Over Hexed

by Vicki Lewis Thompson

  ‘‘Sedona,’’ Ambrose said.

  ‘‘That’s in Arizona, isn’t it?’’ Sean had been so sure they were from California, but the wine label had been from Sedona, so apparently he’d been wrong.

  Ambrose nodded. ‘‘Red rock country.’’

  Sean remembered seeing pictures of the place on TV, and he could imagine Dorcas and Ambrose there. ‘‘You didn’t like it?’’

  ‘‘It was fine,’’ Ambrose said.

  But something went wrong there. Sean couldn’t explain why he knew that, but he would have bet all his carpentry tools that Dorcas and Ambrose had been forced to leave. The police chief could do a background check on them, but Sean didn’t want to stir things up, at least not yet.

  He decided to let the subject drop for now. Sabrina was still going nuts trying to get to the packets, so he looped the handles of the plastic bag over his arm so he could untie the ribbon on one packet and give her a little of what was inside.

  The packet was full of brown pea-sized nuggets that looked like granola. ‘‘How much should I give her?’’

  ‘‘Two or three pieces is plenty,’’ Dorcas said. ‘‘You can’t overdose an animal on this, but you might as well not waste it.’’

  Sean crouched down and held out the nuggets. About that time Frankie Avalon started singing his mother’s favorite song, ‘‘Venus.’’ He told himself not to get sentimental about it.

  Purring loudly, Sabrina ate the nuggets before he could blink. Then she rubbed against his hand. He petted her for about five seconds and then she did the strangest thing. He could swear that she was moving her feet in rhythm to the song coming from the basement. She was doing a cha-cha just like the cats in an old cat food commercial. Except this wasn’t trick photography.

  He was about to comment on it when she stopped dancing and hopped up on the purple sofa. After a big yawn, she curled up and closed her eyes.

  Sean glanced at Dorcas. ‘‘Was she dancing the cha-cha?’’

  ‘‘No. Just happy to get a treat.’’

  Ambrose laughed. ‘‘Don’t I wish she could dance. We’d put her on Letterman.’’

  ‘‘Right.’’ He must have imagined it. ‘‘She seems relaxed now.’’ He walked over and sat beside Sabrina. He stroked her fur and her eyes opened a slit before closing again. She looked as if all she wanted to do was sleep.

  ‘‘I guess I’ll try the tranquilizer for the skunks.’’ He stood. ‘‘Thanks.’’

  ‘‘You’re welcome.’’ Dorcas smiled at him. ‘‘Let us know how it turns out.’’

  At the door he turned. ‘‘Isn’t Sedona kind of a woo-woo place?’’

  ‘‘Some people think so,’’ Ambrose said.

  ‘‘I’ll bet somebody there could overnight the herbs to fix me up.’’

  Dorcas shook her head. ‘‘It’s not that simple.’’

  Sean didn’t believe her. He thought it might be that simple if she felt free to contact someone in Sedona. But then they’d know where she was. Dorcas and Ambrose were definitely hiding from something, which meant he wouldn’t be getting any help for his condition, damn it.

  With a sigh, he took his skunk bait and left.

  By five that afternoon, Maggie had to accept the fact that she wouldn’t be contacting the owner of the property until at least the next morning. When Jeremy couldn’t get the computer to work, he’d tried to figure out what was wrong with the office’s electricity, but he’d had no luck there, either. As predicted, the electric company hadn’t shown up, so business was at a standstill for Denise.

  Maggie left Denise and Jeremy to battle with the situation and drove to Madeline and Abe’s house for dinner. The thought of seeing Sean there made her jumpy. It wouldn’t be easy to sit across the table from him and try to act normal when earlier today he’d had his hand inside her panties. She still couldn’t believe she’d allowed that.

  Maybe Abe would be on his rant about canned laughter and she’d be spared the need to make idle conversation. One thing she’d do for sure—return his glasses. She couldn’t have him running into people on account of her.

  She knocked on the front door and Madeline opened it this time. The television was still going full blast in the living room.

  ‘‘I don’t know what I’m going to do with that boy.’’ Madeline ushered her inside.

  Maggie saw Abe parked in front of the TV with his notepad, but she didn’t think Madeline was talking about him. ‘‘Who?’’

