The Contestant Flies Off the Handle

by Heather Horrocks

  Fascinated, he watched her. How could a party girl be so good with animals? It seems it would take a calmer personality to accomplish what he was seeing happen on the stage.

  He felt as though he was flaring back to life just watching her and being in the same room as her.

  The Connolly Coven started cheering her on.

  Cara opened her eyes and the unicorn walked up placidly and nuzzled his nose against her hand. She petted his neck and spoke to him softly.

  She was a charmer and he could feel the attraction that he’d felt all those years ago. He could fall in love with her all over again — even with his potion.

  Cara couldn’t believe the jealousy that shot through her when she saw that blonde hanging all over Isaac. Was she his girlfriend?

  When he’d acted so surprised to see her at the party, she’d thought he wasn’t dating anyone. Dixie had made it sound like he wasn’t.

  But she looked out through the crack in the curtains and — sure enough, there they were.

  Cara’s wand grew hot where it rested against her side. She took some deep breaths and walked around backstage, skirting around other contestants and workers.

  The fiftieth contestant was just wrapping up her talent — the genie from China was doing a smoke and mirrors demonstration, using herself as the smoke — and Cara knew she’d have to be go out into the room to mingle as soon as the genie finished her act. She needed to not have her wand out of control when she did.

  She heard applause. The first talent show was officially over. She felt like she’d done well with the unicorn.

  Fern the Ghost gathered herself above their heads. “Ladies, it’s time to join the others. Go out on the stage for a final group bow, then go out and mingle.”

  So the fifty of them went back onto the stage and bowed in unison, mostly. More clapping, and whistling from each woman’s supporters.

  When the noise died down, she followed the others down the stairs.

  A tall vampire in a Stetson smiled at her and tipped his hat. “I was right impressed with how you handled that unicorn, Miss O’Sullivan.”

  She caught sight of Isaac headed her way. The blonde was still right beside him. Cara had to show him that it didn’t matter so she smiled up at the guy. “Why, thank you.”

  He put out his hand. “Nat Garcia, ma’am. Pleased to meet you.”

  “Are you from Texas?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Miss Texas is here, you know.”

  “I do know. She’s my sister, and I’m her biggest supporter.” He grinned. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate the other beauty I find here.”

  As Isaac grew near, she touched Nat’s arm. “Why, thank you.”

  Nat looked over her shoulder and nodded. “Isaac, it’s good to see you again.”

  Resisting rolling her eyes, Cara turned.

  Isaac looked grim as he nodded back. “Nat, it’s been awhile.”

  “Have you met Miss O’Sullivan?”

  Isaac said, “Yes. And this is Angela Newell.”

  Nat extended his hand which meant the woman unhooked her arm from Isaac’s.

  Isaac asked Cara, “How are you liking Moonchuckle Bay?”

  “What I’ve seen so far is nice.” Cara’s voice sounded stilted, when she wanted to sound carefree, like the party girl he’d assumed she was, the one he didn’t like.

  So after Isaac and the woman moved on, she turned back to Nat, determined to flirt.

  He motioned toward the tables. “Would you like to join me for the dinner?”

  They’d had a large brunch before the talent show began, but that was hours — and fifty acts — ago. They were all famished, so, even though it was only four, dinner was being served.

  “I’d love to,” she said, putting her hand around his arm just as Isaac looked back. He frowned.

  When he turned away, she lifted her wand and sent an almost invisible stream of blue light toward him.

  When it touched his shoulder, he reached up to scratch.

  Okay, so it was a misuse of power, but he had it coming.

  From his spot on the stage, Shadow meowed. Good work. Hit him again.

  But Cara couldn’t do it. She felt guilty about having done that much.

  She’d be so glad when this pageant was over and she could leave Moonchuckle Bay.

  Isaac had finally convinced Angela that he had to skip the early dinner. She was disappointed, but nodded. Then she got serious about work again and he went out into the parking lot of the hotel and drove up the street to the law office.

