Elle had never understood my fascination for animals—which, as she’d put it, were unfeeling, unthinking, and incapable of loving back—but she’d accepted my quirks just as I’d had no problem accepting hers.
Edward had so much of his mother in him, but as I watched him wade through the rocks and muck toward the very best spots to find hidey holes for creatures, I grinned because there was some of me in there too.
I watched him wading out a little deeper, right where the water was rushing a little harder. Cupping my mouth with my hands, I called out, “Move away from there a little bit, boy.”
“Ah, he’ll be fine. I promise.” A softly feminine lilt caught my attention.
Looking up, I saw a tall woman in a sheer dress of pale pink walking slowly but steadily in my direction. Her hair was caught up in a thick sea-foam-green-colored braid that fell gently over her right shoulder. Her face was free of makeup, her cheeks were rosy and plump, and her eyes were the shallow blue green of a tropical beach. She looked very young, and yet there was a wariness shading her gaze that felt far more mature and wise than her youthful appearance indicated.
I frowned and stood when she stopped just inches from me, her gaze on Edward.
Not knowing what to say, Southern manners came to the fore, and I held out my hand. “I’m—”
“Zane Huntington,” she said with a full-lipped smirk. “I know.”
My brows rose.
“Small town,” she said, with a slight shrug in way of an answer. “And that must be Edward.”
My nostrils flared just as a stiff breeze blew, bringing with it the scents of lilies and the sweet, marshy scent of pond water. When she brushed her loose curls back, sunlight glinted off her pale ivory skin, making it appear almost translucent. Her nails were a strange mother-of-pearl shade that looked at times clear, other times green, and yet other times tinted a purplish hue.
The woman had literally appeared out of thin air, or at least it had felt that way. Scanning the tree line, I saw no curls of smoke or a chimney stack hidden anywhere. So she didn’t live here, but I could have sworn there was no one else about when Edward and I had come down this trail. The only way back here was through Coco’s shop, and I would have seen anyone walking down that trail, especially someone that looked like a Victorian-era ghost.
Her dress was unusual, not a style I recognized. Of course, I wasn’t much of a fashion guru. Her style was decidedly old-fashioned for someone so young except, of course, for her wild hair and nail color.
An eerie sense that I had literally stumbled into a ghost-town-come-to-life flitted briefly through my mind as I remembered the strange Doc Holliday, or Butch, as Coco had called him.
I gestured with my hand that she’d still not taken in greeting yet.
She grinned. “Oh, how rude of me. Meri. Meri...uh, Undine,” she said softly, straight white teeth gleaming like freshwater pearls in the morning sun.
Her fingers were solid enough, though a tad chilly and slightly damp to the touch. There went my theory of ghosts.
I rubbed my fingers across my jeans inconspicuously. Was she nervous? Was that why her palms were so sweaty?
I snorted, a slight grin on my face, which she instantly noticed. Her torquoise eyes gleamed.
“My name amuses you?”
Odd as she was, and strange as it’d been for her to show up out of the blue, I found myself chuckling back. “Sort of,” I said honestly.
Thin brows rose high on her forehead.
I shook my head. “But not the way that you think. It’s just I’ve been teased all my life for my strangely long name, and yet I think I might have the most common name in town. I’ve met a Primrose, Violet, Zinnia Rose, Oswald and Glenda, Butch, and Coco. And now you, Meri Undine. Very nice to meet you.”
She gave an amused grunt. “I suppose you’re right, though if you think you’ve met the strangest amongst us, you’d be sorely mistaken.” She winked. “Anyway, I don’t mean to be a bother. I just wanted to come over and say hello. Meet the new guy.”
I frowned because, again, where in the world had she been hiding? Especially barefoot, she couldn’t have been far. The clearing Edward and I were in was wide open. There were trees a good way distant, but I’d have seen her, unless this place was full of caves.
I patted my chest. “Just passing through, really. I was supposed to be out of here today. This morning, in fact. Car trouble.” I shrugged.
