by Lori Foster
“We?” Jane felt her eyes bulge to cover her face. “All?” Her voice shrank to a squeak and her head started to spin. “There are . . .” She couldn’t get the word out.
“Five.”
“Holy mother in heaven.” She blessed herself and plopped down in the wicker settee. “Five werewolves in Savannah. You must think I’m the most gullible female east of the Mississippi.”
“Not exactly werewolves so much as . . . dogs. Minerva’s powers aren’t as strong as they used to be, thank heavens for that much. Ever see that ‘Dogs Playing Poker’ picture.” Rex shrugged. “That’s us. We took a picture during one of our poker games and a friend of T-Bone did the painting. The dog that found the missing girl in Forsythe Park last week, that was T-Bone. We all sort of crossed Minerva in one way or another over the years. Never ever tell Minerva that her scones aren’t as good as the ones at the Pink House, or refuse to accompany Minerva’s bitchy niece to the spring cotillion or take Minerva’s parking space at the Piggly Wiggly. If you do any of those things the next time there’s a full moon you are in for one hell of a surprise and it just keeps happening every full moon from there on out.”
“Let me guess, you’re going to live forever.”
“It’s just a dog and moon thing and damn inconvenient to say the least and I’m tired of giving myself rabies shots and if you’d ever had a case of fleas you’d remember it.”
“Well, thank God you weren’t neutered.”
He crossed his legs and looked pained. She stood and felt his head. “You’re sick, that must be it. You have one of those raging fevers where you go delusional and your brain turns to Jell-O. I had that happen once when I ate some of Cousin Hilly’s barbecue sauce. Fried my brain for a week, couldn’t remember my own phone number. You have a fried brain.”
“You can break the spell for me. For us. We were cursed by the same spell, we get uncursed by the same spell. Least that’s what it says in the curse book.”
“There’s a book?”
“Lots of books. Old, dusty, smelly books. You can get them on eBay.”
She buried her face in her hands. “You are so full of crap, Rex Barkley.”
“And let me tell you that can be a real problem when there’s a full moon. Do you know how many fireplugs there are in Savannah?” He winked. “A little werewolf humor.”
“Damn you, Rex. I’ve known T-Bone and his cronies for years and Mamma is right fond of him and I have hopes they’ll get together one day.”
“With this curse he’ll fit right into the Garrison clan when he and Fanny Lou do get together.”
“It’s all a lie because you want to break up with me.”
“Once a month, sometimes twice I stay at home, right? When the moon is full.”
“Can’t remember about the moon part but you stay home to catch up on paperwork, write your book, on call at the clinic.” Rex arched his brow as if to ask, Are you sure? She gasped, “I do not believe—”
“Yes, you do and the only way for me to break this spell is with your help. Tonight, one hour before midnight because that’s the hour for doing good.” He pressed a paper into her palm. “This is how to do it, Jane. Explicit directions on what you need to do to help me, to help the others. It has to be done with one true love and that’s you.” He kissed her hard. “Totally and completely you. With a full moon the Transits of Venus and you and me together.”
“But—”
“Rescue me, Jane.” His eyes were dark as midnight and sincere. How could this be sincere? He held her tight as if he might never hold her again. She felt sad, desperate, and confused. “I love you, Jane. Love me, too.”
“I can’t do this.” She took a step back, straightened her spine and organized the brain that had served her well all her life. “My entire family is eccentric—I think that’s the understatement of the century—and I’m the sane one, the logical one, the one who doesn’t need a shrink and this is shrink territory big time. You just want to dump me and know this will do the trick because I hate this kind of behavior. It’s the easy way out. I won’t say anything because everyone knows my family’s reputation is loopy enough already and I don’t want to add to it by putting myself in that category, too.”
She crumpled the paper in her palm and threw it across the porch, the white ball bouncing over the edge and into the bushes. “Well, it worked. You and I are officially done, Rex Barkley. You got what you came for, now you can leave.”
His eyes met hers for a second making her want to jump into his arms and say she’d put on a witch hat and dance naked on the rooftop if that’s what it took to keep Rex with her. But she couldn’t. She was the reasonable one and she intended to stay that way. Someone in the family had to!
