by Linda Wisdom
***
“This is nice,” Blair said, looking around the crowded family room. She was ensconced in her favorite oversized easy chair with a pillow behind her back while Stasi curled up in a big brick-red chair. Jazz and Thea sprawled on the couch while Maggie flopped on the loveseat on the other side of the coffee table. Each witch held a glass mug of Irish coffee. “We haven’t had a group this large in ages.”
“I wish I knew why Lili hasn’t made it up here in awhile,” Stasi commented. “Has anyone talked to her on the phone lately? It seems the only way I can contact her is by wallmail.”
“Same here,” Jazz replied and the others agreed. She glanced at Maggie. “Maybe we should hire you to track her down.”
“Lili’s fine.” Maggie took a sip of her whiskey-laced coffee, then set the mug down and reached behind her back to twist her blonde hair into a braid. “If she wasn’t, I’d sense it. I always know when one of you is in trouble.”
“Then your so-called senses must have been on vacation last year when Moonstone Lake was pretty much going nuts,” Jazz muttered in her cup as she inhaled the whiskey and coffee.
“You three seemed to handle it pretty well.” Maggie punched her pillow into a more comfortable shape. “Otherwise, I would have been up here.”
“We barely handled it,” Stasi told her.
“Welcome to my world. So what exactly is going on with the resort up the road? You said Jake’s brother owns it now?” Maggie asked.
Blair nodded. “We met him and didn’t like him. He’s got an agenda. We’re just not sure what it is.”
“And Jake doesn’t like him and vice versa,” Stasi added.
“How did a Border Collie Were end up in a wolf pack?” Thea asked. “That normally doesn’t happen.”
Blair and Stasi shook their heads.
“Maybe Mom got too frisky one night; but Jake won’t say a word about it and believe me, I’ve tried to find out,” Blair replied. “With Roan up here I have an idea we’ll find out pretty soon.”
Stasi set her cup to one side as the microwave oven dinged. “Popcorn’s ready.” She disappeared into the kitchen and returned with a large bowl of buttered popcorn that she set down on the coffee table. She set a smaller bowl on the floor and Bogie immediately dug in. Fluff and Puff looked hungrily from their spot on Jazz’s ankle, but they knew enough to stay put.
“Go ahead,” Jazz urged them with a smile that bordered on evil. Puff snarled and nibbled on her ankle instead. “Ow! Hey!”
“How’s your latest book going, Thea?” Stasi asked.
“Fine.” Thea’s dark eyes darted around. “Is that a new painting?”
“No,” Blair replied, searching her friend’s face. “Is something wrong?”
“Nothing that I can’t handle.” Thea now showed great interest in her French tipped nails. “It’s been a busy time for me. It was pure luck I could make it up here for this. I’ll have to leave first thing in the morning, so I can catch a flight to New York. I’m meeting with my agent and my editor.”
“Is it time for a new contract?” Blair asked.
“Lots of things going on.” She offered up a tight-lipped smile.
The other four shared a silent conversation that agreed they weren’t going to get anything out of Thea.
Blair looked around at the friends who’d been with her for so many centuries. She felt as if she should snap a photo to keep close at hand, because these moments were few and far between.
Their lives had changed over the years, luckily, more for the good than the bad. But now their lives were changing at such a swift rate that she wondered if they were all equipped to handle what could be racing their way.
Still, if they could deal with what had happened over the last seven hundred years, she figured they could handle anything.
Chapter 6
While Blair and Stasi loved having company, they also enjoyed saying goodbye and knowing their space would be all theirs again. Blair stood outside, bidding farewell to their friends.
Thea left first, then Maggie, after assuring them she and her crew would be there in a flash if they needed help. Jazz hoisted her magickal tote bag into the back of her T-Bird.
“If Irma’s not here in three minutes, I’m leaving without her,” she announced, looking down at Fluff and Puff, who gave her their best we’re going with you so forget any witchy mischief expressions. “I should have worn my Uggs this morning. Wearing them all day would have changed your nasty little minds, even if you have nibbled off most of the shearling lining.”
