Charmed by His Love

by Janet Chapman

  But then he snorted and shook his head. “Why am I not surprised?” He held his hand toward her. “Okay then, deal? I’ll build your house.”

  She also reached out, but stopped short of actually shaking on it. “It’s a deal if the bid you give me is in line with Grundy Watts’s.”

  He snapped his hand away. “You’re taking bids?”

  Peg looked down to hide her smile and brushed absolutely nothing off her jacket. “Is that a problem?”

  “No, it’s not a problem at—” He stopped in midsentence and frowned into the rearview mirror. “Do ye recognize the truck pulling up behind us?”

  Peg craned around in her seat to look out the rear window and also frowned when she saw the old pickup closing in on them rather quickly. “It … I’m pretty sure that’s Chris Dubois’s truck.” She spun around with a gasp when Duncan put on the brakes with a muttered curse to avoid hitting another pickup that suddenly pulled out in front of them. It straddled the center of the road, and she saw the brake lights come on as it slowed down enough to make Duncan brake again.

  “Check that your seat belt is secure,” he growled as he quickly glanced in his rearview mirror before stepping on the gas again. “Christ, it’s an actual ambush. Hold on.” He pressed the accelerator to the floor and the SUV surged forward.

  Peg grabbed the handle above her door with one hand and covered her mouth with the other so she wouldn’t scream when Duncan drove the SUV’s right front bumper into the left rear fender of the pickup in front of them. With the sickening sound of metal making contact overriding her scream, he then cut the wheel to the right without letting up off the gas until the pickup started to fishtail. He immediately slammed on the brakes only to step on the gas again, pulling around the pickup when it swerved toward the ditch, his eyes going to his rearview mirror with another curse.

  Peg looked out her side window as they sped past the now stopped pickup to see Aaron Jenkins’s widened eyes staring back at her. She craned around to look between the seats to see Chris Dubois speeding toward their rear bumper, Aaron pulling back onto the road behind him.

  “I can’t believe they’re doing this!” she cried, turning forward and grabbing the handle over her door again as Duncan floored the SUV. “Why on earth are they attacking us? Oh God, Duncan, can we outrun them?”

  “Not by the sounds of that motor in the truck behind us; it’s obviously been tricked out, and I told ye this one was bought for its economy.”

  Not that her poor beautiful truck seemed to know it was supposed to be a dog, she thought hysterically as the trees zoomed past her side window. “Why is Chris doing this?” she repeated without really expecting an answer.

  “What do ye know about the bastard?”

  “Um, he was a year ahead of me in school, and he tried to get me to date him, but I already had my eyes on Billy.” She snorted. “Chris was a braggart and a sleaze even back then. He’s also Spellbound Falls’s most notorious criminal, although he never seems to get caught. But if there’s a way to make money, illegal or not, he’ll have his hand in it. I heard in town that he and Aaron Jenkins—he’s the guy in the other truck—are all fired up over the resort, claiming it’s going to end their logging business. I suspect it was one or both of them who spray-painted my van, because I know they were in town that day. Chris has always been pissed that his mother sold Billy and me the pit, because he thought he should get it.”

  Peg realized she was on the verge of hysteria when she couldn’t seem to stop babbling. “Chris started dropping by not six months after Billy died, trying to get me to go out with him. But I knew he was more interested in getting his hands on my land than on me—although that didn’t stop him from trying.”

  Duncan glanced over sharply. “Did he get aggressive with you?”

  Peg dropped her gaze and shuddered. “A bit,” she whispered. She turned in her seat to look out the rear window again and saw Chris trying to pull around them as Duncan veered to the center of the road. “I never thought he’d do something this bold, or get so fired up over a stupid resort. He and Aaron must be drunk.”

  “This isn’t about the resort, Peg,” Duncan said quietly. “It’s about you. Not only did you reject him twice, the bastard’s seeing you making money off land he thinks should be his.” He glanced at her briefly before going back to watching his rearview mirror and the road, and shook his head. “He’s likely the one who burned down your house. This has nothing to do with the resort,” he repeated.

