“Yeah, he’s growing on me.” Wicked shrugged her smile fading. “Guess we both have been dealt with shitty hands, huh?”
Angel glanced away for a second before looking back at her sister. “I’d say yours was shittier.”
“Well, that’s water under the bridge now.” Wicked said in her best dad voice, then wiggled her eyebrows. “How was that?”
“Perfect.” Angel laughed and it felt so right. “I see he’s rubbing off on you too.”
Wicked nodded. “And so are you.”
“Rook?” Angel teased with a smirk.
“Right now, yes, but if he and Bruce come up with more schemes like having Rook crap on anyone’s head, he may end up on my shit list.” Wicked warned. “Roger sent me his dry-cleaning bill for their little stunt at Zelda’s party.”
“He promised me he wouldn’t do that anymore.” Angel frowned, then couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped thinking about seeing that man Roger with bird shit dipping down his face. “Sorry, it’s not funny.” She tried to cover another slip of a laugh.
Wicked didn’t try to cover anything. Instead, she laughed loudly. “It’s hilarious. Me and Roger have a turbulent past. I wouldn’t wish harm on the man, but a little bird shit never hurt anyone, and it made my day.”
“Well, if he gives you any more problems just let Rook know. He is usually spot on with his aim.” Angel grinned, then sighed. “This is nice.”
Wicked nodded. “Yeah, it is. It feels like I’ve missed you forever and didn’t even know you existed. It feels right.”
Once again, the tears pushed at the back of her eyes, she sniffed as she wiped one tear that escaped away. “It is the way it should be.”
“And I’m going to help you with your magic.” Wicked placed a hand on Angel’s arm. “I do understand wanting to do things the normal way, but sometimes magic is the only way. At least for us with the gift. I’m sorry you haven’t had anyone to help you.”
“I do now and that’s all that matters.” Angel responded excitement filling her soul.
“I’ll also talk to Wanda and see if they need any help at the restaurant.” Wicked scrunched her nose something Angel noticed she did when deep in thought. “The bakery isn’t busy enough yet, but I’m sure we can find you something if that’s really what you want. I could always teach you how to do tattoos.”
“If you have a wait list for stick figures, I’m your girl.” Angel chucked. “I don’t have a creative bone in my body.”
“We all have some creativity.” Wicked assured her. “You just haven’t found yours yet, but you will. Now you best get some rest, tomorrow is going to be busy and then tomorrow night we start with lessons.”
“Lessons?” Sometimes Wicked talked and changed directions so fast she lost Angel.
“As in magic lessons.” Wicked explained then stood up giving Angel a tight hug. “Now off to bed with you. I’m going to check on my twins and give my husband some much needed attention. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Angel watched Wicked walk out of the room with a backward wave. “He’s a good man Wicked. You’re very lucky.”
Wicked stopped, turning around her eyes searching. “He is and yes, I am.”
Angel smiled sadly as she watched Wicked disappear. One day she would find her special someone. Thoughts of Zach filled her, but she shook them away. Yeah, she screwed that up somehow since he had failed to call her after the party at Zelda’s. Shrugging thoughts of handsome Zach away she stood wishing it was already morning. She had a feeling sleep wouldn’t be coming for her anytime soon. Her mind was whirling with so many possibilities that suddenly seemed within her reach. Just as suddenly a feeling of doom tried to overshadow her feelings, but she pushed it away.
“Not today.” She said to the empty room. “Nothing is going to bring me down today.”
Chapter 4
Wicked stared down at twins, her heart melting at the cuteness laying so peacefully quiet. She could stare at them all night. She realized just how lucky she really was. Angel was right in that aspect. Wicked quietly backed out of the room and closed the door before heading toward the bedroom.
Thinking of Angel and what they talked about Wicked had noticed an innocence and sadness about her sister that she just couldn’t put her finger on. She had sensed it the first time they met and tonight she knew exactly why. Angel was lonely. Wicked saw the sadness radiating off her when she talked about Thorne and how lucky she was. She had also watched her sister with the twins and how motherly she was with them.
