Luci took my money and handed me three balls. Stepping back to the line in the grass, I squinted at the bullseye and pulled my arm back.
“No cheating!” Drew called.
“How could she cheat?” Clint asked from behind me. “She either hits it or she doesn’t.”
I turned and winked at my part-time boss. Owen and I had managed to keep our supernatural side from him thus far. Hopefully, it stayed that way.
“You ready to get wet?” I asked Drew.
He rolled his eyes. “Sure.”
“What you probably don’t know about me was that I played softball all through high school and could’ve had a partial scholarship to college playing softball.”
I didn’t need magic to do this. Poor Drew. His face darkened as he glared at me.
Aiming carefully, I put just enough spin on the ball and let it fly.
Straight into the bullseye. And not even a drop of magic.
Drew yelped and his arms flew up as the podium fell, and he slipped off and into the water. Hey, it could’ve been a lot worse. I could’ve left the water cold.
A small crowd had gathered, including Olivia and Sam. They cheered the hardest as Drew climbed back onto the seat again. “Okay,” he called. “You got me. Let someone else go.”
He wiped the water from his eyes as I held out the next ball. Olivia darted forward. “I believe I will!” she chirped.
As I handed her the ball, I winked at Drew. “Don’t worry!” I called. “She wasn’t on the school softball team!”
“That’s right!” Olivia agreed. “I played on my church softball team.” She flung the ball at the bullseye and nailed it, sending Drew splashing back into the water.
He came up sputtering. “Okay, the next person isn’t allowed to have been on any softball team.”
When he climbed up and looked back out at us, it was just in time for me to hand the last ball I’d paid for to Sam.
Drew’s face pinched as he glared. “Deputy, kindly remember I’m your boss.”
Sam’s face split into a broad grin. “I know. And you’re off duty.” He pulled his arm back, then addressed Drew again. “Have we ever talked about my favorite weekend pastime in college?”
Drew shook his head slowly.
“Darts.” Sam threw the ball and rocked on his heels as it hit its target. “Not quite the same as being good at softball, but it gets the job done,” he said as Drew splashed around in the tank.
After another round of dunking Drew, we let the kids that had lined up to sink the sheriff have their turn.
Drew was relieved. I knew my payback was going to be wicked by the playful glares he sent me. It would be all worth it.
Hell, it was already worth it to see him without his shirt.
Half an hour later, one of the firefighters replaced Drew in the dunk tank. Once he was in dry clothes, I used magic to dry his hair. He was all smiles and admitted he had fun. But still said he would get me back.
By the end of the day, we were walking hand in hand. I didn’t realize it when it happened, but I liked it. I liked him. One thing I learned about Drew was underneath that alpha male, sheriff façade, he knew how to have fun. And he was so easy to talk to.
I looked forward to more dates with him.
Chapter Sixteen
“Uno!” Sammie yelled, doing a little dance in his chair. “I beat you again!”
Alfred grunted and threw his cards down on the table, then he wagged his finger at Sammie while the child giggled mercilessly. “You can never beat me, Alfie!” he crowed.
“Don’t be a sore winner,” Olivia called.
I chuckled as I walked back toward the living room with mugs of tea. The ghoul, the skeleton, and the kid had set up a card game in the dining room, within eyesight of us in the living room.
She’d come over since I didn’t have a shift at the bookstore, and I’d just finished writing the first draft of my latest manuscript. I liked to give my books a week to breathe before going back in and starting my second run-through.
We’d been going through the occult books that had finally come in at Clint’s shop, looking for a way to unsummon the devil.
There were shockingly few spells to undo a summons, and the only ones we’d found had failed. The devil was not an average, garden-variety demon. Just our luck.
No, he was a fallen angel tasked with the job of ruling Hell. And there was nothing about vanquishing an angel.
Olivia’s phone rang as she sighed and leaned back, rubbing her eyes. “Hey, honey,” she chirped when she picked up. Must’ve been Sam.
Her face fell as she listened. “Oh, no. I’m sorry to hear that.” She listened for a few more seconds. “Yes, we’ll be right there.”
“What is it?” I asked as soon as she hung up.
“We’ve got another accidental death. Drew wants us to come down and see if we can see anything or sense anything that he can’t. They found a coin.”
I heaved a big sigh. “Leave Sammie here?” I asked as I jumped up and headed for the foyer and my sneakers. “Owen is here.”
“That would be great.” She grabbed her jacket. “Owen, Sammie,” she called up the stairs.
Sammie came out of the kitchen as Owen stuck his head into the stairwell. “Yes?”
“We’ve got to run an errand. Alfred is entertaining Sammie, but could you keep an eye on them?”
He nodded. “Sure, no problem. I was about to come down for some lunch, anyway. Has he eaten?”
They arranged for Owen to make a round of PBJs, and we hit the road.
“Have you warned Sammie about Alfred?” I asked. “I mean, he’s great with him, but he’s still a ghoul.”
She nodded as we got into my car. “I did. I told him to keep at arm’s reach and always be aware that Alfred is undead. Can’t be too careful. I’m glad Owen is there with them.”
I’d done a spell on the house a few weeks before. Olivia and I had found it in one of the old grimoires. No harm could come to the innocent in that house now. Nobody could hurt Sammie, though I didn’t know if it applied to stuff like accidents or if the little guy fooled around and hurt himself somehow. Still, we both had peace of mind leaving him like this.
“Did Sam say what happened?” I asked. “Or where we’re going?”
She gave me a dark look as I pulled to the end of my driveway, waiting on a direction and wondering whether I should go to the left or right. “It’s the leader of the coven,” she said. “CeCe.”
“No.” I gasped. “How?”
She knew CeCe from living in town all her life. Also, I’d told her all about both coven meetings and when CeCe came over to help with the charms. “He didn’t say. But if they found a coin, I’d be willing to bet it’s something weird.”
That much was true. My chest tightened at the thought of CeCe dying. I was starting to like her. Then another thought hit me. With CeCe dead, I was next in line to lead the coven. Crap.
“So, to the mansion?” I asked.
“Yep.” She sighed. “He did say it’s not pretty, so brace yourself.”
Ugh. I knew what that meant. It was probably bloody or particularly gory. Not what I wanted to see after just having been there the weekend before.