Honestly, Leonard was sort of looking forward to it. He’d liked the vast majority of the Mystic Bayou residents he’d met. They were strange and fascinating people with even weirder backgrounds than his own. It was the only place he’d ever lived where he could be honest about his life and be completely accepted. All he had to say was “fairy curse” and people just nodded and moved along with their business.

  “I know it’s going to be demanding for you, but I’m confident you can handle it,” Sonja told him. “Now, if you’ll join me at the clinic, we have a new midwife to initiate into the ways of Mystic Bayou.”

  “Jillian’s midwife is here!” Leonard exclaimed. For weeks, Jillian had been talking about the specialist with extensive experience in rare hybrid pregnancies, as if this Charlotte woman was a golden lifeline. “How did I miss that?”

  “She got here right before the pie stand thing,” Sonja said gently.

  “Well, hell,” he sighed. “But it’s just the normal new employee, ‘please don’t do anything evil’ meet-and-greet, right? Do you really need me for that?”

  “Not really, but it means Jessica will have to figure out how to move your desk on her own,” Sonja said.

  “That sounds just fair enough to be properly vengeful,” he said, standing and gesturing grandly towards the door. “Lead the way!”

  Jessica was still trying to get maintenance workers to come help her move Leonard’s enormous work station back as they left. Leonard figured that was justice.

  There weren’t a lot of advantages of living in a place as small as Mystic Bayou. There were no chain stores or Starbucks or even a bar. But he could walk basically anywhere in town from his office door. Or his trailer door, which happened to be about three hundred feet from his office door. He hadn’t bought gas since he moved to town. They walked across the street to the clinic, past the giant silver airstream that had sort of appeared during the wedding reception. The side featured a highly-stylized white bird over swooping lettering that read, “The Silver Stork.”

  That was different.

  The clinic was technically an old veterinary hospital that Sonja had almost single-handedly converted to treat people so the town could have a doctor again. And that doctor happened to be Will Carmody, a Mystic Bayou-born physician who happened to be Sonja’s boyfriend. And he happened to be a mermaid, sort of. Leonard wasn’t sure how that worked but honestly, he was afraid to ask.

  “Will? Love of my life!” Sonja called, walking through the brightly painted waiting room. “I’m here! With Leonard!”

  Will’s ridiculously handsome face appeared in his office door, a brilliantly white smile blooming at the sight of Sonja. Living in the Bayou could really wear on the old self-esteem when you were just a regular-looking guy. Not to mention those magazine perfect-looking guys could also turn into dragons and tigers and honest-to-God bears. But Will was a nice guy, and he made Sonja happy–and he’d thought to include Leonard in a couple of “dude gatherings” with Bael and Zed, which was pretty cool of him.

  “Hey there, sweetheart,” Will purred, kissing her in what could be considered a professional manner. “Just in time. I made coffee.”

  “That’s why you’re my favorite,” she told him, as Will waved them into the office.

  “I was just reviewing some cases for Charlotte,” Will said.

  As he was walking through the door, Leonard dropped the binders he was holding. He was stepping forward as he did this and his foot connected, kicking the binders across the floor and under Will’s desk. Because, of course, he did.

  “Charlotte” was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

  Huge, thickly lashed eyes the color of the summer sky seemed to dominate a delicate heart-shaped face. Her lush mouth was painted a blushing pink he would happily spend hours contemplating if she wouldn’t find that sort of thing creepy. Her thick dark curls were pulled back from her face in a neat twist at the crown of her head, a complement to the crisp blue scrubs she wore. And she was so small. He’d never seen someone so proportionately petite outside of the Tinkerbell cartoons his nieces loved. How was it possible to fit so much into one tiny package?

  “No, don’t call women ‘things,’” his brain chided him. “You know better than that.” But all other cognitive functions were just gone. His brain had abandoned him. Blood rushed to his cheeks and he felt the familiar rush of anxiety that was almost always followed by disaster and broken glass and once, the destruction of a life-size fiberglass blue whale at a natural history museum.

