“And will the effects wear off? What if we make a mistake and she alienates everyone… forever?”

  “Simple. We just make it short term.”

  She crossed the kitchen and opening a drawer, pulled out a tattered, leather-bound book. She slammed it down on the table and flipping through the pages, she pointed at the one in question. “Here’s the recipe for the potion. It’s pretty basic. You won’t have any trouble brewing it.”

  “Okay,” I said as I glanced over the page and agreed—it was a pretty easy recipe. I took out my phone and took a picture of the page, then I looked up at Wanda again. “It calls for something owned by the witch caster in question.”

  “Oh,” Wanda said and nodded as she glanced around herself. Then she spotted Hellcat who was sitting in the window, licking one of his paws. She reached into a drawer beside me and pulled out a pair of scissors. Then she hid them behind her back and approached the cranky cat.

  “What in the nine hells do you want now, you insufferable demoness,” he started as she pointed out the window.

  “What is that?”

  “What? I don’t see anything!” he said as she gripped a tuft of his fur on his back and trimmed a bit of it off.

  “Got it!” she pronounced.

  “You untrustworthy hellhound!” the cat roared as he tried to take stock of his little haircut and just managed to turn around in circles.

  “Here, this will make the potion work even faster since I not only own my familiar, but he’s also magical in his own right,” she said and fished out a Ziploc bag, dropping in the patch of Hellcat’s fur.

  “Great,” I said. “How do we get her inner succubus spirit to come out?”

  “We need to bring her around men we know the succubus likes to feed on.”

  “Like who?”

  “Anyone you know the succubus likes to feed from.”

  I thought of Henner and RJ, mostly because they were really the only men I knew well—aside from Roy, and there was no way I was willingly going to let Fifi feed from him. Or Marty, for that matter. Not that she could feed from them anyway, since they seemed to be immune to her charms.

  “Henner and RJ,” I answered.

  “Perfect. As soon as she gets near them, the succubus will come to the surface, and we can use the potion then. We should have a control subject on hand, just to make sure things don’t get out of hand.”

  “A control subject?”

  She nodded. “Marty should be perfect because he’s a null and can’t be charmed.”

  I stiffened. I didn’t like the sound of this.

  Why did the picture of Fifi strutting in front of Marty make me jealous? It shouldn’t have and yet... She’d been throwing herself at him ever since I first moved to Haven Hollow—most likely because she was as perplexed as the rest of us that she had no reaction on him.

  Wanda poured herself another drink and then tasted it, making a face when it apparently didn’t agree with the leftover brownies which were, no doubt, still colonizing her mouth.

  “I feel better about Fifi’s situation now,” I said as I faced her. “I knew you’d be able to help me, Wanda. Thank you.”

  “Does that mean you’re leaving?”

  “Yeah, it’s getting late in the day and I have to go get Finn from school.” I studied the glass in front of her. “Take it easy, okay? Now that you’re the legal guardian of a minor, you have to think about being a good influence on her.”

  She groaned. “Holy Hecuba, don’t remind me! How in the heck I avoided motherhood for one-hundred-forty years and then ended up basically a step-mother to three women is beyond me.” She spied Hellcat. “Make that three women and a demon from the lowest level of hell.”

  ***

  I walked into the living room, intent on cleaning up the cups of Sprite and Coke, as well as the pizza boxes and other snacks which were now all gone. As soon as I walked in, I heard cheers coming from all around me as Henner, RJ, Darla, Libby, and Finn were in full cry on the couches and chairs. An old black-and-white film flickered on the TV screen. It was Ed Wood’s classic Plan 9 From Outer Space starring Bela Lugosi.

  I wasn’t overly surprised to find that the group had decided to skip their plans of wrestling matches in order to come spend the evening with Finn and me. Darla said she missed Finn, and Henner, RJ, and Finn were essentially best friends. Even Libby seemed taken with Finn—she said he reminded her of her own son.

  There was a definite sense of longing and sadness that overcame her when she mentioned her past, but luckily that sadness seemed to disappear as soon as I told her she could be Finn’s second mother. I wasn’t even sure what that meant, but Libby seemed over the moon about it and immediately started mothering him, while he seemed to be completely confused about the whole thing.