“Remember I love you, Jane. Always will, till the end of time. I’m sorry you don’t feel the same.” Rex walked down the steps and headed for the sidewalk. Maxwell hopped out of her purse and trotted after Rex, his bouncy fur and curled tail fluffing in the breeze till Jane scooped him up and tucked him under her arm. “Traitor.”
He barked at Rex’s retreating figure and suddenly looked . . . sad. Yes, that was it all right. One sad little dog. Droopy puppy eyes, no tail wagging, and pathetic whiney sounds Jane had never heard before. “Now I have a psycho dog to go with my psycho family and boyfriend.”
But that was just it. Rex wasn’t her boyfriend anymore and it was all his fault. Werewolf? This was a breakup, pure and simple . . . though a werewolf story sort of took it out of the simple category.
She sniffed and wiped her nose on the back of her hand. Mamma would have a hissy at such behavior, except right now Jane didn’t care about Mamma and Southern manners that one followed to the grave no matter what the circumstances. All Jane cared about was Rex and that he was gone; and as much as she wanted to say good riddance, she didn’t feel one bit good about anything.
“Well, what happened now?” T-Bone Boon glanced up from the raised hood of a Suburban as Rex entered the deserted garage. A red neon sign that read CAR ER flickered in the window, illuminating the evening dusk outside. “You look like something the cat dragged in, Bubba, meaning it’s gotta be woman troubles and with you that’s Ms. Jane Louise. Not a nicer girl in all Savannah if you’re asking me. You’re lucky to have her. So, what did you go and do to mess things up?”
Lingering exhaust and gas fumes hung in the air, engine belts, hoses, and vintage Georgia license plates decorated the walls along with an autographed picture of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and “Dogs Playing Poker.” Rex sat down on a case of Valvoline feeling tired clear through.
“Did you ask her to marry you and she turned you down flat? I can’t imagine such a thing. The girl’s crazy about you. And I use that word in a good way, considering her family roots and all.”
“Or is she just crazy about my lifestyle, my normal lifestyle that is a far cry from her family’s? I feel like she’s attracted to me because . . .”
“You’re normal as blueberry pie.”
“Until I told her I was a werewolf. Weredog to be more accurate.”
T-Bone dropped a wrench back into the tool chest, the clank echoing through the garage. He stared at Rex. “Are you out of your flea-bitten brain?”
“And I told her you were one, too, and that I needed her to get us out of this cursed situation by helping me out tonight. I even gave her the directions.” Rex handed T-Bone a screwdriver. “Then she threw me out.”
“And you’re surprised? Her family’s crazy as a bunch of waltzing pigs. She’s had her fill. Maybe it’s for the best. If you two get together for real, do you want to be dragged into that loony bin?”
Rex nodded at the Suburban. “And who exactly does that piece of crap belong to? You sure aren’t working on it after hours for your health. You’ve got the hots for Fanny Lou and everyone in town knows it.”
“Except Fanny Lou,” groused T-Bone. “All I am to her is the local grease monkey. You’re giving up too easy on Jane Louise. You need to talk to her. Find
out how she really feels about you now that she’s had time to sit on what you went and told her.”
“Does the idea of your boyfriend being a werewolf improve over time?”
“Tonight’s a full moon and all the stars a man could want are out there to work all sorts of magic. A good evening to make things happen, least that was your plan. So go for it. Find Jane Louise. Be a pity to let this night pass without even trying to get her to come around. How long have you been looking for the right girl? Someone who excites you, makes life worth living?”
“About as long as you have. But I have to know I excite her too.”
“Then don’t just sit there like a bump on a log. Find out how the girl feels. Before tonight you were common as an old sweater to Jane. But hell, every man needs to embrace his wolf side now and then.” T-Bone faced the open door and the rising moon and let out a long low howl that came from the very depths of his soul.
“What in holy blazes was that?” Mamma asked, her evening cup of tea poised halfway to her mouth. “Sounds like a . . . wolf. And right here in Savannah.” She made the sign of the cross. “Saints preserve us, what is this town coming to?”
