Hatter's Heart - Erin Bedford Page 0,2

that the humans found my old-fashioned ways quaint and my accent adorable. It made it easy to get away with not knowing half of what they were saying.

Shrugging out of my suit jacket, the summer heat making my skin stick to my shirt underneath, I grumbled out, "Well, Mr. Dobs is tired of having to go the long way around town because of trolls sleeping on main street."

Kat scoffed. "Not surprising. It's probably Bar. He likes to hang out on Main Street near the toy shop. I'll talk to him about it tomorrow. What else?"

I ticked the complaints off on my fingers until I got to the last and latest complaint.

The moment Kat heard Mrs. McAllister's name she groaned. "Oh, fuck that old biddy. She just likes to complain. It's likely the faeries aren't anywhere near her garden and she just wanted to come make my life hell."

"Past grievances, I presume?" I hide a smile behind my wine glass.

Kat downed her glass of wine in one go and shook her head at me. "Don't get me started. I'll send my mother to deal with her."

"Which one?" I arched a brow.

Laughing like a hyena, Kat almost rolled off the swing. "It would serve her right if I sent the Seelie Queen after her." She paused and sighed, wiping the side of her eyes. "No, sadly, my human mother can put Mrs. McAllister in her place just as easily. I'll just point in her direction and -"

"I thought I'd find you out here, my pet." A low rolling purr interrupted Kat. From the darkening of her eyes and smile on her lips, I supposed she didn't mind.

"Hello, Cheshire." I turned in my seat to greet the pink haired Fae. "How are you this evening?"

"Alice." He nodded his head in my direction but his emerald eyes only for Kat. "I'm better now that I’m home."

Cheshire S. Cat was what Kat liked to call Sex on a Stick. The expression while strange stuck with me. Cheshire did have a sensual way to him that was so familiar to me that I felt a bit odd to even be attracted to him. Who could blame me though?

He kept his long pink hair braided and thrown over his shoulder. His purple and black striped ears twitching on top of his head were just as distracting as the matching tail he kept wrapped around his waist. Those were the only attributes that even made his surname make sense. Supposedly, his father was able to morph into a full feline, but no one has seen him in years. Still, Cheshire reminded me more of the pirates I'd read about when I was a child, all tight pants, and billowing tops. How anyone took him seriously was beyond my comprehension.

"Chess," Kat slid from the swing and sauntered over to her lover. His hands wrapped around her hips, drawing her close as Kat slid her hands up and into the opening neck of his shirt. "I missed you," Kat murmured before there were definite kissing sounds.

I turned my head, my cheeks flushing. Finishing off my glass of wine, I hopped to my feet and pulled my purse over my shoulder. "I better be going. Hatter will be waiting for me, no doubt."

Pausing from their reunion, Kat twisted to look at me. "Why do you keep calling him that? You know his name, don't you?"

"Well, yes." I frowned.

"Moradoc is gone, there's no reason to keep using his nickname." Kat released Chess and walked over to me, her hands taking me by the arms. "He can't hurt anymore, you know that right?"

I nodded, my eyes down on the ground. "Yes, but he still hasn't been caught. He could come back and then -"

"He's trapped in the Shadow Realm. There's no way he could come back. Besides," she smiled and brushed my hair out of my face, "They'd have to get through the Reaper and us first, and he knows what happened last time." Green veins lit up along her skin as magic pooled into her hand.

Forcing myself to relax and smile, I tried to show her I was alright. "You're right. Of course. I'm just being paranoid. I'll let you two get reacquainted. See you tomorrow?"

Frowning slightly at me, Kat gave me a quick hug. "Of course. Call me if you need anything, you still remember how?"

I suppressed a sigh. "Yes. For the hundredth time. I know how to use a cell phone. I also have the mirror phone as well."

"Good." She