  Once I explained to him that Libby had had her own son, once upon a time, he seemed to understand. Finn was a highly sensitive and caring little boy and it was one of the aspects about him that made me the proudest.

  The group erupted in lusty cheers and laughter as one of the paper-plate flying saucers teetered onto the screen. The two men and Finn slapped their thighs and pointed, chortling with glee.

  Libby frowned at the screen. “I don’t get it. I don’t see what’s so funny.”

  The guys exploded in even louder mirth at her confusion. Because she’d lived during the 1950s, when the film first came out, she didn’t understand how comical the cheap props and gimmicks looked.

  RJ hooked his elbow around Finn and gave him a rough shake. I didn’t want to interrupt the party, but when I glanced at the time, I had to. It was almost eleven o’clock and tomorrow was a school day.

  I stepped between the audience and the screen, announcing movie night was now over because Finn had to get washed up and to bed.

  “Mom,” Finn grumbled.

  “Now, you heard her,” Libby said as she jumped up and took Finn by the crook of his elbow. “School is most important for a bright, young man’s future.”

  I punched the power button and the onlookers bellowed in protest as the image vanished. “Hey!” Henner roared. “That was the best part!”

  “And it will still be the best part tomorrow, when you can watch it again,” I responded.

  Darla flung herself back against the couch. She crossed her arms. “She’s such a Mrs. Grundy! She always spoils everything—she’s such a canceled stamp.”

  “Come on, Mom,” Finn groaned. “Just let us finish the movie.”

  I pointed to the stairs. “It’s almost eleven. I’ll give you five minutes to brush your teeth and get in bed. If you go one minute overtime, I’ll revoke Henner and RJ’s certification to babysit you at all.”

  “Come along, my love,” Libby said as she walked Finn out of the room. “I’ll make sure you get every tooth.”

  Finn looked at me over his shoulder with a yearning expression, even as Libby escorted him up the stairs. I couldn’t help but laugh.

  Henner and RJ scrambled to gather up empty popcorn bowls and pizza boxes, corn chip bags, and dirty plastic cups. They scooped everything into a black plastic trash bag in record time and hustled for the door.

  I met them there. “I really appreciate your help tonight, guys. You really are the best babysitters on the planet.”

  RJ glanced at me and then shot his eyes fleetingly toward the stairs. “Sorry about keeping the little guy up so late.”

  “It’s okay,” I said with a big smile. “Let’s just not make it a habit.”

  “Thanks for a great night, Pops,” Henner said, as Darla took his hand and giggled up at him. Libby, meanwhile, appeared at the top of the stairs.

  “The little love is all cleaned up and ready for bed. I already kissed him goodnight.”

  I had to wonder how that went over with Finn and imagined I was about to get an earful. “Thank you, Libby,” I said as she walked down the stairs and met the others in the foyer. I bid them all a good night, before locking the door, turning off all the lights downstairs, and climbing up the stairs to tuck Finn in.

  When I walked into his room, he had the covers pulled up to his chin and the unmistakable smell of toothpaste filled the room. “Mom, you have to tell Libby to stop treating me like I’m a four-year-old. She kept rubbing my head and asking me if she could read me some book called ‘Scuffy the Tugboat and his adventures Down the River’.”

  I started to laugh. “She isn’t completely accustomed to this time period, Finn. I think she has a hard time with modern stuff.”

  “Well, she’s a little creepy.”

  I sat down on the edge of his bed. “I’m really glad you’re settling in so well here, in Haven Hollow,” I said, reaching down to stroke his head.

  We hadn’t been in Haven Hollow that long—just four months now—but it really seemed like Finn was taking to the town—maybe even more than I was.

  “I’m really happy here, Mom. I really like RJ and Henner and Marty. They’re like my best friends.”

  I nodded. “I know they are, but you can still make friends at school, you know? Friends your own age.”

  “I have friends at school,” he answered. “There’s Mia and Luke, and Johnny.”

