“Oh, hi!” I exclaimed. “Sorry, the door got caught in the wind.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Nick said, keeping a firm hand on the door to prop it open. “Someone’s thirsty,” he joked, glancing at the drink holders in my hands.
“Staff meeting at Dr. Vann’s,” I said, unable to fully peel my eyes off the woman at Nick’s side.
“Excuse me,” she said, moving to squeeze between us. “Um, thanks for catching that door,” she said sweetly to Nick.
“Oh, uh, you’re welcome,” he replied, a twinge of pink in his cheeks.
The woman moved between us, turning to flash one more smile at Nick before taking her place at the counter.
“Well, I better get these over there while they’re still hot,” I said, waiting for Nick to shift his focus off the beautiful stranger. “But, uh, I’ll see you in a bit?”
“Hmm?” Nick said, still not looking.
I rolled my eyes. “Nick! Either put your eyeballs back in your head or go and buy her a coffee.”
He gave me a sheepish grin and then scurried over to the woman. Shaking my head, I stepped out onto the sidewalk and let the door close behind me. By the time I got back from making the delivery, both Nick and the mystery woman were gone. But I didn’t have long to think about it before I was breaking up a debate between Cassie and Kirra after Kirra hid all of Cassie’s magazines and refused to tell her where they were until Cassie agreed to quit nagging her about picking out a dress.
Sometimes, it was a blessing to be an only child.
Posy was in rare form when she gathered all of us in the manor’s sitting room that evening. Her silver-hued face was glowing as she swooped from one end of the room to the other. “Thank you all for coming and to most of you, for being on time,” she said, giving Adam a pointed look. He shrugged and she continued. “As you all know, we’ve had a spell of bad luck with tenants lately. I’ve heard the concerns and want to assure you that I spoke with an SPA agent this morning and they’ve assured me that our new addition is going to fit right in.”
Adam held up a hand, his fingers crossed.
Posy cleared her throat. “Her name is Narissa Leonard and she’ll be arriving shortly. I called you here early so I could ensure we all greet her with a warm welcome and not let our feelings of the past … failures … taint Narissa’s reception.”
Adam cringed. “Narissa? Isn’t that the name of a Disney villain?”
Evangeline nodded. “She was the witch in Enchanted.”
“That can’t be a good sign,” I said.
“Although, two point to Adam for the reference,” Evangeline said, flashing him a grin.
Posy frowned at us, her happy bubble on the verge of bursting.
“We’re kidding, Posy!” I hurried to say. “Obviously we don’t think the new roommate is a witch. Well … erm … at least, not of the evil-queen variety.”
“Here’s hoping,” Adam said.
Evangeline snickered into her cup of cocoa.
“For your information, Narissa is not a witch. I’ve been told she is a shifter,” Posy insisted.
I elbowed Adam playfully. “A shifter? Now we know we’re in for it!”
“Yeah, yeah. Any idea what kind of shifter?” he asked.
“I’m not sure,” Posy replied, her tone still frosty. “I didn’t think to ask. I don’t suppose it matters, does it?”
“Not really. Although, if she’s some kind of squirrel or rabbit or something, we might have to make a schedule for times to run in the forest. I wouldn’t want my dog instincts to kick in and chase her up a tree.”
“Bunnies don’t climb trees,” I reminded him.
“You get my point,” he countered, needling me in the ribs. “Chasing her into a fox hole would put a damper on Posy’s whole welcome-wagon plan.”
“Indeed!” Posy agreed.
“What else do we know about her?” Evangeline asked. “What is she doing in Beechwood Harbor? Did she come from one of the havens?”
While not a fast and hard rule, the supernaturals who ended up at the Beechwood Manor were typically there for a reason. I’d been forced into residence by my old SPA agent/supernatural babysitter, Harvey, after a streak of run-ins with the agency. I’d been given the choice between the sleepy coastal town or jail. Evangeline showed up a few months after I settled in. She’d been a famous actress, working on a paranormal soap opera and based in the Los Angeles haven, up until she fell out of favor with the producers and wound up written off the show. She’d picked Beechwood Harbor off a map and was bent on learning some kind of curse to get revenge on the those who’d ousted her, until we talked some sense into her.