Mumbling to herself her mind raced as she stopped before entering the bedroom. At first Wicked felt that Angel had it so much better than she herself had, but that wasn’t true. Angel had and was still dealing with a lot. Their sick father, searching for a sister, wonky magic with just Rook as a friend. A plan formed in her mind as she opened the door. Thorne was just putting his phone down when she entered.
“I need a man.” Wicked said without thinking as she closed the door behind her.
Thorne’s brows slashed downward as he frowned at her. “You want to explain that before there’s a serious problem.”
“Not for me.” Wicked rolled her eyes. “How many single guys do you know?”
“Why?” Thorne’s expression changed from the edge of anger to caution. Before Wicked could answer understanding cross his face. “No.” He even shook his head.
“Yes.” Wicked nodded hers. “She’s lonely, Thorne.”
“Then spend more time with her. Invite Zelda and some of the women over for tea or whatever, but I am not going to play matchmaker.”
“Tea? Is that what you think me, and Zelda do when we meet up is drink tea?” Wicked snorted giving him a ‘not even close, bud’ look. “Do you even know me?”
Thorne’s eyes moved up and down her body. “I know you very well.”
Even after all this time together and babies, his voice and looks still could melt her on the spot. “I’m being serious.”
“So am I.” Thorne cocked his eyebrow at her. “And I said no.”
“Fine.” Wicked flipped her hair behind her shoulder which she did when aggravated. “I’ll find one myself. I just thought it would be safer for my sister if you had a friend with good morals and was…I don’t know…gentlemanly.”
This time Thorne snorted. “No one I know is good enough for your sister, Wicked. Take my word on that.”
“What about Zach?” Wicked sat on the bed cross legged staring up at him with her determined expression. “He seemed to really like her. He seemed nice and polite.”
“No.” Thorne shook his head.
“Fine.” Wicked huffed with a pout. “She’s never had anyone to help her understand her magic.”
Thorne crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. “Neither did you.”
“I had Bruce.” Wicked countered plucking the cover on their bed.
“As I said, neither did you.” Thorne’s voice had a hint of sarcasm.
“Actually, Bruce helped me out a lot with my magic.” Wicked gave Bruce props. “And all the money my dad made went toward finding me. Angel said she has never owned anything, they always rented. I know that is why this house is so important to her. I also think she picked this dump because of the money situation.”
“And you think a man is going to fix all this for her?” Thorne asked tilting his head really looking at her. “Maybe I don’t know you as well as I thought.”
“And what does that mean?” Wicked asked quickly.
“Never once did you need a man to achieve what you wanted. Before I came along you were already well on your way to living your own life and you had no problems with that. You didn’t need a man to get you where you were.” Thorne pushed away from the wall and knelt in front of her taking her hands in his. “What makes you think your sister is different from you. Maybe she just needs to find her own way before meeting someone.”
“Maybe.” Wicked sighed then shrugged.
“You hate it when I�
��m right, don’t you?” Thorne teased with a sinister grin.
“Despise.” Wicked agreed with a smile as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “But I still love you.”
“And I love you.” Thorne nuzzled her neck.
“But I’m not convinced you’re right.” Wicked bit his earlobe playfully. “Time will tell.”
“It never ends well for the one playing matchmaker, Wicked.” Thorne warned her kissing his way up her neck. “Let her find her own way like you did.”
“She thinks you’re amazing.” Wicked pulled away and looked at him.
“See she has good taste.” He laughed when she wrinkled her nose at him. “Give her time to catch her breath, Wicked. Things will happen for her. Good things. We will make sure of it.”
“You are pretty amazing.” Wicked tilted her head to stare into his beautiful golden eyes.
“Only because you came into my life.” Thorne picked her up and carried her to the bed. “How about I show you just how amazing I can be.”
