by Maribel Fox
“I’ll be right here, finishing docking,” I say, heart in my throat. I know why she wants to confront him alone, but I hate not being there at her side for every altercation. I know she can handle herself, but that doesn’t mean I can’t eavesdrop.
It’s not easy to hear them over the sounds of the bay, and if anyone was paying attention, they’d realize I’m doing less to dock the boat and more to listen to my girlfriend’s conversation.
“Thought you should know…” Brian says, hands twisting nervously in front of him. “Might be something you’re interested in,” he adds, looking up at me with a grim expression. He leans in and says something else, too quiet for me to hear before he envelops Callie in a hug that takes her completely by surprise.
Once Brian’s leaving, I hop down to the dock, brows furrowed.
“What was that about?”
Callie’s unsure, looking a little stricken.
“I don’t…” She shakes her head. “I think it was an olive branch?”
“That’s good, isn’t it?” I slide an arm around her waist, only content when she’s in my embrace again. I spent so many years just dreaming about being able to do this. I’m not wasting a single opportunity.
She shrugs, chewing her bottom lip.
“Come on. We should go to the B&B.”
“What? Why?”
Callie shakes her head. “Something he said. I don’t know.”
“You’re being weird.”
“I know. Come on,” she says, tugging me behind her, still not giving me any information. That’s not going to stop me. Nothing could stop me from following Callie to the ends of the Earth. Doesn’t mean I’m not curious as hell though.
At the B&B, Callie moves with a purpose, heading straight upstairs, to the attic of Brigid’s only accessible by a ladder that pulls down from the ceiling.
“Are you supposed to be up here?”
She shrugs. “Probably not, but I doubt Ava will mind.”
She’s probably got a point. She and the other women in town have gotten pretty close in the past couple of weeks. Callie’s told me that she never really had female friends before. Every time they have one of their Girls’ Nights, Callie comes home like a kid after the first day of school with a million exciting stories to tell me.
“What are we doing up here?”
She huffs, hands on hips when she turns to me. “You can’t be patient for five minutes?”
“Guess not.”
She huffs again. “Dad told me he used to be friends with Brigid, you know Ava and Ian’s mom? He didn’t tell me what it is, but he said she might have something up here that would interest me…”
“Cryptic,” I mutter, looking around. It’s a standard-looking attic, full of boxes, random decorations, pieces of furniture put in storage. There’s a lot up here, most of it covered in cobwebs and a thick layer of dust.
“Yeah, but he was really serious about it,” she says, shoving aside a pile of boxes.
“Oh, wow, this smells like—” She stops.
“Like old attic? Surprising.”
“No… Like the sea,” she murmurs, sounding almost in a trance. Immediately my alarms start ringing, doubt about Brian’s motives rushing through my thoughts in the split second it takes me to turn, to watch with panic clutching my gut as she opens the old steamer trunk.
Her eyes grow wide, jaw dropping. She reaches into the chest and straightens, a clump of wet fur in hand.
Instantly, I have to have it, before I even know what it is. I know it’s mine. It belongs to me.
It takes me another second to realize why it feels like that.
This must be my skin.
Thank you so much for reading - I hope it was a blast.
But wait, don’t go!
Did you know we have a monthly newsletter? That’s right! We don’t pester you often, but when we do it’s always good news!
SIGN UP NOW if you’re interested in:
~ An immediate email containing our latest holiday bonus short, ‘Frosty Reception’. Lili and her guys want to make a good impression on their new neighbors. And what better way than with a fabulous New Year’s Eve Party, hosted by five dragons and a werewolf?
~ The chance to join our ARC team - get our new books FREE before anyone else, and all we ask in return is an honest review on Amazon or Goodreads!
~ Hot-off-the-presses info on our current and future projects!
We’re also on Facebook & Twitter or at
www.MaribelFox.com. Come hang out with us for all kinds of exciting bonus content! And cat pics.