She nodded. “I’m sure Coco will fix you right up.”
“Dad! Dad! Look what I found, Dad!” It was Edward, crying out and running toward us, very obviously hanging onto a squirming bright-red bundle in his hand.
I turned, but it was Meri who jogged toward the water’s edge. I couldn’t help but notice the sudden wideness of her eyes and the tremor in her hands. Looking back at my son, I quickly ascertained what he held.
A squirming and beautiful specimen of a red-bellied newt. It looked to be about three inches long, with a spotted pattern on its belly. Its tail was missing, dropped no doubt to ward off predators. Still, it was gorgeous, and I held my hands out for it.
“Maybe... maybe you should put her down now,” Meri said softly.
I grinned as Edward placed the newt in my hands. “Don’t worry. I’m well aware of how to properly handle these beauties. I’m a herpetologist.”
She clutched at her throat but nodded gently.
Lost in the observation of such a gorgeous and normally shy specimen, I studied its legs and head, and ran my fingers along its dark skin. The nub where its tail should have been showed fresh growth. The tail had been dropped less than a week ago and would regrow soon enough.
“Isn’t it pretty, Dad?” Edward asked with obvious pride.
I nodded. “A beauty for sure. You made sure you didn’t have any cuts on your hands before picking it up, right?”
“’Course.” He nodded and held out his hands, showing me the fronts and backs. “See.”
The newt was incredibly calm in my hands, blinking its beady little gold-colored eyes reflexively and casually chewing on something, though I couldn’t tell what. Newts could release toxins from their skin, but unlike other species of newt, the red-bellied was far less toxic than most. Unless one had an open cut or sore. Then there could be problems. But I’d trained Edward from almost the moment he could walk on proper handling care when it came to reptiles.
“Well, go wash your hands in the creek, boy. Thoroughly.”
“Okay, Dad.”
Edward splashed off as I lightly scratched the newt’s head, feeling Meri’s stare on my face I glanced up.
She looked fascinated by my own fascination. “You don’t seem at all scared of her.”
I shook my head. “I’m no threat to it. It clearly knows that. It’s not even expressing toxin right now.”
She held out her hands to me, and I looked at her.
“You want to hold it?” I’d seen her fear just a second ago, but now she seemed anything but.
“Yes. She should be returned to her home.”
“Ah,” I nodded. She was one of those, then. “I wasn’t going to harm it, I swear.”
The newt, which actually did appear to be female by its larger girth, looked content to remain right where it was. In fact, the thing was now starting to sniff my palm and walk around and around, much like a dog might when looking for the perfect spot for a nap.
Curious, I examined the cloaca. It was in fact a she. I wasn’t sure how Meri had known that without examining it, and yet it was clearly nothing more than a good guess.
I wished I had my camera. I’d love to take pictures of her to add to my collection. I did have my phone, though the zoom wouldn’t be as powerful.
Reaching into my pocket, I retrieved my phone and gave it over to Meri’s waiting hand. “Would you mind snapping a quick picture for me? Zoom in really close, if you don’t mind.”
She looked down at the phone in her hand with a curious glance. “I, um—”
&nbs
p; “Oh yeah. Let me bring up the app for you.” Pressing my thumb down on the button, I opened the screen and popped open the camera app. I zoomed in too, just in case. Meri had seemed a little confused. She probably lived off the grid and shunned technology of any sort. She seemed the type, anyway.
“Just press the circular button at the bottom whenever you’re ready,” I said as I passed it back.
She nodded and took the phone with her long, slender fingers. I hadn’t noticed until just then that she had a thin webbing of almost translucent skin between each digit.
I bit my bottom lip, telling myself to stop looking and say nothing. It was well known in my family that every third generation suffered from hexadactyly, the presence of an extra toe on their foot. Genetics was a weird business. Who was I to judge?
Her lips thinned as she brought the phone so close to my palm that I had serious doubts the image would be clear.
“Um, you don’t have to get so close. It’ll zoom in automatically. Pull it away a few inches. Just a little.”
