"It is a beautiful house. She said you might need someone to come in and take a look at some things. Check some stuff out for you."
Damn, he just cuts right to the chase. No more pleasantries. "Well...um, I just want to be upfront with you right from the start. I don't have a lot of money to pay someone so..."
"Clover," God, the way he says my name makes my palms sweaty, "it's just a walk-through. Those we offer for free."
"Oh, well I'm sure you're busy and I wouldn't want to take you away from..."
"Clover, are you trying to get me to not come to your house."
"Oh God, no! You can come over any time you want to." My voice ends on a high note. Not attractive at all. He laughs on the other end of the line and I realize he's been teasing me. Even if he can't see my cheeks they turn bright pink.
"How about tomorrow? Say nine?"
"Oh, okay. Sure. Tomorrow works for me. I'll um, see you then...tomorrow...okay, bye." I shove the phone back at Parker who is laughing her ass off at me. She talks to him a little longer before hanging up and throwing her arm around me.
"Come on, Clo. We'll order pizza and start sweeping this dust out of the rooms so you can at least sleep without sneezing your ass off all night long."
Bewitched
By:
Jisa Dean
Bewitched
Halloween is all about getting treats from strangers. But when one grabs Saffie and kisses her breathless it feels a lot more like a trick than a treat. What would a sexy vampire want with her anyway? She’s a short, nerdy nineteen-year-old who would rather be reading than be at the party she finds herself at. The vampire in question…he’s a hot cop who has his whole life going right for him. He could have anyone he wanted so why would he look at her?
But he is looking and does a lot more than look when shots ring out and Saffie’s life is in danger. It’s not just the cop in Cooper that takes over when the little thing dressed as a witch is threatened. His alpha comes out too. So what is a swarthy vampire to do? Take her home with him and make a snack out of her of course.
It’s the most joyous time of the year…no, not Christmas - although that’s a favorite of mine too! I mean Halloween! And this season, to get you in the mood I’m offering up a sexy witch, a horny vampire, a hidden treasure, and a hold-up! If that’s just the thing you need to satiate your sweet tooth then pull up a chair, bring your candy bowl closer, and find out how Cooper shows a girl a good time!
Chapter One
____________
Clover
I sit in my car and question what the hell I’ve done for the hundredth time. On either side of me is overgrown grass that’s in desperate need of a cut. Can you even mow grass in the fall or will it die? Isn't that a thing? Shit, add that to the list I am going to have to Google. Along with how to fix a breaker, where the breaker is, and what causes breakers to blow? Fuck, for that matter I need to know how to replace a breaker box. Can I replace a breaker box?
I sigh so loud it fills the entire car. I have no idea what the fuck I am doing. I am twenty years old. I should be out partying with friends before I head back to my dorm. Instead, I am sitting outside in an overgrown field with an ancient house waiting to eat me while I pretend like I am adulting.
I take a moment to lay my head down on the steering wheel before I take a deep breath and pull the rest of the way up the driveway. There’s not really a parking spot so to speak so I just pull up to the front of the house. It's an 1892 Queen Ann with round porches and towers coming off one side. It looks like a tragic story of a painted lady right now but hopefully one day it will look just as good as it did in 1892.
For the umpteenth time, I heave a sigh and sit looking at what I've done. I bought a house. But not just any house. I bought an old house; sat in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by lawns on all sides and woods to the back of the house. It takes nearly five minutes to get down the driveway. That might be because the gravel is rutted out and pitted so bad you think it will break your car in two but it’s still a long ass driveway. What’s wrong with me?
I step out and walk to the porch...and fall back in love all over again. I have loved this one house for half my life. Ever since I found out about it. Since I was a little girl I’ve wanted this to be MY house. Even as a teen when I heard all of the ghost stories that go along with the place I still wanted it. And when I moved away for college I told my parents that the only way I would be moving back is if it were in the house of my dreams.
Luckily, the house of my dreams needs some work - okay, it needs a lot of work. So I got it cheap and got hella lucky that it was still on the market three years later. I lovingly run my hands along one of the columns on the porch. I still can't believe it's mine. All five bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms of it. Not my mom or dad's, not a whole shit ton of college kids, no one else's but mine.
I walk across the porch and pull the keys from my pocket. Even the locks are old. I might want to make that the first thing I look into fixing. It's all good and fun now while the sun is shining but after the sun goes down it's going to creep me out that I don't have any better locks or an alarm system just yet. The heavy door swings open and the stairs greet me right away. The banister is almost as big as I am around and supporting a whole shitload of stairs leading up to the second and third floors. Everything is covered in a thick layer of dust. It is going to be hell cleaning this out with my allergies.
I might as well plan to take the following day off so I can be miserable. I know that’s what is going to happen when I start stirring up all the dust and dirt from all the years she sat empty. I already think of her like a...well, her. She's a proud old lady, maybe an aunt who might just know you better than your own parents, or the grandmother you run to when life at home is rough for whatever reason. The house might be old, but there is so much love in it and love waiting to be given still.
I place my hand on the railing and trail it up until it rests on the round globe at the top of the spindle. The detail in the design of something so mundane is why I love this house. How many other people stood where I am standing and wondered the same things that I am wondering? How many of them figured it out and moved on to live and love in this place?
The sense of history is as thick as the dust...but it can stay. The dust has to go. "Hey Neighbor." The voice causes me to jump because I wasn't expecting anyone but me to be here. I turn and run right into my best friend in the whole world, Parker Sloan. We both squeal and hug each other tightly.
"God I can't believe you're back! I'm so excited! How does it feel to be twenty?"