“Look who I met!” Irma floated out of the trees accompanied by a ghost wearing an old-fashioned coat, tapestry waistcoat, and long trousers that even in ghostly form looked the worse for wear. His graying beard was neatly trimmed and tufts of hair sprouted from under his top hat.
“Professor Peggins?” Blair squeaked, staring at the self-proclaimed man of medicine she and Stasi had worked for when they all first arrived in the town. The Professor had later died after imbibing too much of his own potent medicine.
He sketched a courtly bow. “At your service, m’dear. I must say you look well, although wearing such formfitting trousers isn’t very ladylike.” He eyed her dark brown relaxed leggings and cream-colored basket weave sweater with a critical eye.
“You haven’t been here since you left this realm.”
“Ah, but I have.” He held up a finger for emphasis. “I’ve just make sure to stay out of your and Anastasia’s way for fear you’d find a way to send me back to that ghastly realm. I rather enjoy lounging at Grady’s saloon. While I can no longer drink spirits, I can at least inhale them. Also, those ghastly Fae creatures were here last year and while many of us were not entirely aware of what they were, we did know enough to stay away from them. I wasn’t entirely sure of their origin, but there was no doubt they meant trouble.”
Blair briefly closed her eyes. Now she remembered why she and Stasi had suffered so many headaches years ago when they had to listen to Phinneas go on and on and on and… on.
“Which is why Phinneas is coming with me,” Irma’s announcement sent Blair’s eyes flying wide open. Irma was beaming at Phinneas as if she’d just discovered the highlight of her semi-dead existence.
“Terrific, everyone’s got a boyfriend but me,” Blair groused under her breath before explaining, “Irma, he can’t go with you. He can’t leave the area.”
“If I can go where I want, so can he.” Irma looped her arm through Phinneas’s, and he patted her hand.
“You were a cursed ghost; he’s not, he’s tied to a realm,” Jazz explained, ushering Sirius into the back of the T-Bird where he settled in. “Different rules.”
Irma glared at Jazz as if the red-haired witch had just told her she couldn’t have what she wanted most. Which at the moment was the transparent man standing beside her. “I’m not leaving Phinneas.”
Blair counted to ten—four times, but it didn’t help.
“It doesn’t work that way, Irma. Whether Phinneas likes it or not, he has to return to his realm, and that’s set here.” She turned to the male spirit. “In fact, why are you still here, when you should have gone back on October 31st?”
“It is not that difficult to remain behind if one wishes.” He puffed up with peacock pride. “Others have succeeded and so have I.”
“Fine, Irma stays with you and Fluff and Puff can suffer along with me on Nick’s idea of a getaway. He booked us for a midnight river rafting excursion,” Jazz explained. “I asked for a vacation in a luxury hotel, but now that there’s this vampire travel agency offering up all sorts of adventure trips for the nightwalkers, he wants to do this. Fates know why.”
Fluff and Puff’s alarm sounded loud and strong.
“Don’t forget their little bunny slipper life vests,” Blair teased.
Except Fluff and Puff had other ideas. Jazz fell backwards against the car as sparks erupted from her ankle. Before Blair could jump away, the sparks swarmed around her ankle�
�and now Fluff and Puff were firmly attached to her.
“No!” she cried, stomping around, but they weren’t about to budge.
Jazz looked down at Fluff and Puff, then up at Irma.
“Perfect! I’ll see you in a month. Have fun!” She wasted no time hopping into the car and speeding around the corner of the building, with Sirius barking a goodbye but making no move to return to Irma.
“You traitor! You come back here!” Blair sent out a wave of power, but clearly the car was protected and there was no way she could bring it back. “Coward!”
“I hope she has Jonathon look in on Sirius while she’s gone,” Irma said, referring to Jazz’s mortal housemate, also known as Krebs. “He likes listening to music during the day.”
Blair glared at the two ghosts standing arm in arm, then stared at her new bunny slipper tattoo with a look fit to hex.
“None of this is good.”