  ‘‘Sean! He turned down a home-cooked meal so he can build a cage to trap that family of skunks. I’ve never seen the like!’’

  ‘‘So he’s not coming to dinner?’’ Maggie made the unwelcome discovery that she was disappointed.

  ‘‘No, he’s not, and I’m worried about him.’’ Madeline wiped her hands on her apron, as if needing something to do with them. ‘‘That fender bender today was a shock. Sean drives fast sometimes, but he’s never been careless.’’

  ‘‘It’s my fault.’’

  ‘‘Yours?’’ Madeline glanced at her.

  Maggie took off the black-framed glasses. ‘‘These are Sean’s. Mine got broken, and so he loaned me these. That’s why he sideswiped Mrs. Hoogstraten.’’

  Madeline flushed. ‘‘So his eyes really are going bad? I was hoping it was temporary, like he said.’’

  ‘‘He thought they were getting better today, but I guess not.’’ Maggie remembered Madeline’s theory about why Sean’s vision was deteriorating. ‘‘But I really don’t think . . .’’ What an awkward topic. She wasn’t sure how to proceed.

  Madeline wiped her hands on her apron some more. ‘‘I’ve been too hard on him. I don’t want that boy going blind.’’

  ‘‘He won’t. At least not because of . . .’’ Try as she might, Maggie couldn’t make herself discuss the harmless nature of masturbation with Madeline.

  ‘‘I’d hate to chance it. He needs to find a nice girl and settle down. That would solve everything.’’ Madeline gazed at her for a moment. ‘‘Tell you what. Why don’t you take dinner out to him? I’ll give you directions to his place.’’

  ‘‘Madeline, are you trying to fix me up with Sean?’’

  Madeline’s round cheeks turned pink. ‘‘Well, you seem like a really nice girl, and—’’

  ‘‘I’ll only be here a few days. I have a career in Houston.’’ At least she hoped she did. ‘‘If you really want to find a woman for Sean, you’d better look closer to home.’’

  ‘‘He’s not interested in anybody here. If your job is a problem, I could find you one. Joe and Sherry are always looking for more help at the diner. It’s a real good place to work.’’

  ‘‘I’m sure it is.’’ Maggie suppressed a laugh. She didn’t want to insult Madeline’s choice of employment by saying that there was no way she’d be happy waitressing at the Hob Knob. ‘‘But I like the job I have.’’

  ‘‘I don’t think I caught what job that was. Sean didn’t mention it.’’

  Maggie hesitated. But she couldn’t keep it a secret forever, not in a small town like this. ‘‘I’m a location scout for SaveALot.’’

  ‘‘That big discount store?’’ Madeline’s eyes widened. ‘‘Are we getting one in Big Knob?’’

  ‘‘I hope so. It depends on whether I can find the right property.’’

  ‘‘I’ve only been in one of those stores a couple of times, but oh, the bargains!’’

  Maggie was encouraged. At last, someone who was excited about SaveALot moving to town. ‘‘That’s what people like about them,’’ she said.

  ‘‘But if they build one here, why couldn’t you work out of that store? That would solve everything.’’

  ‘‘I, um, no . . . I need to be at the corporate headquarters in Houston.’’

  Madeline smiled. ‘‘Things have been known to change. We won’t worry about that now. Just take Sean’s dinner out to him. I’m sure the poor boy’s not eating right.’’

  ‘‘Okay, I can do that.’’ Maggie
could see there was no point in trying to pry Madeline away from her matchmaking plans, and refusing to take him dinner would make her look mean-spirited. The trip would be harmless enough if she kept up her guard. She’d have a chance to return his glasses and check out the skunk situation, which intrigued her.

  Ten minutes later, she was back in her car with a grocery sack on the seat next to her. Madeline had packed everything in Tupperware. Maggie decided she’d be safe with this meal because there wouldn’t be any wine involved.

  The rain had stopped, leaving the pavement shiny in the beam of her rental car’s headlights. Once she returned Sean’s glasses, she would have some trouble getting back to Madeline’s house, but she’d go slowly. She had to solve this glasses thing, though, or she wouldn’t be able to drive back to the Indianapolis airport. First thing in the morning she’d call her optometrist in Houston and ask him to overnight her a new pair. Tomorrow was Saturday, but the office would be open until noon.

