Page 8 of Her Vampire Hero

"Excuse me," Jenny said, trying to catch his attention. "I'm looking for the mayor's office?"

The receptionist caught the orbs with a wave of his hand and pointed to a door that definitely hadn't been there a second ago."Third door on the left, can't miss it. Mind the temporal shift on your way out."

Jenny decided it was best not to ask what a "temporal shift" was and made her way to the indicated door. She knocked and heard a cheerful, "Come in!" from the other side.

The mayor’s office was a study in organized chaos. Every surface was covered in papers, trinkets, and what looked suspiciously like magical artifacts. And in the center of it all sat a short, plump woman with rosy cheeks and a head full of curls that seemed to defy gravity. The name plaque on her desk proclaimed her as Mayor Sylvia Haasenfrau.

"Ah, Jenny Cortado," Sylvia exclaimed. "I've been expecting you. Please, have a seat. Tea?"

Jenny blinked, momentarily thrown off balance. "Uh, no, thanks. How did you know I was coming?"

Sylvia waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, I have my ways. Now, what can I do for you?"

As Jenny explained about the abandoned Camry, she felt a sense of calm washing over her. Sylvia's presence was oddly soothing, making Jenny feel like everything was going to work out just fine.

"Well, isn't that serendipitous?" Sylvia said, beaming. "That old Camry's been sitting there for ages. There’s something wrong with the engine. There’s no owner on record, so it’s all yours.”

Jenny's excitement must have shown on her face because Sylvia laughed, a tinkling sound that made Jenny want to laugh along. "I'll just need you to fill out some paperwork, and then you can get started on your new project. Who knows? Maybe working on that car will help you settle into Beastly Falls a bit more."

“Oh I’m not staying.”

“Never say never.”

As Jenny filled out the forms (which included such odd questions as "Have you ever been cursed by a witch?" and "On a scale of 1 to 10, how resistant are you to transfiguration?"), she couldn't shake the feeling that this was too easy. But hey, who was she to look a gift car in the mouth?

With the keys to her new project in hand, Jenny practically skipped back to the parking lot. However, when she got back to the parking lot her mood swung as she staggered a bit. She was never that cheerful. Had the mayor worked some mojo on her?

Jenny decided that she didn’t care. She put that and the supernatural town out of her mind and spent the next few hours assessing the Camry's condition, making mental notes of what needed to be fixed and what parts she'd need to scrounge up. She took a quick break to grab the burger plate special at the Moonlit Café.

As she worked, she found herself relaxing for the first time since entering Beastly Falls. This, at least, was familiar territory. Engines didn't care if you were human or supernatural—they just needed the right touch to purr back to life.

She was so engrossed in her work that she barely noticed the sun setting until a voice startled her out of her concentration.

"I see you've found a new project."

Jenny looked up to see Rook standing there, looking unfairly attractive in the darkness. Her heart did a little flip that she steadfastly ignored.

"Yep," she said, wiping her hands on a rag. "Figured if I'm stuck here, I might as well make myself useful."

Rook's lips curved into a smile that did funny things to Jenny's insides. "What are you planning to do with it if you can get it to work?"

Jenny snorted. "Please. There’s noif. I’m going to use it to drive to upper state New York and beg to reschedule my interview.

Something flickered in Rook's eyes, but it was gone so quickly Jenny thought she might have imagined it.

“I’m not sure what excuse I’m going to give them, because they’re sure as shit not going to believe the truth.”

"Well," Rook said, his voice carefully neutral, "since you're not making your grand escape tonight, perhaps you'd join me for a cup of tea? I've just opened the shop for the evening."

Jenny hesitated. On the one hand, spending more time with Rook was probably a bad idea. He was distractingly attractive, and she couldn't afford distractions right now. On the other hand, tea did sound good.

"Sure," she found herself saying. "Let me just clean up here."

The Midnight Brew was a welcoming place. Soft, warm lighting cast a cozy glow over the plush armchairs and polished wood tables. The air was heavy with the scent of exotic teas and spices, and soft jazz played in the background.

Jenny settled into one of the armchairs, feeling oddly at home despite the supernatural surroundings. Rook bustled behind the counter, preparing their drinks with the practiced ease of someone who'd been doing it for... well, probably centuries.

"So," Jenny said as Rook handed her a steaming cup, "busy day of sleeping in a coffin?"

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