  “Ohmigod, I never—” She snapped her mouth shut when the SUV lurched forward with a violent shudder and fishtailed slightly before Duncan brought it under control, Peg’s scream lost in the sound of Chris’s pickup slamming into the back of them. “No!” she cried, bracing her hand on the dash when Duncan slammed on the brakes, which made Chris ram into them again.

  Tires screeched and she smelled burning rubber as Duncan kept braking despite the deafening rev of the pickup’s engine as it continued trying to push them down the road. Duncan finally brought them to a stop and slipped the SUV into reverse, hit a button on the dash, and stepped on the gas. “Face forward,” he snapped as he grabbed the back of her seat to look behind him. “And hang on.”

  “Duncan, no! Just try to outrun them. Please, we’re almost to town.” But the screeching tires drowned out her petition as the SUV relentlessly backed up, first slowly and then with increasing speed as it pushed against Chris’s truck.

  “He might have more engine but we’re heavier,” Duncan growled just as he let up off the gas. “Cover your face with your hands.”

  He then stepped on the accelerator again as he cut the wheel and rammed into the pickup behind them, the sound of crunching metal slamming through the interior of the truck as its tires continued to grasp for purchase on the pavement. Peg heard what sounded like glass breaking and slouched down in her seat to peek through her fingers at her outside mirror to see the taillights of Chris’s truck sticking out past their rear fender, and she realized Duncan was pushing him sideways down the road.

  She then saw smoke rolling up over the front fender of the SUV and realized he had it in four-wheel drive. She moved her hands to cover her ears against the deafening screech, but then quickly covered her mouth to catch her scream when they suddenly stopped and she watched in the mirror as Chris’s truck rolled into the ditch onto its side.

  Duncan hit the button on the dash and pulled the gearshift down and floored the engine again, snapping Peg back against the seat when the truck lurched forward and once again sped toward town. She turned to look back between the seats and just caught a glimpse of Chris jumping out of his truck and hopping into Aaron’s before Duncan pushed her back around.

  “Face forward,” he growled, glancing in the rearview mirror. “It’s not over.”

  Peg buried her face in her hands again and mumbled something.

  “What was that?” he asked in another growl.

  She dropped her hands, then used the sleeve of her jacket to wipe her eyes. “I … I said I’m glad I didn’t insist on driving tonight.”

  He snorted. “Not as glad as I am.” He reached over and actually patted her arm. “Now do ye see what I meant about this truck being safe?”

  “I … It’s all but totaled,” she whispered, looking at the crumpled front fender as the trees sped past in a blur again.

  “I’ll buy ye a new one.” He blew out a harsh breath and seemed to relax slightly. “The other truck doesn’t have the balls to catch us, so we should make it to town okay.” He glanced over at her, then back at the road. “I believe I’ll park behind the church,” he said, apparently voicing his plan as it came to him. “And we’ll go for a walk on the docks behind Ezra’s store to calm down instead of going to the Drunken Moose.”

  “Works for me,” Peg said, releasing at least some of her tension with her sigh. God, her clothes were soaked with sweat and she was worried she might have peed a little. She sucked in another shuddering breath and covered her face w
ith her hands again even as she wished she kept a diary. Because honestly, as sort of first dates went, this one definitely needed to be recorded … somewhere.

  Duncan pulled her hands down and held on to the one nearest him, giving it a gentle squeeze before rubbing his thumb on her knuckles. “Ye did good, Peg. I only heard one little scream,” he said, smiling over at her.

  She pulled in another steadying breath and brushed nothing off her jacket with a trembling hand. “You just couldn’t hear all of them over the screeching tires and smashing metal.” She finally found the nerve to glance over her left shoulder, then quickly looked forward again, but it had been long enough for her to see the back hatch was folded in, the rear and both side back windows were blown out, and the third brake light was flapping in the breeze as it dangled from the top of the mangled back door.

  “You do know that even though your mom signed the title over to me Friday, that I haven’t had time to register or insure the truck yet, don’t you?”

  He gave her hand another squeeze. “It’ll be covered under her policy, and I was the one driving.”