  When he walked in, Peggy — their über-efficient office manager — looked up. “Isaac, I thought you were at the pageant today. I didn’t expect you in.”

  “I am at the pageant.”

  She stared him up and down. “Could have fooled me.”

  “You know what I mean. I’ve been there and I’ll be going back. Is Michael in? James?”

  “They’re both in the conference room.”

  “Thanks.” He headed back.

  When he entered the conference room, Michael said, “Why do you look so grim?”

  James raised an eyebrow.

  Isaac began pacing at the front of the room and his brothers sat back in their seats and watched him warily.

  “Can we help you?” Michael asked cautiously.

  He stopped and stared at them. “What makes women tick?”

  His brothers exchanged glances. James said, “He’s talking to you, Michael. You’re the only married one of us.”

  Michael shook his head. “Dixie can tell you I know nothing.”

  “I’m serious,” Isaac said. “How did you win her? What am I doing wrong?”

  “Probably everything,” James said.

  Michael tipped his head and studied Isaac. “Who is it?”

  Isaac frowned. Finally, he admitted, “Cara O’Sullivan. Miss Ireland. And the woman from my cruise. My lifemate.”

  “She’s in town?” James whistled. “What are you going to do?”

  “That’s what I was hoping you doofuses would help me with.”

  Michael pushed a button. “Peggy, would you join us for a moment?”

  When she came in, Michael said, “What would you suggest to Isaac? He met his lifemate five years ago, hasn’t been able to find her since, and now she’s here in town as a contestant.”

  “That’s easy. Woo her.”

  “Well, why didn’t we think of that?” James said, smacking his hand against his thigh. “Easy, she says.”

  Peggy shrugged. “Ask her out to dinner. Get her talking.”

  “When her lips are moving, I suspect she’s throwing spells at me. Itching spells.” He scratched his shoulder.

  Michael chuckled. “Sorry, bro. I’d say stop ticking her off.”

  “How?”

  Peggy patted his cheek. “You can do this, Isaac. Just be yourself. Well, the best version of yourself.”

  “Okay,” he said. “See you later. I’ve got to get back to the hotel.”

  But first, he had to deal with this itching.

  As he climbed into his car, he called Chicory. “I need to have you take off another spell. My shoulder is itching now.”

  There was a sound suspiciously like a laugh. “Sure. Come on over and I’ll do it for you.”

  And then he made a huge decision, something he hadn’t dared do for a long time.

  He was going to stop taking the Happy Be potion. It was the only way to test his feelings for Cara.

  After the dinner party which turned into dancing — Nat, the cowboy, was a great dancer — Fern the Ghost herded the women back to their rooms for the night, and the six roommates stumbled into their suite, laughing.

  “What a day, y’all,” Riley drawled, kicking off her heels and sitting down to rub her feet. “I got so famished I wanted to just go bite someone.”

  The rest of them tumbled down onto couches and chairs, taking off their own shoes.

  Augusta said, �
��I’d like you to bite Miss Hawaii. She got on my nerves today.”

  Riley grinned. “I’ll keep that in mind tomorrow. I like a little island flavor.”

  Cara asked, “Was she the one who did the fire sticks?”

  Augusta nodded.

  Belinda stood and yawned. “I could hardly stay awake during the show. And I actually fell asleep on the shoulder of the guy next to me at dinner. How embarrassing.”

  Mariana waved her hand dismissively. “We all do embarrassing things.”

  “Some of us more often than others, though,” Augusta said, a hint of cattiness in her voice.

  Belinda waved. “I’m going to bed. See you in the morning.”

  Liling said, “I enjoyed your talents, ladies.”

  “Yours was cool,” Cara said. “I loved the smoke and mirrors.”

  Liling held out her hand and it dissolved into smoke and then reformed. “Easy.”

  Mariana motioned to Riley. “I’ve never seen anyone move as fast as you did today.”

