She nodded. “I figured it couldn’t hurt.”
“Didn’t you stop to think that maybe, just maybe, it would be a good idea to ask the people around you who are more familiar with the laws of magic before doing something like that?”
Hurt flickered in her eyes and she stood. “I will in the future.”
He stood as well, and raised his voice. “Your future depends on the creature not being able to catch your scent trail. You’re putting yourself and an entire town in danger with your thoughtless actions.”
She stormed out of the room as Walter came back in. He looked back over his shoulder, watching her leave. “What did you say to her?”
Larry ran his hand over his forehead. “She put a spell of protection on herself last night, thereby negating Triani’s potion.”
“Triani said she’d come over in an hour with more potion.”
“Good.” Shaking his head, Larry curled his lip and said, “Women.”
His phone rang. A quick glance at caller ID revealed that it was Samuel again. “The creature is definitely headed toward town,” Samuel said, cutting straight to the point.
“That’s because Triani’s potion is no longer active.”
The sheriff swore, then said, “I’ll call Ty and ask him to fly over to Walter’s to help protect Joan.”
Hurt and angry, Joan went into Walter’s back yard seeking peace and quiet. Even in the July heat, the trees kept the shaded areas cooler.
She felt pretty stupid; she hadn’t meant to mess things up. She just wanted to add another layer of protection to herself. She was feeling scared and vulnerable.
How was she supposed to know that the spell would negate the potion she’d had earlier?
She paced the yard, trying to burn through her emotions before she went back in. She did not want to fight with Larry, but that might not matter if he wanted to yell at her again. She wasn’t in the mood.
She felt restless and scared. If the monster was moving closer to town, it could hurt someone and then she’d never forgive herself for her ignorance and stupidity.
Why had she thought she could cast a spell? She didn’t have any magic. Though apparently, you didn’t need any for that particular spell, because if Larry was right, it had worked.
A smell that froze Joan’s limbs wafted toward her. Rotten fish!
She turned — and screamed when she saw the monster coming for her.
The Creature from the Black Lagoon was jumping down from the fence into Walter’s back yard! Adrenaline hit and she turned and ran for the house.
She almost made it before the creature caught her and scooped her up. Eww! She was once again covered with foul-smelling funk as he lifted her over his shoulder and turned toward the fence, apparently ready to take her back to his cave.
She kicked and screamed, “Larry! Walter! Help!”
She wasn’t going to go down without a fight. She’d rather die than go with the monster again!
Even If It Killed Him and His Wolf
AT THE FIRST SCREAM, LARRY was running, with Walter trailing right behind him.
They slammed through the back door out into the yard and the sight before him chilled his blood. The creature had Joan slung over his shoulder and was running for the back fence.
No! He had to rescue her. She was his mate!
The moon overhead was still nearly full and it took him only seconds to shift before he chased the creature in his wolf form.
Walter shifted and loped along beside him.
At the fence, they both grabbed the creature as he started up over it, one on each leg.
If he’d made it over, he would have landed in the neighbor’s yard, and then might make it into town, which would mean they’d need a lot of forgetfulness spells. Thankfully, that didn’t happen. The two wolves grabbed hold and pulled him back into the yard.
The creature turned and snarled at them. Realizing it couldn’t fight and hold Joan at the same time, it set her down. Again, he was surprised by how gently the beast handled her, which just proved their theory that he thought of her as his mate. That thought sickened Larry and enraged his wolf.
They’d barely beaten him off before with three wolves; surely two of them wouldn’t be enough.
But they waded in anyway, darting in and out, nipping, ripping, snarling, being hurled out of the fray and running back in.
Overhead, an earth-shattering roar sounded, causing the three of them to stop and look up. It was an instinctual thing.
The next moment, a large dragon dropped on top of the creature.
Splat!
The fight was over.
Just like that.
The creature snarled and squirmed, but the dragon snapped at him, sending a little spray of fire onto his feet until he lay still.
Larry shifted back. “Nice technique, Ty,” he told the dragon. “The land-on-them-with-your-large-dragon-butt technique is awesome.”
The dragon narrowed its eyes at him, and Larry grinned as he went over to help Joan to her feet. “Are you hurt?”
“No,” she said, wrinkling her nose. “But I stink again.”
He took one whiff of her and stepped back, though not too far. “Yes, you do,” he said. “Greatly.”
He pulled her into his arms anyway and hugged her for a long time.
When he released her, he said, “The danger is over for you now. You’re safe.”
Walter said, “You’re welcome to use the upstairs shower to clean off, Joan, while we complete the capture of the creature.”