Our last long-term roommate, Lacey Vaughn, was the daughter of the East Coast Baron, a powerful vampire lord, and had been hiding out at the manor following some major family drama. Vampire family dysfunction was more likely to lead to a blood bath over Thanksgiving dinner, instead of passive aggressive conversation and too much wine. As for Adam, his parents were high-ranking SPA officials out of the Boston haven, and he’d left home to put some distance between them. He went as far as he could go west, settled in the small town, and had no plans of leaving, regardless of his mother’s nagging to return to the city.
So, while being on the wrong side of the law or family drama wasn’t an official pre-requisite of coming to the manor, there was a good chance that whoever was joining us had an interesting backstory. I only hoped that this time, Posy had demanded the full account from the SPA agent in charge of handling the manor’s affairs. Part of her rental agreement was that, in exchange for leasing rooms to them, they cover anything that required corporeal assistance.
“Narissa is coming to us from the San Francisco haven. She worked for the local paper and has now decided to write a book. She worked with a former resident of the manor and he suggested she consider the manor as an excellent writing retreat.”
“So she’s only staying long enough to write a book?” I asked.
“As far as I understand, yes. She’s paid for six months in advance. After that … I don’t know.”
I blew out a sigh. “Then it’s back to hunting for a permanent roommate?”
“On the bright side, if she’s a nightmare, we’ll have something of a countdown,” Evangeline said.
“With our luck, she’ll decide to stay, then,” I said under my breath.
Posy made a harumph noise. We were raining on her ghost parade again. “Let’s not worry about the future. All we know is that for the next six months, Narissa will be here with us and we need to make her feel welcome. I think it’s time to revisit some of the basic house rules. Now, I arranged to have a cleaning service here earlier to make sure everything is sparkly fresh, and they had to throw away quite a few leftovers from the fridge—”
“Wait!” I jolted upright. “What? I have potion materials in there!”
“I told them if anything looked fuzzy, it was to be tossed,” Posy said.
I got to my feet and started toward the door. “I’m brewing Fuzzy Sock potion this week! It’s supposed to have fuzz!”
“Fuzzy Sock potion?” Adam repeated. “What in the Otherworld, Holls?”
I stopped at the door and turned back, glaring at Posy. “It’s a warming potion. One sip and you’re warm for hours! One of the ingredients is shredded lint from flannel socks.”
Adam’s nose wrinkled. “People drink that?”
“They’re clean socks!”
“Still… the texture must be disgusting.” He looked at Evangeline and she wrinkled her nose.
Ignoring them, I stalked from the sitting room and went to the kitchen at the other end of the house. Posy popped into my peripheral view just as I yanked the fridge door open. “It wasn’t my intention to have the cleaning service throw away your work, dear, but I had to get this place clean for a new resident and we do have a policy…”
She trailed off as I leaned into the fridge and started taking inventory. Three mason jars were missing fro
m the first shelf. I cringed and slammed the door shut. “This is exactly why I need a separate fridge! Those potions need a week to brew, and now I’ll have to start all over again. I have customers waiting for their orders, Posy. What am I supposed to tell them?”
“I apologize for the mistake. Perhaps, we can discuss a new labeling system,” Posy said. “But it will have to wait. Narissa will be here shortly.”
Steaming, I went back to the sitting room and flopped back onto the couch beside Adam. He reached for my hand and gave it a knowing squeeze. “What’s the damage?”
“Let’s just say, my weekend is booked,” I replied through gritted teeth.
He winced. “I’m sorry.”
“I can’t believe she threw out half a week’s worth of potions!” I muttered as Posy popped back into the room.
Adam leaned in. “That actually reminds me of something I wanted to talk to you about—”
The doorbell rang, cutting him off.
