Page 87 of Sugar, Spice, and Magical Midlife

Wow. There was no way my aunt’s spies hadn’t known, which meant this was never a mission to rescue Ric, but awar into which Serena had dragged my twelve-year-old son. I glared at my aunt as she pulledMagaSagredo from the rubble. My grandmother was covered in dust but looked otherwise unharmed.

“What happened?”MagaSagredo asked while hanging her head in her hands.

“Your advisor was a succubus,” Serena said as she handed her a piece of candy. “She had you under her spell.”

My grandmother blinked up at her, a frightened look in her eyes. “For how long?”

Serena sat back on her heels, wiping sweat from her brow. “Years, Mother.”

MagaSagredo rolled the candy around on her tongue while looking lost in thought.

Meanwhile, I was fuming. My aunt tricked me, made me believe Ric was still a prisoner, and put our lives in danger so we’d help her battle the succubi. I didn’t think I could ever forgive her.

“I want to go home, Mama,” Des said while loosening his hold on me. “I don’t like it here.”

“I know, sweetheart.” I straightened, rubbing his back. “I think you’ve had enough excitement for a while.”

Frederica stood, carrying Ethyl in her arms like a mother cradling a small child.

I frowned at the tear in Ethyl’s wing. “You okay, cousin?”

She nodded while wiping her eyes.

Shu examined Ethyl’s wing. “A simple repair spell should do the trick, though it may be sore a few days.”

Puffy materialized on Frederica’s shoulder, letting out a cross between a roar and a bark.

“Can we go now, Mama?” Des asked after spitting his jawbreaker into the rubble.

“Yep.” I threaded my fingers through his, then reached for Ric, my heart rapidly fluttering when he took my other hand in his warm grip.

“You can’t leave,” Serena protested. “We have too much work to do.”

“Duuuude.” Shu wagged a finger at my aunt. “Take a chill pill.”

I scowled at Serena. “We’ve done enough work for you.”

Her jaw dropped. “We’ve only just begun.”

I motioned for Frederica and Shu to join our circle.

“Let’s go home,” I said to my son.

Serena hollered moments before we blinked out and landed in the center of my darkened bakery.

SHU SPUN A SLOW CIRCLE. “Where are we?”

I turned on my wand light. It was still dark outside. “My bakery in New Mexico.”

Shu let out a low whistle. “Hella cool!”

Des pulled away from me and sat at a table in the corner of the bakery while shoving his headphones onto his head. Puffy flew into his lap, and he rubbed the dragon’s back while turning on his computer. Des was suffering from sensory overload and would need at least a week of downtime after our adventure. My heart warmed as I watched my son, and I had a new appreciation for Puffy. I had always thought him more of a nuisance, but I didn’t realize until this trip how much he meant to Des and to our family.

I looked around for Ric, momentarily panicked when I didn’t see him. But then he returned from outside, his face grim. “The outside is clear, but we shouldn’t stay here long.”

I nodded then motioned toward Shu. “Ric, I’d like you to meet our family’s fairy godfather. Shu, this is Ric.”

“Hello, Big Daddy.” Shu angled his head to the side, the springy curls on his mullet rattling. “So this is the gorgeous stud muffin you crossed an ocean to save?” He gave Ric an appreciative look. “I can see why.”

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