Touch of Fire

by Michele Callahan

  Kayla closed the trunk and got back in her car. As soon as the engine came on, she checked the clock. It was early. Couple hours until lunch. Plenty of time to drive.

  Chapter Three

  “I’m an idiot.” Six hours later, Kayla rolled down her windows and took her time driving up and down the main street of a tiny town in the middle of Nowhere, New Mexico. The sign on the edge of town said Magic, but there was nothing magical about it.

  Like most small towns, the main street was lined with mom-and-pop small businesses of the usual types—a barber, restaurants, a couple of small grocery stores. The place was obviously some kind of tourist trap. Maybe they were trying to be a new age, mystical place, like Sedona. Except this place was just full-on weird. The dozen restaurants she’d seen all had crazy names, like The Krazy Kettle and The Giant’s Beanstalk. The shops were filled with magical objects and other things she’d expect to find at a sci-fi and fantasy convention. The people were odd as well. She’d seen many different colors of hair, from purple to bright blue, and oddly shaped bodies, as if she were just catching a glimpse of real-life fairy wings, or trolls out of the corner of her eye. Whenever she turned to look, all she saw were normal, everyday people. Obviously, she needed to check her blood sugar or something.

  The whole situation was preposterous.

  If she’d just gotten on that plane with Amber, she’d be hitting the beach about now, strutting her stuff in the tiny pink bikini and sipping on chilled strawberry heaven.

  Instead? She’d spent almost seven hours driving like a bat out of hell down the interstate, and for what? To end up here? In a small town in the middle of nowhere. That was the kind of town she tried to avoid.

  The kind she hated.

  There was probably one veterinarian in the whole county. He was probably seventy years old and made house calls. Anything serious, and these people most likely had to drive to Albuquerque or Santa Fe to find a doctor, let alone a vet.

  Out here? She’d be watching cacti grow as someone brought in the occasional lizard or wild coyote. Not her kind of place. As far as she could tell, Magic, New Mexico, was a typical small town trying to lure in travelers any way they could. She’d lived in a small town like this for a few years growing up, and she had sworn that she’d never go back.

  Giving up the fight to figure out what the heck she was doing here, she pulled into a spot in front of a small restaurant, oddly called The Witches Brew, and went inside to wash up. Her hair was flat on her head, her shirt was glued to her back with sweat and her legs were stiff from the nonstop driving. She’d stopped once to get gas and grab a sandwich, but that was it. The pull to this place was so strong that if she hadn’t needed the gasoline to get here, she probably wouldn’t have stopped at all.

  And what was here?

  With a sigh, she did her best to freshen up in the ladies’ room and then sat down at the counter. She had to squint to read the specials board mounted on the wall. The menu was written in colorful chalk and it took her a moment to adapt to the flowery handwriting. It looked like a calligraphy expert had written the menu, lots of bells and whistles, extra twirls and whorls.

  Weird.

  The waitress working behind the counter had bright pink hair and a glittery white top, but her smile was friendly as she asked Kayla what she wanted. Kayla ordered a glass of iced tea and a chocolate sundae. If she had to be here, wherever the hell here was, she might as well drown her missed-vacation sorrows in chocolate.

  “Here you go, sweetie.”

  “Thanks.” Kayla took a bite and swirled the cool vanilla around on her tongue. Yes, this was good. Really good. It tasted sweet and creamy and homemade. She hadn’t tasted ice cream like this in a long, long time, since old man Bart’s ice cream shop when she was a kid.

  “You aren’t from around here.”

  Kayla jumped as the words came from a woman sitting on the padded stool directly to her left. When had she arrived? It was like she’d appeared out of thin air. And what was with the crazy purple hair? And were her eyes purple? No. That was too weird. Had to be the lighting in this place. Or colored contacts. “No. I’m just passing through.”

  “Umm-hmm.” Miss purple hair tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think so.”

  Kayla nearly choked on her tea. “Really. I’m on a road trip. Headed south.”

  That made the strange woman laugh, and the sound was similar to tinkling bells.

  Tinkling bells? God, Kayla was losing her freaking mind here.

