“What?” Marigold said, shocked.
“Listen. Did it ever occur to you that you can affect the outcome of your psychic visions?”
Marigold started to protest, but Ginger held up her hand. “Hear me out. You’re so burnt out and bitter from having lived through your mother’s world-record-breaking number of divorces that you go into every relationship expecting it to fail. What if you decided to try your hardest to make this work?”
“Well, I-“
“I happened to have asked Loch about Henry. He said that word among the shifters is, Henry’s talking non-stop about how much he likes you.”
“Really?” Marigold blinked back tears. “But I already broke up with him. And he was really upset. It’s probably too late.”
“He was upset because he really likes you, you moron! Call him back and be honest with him. Tell him that you really really like him too, but you’ve been through so many bad relationships that it’s hard for you to trust anybody.”
“I saw myself in the future, going back to New York, alone!”
“But that’s what happens if you have the mindset that no relationship is going to work. Look, happy relationships are out there. We’ve both seen them. My parents are a perfect example. Change your mindset, for God’s sake. Go apologize to him now. Do something crazy, show up wearing lingerie under a coat or something like that.”
“I – I - ”
“Go! My love life may be screwed because apparently I’m the wrong color of wolf, but that doesn’t mean that everybody else has to suffer.”
“Well, if I’m a dumbass, so are you. You’re giving up way too easily,” Marigold said, and marched back to the farmhouse, leaving Ginger standing by herself watching the sun sink lower and lower into the horizon.
A sudden noise coming from behind the outhouse made Ginger start. She couldn’t quite figure out what it was; it sounded like two raccoons fighting, but the scent from behind the outhouse was definitely human.
Carefully she crept behind the outhouse, peeking behind bushes to see…Winifred and the handyman, buck naked, on the ground. Their clothes lay in a pile next to them. Winifred was on top, straddling the handyman, head thrown back in ecstasy, riding him like a cowboy on a bucking bronco. Her hair flowed down her back and over her small breasts like a golden waterfall.
“Harder!” the handyman yelled. “Ride me like a bull!”
Good lord, she thought, even Winifred’s got a better love life than me.
With a sinking heart, she turned and walked back to the boarding house. The wedding march ring tone sounded, and she reluctantly answered her phone. More bad news?
“You are not coming back to New York,” her mother said. “You are going to stay there and marry that sheriff, and that’s final.”
“Hello. By the way, that’s how normal people start their phone conversations. They say hello. Maybe exchange a few pleasantries. How’s the weather in New York?”
“Cloudy, with a chance of weddings. Listen. I spoke to your father. We are not going to allow Reynaldo Cruz bully us like that. He hasn’t even given your father a raise in years. Your father is already updating his resume and putting out feelers with other firms.”
“If the Alpha fires him and puts out the word not to hire him…”
“We could relocate to another pack, if we had to. This wedding is happening, damn it!”
“Mother, why are you so insanely determined to see me married?”
“Because meeting your father was the best thing that ever happened to me, and I have been ridiculously happy every day that I am married to him. Even when he annoys the living crap out of me, which is fairly frequently. I want that for you. The happy part, not the annoying part, but I think they go hand in hand, unfortunately.”
“Oh.” Sudden tears sprang to Ginger’s eyes. It was true. Her parents were a living testament to the power of love. She yearned for what they had. “I could swear you just used a cuss word. You’d wash my mouth out with soap if I said that!”
“Well, I’m frustrated. This is ridiculous! Some jealous cow is trying to ruin your relationship because you and the sheriff are different types of wolf? I’m a witch and your father is a shifter. We couldn’t possibly come from more different backgrounds , and we’ve been ridiculously happy for 30 years. And we have four of the most beautiful daughters any family could hope for. And I want some damn grandchildren to spoil while I’m still young enough to bend over and pick them up!”
“Good gracious, mother. Language. Watch your language. You really think that you and dad will be all right if I stay here?”