Posy, still looking guilty, brightened. “That will be Narissa. Who would like to answer the door?”
Adam stood. “I’ll get it.”
Evangeline and I followed him from the room and waited a few steps behind as he opened the front door. “Hello. You must be Narissa,” he said.
“Yes, hello,” a quiet female voice replied.
Adam pulled the door open wider. “Come on in and meet everyone.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m Adam St. James,” he said, as the woman stepped into the foyer. She pulled off her hat, revealing a sheet of glossy silver hair and glass-cutting cheekbones.
“Hey, I know you,” I blurted. “I mean, I saw you earlier, at the coffee house.”
Narissa smiled. “Oh, that’s right.”
I returned her smile and extended my hand. “Holly Boldt.”
She took it. “Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise.”
She exchanged introductions with Posy and Evangeline and shook Adam’s hand as well.
Adam helped Narissa with her suitcases, taking them up the stairs to her assigned bedroom on the second floor, just off the landing. While he wrestled the two bags upstairs, Evangeline insisted we all go to the kitchen to have a drink and assured Narissa that pizza would be arriving shortly.
The doorbell rang as Adam was clomping back down the stairs, and he hollered from the other room that he’d get the door. A few minutes later, he sailed into the kitchen, holding two large cardboard boxes up as if they contained treasure from a sunken ship. “Man, I love pizza night,” he said, lowering them to the counter.
Evangeline got plates for everyone and we dished up. Narissa took a solitary slice and only sat down once we insisted she join us at the table.
“So, Posy told us you’re a shifter?” Evangeline asked. “What form do you take?”
“I’m a Manx cat,” she replied.
I laughed. “Might have to revisit Adam’s scheduling idea.”
Narissa’s brows knit together. “I’m sorry?”
“Adam is a dog,” I said, hurrying to add, “I mean, in his beast form. He was saying maybe a schedule could be arranged to avoid chase scenes through the woods out back.”
“It was mostly a joke,” Adam said, looking sheepish. “Obviously I have more control over my beast-form than that.”
“Oh, I see,” Narissa said, still looking somewhat confused. “I think I’ll be all right. A Manx isn’t exactly the same as a fat house cat, you know.”
“Speaking of cats …” Evangeline said with a rueful grin as Boots chose that moment to strut through the door, his orange belly swinging in time with his tail.
I closed my eyes.
Evangeline giggled as Boots strode to inspect Narissa’s shoe. “This is Boots. He’s Holly’s familiar.”
Narissa looked at me. “You’re a witch, then?”
“That’s right. Evangeline is too.”
“My roommate back in San Francisco was a witch too. An elemental. Although, to be honest, she was a bit of a pyromaniac,” Narissa said with a frown.
My phone buzzed and I reached into my pocket to retrieve it, ignoring the scowl I got from Posy. “It’s work,” I said when Agent Bramble’s private line popped up on the caller ID. “I have to—”
“Out in the living room,” Posy hissed.
I heaved a sigh but did as she asked and stepped out of the kitchen. As the door swung closed behind me, I could hear her apologizing on my behalf to Narissa.
“Hello, Agent Bramble,” I said, trying to infuse some brightness into my tone. “I wasn’t expecting a call from you. Is everything all right?”
Agent Bramble was my boss at the SPA and generally only called if something was about to blow up—literally.
“Holly, I apologize for the short notice, but something’s come up, and I won’t be able to make our planned meeting tomorrow.”
“Oh. Okay. Well, that’s—”
“Would you be available to come in now?” she asked, though considering her position, it wasn’t a question so much as a politely phrased demand.
“Um—” I paused and glanced back at the kitchen. “Sure? I guess so. Give me ten minutes?”
“See you then.”
She clicked off the line and I smiled to myself. Agent Bramble was a brisk woman who rarely had patience for common pleasantries. She wasn’t rude, so much as efficient and direct. It could come off cold sometimes, but overall, I’d learned to appreciate it. I always knew where I stood with her, and if there was ever trouble, I knew she could be trusted to give it to me straight.