  The woman smiled and held out her hand so Kayla could shake it. “I’m Topper. It’s nice to meet you.”

  “Kayla.”

  “Kayla.” Topper’s smile was friendly and open and Kayla found herself smiling back. “Welcome to Magic, New Mexico, Kayla.”

  “Thank you.” Kayla tried to pull her hand from Topper’s grip, but the other woman’s soft grasp was suddenly stronger than iron.

  “Translate all.”

  “What?”

  Topper smiled and let go of Kayla’s hand as the waitress slid a to-go container across the tall counter. Topper grabbed the box and turned back to Kayla with wide, innocent eyes. “What? Did you say something?”

  Confused, Kayla watched Topper lift her order from the counter and shook her head. “What? Me? No.”

  Topper reached up and patted her on the cheek. “You’ll be fine, dear. Just remember to breathe. You’re in Magic now.”

  With those strange words, Topper hopped down from her stool and waltzed out the door without looking back. Kayla blinked a few times, trying to clear the strange fuzz from her mind, and finished her sundae. The tug on her system that had inspired this trip was gone, evaporated like dew in the sunlight the moment she’d crossed the city limit sign. Gone.

  Had the animal died? Had she been too slow? That thought nearly made her cry, but there was nothing she could do about it now. And worse? She’d missed her vacation for nothing.

  Finished, Kayla paid her bill and stepped out onto the sidewalk. She didn’t want to turn around and drive seven hours to get back home, so she’d better find a hotel or something. There were a few cute shops lining the main street as well that looked like they might have interesting trinkets or collectables she could take home to her friends as an apology for being a freak.

  She’d made it three steps toward the first shop when she saw him—

  A Greek god in the flesh. Six feet of chiseled perfection. His hair was black, his jaw cut, his shoulders massive. He was dressed from all in in black. And the way he moved? Holy shit. It was like watching a living work of art. And he seemed to be headed straight for her.

  She froze in place, her feet felt like they were bolted to the concrete as he closed the distance between them. She stopped breathing as he got close, waiting for the perfect moment to take in as much air as she could, to discover if he wore cologne, or smelled as wild and untamed as he looked.

  She expected him to walk right past her. Instead, he walked to her and came to a sudden stop, facing her but just out of arm’s reach.

  His dark gaze swept over her from head to toe and she felt like she was being inspected for something intense and impossible, like NASA’s astronaut program, or the freaking CIA. What was his problem?

  Taking a step back, she returned the favor. Every inch of him was impressive, from the massive chest beneath a tight black T-shirt, to the biker boots on his feet. His jeans were black as well, and tight enough that her fingers itched to go exploring on their own.

  She raised her eyebrows and waited for him to speak, but he continued to stare, his hands clenching and unclenching at his sides as if he were extremely irritated.

  Kayla quickly scanned the sidewalk to make sure there were others around. She saw the purple-haired woman, Topper, leaning against an old-fashioned light pole across the street. When Topper waved cheerily, Kayla relaxed. At least the big brute couldn’t throw her over his shoulder or attack her in broad daylight. There were witnesses.

&
nbsp; Nervous now, she licked her lips. “Are you okay?”

  “What is your name?”

  “I can call 9-1-1 or something.”

  “You are mine.”

  “Umm…” Okay…so he was crazy. Damn it, anyway. He was so sexy, and big, and strong. He could have been her mini-vacation all on his own. Kind of like one of those summer flings she’d always read about but never had the guts to do herself. “So, 9-1-1 is good?”

  She reached for her back pocket to pull out her cell phone, then cursed under her breath when she came up empty-handed. No phone. No computer. Nothing. Vacation, remember? Shit.

  She took a step back toward the diner. “Okay. I’ll have to call from inside.”

  Every step she took backward, he mirrored her, moving forward, keeping the exact same distance between them. She was about to turn tail and run for her life when a small scream of pain sounded from behind a low stone wall next to The Witches Brew.

  Oh no. Kayla knew that sound. It was an animal in pain.

  The man before her all but forgotten, she turned away from him and rushed to the knee-high wall to peek over it. A beautiful rabbit lay on her side, panting in the grass. The poor little girl was obviously in labor. The rabbit was perfectly white, but her fur glittered as if the soft strands were made of opals.

