Something Wicca This Way Comes (5 page)

"That will be too late!" Liz wailed, but it
might already be too late. She had no idea how badly Johnny might
have been injured, and here she was wasting time trying to track
down the one person who might be able to tell her where he was.

Turning she ran back to her car, ignoring
the calls of distress from her friends.

She had to find Johnny. She had to do share
she could to save him.

Making a sharp U-turn in the street, she
raced back down the road in the direction of the library, keeping a
sharp lookout for a feline form lying at the side of the road.

But Donna wasn't at the library, or the dry
cleaners. Half an hour later, Liz was no closer to finding her
friend than she was to finding the wounded feline who might have
someday embodied all her hopes and dreams.

She was reduced to driving up and down all
the roads that Donna might have traveled, but there was no sign of
Johnny, or of anything feline.

Trying to force herself to think calmly and
rationally, she debated on what she might do if she were a cat and
were hit by a car.

"I'd try to get home, to get help," she
gasped out loud and cranked the steering wheel back in the
direction of her neighborhood.

Johnny had told Beth that he was renting the
old Bailey house on her street. He might have been able to drag
himself that far if he was hit on Main Street or somewhere else
close by.

She nearly rammed into a truck that was
backing out of a driveway and had to force herself to slow down and
pay closer to the road.

Then she screeching to a stop in front of
the Bailey house, her mouth falling open as her eyes widened in
surprise.

Johnny was standing in the front yard - in
his very attractive human form - water the lawn with the use of a
long garden hose.

For a moment she could only stare at him in
shocked wonder. He looked perfectly fine. She'd expected blood and
shattered bones.

The adrenaline and fear that she'd been
feeling abruptly started to morph into something else. An
all-consuming blend of hot anger and intense relief.

The sound of her car door slamming shut
brought his sapphire eyes up to focus on her. Then he smiled in
that ultra-sexy way that would have turned her into a whimpering
puddle of goo, if she hadn't been running on sheer panic all
morning.

"I have been looking all over town for you!"
Liz snarled as she stormed across the wet grass to meet him.

His brows crashed together in a confused
look that just made him all the more sexy and ratcheted up the
emotional storm building inside her.

"I've been here, where I live..."

Whatever else he might have said was lost
the moment she laid hands on him.

Stretching up onto her toes, she wrapped
both arms around his neck and kissed him fiercely, savagely, as if
she were punishing him for how frightened she had been and how
relieved she was to find him still alive and whole.

This time it was Johnny who reeled on shaky
knees as their lips parted and their eyes met.

"Wow," he grinned, "does this mean we're
going steady? Because I'm going to want a lot more of those
kisses."

"Maybe," she answered, trying not to answer
his smile with one of her own. She was still mad at him for scaring
her so badly. "But only if you promise to remain in human form. At
least whenever you intend to cross the road. You have extremely bad
luck with cars and roads."

"I do?"

"Just promise me.""

"Okay, I promise."

Now she did smile, but she quickly hid it by
kissing him again.

A Happy Ever After

What happened then, Grandma?"

Liz smiled down at the little girl in the
bed.

Morgan looked just like her mother had when
she was six. Precocious and secure in her world, knowing that she
was loved. With the same warm brown eyes and light brown hair that
had once tormented Liz.

Her hair was gray now, and not nearly so
long and lustrous as it had once been. But she didn’t mind. She’d
earned every one of those gray hairs and she treasured all of the
memories she’d made along the way.

"Why, they got married and lived happily
ever after, of course," she told her little granddaughter. "With
lots of beautiful little babies and grandchildren, just like
you."

There had actually been only one baby. A
daughter. Morgan’s mother. But Liz knew that the little girl liked
it better when her fairytales ended in large families.

Morgan beamed sleepily up from her
pillow.

"Tell me another story, Grandma. I like your
stories."

"Tomorrow, sweet one. It's time for you to
sleep now," Liz told her. "What would your parents say if they knew
I'd let you stay up so late?"

