Page 53 of Magical Melee
No matter how good-looking Keegan was.
“Thanks, but I’ll manage,” I said, mustering up a polite smile. “I don’t need a chaperone.”
“Okay, well.” He cleared his throat. “Have a nice night.”
I watched him walk down the path and felt a strange loneliness I hadn’t felt since signing the divorce papers.
But I brushed it off and turned toward the house, heading inside to gather the laundry with Frank waddling behind me. I tossed the sheets, blankets, and quilt over the loft’s balcony, and they all landed in the basket.
“Okay, Frank. You coming or staying?”
I started toward the door, but Frank stationed himself stubbornly by the entrance. The short hair on his spine spiked, and my mind flashed back to what Keegan said about people not staying here long.
“What’s wrong, Frank?” I opened the door, gesturing for him to see that everything was fine, but he didn’t budge. His little face was unusually tense, and hisears perked as I closed it.
“Go on?” I asked softly, trying to coax him forward.
That’s when he let out a low, rumbling growl. His eyes fixed on something outside as if he could see through the door.
The hairs on the back of my neck prickled. I listened, catching the faintest scratching sound coming from the porch. My mind leaped to the most logical conclusion. It was probably just a mouse or some other critter trying to escape the cold. I steeled myself, opened the door, and stepped outside.
The moment I did, I yelped, fell backward, and slammed the door shut.
My heart hammered wildly as Frank jumped on my stomach, and I groaned with the weight.
I was seeing things.
I had officially lost my mind.
Letting out a slow breath, I rolled Frank off my stomach and climbed back to my feet with the help of a small table.
I slowly moved a green velvet drape to the side of the entry window and peered outside.
My voice disappeared as I tried to yell, and Frank growled again.
Why had I chased off Keegan?
Standing on the porch, staring up at me with a rather indignant expression, was a creature that looked suspiciously like a… gremlin?
Pale green skin stretched over a bony body with ears flapping in the wind, and a scrunched-up face stared right back at me.
“Frank, there’s a gremlin outside.”
No. This was my mind playing tricks on me.
Absolutely had to be my mind.
It was one thing to play dress up and pretend magic existed. It was quite another thing to seethis.
I still blame the kaleidoscope tea from the other day.
But damn it. The scarf floated at the yarn shop.
The scratching outside intensified, and I heard a faint voice muffled through the door. “I amnota gremlin, thank you very much!”
I froze, heart pounding, trying to process what I’d just seen.
And now heard.
