The Contestant Flies Off the Handle
Page 11
“Oh, no!” one woman said.
“It gets worse,” he said.
“You’re dead meat!” another woman said.
“Is that a vampirist comment?” another woman — presumably a vampire — asked snippily.
“Of course not.” Isaac shrugged. “It’s a male idiot comment. And there are more. I told her she was my lifemate — and then I told her we needed some time apart.”
Several women groaned.
“And then I realized I couldn’t live without her and tried to find her, but she’d cast some kind of concealment spell and I was never able to locate her.”
Cara smiled at him. “I guess I was an idiot, too.”
Isaac looked into her eyes. “I love you. I feel the lifemate buzz with you and I want you to be my lifemate, my wife, my lover, my friend.”
He dropped to one knee and pulled out a blue jewelry box, opening it to reveal the obscenely expensive engagement ring he’d purchased five years earlier.
Cara’s hands flew to her face. “Oh, my.”
“Say yes!” a woman called out.
“Say yes,” Isaac repeated, softly.
“Yes!” Cara said.
Isaac sprang up and pulled her into his embrace, where she was supposed to be, and kissed her well.
After a long kiss or three, he pulled back and held out the ring. She raised her hand and he slipped it on her finger.
“I’m going home with you to Ireland to make sure the runestones arrive safely — and to meet my future in-laws.”
“Watch out for Nana. She’ll want to do a wedding ceremony.”
“Whatever you and Nana want, I’ll move heaven and earth to get for you, Cara. I love you.”
It’s Time
SIX WEEKS LATER, ISAAC WAS still in Ireland with Cara.
Her parents had loved him, and even Nana had been excited to meet him, though she’d said, “So this is the man who caused my baby girl such heartache.”
“Guilty, but not intentionally,” he’d said.
She’d pinched his cheek and said, “Welcome to the family, anyway.”
“Thank you.”
Cara had reclaimed her beautiful emerald runestone as soon as she was handed the bag of stones. She gave the bag to Isaac to keep safe for her — and proceeded to hold her stone for several hours, enjoying the wholeness she felt in her magic with the stone in her hand — and in her heart with Isaac here.
The sheriff had sent them an email notifying them that the warlock had been identified who’d originally conned her grandda out of the stones, and he was awaiting sentencing.
As soon as they’d arrived at her Irish home, and after she’d introduced Isaac, she’d distributed the runestones to the rest of her family. They had the same expression of bliss on their faces that she had doubtless had on hers.
They’d also immediately performed a magical ceremony using their runestones, and even allowed Isaac to watch. He’d been satisfactorily impressed.
Today was a special day — a double wedding day. She and Isaac, and her sister Mary and her friend-turned-beau, Patrick would be joined.
Her nana, as head of their coven, passed on the responsibility for performing the ceremonies to her son, Cara’s da.
Isaac’s family had flown in yesterday for the ceremony, and waited in the garden with the other guests.
Cara was astonished at how many wedding cards and gifts they’d received from Moonchuckle Bay, where they’d be returning to live, much to her family’s displeasure. “We’ll visit often,” she’d assured them.
“You’d best,” her mam had said. “I’ve missed you.”
One of the cards had been from The Oracle and Isaac was flabbergasted. “She never gets involved in anyone’s life.”
Cara pulled out a beautiful card — and a check with a large sum of money on it. “Well, she’s involved in ours.”
“She did tell me I should say yes to helping with the pageant.”
“Really?” Cara smiled. “We’ll have to send her a very nice thank-you card for both the gift and the matchmaking.”
“The Oracle as matchmaker.” Isaac shook his head. “It boggles the mind.”
“Now, now,” Nana said. “You’re not supposed to see the bride in her dress today. Get out in the yard, young man.”
Smiling, Isaac left.
Nana took her hand and sighed. “He’s a good man, Cara.”
“I know, Nana.”
“Be sure to treat him right, sweet.”
“I will.”
“And I have already issued that warning to him.”
“Oh, good, then.”
Her sister Mary came in wearing her wedding dress with her diamond runestone hanging in a pendant on a chain about her neck. Next came their two sisters in colorful bridesmaid dresses that matched their runestones, Sophie’s blue to match her topaz, and Ruby’s red to match her ruby.
Her mam’s dress was a sapphire blue, her nana’s matched her amethyst, and her da’s black tux matched his black opal.
Nana motioned to them. “It’s time.”
The sisters looked at each other and smiled. Their father entered the room and held out his arms to them. They each took one and, when the bridal march began in the garden, walked them up to where their grooms waited for them.
Transylvania Cruise Line was much like Moonchuckle Bay. Humans were excited to vacation onboard with all the pretend monsters — only they weren’t pretend. All of the staff were paranormal as were many of the vacationers.
