by Bonnie Gill
What crappy luck, River must have been there when she’d called from jail? And Pepper sent him on purpose. Abby thought about giving her friend a verbal lashing when she got to Pepper’s store.
She missed her Kazoo, at least with him she knew he wouldn’t stray. He was her little man. Kazoo and Pepper were the only friends she needed right now.
She pulled into the pet store parking lot. River walked out the front door, his arms loaded down with bags of dog supplies. Hercules followed, carrying a huge white rawhide bone in his mouth like he’d won the title of Best in Show.
“Let me get your car door for you.” Abby opened the car door for River. What are you doing? Don’t encourage him.
River’s eyebrows shot up like a pair of space shuttles. Apparently she wasn’t the only one surprised by her kind gesture. “Thanks. Hey, I know you’re going through some personal things right now, but would you like to go out for coffee or a drink sometime?”
She stared blankly at him for a minute.
Pepper’s head popped out the pet store door. “We’re going to Your Alibi for Thirsty Thursday. Why don’t you meet us there?”
If Pepper weren’t her best friend she would roll her in dog poop and set a million flies loose on her right now. Where the heck did she get off pushing him on her? Friends don’t throw friends in front of a horny testosterone train after they just crashed and sizzled in emotional turmoil. She recovered from her temporary paralysis and shot Pepper her most You’re-going-to-die look.
“Abby, would that be all right?” River tilted his head to the side.
She let out a long breath. Who was she to dictate who could or couldn’t be in a public place? “Sure. It’s fine.” Oh God, she was going to die. The kissing bandit sheriff was going to have a drink with them. That man could sure kiss. She dug her ChapStick out from her pocket and smeared it on her lips.
River stared at her and shifted from foot to foot, grimaced, and adjusted his belt. “I have to run. Hercules needs a bath tonight. See you Thursday.” He jumped in his car and took off.
“Girl, that boy’s got it bad for you.” Pepper dragged out the word girl turning on her southern drawl.
“How can you say that? He couldn’t get away fast enough.”
“Did you see the beast spring alive in his pants when you put on the lip balm? I’ll bet he’s going home to wax the dolphin right now.” Pepper snapped back into the store before Abby could scold her.
She stomped her feet up the steps into the pet store. No way would she let Pepper get away with sending River-the-Gallant to her rescue and then invite him out for drinks with them.
She flung the door open wide. “Hey, we need to have a talk, lady.”
Pepper flashed her a Who-Me? face, and pointed to herself.
“Yes, you. Stop trying to push River on me. Don’t you think I have enough problems?”
“I’m not pushing. But, I think you two would make a lovely couple. Nice black eye. How was jail?”
“Humiliating, and you made it even worse by sending River.”
“I couldn’t leave. I had customers. What happened?” Pepper’s lips wavered. She could barely contain her smile, and that confirmed Abby’s suspicions.
She ran through everything that happened, including the embarrassing events in River’s car. Then she added the part about the kiss.
Pepper looked up from counting the dollar bills in the register. “He kissed you?”
“Yeah. He was just trying to get me to talk. So it doesn’t count.”
“No, it still counts. Was he a good kisser?”
“I rather not talk about it.” She’d rather forget about it but couldn’t. His strong velvet lips left her tingling.
“So back to the mime. She just attacked you for throwing tampons at her? What a psycho. Burt deserves the bitch.”
“I wanted to smack the white paint off her face. She’s a mean mime. I only got one punch in, but I elbowed her pretty hard in the face.” Mime-hussy got off too easy.
“Good. Because she did a number on your face. I have some ice in the fridge.” She pointed to the back room of the pet shop.
“Thanks. Oh, I got tazered, too. In the back.”
“What? How did that happen?”
“I don’t know. I was talking to the cop one minute and then the next I ran. I know it was pretty stupid.” Abby hobbled past the puppy pens to get some ice. She pressed the cold pack on her face and winced. She turned to the mirror and lowered the ice. Purple and red puffiness spread around her eye and down her cheek. Stupid mime.
Kazoo hopped on his hind legs. She picked him up and cuddled his furry body. He gave her wet doggy kisses on her nose.
“Awe, thank you, Kazoo.” She snuggled his teeny body, his fur tickled her face.
“What are you wearing tomorrow night?” Pepper called out from the other room.
How the heck could she go out in public looking like a poster child for the I Just got the Snot Beat out of Me club?
River kissed me like this. Her stomach fluttered and kinked.
Why should she care? She didn’t need a boyfriend and had no intentions of getting involved with him. She thought about his tender touch when he pulled the few strands of hair from her face, and the short but passionate kiss he gave her. The concern that flared in his eyes when he asked her what had happened. He acted like he cared. It’s his job to care.
“I’m not going,” she yelled back to her friend.
Pepper appeared around the corner and latched her fingers around her wrist. “What? You have to go. I mean—I need to get out and I won’t go without you.”
“Look at my face.” She pointed to her black and blue eye and cheek.
