Dark Moon Magic

by Jerri Drennen

  Regina couldn’t look away. She was like a deer in headlights.

  “Bingo,” someone in the room shouted, forcing her to lose eye contact with him.

  She glanced around and saw a gal in a canary-yellow gauzy sundress heading her way, her gaze narrowing on Regina. The woman reached Regina’s table, and a smile appeared—a fake one from what Regina could tell by how tight her lips were drawn.

  “Hello, Garrett.” The brunette plopped down on the other side of her. “You must be our new shop owner.”

  Her smile was definitely not genuine. Regina could tell by the deep lines in the woman’s forehead.

  “Yes, Regina Moon. And you are?”

  “I’m Becky Riverside. My family owns the hardware store in town.”

  Great. Regina was going to have to visit that store in the next few days for supplies, and this was what she’d have to contend with. The woman was trying to hide the fact she didn’t like Regina. Animosity snapped in the air around them, a strange undercurrent that made her uneasy.

  “What do you sell at Healthy Glow? I was going to come by today but didn’t get a chance.”

  If it was anyone else she’d invite her to find out, but Regina hoped to avoid this woman from now on. “A little bit of everything.” She glanced around. Everyone seemed to have stopped to watch their exchange. Talk about feeling as though she were in the spotlight.

  “Garrett, could you check Glenda’s card?” the sheriff asked over the loudspeaker, drawing everyone back to the woman who had called Bingo.

  The deputy jumped up and raced to the winner’s table.

  “I’d better go.” Becky rose from her chair. “That was the last game of the night, and Trace and I have plans.” The woman’s brown eyes glistened, like she had a secret nobody else was privy to.

  Regina watched her walk away. No “nice to meet you.” No “welcome to Groves.” She was going to be in for a mess of trouble with this woman if she didn’t avoid her.

  Sheriff Langston was dating the brunette? Then why had he been looking at Regina with eyes that went beyond mild curiosity? Clearly the man knew he could have anyone he wanted with his earthy, good looks and that over-stimulating voice. See if she’d give him the time of day from now on.

  Not that she had before. When he’d come into the store earlier and had stared at the Griffin she hadn’t realized she’d left out, she knew he’d question its origins, and she wasn’t ready to tell anyone about her religious beliefs. It wasn’t anybody’s business. That was why her attitude with him earlier bordered on rude. All she wanted was to get him to leave. Quickly. Before he had a chance to look around some more and ask those difficult things she wasn’t ready to answer.

  Regina rose and walked to the scarred back table, where a frail, gray-haired lady with a red paper flower pinned to her white blouse gathered all the cards and markers.

  Garrett rushed back. “Come earlier next time. That way you’ll get a chance to win.”

  “Win?”

  “The jackpots. Today’s biggest was one-hundred and forty dollars. The pots depend on how many people play.”

  Regina nodded. “I’ll remember that. Thanks for your help.” Maybe she’d come again and give it a try. Wasn’t like she couldn’t use the money.

  “Would you like to get a cup of coffee?” he asked, his gaze darting around. He couldn’t even look her straight in the face. Maybe he was a virgin.

  “Are you trying to pick up our new resident, Garrett?” the sheriff asked from behind them.

  She swirled around, his alluring spicy scent tickling her nose.

  He gave his deputy a crooked grin.

  Regina swallowed hard. The sheriff of Groves was adorable and sexy as hell with the top three buttons of his shirt open to reveal tanned skin beneath.

  “Did you enjoy yourself?” he asked.

  When she didn’t say anything, he cleared his throat.

  Her attention snapped up, and their gazes connected again. This man had no insecurities. That was obvious by the way he carried himself. Too bad she wasn’t feeling the same right now. “I think I may have come a little too late. Sylvia told me what time Bingo started tonight, but I’m still settling into my new place and lost track of time.”

  “Trace,” Becky called, hurrying to his side. “Can I talk to you?” She glanced at Regina, and the clear resentment in the other woman’s eyes sent a chill creeping over her. Why she had this reaction to her, Regina had no clue.

