“It must be really great to be in a good pack, Max. I envy you.”

  Max looked him directly in the eye. “Say the word, Lucas, and you’ll have a spot here. What you’ve done for me, us, is an eternal debt. Eternal.”

  Lucas looked down thoughtfully. “All right, man. I’ll think on it. I just wanted to check in, see how you all were this morning. I’m going to head out for a bit. I’ll see you soon.”

  Lucas looked back to see Max watching him from the doorway.

  Max smiled and turned back to the kids inside.

  Lucas felt an ache inside that would not go away.

  Chapter 13

  Harriet had just woken from a dreamy sleep. She was luxuriating in her bed, still full of the smell of Lucas and the memories of last night. “Hubba Hubba,” she whispered to herself. She still had the poppet clutched in her hand. Something about it was just so sweet. She felt like a little girl somehow; like some piece of her had filled in, some gap had been closed, and she was now more whole. It was really something. She held it up to her nose and inhaled deeply. It just smelled like home, and she couldn’t be clearer than that. She sighed.

  “Staycation, what will we do together today?” she said to the house. “First things first! A bath! With every candle and floral smelly thing known to woman!” Harriet smiled to herself and sighed. “A long, long, bath.”

  She got out of bed and padded across her room. Looking in her closet, she found a bathrobe she hadn’t had a chance to wear in years. It was like being wrapped in a blanket.

  She had called Max and heard the joy in his voice. He’d refused to let her cover his shift, and she was really quite relieved. She just kept whispering, “Vacation” to herself, as she moved from room to room.

  Lucas was also on her mind. There was so much about him that was attractive to her. He’d been a heroic savior of children, for starters. Her brother’s children. What a way to start! He shared her gifts for magic, which was incredibly rare. In fact, she’d never met a shifter man with any ability at all. And he was hot as hell and fantastic in bed. That one was worth repeating, more than once.

  It was nice to imagine having a man in her life. She’d been fine being the authority of all things shifter for the Lawsons, but there were days when coming back to an empty house had been a little depressing. ‘No one to share things with’ got kind of old after a while. Most of her girlfriends were paired up, and well, it just got old, that’s all. Maybe Lucas would change some of this… if he was even sticking around. Wait a damn minute! What? Am I some pre-teen nutjob who believes in one-night stands being true love? What the hell? I know better than this! I’m a grown damn woman!

  Harriet slammed the closet door in frustration. She heard her phone ring in the other room and couldn’t decide whether to answer it. She could almost feel her frustration sparking off of her. It stopped ringing for a minute, and then started again. She walked in to answer it and saw it was a Lawson number. They knew she was on vacation, the first one in umpteen years. Couldn’t they handle anything? She picked it up and heard the sharpness of her voice as she said hello.

  “Oh, hey, Harriet, this is Lucas. Everything okay?”

  Some of the tension rolled off Harriet’s back at hearing his voice. It was just so rich, and so… Lucas. She felt her shoulders drop and hadn’t even realized they’d been up around her ears.

  “Lucas. Are you using a Lawson phone? I was about to rip someone a new one for calling me on the first day of my vacation. I’m very glad it was you; you are innocent until proven guilty.” Harriet laughed, still relieved and feeling herself calm way down.

  Lucas laughed. “I know. Kurt almost cried when I said I was going to call you. He really did try to stop me, but I just wanted to check in on you before it had been too long. Did you have a nice sleep?”

  Harriet could almost see him smiling as they both thought about why she would have had such a nice sleep.

  “Have you shown Max the poppet yet? What’re you going to do today?” he continued.

  “I just got out of the bath, forgot all about the poppet. Let me see… oh! There it is. It just smells so damn good. I can’t believe it smells so good after all this time. I was going to tell Max later, when he’s not working, I’m hoping maybe I’ll get over to see the kids today. My original plan was just to watch movies and eat candy, but I’ve got a new energy now, so I’m not sure, really. I want coffee, actually, but I’m feeling too lazy to make it and I can’t go to The Cup or I’ll just start working. So, is that enough blathering?” Harriet sighed and held her forehead in her palm. “My god, a couple hours off work and I’m starving to talk, I guess.”