  He focused on the breathing exercise his mother had taught him, focusing his rampant thoughts and slowing his heartrate. He thought of the forest near his parents’ weekend cabin, deep and green and shadowed. He thought of the music of the river behind the cabin, the water dancing over the moss-covered rocks. The forest had been his happy place as a child, unlike the classmates who had been warned never to wander out of their sterile, safe suburb. The more he calmed his nerves, the less the curse would affect him. And the fewer whale replicas would suffer.

  Will eyed Leonard, but having reviewed Leonard’s case extensively, said nothing beyond, “I’ll get those.”

  Leonard cleared his throat. “Uh, hi,” he said, walking across the room like it was a damn tightrope, just so he could shake her hand. “Leonard O’Donnell. Nice to meet you.”

  “Charlotte McBee.” A strange spark, like blue lightning, crackled between their hands. Charlotte yelped, her eyes going ever wider as she shook off the shock. She giggled, a bell-like noise that did strange things to Leonard’s pulse. Somehow, his cheeks grew hotter and he backed away, sitting in his chair before he could do anymore harm.

  “Sorry about that,” he muttered.

  She smiled sweetly and he felt his heart break just a little in its warmth. “No problem. Static electricity.”

  Leonard made a noise that was somehow both squeaky and grumbling. Could he belly crawl out of the room? It seemed like the option least likely to result in injury to others or further embarrassment to himself.

  “So, I know we probably overwhelmed you a little bit at the wedding. We’re just so happy you’re here.” Sonja handed Charlotte a bright blue Welcome to League Employment in the Mystic Bayou Office binder and a League copy of Jillian’s book. “This is a brief overview of Bayou-specific policies, and just in case you haven’t read it, Jillian’s history of the Bayou, la faille and the League’s involvement here.”

  Charlotte nodded, recently having learned about la faille—the interdimensional rift located in the swamp—that was responsible for Mystic Bayou’s supernatural population. Over the years it had either drawn shifters and fae to Mystic Bayou or changed human residents at a genetic level, turning them into magique. According to the League officials who requested her presence here, the rift had recently been closed, but before that had happened, it had been a beacon for supernatural creatures of all kinds.

  Charlotte looked at the book and nodded.

  “We know it’s a lot,” continued Sonja. “Especially with everything else you’re doing, so just go at your own pace. There won’t be a test, I promise.”

  “Thanks,” Charlotte said, her grin not reflecting any intimidation.

  “So how did you get into magical pregnancies?” Leonard blurted suddenly, making Sonja and Will stare. “As a profession?”

  Oh, come on, was this an exciting new feature of his curse? Verbal clumsiness? Had he and the replicated sea life not suffered enough?

  “I just sort of fell into it,” she said, her southern accent somehow more lyrically musical than the Cajun voices he’d become accustomed to since moving to Louisiana. “I mean, I was already interested in midwifery. It’s sort of the family business, going back to my several times-great-granny. She was one of those mountain women who cured what ailed you with a combination of real medicine, magic, and just enough power of suggestion to keep everybody in line. And then, after my studies, I worked in a clinic where I just happened to have a patient who was a badger shifter married to a chupacabra.”

  Will shuddered. “Wow.”

  “It took me a shameful amount of time to figure out I was dealing with two shapeshifters, and how different that makes a pregnancy. Every shifter’s gestation period is different. Their symptoms and cravings and complications, they’re all unique. Anyway, once I put the context clues together, I was able to meet with them privately, let them know I was aware of their special genetic circumstances and I would do everything I could to bring their baby safely into the world while protecting their secret. They were such a sweet couple. The daddy painted my trailer as a thank you,” Charlotte said.

  “They were so happy with me that they contacted their local League office to tell them, assuming that the League appointed me to handle shifter pregnancies. The League liked what they heard and hired me as a freelancer. The more I worked, the more I learned. The more I learned, the more my skills were in demand. And now I’m here.”

  “I’m so glad you’re here,” Leonard breathed.