“It’s not that bad. Since when do you care what people think? You’re not going to pick up guys. Right?”
True, but River would be there and for some odd reason she cared what he thought.
Chapter 10
Abby sat on her bed with her computer open on her lap, her arm propped on a pillow next to Kazoo while Pepper searched her closet. She’d lost the better part of two days on a web-hunt for a way to remove the curse. Unfortunately, most of the information posted under genie curses related to video games.
She opened another page and started reading different remedies. “Hey, this one says to throw salt over my shoulder.”
“I’ll go get some.” Pepper ran out of the room and returned with a saltshaker.
Abby sprinkled some granules of salt in her hand and tossed it over her shoulder.
Nothing happened.
Damn. “I don’t think it’s going to work.” She searched a wizard site and some of the spells contained animal sacrifices. She would definitely stay away from those. The next page she discovered held promise. “Hey, do you have a black candle?”
“Nope, but we can pick one up on our way to the bar, if we’re not late.” Pepper rummaged through Abby’s closet. She pulled out a black sleeveless top with sequins and held it up. “This is nice. How about wearing this with that purple skirt over there?” Pepper looked at her waiting for her answer.
“Too fancy.” There were a thousand things she’d rather do tonight. Not enough make-up existed in the world to cover up her shiner. She had hoped it would disappear after a couple days but instead it just changed to a darker marbled purple, green, and brown color.
“You could wear your black pleather jacket and those cute tall boots.” Pepper arranged the skirt, shirt, and jacket on the bed. “Oh, this looks great together. Too bad you’re so small. I would have loved to borrow this outfit.”
Abby looked at the ensemble and had to admit it looked sexy.
Maybe too sexy? Would River kiss her again?
“How about I wear what I have on?” No use encouraging him.
“You’re so bossy. So what are you wearing?” She rose out of bed and her foot caught on the blanket, and the ground sped up to her face. A sharp crack sounded as she hit the floor. Acute pain shot up Abby’s nose.
Pepper rushed by her side. It felt nice to have a friend that cared. “Abby, I need to put you in bubble wrap.”
She would probably suffocate.
She looked up at Pepper. “How bad is it?”
“Your nose is bleeding. I’ll get you a bag of frozen peas.”
Abby pulled a tissue from the box sitting on the nightstand and pressed it to her nostrils. Par for the game that she called life. Would her bad luck ever run out? Dealing with it sucked.
She walked to the mirror hanging above the dresser and pulled back the Kleenex. Her red nose hadn’t started to swell—yet. Damn, if her black eye wasn’t enough.
Pepper rushed into the room flashing a bag of frozen corn in her hands. “I don’t have peas but this should do.” She examined Abby’s nose. “It doesn’t look that bad. Hurry and get dressed it’s getting late.”
River sat in a corner booth of the medium sized bar named Your Alibi, located on the corner of Main St. and Jefferson, in the middle of the small town Haber Cove.
A Rolling Stones song played overhead drowning out all conversations around him. He twirled his beer and checked the time on his cell phone. The ladies were fifteen minutes late. He’d have to leave in a couple hours when Ottar arrived. He kept reminding himself Cryptid hunting was priority number one.
He thought about Mr. Livingston’s description of the Gnome. This assignment may be his most dangerous yet. If the old man truly saw a Gnome, the whole town would be in danger. From what he read, Gnomes were intelligent pint-sized nasties and they usually had an agenda besides their appetite for human brains. They loved treasure and hunted it with relentless tenacity. But what kind of treasure did New Jersey hold? And most important, where did the Gnome come from?
River looked up from his massacred beer label when Abby walked in. The sight of her mesmerized him. He couldn’t shake the attraction he was feeling for her or the amazing kiss they shared.
Her brown curls flowed and bounced with each step catching his eye. The purple and green shiner beamed against her pale skin. She didn’t even try to cover it up. Hell, the little spunky monkey wore it like a badge of courage. Or, maybe she didn’t care. Either way, Abby jutted her chin high and looked gorgeous without a hardly a speck of make-up on. Fine with him, he hated the look when women wore gobs of the stuff.
Her mini skirt and black boots hugged the curve of her sexy firm legs. Abby wasn’t tall but she had long legs for her height, and the image of her wrapping them around his waist nearly decked him. His grip tightened around the longneck beer bottle in his hand. The black leather-like jacket and sparkling top, added to her allure.
Abby looked like a complete package of sexy, and his shaft twitched with the need to sample her goods. He shifted in his seat.
When the women approached the table, he noticed Abby’s nose appeared puffier than yesterday.
“What happened to your nose?” He couldn’t help the less than ideal greeting.
“Well, hello to you, too,” Pepper said.
“I’m sorry. Hello, Pepper. Abby?” He nodded. The woman needed to be watched at all times. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” Abby shoved her hands in her jacket pockets and looked around the bar.
“You look great tonight. You too, Pepper.” Although if asked right now, he wouldn’t be able to say if Pepper wore jeans or a prom dress, nor did he care.