  Lucas smiled. Harriet could feel it through the phone. It made her smile too.

  “Well, okay then, Harriet. Have a good day. Keep smelling the poppet.”

  Harriet smiled and then stopped when Lucas hung up. Will I see him again? That seemed so abrupt. Doesn’t he want to keep talking? What else is he doing? Doesn’t he know what it means that I’m on vacation? And free?

  She held the poppet to her nose again. It really does calm me, she thought. Amazing what a smell-memory connection could do. Maybe she’d call Lila and see if she wanted a walk or something this afternoon. She thought about that for a minute and sniffed the poppet again. It is a little bit addictive, she thought, smelling it again. But maybe it was just like having a favorite stuffed animal, or a cat, or something. Other people had all sorts of crutches. Harriet thought maybe she deserved a little crutch now and then, a little comfort. Maybe some couch time with the tv would be in order.

  Harriet grabbed an apple and a bag of candy red fish (for balance, she thought laughingly) and headed to the sofa and the clicker. She made herself a little nest and settled in.

  She must have fallen asleep watching whatever it was. She woke to a knock at the door. She made her way groggily to answer.

  “Yes?” she said to the young man standing at the door. She was speaking through the door.

  “I’ve got a delivery, ma’am. Coffee and danish from The Cup. It’s all paid for by, uh, Mr. Sargent.”

  “Oh my god. Okay, just put it down, I’ve got to get my wallet for some tip money.”

  “No ma’am, it’s all paid for, really, even the tip. I’ll just put it here and be on my way. Enjoy!”

  Harriet waited another minute while he wound his way back to the delivery car. Then she darted out to grab the coffee tray. There were two cups and a bag, and she felt almost feverish in her need for the coffee.

  She brought the tray in and sat down at the kitchen table. Two coffees? She opened the pastry bag to find a note from Lucas.

  I imagine you’ll drink the first one before you’re done reading the note. That’s why there are two. Guzzle and enjoy. You deserve it, Harriet. Enjoy the vacation! Lucas

  Harriet smiled and looked down at the half-cup of coffee she had in her hand. Almost, she thought with a smile.

  Chapter 14

  Lucas was bouncing around with the Lawsons as they went from job to job during the day. He loved it, really. It was great to be in another pack for a bit. Always felt like home to be in a good, cohesive pack. He saw Max and the kids on lunch break, as the entire Lawson crew went to The Cup to visit. The kids were laughing and having a good time behind the counter with Max. Service was a little slow but most of the clients that he could see were somewhat bemused to be served by an entire family, kids included. If shifters had pets, Lucas was sure there’d be a puppy back there too.

  He’d had the coffee taken over to Harriet once Max told him what she’d like. It pleased him to treat her this way. She really was extraordinary. If he could get his mind away from the sex, he was astonished at the role she played in this community. And he wasn’t trying that hard to get his mind off the sex. Her attitude and comfort level at sexual play was so damn refreshing. She didn’t play some damsel in distress, she didn’t lie down and play dead, it was just perfect, just what he wanted. Liking her was going to make the entire experience god awful. Her name came up in almost every Lawson conversation, and each customer at The Cup asked Max where she was.

  He knew she was on vacation this week, and he was going to need every minute of it. It was fantastic timing in that he might be able to steal her away for a few days without the Lawson’s hunting her down. Going by Kurt’s reaction, it wasn’t like the Lawsons would be calling to check up on her. If he could get her back on time, it’s possible he could avoid their ill-will altogether. Her ill-will, on the other hand, was bound to be something else altogether. He already regretted everything he was about to put her through, but there was just no other way. He needed her. Maybe someday she’d forgive him.

  He knew she knew.

  He had arrived at her house after work with the Lawsons had ended to just ‘check in’. He’d been so looking forward to seeing her smile again, watching her move her gorgeous body around the kitchen, maybe getting to see her naked, if everything was fine. It definitely was not fine.