With the moon shining on the night-dark waters of the Caribbean, and Isaac’s arms wrapped around her, her back pressed to his front, Cara sighed.
“What’s wrong?” Isaac asked.
“Absolutely nothing. I have never been happier.”
He hugged her more tightly and put his mouth close to her ear. “Me, too,” he whispered, causing her to shiver.
They’d spent the last week since their wedding traveling from Ireland to Florida, and then they’d boarded the cruise ship that morning. They had another week before they were heading home.
Home.
“So are we going to live in your house?”
He chuckled. “I hope so. I happen to like my house.”
“I’ve never seen it, so I don't know if I do.”
“If you don’t, we’ll sell it and build something that is exactly the way you like it.”
The waves lapped gently against the ship and the deck swayed lightly under their feet.
“Will you be okay joining the Connolly coven?”
“I like them very much. And they seem to like me, too. I’ll want to go home to practice with my family too, though.”
“Often,” he assured her.
“Sure and you know, for a long time I thought you were cute — though more than a bit uptight and strait-laced.”
“And do you still feel that way?”
She shook her head. “I feel that you keep me grounded and feeling safe.”
He kissed her head. “And I thought you were immature, and now I’ve realized that I need you because you help me fly a little. You loosen up my uptightness.”
She turned in his arms and kissed him. A couple walking by said, “Get a room.”
She laughed and pulled back. “Shall we follow their advice?”
When they reached their room, they found the towel animal on their bed in the shape of a unicorn.
In a cup on the dresser were three ships on a stick — the original two they’d bought and both saved, and a new one they’d bought this trip.
“Want to party? Or stay in?”
“As in staying in with you?” She smiled happily. “You can count me in!”
~ The Happy Ending ~
Thank you!
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Happy tales, Heather Horrocks
www.BooksByHeatherHorrocks.com
Author’s Note
I’m not a witch (though certain people might think otherwise) so, though I researched how to cast a circle and invoke a finding spell, I may have gotten some things wrong. For those of you who do know what to do, I apologize in advance if I’ve gotten anything wrong.
Book Club Questions
1
Do you watch beauty pageants? (Or, if you’ve watched Miss Congeniality, “sponsorship programs.”) What do you like best about them? What do you like least?
2
Would you have kept Mariana’s secret? Why? Why not? Even if keeping it meant you’d lose what you needed?
3
What did you think of Isaac numbing his emotional pain with the potion? We all seem to have something that we try to numb with food or alcohol or drugs or ... well, in a myriad ways. Is there emotional pain you try to number with something?
4
What did you think of the reason Cara’s family’s chose to send her to the pageant in Moonchuckle Bay?
5
Have you ever had a relationship end because of a misunderstanding or hurt feelings? Did you work it out later? Or move on to better things?
6
Have you ever had a shipboard romance (or equivalent)?
7
Have you ever lost something important to you? Were you able to find it again?
8
Did you feel the Connolly Coven was welcoming to Cara? Do you think her magic will fit in easily with their magic? Did it in the spell they cast in the book?
9
Did you like the idea of the teleporting Ford Hexplorer? It certainly would make travel easier.
10
What flavor of snow cone do you wish Jingle would make for you? What would it do for you?
About the Author
Heather Horrocks is the USA Today bestselling author of numerous books (Moonchuckle Bay paranormal romances, Chick Flick Clique and Christmas Street romantic comedies, a novel in the unprecedented American Mail-Order Bride series, Who-Dun-Him Inn and Bad Mothers Club cozy mysteries, and Women Who Knew inspirational books) plus an upcoming series for writers, sharing her unique character interview and amazing book-in-a-day system developed by plotting over eighty books with Diane Darcy, each in one day. She is also the founder of Word Garden Press, a niche publisher of PG-rated fiction and non-fiction. She’s currently working with a talented screenwriter/producer on the first book in her Christmas Street series, Bah, Humbug!
Raised overseas for her first seventeen years, she hid under the bed with her mother during a South American coup, waterskied through an oil slick in the Persian Gulf, partied with a Kuwaiti princess classmate, flew in and out of the blacked-out Cairo airport mere moments before it was bombed during the Six Day War, rode a camel (and ate a camel steak), crossed the finish line first at Utah's Miller Motorsports Park—and walked on hot coals—without getting burned!—at a firewalk workshop!
She loves anyone who can make her laugh, which explains why she adores her witty husband, her funny friends and sisters, Anne George mysteries and Molly Harper romances, and her cute little dog Gus. She loves to cook for friends, siblings, and especially her children and their families. She and her husband reside in Utah. You can find her online at www.BooksByHeatherHorrocks.com.
