No Shoes, No Shirt, No Spells Read online

  “I worked with him there. He sold the farm because he wanted to work with thoroughbreds in Kentucky.”

  “Do you like it here? Sometimes moving to a small town and being the outsider can be tough.”

  “I do.”

  “Are people being nice to you?”

  “They’ve been very kind. Some more than others.” Rory glanced over his shoulder. I knew he meant the women who followed him around the fair. “I like it even better now.” He smiled at me.

  “What made you decide on Mystic Hollow?” I asked.

  “I’m not sure. It was my father’s idea. He found the farm and within a few days he’d bought it.”

  “You don’t work all the time, do you? What do you do in your spare time?”

  “Well, let’s see, I like to read. Stephen King is my favorite. I love old horror films like Bride of Frankenstein and Dracula.”

  We neared more booths. The blinking lights and music lured us closer.

  “Hey, let’s play. What do you say?” Rory pointed at a booth.

  I tossed the apple core in the trash and nodded. “Okay, but I must warn you, I’m not very good.”

  He placed his hand on the small of my back, steering me toward the booth. “You aren’t trying to trick me, are you? I bet you’re an expert marksman.”

  Rory handed the attendant the money and we picked out our water guns. I selected the red one and Rory picked blue. The bell chimed, indicating the game had started. Rory and I pushed the triggers at the same time. We laughed as we both raced to get the little figure to the other side.

  “Yes!” I exclaimed. “I won.”

  Was it all right to brag about beating the guy I secretly had the hots for when he was standing right next to me?”

  “You’re good. See, I knew you were trying to fake me out. You are your father’s daughter.”

  “I did no such thing.” I crossed my heart. “I got lucky.”

  “Don’t forget to pick out your prize.” Rory smiled and gestured toward the stuffed animals.

  “Anything from down here.” The attendant gestured to the bottom section of toys.

  “All that effort for a tiny toy?” I picked a little yellow bear and we headed on our way.

  “That’s a great bear.” Rory inspected my new stuffed friend.

  “Yeah, he’s kind of small, though.” What could I expect for a few dollars?

  “Do you want a big one?” His words slipped out with a sexy southern drawl.

  I coughed, almost choking.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “What? Oh, you mean a stuffed toy.” Heat rose in my cheeks.

  “Come on, I’ll win you a bigger one than that.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me along. Even my toes tingled from his touch.

  Considering I’d just beaten him, I wasn’t sure another game was a good idea. Embarrassing my non-date when he didn’t win me the biggest stuffed animal at the fair was probably bad dating decorum.

  He pointed at a game with a huge hammer. “There’s one.”

  “That looks really hard.”

  “I work on a farm. I’m used to lifting heavy things.”

  Judging by his muscular arms, I was sure Rory was strong, and I hoped he didn’t think I was insulting his manliness. But these places have been known to rig the games.

  “Okay, let’s see what you got.” I followed him toward the game.

  While Rory paid the man for the chance to cause permanent injury to his shoulder, the sensation of being watched swept over me. When I glanced over my shoulder, I noticed several women standing behind us, staring at Rory’s backside. Talk about uncomfortable. They stared, barely blinking an eye, definitely unconcerned with my presence.

  Rory flexed his muscles and flashed his perfect smile. The somewhat predictable macho insecurity was making a tiny appearance, but I expected as much from any man. Rory paid the attendant and lifted the huge hammer. He glanced over his shoulder at me and winked. I think my knees wobbled slightly.

  He swung the hammer and I thought the little bell at the top might rocket on into the night sky. A few people standing around clapped. Rory had proved his manliness. But I hadn’t needed a stuffed animal to know he was all man.

  “Congratulations,” the attendant said, “which one do you want?”

  I must admit I almost swooned at the whole scene. Knowing Rory wanted to win me a stupid stuffed animal bad enough to almost pull his shoulder out of its socket was invigorating. I picked out the biggest brown teddy bear on the wall. It was almost as big as I was.

  As I clutched it in my arms, I smiled at Rory. “Thanks, but you didn’t have to do that.”