  The rabbit’s eyes were not a normal shade either, they were a vivid emerald green.

  Purple hair? Green-eyed rabbits? This town was weird.

  But none of that mattered when another shudder raced through the little animal’s body. Kayla leapt over the stone fence and knelt down to pet the beautiful creature. “You’re okay, sweetie. Where’s your owner?” Kayla ignored the giant shadow of a man looming over her as she felt around the rabbit’s neck for a collar. “Do you have tags?”

  The rabbit’s whiskers flickered and her eyes widened. “Owner? Tags? I am a princess, not a pet!”

  Kayla jumped back, lost her balance and landed on her ass in the grass. “What?”

  On the other side of the fence, her new stalker now held open a book and began to read aloud.

  “Let me not to the marriage of true minds

  Admit impediments. Love is not love

  Which alters when it alteration finds,

  Or bends with the remover to remove:

  O no; it is an ever-fixed mark,

  That looks on tempests, and…”

  Kayla looked from the talking rabbit to him. “What the hell are you doing?”

  He looked up from his book, confused. “Reading you a love sonnet.”

  “Why?” The rabbit shuddered again and Kayla crawled on hands and knees to the creature’s side, rubbing the soft coat with a gentle touch to soothe the poor thing.

  “To make you fall in love with me.”

  “What?” The rabbit chose that moment to cry out again and Kayla dropped her gaze from the completely nutty Adonis reading her poetry for no apparent reason, to the oddly beautiful mother giving birth.

  “Get me inside! Quick. Or they’ll fly away!” The rabbit’s green eyes glittered with panicked tears and Kayla felt compelled to help her. There was no time to think about the fact that she was talking to a rabbit with sparkling fur and green eyes. Nope. Not going to think about that.

  “Okay. Okay. I’ve got you.” Kayla gently lifted the large, fluffy bunny into her arms and stepped over the low stone fence back out onto the sidewalk. Her strange admirer helped, holding on to her elbow so she didn’t lose her balance as she navigated the obstacle with her precious bundle.

  She ignored the race of heat she felt at his touch, as if he had a direct link to the lust center in her brain. He was gorgeous, and she was out of her element. That was all.

  Ignoring his effect on her, she looked around for a place to take the bunny. Inside? Where the hell was she going to take this poor rabbit to give birth that was inside? The diner hardly seemed sanitary as a birthing room. She could lay the creature in the backseat of her car, but it was too hot, and she didn’t really want the mess in the backseat.

  She looked across the street for Topper, but the mysterious woman seemed to have vanished into thin air.

  Chapter Four

  “Ahhh! Hurry!” The bunny panted, in obvious pain, just like a human mother would, and Kayla realized if she didn’t get the poor thing somewhere fast, she was going to give birth in Kayla’s arms.

  “We have to get her inside.” She looked from the uncommonly beautiful animal to the remarkably handsome man at her side. “Do you know where we can take her?”

  “Yes.” He nodded and the crease between his eyebrows smoothed away. “This way.”

  Trusting her gut instinct that said poetry boy wasn’t a serial killer, she held the laboring mother and followed him to a truck parked at the curb. It was brand new, fire red, and had the logo of the local fire department on the door.

  “You’re a fireman?” Kayla gaped at him as he held open the door for her. That explained a lot. Like his total hotness. Weren’t all firemen sexy as sin? That was the reason they made all those calendars, right? “Are you taking me to your firehouse?”

  “Yes.”

  “How many firemen are in a town this size?” She settled in the seat and he answered her right before he closed the door.

  “A few, but they only need one.” She settled the rabbit in her arms, cradling the poor little thing like she would a newborn infant and sat silently as he drove to a small red stucco building that looked like an old-fashioned Spanish hacienda. She studied his hands as he drove. They looked strong, and sexy, with long fingers and a steady grip. She couldn’t stop envisioning those hands all over her body, handling her as well as he handled this truck. Which made her officially, totally and completely crazy for the day. She was hundreds of miles from home with a talking rabbit in her arms, and she was admiring his hands?

