight.”

  Poppy took a seat next to Brett once more and set her phone on her lap.

  Dana grumbled on her way back to the chair. “Bark orders at me like I’m a dog? I don’t think so, Mr. Davies. You can kiss my butt.”

  Jeffrey grinned. “So are you a cat or dog kind of girl?”

  Dana glanced at him as she sat, grabbing her beer. “Never really thought about it any. When I was growing up, most of the apartments we lived in didn’t allow pets. And my mom could barely afford having me, let alone another mouth to feed, so a pet wasn’t really an option. When I got to college and met Poppy and Marcy, they kind of opened my eyes to a world of animals. Poppy insisted we volunteer at the local shelter. I had a lot in common with the cats. I’m moody and dislike people touching me too. I only like to be touched on my terms.”

  Jeffrey licked his lips as if he was internally accepting the challenge the tall woman presented.

  Brett couldn’t recall a time he’d seen Jeffrey this enamored by a woman.

  Dana leaned back in the chair, still holding her beer. “Poppy has something about her that animals love. There was this really aggressive wolf hybrid that was brought in, and while the shelter was a no-kill one, they were running out of options on dealing with him. He refused to let anyone near him. The guy who ran the place warned us to steer clear of the dog while we were there, but Poppy ignored him. The minute he left us alone, she went right for that back cage. That thing had spittle flying everywhere from barking and growling. It had slammed against the cage door so many times I thought it would break free.”

  Brett tensed, having never heard this story before. I
n fact, he hadn’t even been aware that Poppy had volunteered at a shelter while in college.

  “But Poppy didn’t seem to care that Cujo was basically there with us,” said Dana.

  “Stop calling him that,” said Poppy, sounding offended for the dog’s sake. “He was a sweet, misunderstood boy.”

  Dana snorted. “I grabbed one of those poles with the loop at the end to help control the dog if it got free, but it turned out, it wasn’t needed. Poppy opened the door to the cage, bent, and looked that dog right in the eyes. They stared at each other for a tense minute and then he went right up to her and sniffed her calmly. She began to pet him and that was all she wrote. He was a big baby with her from that point onward.”

  Marcy lowered the book in her lap. “He was upset because he was stuck in that form. He’d been hurt and drugged with something. He didn’t understand what was going on. He thought we were all the enemy. But then Poppy came, and he could smell it on her.”

  Dana snorted. “Okay. I’ll ask…smell what?”

  Marcy looked Brett dead in the eyes. “That she was to be the mate of someone he knows well. Not to hurt her. To trust her. To trust us.”

  Brett sat up straight.

  Dana laughed then grabbed her plate, continuing to eat her pizza. It was evident she didn’t take Marcy seriously.

  Poppy’s cell phone buzzed in her lap, and Brett glanced at it to see the screen had a picture of Thomas on it, along with what he was guessing was the man’s number.

  He wanted to comment but resisted as she answered.

  She looked confused at first and then laughed softly. “Thomas, really, I said I’m fine. I don’t understand why you suddenly seem so concerned about me when you couldn’t rid yourself of me fast enough.”

  Brett found himself cracking his knuckles at the thought of Poppy’s ex-husband.

  She put a hand to her forehead. “Where is this all coming from?”

  He wanted to reach through the phone and choke the man.

  Poppy tensed and leaned forward slightly.

  He put an arm out and she eased against him. That helped to calm his wolf somewhat. All it wanted to do was get free and eat her ass of an ex.

  Poppy stiffened, her hand going to Brett’s thigh. “What do you mean you found a bunch of weird pictures and clippings of me in Darla’s things?” She groaned. “Marla. Sorry, Dana’s bad habits are rubbing off on me.”

  “Poppy?” asked Dana. “What’s going on?”

  She lowered the phone a bit. “I don’t know. Thomas is kind of freaking out.”

  “About the chick he’s dating?” asked Dana.

  Brett took notice.

  Poppy nodded and returned to talking to Thomas. “I don’t know what to say to all of this, but it sounds like you’re making a big deal out of nothing. And honestly, I have bigger issues to deal with right now than you and the woman you want to marry.”

  She didn’t say anything for a second.

  “You told me you were asking her to marry you,” said Poppy. “What changed all of a sudden? And why aren’t you just asking her about the photos and things with me on them?”

  Brett listened and heard Thomas’s side of the conversation.

  “I don’t know what changed. It’s like I woke up from what felt like a bad dream and realized I don’t love her. I never loved her,” he said.

  Poppy made a sound that left no wiggle room—she was not pleased. “Well, hey, she and I have that in common then, don’t we? After all, it was six months ago that you let me know that you didn’t love me anymore. Who are you replacing her with? Please tell me you won’t be breaking any laws with the next one’s age. It’s already gross enough that you up and decided to date a woman who is barely older than our daughter.”

  “Poppy, I’m sorry,” said Thomas. “I can’t explain what happened. I just remember being at the bar at the hotel in New York and something smelled really sweet. It reminded me of when you’d make Sunday breakfast for us all.”

  “So my cooking made you up and fall into another woman’s vag?” she demanded. “Had I known, we’d have ordered in and I wouldn’t have bothered making breakfast.”

  “I’m being serious here,” pleaded Thomas. “That is kind of the last clear thing I remember before the day of the divorce. We signed the papers, and then it was like someone ripped a curtain back in my mind. I realized what I’d done—that we were over. Poppy, I didn’t want that. I never wanted that.”