  Regina rubbed a hand over her bare arm and turned to Garrett. “Let’s go get that coffee.” She knew it’d give him the wrong idea, but she wanted to leave, and that seemed the quickest way to do so.

  Garrett’s eyes widened, and his cheeks flushed. He was plainly surprised she’d said yes, yet took hold of her elbow and led them away from the sheriff and the woman Regina planned to avoid like a bad spell.

  * * *

  His deputy left with the woman Trace hadn’t been able to keep his gaze and thoughts off of since she’d entered the hall, and a strange feeling worked its way over him. He had no idea what the reaction was. But he knew he didn’t like it.

  “Did you see what she was wearing?” Becky asked from beside him.

  He had. A form-fitting black dress, which outlined the curves of her body, and even from his vantage several feet away, he could tell she wasn’t wearing a bra. That alone had stirred a part of his anatomy which hadn’t seen much action lately. Not that he hadn’t had offers. It just wasn’t safe to accept any. Sex was serious for women and led them to think commitment, and no way was he giving any woman that idea. Marriage was not for him. He’d found that out the hard way from his ex-wife, Brianne.

  Cheating…

  Every time he had been called to a crime scene when he’d worked homicide in Chicago, another man had been called to her bed—their bed.

  Eight years had passed since then, and her infidelity still stung. Yet, finding out about her affairs had influenced his decision to leave Chicago for a small town. The city of Groves had been just what he needed to get over the whole divorce mess, and he could now say he no longer missed The Windy City or Brianne. This had become his home, and he liked being sheriff of the tiny Arkansas community. Not to mention being single, though he did have a lady friend a county over he visited from time to time—a woman who wanted nothing more than his company for a few hours. Too bad it’d been over a year since he’d made that trip.

  “Are you listening to me?” Becky interrupted his thoughts.

  “Sorry. I need to get to my rounds, Becky. I’ll see you later.” Trace didn’t care how she reacted to his abruptness. He was in no mood for her clinging tonight. He had too much on his mind, like why Regina Moon had made him forget for a few minutes that women weren’t in the cards for him. Remembering Brianne and her whoring ways brought back why.

  He exited the building and started down the street, glancing in all the alleyways to make sure no one was skulking about where they shouldn’t be, a routine he performed every night before heading home.

  He crossed the street and spotted Garrett in the window of Caulders’ Café. He glanced at his watch. Quarter to ten. They’d be closing soon.

  The closer he got to the building, the tenser he became. Was Ms. Moon with Garrett, or had she used his deputy as an excuse to get away from him? No way could the woman have run any faster out of that hall. Not to mention her rudeness earlier in the day with him.

  Did she have something to hide?

  As he neared the door to the café, an overwhelming need to go inside assailed him.

  No!

  He had rounds to finish, then he needed to go home and get some rest.

  But would he be able to sleep when all he could think about was Regina Moon’s pert nipples pressed against that black dress? One lucky, little black dress. His palms itched to be that lucky. Too bad he’d never get the chance to find out if her breasts were as lush as they appeared—not when feeling up a woman led to sex, and that was completely out of the q
uestion with any woman from Groves—new or not.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Reluctantly, Regina walked into Groves Hardware and glanced around the store. The place was small and cluttered, exactly what she would’ve pictured for a town this size.

  She prayed Becky wasn’t working today. She couldn’t handle another round of uneasiness she’d been left with two nights before—a strange sensation that seemed to hover ominously over her. She’d think the woman was some kind of witch if they weren’t in Arkansas.

  Then again, maybe this was the perfect place for one to hide.

  That’s why she’d moved here, to lay low. Though her relocation had nothing to do with her Wiccan beliefs.

  Hopefully Rod wouldn’t find her, since restraining orders didn’t mean crap to him. He was too crazy to care if he stayed within a hundred feet of her or not. They’d broken up over a year ago, and he still thought they could work things out.