  Following Madeline’s directions, she found the turn-off to Sean’s house. He lived on the outskirts of town, not far from the property she was after. If—no, when—she bought it for SaveALot, Sean would be able to hear the noise of construction.

  Damn it, she had to stop feeling guilty. She was saving him from making a terrible mistake, because that house would bankrupt him if he tried to restore it.

  Sean’s truck was parked in the gravel driveway in front of a one-car garage next to a small bungalow. Maggie stopped behind the truck. Pulling the bag across the console, she got out of the car and immediately heard the whine of a saw coming from the garage. Sean must be working on his trap in there.

  Her footsteps crunching on the gravel, she walked toward the door on the side of the garage, all the while watching out for skunks. She knew enough to realize that startling one would be a bad thing.

  Knocking on the door did no good. Sean was making too much noise with the saw and a nail gun to hear her. Finally she twisted the knob, opened the door and stepped inside. Just to make sure no skunks got in, she closed it behind her right away.

  Sean was so engrossed he didn’t notice that she’d come into the garage, so she had some time to watch him at work. A pair of safety goggles covered what looked like another pair of black glasses. She wondered where he’d picked those up.

  But she was more interested in the way his T-shirt stretched across shoulders that seemed broader than she’d remembered. And his jeans revealed a really nice ass. How had she missed that before?

  Yes, his hair was still messy, but that made sense when a guy was embroiled in a construction project. As he nailed another board in place on the large trap he was building, his muscles flexed under the white cotton T-shirt. The scent of fresh sawdust mingled with the aroma of the hot food she held in the bag, but that wasn’t what made her mouth water.

  Maybe Sean wasn’t the sexiest guy on the planet, but at this very moment, he was the sexiest guy in Big Knob. He was more of a temptation than she’d expected when she’d agreed to drive out here with his dinner. Once again, they were alone in a secluded spot. She would have to watch herself.

  Chapter 14

  Sean smelled meat loaf. At first he thought it was his imagination, wishful thinking considering that he could be sitting down to one of Madeline’s meat loaf dinners right about now. But the scent stayed in the air to the point that he stopped working and turned around.

  Seeing Maggie standing there holding a paper sack startled him so much he dropped his nail gun on his foot. Fortunately it didn’t go off and shoot a nail into his leg.

  ‘‘I’m sorry!’’ She rushed forward, bag and all. ‘‘Are you hurt? I should have called out.’’

  Although he was wearing his work boots with the steel-tipped toes, his foot still smarted, but he wasn’t going to let her know. He picked up the nail gun. ‘‘I’m fine.’’ He liked the way she’d hurried over when she thought he’d been hurt, though.

  An arm’s length away from him, she stopped. ‘‘That’s good.’’

  Once the shock of seeing her had worn off, he realized why she might be here. She’d probably talked with the property’s owner and wanted to give him the bad news in person.

  He took off his safety goggles and laid them on his work bench. ‘‘I’m assuming you’re here to tell me you had a successful afternoon.’’

  ‘‘Unfortunately, I didn’t.’’

  Tension eased from his shoulders. ‘‘Why not?’’

  ‘‘The electricity kept acting up in Denise’s office, and besides that, Jeremy couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her computer. We’ll have to try again in the morning.’’

  Good old Jeremy. Sean would have to call and thank him for doing him that favor after all. ‘‘I can’t say I’m sorry that you didn’t get the information.’’

  ‘‘I’m sure you’re not.’’ She shifted the bag in her arms. ‘‘But I didn’t come to talk about that. I brought dinner. Madeline thought you should eat.’’

  Maybe having a reprieve was affecting his libido, or maybe the smell of meat loaf was an aphrodisiac for him, but he’d never had such an urge to strip a woman naked and make love to her. He realized that she was the first woman he’d ever had standing in his garage. The skunks had worked wonders to keep women from bothering him here.

  He was curious as to why the idea of skunks hadn’t kept Maggie away. ‘‘Weren’t you worried about coming over here, knowing I have skunks living under the house?’’

