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Casey sinks deeper into the couch beside me with a tired sigh. “Thank you so much, Darcy. I couldn’t have done this without you.” She yawns. “Speaking of school, I’d better head to bed. I don’t want to have bags under my eyes when we meet the teacher.”
Casey hugs us each in turn before disappearing up the stairs. Sophie says her goodbyes and starts for her cozy home not far from the library a few minutes later, and Blaire and Darcy are already retreating to Blaire’s spell room in the basement by the time I close the front door.
“Do you want the blow-up mattress brought down, Blaire?” I ask.
“No, thanks, babes,” she calls out from halfway down the stairs. “We’ll just sleep on the fainting couch by the fire. There’s plenty of room for two if you snuggle.”
“And we will be snuggling,” Darcy murmurs in his polished British accent, the one that makes everything he says sound fancy and a little sexy, but not as sexy as Baron’s. Baron’s accent is just as polished, but his voice is deeper, rougher, with passion and emotion always simmering beneath the surface.
It’s clearly not easy for him to distance himself from the town or his clan. I would bet every penny in my rapidly dwindling savings account that he craves love and connection as much as the rest of us. But how to convince him that it’s okay for him to drop his guard and let someone—specifically me—into his heart?
As if reading my thoughts—and maybe she can, I don’t know enough about house krakens to be certain if they have telepathic powers—Kitty pops up with her white board, holding it in front of my face.
“I should talk to Colin about Baron,” I read aloud, instantly seeing the wisdom in her advice. Aside from my sisters, Colin is the person I’m closest to in town, and he knows Baron better than anyone. They were turned by the same sire and have lived as brothers for centuries.
“Good idea,” I say. “I’ll text him in the morning. Assuming we have cell service.” Our connection has been spotty since moving to the mansion, but Blaire and I keep forgetting to call to activate the landline.
What with the fake engagement festivities and the kidnapping and the drama with Blaire and Darcy and now Casey moving in with Amy, we’ve been a little busy.
Kitty flails a tentacle in the air before disappearing into the kitchen. She reemerges a moment later with an ancient phone with a crank on one side that she’s pulled from Goddess knows where. In moments, she has it secured to the wall and is pantomiming how to use the thing.
I take the funnel-shaped brass cone from the holder on the left and bring it to my ear, brow furrowing as static fuzzes in my ear. A beat later, there’s a sharp clicking sound and a female voice with a thick Boston accent says, “Operator, how can I connect your call?”
“Oh, um…” I blink faster as Kitty circles a tentacle in the air, signaling for me to go for it. “Yes, could you please connect me with Colin Blackmore? His um, his cell, if that’s…possible?”
“Of course, Miss Wonderfully,” the woman responds. “And just so you know, none of us here could believe it when we heard he dumped you at the altar. He’s a catch, sure, but so are you! And that kind of rat bastard behavior is never okay, even if you are marrying for magical reasons instead of true love.”
I blink again. “Oh. Well, thank you, but that’s not really what—”
“Please hold while I connect your call,” she cuts in and before I know it Colin’s silky voice vibrates across the line. “Annie? Is something wrong? Are you all right? It’s late for you to be awake.”
“No, nothing’s wrong. I’m fine,” I assure him. “I’m wonderful actually. Blaire and Darcy are back together, the town shield is renewed, and Casey and my niece are here to stay.”
“So I heard. Congratulations on all the above and happy solstice. It looks like our plan worked out after all.”
“It did, but…” I clear my throat, wishing I’d thought this through a bit more before I called. Thoughts racing, I hurry to add, “I was hoping we could get together for a drink tomorrow evening. I’d love to catch up on your news and hear how the investigation is going. At least, what you’re able to share right now.”
“Of course,” he says with a heavy sigh. “Though I confess there isn’t much to share. We haven’t found any sign of the people who drugged and imprisoned Blaire and Darcy, and Janet is refusing to answer questions in an attempt to delay her extradition to London. Her sire has agreed to let her serve her prison sentence at his clan’s estate and to keep her in the U.K. after, so she can’t cause trouble in Nightfall again, but they haven’t been on good terms for decades. It’s clear she’s dreading returning to his fold, but I can’t tell if she has intelligence to share or not.”
I hum beneath my breath. “That’s tricky. Janet isn’t an easy one to read.”
“No, she’s not.” He takes a breath and continues in a lighter tone, “But you are, and I can tell you have something you’d like to get off your chest. Six o’clock at the Pug and Crone?”
“Six is perfect,” I say before wishing him a happy solstice and ending the call.
I turn back to Kitty, who’s clapping in excitement. I laugh and give her closest limb a pat, “Thank you, but it’s a little early to celebrate. I have to get the backstory on Baron first.”
She flaps a tentacle as if to say, “You’ll figure it out, no worries,” before pressing more sloppy sucker-kisses to my arm and retreating into the pipes for the night.
I turn out the lights and climb the stairs to bed, but for the first time in a long time, I don’t feel alone.
My little girl is here with me, and I finally have the kick in the backside I needed to go after what I want. From now on, shy, retiring, awkward-to-a-fault Annie Wonderfully is a thing in the past. I will burn that old self to the ground and arise from the ashes a warrior goddess ready to fight for the man of her dreams—right after I eat some of the crackers under my bed to keep from tossing up my supper…
Chapter 4
Baron
The evening begins in the usual way—with an affable slap to the head from Laura and a pitiful bellow for food. From the way she groans and rolls on the floor clutching her belly at sundown each day, you would think the creature hadn’t fed in weeks.