  Like she could forget he’d tried to strangle the life out of her.

  “Can I help you?” a gray-haired hulk of a man, wearing a pair of stripped overalls asked as he walked to her, a slight hint of a yellowish-green aura surrounding him.

  Regina studied the man’s face for a second or two, noting the haggard lines around amber eyes that looked friendly enough. “Yes. I need some wall paint and brushes.”

  “Any particular color?” He started toward the back.

  Regina followed. “Something green. Sage maybe.”

  The man walked behind a long counter against the far wall, where an old hand-crank cash register sat. He reached underneath and pulled out a color fan. He pointed to a soft green Regina liked right away. She could feel the serenity of the shade enveloping her. “I like that. I think a gallon should be enough. I also need a beige.”

  “Like this?” He pointed at a shade that wasn’t too light, but more of a darker tan.

  “Perfect. I’ll need a roller with a long handle, some brushes, a paint pan, tape, and a drop cloth.” Regina listed her needs aloud.

  He smiled politely and strolled down an aisle to gather the supplies, leaving her to glance around the shop.

  Above the counter was a photograph of the guy helping her, an older woman with a lovely smile, and Becky. This man must be her father. Regina didn’t get a strange vibe from him, but then, maybe she’d imagined Becky Riverside’s hatred. Perhaps she’d only felt threatened by her. After all, Regina had been talking to her man. Jealousy might’ve been at the heart of it all, and if that was the case, Becky had no reason to worry. Regina had zero interest in Trace Langston beyond the fact he was nice to look at. She’d learned her lesson with Rod. No more men. Ever. They were too controlling and didn’t want to let go when the relationship ended.

  “Okay. Do you need anything else?” he asked as he toted an armful of supplies to the counter and dumped them on top.

  Regina looked over the items. “I think that’s it.”

  He nodded. “I’ll ring this up for you and carry it to your vehicle.”

  “I didn’t bring my car. I’m just down the block.”

  One of his eyebrows shot up. “Are you our new business owner?”

  “Yes. Regina Moon.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Becky told me she talked to you the other night at Bingo.”

  “Yes.”

  “Welcome to our community.”

  Regina smiled again. “Thank you.”

  He rang up her purchases and bagged everything but the paint. “That’ll be eighty-six dollars and twenty-three cents. Do you need this right away?

  “No. I plan to paint after I close up shop for the day.” She handed him five twenties.

  He gave her the change. “Okay, then, I’ll deliver these around five-thirty.”

  “You don’t have to do that.”

  He raised a hand to shrug off her resistance. “I insist. So, I’ll see you later.”

  “All right. If you’re sure?”

  “Have a good day.”

  “You, too.” She headed for the door. The elder Riverside seemed nothing like his daughter. He was kind and thoughtful. Regina didn’t sense either of those qualities in Becky.

  She left the hardware store and started across the street toward her shop. She’d closed for lunch, and needed to get back. Not that business had been booming. She’d barely made enough that morning to pay for the electricity, let alone the rent. Hopefully things would pick up over the weekend. Thank heavens her Internet sales had been steady. That helped to offset her slow opening week.

  Regina stepped onto the sidewalk and turned, catching a glimpse of the sheriff walking her way. If talking to him upset Becky Riverside, she intended to avoid him. She didn’t need an enemy. Not when she had a new business to get up and running.

  She unlocked the door, walked inside, and flipped the sign to OPEN. When she’d reached the counter to put her purse away, the doorbell jingled. She looked up, and her heart stopped. Curses. He’d followed her.

  “Can I help you, Sheriff?” Why couldn’t he just stay away?

  “I wanted to warn you before you stepped out your side door not to freak out.”

  Regina stared at him, confused. “Why? What’s going on?”

  “There are a bunch of dead birds there. I called someone to take care of them, but he might be a while.”

  “Dead birds. What happened?” Did something hazardous cause their deaths? Was she in danger of being exposed?