Before Wicked could open her mouth a cringe worthy cry came over the baby monitor. Both Wicked and Thorne groaned in frustration at the same time.
“You get the bottles and I’ll get the diapers.” Thorne set her down but gave her a hard fast kiss with the promise of what was to come once their parenting duties were over.
Chapter 5
Angel walked around the house making notes as she went. Her father was supposed to come but wasn’t feeling very well so he was going to try to come with Wicked later.
Stopping in the kitchen she leaned against the kitchen sink and looked out the window picturing the garden she wanted to plant in the back yard. The inside of the house only needed paint and some flooring replaced, but other than that it was fine. Angel could work with that. It was the outside that really worried her. The roof definitely needed to be replaced as well as some wooden siding.
With a sigh she pushed away from the sink, then jumped when someone knocked loudly on the door. Glancing at her phone she frowned. It was only eleven-thirty. The handyman wasn’t due to be here until noon.
Stopping by the front door Angel frowned not really knowing what to do. She wasn’t good with strangers. One thing for sure she was going to get a new front door with a window. She didn’t like not knowing who was on the other side. She leaned sideways trying to see out the side window when a louder bang hit against the door. Angel screamed with a jump.
The door busted open flying off its hinges, Angel lost her balance and fell backwards staring in horror at the large man who filled her doorway. She began to backpedal in fear.
“Ma’am.” The man’s voice was deep and rough as he slowly moved forward with his large hand outstretched toward her. He had a scar running diagonally down his cheek. He was dark in completion with midnight hair that hung to his shoulders. “Are you okay?”
“Who are you?” Angel whispered, her voice cracking in fear. “And why did you break my door?”
The man actually grinned as he knelt down. “Because I heard you scream.”
“I screamed because you banged on my door, which I was getting ready to open.” Angel figured he wasn’t going to attack her since he hadn’t done so yet, but she didn’t relax.
“I banged on the door because no one answered my knock.” He countered, his dark eyes scanning over her face. “Are you hurt?”
“I was coming. You didn’t give me enough time to answer.” Angel replied deciding to stand up. Before she could do that on her own, he was grabbing her arm helping her. “Thank you, I’m fine. Can’t say as much for my door though.”
“I’ll make sure your door is fixed.” He glanced at it before looking back at her. “You must be Angel.”
Okay, that surprised her. “Who are you?”
“What in the hell happened?” Thorne’s voice made her jump. Goddess she was a nervous wreck. “Vance what are you doing here? I told you I would send you the money.”
“Just a misunderstanding.” Vance smirked before looking away from her to Thorne. “And I figured I’d save you a stamp. Plans changed and I won’t be leaving the area for another two weeks. I saw Wicked’s car and thought you might be here.”
Thorne looked over at Angel. “You okay?”
Angel nodded, then glanced at the man. “Misunderstanding, just like he said.”
“Vance, this is Angel, Wicked’s sister. She bought the place.” Thorne introduced. “This is Vance Walker. This was his family home.”
“Oh.” Angel’s eyes widened. “You grew up here?”
“Yes, I did. Me, my dad and five brothers after my mom died.” Vance looked over the place. “I figured it was time to sell. It’s been sitting empty for going on six years now.”
“I’ve got Gavan coming over to get an estimate on some repairs Angel wants done.” Thorne said, glancing at his watch. “Which he is late for.”
“Gavan Larkin?” Vance frowned.
“Yeah. He’s done some work for me in the past. Did a good job at a fair price.” Thorne replied. “He needs the money.”
“Last I saw him he was passed out behind Lucky’s bar.” Vance glanced at his watch. “A half an hour ago.”
“Shit.” Thorne cursed, then glanced at Angel. “Let me make a few calls and see if I can find someone else. When in the hell did he go back to drinking?” That last he directed toward Vance.
“He never stopped that I know of. Just hid it better.” Vance replied, then also looked at Angel. “What exactly do you need repairs on?”
