and beautiful. The idiot even went so far as to tell Monique how much they paid him and offered to give her the money if she promised not to kill him. (As if she needed the money or was really gonna kill him. Does he know nothing? Monique is rich. Was rich before she started modeling. Her family is old, old, old money. Besides, she would never get her own hands dirty. She would've hired Ben and Bob Badger. The Swamp is full of the bones of people those twins have disappeared. Just ask 'em. I think they have an ad on Facebook.)
Anyhow, we went right back to the suite. I drank the rest of the pitcher of fruity drinks while she packed, and that afternoon, we hopped a tiny twin-engine Cessna off that little island. It sucked for the fashion world, but my girl seemed happier than ever.
Seeing the love she had for our Flock twinkle her expertly-lined eyes as she grinned from ear-to-ear and keep right on teasin' Livvie only reinforced what I already knew, Moni was the happiest when she was at home. But hell, aren't we all.
Tossing some of her long black hair over her shoulder, Monique chuckled, “Pretty soon you’ll be preggers just like Max, Livvie. Picking out baby names, buying cute little outfits, doing all that stupid stuff that goes along with having a Mate and a family and…”
"Methinks the lady doth protest too much," Colleen, our resident Crow Shifter with a lousy attitude and loud mouth, chimed in with more snide and sarcasm than was absolutely necessary. I wasn't surprised. It was her way.
You see, Colleen Caviello just can't help herself. I blame her momma for dipping her toe in Louisiana's high society pool one too many times. It made our little Coll believe that she could convince the world she was a Raven instead of a Crow.
I mean, I guess, if you were blind in one eye and couldn't see out of the other, you might mistake her curly ebony hair and hazel eyes for those of a Raven, but then she’d open her mouth, and all bets would be off. Her caw is unmistakable, especially when she's bitchin’ and moanin’, which is most of the time.
Then add in the fact that her aunties on her momma's side named their successful franchise of face creams, potions, and lotions, The Crow Sisters' Apothecary, and it makes me wonder exactly how many screws our Colleen has loose. I mean, come on.
I seriously think she believes that she can change reality if she only wishes hard enough. Now, I ask you, do any of us look like Tinkerbell? Thank you. I don’t think so either. But Colleen will not be denied. Until the world could see her as a Raven and not a Crow, she would baffle with bullshit and coerce with sass and sarcasm.
Of course, that meant that Moni had to pop back with, "And methinks you better keep your damned trap shut."
“Well, I never…”
“Oh, hell, yes, you do. Every damn chance you get.”
“Open your mouth one more…”
I have no clue what either one of them was about to say. Goddess knows those girls fight like two cats trapped in a wet sock on the best of days. Still, on that day and at that very moment, the slender redhead with green eyes, great hair, and enough magic to blow us all off the face of the earth whistled so loud the foundation of old Bailmore Hall shuddered and shook as if it was the second coming of the Goddess Herself. Thumb and index finger in her mouth, cheeks puffed out like Chester Chipmunk on National Acorn Day, light green and red bubbles of magic popped and fizzed as glistening gold sparkles hissed in the air all around her.
All I could do was watch, pray and echo Cassandra’s words, “Cut the Shit, Birdbrains! Zelda’s gonna blow.”
Chapter Four
Thank you, Goddess, in a tube top after Labor Day, I overreacted. Well, let me rephrase, it's not entirely fair to say that I overdramatized the situation because there was no doubt in any of our minds that we were headed for a serious catastrophe. However, what actually happened was that I opened my mouth too soon. (A character flaw I would like to say that I'm working on. But since I refuse to lie to y'all, I can't. I have too many other things to do right now to think about my ability to jump first