‘‘Hey, you can’t back out now! Your boss will be royally pissed.’’
‘‘Probably.’’ Maggie knew H.G. would fire her, but so what? Last night she’d challenged a dragon in order to keep Sean from getting killed. Why would she turn around and ruin his precious dream this morning?
Sure, losing her job would impact her finances, but that wasn’t nearly as scary as going up against a two-thousand-pound dragon. She’d survive. She wasn’t like her parents. Besides all that, a SaveALot next to a dragon’s lair made no sense at all. She didn’t think H.G. would buy that excuse, though.
Before she lost her nerve, she pulled out her BlackBerry and dialed her boss’s private number.
Even on a Sunday, H.G. answered immediately. His tone was uncompromising. ‘‘Grady, this had better be good.’’
‘‘I’m afraid it’s not, H.G. I don’t have a location for you, after all. I’ve failed again.’’
‘‘After all this secrecy, you’re coming up empty?’’
‘‘Yes, I am.’’
There was a moment of silence. ‘‘Then you give me no choice, Grady. When you come back, clean out your desk.’’ Then the line went dead.
So that was it. She was officially fired. Eventually the reality would set in, but for now, she just felt numb.
‘‘Are you fired?’’ Denise asked.
‘‘Yep.’’
‘‘Oh, I get it,’’ Denise said. ‘‘You have the hots for Sean, and you want to impress him by giving up both your job and the property.’’
‘‘I won’t be around to find out if he’s impressed or not.’’
‘‘You’re leaving?’’ Denise stared at her. ‘‘That makes no sense. Why not stick around and soak up his gratitude?’’
‘‘Because I’m afraid it will be mixed with pity. He knew I’d lose my job over this. I don’t want him to feel guilty, and I don’t want him to feel sorry for me, either.’’
‘‘I hate admitting this, but I think he really likes you. So what if you lost your job? Get one in Big Knob.’’
Maggie shook her head. ‘‘That’s putting way too much pressure on Sean. How do I know if his feelings will last? Didn’t you tell me not to become another notch on his tool belt?’’
‘‘Yeah.’’ Denise sighed. ‘‘But if Sean looked at me the way he looks at you, I’d take that chance.’’
Maggie considered that for all of three seconds. No, too risky. Sean had made no declarations of undying love. Considering his history with women, he might not even know what real commitment looked like.
She probably needed a little space to sort out her feelings, too. If they had something lasting, it would still be there in a few weeks. Plopping her unemployed self in his lap right now would be a terrible mistake.
‘‘Well, I choose not to take that chance,’’ she said. ‘‘I’m flying home and updating my resume.’’
She intended to find a new job. If they met again, and she hoped someday they might, she wouldn’t be some pathetic person with no prospects. Standing on her own two feet financially was important to her, especially after being raised by such luckless parents.
‘‘I hope you know what you’re doing,’’ Denise said.
‘‘I do.’’ Maggie stepped out of the car. ‘‘And you have a buyer, so you won’t lose a commission. Thanks for all your help, Denise.’’ As she started to close the car door, a white Cadillac pulled up behind Denise’s car.
‘‘You’d better be damned sure you want to blow this chance.’’ Denise set her coffee cup back in the cardboard tray and opened her door. ‘‘I think that’s Pierpont. And Sean is nowhere to be seen. You have the inside track.’’
Maggie was surprised Sean wasn’t here yet, but something must have come up. She walked back to the Cadillac as an elderly man with thinning white hair unfolded his thin frame from the driver’s seat of the Caddy.
She held out her hand. ‘‘Mr. Pierpont?’’
‘‘That’s me.’’ He wore a black wool overcoat with a plaid scarf wrapped around his neck. ‘‘Couldn’t find the exit off of Highway Sixty-eight. Had to double back and try again. Finally I saw it, but I swear it wasn’t there the first time. Craziest thing.’’ He took off his leather glove to shake her hand. ‘‘You must be the buyer.’’
‘‘I’m Maggie Grady.’’ She gestured toward Denise. ‘‘And this is my real estate agent, Denise Woolrich.’’