  Riley grinned. “But did you actually see me move?”

  “Barely,” Mariana admitted.

  Riley said, “I hope someone in this room wins.”

  Cara smiled. “Me, too. In fact, I hope someone in my bedroom wins.”

  “Me, too.” Mariana laughed and stood. “I’ve got to get some sleep. Good night.”

  Cara followed her into their room. As the werecat moved into the bathroom, Cara opened the closet — and stared. Something wasn’t quite right. It took a minute for it to register. The change was subtle, but someone had gone through her things.

  Quickly she looked through them. Nothing seemed to be gone.

  Could she be mistaken? Or had someone really been here?

  But who? And why? They didn’t seem to have taken anything, but it made her nervous. Did someone know her family’s runestones were part of the prize package?

  “Moi?” He Asked Innocently

  TODAY WAS THE FIRST DAY he’d gone without taking his potion in over four years. His family had warned him against taking it in the beginning, but they hadn’t understood.

  Maybe he was the one who hadn’t understood.

  It was only an hour past the time he normally took it, and he already felt a little more awake, a little less numb.

  Excitement welled within him as he drove toward the beach.

  Today’s pageant event was the swimsuit competition and it was being held at Moonchuckle Lake. The beach was being closed to tourists for the event. Every spectator clutching a ticket would be supernatural.

  As he pulled into the parking lot, a deputy raised a restraining hand. Isaac rolled down the window and held up his pageant ID. “Morning, Larry.”

  He’d known Larry Knight for years. He’d gone to school with the big werewolf, and even spent time in detention with him.

  “Hey, Isaac.” Larry motioned him on. “Enjoy the view.”

  Isaac grinned at him. “I plan to.”

  He parked and joined the crowd surging toward the sand. He was wearing his customary suit, but the day was warm and he wished he could change into cooler clothes, too.

  As he reached the bleachers set up for the spectators, he stopped to survey the beach.

  A large pavilion had been erected and he could hear the sounds of women — laughter, giggles, and gasps of delight. Lots of women.

  Agent Angela Newell caught up to him, her face flushed. “Good morning, Mr. Murphy.”

  “Agent Newell.” Today he wasn’t going to put up with her mooning over him. She had a job to do — and so did he. “Any problems so far today?”

  “Everything’s running smoothly, but I’m sure that won’t last.”

  Isaac studied the crowd that was pouring in and climbing the bleachers.

  The theme for the pageant began to play over the loudspeakers and people hurried to get settled in their seats.

  Agent Newell looked at him wistfully, as though she wished this wasn’t a business relationship, and said, “I’ll go do a perimeter check with the sheriff.”

  “Sounds good. Keep me updated.”

  As the beautiful SWAT team member walked away, Isaac felt relief. Stronger than he’d felt for a long time.

  That was good, right?

  The MC called out her name: “Miss Ireland, Cara O’Sullivan!”

  Fern the Ghost gave her a prod, though it slid right through her shoulder.

  Cara moved through the pavilion’s opening and out into the bright sunlight. They’d built a deck so the women could parade around in their high heels, when it would have felt so much better to dig her toes into the sand.

  Instead, she strutted her stuff, such as it was. She walked the length of the deck, turned and paused while the MC said, “Cara is a talented earth witch.”

  The crowd applauded for her. They were all a blur as she started back down the deck — until she saw Isaac!

  He was standing, arms crossed, eyes intently watching her, making her blush. She made a misstep, but caught herself and did her best to recover her poise as she returned to the safety of the pavilion.

  The MC announced, “Miss New Orleans, Antoinette Fontaine!”

  The voodoo witch strutted onto stage in her heels, a bikini — and a large snake that coiled along her arm and around her shoulders. Isaac watched for a minute, then shook his head. Apparently he agreed with Cara — even for a paranormal, that voodoo witch was one weird woman.

  As Cara stepped closer to the opening in the pavilion to keep her eye on the snake, she realized she could see Isaac again — and he could see her.