“Thank you, Walter. I’d love to do that.”
After she’d washed all of the fish funk off her skin and scrubbed her hair three times and her body twice, Joan climbed out of the shower and toweled off.
As she dressed in clean clothes, she realized that she was now free to return home to St. George if she wanted. The creature who’d been searching for her had been caught.
An incredible relief filled her — and sadness, too. She didn’t want to leave Larry, but he hadn’t made any promises to her. He hadn’t said that he was interested in having a relationship with her, or even getting to know her further.
He was a playboy and he’d kissed her, just like he’d doubtless kissed myriad other women.
She pulled her brush through her hair and looked at her reflection in the mirror.
It was time to go home.
Two hours later, the creature had been captured, had a spell cast on him to incapacitate him, hauled to the Sheriff’s Department, and locked into one of the special cells designed to hold supernatural creatures.
Larry stared at the beast inside the cell and, oddly enough, it looked forlorn.
Samuel said, “What do you think?”
Larry was surprised to realize that he felt badly for the creature. “I think he thought Joan was his mate. I also think we ought to research and see if there are any lady creatures we could line him up with.”
The sheriff nodded. “The witches are back in town, now that everything is settled down.”
“They missed all the fun,” Larry said, smiling.
Samuel caught his eye, making sure the import wasn’t lost on his deputy. “Joan can go home now.”
“I know,” Larry said.
Samuel examined his right-hand man and good friend. “Are you going to ask her to stay?”
“Not if she’s determined to go,” Larry replied, hanging his head.
“Give her a reason to stay, then. Use your words, Deputy Knight.”
Larry snorted. “So who will administer the forgetfulness spell on her?”
Samuel said, “No one, so far anyway. She’s shown remarkable discretion. My gut feeling is that we don’t need to do so. Besides, if she says anything about it, who would believe her?”
“That’s true.”
“Go back to Walter’s, Larry.” Samuel squeezed his shoulder and forced him to look him into the eye. “Give her a reason to stay.”
Larry nodded. “Thanks, Sam.”
As he left the station, he knew he wasn’t going to say anything to Joan. If she wanted to go, he wasn’t going to stand in her way.
Even if it killed him and his wolf to stand down.
Then Go, Idiot
IT HAD BEEN A WEEK since Joan went home.
She didn’t seem to fit into the life that had been perfect for her before. It was almost as if her previous life was a square hole that she used to fit into, only now her edges had been knocked off and she needed a round hole now.
She needed Moonchuckle Bay. She needed magic. She needed Larry.
Even when she was at the library, she spent her days thinking about him and wishing she could be with him.
Wishing he had cared enough for her to ask her to stay.
As she and Natalie watched a movie in her place — one of their favorites — Natalie kept casting sideways glances her way. Finally, she asked, “Are you okay?”
“I miss him,” Joan admitted.
“Then go back and tell him.” Natalie was a true romantic at heart, even though she had yet to meet her true match.
Joan shook her head. “If he didn’t ask me to stay, then I’m not going to grovel at his feet, begging him to want me.”
Natalie frowned at her. “Are you in love with him?”
Joan paused, searching in her heart for her true feelings. Finally, she said, “Yes. I’ve fallen in love with Larry, though I have no idea how, at least in such a short amount of time. I can’t stop thinking about him.”
Natalie sighed. “I’ll drive with you back to Moonchuckle Bay. You can do this.”
But Joan had her doubts. She knew Larry had been a confirmed bachelor who played the field. The kisses that had rocked her world may have meant nothing to him but a moment’s distraction. She refused to beg for a man’s affections, even if that man was Larry. Especially Larry.
If she’d meant something to him, he’d have come after her. But he’d just let her go.
She shook her head. “I just need a little more time to get over him.”
“Go after her,” Samuel pleaded with Larry. “You’re no good to me as distracted as you are.”
“Sorry, boss. I’ll snap out of it.” Larry protested, though he knew he couldn’t. He missed Joan like crazy.
“Don’t snap out of it. Read my lips. Go. After. Her.” Samuel punched him in the shoulder. “Right now. Leave the station, climb in your truck, and drive to St. George. I can’t stand the moping anymore and it’s only been a week. I might have to kill you by next week.”
“I had to let her go,” Larry said.
“Do you want me to call Amber to come read you the riot act? Because she will tell you you’re being a stupid male.”
That stung. “I’m being an honorable male.”
Samuel put an arm around Larry’s shoulder. “As a friend, I’m telling you that if she’s your mate, you need to go find her and ask her to marry you.”