  Shake it off, girl!

  He parked on a long gravel driveway, climbed out of the truck and raced around to open her door. He touched her again as he helped her out of the truck and she really wished he hadn’t as warmth spread through her, making her legs shaky. She looked up into his dark eyes and forgot to breathe.

  He was so gorgeous. Drop-dead gorgeous. Her gaze shifted to his lips and her mind became obsessed with the idea of tasting him. Just one kiss couldn’t hurt, right? She was on vacation.

  “Hey! Princess in labor here! Get me inside! Hurry up!” The rabbit squirmed and Kayla forced her attention away from her sexy fireman to the odd creature in her arms. “Okay. Okay. We’re going.” With a shrug, she looked at her rescuer. Was he staring at her mouth? Did he want to kiss her, too? The thought sent a delicious shiver down her spine. “Lead the way.”

  He nodded briskly and turned on his heel to walk at a steady pace around the side of the house. There, he opened a sliding glass door and she followed him inside to what looked to be a vet’s examination room. A stainless steel exam table was pushed up against the wall. A sink and cabinets took up one corner. The floor was a dark red tile and there were two wooden chairs in the corners for visitors.

  He slid the door closed behind them and Kayla gently settled the rabbit on the table just in time.

  Clapping her hands in excitement, Kayla watched as three tiny baby rabbits were brought into the world. They were messy, and about the size of her thumb. So very small, but adorable. “Oh, look! They’re so cute!”

  Her fireman was leaning over her shoulder, watching with one hand on the edge of the table, caging her in front of him. The heat of his body at Kayla’s back nearly made her lose all good sense and lean back into his arms. She knew, somehow, she just knew he would wrap his strong arms around her and hold her close.

  Maybe, she could even turn in his arms and lift her face for a kiss. Or two. Or twenty…

  “Oh, no! Stop them. Daffodil, you stop that right now! Get back here!” The rabbit’s stern voice drew Kayla’s attention and she turned back to the three new babies with a gasp. Before her lay one tiny bunny baby, barely mo
ving, and two tiny, sparkling baby fairies about the size of her thumb. One was bright yellow from top to bottom, with glittery skin, sweet brown eyes and beautiful sparkling wings about the size of a dragonfly’s. The other was a small boy, but he was a bright green, the same color as his mother’s eyes. He shimmered as well, but more like a wet leaf in sunlight than his sunny, sparkling sister.

  The tiny yellow creature leaped into the air and flew around the ceiling like a high-speed ping-pong ball, bouncing everywhere. Her brother, not wanting to be left out of the fun, was soon following her. Their mother sighed and Kayla tore her gaze from the strange flying fairies to their mother.

  But the rabbit was gone. In its place stood a beautiful white-and-green creature the size of a small doll. Her wings were swirls of white and blue-green, like fire opals. Her eyes were the same emerald green, but they were filled with tears as she leaned over the unmoving form of her third child. The baby rabbit still had not moved.

  “Oh, no. She has no spark.” The fairy leaned over her baby and tugged at the baby’s long, bunny ears. “No spark.” She turned those big green eyes on Kayla. “You’re a witch. Help her. Give her some magic.”

  Kayla shook her head. “I’m not a witch. I’m a veterinarian.”

  The fairy crossed her arms. “Then how do you understand me? And why do you smell like magic?”

  Magic had a smell? And she had it?

  Whatever. Kayla wasn’t a witch, but she did take care of animals, and the baby was obviously in trouble.

  Reaching out with gentle hands, Kayla lifted the tiny, lifeless body into the palm of her hand. She had no idea what to do, but before she could move, a strong male arm wrapped around her waist and another came down over her shoulder. He placed the tip of his index finger over the tiny rabbit’s body and Kayla felt something flow through him into the little rabbit. The baby’s body began to change color, from white to a soft shade of pink to a bright red.

  When the rabbit shifted forms into that of a tiny little girl with chocolate-brown eyes, glittering red skin and gorgeous red-and-silver wings, her mother twirled around with joy and actually floated up off the table a few inches. “Thank you!”