Jane stopped spooning honey into her Earl Grey and stared out the window into the darkness, the silvery beams of the full moon weaving in and out of the live oaks. She shivered. “Impossible. Absolutely impossible,” she said to herself more than Mamma.
“You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.”
“Rex broke up with me today,” she said matter-of-factly. “The big jerk,” she added because it was definitely a fact. “And of all the excuses in the world he said he was a—you’re going to love this—a werewolf.”
Mamma’s eyes rounded. Not exactly the head-for-the-hill response Jane thought she’d get. Maybe the next news would get to Mamma. “And that T-Bone and his cronies are werewolves, too. Something about crossing Minerva. Now I ask you, Mamma, if that isn’t the most pitiful excuse for breaking up with a girl you ever heard? He knows I’d never buy such a story and that was an excuse to get rid of me and end the relationship. He succeeded. I thought Rex was more of a man than that. If he wanted to end things then he should just do it.”
“Minerva you say. And T-Bone? How . . . interesting.” Mamma’s eyes twinkled with some faraway look. What the heck was that? Where was the cry of unbelievable nonsense? The accusation of the man’s out of his brain? Instead Jane got, “I never would have expected such a thing of T-Bone, but now that you mention it . . .” She smiled.
“Uh, we’re talking werewolf, as in fiction and over the top even for the Garrisons. You know and I know there are no such things as werewolves, right, Mamma? Fiction.”
Mamma sipped her tea. “Sweet pea, this is Savannah. Stranger things have happened. Around here fiction and fact get mixed up all the time.” She absently ran her finger around the rim of the tea cup. “Did you know werewolves are supposed to be magnificent lovers?”
Jane remembered Rex making love to her that afternoon and she dropped the Haviland china cup onto its saucer, cracking it smack down the middle. Her blood ran hot as the water in the kettle on the stove and her insides ached for . . . Rex.
Mamma stared straight ahead not so much as an eyebrow flinching at the dropped china. “Well, now, I’m guessing you do know all about that lover part firsthand.” She stood and took her cup to the sink and rinsed it. “I wonder how T-Bone is getting on with my Suburban? I suppose the least I can do is pay him a little visit tonight.”
Mamma straightened her shoulders, her eyes wistful as she glided out of the kitchen more than walked. “Don’t wait up now, you hear.”
“Mamma! What are you thinking? What are you going to do?” Jane fanned herself with the linen napkin but not because of what Mamma said or what was on her mind about T-Bone but what was on Jane Louise Garrison’s mind about Rex. He was an incredible lover, not that she had all that much experience but she knew enough to tell the difference between wow and ugh and Rex was all wow!
She could feel him fondling her breasts, his mouth on the inside of her thighs, his erection pressing into her, slowly, deliberately, hard as steel, and unyielding. Her legs quivered and her heart nearly beat right through her blouse. No man was that good in bed unless . . . unless . . . and suddenly there he was beside her, taking her hand and leading her out onto the porch. “I didn’t hear you come in.”
Incredible moonbeams fell over them, a million stars dotted the sky. “Because you were thinking of me, of us together,” he said in a low husky voice. Dear Lord, husky? Least it wasn’t Chihuahua or poodle. “I want you to believe in me, to believe in us with all your heart.”
His gray eyes were liquid fire, his hands at her waist, warm and possessive. If he howled, she’d pass out cold. “You want me to believe—”
“Yes.” His lips took hers in a hot kiss that was not canine and all man and seared her soul and stole her heart. “I love you.” His hot breath mixed with hers. “If you don’t believe another thing, believe that. We belong together, and only you can make it happen. Feel with this.” He put his warm hand to her heart. “And not this.” He kissed her forehead.
“Why are you doing this?”
“For love.”
She pushed herself out of his arms. “I can’t, Rex. I can’t live this way. Maybe you do love me, maybe you don’t want to break up but for sure you aren’t the guy I thought you were either. What happened? Where’s my Mr. Mellow, the good old Rex? The Rex I fell in love with?”
“I’m right here, sweetheart. Take this leap of faith for us.”