Abby scooted onto the seat and slid around the table of the curved booth until she sat next to him. Pepper sat on the edge and nudged Abby to slide over. He grabbed Abby’s small hand and pulled her close enough so that her thigh brushed against his.
He handed each of them a drink menu. “So what would you ladies like to drink?”
“I’ll have a beer,” Pepper answered.
Abby placed the menu back in the clip on top of the salt-and-pepper holder. “A beer for me, too. Thank you.”
A waitress stopped by the table and River ordered the drinks. He studied Abby’s nose. How did she bump it? She truly had bad luck or was accident prone, maybe both. His protectiveness scratched inside of him. He wanted to shield her from any kind of pain or distress.
Abby moved several times, adjusted in her seat, and tapped her fingers on the table. When the drinks arrived, she took a long drink from her beer almost draining half of the bottle.
“How’s Hercules doing?” Pepper asked.
“Good. He’s a great dog. I had to put him in the jail cell tonight because when I leave him alone he chews on the desk.”
Abby flinched. “You put the dog in jail?”
“I didn’t want him to get into something dangerous. I don’t think wood is good for his digestive system.”
“That’s probably why his owners got rid of him. Actually, putting him in jail was a good idea. Dogs love the security of caves. You should get a crate for him.” Pepper picked up her drink and rose from her seat. “I have some mingling to do. I’ll be back in a few.” She sauntered over to the less than crowded dance floor.
Abby shifted away from him in her seat, crossed her legs, and then uncrossed them.
River closed the gap again. He didn’t want to scare her off, but for some reason he needed to close the distance between them. He liked the feel of her thigh next to his. “Did Pepper talk to you about staying out of the woods?”
She looked into his eyes and pulled her jacket closed. “Yeah, she did. But do you honestly think there’s a Jersey Devil and a Gnome terrorizing our woods? Rumor has it Mr. Livingston was drinking that night.”
“I think he saw something, but I don’t know what. One of my colleagues is coming in to check it out with me. He loves a good hunt.” So did River, but she didn’t need to know that right now. She also didn’t need to know that yes, he did believe Mr. Livingston.
Abby’s body stiffened like a stone statue. “Hunt? You’re going to kill whatever animal is out there?” Her voice squeaked when she said animal.
She looked scared out of her mind.
River reached out to touch her hand to comfort her. “I assure you, if there’s a beast or wild animal threatening this town, I’ll find it.” His tone reflected he meant to complete his mission. He didn’t know if the Jersey Devil existed, or if it was deadly, but he was convinced about the Gnome. “I promise, I’ll keep you safe.”
Abby gulped as quietly as possible. Spinning Tasmanian devils twirled around in her stomach. River looked focused, intent, and she knew without a doubt he would catch her if she changed into that darn monster again. Surely he didn’t believe Mr. Livingston’s story. He couldn’t. At least she hoped not.
She looked over to the dance floor where Pepper danced with a guy about a foot shorter than her and wore a comb-over. Pepper heavy metal banged her hair and thrust her fist in the air with her thumb and pinky out. Rocking like a hurricane to the beat of the music, Pepper would be at this most of the night.
River took another drink of his beer. His Adam ’s apple bobbed up and down between his throat muscles.
Damn, even his neck screamed sexy male—please jump me. No way would she give into him. She intended to hold strong, stay on goal and not expose her heart to any more pain. But he tempted her to no end. His eyes turned a deep indigo, and swam with depth to them unlike any she’d encountered.
“So River? How’s business?” Sure it was a stupid question, but she couldn’t think of anything else to ask. Her body tingled with awkwardness.
He leaned toward her, and his mossy forest fragrance mixed with the scent of cle
an laundry floated around her. “It was slow until a few days ago when Mr. Livingston went missing.”
“I’m glad he wasn’t hurt. So hey, how long have you been a sheriff?” She scooted around, but for some reason her butt cheeks couldn’t find a comfortable place on the vinyl bench seat. Nervous energy zinged through her like a pinball ricocheting off of her bones.
“I’ve been a cop for six years. I joined the force after I got out of the army.”
“Thank you.”
“For what?” His head tilted to the side, and confusion skidded across his face.
“For protecting our country.” She lifted her beer bottle up to toast him then took another long drink to quench her dry mouth.
River smiled a glorious smile. The small wrinkles formed at the corners of his eyes intrigued her. She loved the way his nose curved slightly to the side.
“My pleasure. I mainly joined because I was rebelling against my parents. But serving our country taught me a lot.”
A red head with a wasp’s nest hairstyle and enough blue eye shadow on her eyelids to paint a bedroom, interrupted them. “Hi-ya, Sheriff.” How she managed to bat her lids with that much shadow weighing them down baffled Abby.
“Charlotte.” River smiled and gestured at Abby. “This is Abby.”
Charlotte turned to look at her and crinkled her nose. “Hi.” She turned back to River, the side of her boob hanging out of her halter-top.