‘‘Pleased to meet you both.’’ He shook Denise’s hand, too. Then he glanced up at the old Victorian. ‘‘Bought this place years ago at auction. Planned to turn it into a house of ill repute.’’ He chuckled. ‘‘Formed the corporation and everything, but I couldn’t figure out how to get away with it.’’
‘‘Lucky for us.’’ Denise glanced at Maggie and rolled her eyes.
‘‘But not so lucky for the male population of Big Knob,’’ Pierpont said. ‘‘Sometimes a man needs a sure thing. So what are you planning to do with the place, Maggie?’’
‘‘Actually, nothing. I’m no longer interested.’’ She felt a little pang when she said that, but it passed. ‘‘You have a buyer here in town, though, and his name is Sean Madigan. Denise can put you in touch with him.’’
‘‘Maggie.’’ Denise put a hand on her arm. ‘‘This is silly. At least put in a bid.’’
‘‘Can’t.’’ She glanced at the house and could swear she saw the glitter of a Christmas tree in the window. ‘‘This house belongs to Sean. If you’ll excuse me, I have to be going.’’
Chapter 28
Dorcas threw some freshly ground herbs in the pot bubbling on the stove. Then she glanced over at Sabrina perched on the kitchen windowsill. Sabrina had tensed and was staring out toward the lake, where the wind was whipping up whitecaps.
Crossing to the window, Dorcas scratched behind Sabrina’s ears. ‘‘See something out there, little girl?’’
Sabrina’s ears twitched as she concentrated on the lake. Then her tail began to whip back and forth and a low growl rumbled in her chest.
As she stroked Sabrina’s soft fur, Dorcas studied the frothy surface of the lake and the wintry shoreline, hoping for a glimpse of what the cat had seen. Was that something dark rising above the surface of the water? Then it disappeared. A moment later she saw it again, three humps looking as if dolphins were swimming across the lake, except that would be impossible.
Then a head emerged, lifting a good ten feet from the surface of the lake. It swiveled to either side like a periscope before sliding back under the waves. Uh-oh.
She turned at the sound of the front door opening.
‘‘Dorcas!’’ Ambrose sounded upset.
‘‘I’m back here. And lower your voice. You’re upsettingSabrina.’’ The strange creature in the water was upsetting Sabrina far more than Ambrose, but Dorcas was always looking for an excuse to keep Ambrose from bellowing inside the house.
Her husband appeared in the kitchen doorway, his hair windblown from a ride on the scooter. ‘‘Maggie’s gone back to Houston.’’
‘‘I know.’’
‘‘How do you know?’’
Dorcas crossed to the stove and stirred her brew. ‘‘While you were out putt-putting around on that scooter, I did a quick bit of scrying to check on the property situation. Maggie left so Sean would buy it, which he wouldn’t have if she’d stuck around, because he intended to let her have it to save her job. Everything’s hunky-dory.’’
‘‘It most certainly is not. For one thing, she left before we could give her a memory potion.’’
‘‘Come on.’’ Dorcas sniffed the brew before tossing in a sliced mushroom. ‘‘Do you honestly think she’ll be telling people she met a witch and wizard, let alone that there’s a dragon living in the woods?’’
Ambrose unzipped his black leather motorcycle jacket, something he’d bought because he thought the scooter demanded it. ‘‘I suppose not. But that’s the smaller issue, anyway. The bigger problem is Sean. How can he marry her if she’s in Ho
uston?’’
‘‘Simple. We’ll invite her for a visit in a little while, after she’s had time to miss him.’’ She stirred her mixture again. ‘‘I assume Sean is back to his old hunky self?’’
‘‘Yeah, he looks great, but he’s so depressed that the women are leaving him alone. The angst must be nullifying his pheromones.’’ Ambrose took off his jacket and hung it over a kitchen chair.
‘‘Some time apart is not a terrible thing. It’ll make them both appreciate what they’ve found.’’ She turned down the heat and left the brew to simmer while she cleaned up her utensils.
‘‘What makes you think Maggie will come back?’’
Dorcas ran warm water in the sink and added some soap. ‘‘She wanted to see my wand, the cauldron and the broom. I promised to show them to her.’’
Ambrose gasped. ‘‘You can’t go around doing that sort of thing, Dorcas. We have enough damage control to take care of as it is.’’