“Oh,” she said with a shy smirk. “Of course. I knew that.”
It didn’t sound like she had, though. God, I was in the Twilight Zone.
She pressed the button, frowned, then pressed the button again and again and again.
I chuckled. “Pretty sure you got it. Thanks, Meri.”
I took it back and slipped it into my pocket. I’d look at the shots later. Hopefully, there was a clear one in the bunch.
She gave me a tight-lipped nod. “Okay. Well, give her back to me then, please. She needs her rest.”
She held out her hand. The little newt was fast asleep, tiny chest rising and falling with her deep breaths. I snorted. Salamanders and newts were some of my favorite amphibians. Both of them were extraordinarily shy creatures, but unlike the nocturnal salamanders, newts thrived in both daylight and darkness. Still, they weren’t common to find.
She really did have such a cute face, and I found my lips twitching in fascination. I wanted to keep this one. In fact, I felt a very powerful pull in my chest as my thumb brushed gently and softly along her surprisingly rough skin. Most people thought amphibians had slick skin, but in fact they didn’t always.
Her little mouth looked tipped up into a smile, and she rolled partially onto her side, exposing her belly to me in sleep just like a puppy wanting a good rub. Chuckling deeply, I brushed my fingers over her smooth, pretty pattern.
“You like this one,” Meri said softly, reminding me I wasn’t alone.
I nodded. “Yeah, I like them all.”
True enough, but she was right. There was something about this smiling-faced newt that made me reluctant to relinquish her. Edward would love the chance to keep a pet, unconventional as it was.
I glanced over to where my son searched the waters for more treasures. He was splashing here and there and turning over rocks. He had always enjoyed the thrill of discovery.
Meri nodded and thrust her hand out toward me again. She was insistent. Maybe the newt was hers. I frowned at the thought, which was foolish of me. Obviously, I loved the unconventional creatures. That went without saying. But I knew I was being silly.
With a deep sigh, I handed over the still slumbering creature. She twitched, opened her little golden eyes, and looked directly at me. An intense, but very brief, sensation of falling passed over me, making me dizzy for half a second.
Meri, who’d taken the newt in hand already, glanced at me with a worried frown. “You okay?”
I was just about to brush at my eyes until I recalled I’d been holding a newt. I would have thought maybe some of its toxin had gotten to me, but red-bellied toxin was more of a skin irritant than anything else. They were relatively harmless overall.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” And I was. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was high-time Edward and I got out of here.
“Edward. Time to go, buddy,” I called out, hoping that when I went back to check on the car, I’d be given good news.
Meri nodded. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Huntington—”
I shook my head. “That’s my father’s name. You can just call me Zane.”
Her smile was wide. “Zane then. Very nice to meet a fellow newt lover. You take care of yourselves.”
With a wave, she walked off, holding on tight to my newt. I released another sigh of longing. She would have been a fine specimen, indeed. Edward had reached me, and clapping a hand on his thin shoulder, I turned and headed for his shoes.
Unfortunately, back at the shop, Coco didn’t say anything I wanted to hear. We were going to be stuck in Blue Moon Bay for another day at least.
Chapter 6
Zinnia Rose
I CAME TO JUST AS THE last sliver of sun was slipping below the horizon. Blinking a few times, it took me a second to realize who I was.
Dirt and pebbles had scraped my arms and thighs raw. I licked my lips, tasting the herby bitterness of chlorophyll still on my tongue. I smacked my lips again. There was something grainy and crunchy in my mouth too. I shuddered. It was best never to think about what I’d done during the day.
Mrrrow. I knew by the airy chirp that it was Lapis, and not Malachite, waiting on me, as she always did.
Crawling to my very naked, very dirty knees, I shoved my grass-flecked hair out of my eyes. I had to open the diner soon, and yet whatever I’d done during the day left me feeling hung over and my stomach rather topsy-turvy.
I belched and grimaced. Dear Goddess, what did I eat?