Books by Heather Horrocks
MOONCHUCKLE BAY Paranormal Romances:
Jingle Belle (FREE here), The Artist Cries Wolf (FREE on Amazon, B&N, KOBO) , The Bridesmaid Earns Her Wings, The Director Gets a Grip, The Fireman Finds His Flame, Elvis Gets His Groove Back, The Hacker Pushes Her Luck, The Contestant Flies Off the Handle.
The next Moonchuckle Bay book is coming out in July, 2017.
CHRISTMAS STREET Romantic Comedies:
Bah, Humbug!, Kissing Santa, The Naughty List, Love on Christmas Street (#1, 2, & 3), Deck the Malls
CHICK FLICK CLIQUE Romantic Comedies:
Pride and Precipitation, A Hound Dog Named Elvis, Regally Blonde, A Pink Dog Named Fluffy (formerly titled Puppy Love), My Spare Lady, Movie Night at Candy’s Cafe (#1, 2, & 3), A Bulldog Named Desire, Fifty Shades of Greystoke, While You Were Stranded, Romancing the Clone (2016), Davidson and Goliath
WHO-DUN-HIM INN Cozy Mysteries:
Snowed Inn, Inn the Doghouse, Inn the Family Way, Laugh Yourself to Death at the Who-Dun-Him Inn (#1, 2, & 3), The Czech’s Inn the Mail #4 (2016)
BAD MOTHERS CLUB Cozy Mystery Series:
Murder is Misunderstood #1
INSPIRATIONAL:
Women Who Knew the Mortal Messiah, Men Who Knew the Mortal Messiah, Women and Men Who Knew the Mortal Messiah, Women Who Knew the Great Jehovah (2016)
AMERICAN MAIL-ORDER BRIDE:
Violet: Bride of North Dakota
OTHERS:
How to Stuff a Wild Zucchini, Old Maid of Honor, Baby Mine
Receive a FREE STORY for signing up for Heather’s New Release Newsletter at www.BooksByHeatherHorrocks.com
Acknowledgments
As always, thanks to USA Today bestselling author DIANE DARCY. I love our plotting days and the cute books we make appear out of thin air, kind of like magic!
Thanks to my amazing editor, Theresa Crouse of Magical Words Editing. You rock!
And thanks to my fantastic beta readers — Christine Hellewell Jensen, Marsha Sensel, and Shauna Leigh Best. Thanks for loving my books — and for helping them be their best!
Copyright © 2017 Heather Horrocks
www.BooksByHeatherHorrocks.com
Word Garden Press
The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for third-party websites or their content.
Cover Art Copyrights
Retro Theater Marquee © 2016 KeithBishop (istockphoto.com)
Halloween (Witch and Cat) © 2017 askmenow (istockphoto.com)
Man in Business Suit - Copyright © 2017 (istockphoto.com)
Hand Drawn Banners - © 2017 cmapuk_kpynckuu (istockphoto.com)
(Background) Blue Green Soft Blurred - © 2017 NYS444 (istockphoto.com)
Inside Graphics Copyrights
Halloween © luplupme (istockphoto.com)
Monster At The Window © Dean Murray (istockphoto.com)
All Rights Reserved
This includes the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author except in the case of brief quotation embodied in critical articles and reviews. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions.
Work of Fiction
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, livi
ng or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Receive a free novella and updates on new books released by Heather Horrocks at www.BooksByHeatherHorrocks.com
Excerpt:
Jingle Belle
Moonchuckle Bay Prequel #0.5
Get this book free here.
Jingle has a bounty hunter on her trail!
When her controlling uncle plans snow pixie Jingle Belle’s unwanted marriage to a much older man, she flees Snowville. Determined to marry only for love, she boards the Blizzard Express to create a new life for herself. Nicholas is hired to deliver her to her groom — but when he comes face to face with the beautiful faedy, he wants to keep her for his own. Can he keep her safe? And will she forgive him if she learns what he’s done?
Chapter One ~ A Surprise Party
THE MAGIC WORKED! FINALLY!
Jingle Belle’s heart sang with jubilation as she watched the flash of light that signaled she’d gotten it right.
After three years of work in her mother’s laboratory, Jingle had perfected her snow magic!
She held the cone high as she spun around the room. Little sparkles of blue light flashed off the snow — a flavor that would fix a person’s blue mood and make them feel happier.
She took another bite. It was delicious — and her own mood shifted even higher.
Now she could help people feel better the way her mother had encouraged her to do before her death. Her mother had been gifted in pixie magic, and Jingle had finally accomplished something her mother would be proud of. If only she could show her what she’d done.