  Across the room, Will covered his snicker with a cough. “Sorry, man.”

  “Selkie humor,” Sonja assured Charlotte, while giving Will an arch look.

  Will sobered quickly. “Which was her none too subtle way of telling you I’m a selkie, a seal shapeshifter. Other than increased strength and speed, it’s really not an issue unless I’m near water. And even then, I’ll just outswim you.”

  “He’s exaggerating,” Sonja insisted. “He can also hold his breath for a very long time.”

  Will snorted.

  “So, everybody just talks about their supernatural status in the open here?” Charlotte asked. “I’ve never worked in an environment like that, not even working with League clinics.”

  “It is considered rude by the locals, to directly ask about magie status, but not to bring it up yourself. I, for instance, am human,” Sonja said.

  “But with added awesomeness,” Will insisted while Sonja preened graciously. “It would just be unfair to everybody else to give you superpowers.”

  Charlotte looked to Leonard, who just couldn’t seem to produce the words, I’m a human whose family has lived under a fairy curse for hundreds of years. It was the first time he’d had any trouble saying so while living there.

  When he didn’t respond, she simply said, “I’m a zana, it’s sort of a broad term, catch-all for Romanian fae folk. My particular branch of the ‘family’ were forest dwellers in the classic ‘fairy godmother’ vein. They blessed unborn babies, helped lost children get out of the woods, rewarded decent people for their virtues, that sort of thing. Their affection for unborn humans eventually led to midwifery. My several-times-great-grandmother saw the writing on the wall, in terms of the old world versus new, and how people were intruding on the forest. She adopted a common last name, learned human ways, and made her way to America in the 1830s. Somehow, she ended up in Tennessee. It seemed a better long-term plan than cursing an entire population of woodcutters.”

  She smiled warmly at Leonard, as if prompting him–again–to take his turn. But his mouth had turned dry, staring at her lovely little face. He swallowed heavily. It wasn’t so much her fae nature, but the casual way she’d talked of throwing curses around made him nervous.

  Charlotte was an unknown quantity and Leonard’s reaction to that made him feel like a grade-A jackass. Her being born with special abilities was no more her fault than being born with a curse was his fault. Her being beautiful and interesting and kind had his hormones in over-drive, which was the real complication in the situation. He was practically tied in knots, he was so nervous. And that was never a good thing.

  He couldn’t move, which was probably for the best, because he would probably trip if he tried to get up and fall out of the first-story window to his death. And even if he managed to make it out of the room unscathed, he didn’t want to hurt this woman’s feelings because of his own irrational issues. So he sat there quietly, mulling over the possibility of time travel, so he could go back to visit the O’Donnell ancestor that started this mess and kick his ass.

  Sonja apparently picked up on Leonard’s inward meltdown because she quickly moved the agenda along to the next department head meeting. They chatted about the various departments and how Charlotte might need to interact with them. She was warned about Adam McTeague and his tendency to dominate meetings with his overblown opinions regarding his own economics research. Leonard didn’t contribute much to the conversation, and was grateful to Sonja and Will for making up for his silence.

  As the conversation wound down, Sonja handed Charlotte a manila envelope. “Now comes the thing that the League likes best.”

  “Paperwork?” Charlotte guessed.

  “So many forms,” Sonja told her in an almost apologetic fashion. “Most of them are very specific non-disclosure agreements. Don’t feel like you have to get them all back to me today. Just finish them when you have time. And with that, Leonard and I will be on our way. You two go make Mystic Bayou a healthier place.”

  Will grinned at her and gave her a smacking kiss.

  “Nice to meet you,” Leonard told Charlotte, before moving toward the door with near-surgical concentration. She smiled and waved, probably trying to avoid another static shock. He turned to wave back and somehow, that motion threw him off balance and he tipped forward, nearly face-planting against the door frame. Sonja caught his arm before his nose made contact with the metal.