“Let’s go upstairs.” Irma steered Phinneas to the stairway. “You must tell me more about that wonderful tonic you concocted. It must have been a true miracle drug. I’ve always suffered from aching joints. This sounds like something that would have worked wonderfully for me.”
“She always forgets she can’t have aching joints now, and she would have been under the table with one sip of that tonic. I can’t do this,” Blair mumbled, resisting the urge to kick something. Mainly herself.
“Not a good day, huh?” Jake, choosing this unfortunate moment to appear, walked over and glanced down at her ankle, where Fluff and Puff were looking all too proud of themselves.
She turned to face him. Someone else she wasn’t too happy with. Blair enjoyed being in the know. Jake had managed to hide his Were nature from her for months when she usually picked up on these things, and he still hadn’t told her how he did it. She had no idea how long he’d known that Roan had purchased the resort, and this was only a small percentage of why she was ticked off with him.
“Fluff and Puff didn’t want to go midnight river rafting with Jazz and Nick,” she replied. “Irma has met a man—Professor Phinneas Peggins, who Stasi and I worked for over 100 years ago and would have been perfectly content never to see again—and then there’s you, who’s turned into my biggest problem of all.” Showers of sparks erupted all around her. A witch with a temper was a dangerous thing, and Blair was well on her way to being dangerous. “An arrogant Were’s in town, and you are acting like a real dickhead.” She spat out her words with enough power to push Jake so hard he rocked on his heels. He held up his hands, palms out, then growled as the power burned and stung his skin. Blair glared at him, unwilling to apologize. She didn’t like harming anyone, but at the moment she was more than willing to throw a little pain Jake’s way.
“What the fuck is your problem?” Jake’s snarl was more canine than human and his eyes darkened with anger.
“You.” She pointed at him, but kept her magick contained. “Why have you kept so many secrets? How did you manage to mask your Were nature from me? And what, for Fates sake, is going on in your Pack?”
He winced at the high pitch in her voice. “That’s the operative word, Blair. Secrets. As in something no one else needs to know.” Something you don’t need to know rang loud and clear between them.
Anger and hurt was a bitter pill for Blair to swallow. Logically, she knew she had no right to demand answers from Jake. Flirting aside, they’d only had one real date, so it wasn’t as if they were an actual couple. But she knew the attraction was there, even if Jake seemed to have a reason for backing away from her. She wanted him to let down his guard. Except the wall he’d erected between them was high and strong.
Blair was a very determined and a very talented witch, but she knew if she were going to take down his wall and find out just what could be between them, she’d need all her power at her fingertips.
“Then tell me just one thing, Jake. Why is Roan here? Why would he choose this mountain? Do you think there’s more to his purchasing the resort than just wanting to get into the hotel business?”
Jake’s look was intense, but he replied calmly enough. “I don’t think Roan would do anything the Alpha didn’t sanction. With Roan now living up here, you will see more Weres hunting in the woods. If you think he’s up to something, ask him yourself. You don’t usually seem to need to consult with anyone else.”
“But you have an idea why he’s here, don’t you?” she pressed. “When I met him at the town meeting he had that witches are beneath me attitude. Silly wolf.”
A ghost of a grin touched Jake’s lips. “As in, he should know better?”
“As in, I won’t accept that attitude,” she admitted. “It doesn’t make any of us happy that we’re pretty much magickal outcasts, but then many have rued the day they underestimated us. You might want to remind your precious brother of that the next time you see him.”
“I don’t—” He bit down on his words before he gave away more.
But Blair was like a terrier with her favorite toy. “Don’t what, Jake? You don’t intend to see Roan? No running in the woods with the crew and howling at the moon? Isn’t he going to be kind of hard to avoid, since he’ll only be eight miles up the mountain? Plus, I thought all good little doggies had to be with the Pack. Gee, there’s another mystery: Packs are always together, it’s practically a hard and fast Were law. So tell me the truth. Why aren’t you with your Pack?”