‘‘I can if I show her the equipment before dinner and serve her the memory potion as part of the soup course.’’
‘‘Serving anyone your memory potion is risky.’’
‘‘Life is risky, Ambrose.’’ She carefully washed her favorite knife. ‘‘Did you check on George?’’
‘‘Everything seems quiet in the forest, knock on wood.’’ He rapped on the kitchen counter. ‘‘Knowing George, though, he’s not going to turn gold in a month. I’ll be surprised if he manages it in six.’’
‘‘That may be just as well. It seems we have a new problem.’’
‘‘Did Sean blab about the dragon? Or worse yet, about us?’’
‘‘No, I’m sure he didn’t. He’s been too busy dealing with the emotional pain of discovering that Maggie left without saying good-bye. We’ll get him over here in the next couple of days and serve him my memory potion. As you can see, I’m making up a new batch.’’
Ambrose eyed the bubbling pot. ‘‘Don’t forget the Amanita muscaria mushrooms. I remember the time you forgot those. It was a disaster.’’
‘‘I wouldn’t say that. Those two people were only unconscious for eight hours.’’ But she went back to the cupboard, took out the jar of diced mushrooms and sprinkled in about a teaspoon. Something about that ingredient made her forget to put it in, which was sort of funny, since it was a potion to erase memory.
‘‘They were loopy for another five, but never mind. What’s our other problem?’’
‘‘Take a look out the window. I think the wind stirred up the lake and . . . one of its inhabitants.’’
Ambrose walked over and peered through the window while he absently stroked Sabrina. ‘‘I don’t see any—oh, dear Zeus! Is that what I think it is?’’
‘‘I’m afraid so.’’
He turned to her. ‘‘Look, we were assigned to take care of George. Nobody said anything about some dinosaur wannabe cruising around in the lake.’’
‘‘I think it’s a lake monster, like they have in Loch Ness.’’
‘‘Whatever! It’s not our responsibility.’’
‘‘I think it might be, Ambrose. I’m guessing that it’s been hiding down there, maybe for a long time, and the vibes from us doing magic caught its attention.’’
Ambrose stared out the window. ‘‘There’s a cold front moving in. Maybe the lake will freeze over and trap it for a few months.’’
‘‘And if the lake doesn’t freeze over?’’
‘‘Let someone else worry about it.’’
Dorcas folded her arms. ‘‘What happened to those four special words embroidered in the cross-stitch over our bed: With Harm to None?’’
‘‘I’m not going to harm anyone. I can’t vouch for that thing. But it’s not my problem. Once George is covered in golden scales, we’re outta here.’’
‘‘And in the meantime?’’
‘‘I plan to ignore it.’’
‘‘Then you’d better hope the lake freezes over real soon.’’
The smell of paint was making Sean dizzy, so he decided to open the balcony doors for a few minutes and air the place out. That’s when he realized it was snowing. He stood on the balcony and watched it come down from the twilight sky—big, fat flakes that were already sticking to the trees. By tomorrow morning Big Knob would look like a fairyland.
The timing wasn’t exactly right. Christmas was still two days away, but from the looks of this snow, it wouldn’t melt in two days. Big Knob would have its white Christmas. He didn’t really care, but the rest of the town would be happy about it.
Funny how he had exactly what he’d been longing for all these years and yet he felt so empty. He hoped the empty feeling would let up eventually, but Maggie had been gone for a month and he still ached for her. Once he realized she’d left town, he’d tried calling her cell phone but she hadn’t answered.
He’d even tried calling her at the SaveALot headquarters in Houston, only to find out she no longer worked there. He wasn’t surprised about that. She’d shot herself in the foot, for some unknown reason. By leaving town she’d made it obvious that she wasn’t interested in either the property or him.
He was left to relive the moments he’d spent with her, and he had perfect recall except for that last night in the Whispering Forest. He remembered meeting her there and having great sex while it was still light. But by the time they’d driven away in her car, it had been pitch-dark, which left a gap of time unaccounted for. Strange.
A gust of wind blew snow under the balcony roof, hitting him in the face. He decided to go back in and finish the west wall before going to bed. As he started to pick up the roller, the doorbell chimed.