  Before he had raised his hand to knock, the door had whipped open. She looked like a banshee, or some Irish nightmare from the bog. Her auburn hair was in disarray and she looked like she’d been crying. She looked him in the eye and threw the poppet in his face.

  “You gave me a fucking charm?! You spelled me? Who the fuck are you, Lucas? Give me one reason that I should not call the Lawsons here right now?”

  Lucas knew he had to work fast. Hopefully, she hadn’t already told any of the Lawsons, or Max.

  “Woah, Harriet. Woah. There’s nothing wrong, I swear. Can I come in?”

  She walked into the house, leaving the door open for him, speaking angrily as she walked. “I went to see my friend, Lila, at work, you know, at Bella’s. They’re both witchy in some way, I don’t even know how exactly, but Lila is my friend, and she spotted it the second I walked in! Instantly! What are you trying to do to me? Did it even belong to anyone, ever? Did it make me remember Nanny? Was it all a trick? Was it a love potion? Is that why I was so forward? What the fuck would you need that for? Have you seen yourself?” Harriet was crying at this point, folded in on herself in an old, overstuffed armchair.

  Lucas held his hands up, with the poppet in one. “Harriet, I don’t know what, Lila, was it, told you. But there’s no spell on it. Your friend is totally wrong. Here, hold it, you’d be able to sense if there was something on it. Come on. You’ve got the gift, right? You’d be able to tell, Harriet.” He could hear the pleading in his voice. He had to get this under control.

  He tossed the poppet to her and it landed in her lap.

  “I’m not touching that thing again, Lucas. Just tell me what you want from me, all right? You could just tell me. I trust myself enough to know you’re not a danger to me, Lucas. My instincts are good enough for that, at least. So, what the hell do you want?”

  Lucas moved over to kneel in front of Harriet. He held on to her two hands, the poppet on her lap between them. “You are not in any danger from me, Harriet, I swear. But what I need to ask you to do is dangerous, and I don’t have any choice in this.”

  He stood up and moved away. Harriet found that he had bound her hands in front of her and placed the poppet on top of them. Harriet’s eyes were enormous. He could see her mind trying not to panic, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

  “Who’d you tell about the poppet, Harriet? Besides Lila, that is.” He knew she wouldn’t be able to lie right now. He tried to keep his voice even, but he heard it crack. It was awful to know how much he was upsetting her. Awful.

  “Just Lila.” Harriet looked even more confused.

  She must have tried to lie, Lucas realized.

  “Look, Harriet, the charm makes it so you can’t access your magic. It doesn’t have to be in your hands, though that makes it more powerful. You also can’t use any trickery, which means no lying. You might as well know it now. It’ll make things easier on you if you don’t fight it all the time.”

  He could see the steam rising off her as all of her confusion turned to rage.

  Chapter 15

  Of course, she hadn’t listened to Lila when she told her she needed to tell the Lawsons. Of course. She knew Lucas, she trusted Lucas. She’d fallen for the oldest con on womankind ever. The sweet guy, the hero, he must be a good guy if he finds me so attractive, he must. Oh my god!! I am such a damn fool! I walked him right in and threw the charm in his face, I let him into my damn house! What was I doing?!

  She’d walked into Lila’s work with a spring in her step. She almost never got a chance to visit the herb shop, she was always working.

  Lila had come out from the back room as she heard the door’s bell jangle. “Hey, lady! How’s your staycation going? I’m so honored you left your sofa for me! I mean it, I really am. What is that in your pocket? I can smell it from here! Get that out of here, woman!”

  She’d watched as Lila’s face had gone from welcoming smiles to an almost sickening hatred, in seconds. Harriet had backed up to the door and taken the poppet out of her pocket.

  “This? It’s a childhood doll thing that my old nan gave me, Lila. Lucas found it when he was hunting for Max’s kids’ mom.”

  “Stay there, Harriet. I’m going to get Bella. Maybe I’m having hallucinations or something weird. I don’t know why but I hate that thing. I can’t believe you can’t smell it.” Lila left the room.