  “Maybe this weekend you can invite some of them over for a play date?”

  “Yeah, okay,” he said and nodded as I leaned down and kissed him goodnight.

  “And start thinking about what you want to do for your birthday.”

  Finn’s eyes immediately widened with excitement. His birthday was his favorite of holidays. “How far away is it?”

  “A little over a month,” I said as I bobbed my index finger on the end of his nose. “And twelve is a big deal as far as birthdays go.”

  He nodded. “It will be my last year before I’m a teenager.”

  I smiled as I leaned down and looped my arms around his neck. “I love you, noodle.”

  “I love you more, Mom.”

  “I love you most,” I said as I hugged him even harder.

  Then I turned on his sound machine, which made a bubbling brook noise, and I turned on his rotating night light which projected images of planets onto the ceiling in azure blue. Ever since Finn had experienced a nightmarish haunting in our old house, he slept with a nightlight, and I understood why. And, of course, there was Piggy...

  Piggy was a stuffed-animal pig who had only recently come to life, courtesy of Wanda who had magicked the thing. Now it walked around and spoke like it had a brain of its own. It was disconcerting, to say the least, but Finn seemed to love the stuffed animal even more.

  “Where’s Piggy, Mom?” he asked.

  “Oh, I’m right here,” the pig answered as it teetered across the room, from where it was sitting in the closet, doing what, I wasn’t sure and really didn’t want to think about. Wanda had assured me the pig was only capable of love and there was no way it would turn on us and become like Chucky or something similar.

  Finn moved his blankets to the side and the pig climbed up the chair at the side of his bed, until it could reach the mattress. Then it jumped into bed beside Finn and snuggled in close to him.

  “Goodnight, best friend,” Piggy said.

  “Goodnight, Piggy,” Finn answered. “And goodnight, Mom.”

  “Night, Sweet Pea.”

  “Say goodnight to Piggy, Mom,” Finn protested.

  “Night, Piggy.”

  “Night, Grandma,” the pig answered as I shook my head and switched off the light. I eased the door closed, then tiptoed to the stairs and made straight for the kitchen. With Finn in bed, and the house now to myself, I pulled out my phone and after reading the list of ingredients for the potion that would help Fifi become less… Fifi, I pulled them all off my shelves. The bag of Hellcat’s fur was currently in my purse on the kitchen counter.

  I mixed and boiled and stirred and added a bit of that and a bit of this. Once I was finished, I distilled everything into a single vial. While I watched the precious drops fall into the bottle, I took out my phone and called Roy. I didn’t want to, but until this relationship officially went down in flames, I owed him an update about my visit to Wanda.

  He answered in a tense clip. “Hello.”

  “Hi,” I started, and then took a deep breath. “I think Wanda and I worked out a solution for Fifi so she won’t have to go to the mountains to stay with your family… at least, not yet.”

  “Great.”

  That was it. No congratulations. No ‘good job’. No questions. No nothing.

  “I was thinking… maybe when Finn has spring break, we could go see your family instead. What do you think?”

  There was silence on the other line for a second or so too long. “Maybe. I don’t know. We’ll have to see how it goes.”

  I stiffened. “Don’t you want me to meet your family?”

  His voice softened. “It’s not that I don’t want you to,” he started. “I just can’t stand all this fighting. Why does every conversation have to turn into an argument?”

  “I don’t know. I guess I…” I broke off. I couldn’t tell him the real reason—that we just wanted different things out of life—and that we weren’t… right for each other.

  “What is going on, Poppy?”

  I opened my mouth, but I couldn’t tell him. I didn’t want to admit to the fears that had been plaguing me for the last few weeks.

  He should have children, I thought to myself. He should have a partner who lived as long as he would. I wasn’t the right woman for him. It was just… as simple as that.

  “If you’re not going to talk to me, I have work to do,” he said.

  “I do want to talk to you, but not tonight. I’m… I’m just exhausted, and I still have to finish this potion for Fifi. What about tomorrow?”

  “I’m working.”

  “I could come to the bar?”

