Page 26 of The Witch's Werewolf
“Idiots. The both of you,” he says, stepping inside.
Cherry’s not hurt. No one else was injured last night. I can’t think why he’s so upset. Though I do detect a hint of jealousy in his tone.
“Sit over there,” Alma says, pointing Finnegan toward the hearth. “Don’t sit next to me.”
“You think I’m going to attack you right in front of Morgan?” Finnegan asks. “She could turn me into a fruit bat without a second thought.”
Alma arches an eyebrow. “No, it’s not that. I just don’t want to be sitting next to you if the sunrise makes you burst into flames.”
Cherry exits the bedroom, tying a bathrobe tightly around her waist.
“What’s everybody doing here?” Cherry asks.
“We’d like to ask the same question,” says Finnegan.
I snap, “Don’t talk to her like that.”
“And it’s begun,” sighs the vampire, rubbing his thumbs into his tired eyes.
“Alma? I thought you were supposed to come over last night? What happened?” Cherry asks.
“I did come over. And I heard you guys last night,” Alma says. Cherry winces. “You left the door open, and let’s just say I wasn’t about to interrupt whatever that was.”
“Oh. Hello, Grandma. Sorry you had to learn about my new, uh, situation this way.”
“I see. Ah…let’s go make some tea for your guests, hmm?” The elder witch flounces toward the kitchen, dragging her granddaughter with her.
“Situation?” Finnegan comments when they’re out of earshot. “I don’t think that means what she thinks it means.”
“She doesn’t want to spook her grandmother,” I say.
“Much too late for that.”
I don’t understand the judgmental tone. “Look. I told you before I would never hurt her, and I didn’t. What are you so prickly with me for?”
“I’m sorry, do you know me to be a warm and cuddly puppy on most days?”
“Enough, children!”
Both Finnegan and I turn toward the person shouting at us. Alma sits cross-legged on the sofa, hugging a pillow, the posture of peaceful zen. But her expression is fury. “You two argue like an old married couple, and I don’t want to listen to it. First of all, Finnegan, you need to stop negging your friend. Cherry didn’t get hurt because she actually did a successful protection spell.Also, she obviously has feelings for this man. I could tell last night, even though she never brought it up with me. Props to her, but she’s got teenage longing written all over her.
“And Timber? Your friend here is up your ass because he spent all night trying to stage a scene to throw the town off your scent and stop trying to retaliate against you for what you did to Toby Cook.”
I turn to Finnegan. “You did? What kind of a scene?”
Finn sighs and turns away from me to peek out the curtain, then winces at the sound of sizzling as the rays of the sun hit his fingers. He jumps back and licks the wound on his thumb. “Nothing. I did nothing.”
Alma rolls her eyes. “He drained a bunch of raccoons and skunks. Like, a lot of them, the disgusting vamp. Then, he strew them all over Main Street with the intention of drawing attention to him and away from you. I came along looking for Cherry, and well, you know what I heard when I got to her house. Then I saw what the vamp was trying to do and decided he needed professional help.”
Finn scoffs. “I wasn’t doing anything.”
Alma sighs. “Fortunately, the kills were recent enough, and I was able to use their energy to create a glamour and summon Animal Control. Imagine their surprise when they found our hero, Finnegan, standing over a huge, very dead black wolf.”
Cherry appears with Morgan again, with Cherry holding a serving tray filled with tea and snacks from the kitchen.
Her soothing presence breaks the tension in the room. Everyone smiles at her and her grandmother, feeling grateful for the nurturing attention.
Once all the mugs have been passed around, Finnegan continues the story.
