Fiends and Familiars - Debra Dunbar Page 0,35

would give them a second glance in their true form, in a town where centaurs and even dragons walked around with hooves and scales?

“So…tall, and…?” Lonnie prompted.

“Black hair,” I mused, remembering the gorgeous guy. “Like, super dark. It’s not really curly, but it’s got a bit of a wave to it. He’s tan, like Mediterranean or mixed-race skin tone tan.” That was unusual for fae as well, although I did hear there were some elves who had dark complexions. “Dark eyes. He’s got broad shoulders, and when I went in to kiss him, I realized he was really muscled. I think the guy works out, although if he’s got a pack of hounds, I can imagine he’d need to be fit.”

“You kissed him?” Babylon grinned. “You just met the guy, and ten seconds later you’re kissing him? In the middle of Pistol Pete’s? Girl, I think this is the one.”

“On the cheek.” I laughed. “But I had to step into him, and oh my! Let me tell you, it was the toughest thing I’ve ever done to walk away from that.”

“Well, you’ve got a date tonight, so you can anticipate not walking away.” Babylon nodded knowingly. “Gonna take him home?”

I’d been envisioning that all day. “I think it’s a better option than driving all the way back to Accident, then hauling over the mountain before dawn in a ‘drive of shame.’”

“Just be careful,” Lonnie warned. “I know you can take care of yourself, and you’ve got a big-ass vulture that would scare the shit out of anyone—fae or not—but you don’t really know this guy. Maybe you should call around and check into him.”

“And have it get back to Cassie?”

My sister nodded. It would get back to Cassie, and if this didn’t work out, I’d be subject to a huge interrogation at Sunday dinner. And if it did work out, I’d be pestered to bring him to Sunday dinner. That might be moving a bit fast. Subjecting a new boyfriend of five days to my six sisters, their mates, and my cousin might send the guy screaming.

“I’ll be careful,” I promised Babylon.

What could go wrong? I was a grown woman, a witch, and I had a vulture and four squirrels in my house as well as a scary-looking dog-thing in my garage. If Ty turned out to be a weirdo or a total hose-bag, I’d just sic Yeth on him.

Chapter 10

Adrienne

“The harvest party is going to be fun,” Babylon commented as she walked me out. “Bring Ty. I want to meet him, but I promise not to go all Cassie on you and grill the poor guy, or make things awkward.”

I thought about that. If things worked out tonight, I definitely would invite Ty. Bonfire. Hot spiked cider. The smell of early autumn in the air. We could watch the sun go down, then sneak off to some dark corner to make out in the soft grass. Oh yeah.

There was only one problem with this party—five problems, actually.

“What am I going to do with Drake?” I mused. “And the squirrels?”

Babylon chuckled. “You know how in love I am with your vulture. He can come. In fact, let him ride shotgun and put Ty in the backseat. But squirrels? What’s up with that, Addy?”

I looked over at my truck, noticing several pairs of eyes glaring at me from the back window. “I tried to evict them from someone’s attic and they were a total pain. I had to cage them, and one bit me. When I went to release them in the woods they wouldn’t go. Next thing I know they’re inside my house, eating popcorn and watching a Hitchcock movie with me and Drake.”

“How many squirrels?”

“Four.” I dug my keys out of my bag, dreading what the inside of my truck probably looked like. “Three are pretty normal squirrel types, but the fourth is kinda weird. He’s like their spokes-squirrel or something. I named him Hemorrhoid.”

Lonnie had a minor coughing fit. “What?”

“Rhoid for short. The first day they were fine being left in the house while I worked, but today they insisted on coming with me. I had to lock them in the car with Drake just now and set a ward, otherwise they would have followed me in here.”

She eyed the truck. “Well, bribe them. Convince them that if they’re nice while you’re gone, that you’ll roast chestnuts or something.”

I hugged Lonnie goodbye. When I got inside to my truck I discovered that the squirrels had not taken confinement