  He let out a long, shaky sigh. “Alright. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  We both hung up.

  I held the phone in my hand and I wasn’t sure why, but I just couldn’t put it down. There was a part of me that wanted to call him back right now, that wanted to explain everything. That part of me didn’t want to wait until tomorrow. Leaving all of this hanging over both our heads wasn’t fair to either one of us.

  Then again, letting my fears blow up wasn’t fair, either. I should have told Roy about my doubts a long time ago, but I couldn’t change that now. And, regardless, what was he really going to say? There was nothing he could say—sorry, I’ll age so much more slowly than you will? Sorry I want a bunch of children but you probably can’t have any more, and wouldn’t want to, anyway?

  There was nothing more to be said. It was as clear as day that Roy and I… we just weren’t meant to be.

  Chapter Eight

  The next morning, I called Henner, RJ, and Marty while I drove Finn to school. I told them to meet me at the bar and to take Fifi to Roy’s back office. Wanda and I planned to perform the spell there (RJ believed Wanda was just a practicing Wiccan) as soon as I stopped by my store to get a few other things we needed. After we cast this spell, Fifi wouldn’t be attracting anyone for a while, which would hopefully give me enough time to focus on step two of our plan—somehow figuring out a way that she wouldn’t have to feed or siphon away someone’s life energy.

  Either way, I had a good feeling about this.

  I kissed Finn and kept the motor running until he disappeared into the school building. Then, I drove down Main Street and parked the Jeep in front of my store. I walked in and collected a few other potions from behind the counter.

  While I slipped the bottles into my handbag with the repulsive curse potion I’d made the night before, the doorbell jingled. I barely glanced up. “Sorry. We’re closed for the day.”

  “What a shame.” A silken, sultry voice purred through the store. It stroked my every nerve, so I had no choice but to look up.

  A tall, square-shouldered man strolled toward the counter. I didn’t know any living human could walk that slowly, but I didn’t want him to hurry. I wanted to look and keep on looking at his… captivating form.

  My gaze trailed over every chiseled inch of him—from his high cheekbones to his tanned neck, his shirt collar open just enough to reveal the cleft between his collarbones. My eyes traveled lower still, to his narrow waist graced by a leather belt and his long legs.

  His tailored business suit did absolutely nothing to hide the firm, powerful body underneath. Everything about him oozed sex appeal. His dark eyes bored into what felt like my soul, and a rush of heat flooded my body.

  He stopped next to the Valentine’s Day display. His long, regal fingers lifted out a potion bottle, and he raised an eyebrow at the label.

  “Love’s Goddess. Rose oil. Musk oil. Mint. Attracts the opposite sex and smooths romantic pursuits.” Then he looked back at me. “This is a complicated potion. You must be good at what you do.”

  I blushed and batted my eyelashes like a love-struck debutante. Then I gave a high-pitched laugh that didn’t sound anything like my usual laugh, and I had to wonder what in the hell had gotten into me. I shuffled my feet and looked at… well, at his chest again. “I’m just okay at brewing,” I said, blushing all the while. “I’m nothing special.”

  “I hear all kinds of things about you,” he purred. He inched closer to the counter, and my heart skipped a beat. The potion bottle still dangled from his fingertips as though he might drop it any second.

  “Oh, yeah,” I purred. “And what have you heard?”

  Oh, Dear Lord, but I was flirting with him! Me! Someone who didn’t even know the meaning of the word ‘flirting’! What in the world…

  “I hear you help people with their problems,” he answered, stepping even closer, until only a few inches of air separated us—it was all I could do to try not to swallow the air, not to eat it. “Maybe you can help me.”

  “Uh… okay. I will if I can,” I continued, trying to rein my hormones in because usually when one started acting unlike oneself, it meant magic was involved. And I didn’t trust magic—when it was coming from someone other than myself. Or maybe, Wanda. “What’s the trouble?”

  “I’m quite worried about my sister,” the stranger answered in that low, deep voice that had the consistency of warm caramel. “She disappeared and I’ve been going out of my mind looking for her. Maybe you know where she is?”