  “I wanted to.” His gaze met with mine, then traveled down to my lips.

  I didn’t know for sure, but I sensed he wanted to kiss me. The desire to press my lips all over his pulled at me, calling me like a Carnie lures fairgoers to play their overpriced games for cheap prizes. I wanted Rory to kiss me. There was no denying it.

  But with the crowd standing around, I didn’t think it would happen. Not to mention the gang of women of all ages who’d been following us all night. I worried I’d need a stick to beat them off. If need be, I’d use the giant stuffed bear.

  The feeling of being watched swept over me even stronger this time. Probably the buffet line of women following us, but perhaps it was nothing more than the fact that there were a ton of people standing around. Rory didn’t linger, maybe he felt the stare, too.

  “It’s such a beautiful summer night. I love the smell of food from the fair carrying across the air, although it looks like there are some storm clouds moving in.” Why was I blathering on about the weather? I needed an on-off switch for my mouth.

  “How about we go on a ride?” Rory beamed as if this was his first trip to the fair. His eyes sparkled under the blinking lights.

  A slight whimper stuck in my throat and my stomach flipped. Why hadn’t I anticipated that question? We were at the fair surrounded by the death traps. Of course he’d want to get on one. My worst fear had now come to pass. “Oh, I don’t know...” My eyes widened as I peered up at the massive monster of nothing more than wood and bolts in front of us. “I’m afraid of heights.”

  He grabbed my arm. “Come on, you’ll be fine. I’ll protect you.”

  I did like the idea of his strong, muscular arms holding me tight so I didn’t collapse, but would he still want to protect me when I lost my candy apple all over him?

  “Maybe we should try something a little tame, like the Ferris wheel?”

  That was his idea of tame? Did he realize how high in the air that thing went? I was more of a Tea Cups kind of gal. At least we’d be snuggled together in a little metal box, so it wasn’t an entirely bad thing.

  After buying tickets, Rory led me toward the ride. My stomach roiled at the thought of soon being strapped into that torture device. A combination of panic and fear was not a good look for me. The attendant latched us in and I felt as if I was a caged animal. There was no way out now. But feeling Rory’s thigh touch mine as we squeezed into the little seat next to each other almost made the agony worth it. Almost.

  “I take it you don’t ride these things often?” He quirked his lips as he studied my face.

  “No, not really.” I shook my head while twisting my hands in my lap. “I gave them up years ago, really. My dad took me on the kiddie rides. I tried to convince them I was a kid when I was fifteen, but they didn’t buy it.”

  The music tinkled to life and the ride lurched forward. I gripped the bar in front of us, my knuckles turning white. Rory draped his arm around me and I thought I might melt into the seat. Okay, I hated how high we were, but with his arm around me, I’d stay on this thing for hours.

  So much for staying on this death trap all night. I loved the feel of being wrapped safe in Rory’s arms, but my stomach wasn’t too keen on it. My insides churned and whirled. Creaks and groans from the metal, as it strained to spin the big wheel around, sent a shiver up my spine.

>   “Okay, I’m ready to throw up, er, I mean get off now.”

  Rory squeezed my shoulders. “It’s almost done now.” He chuckled.

  One more loop and I’d lose the apple for sure. True to his word, he had taken care of me, though. The feel of Rory’s hand stroking the back of my head made my heart dance. The ride lurched to a stop, swaying back and forth until the attendant steadied our carriage to a stop. Luckily, we were the first ones off. I’m not sure what I would have done if I’d been stuck waiting at the top.

  “You made it. You only whimpered at the top. I’m impressed.” He gave a flash of gleaming white teeth.

  I took a bow. “What can I say, I’m a whimpering coward.”

  Rory laughed and I steered us away from the Ferris wheel before he suggested we go for another spin. The smell of funnel cakes lingered through the air as we neared the Tilt-A-Whirl.

  “Are you up for another ride? How about this one?” He pointed to the machine that looked as if it had morphed from an innocent carnival ride into a mutant evil Easter egg basket. The pastel purple and yellow with pink did nothing to soothe my churning stomach.