I pocketed my phone and went back into the kitchen. Posy wasn’t going to be happy about my ducking out early, but considering the damage she’d done to my potion business, I wasn’t terribly concerned about ticking her off.
“Everything all right?” Adam asked me when I didn’t retake my seat at the table.
“My meeting got bumped up to tonight. So, as much as I’d like to stay, I can’t. But, Narissa, it was really nice to meet you and I’m sure we can chat more another time.”
As expected, Posy shot me a dark look but kept her mouth shut.
“I’ll walk with you,” Adam said, hopping up from the table.
If Evangeline was annoyed at us for bailing out, she didn’t show it. “I’ll save you a slice, Holly.”
“Thanks,” I said, somewhat distracted, wondering what could be so important that Agent Bramble couldn’t wait until the next day.
Chapter 2
Adam led the way out of the manor, both of us pausing to grab our coats before exiting. Once the front door was closed behind us, he paused to shrug into the leather jacket he usually wore.
“Well? What do you think of her?” he asked, zipping the jacket halfway up his chest.
“She seems nice,” I said, slipping on my own coat before jogging down the front steps. “I think she and Nick might have hit it off at the coffee shop this morning.”
He glanced back at the house as we fell into step. “Oh?”
I smiled. “It would be nice if he met someone, don’t you think?”
“Sure,” Adam replied, shrugging.
Agent Bramble’s office was located inside the Supernatural Protection Agency’s headquarters in the Seattle Haven. Normally, it was a three-hour drive inland to get to Seattle proper, but with the help of magic, I only had to walk a few blocks to a portal the SPA was allowing me to use. By portal, the SPA building was only a few minutes’ walk from the Beechwood Manor.
“Any idea what this meeting is about?” Adam asked. “Or, would you have to kill me?”
“Honestly, I have no idea. It’s been a few weeks since they’ve called me in on anything, so I’m a little out of the loop.”
“Aha.” Adam pocketed his hands as we walked down the hill, leading away from the manor and into the small town. Neither of us owned a car, mostly because we didn’t need one. Everything was easily within walking distance, and it was easy enough to take the bus into Seattle for the rare occa
sions Adam needed to go for work.
“You’re still working in the lab though, right?” he asked after a moment.
I smiled. “Yes. I promise, I’m being safe.”
He bobbed his head. “That’s good.”
“What was it you wanted to talk about?” I asked. “Back in the sitting room, before Narissa got there.”
Discussing my work with the SPA was like foraging a way across a recently frozen lake. I never knew when I might step and find a crack. For the most part, Adam had come to terms with my new job, but there were times when his irritation at being left out of the loop—and therefore unable to protect me in case things went sideways—flared up and caused issues. We’d been good the last six months, and I wanted that streak to continue.
He took my hand as we continued down the hill into the main part of town. “Things have been a little nuts at the manor lately, with the roommate drama and Posy and Hank always hanging around. A few weeks ago, right after things hit the fan with the last roommate, I started looking online for local rentals. There are a couple houses in the area that are up for rent, and I wanted to see what you would think about us going to check them out sometime.”
My eyebrows lifted. “You mean, move out of the manor? Into our own place?”
“Yeah. We’ve been together for over a year now, and it feels like it’s time to take the next step, not to mention, we could use some breathing room.”
“Uh, wow,” I said. It wasn’t that I’d never thought about it, but when I did, it was always in the context of some far-off plan. “I’m not … uh, really sure what to say.”
Adam’s face fell.
“I’m not saying no,” I hurried to add. “It’s just, well, I guess I’ve never thought about it before.”
“Right.” He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. “I mean, I didn’t expect an answer right away or anything.”
I cringed. I’d long ago accepted that our love life was never going to be a fairy tale ripped from the pages a romance novel, but this was hitting a ten on the awkward scale, and I wanted to flip back a few pages and try again.
One Bad Witch Page 2