  “I don’t know,” the sheriff said, drawing her attention back to him. “But one of your neighbors spotted them about an hour ago.”

  “And you have no idea what killed them?”

  “No, but we’ll send a few off to the lab to see if the Centers of Disease Control can tell us.”

  “What kind of birds were they?”

  He rubbed at his clean-shaven jaw. “Ravens.”

  Regina’s heartbeat took off at breakneck speed. The bird symbolized travel between life and death in Wiccan belief. Finding dead ravens in her path wasn’t a good sign and a cause for concern, unless it’d been something environmental that killed them. In her gut Regina didn’t think that was the case. She sensed it was something more sinister, and she’d need to pay close attention to everything from now on.

  * * *

  Trace noticed how nervous Regina became when she learned the dead birds were ravens. Why should it matter what kind they were?

  “Thanks for letting me know.” She bit her bottom lip. A plump and downright kissable bottom lip. Regina Moon did crazy things to Trace, and in this instance, that wasn’t good.

  “Okay, so I’ll let you know when they’re all removed.”

  “I’d appreciate that. Thanks, Sheriff.”

  He inhaled a breath and took off for the door. Since his attraction for her was clearly undeniable, Trace needed to keep his distance from Ms. Moon. Unless he wanted to go completely against his mantra of not dating any woman from Groves.

  As he rounded the side of the building, he ran into Keith Walsh, the man he’d called to dispose of the birds.

  “So, how many and what do you think killed them?” Trace asked, looking over Keith’s shoulder at what appeared to be a half a dozen or more bird carcasses.

  “I counted seven, and I don’t know how they died,” Keith said, frowning. “I didn’t see any notable trauma to their bodies and nothing oozing from their mouths. They still could have been poisoned, but you’d have to check with the CDC about that.”

  “Bag two or three so we can send them off. I want to know what killed these birds.”

  “Sure thing, Trace. Hey, how about we get a few of the guys together tonight and play cards?”

  “Sounds like a good idea. I’ll bring Garrett after I do rounds. About eight? At your house?”

  “Yep. I’ll see you tonight. Oh, and bring some beer.”

  Trace narrowed his gaze on his friend. “I’ll bring beer if you promise there will be no chugging games. The last time we did that, I woke up on my front porch
with neck pain that took me a month to get over.

  He raised a hand. “On my honor. No chugging beer.”

  “Bring those ravens by to send off later, and could you stop into Healthy Glow and tell the owner the birds have been taken care of when you’re done?”

  “I haven’t met the new business owner. What’s she like?”

  Trace contemplated his friend’s question. What was she like? Definitely intriguing. More than simply beautiful, and different from any of the other women in Groves, since she didn’t seem to have even an inkling of interest in him. Something that should have pleased Trace, but for some unforeseen reason it didn’t.

  “Go see for yourself. Maybe you can tell me.”

  Trace turned and walked around the building. This whole dead bird thing had him wondering. They’d never had anything like this happen in Groves before, which seemed strange and too much of a coincidence with Regina Moon’s coming to town.

  He headed toward the police station. Trace planned to do a little background check on their new resident and see what came up. Maybe there was more to her than what she let on, and if that was the case, he intended to find out what she was hiding.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Regina wiped the paint splatters off her cheek with her index finger, then continued to roll the sage color onto the living room wall. Already, she felt much calmer than she had that afternoon. The whole dead raven incident had her on edge. Someone was trying to send a warning.

  But why?

  And who? Becky Riverside? Or was it someone else?

  When the roller ran out of paint, she plopped it into the pan and rotated it back and forth. Maybe by the time she finished all four walls, she’d have a renewed sense of serenity.

  Her cell buzzed. She discarded the roller altogether and raced for the phone. “Regina,” she spoke into the mouthpiece.

  “Reggie.” Her best friend sounded upset.

  What was wrong? Had Rod somehow found out where she was? The thought had her heart thumping hard. “What’s the matter, Tiah?”