  The tilt of his lips made my heart go pit-a-pat, but no way was I getting on that thing. Did he think because I hadn’t barfed on him that I could handle the next phase in this so-called fun? “I’d prefer to live a while longer, so I think I’ll pass on this one.”

  As we moved away from the ride, a shrill voice shouted out Rory’s name.

  “Look at me, Rory.”

  We whipped around to find the source of the voice. I recognized her as the woman who made her living by writing the equivalent of a gossip column for the local paper. Much to my chagrin, picking out Geneva Beale’s screech in a crowd was never a problem. Her voice sounded like a braying donkey with an upper respiratory infection.

  Geneva desperately tried to capture Rory’s attention. Mission accomplished. Not only did she have his attention, but all the other fairgoers, too. Her brown hair was piled high on her head and her face was flush as if she’d run a marathon. She waved her arms at Rory while everyone around us gawked, shifting their attention from us to the crazy woman on the Tilt-A-Whirl as if they were at a tennis match.

  Geneva was old enough to be Rory’s mother, but that didn’t stop her. Never had I imagined the magic spell would have been this powerful. Each whirl of the basket made Geneva’s face turn greener. But in spite of her pea-colored hue, she still wanted Rory to notice her.

  “Rory, over here!” She waved her arms, then quickly grabbed the safety bar in front of her.

  Rory’s face turned as dark as ketchup. “I have no idea why she is trying to get my attention.”

  “Maybe she wants to tell you something.” I tried to smooth it over.

  “I really don’t know the lady. She must have me confused with someone else.”

  “She did call your name.” Okay, I wasn’t helping matters. Did I really need to point that little tidbit out?

  People still watched and she still tried to wave, but the ride zoomed around at such a rate she finally couldn’t flail her arms about anymore. The velocity of the whirling had momentarily stolen her voice. Thank heavens for small favors.

  Maybe it was best if I got Rory out of there, even if I did want to spend more time with him. Although, we couldn’t avoid these women forever, something had to change soon.

  Rory must have read my mind. With a tilt of his head, he gestured toward town. “I thought maybe we’d have a nice summer treat. It’s not too late. Would you like to go for that ice cream now?”

  This night was doing nothing for my waistline. “Sure, I’d like that.”

  “We can drop off your teddy bear, if you’d like?”

  “That’s probably a good idea. He’d end up covered in chocolate.”

  In fact, the evening had been so fantastic that I’d all but forgotten about my mission of discovering Rory’s true feelings for Kim. How easily I’d put that little forty-eight hours clause out of my mind.

  Rory placed his hand on my back and steered me in the direction of the exit. Yes, this was the best night I’d had in a long time…since I couldn’t remember when. Rory didn’t seem affected by the craziness of what had happened at the café. Of course, he didn’t know the whole story, either. At least I hadn’t sprayed him with whipped cream this time. But ice cream was in our future...maybe the teddy bear wouldn’t be the one to end up wearing chocolate. So why, if the evening was going so well, did I feel the need to mess it up?

  I took a few steadying breaths. For a moment, no words formed, but finally I said, “There’s something I need to tell you about the burger.”

  “I’m listening.”

  My heart thumped. Was I really going to tell him the truth? What would Tom say? What would he do to me when he found out what I’d done?

  A brief moment of reasonable thinking ticked through my brain, and told me it wouldn’t be a good idea yet. Yes, he deserved to know, but if I could fix things without him knowing of the magic, it would be better for him. He didn’t need the extra burden of dealing with this magic business. How long would I have this internal debate?

  “I didn’t knock the burger out of your hands because I thought it wasn’t your order.”

  “No?” He raised a brow.

  “No…” I cleared my throat. “I was worried I gave you expired meat. So you were right to be concerned about getting food poisoning.”

  He stared for a beat. “Well, it’s a good thing everything turned out okay, huh? I’d have probably been unhappy with you if you’d killed me with a burger.” He flashed a wicked grin.