Lapis meowed again, blue eyes peering at me with something akin to curiosity and maybe even a glint of humor. Though Malachite was quiet, I knew he was around. I felt the sharp sting of his teeth on my thigh. He’d tried to eat me again.
“Bad kitty,” I moaned as my stomach chose that moment to roil and rebel. I had just a moment to crawl back toward a tree before everything I’d eaten came right back up.
When I finished, I knew there was no way I could handle my shift tonight. Thankfully, I had all the cookies, pies, and sweets done. Iris—another hearth witch—would take over for me when I wasn’t feeling up to snuff. Delilah, too, could handle the crowd with no problem. I was going home to relax and sleep off the stupor.
I shuffled to my feet, nearly tripping over what I thought was an exposed tree root until I realized said root had just hissed at me and scampered off.
“Malachite,” I grumbled. Why that cat insisted on remaining with me, I’d never know. Though, I rather thought it was love of Lapis, and not me, that caused him to remain. The two were thick as thieves.
Lapis remained by my side, purring softly and swishing her fat tail back and forth. Even though I felt terrible, I managed a small grin back at her.
“Nighting to you too, sweet one,” I grunted as I bent over to fetch my neatly folded clothing.
Creature of habit that I was, I’d learned years ago that I would always wake up in this exact spot in the woods. I’d made a habit of keeping a spare change of clothing tucked into the rotted stump of a tree along with my wand and other necessaries.
Combing the tangles and knots out of my hair, I made quick work of getting myself in order. No one in town knew where I hied off to each sunrise, and that was the way I aimed to keep it. My business was my business.
I was just pulling on my black leather Victorian boots when I heard the rustle of leaves. Glancing up, I spotted the figure of a man I hadn’t expected to see at all.
“Mr. Huntington,” I said softly, glancing over his shoulder for the smaller figure of Edward. I spotted him standing next to a gooseberry bush that was overflowing with ripened berries. The boy was gorging on them. Not that I blamed him. They made excellent pies. “Fancy meeting you here.”
I smiled welcomingly at him, aware of the image I presented—bootless on the left foot, stockings a wee frayed at the knees, with bits of dirt and mud staining the hem of my white petticoat.
My heart rattled in my chest at the sight of him. He looked wild and supremely masculine, with his w
hite button-down shirt rolled up to his elbows, jacket off, and a pair of modern jeans that fit him quite snugly.
My cheeks burned at the sight of the bulge in the front.
Oh my.
He was also clutching his chest and staring at me wide-eyed. I’d clearly startled him.
“Ms. Zinnia, what in the name of all that’s holy—”
I raised my brows.
He stopped, clamping his lips shut and shaking his head. “I’m sorry,” he said. “Didn’t mean to be rude. You startled me, was all.”
I laughed lightly. “Well, that makes two of us. I was just... um, taking an evening stroll through the woods. It’s pretty tonight.”
An owl hooted as if to punctuate my statement.
His full lips twitched, and I sighed. He really was quite a striking man, with burnished bronze streaks in his thick, wavy hair and deep-blue eyes so dark that they appeared unnatural. He also smelled wonderful. Even from this distance, I could pick up the hint of his cologne, something woodsy and spicy, like moss and sandalwood.
“What are you two doing here? I thought you were all set to leave this morning.”
The corner of his mouth pulled up into a ghost of grin. “Did you, now?”
I blushed the moment I realized what I’d admitted. “Small town. Everyone talks. Glenda told me when I dropped off the meals this morning. Went on and on about her handsome new renter—”
Now it was his turn to raise his brows.
I twitched, fingers flexing against my thigh. “The child. Not the man. Although you’re a handsome fella too,” I said quickly because I didn’t want him to feel slighted. I shook my head. “I mean, um... you know what I mean,” I ended lamely at his soft chuckle.
Dear Goddess above, I was babbling. This wasn’t good. On the bright side, though, my topsy-turvy tummy had settled down. Now it was full of nervous, razor-winged butterflies—which I’d probably eaten, come to think of it.