~

 

“Do you mind?” Valerie grumbled as she turned to offer a scowl to whomever it was that had just elbowed her in the back.

She’d felt the buzz of the supernatural against her magical shields, and yet, her magic didn’t need to tell her that the six foot tall, broad-shouldered, brute of a man that eyed her back with a certain amount of amusement was a shifter. She might have been getting on in her years, but she could still see a wolf in man’s clothing.

“Well, not in the least, now that I see who I accidentally bumped into,” Quinn allowed himself the luxury of letting a small growl roll under his words. That was the good thing about witches; he didn’t need to hide who he really was.

“No, really. Don’t apologize on my account,” Valerie snorted her contempt for him.

“Apologise, for what? Fate bringing us together?”

“Go peddle your soft shoe shuffle somewhere else,” Valerie huffed as she offered him the stink eye.

“Now, surely you don’t mean that?” Quinn offered her his best smile.

“Be off, Satan’s minion,” Valerie said as she offered him a steely-eyed glare.

“My, aren’t you just frosty the Ice Queen?” Quinn scowled back at her.

The man knew where he wasn’t wanted and he turned away from her. There were plenty of other fish in the sea for him to hook. It might have been a while, and he was a little rusty, but he could still charm them – maybe not her – but someone.

“And I might just shove a snow cone up your backside,” Valerie grumbled after him, and she was pleasantly surprised to see him hesitate in his stride.

 

~

~

~

 

“Maybe I shouldn’t leave my mother alone with so many witches around. I don’t want to start World War three.” Elizabeth sighed to herself.

“That Irish coffee tastes good, right?” Sarah offered her a winning smile. “Besides, I sent Dorothy to see to your mother’s needs.”

“Who is Dorothy? Please tell me she’s not another witch.”

“She’s one of the elders that set up this matchmaking service,” Sarah said. “Don’t worry; she can give as good as she gets.”

“I hope so; my mother can be quite the handful.” Elizabeth sighed outwardly that time.

“Dorothy is mated to one of the pack. A good friend of hers is a newbIe vampire. If she can handle them, then she can handle your mother.” Sarah said. “Trust me — I have elders coming out of my ears.”

“And yet, you don’t seem insane.” Elizabeth smiled.

“Looks can be deceptive.”

“A new vampire?” Elizabeth had only just realized what Sarah had said, and her brain kicked her mouth into gear.

“We’re house training her as we speak. Not that she’s allowed in the house yet.” Sarah shrugged.

“Sounds like fun — not.”

“Speaking of fun — when was the last time that you had any?” Sarah asked.

“Oh, you are definitely very good.”

“I’m good enough to know that you’ve put your life on hold for your mother,” Sarah lied. She didn’t know if that was the case, she only suspected. But from the look on Elizabeth’s face, she guessed that she’d hit the nail right on the head.

“I don’t regret it.”

“Well, good.” Sarah gave a small shrug. “But that doesn’t mean that you can’t have fun this weekend. In fact, I’m going to make it a priority.”

“Define fun…”

“How do you feel about sexy shifters?”

“Please, no. I have one person to run around after all day and night. I don’t need complications in my life.” Elizabeth sighed.

“And what if there were no strings attached?”

“You mean like,” she shrugged a shoulder but didn’t go further.

“Like chocolate cake without the calories.” Sarah’s eyes glinted with mischief.

“Ooo, chocolate cake. Is it really like riding a bike?”

“It’s been that long?”

“Four years, eight months, three days and I wouldn’t want to bore you with minutes and second.” Elizabeth grimaced.

“Ouch!”

“In truth, I’d just settle for a bath that doesn’t end with my mother coming in and demanding that we do a spell to punish some politician that she’s seen on the news who did something bad too – Barney the sheepdog or something.” Elizabeth raised an absent hand and waved away her troubles.

“We have a hot tub,” Sarah leaned in and whispered like it was a secret.

“Nirvana,” Elizabeth said with a sigh.

“It’s away from the Inn, but it’s yours tonight if you want it, and I’ll make sure that we keep your mother entertained.”

“Can I never go home?” Elizabeth whined.

“Be careful what you wish for…”

 

~

~

~

 

 “That’s him!” Valerie grabbed hold of Dorothy’s arm with something resembling a death grip.

Valerie wasn’t exactly subtle as she gave a backward nod of her head towards Quinn. The man had rejoined Lark and Hank, and all three of them were sitting along the far wall of the room watching the world go by.

“That’s just Quinn,” Dorothy said as she tapped her fingers against Valerie’s hand. “Could I have my circulation back, my fingers would appreciate it.”

Valerie snatched her hand away, and Dorothy offered a sigh of relief.

“He is just plain rude!” Valerie hissed in hushed tones.

“He’s a little rough and ready…”

“Ready for what I wonder!” Valerie grumbled as she shot a glare in Quinn’s direction.

Valerie’s eyes widened in surprise when Quinn lifted his hand and wiggled his fingers at her in a mocking wave. There was also a smirk on his lips that she had the urge to zap clean away.

“Well, he seems to like you,” Dorothy chuckled, but she stopped the moment that Valerie snapped her head back around and offered her the kind of look the Angela offered her mate when he farted at the dinner table.

“That man has been working the room. If you hung a pair of fake boobs on a broomstick that man would salivate,” Valerie offered with a level of venom in her tone that made Dorothy wonder just what it was that Quinn had been up to.

“Well, sure, I can see how…”

“Why do you let that man in here?” Valerie huffed. “Can’t you keep the shifters out?”

“That would sort of negate the reason for this weekend, don’t you think?” Dorothy frowned. She had to wonder at just how forgetful the elder was.

“Huh?” Valerie didn’t have an idea what the woman was talking about. It seemed sad to her when one of their own had a senior moment.

“You can’t have a matchmaking event without matches,” Dorothy said trying to nudge the woman back to reality.

“We’re building matchstick models?” Valerie looked puzzled.

“Okay,” Dorothy offered as she looked around for Angela.

Angela was quite good with the elders that had senior moments. And those elders were usually too far gone to be offended by the woman’s sarcasm. It was a win-win.

“What kind of weekend is this?” It was a rhetorical question. Valerie didn’t expect an answer, but if her daughter had driven two hours just to build matchstick models — then she certainly wanted to have words with her.

“Just your normal every day – find a mate – weekend,” Dorothy shrugged as she scoured the area for Angela.

“A what?!” The shrill tone of Valerie’s voice drew everyone’s attention their way. It certainly made Dorothy jumped in place. “Are you insane?”

“Not that I’ve noticed but at our age…”

“Oh! Where is she?” Valerie eyed the room.

“Who?” Dorothy asked.

“My daughter,” Valerie muttered, and instead of a shrill tone to her voice, it was low and full of anger.

“Don’t worry — we can find her for you,” Dorothy said sympathetically as she patted the woman on her arm.

“Good! Because when I find her – I’m going to kill her.”