Okay that may be a tricky question since this was once his home, that belonged to his family and she was sure he still had some attachment to the place. “Ah, well, the roof is a definite. There are also a few siding boards that need replacing. That’s on the outside. On the inside just paint and I love the old hardwood floors, but they need polished.”
Vance nodded giving her an odd look. “That’s it?”
“For now, yes.” Angel replied, then looked around with a smile. “I like the original feel. It has character and I don’t want to change its character.” Looking back at Vance she saw something in his eyes before it disappeared.
“My mom would have appreciated those words.” Vance gave her a nod. “She loved this house.”
Angel agreed with his mom because she fell in love with it, even in its state of disrepair. “It’s a good house. Good bones.”
“Yes, that it is and yes, it does.” Vance agreed with a chuckle. “I’ll take the job. I have two weeks with nothing to do and I will do it for half the price Gavan was going to charge.”
“You sure?” Thorne gave him a hopeful look. “Not too many people left I can call that can commit right away. Gavan was my last choice for reasons you know. I don’t want any problems, Vance.”
“You won’t get any problems from me.” Vance looked toward Angel. “If you agree, Angel.”
“I agree since you know this house better than anyone else.” She replied, then bit her lip wondering what Thorne meant by not wanting any problems. She would have to remember to ask later. “But can you please give me an estimate so I can make sure I can afford everything I need done. I may have to have a few things wait until after I find a job.”
“You can afford it.” Vance said, then headed toward the door. “I can start first thing in the morning, seven sharp. I have a few things to take care of since my plans have changed.”
Angel nodded, then realized he couldn’t hear her nod. He stopped and turned toward her. “Yes, that’s fine.”
“Good.” Vance smiled. “I’m going to get some tools to fix the door at least good enough until I can get you a new one.”
“Oh, I planned on getting a new door anyway. If you can just fix this one until I can do that I would appreciate it.” Angel replied glancing at the broken door laying in the entryway.
“You pick it out and I buy it. Either that or I take it off what you will owe me.” Vance didn’t wait for a reply as he walked out the doorframe and disappeared.
“You sure you’re okay with Vance?” Thorne asked. “I can personally vouch for him and so would Wicked. He’s a good guy.”
Her heart sped up as her stomach did a weird flip. “Yeah, I’m okay with it.” Vance walked back inside and their eyes met. Goddess she was definitely okay with it.
Chapter 6
Angel stood in the kitchen while Vance worked on the front door. She successfully used her magic to acquire some paint color swatches. She held a pale yellow up against the dull cream-colored wall and smiled. “Perfect.” She grabbed a pen and wrote kitchen on the swatch.
“I need to run to the hardware store to grab a few things.” Vance walked in, then looked at the swatch on the kitchen counter. He glanced at the walls. “That color would look good in here.”
“I thought so.” Angel replied, surprised he would even notice something like that.
“Is there somewhere you need to be. It shouldn’t take but a few minutes.” Vance glanced at his watch. “There’s a store not even a mile from here.”
“No, that’s fine.” Angel looked around. “I have plenty to do here. I appreciate you fixing the door.”
“I’m the one that broke it.” He frowned. “Why wouldn’t I fix it?”
“Well, I still appreciate it.” Angel didn’t really know what else to say. She had never been really comfortable around handsome men and this place had plenty of handsome men running around. “Thank you.”
When he remained silent she glanced up at him to see him smiling down at her.
“What?” Angel actually reached up to touch her cheek wondering if she had something on her face. Goddess she was a mess. Did she say something dumb, which was something she normally did around strangers?
“Your name sure does fit you.” He finally said, then walked away. “I won’t be long.”
All she could do was stare after him, noticing how tall he was and the width of his shoulders. He was a huge man. She wondered if he was a shifter like Thorne. Rolling her eyes at herself she turned away when he disappeared out the door. She needed to check herself. The man said he was leaving the area in two weeks. Just her luck.
Charmingly Wicked Page 2