Page 97 of Starry with a Chance of Nightshade

She leaned against me. “I was at a party I shouldn’t have been at. I had a drink and was bored so I decided to walk home but someone or something was following me. I ran into Astria. That’s everything. I’m not drunk. I swear. I didn’t imagine it.”

My gaze slid to Elis’s.

From the expression on his face, he believed her. “How about we get you home? Tonight probably isn’t the night to be out alone. Astria, we’ll give you a ride to wherever you’re headed too.”

“Oh, goodie. You found her,” said a buxom blonde woman as she came at us from around the building too. She had on a thin pink top and a long flowing skirt with tiny blue birds on it. She had on too many bracelets to count. They rattled as she moved.

Elis did a double take. “Marcy? What in the hell are you doing here? Bram will have my head if something happens to you.”

There was no doubt in my mind that this Marcy was the very one who had been on the phone earlier this morning.

She smiled, ignoring Elis as she walked right past him, coming for Cadee. She pulled Cadee from my arms and into hers, giving her a big hug. “I’m so glad you’re not dead and that you still have your brains.”

My breath caught.

Cadee squeaked. “Wh-hat?”

Elis moved in fast, trying to peel Marcy off Cadee. He’d have had more luck trying to split an atom than pulling the women apart. “Uh, Marcy, how about we not scare the crap out of her?”

Marcy squeezed Cadee tighter. “I found her, Burgess! Tell the birds so they can tell the bees and then they can tell the flowers! She’s safe!”

I was thoroughly confused but slightly amused, so I stayed quiet. Right up until something furry and gray came leaping out of nowhere at us. Then I yelped. It jumped onto Marcy’s skirt and then skimmed up her body to her shoulder, where it began to make small noises.

When I realized it was a squirrel, I looked to Elis for help.

He sighed. “The squirrel is theleastodd thing about her.”

I failed to hide my laugh. Though I didn’t have a lot of room to talk. I was carrying a broom handle around a college campus on a monster hunt.

Marcy noticed me then and fixed a giant smile on me right before she was grabbing me and hugging me too, to hell with the fact I was still clutching a long broom handle. “I missed you so much!”

“Missed me?” I asked, trying but failing to maneuver out of her ironclad grasp.

The squirrel and I were left face-to-face, and I had to admit, he looked a little freaked out by me. I couldn’t really blame him. I was a bit freaked too. He grabbed hold of Marcy’s long blonde hair and held on tight.

“Yes. I saw you this morning and then I didn’t see you again,” she said, rocking me back and forth.

“Um, you might have me confused with someone else,” I returned, making another attempt at gaining my freedom. I failed. “We haven’t officially met. I heard you on the phone with Stratton though.”

She eased back a little and pursed her lips. She then laughed softly. “Oh, silly me. I mean Iwillmiss you when we see each other again on another day.”

“Yeah, I’m totally lost,” I said.

Elis nodded. “Just go with it.”

“All right,” I said, patting Marcy’s shoulder. “Sorry that you’re going to miss me later, on another day.”

“Aww, thank you. That’s so sweet,” she said, hugging me again. “I knew we’d be close. So, tell me all about sex with Stratton. Was it good?”

I jerked back. “I’m sorry, but what?”

Elis laughed and tried to hide it behind a cough. “Marcy, remember the talk Bram had with you about keeping some thoughts on the inside around other people?”

She glanced at him. “Yes. He said I don’t need to tell everyone everything that pops into my head. I then told him I was thinking about licking him all over and suddenly he changed his vote on my inside voice becoming an outside one.”

Elis chuckled. “That’ll do it. Okay, let’s get you back to the estate before Bram realizes you’re not there.”

Marcy tipped her head. “You brought your own broom? That’s really thinking ahead, Astria. There will be a lot of cleanup to do. Hmm, you seem to be missing the bristles.”

---