  Would she take him back?

  Brett’s entire body went on high alert at the idea she might.

  “Thomas, let me be very clear here. You screwed up so massively that what you did or didn’t want is irrelevant. We are done. Period. I don’t know why you called me, or even whether what you’re telling me about your woman and the pictures of me is true. At this point in my life, I don’t believe much of anything that falls out of your mouth.”

  “Dammit, Poppy, you’re not hearing me. The pictures of you aren’t ones I had of you or us. They’re ones I’ve never seen before of you. I think she has some of you from before I even met her. How is that possible?”

  “Thomas, you don’t need to invent reasons to call me,” said Poppy. “In fact, I’d rather limit our contact altogether to just the kids. If something happens in their lives that I think you need to know about, I’ll reach out to you. Beyond that, I don’t have anything more to say to you. The friendship we once had is damaged beyond repair. I’ve lost the ability to trust you, and you were nothing but mean and nasty all the way through the divorce. In fact, from the moment you informed me you didn’t love me anymore, you were a stranger to me.”

  “He was an asshole,” said Dana. “That’s the word you’re looking for, hon.”

  Poppy nodded. “Yes, that.”

  Thomas sighed loudly. “Poppy, listen to me. Please. I can’t explain why I acted the way I did or why I was so obsessed with Marla, but I can tell you that something changed. The day of the divorce, it was like I was waking up from a weird dream. I’m worried about you. I think something nefarious is going on. While I get that I ruined the trust you had for me, and that you don’t want me back, I want you safe. You’re the mother of my children and you were my wife. Whatever you may think of me, I loved you.”

  “Didn’t you tell me Marla wasn’t your first indiscretion in our marriage? She was just the only one that mattered?” demanded Poppy, not giving an inch.

  Thomas fell quiet a moment. “Yes.”

  “Was that a lie?”

  “No.”

  “Excuse me if I don’t really want to hear anything else you have to say. I’m living life on my terms now and those terms do not include you. I’m too old to waste one more second of my energy or my tears on you.”

  “Poppy,” he said quickly. “I’m sorry. What I said, about not loving you…that isn’t true.”

  She tensed.

  Brett growled, his wolf roaring up from within him, wanting free. “If he even thinks of trying to get back with you, I’ll rip his head off with my bare hands.

  Poppy shot him a hard look, and Brett managed to clamp his mouth shut.

  “Poppy, is that a man I heard in the background?” demanded Thomas. “Who is there with you?”

  She sighed. “Brett, Jeffrey, and Travis helped the girls and me get everything unloaded so that is done like a week sooner than we thought we’d be. The twins will be here before you know, it and while I know they’re being difficult with you, I promise to make them call and check in. For all your faults, Thomas, you were a very good father to them, especially when they were little. You were just a shit husband.”

  He was quiet a moment. “Brett, as in the same guy you dated before me? The one who broke your heart? The soldier boy? The hillbilly? It sure didn’t take you long to reconnect with him. Is that because you never really stopped talking with him all through our marriage?”

  Brett wanted to throttle the man.

  Jeffrey made a motion with his hand to indicate Brett needed
to bring his temper down a notch or ten.

  Easier said than done.

  “What are you talking about?” asked Poppy. “Are you asking if I had an affair with Brett while we were married? No! I’m not you, Thomas. I took the commitment we made to one another seriously. Guess it was just pretty words to you though.”

  “I saw him near the house once, Poppy,” said Thomas. “I know he was out here before we ended things.”

  “Who? Brett? He was never at our house.” Poppy rubbed the bridge of her nose. “And you know what else, he’s not a hillbilly. If you dare say that about him again, I’m going to drop a hex on you that leaves you licking doorknobs for the rest of your days. Am I clear? You may have gotten away with treating me like dirt the past six months but if you even think of opening your mouth and speaking ill about Brett again, I’ll…” She glanced up at her friend and smiled wickedly. “Unleash Dana on you.”

  Dana beamed. “Fun. Do it, Thomas! Talk smack about Brett! I dare you. I really want to kick your nads right through you. It’s like a gift to womenkind.”

  Thomas sighed. “Poppy, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that about your friend. It’s just…I don’t like hearing there is a man there with my wife.”

  “Ex-wife,” she corrected. “By your choice, never forget that.”

  “What if I choose to take it all back?” he asked, sounding hopeful. “What if I pick us, Poppy? We can talk to someone. We can fix things. We can be happy again. A family once more.”

  Brett tensed. Would she take the man back?

  Poppy laughed softly. “I’m sorry, but it doesn’t work that way. The bomb you dropped on me six months ago at that restaurant changed everything. It opened my eyes to so much. It forced me to find me, if that makes sense. And the woman I found doesn’t need or want a man like you in that way again. I will never take back the time we shared together because there were a lot of good years there, even if I didn’t realize what a cheating bastard you were, and the kids came from that time.

  “But I’ve given myself permission to expect more—expect better. I’m allowing myself to be happy and live life on my terms. There isn’t a place for you in my life in a romantic fashion. Just as the father of my children. And I hope that we can be friends one day for the kids’ sake, but I’m not sure I’m ready for that just yet. I need time to heal fully from the wounds you left me with.”