  “There’s a good chance the sheriff will be at the meeting tonight because of the controversy,” she said, “especially since the fire marshal decided my house fire was arson. We can tell him what happened tonight and he can arrest Chris and Aaron. I definitely recognized them. Um, but let’s not tell him about my van, okay?”

  “Why?” he asked, slowing down because they’d reached the edge of town.

  “I don’t think it’s all that legal to push a vehicle into a flooded quarry pit.” She finally felt relaxed enough to smile. “Although they’d probably have to sift through a bunch of other vehicles looking for it, along with all sorts of other stuff people have wanted to disappear. I read where the state sent divers down in a quarry south of here several years back, and they found over twenty cars and trucks, several motorcycles, lawnmowers, tractors, snowmobiles, and even a skidder; anything a person could file an insurance claim on was down there.”

  Duncan gave her one last squeeze and put both hands on the wheel as he gave the rearview mirror a glance, then slowed to an idle as they came into town. “I’m glad it’s dark enough that no one will notice the condition of the truck,” he said, pulling into the church parking lot and driving down past it. “We really don’t need an audience,” he added as he pulled around the back of the church and eased the nose of the truck into the bushes. He shut it off, unfastened his seat belt, and turned to her. “Are your legs steady enough for a short walk, lass?”

  Peg unfastened her seat belt. “What, you think that little carnival ride rattled me?” She opened her door and slid out, only to yelp when she kept right on sliding—only to be snatched up and hauled back into her seat.

  “Aye, I can see how unrattled ye are,” he said with a laugh. “Stay put.”

  He got out and walked around the truck, his face completely serious when he reached her door. “Do me a favor and just walk away without looking back, okay?”

  “It … it’s that bad?”

  He nodded and took hold of her shoulders and slid her out, then pulled her into his embrace. “I’m sorry, Peg. But ye need to give the truck credit for keeping us safe.” He turned while slipping his arm around her with his hand grasping her waist, closed her door, and started walking toward Bottomless only a few yards away.

  “My purse.”

  She heard the truck give a mournful beep and realized he’d pressed a button on the key fob in his pocket. “We’ll get it later. I was wondering,” he said conversationally, “if you’ve given any more thought to believing in the magic?”

  Okay; mundane conversation was good. “Well, I might believe,” she said, wrapping her arm around his waist when she realized she really was wobbly, “if a house fairy were to make a special delivery up on that knoll overlooking the fiord.”

  His arm around her tightened and he steered her toward the path that ran behind the stores. “The magic prefers to be more subtle, I’m afraid, and having a house standing on a lot that was vacant the day before is a bit much. I was thinking more along the lines of the kind of magic a person feels when they realize they’re right in the middle of something wonderful happening.”

  She looked up at him and smiled. “You mean like walking into a hospital to give birth to your third child and walking out with two babies?”

  He looked down in surprise. “Ye didn’t know you were having twins?”

  “Nope. We were all set to bring Peter home, but when Jacob popped out, Billy shouted, ‘Oh God, it’s a repeat!’ That’s how the poor kid got his nickname.” She smiled up at him again. “Is that the kind of magic you’re talking about? Because personally, I don’t think there’s anything subtle about having twins when you’re not expecting them.”

  He turned them onto a newly constructed boardwalk stretching across the low tide and continued down to a set of floating docks. “Maybe not subtle,” he said with a chuckle, “but ye have to admit it counts as something wonderful.” He stopped, turning her to face him. “That’s the magic I’m talking about; wonderful … surprises.” His grip on her shoulders tightened slightly, and there was just enough moonlight for her to see the planes of his face grow more pronounced. “I’ve a favor to ask ye, lass.”

  Peg tensed at the seriousness she heard in his voice. “What?”

  “I would ask that ye trust me enough to get in a boat and go for a little ride with me.” He grinned, but it didn’t come anywhere near his eyes, and his grip tightened again when she tried to step away. “I was going to ask you to go after the meeting, but I believe it would be best if we leave right now.”

  “Go where?”

