Page 9 of Bait N' Witch

He’d get to the truth eventually.

Blowing out a frustrated breath, Greyson closed the file on the witch. There was nothing he could do until he’d talked more with the demigod, nymph, and wolf shifters.

“Show me Rowan.” With a wave of his hand, the screen of his laptop came to life, showing his new nanny.

Time to see how she handled disaster. Greyson found a person’s true personality came out when everything went wrong. He’d put all the previous nannies to similar tests, though he had to admit, curiosity spiked inside him as he wondered how Rowan would react to the challenges he was about to put her through.

Then he’d know if he’d keep her around or not. He ignored the sickening drop to his stomach at the idea of having to turn her away. Her slenderness struck him as unnatural, gaunt almost. But he wasn’t in the business of saving strays. The important thing was finding the right nanny for his girls.

Would Rowan prove to be that person?

Chapter Four

The pungent odor of burning reached Rowan’s nose, which she wrinkled in distaste as she sniffed the air.

“What in the name of mystical—”

With a gasp she leaped up from the lounger on the back porch, where she was watching the girls practice small bits of magic as they played in the untamed woods behind the house. Silly things like turning a rock into a flower. Now, she turned her back on her charges and rushed into the house and straight for the kitchen.

“No, no, no,” she muttered under her breath. She couldn’t have got this wrong already.

Sure enough, the charred lump she pulled from the oven in no way resembled food. “My lasagna,” she wailed.

With hectic movements, she turned off the oven, turned on the overhead fan, and then opened a bunch of windows.

That’ll teach me to try to cook without magic. She tossed a glare at the offending hunk of what had been noodles and sauce. What had she done wrong? Worse, any second Greyson would appear, demanding to know what had happened. No way could he miss the heavy scent of smoke pervading the house.

But after a few minutes, he didn’t show. What to do? She could use magic to clear the air and fix the dinner, but would he notice? He was, after all, a powerful mage, and a hunter, which meant he paid attention to details, or he’d never track down those he was after. Technically, using magic to make dinner wasn’t a bad thing, but if she showed too many skills, he’d start to ask questions. Nannies’ skills were supposed to be domestic, though. Rowan had almost convinced herself to risk it. The alternative was admitting she’d messed up dinner.

Maybe I can start another dish instead? She moved to the pantry, which she’d already snooped around in, and came up with a few cans of tuna. She knew the fridge wasn’t much better stocked. Tuna surprise it is, then.

Twenty minutes later, a new casserole bubbled away in the oven. So maybe she put a tiny spell on it to ensure it wouldn’t burn. Plus, she made sure to check on it often. In the meantime she found a can of aerosol scent and sprayed it liberally throughout the kitchen, leaving the windows open.

At least the weather cooperated, a light breeze blowing through the house and across her skin. Surprisingly mild for November in the mountains, though she was sure, based on the small piles of snow around the bases of the trees, that harsher weather would return soon. Delilah had told her the weather here could change in the blink of an eye. Blizzard one day, melted the next, and back to dry the day after.

A relieved sigh escaped her lips. Greyson hadn’t discovered her mistake. Score one for the underdog. The quiet suddenly made itself felt. Darkness had fallen. She should’ve had the girls inside ages ago. Grabbing her thick jacket, which she’d thrown on the floor earlier, she slipped out to the back patio. All thoughts of dinner vanished as she noted the silence outside. Her steps slowed as she scanned the woods. Where were the girls?

They must’ve come back inside while I was busy with dinner. However, a quick but thorough check of the house showed her they had not. Rowan refused to allow panic to enter the situation. No way could she have messed up dinner and lost her charges all in the same night. Greyson would fire her on the spot, and then how would she implement her plan?

With hurried steps she went to where she’d last seen the girls. Stopping there, she ran her gaze along the woods, which, after about fifty feet, veered steeply up the side of the mountain. No sounds of laughter or chatter reached her. Where on earth could they be?

A prickle crawled up her neck, and she swiped at it with her hand before she could stop herself.

You’re not being watched anymore, she told herself in her best inner stern voice.

She hoped.

Shaking off her apprehension, she assessed the situation. Dinner would be ready soon, under the wire for Greyson’s seven o’clock deadline. Magic might be her only option now. Rowan bit her lip. So many spells in one day, of varying kinds, not a great start to flying under the radar. If she could keep it small, maybe they wouldn’t realize. Back turned to the house, just in case, she closed her eyes. “Nuru il immaru.”

Roughly translated, the words meant to see the light. She thought the words, not daring to say them aloud. The spell would be minimized without the spoken phrases. Exactly as she intended.

With a spell such as this one, she was never entirely sure of the results, leaving the specifics up to the magic. Slowly opening her eyes, she sucked in a breath. Before her a glittering set of golden footsteps wound around the yard. A quick glance revealed the path moving back into the house. So they were inside, in one of the few places she hadn’t checked, which meant either the attic, Greyson’s office, or his bedroom. Had they hidden from her?

Damn, and I thought I was doing so well connecting with them.

Before her spell could fade, Rowan traced their steps back inside to discover the attic had been their final destination. She doubted they’d missed the stench of the smoke from her ruined dinner as they came inside. What if a real fire had blazed and they’d been trapped? And what was their goal by hiding?

Getting her in trouble, most likely.

---