  Harriet could hear her calling up to Bella, who must’ve been upstairs somewhere. She looked down at the poppet in her hand. It looked so innocuous. She held it up to her nose and smelled. Just the same old smell again, nothing atrocious. She sent out her senses toward it and got nothing. She shook her head. Lila must be wrong, she thought.

  She looked up as Bella came through the curtain separating the back room from the sales floor. She blinked several times and stopped, saying “Not a hallucination” to Lila. Bella was a tiny, wise-looking woman, raven hair in a messy bun, looking for all the world like a kindly, sharp-witted grandmother. She narrowed her eyes at Harriet and said, “Can you just put that on the stoop, Harriet, for a minute and come back in?”

  Harriet nodded and put it on the stoop, returning to the store before the door had even swung shut.

  The two women were tightly conversing when she arrived.

  “Thank God, Harriet. I could barely breathe with that thing in here,” Lila sighed.

  “It’s not dangerous, Harriet,” Bella stated plainly. “But it is powerful, and I can’t get close enough to figure out what it does exactly. Lila’s undoing magic certainly didn’t have any effect on it from across the room, but I don’t want her touching it either.”

  “Do you feel anything from it?” asked Lila. “Or when you don’t have it, do you feel any change? I mean, I can’t sense any difference in you, except maybe you’re a little strong right now, but that could be because we’ve just freaked you out…”

  Harriet shook her head. “I don’t feel anything magical at all, I mean, it calms me, I know that, but I associate it with some of my earliest memories, of being sung to sleep, so I just figured it was a soothing memory, but nothing. Nothing at all. I love the smell of it, honestly.”

  The women nodded. Bella asked, “How’d you get it exactly? Lila said a new person in town, someone I don’t know?”

  Harriet nodded. “Lucas Sargent spent the better part of a year plus some tracking down Max’s children that had been stolen. He went back through all of our lives and found the home I had spent my earliest years in. The poppet was there. He brought it back for us, along with the children he actually found and rescued.”

  “Sounds like a hero,” Bella said thoughtfully. “So, have you shown Max? What’d he say?”

  “Oh. Well, no, actually. He’s been so busy with the kids, I have hardly talked to him since they arrived, they’re spending every waking moment together. I’m sure they’re sleeping together too.” Harriet smiled. It was such a good thing to envision, it filled her with bliss. She looked at the two women studying her and sank back down to Earth.

  “So, you don’t think it is dangerous but don’t want to be in the room with it. So, what does that mean for me? Is it a spell? Can you get it off me, Lila?”

  Lila looked at Bella. “I mean, I can’t see anything to unravel on you, Harriet. Can you, Bella? Is there a mask or something that I’m missing?”

  Bella shook her head. “Nothing. I just don’t think you should keep that poppet, Harriet. Give it back. Or give it away. It’s definitely been spelled. The smell is so strong.”

  “Definitely tell the Lawsons, Harriet. I don’t want to assume, but if Lucas knows it’s spelled, then he could have some other tricks in store for you. I mean, what if it was on purpose? Why would he do that?”

  “No. Lucas is out of it, I know it,” said Harriet. “Whatever this is, it’s not on purpose.”

  Harriet hung her head. God damnit. It was all on purpose. That bastard. At least I was able to keep information from him, even if I couldn’t lie. She’d kept Bella out of it, and who knows? Maybe those two could cook up something to get her out of this. Maybe Lila would go tell Kurt, her mate, and the Lawsons would set off some kind of shifter alarm.

  What she really wanted to know was twofold: How could her instincts have been so wrong, and what the hell did he want with her?

  Harriet watched as he moved around her house. He seemed to be pacing, talking to himself, and making a few phone calls. He walked over to her finally and slung her over his shoulder. She didn’t bother kicking and struggling. She knew how strong he was. She’d seen his muscles. Ugh. Oh brother.

  He plopped her in the front seat of the car, hands still tied, poppet tucked into her pants pocket.

  “Thanks for not fighting me, Harriet. I swear, we just have to get this done and I’ll bring you back here, no harm to you. I swear it to you, Harriet. I do.”