Stepping back she shook her head. “Do you know I never believed in Santa because it made no sense? A big fat guy coming down a skinny little chimney, no way. The tooth fairy? Who would give up good money for old teeth? Fantasy is not me, Rex, and I didn’t think it was you either. You were so . . .”
“Logical. Predictable.”
“I’ve got to get out of here, I’m so confused. I’m losing my mind. Maxwell! Maxwell, where are you, baby?”
When the little dog came to the screen door, she opened it, scooped him up, snagged her purse and the leash from the counter, and ran back past Rex to the sidewalk. No stopping, no looking back or she’d believe white was black and black was white or anything else just to have Rex in her life. But she looked back anyway and he was gone and she never felt more rotten than right this minute.
Snapping the leash onto Maxwell’s collar, she set him on the sidewalk, adjusted her purse on her arm and together she and her dog headed down St. Julian. She crossed Reynolds Square, then Warren, then Washington, one little park more beautiful than the other. See, these were normal thoughts, like everyone else’s in Savannah out walking this time of night. She was in control of her life, of her thoughts, just the way it should be. Street light dappled the grass and bushes. Live oaks joined their branches forming a canopy overhead. Horse-drawn carriages clattered over the cob blestone streets. Children ate ice cream from a vendor. And a dog with a fine black and white coat stopped at the crosswalk waiting for traffic to pass as if he were . . . human?
Jane watched the dog. Self-assured, proud, part of the city. “Get a grip, Garrison,” she muttered to herself, not getting a grip at all. “It’s just a dog, right? Someone’s pet. Yet . . .” She shuddered at her own question. Scooping up Maxwell, she dropped him in her purse and ran, not having any idea what she was running from. She crossed Houston, turned down York, not quite sure where she was.
Stopping to catch her breath, she leaned against the side of a boarded-up brick building ready for renovation. Quiet, calm, peaceful. All was well here. She could get herself together.
“Give me the dog.”
“Huh?” Jane looked up to a scruffy man holding a knife. “Do you believe in werewolves?”
“What?”
“Werewolves? You know, mythological creatures. Do you believe in them?”
“What the hell have you been smoking, lady? Just hand over the damn dog.” Jane squeezed her purse handl
e, holding it tight to her side. “I can get a lot of money for that flea hound. Women go ape-shit for those purse dogs.”
“And you can go straight to hell.”
Not a good answer because the man came at Jane with the knife. Oh, crap! She ran because she left her pepper spray in her non-dog purse. She tripped and went sprawling and the bastard snagged the purse right off her arm. “Give me back my dog!” she screamed, Maxwell’s retreating yelps tearing at her heart. “I’m coming, baby. Mamma’s coming.”
She took off but she wasn’t quite fast enough. Where was that adrenaline rush people had in an emergency? Maxwell’s little fuzzy black head disappeared around the next corner. Crap! Crap! Crap! She ran faster but so did the bastard till a big dog lunged out between the bushes and landed smack on the bastard’s back. Maxwell jumped out of the purse and attacked his hand, making him drop the knife.
“Ouch! Damn it all! Help!” His words were mixed with growling and snarling. “Get ’em off! They’re killing me.”
“One can only hope.”
The man squirmed and thrashed around on the sidewalk like a landed fish. It was hard to get up with two dogs having him for dinner and a really pissed off woman tying his feet together with a leash. Jane retrieved her cell from her purse, took a picture for Maxwell’s Facebook page, then punched in 911. The big dog stopped and gazed up at her, gray eyes dark and mysterious. He gave a little yip, then trotted off down the alley. “Rex?”
“My name’s Joey,” the guy said. “Who’d have a stupid name like Rex. That’s a dog’s name.”
Or a werewolf’s. She needed a martini. After handing Joey over to the cops she decided two martinis were in order. And as she got closer to home she decided on three martinis, because Mamma and T-Bone were in the pink Mustang parked in the driveway behind the magnolia bushes. And they were necking like teenagers!
Without breaking a kiss, Mamma gave Jane a little finger wave as she walked by. Her mother had a better sex life than she did. Not fair. None of this was fair except for Mamma, who seemed to embrace the werewolf idea with much enthusiasm. Why couldn’t Jane have some of that enthusiasm? She sat down on the porch steps.