  “To my mountain. Can ye trust me enough to willingly get in the boat, Peg?”

  She dropped her eyes because she couldn’t quite face the intensity in his any longer. For the love of God, what was he doing? “I … I’d rather not. I feel just fine now, Duncan,” she rushed on, looking back up at him. “And we need to tell the sheriff what just happened.”

  He pulled her forward into an unbreakable embrace the moment she tried to pull free, and Peg felt his chest expand on a heavy sigh. “I’m sorry, lass,” he murmured as one of his hands slid up her back to her neck. “Christ, I’m sorry,” he growled against her forehead just as Peg felt pressure on the base of her neck and her legs buckled and everything went black.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Duncan was so goddamned sorry he was shaking with anger—at himself, at his mountain, and at Providence for giving him such a contrary woman. But mostly he was angry at Mac for orchestrating this entire mess and then walking away. The bastard better hope he didn’t find the instrument of his power, because he was going to use it to blow the top off Mac’s mountain and then his own and cave them into that damned fiord. Duncan gave one last glance around as he sped up the mirror-calm waterway past the pit, then looked down at Peg cradled against his chest. Christ, she appeared so damned vulnerable, he wanted to roar for what he was doing to her.

  She’d dressed up tonight—more for him than for the meeting, he was afraid. He really wished she hadn’t, though; she needed rugged clothing for their little … adventure. He snorted, wondering if she’d see it as something magical or a short vacation in hell.

  He had clothes for her in the backpack he’d stashed in the front of the boat this afternoon when he’d rented it off Ezra. A bigger boat this time, and faster. He’d packed two outfits for Peg because he didn’t know if they’d be gone a day or a week, but he’d purchased them at a store in Turtleback so Ezra wouldn’t get suspicious of his shopping for women’s clothes. He leaned forward to glance down at her feet, hoping he’d bought the correct size boots. He was thankful he’d thought of them at the last minute, seeing how she was wearing shoes with a slight heel.

  She was going to kill him when she woke up, then probably tie a rock around his neck and deep-six him just like she had her van. Hell, he was tempted to save her the trouble and jump in t
he water right now and hope the whale swallowed him whole. Surely Peg was capable of driving the boat back all by herself.

  Duncan broke into a cold sweat as he pictured her crawling into that cramped cave—out of his sight, knowing he couldn’t get to her if something happened.

  Oh yeah, he had already damned himself to hell, but did he really have to take her with him? He had, in fact, decided not to when she’d handed over the keys to her truck and climbed in without so much as a scowl. And his decision had been reinforced when she’d gotten all sassy about letting him build her new house. But then they’d been ambushed and Duncan had realized Peg was the target, and he’d known deep in his gut that he couldn’t keep her safe without the magic. But to get it before all hell broke loose, according to Mac, he needed her less broad shoulders and smaller hands.

  Dubois and Jenkins were loggers as well as what passed for local hoodlums, and if they decided they didn’t want to be arrested, an army of sheriffs wouldn’t be able to find them. Duncan was pretty sure the magic could, though, once he got his hands on it and accepted his calling—whatever in hell his calling was.

  He’d had a long talk with Ian when he’d gone home last weekend, and his nephew had told him that he hadn’t known he’d had a calling, either, until good old Roger de Keage had all but hit him over the head with it. But Ian had assured Duncan that the moment he’d touched the staff Roger had given him, he’d instantly understood the full scope of his power and how to control it.

  Christ, he hoped that’s how it was going to work for him, because he really needed some clarity about what he was doing. He sighed, wondering if Peg might be willing to watch sunsets instead of sunrises from her kitchen window, because he was pretty sure he needed to build their home on the seat of his power.

  Duncan felt her stir and instantly stiffen, obviously so scared that she didn’t dare move even a muscle. He slowed the boat to an idle then shut off the engine, and gently cupped her face to look at him. “I’m sorry for putting ye out like that,” he said as he brushed his fingers over her forehead, hoping she could see his smile in the moonlight. “I’m guessing ye have one hell of a headache, but I thought it would be less traumatic than a rope and gag.”