  Their gazes locked, like in some ridiculous romance novel, and she couldn’t seem to look away. He was the man she’d fallen in love with and never gotten over — and now, five years later, he was standing there looking at her as if he’d really meant it when he told her she was his lifemate.

  When his lips quirked up in a gentle smile, she nearly lost it.

  She couldn’t do that again.

  Finally, since she couldn’t seem to stop looking at him, she stepped backward until the pavilion hid him from view.

  How could he still have this effect on her? After all this time? After all of her resolutions to never get involved with him or anyone like him again? After all that, how could his mere gaze bring her to near surrender?

  She’d better find Nat when this event was over, during the swimming and beach volleyball party to follow, and make sure to look into his eyes so she couldn’t see Isaac. Otherwise she just might throw herself at his feet, and that would be more embarrassing than Belinda falling asleep on the guy next to her at dinner.

  Isaac shook his head as he watched the angry vampire get in his truck and drive off, screeching tires as he went.

  He’d seen Cara playing volleyball and had been headed her way when Angela informed him of a problem with a belligerent guest. When he’d realized the problem guest was his own stupid vampire cousin, he’d talked him into going home.

  Then Isaac turned back toward the beach — and Cara.

  While he’d been looking at her in the pavilion, the onslaught of such strong emotions had left him weak-kneed — and for a vampire, that was saying quite a bit.

  He hadn’t realized how many normal emotions he’d missed out on while he’d been dulling his heartache with the potion — and seeing the woman he’d fallen for brought the buzz back. He was feeling it again. Not as strongly as on the cruise, but that might be because some residual potion might stay in his system for a few days.

  He caught sight of her — and she was with that stupid cowboy from last night! The guy was leaning far too close to his swimsuit-clad Cara O’Sullivan for propriety.

  Jealousy rocked him, nearly knocking him off his feet. He hadn’t felt emotions this powerful for so long that it almost made him dizzy.

  He wanted to rip the guy’s head off, and he quickly repressed that urge. The guy was a vampire and Isaac figured he could take him, but it would reflect poorly, as a representative of his fat
her’s firm, to get carted off as a troublemaker, just like his stupid cousin.

  Still, he found himself moving toward her, not sure what he was going to do.

  As he grew near, she caught sight of him and her eyes widened. She turned away, looking back at the other vampire, but that didn’t stop him.

  The other man looked at him and nodded. “Isaac.”

  “Nat,” he said. “Please excuse me for interrupting, but I need to speak to Ms. O’Sullivan in private. Security issues.”

  Nat narrowed his eyes, probably because he didn’t believe him.

  Probably the same reason Cara narrowed hers. “Now?”

  “Yes, please,” he said in his most polite tone.

  She turned to Nat. “Will you excuse me?”

  “As long as you come back to me,” Nat smiled at Cara and Isaac could barely suppress a growl.

  “Thank you,” Isaac said. He looked around, trying to find a place where they could speak without interruption. He looked inside the pavilion and was relieved to see that no one was there. “In here, please.”

  Cara strode off before him, barefoot, her toes in the sand — the most delightful sight he’d ever seen.

  Behind him, Nat whistled softly.

  Isaac fought the urge to scowl at the other man; he didn’t have time to waste on him.

  Inside the pavilion, it was shady and semi-dark. She’d positioned herself near the opening, so he motioned toward the center support pole of the pavilion. She moved toward it, and again he followed.

  She whirled, eyes blazing, “What do you want of me, Isaac Murphy?”

  “This,” he said, and pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

  His lips pressed against hers, and he was delighted that her lips softened against his immediately, and she wrapped her arms around his waist and clung to him. He deepened the kiss, his tongue moving against hers.

  He wanted her so much.

  He didn’t ever want to let her go.

  And apparently she felt the same way.

  After a long moment, she pulled away, still clinging to his arms for support. She rested her face against his chest, her pulse racing.