“It’s fine.” I sighed. “So, you’re not having a lot of luck finding help with the house?”
“No. The locals want nothing to do with it. Aren’t you local?”
“No. Moved here a year ago.”
“A newcomer like me.” She smiled, her luminous gray eyes twinkling. “All the more reason to help me.”
“Why didn’t you ask the plumbers for help?”
“How do you know I didn’t?”
I tapped my ear. “Wolf hearing.”
“Damn. Were you listening to everything I said?”
“Can’t help it. I try to filter it out.” I found that I wanted to annoy her as much as she annoyed me. “Didn’t bother, though.”
Although I should have. It had been irritating to hear the flirting going on while they’d played darts, and I shouldn’t have been irritated by that. She could do whatever she wanted. Hell, it would be better if she got a boyfriend and moved out of my house.
The idea of it made my wolf growl, and I told the beast to settle down. He listened, but barely.
“For your information, I was trying to make them like me before I ask for the help,” she said. “No one in town wants to work on the place, so I’m going to need favors instead of just hiring people.”
“Good plan. A bit mercenary, though.”
“Maybe, but it’s a mild form of mercenariness.”
“Mercenariness? Is that a word?” Oh hell, was I flirting with her? I never flirted.
She smiled at me. “It is now. I suppose I could say Machiavellian, but I prefer my version.”
I couldn’t help the smile that tugged at my lips, and it irritated the hell out of me.
Time to go. I drained the last of the beer, then stood. “Thanks for the drink, but it’s past my bedtime.”
I turned and left the pub, feeling her gaze follow me the entire way out.
Chapter
Nine
Isobel
The next morning, I awoke to the same lovely breeze and sound of the waves as the morning before. The bed was so comfortable that I could have snuggled there for hours, but that wasn’t on the agenda.
Today, I was going to figure out what was wrong with the house so that I could get to work on it. With any luck, I’d fix it and be able to convince some local contractors to take on the job.
I sat up and climbed out of bed, disturbing Poa, who lay at the foot. She gave me an annoyed meow, then settled back and began snoring again.
“I’m going to meet Emma today at the house. She might have a familiar for you to meet.”
Poa perked up, interest on her face.
“We leave in thirty,” I said, heading to the bathroom to brush my teeth. I had a feeling I’d be getting dirty today, so I’d save my shower for tonight.
After dressing in some suitable trousers and a shirt, I brewed myself a cup of coffee and headed downstairs to drink it by the water. My life in London had been so land-bound that being this close to the ocean was amazing. I’d never spent much time by the sea, but that hadn’t been from lack of desire. Tommy just hadn’t wanted to travel.
The thought of him made me scowl, but it didn’t hurt as much as I expected. There was a dull ache there, mostly for the thought of what I’d had and lost. But what I’d thought I’d had was a lie, so I couldn’t really mourn it. And if I were honest with myself, we’d been drifting apart for years.
I shook the thought away and headed outside, inhaling the fresh sea air. It woke me up, and I quickened my pace toward the water. As I neared the end of the boathouse closest to the sea, I saw a flash of movement to my left.
Rafe, disappearing around the side of the building.
Was he avoiding me?
Probably. I’d annoyed the hell out of him last night, and as fun as it had been, I’d probably better lay off the guy. We still had to live together, and I didn’t want him to dislike me more than he already did.
But there’d been some flirtation there, too—I was sure of it. I’d had fun with him, and for a moment, I’d thought he was having fun as well. He definitely wasn’t as bad as I’d imagined, though his avoidance this morning didn’t bode well for the future of our relationship.
Not that we had one.
I didn’t need another one of those any time soon, and he was a terrible candidate. I shoved the thoughts away and finished the last of my coffee, then headed back into the boathouse. Rafe wasn’t in the main room, so I had to assume he was in his bedroom.
For the best, I reminded myself.
I found Poa in the kitchen, eating shredded cheddar cheese straight out of the bag. She’d made a mess, but I was confident she’d clean up every scrap.
“You have kibble, you know.” I pointed to her bowl.
She looked over at it, clearly disdainful, then returned her attention to the cheese.
I rolled my eyes and pulled a granola bar out of the cabinet. “We’re late, so finish your cheese, and let’s go.”
She picked up the pace, and the bits of cheddar were gone in seconds. I ate the granola bar as I headed back down the stairs, Poa on my heels. Rafe was now in the kitchen, and I called out a cheery, “Good morning!”
He grunted, and I smiled.
The walk up to the house on the hill was short, and we arrived just as a small car was pulling into the drive from the other side. I waved at Emma as she climbed out and said, “Hello!”
“Hi!” She waved, then looked at the house.
She’d left the car door open, and a black and white creature leapt out, a pink bow flopping around her neck. The telltale white stripe on her back marked her as a skunk, which was a little odd since they weren’t native to the UK. But familiars were often all sorts of odd animals.
Poa stopped in her tracks about five meters from the skunk and glared. The skunk glared back, then hissed. Poa returned the sound, her back arched.
Emma and I watched silently as the two familiars stared each other down. The last thing we needed was a fight, especially when Poa would end up stinking to high heaven and still expect to sleep in my bed.
The moment passed as quickly as it had come, and the two relaxed. They trotted closer, clearly communicating, even though I couldn’t hear what they were saying. After a moment, they headed around the house toward the back garden like two gal pals headed off to have a drink and a chat.
Emma looked at me. “If you have any wine or chocolate back there, you won’t have it for long.”
“Oh?”
“Penelope is a big fan.”
“Can cats and skunks have wine?”
Emma shrugged. “Normal ones? No. But familiars are fine since they’re magical. It’s never had any ill effect on Penelope, at least.”
“Good.” I really didn’t want to have to monitor what Poa ate or drank since I had a feeling she was the most adorable garbage disposal I’d ever seen.
“Ready to check out your house?” Emma asked.
“Let’s do it.” I led her toward the front door, which opened with the same horrifying creak that it had made the day before.
We stepped through the doorway, and the house gave an audible groan. It sounded almost like an annoyed human.
“Chill out,” I said.
“I’m chill.” Emma shot me a sideways glance.
“Sorry, not you. I was talking to the house. Didn’t you hear it groan?”
“It’s been silent since I walked in.”