  “Are you all right?” Charlotte cried, coming closer to cup his jaw in her hands, inspecting his face for damage. That same crackling energy rippled up the side of his face, making him shudder in dread and delight.

  “I’m fine,” he muttered, stepping away from her. “Happens all the time.”

  He walked out of the clinic as fast as he dared. Sonja only caught up with him half-way across the street. Everything would be fine. He just had to avoid beautiful, compelling Charlotte McBee and he would be fine. Or at least, he wouldn’t be injured in some humiliating fashion, possibly involving dragon fire or giant porcupine quills.

  “You OK?” Sonja asked as they walked back to the admin building.

  “Sure. I just hope that Jessica hasn’t moved my desk into the swamp by the time we get back,” Leonard said.

  3

  Charlotte

  Whenever her mother got stressed, Lizzie McBee would say that she was “blessed with work.” Well, Charlotte had blessings coming out of her ears.

  Still, working kept her mind off of the thousands of moving in tasks she needed to do. And then there was the strange riddle of Leonard O’Donnell. Charlotte saw him freeze up and shut down every time she approached him. Even if he was engaged in conversation, relaxed and laughing, he would just go quiet and still. He moved so rigidly, she was afraid his bones would crack.

  Some people just felt uneasy around the fae. It was easy to understand, she supposed. Fae could be petty creatures, seeking disproportionate vengeance for relatively small slights. The Grimms’ original fairy tales were practically subtitled, “Long and detailed cautionary stories about pissing off the fae.” She tried not to let it hurt her feelings, but well, it stung.

  And because her romantic nature was decidedly perverse, of course, she found Leonard incredibly attractive. Normally, she was a bit intimidated by men who were so much taller than her. But Leonard had the kindest eyes, with all the warmth and sweetness of melted chocolate. She found herself wondering what it would feel like to have those long, lean arms wrapped around her. In the middle of her workdays, she would picture his large hands spanning across her back. And then she would start thinking about height-anatomical proportionality and–

  No, no. She wouldn’t date a man who didn’t like her. She’d tried that. It didn’t work. Well, honestly, she didn’t date much, but somehow, she always managed to choose men who were decidedly unavailable emotionally. It wasn’t all that bad in the long run. She was an admitted workaholic, and her schedule was often filled with surprises and emergencies. She didn’t have the time for someone looking for long-term commitment.

  Deep down, she wanted what her parents had, but she just hadn’t found someone she thought she could tolerate forever and ever. Hank and Lizzie McBee had fallen in love at first sight–or at least, “intense like.” At twenty, Hank had taken one look at Lizzie and knew that she was it for him. Lizzie had been a little harder to convince, unsure of how perfectly human Hank McBee would respond to her fae nature. (The answer was “enthusiastically.”) They’d gotten married as soon as Lizzie’s mother would allow it, after she finished her midwife training. And they never regretted settling down so young. They didn’t see the point in dating other people when they found what they wanted on the first try.

  So maybe subconsciously, Charlotte picked men she could hold at a distance without regret. Somehow, she didn’t think she could do that with Leonard O’Donnell. So she distracted herself with patients. Jillian was coming in for an exam that morning. Analah Agarwal was expecting her exceedingly healthy tiger-slash-lion shifter baby any day now. Fortunately, it didn’t involve complex magics fighting it out with each other, just a lot of muscle and teeth. And she was sure Dani Teel was pregnant, but didn’t realize it yet.

  Charlotte had come home from the grocery the day before to find Zed and Dani standing outside of the Silver Stork.

  “Hi, Charlotte,” he said, sheepishly taking her groceries out of her hands. “We, uh, weren’t trying to look in your windows or anything.”

  “He didn’t mean for that to sound so creepy. He’s way more interested in the engineering of the trailer than your underwear,” Dani promised her, rubbing absently at her sternum, as if she was suffering heartburn. Charlotte’s head tilted, listening to the tiny pattering sound only she could hear from Dani’s middle. Between that and the lovely, warm energy she could feel radiating from the energy witch, Charlotte could barely contain her giggle.