  I chuckled. “I wouldn’t blame you for hating me if I did that.”

  Great. Now he thought my café was unhealthy. But did he really buy my excuse? Maybe he thought I was completely insane. I wanted the conversation to die a quick, painless death, so I changed the subject. We walked across the parking lot and through the small crowd.

  “Thanks again for the bear.” I clutched it to my chest, wishing it was Rory.

  “I couldn’t let you see me lose and not even attempt to win anything,” he said, flashing me a small smile.

  “So it was a macho thing and not just you wanting me to have Mr. Bear.” I patted the bear on its belly.

  He shrugged. “Hey, what can I say, I’m a guy. We’re all like that to some extent.”

  “Yeah, it’s to what extent that matters.”

  He chuckled. “I guess you’re right.”

  We made our way down the gravel path back toward the road and I silently cursed at having the stuffed animals in my arms. Maybe Rory would have held my hand. Maybe not, but I’d never know. Only a little gesture, but any contact would have set me ablaze at that point.

  “Did you have fun tonight?” He reached out and touched the bear’s ear.

  “I had a great time. I’m glad you asked me.” My heart thumped faster.

  “I was hoping you’d say yes. If you’d turned me down, I might never have had any of that cherry pie again. Though I’ll probably hold the whipped cream in the future.”

  Oh no. I hoped this wasn’t the point in the evening when he told me he thought I was a complete idiot.

  “You were glad I said yes?” Add another mark to my ‘stupid things I’ve said’ list.

  He nodded. “I wanted a chance to get to know you better.”

  “It seems like you’ve been real busy lately.” Why did I say that? Did I want to draw attention to the fact that so many women wanted him?

  “You could say that, yes.”

  He didn’t mention the women, so I let it drop. If I’d had a shovel, I’d have buried my words right there. Forever forgotten.

  The moonlight shone against his face, revealing a smile that showcased his white teeth and highlighted his strong jaw. Long, thick lashes outlined his gorgeous green eyes. The black ceiling of sky glittered with stars, a symphony of crickets chirped, and a slight breeze whisked across my arms. Along the path, tree leaves rustled as the w
ind picked up. The moonlight trickled through the branches, breaking some of the darkness. The moon cast a shadow across the road. The trees hovered above, their dark gesticulating branches reaching out as if a canopy stretched over us.

  Temptation got the better of me. I gave in and scoped out his rear when he wasn’t paying attention. He did look good in those jeans and his sexy southern drawl made him even more irresistible. Thoughts of what his lips would feel like next to mine continued to flood my brain. And, oh heavens, what his chest would feel like pressed against me. I needed to lasso my hormones. My knees felt like rubber around him. Instead of thinking of mending magic, my thoughts went to his lips, chest, and cute dimples. So much for lassoing my hormones, I was out of control.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  After dropping off the bear in my car, we headed toward the ice cream. He ordered a vanilla cone, and I had chocolate. He insisted on paying again. That added fuel to my internal debate about this being a real date. If it looks like date and sounds like date, then it must be a date, right? But I couldn’t consider it a date with the magical accident lingering over my head. With sugar cones in hand, we left the Dairy Queen parking lot, making our way back onto the sidewalk.

  “So, this Tom guy helps you?” Rory asked as we strolled past the shops, side by side, licking our ice cream cones. I avoided looking at his tongue as much as possible. That was the last visual I needed in my head right now.

  “Um, yeah.” How did I explain what Tom did? “He’s helping with the accounting.”

  I hated lying and I had to stop this charade before I ended up with an antacid addiction. I needed to tell Rory the truth, but would he still speak to me?

  “What did you do before the café? I heard your grandmother retired.” The more we walked, the nearer Rory got to me. His arm accidentally brushed against mine.

  “I was an administrative assistant for the most evil boss on the face of this planet at a marketing company in Manhattan.” I licked the melting ice cream from the side of my cone.

  Wow, saying it aloud brought back bad memories I’d being trying desperately to repress since I’d gotten back in town.