Larry was silent.
“Is she your mate?”
“Yes,” Larry admitted.
“Then go, idiot.” Sam released him. “I don’t want to see you back to work until you’ve made that trip to St. George. Go.”
With his heart feeling lighter already, Larry smiled for the first time in a week. “Okay, boss.”
Behind them, Vera Rose, the dispatcher, huffed. “It’s about time.”
Larry took off at a run.
He was going to tell Joan McCall that he loved her!
Her Knight in Furry Armor
JOAN WAS BREATHING HEAVILY BY the time she and Natalie had jogged three miles. As they approached her apartment, Natalie slowed and pointed toward Joan’s stoop, “Hey, look at that huge dog. That’s kind of scary. How are you going to get into your apartment?”
Joan looked at the porch. Lying there was a large gray dog and her heart raced. That wasn’t a dog — it was a wolf!
Joan smiled. “I’ve been wanting a dog for a while. I think I’m going to keep this one.”
“Can I pet it?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. He needs to get used to people. His previous owner said he didn’t get along well with people.”
“Oh. Okay.” Natalie jogged in place and then said, “See you in the morning.”
As her girlfriend left, Joan walked up toward the porch. Softly, she said, “Larry? Is that you?”
The large dog/wolf raised its head and she’d swear it nodded a yes.
She sat on the steps beside the wolf. Reaching over, she petted him on the neck and stroked her hand down his back.
After a few minutes, she said, “Let’s go inside. I’d like to talk with you.”
As soon as she closed the door behind them, the wolf flashed and disappeared, and Larry stood there.
Larry Knight. Her knight in furry armor.
She wanted to rush into his arms, but she forced herself to stay where she was.
“It’s only taken me a week to learn something about myself,” he told her.
“What’s that?” she asked.
“That I can’t live without you. And I don’t want to try.”
Her heart raced. “I’ve missed you.”
“I love you, Joan McCall. You’re my mate, and I want to ask you to marry me.”
Smiling, she ran into his arms. “I want to say yes.”
And then they kissed, and Joan knew that no amount of crazy magic was going to stand between them.
EPILOGUE
Taken Out of Circulation
JOAN STUDIED THE CHRISTMAS TREE, speculating. “It’s leaning to the right.”
Larry adjusted it. “Better?”
She nodded.
In the five months since he’d proposed, a lot had happened. She’d applied for a job at the Moonchuckle Bay Library and gotten it. She’d sublet her place in St. George and put her furniture in storage until she and Larry had found the perfect house and purchased it.
They’d been married in November, and this was their first Christmas in their new house.
There was a knock on the door and Larry went to answer it while Joan pulled out the new strings of lights they’d purchased. It had been a very long time since she’d had family to celebrate Christmas with, and now she had Larry, who was all the family she needed.
Larry came back in the family room with Samuel and Amber following behind. After everybody said hello, they sat while Joan went in and rounded up some refreshments. When she returned, Samuel said, “I wanted to give you an update on the creature.”
“Nigel is still in custody, right?” she asked, still nervous about what her fate would have been if the monster had taken her again.
“He’s been transported to England. They found a lady creature there who was also looking for a mate, and they both settled comfortably into the black lagoon there. They shouldn’t cause any more trouble. Especially since the lagoon is now electrically fenced.”
Amber said, “I hear you’re doing great things at the library, Joan.”
Joan smiled. “I’m finding it amusing to see what books people check out. There’s a higher-than-normal rate of checkouts for paranormal-related subjects, for some odd reason.”
“Go figure,” Samuel said with a grin.
Joan sat beside Larry and he took her hand.
“So what do you smell like today?” Amber asked with a smile.
Triani had been so disappointed that her potion had failed that Joan had accepted her offer to redo the potion before their wedding three weeks before. It had become a running joke between them all that she smelled like something different each day.
Joan said, “It’s finally worn off, so I just smell like me again, which is a relief.”
After Samuel and Amber left, Larry pulled Joan into his arms. “Mrs. Knight, I’m enjoying married life.”
“There are a lot of women in this town who are really sorry I’ve taken you out of circulation, Mr. Knight.”
“I’m glad you have.” He snuffled her neck. “You smell so go
od.”
She giggled, but moved into him. “What do I smell like?”
“You smell like home.”
~ The Happy Ending ~
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Book Club Questions
1
Would you have known how to pick a lock to escape the cage? Would you have been able to spray bear spray into the creature’s face and run? Or would fear have stopped you?
2
The Librarian from the Black Lagoon Page 5