"They won't mind," the little girl fibbed.
But Liz only laughed and shook her head.

“
Go to sleep. I’ll tell
you another story tomorrow night.”

“
Will grandpa come in and
tuck me in too?”

Liz looked at the grizzle haired gray cat
curled up beside Morgan’s pillow.

“
Do you hear that, Mister?
You better go get your master. His granddaughter is asking for
him.”

Moving much slower than he had in his
younger years, the gray cat offered a gravelly old meow and jumped
down off from the bed. He padded out the door and down the hall,
where a moment later Liz knew her husband would emerge.

“
Are you looking for me
pumpkin?” John asked as he finally made his appearance. He was
finding it more difficult to get around these days, but he loved
spending time with their granddaughter whenever Morgan’s parents
took one of their many business trips together.

“
Grandpa!” The little girl
beamed. “Will you tell me a story?”

He offered a gruff old chuckle.

“
Sorry angel, but Grandma
would swat my ears if I kept you up any longer.” He crouched beside
the bed and brushed a kiss to her forehead. “Go to sleep now.
Tomorrow is Halloween and I’ll take you up to that spooky old mill
that your grandmother told you about in her story. Would you like
that?”

“
Yes!” The little girl
cheered, quickly pulling the covers up to her chin and closing her
eyes to feign sleep.

“
That old mill should have
been torn down years ago,” Liz grumbled and she turned on the
little night light in the corner and flipped off the bright
overhead lamp. “It’s a hazard now, despite their attempts to
renovate.”

“
But then where would the
kids go on Halloween to tell each other ghost stories and devour
sickening amounts of sugar?” John returned with a grin, following
her to the door.

As they stepped out into the hall his blue
eyes sparkled and he gave her a flirtatious wiggle of his brows.
“We should be getting to bed too, don’t you think?”

Liz gave him a look of mock horror and put a
finger to her lips. A quick look back into the room assured her
that the child had rolled over and was likely already asleep. Oh,
to be a child again and find a peaceful sleep so easily.

“
Will the coven be meeting
tomorrow night?” John asked as they made their way back down
towards their own bedroom.

“
Perhaps,” Liz mused. A
few of her dear friends had married and moved away, but those that
remained still loved to gather for their occasional Sabbats. “Do
you think that Morgan will someday grow up and be curious about our
rituals? After her mother married, she would never even discuss
coming back to the circle.”

“
Every child has to find
their own way,” John soothed her. “Just like we did.”

Liz smiled wistfully back down the hall.

“
She reminds me so much of
Mary at that age.”

“
She reminds me of you,”
John corrected, capturing her cheek against his palm. “I love you,
Liz. Have I told you so today?”

“
You’ve made that claim at
least a dozen times every day, since the day we were married,” she
teased. But it still made her heart warm to hear it
again.

“
I love you
too.”

Additional titles in the
Kitty Coven Series

It all started on a cold October’s eve in
1954.

That’s when a group of young witches cast a
powerful spell that would forever change their lives and the lives
of everyone in the small town of Aspire, New York.

Something Wicca This Way
Comes

A short prequel story

Using a token offering from a handsome new
stranger in town, a coven of young witches cast a spell to make
their home a beacon to others of his kind. But magic can be very
specific. By the time they discover that he's a feline shifter, the
spell has been set and Aspire, New York will never be the same.

The Bare Witch
Project

Book #1

Morgan is the granddaughter of an original
Kitty Coven member, but she's never practiced witchcraft before.
She's also terrified of cats! But when she finds herself facing
some of the biggest challenges of her life, she'll turn to the
magic that her grandmother relied upon.

Love Is a Witch

Book #2

Rachel grew up on a small farm on the edge
of Aspire. She has always loved animals, but doesn’t feel like
there is a place for pets in her new apartment. Besides, she’s too
busy trying to keep her brother Matt from making one of the biggest
mistakes of his life.