Expecting Maggie every time that happened was dumb, but he did it, anyway. Walking to the front window, he looked down and saw Jeremy’s Subaru parked there. Sean had told Jeremy to stop by sometime and see how the house was coming along, so he must have picked tonight.
Sean headed downstairs and opened the front door. ‘‘Hey, what’s up?’’
‘‘Not much.’’ Jeremy walked in. ‘‘I like the tree in the parlor window. Nice touch.’’
‘‘Yeah, well, it’s Christmas. I don’t have any furniture in there, but a tree seemed like a good idea. Want a beer?’’
‘‘Sure, but you’re painting.’’
‘‘I can paint and drink.’’
Jeremy laughed and took off his jacket. ‘‘All right.’’
After getting them each a beer, Sean gave Jeremy a quick tour of the work he’d done so far in the kitchen and the downstairs bathroom.
‘‘Looks great,’’ Jeremy said. ‘‘So what are you painting?’’
‘‘The master bedroom.’’ And he didn’t get much company these days, so he might as well relax and enjoy it. ‘‘You know what? I’m going to quit for the night. Let me close up shop and we can nuke a frozen pizza or something.’’
‘‘Sounds good.’’ Jeremy followed him up the stairs. ‘‘I’m impressed with how the place looks already. You do good work.’’
‘‘I should hope to hell. It’s how I make my living.’’ Sean walked into the master bedroom and set his beer on the floor while he took care of his brushes and paint roller.
‘‘I heard some news about Annie and Zach today,’’ Jeremy said.
‘‘What’s that?’’ Sean glanced up. Back in high school he’d always thought Jeremy had a crush on Annie, but she’d ended up marrying Zach, a jock who was also her high school sweetheart. They lived in Chicago.
‘‘They’re divorced.’’
‘‘No kidding?’’ Sean put the lid on the paint can. ‘‘That’s too bad.’’
‘‘Yeah.’’ Jeremy didn’t sound broken up about it.
‘‘Any kids?’’
‘‘Nope.’’
Sean picked up his beer and wiped his sleeve over the damp spot on the hardwood floor. ‘‘I always thought you kind of liked her.’’
‘‘What’s not to like? Everybody liked her. That’s why she was voted Dairy Festival Queen.
But that was a long time ago.’’
Taking a sip of his beer, Sean gazed at his friend. ‘‘Maybe you should take a drive to Chicago and look her up.’’
‘‘Nah. She was never interested in me.’’
‘‘That was then.’’ Listen to him, giving advice to the lovelorn, when his own love life had completely imploded.
‘‘She has her big-city life in Chicago,’’ Jeremy said. ‘‘I can’t believe she’d ever move back here, and I’m just not a big-city type of guy.’’
Sean nodded. ‘‘I hear you.’’ Sean had debated that issue long and hard, too. In the end, he couldn’t picture himself relocating to Houston, and that was even if Maggie had asked, which she hadn’t.
‘‘Enough of that depressing subject.’’ Sean started out of the room. ‘‘Let’s grab some pizza and see what’s happening with the Bears game.’’
Maggie pulled into the driveway behind a Subaru hatchback that she thought belonged to Jeremy. So Sean had company. Well, that might be a good thing. Having Jeremy around would stave off any awkward silences.
The tree in the parlor window brought a lump to her throat. He was settling in, exactly as she’d hoped he would once she got out of his way. She still didn’t know what had kept him from showing up to meet Pierpont on that Sunday morning a month ago, but everything had happened for the best in the end.
Far better that he hadn’t been around when she’d decided not to buy the property. He knew very well that would affect her career, and the last thing she’d wanted from him was pity. Now that she had a new job, they could meet as equals, as friends.
Maybe she’d tell him that she’d been right about the mole in the SaveALot corporation. Quite a scandal had erupted in the Houston papers when H.G. had publicly fired his son, and his son had filed a law-suit against his father. All the dirty laundry had come spilling out. It would be good to be able to talk openly about that with Sean. She’d been so paranoid before.
She was also dying to know what had happened with George. She’d almost convinced herself that she’d dreamed that, but then last week Dorcas had called to invite her to come and check out her witch paraphernalia.
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