Jake growled under his breath as he walked over and pulled her into his arms so fast she literally fell against him. But his kiss was far from angry. He nibbled on her lips until they parted for him, then his tongue took the admittance she granted him. He tasted wild and free, of the forest he roamed during the night and the freedom he gloried in. He tasted so good she wanted more and she took it.
Blair lifted her hands to cup his face, feeling the rough skin against her palms, and blindly ran her fingers over the sharp-planed features, then up to tunnel through thick hair that felt like black living silk curling around her fingers.
“Come upstairs,” she murmured, moving her lips enough to whisper in his ear as she nibbled on the lobe. “Come with me, Jake.” His labored breathing and the stillness in his form told her he was seriously considering her suggestion. Taking courage in that, she reached down and palmed his fly, feeling the hardness that strained the zipper even as one of his large hands slid under her sweater and cupped her breast. Her heart skipped a beat as she felt the coolness of his skin touch her. She arched up against him and ground her hips against his, but before it could go further, Jake jerked back. Only pure luck kept her on her feet and allowed her to rein in her seriously runaway control. “If our roles were reversed, there would be a name for you.” Her voice was harsh with the emotions running wild through her.
Jake didn’t look any calmer. “You think it’s easy for me?” he ground out. “I want you, Blair. I want you so bad that my blood practically boils, but it can’t be. You know it and I know it. My nature… isn’t a good balance for yours.”
“Then stop kissing me! Stop looking at me the way you do!” She blinked back tears she refused to shed. “Stop being so damn…” She threw up her hands and turned away. Except her temper wasn’t about to cool down that fast. She spun on her heel and launched a jolt of power at him so that he landed on his ass, his legs sprawled out. A fire bolt followed, landing all too close to the vee of his thighs. Jake swore and scrambled backwards.
“Damn it, Blair! What are you trying to do?” he yelled.
“Be grateful I didn’t aim a little closer.” She turned back to the stairs and ran upstairs, slamming the door behind her.
Jake started forward as if to follow, then stopped. His fists flexed at his side and he looked ready to pull a tree up by its roots with his bare hands. Instead, he strode away, radiating fury.
***
“Damn his furry hide!” was heard above a loud whirring sound.
Stasi slowed her steps and peered uncertainly into the family room. She stared at her housemate wie
lding the vacuum with one hand and a dust cloth with the other. Vases and figurines shifted to allow her to dust under them, then shifted back to their spots. The furniture did the same. An unfazed Irma and Phinneas sat in the chairs conversing in low voices.
“What are you—?” She then became aware of the newcomer to the group. “Professor Peggins?”
“Hello, dear.” The professor smiled warmly at her. “How nice to see you after all these years. I understand you have a beau now. Good for you! You used to be such a shy thing, I thought you’d never find a man. But, as I always say—”
“And nice to see you too.” Stasi quickly crossed the room and waved a hand, stopping the vacuum cleaner, and grabbed the dust cloth out of Blair’s hand. “What’s going on?” she whispered. Suddenly she realized something else was new. She glanced down to see Fluff and Puff coughing from the faint cloud of dust the vacuum had brought up. “Are you kidding me?”
Blair took a deep breath, then another. “What’s going on? Let’s see, where shall I start? Fine. Irma somehow met up with Phinneas. She wanted to take him with her, and when she was told it wasn’t possible, she voted to stay here. Phinneas apparently has taken to hanging out at Grady’s so he can at least inhale the alcohol fumes, since he’s beyond drinking now. Fluff and Puff heard that Jazz was going midnight river rafting with Nick, so they jumped ankles. Oh, and Jake is arrogant, and stubborn, and if I could, I’d zap him into his furry self 24/7.” She snatched the cloth back and sent it sailing to a high shelf, where it busily did its job while books obligingly moved out of the way.
“So he kissed you senseless again, then did something stupid.” Stasi had no trouble interpreting this outburst.
All the air seemed to be let out of Blair and she dropped into a chair. When she looked up, her blue-green eyes shimmered with the tears she’d been holding back by sheer force of will.
“Is there something seriously wrong with me? I mean, I know I have my moments, but am I so bad, that a man will kiss me, then tell me it was wrong?”