  ‘‘I probably should be, but I’m a city girl. I’ve had limited experience with skunks.’’

  Just listening to her talk got him hot. It was the damnedest thing, after going all those months not being interested in sex at all. He remembered the way he’d touched her this afternoon and wanted to do that again. . . . But only for starters.

  He wondered if that box of condoms was still in his bathroom cabinet. Sylvia Hepplewaite had thrown the box at him when he’d refused to have sex with her in the cab of his truck. He’d picked up the box from the driveway and kept it, figuring there was no point in pitching it out.

  But now wasn’t the time to be thinking of such things, damn it. He had a skunk trap to build, and he couldn’t expect Maggie to hang around while he finished it. ‘‘I really appreciate the food,’’ he said, ‘‘but I need to get this trap finished and set before I eat. I can take the bag and heat up everything later.’’

  When he stepped forward to take it, she moved back and her cheeks turned pink. ‘‘Madeline sent enough for both of us.’’

  That surprised him, Madeline arranging a cozy meal like that. She must approve of Maggie. ‘‘So you haven’t eaten yet?’’

  ‘‘No, but I—’’

  ‘‘Then let me set you up in the kitchen. You can eat while I finish here.’’

  She shook her head. ‘‘That’s silly. I can wait.’’

  ‘‘Can you?’’ He couldn’t resist teasing her to see how she’d react. ‘‘You know how you get when you’re hungry.’’

  She blushed. ‘‘I’m not starving. I had . . . plenty for lunch.’’

  He thought it was a very good sign that talking about their lunch made her flustered. ‘‘Then let’s put the bag on the work bench and you can take off your coat and help me.’’

  ‘‘I know nothing about building things.’’

  ‘‘That’s okay.’’ He stepped forward to get the bag, and this time she let him take it from her. The transfer involved him touching her, and the connection jacked up his heart rate.

  He set the bag on a clear space on his bench. The food smelled great, but she smelled even better. ‘‘I just need someone to help me hold the chicken wire while I staple it in place.’’

  ‘‘What if I hadn’t come along?’’

  ‘‘I could do it alone, but it’ll be faster with an extra pair of hands.’’ He turned to find she was still wearing her trench coat. ‘‘But you don’t have to help if you don’t want to.’’

  ‘‘I’ll help.’’ She sta
rted unbuttoning her coat.

  He discovered he couldn’t watch her do that without wanting to move in and do it for her. And he wouldn’t stop with the coat, either.

  So he walked over to stand beside his trap, which was framed and ready for the chicken wire. ‘‘I’m later than I wanted to be getting this built. First I had to pick up all the poisoned bait packages Bob left around.’’

  ‘‘I can’t believe someone would deliberately try to kill them. Hasn’t he ever watched Pepe LePeu?’’

  Sean thought of the burly chief of police watching cartoons and had to laugh. ‘‘Probably not. He was doing what he thought was right, I suppose.’’ He glanced over and saw her standing there with her coat, obviously wondering where to put it.

  ‘‘I’ll take that.’’ He reached for the coat, which meant touching her again and getting another jolt that traveled straight to his privates.

  ‘‘Where did you find another pair of glasses?’’

  ‘‘Borrowed them.’’ He didn’t want to think about Dorcas and Ambrose right now. Every time he did think of them, he got mad at himself all over again.

  After laying her coat across a pair of sawhorses next to the bench, he searched through a pile of cotton gloves and found a clean pair. He gave them to her. ‘‘These will be big, but they’ll protect your hands.’’

  She put them on. ‘‘I look like Minnie Mouse.’’

  ‘‘Yeah.’’ He couldn’t help grinning. He’d never known a woman who took so few pains to look sexy yet ended up looking superhot, anyway.

  He’d precut the chicken wire, so he picked up a section and stretched it over one side of the cage. ‘‘If you can hold the two ends, I’ll staple it on.’’

  She pressed her gloved hands down on the wire, but as she leaned over, her glasses started to fall. ‘‘Hold on a minute. I need to take these off.’’

  He put his hand where hers had been and she took off the glasses, tucking the earpiece in the back pocket of her jeans. ‘‘Okay.’’ She put her gloved hand back on the section of wire. ‘‘This is a big trap you’re building.’’