Shadows of Evil
ISBN: 1-59998-949-2
Available from Samhain Publishing
© 2008 by Cheryel Hutton
buy at: www.mybookstoreandmore.com/product_info.php?products_id=982
Blurb:
For Kia Wolfe, moving to an isolated mountaintop is an act of independence from her demanding family and ex-fiancé. She’s literally dreamed about the regal old house for years, and for the first time in her life she feels at home. She’s here to stay, even though the house’s history of violent deaths is enough to scare off most people.
Garrett McKnight, owner of the contracting firm Kia has hired to renovate her house, is wary of the new resident. Emotionally bruised and battered by a self-centered ex-wife, he can’t get around the fact that there’s something about Kia that both attracts him and sets him on edge. And when Kia dabbles in a bit of Wicca, accidentally unleashing a hidden evil, it’s tempting to walk away and leave her to her to her fate.
But he can’t. Not when four people have died in that house.
Excerpt:
As soon as Dracula tired of playing, she headed directly into her new studio. All she knew was that Fuzzy needed a new hat, and she had decided just the kind to give him.
She was deep in a Fuzzy Bunny-induced trance, when a sharp bark caused her to squeal. Turning to the dog, she was ready to chew him out. But then she saw how oddly he was acting. He was staring toward the French doors, while he edged toward her with his tail between his legs.
“Chicken,” she teased. A glance at her watch told her it was almost three a.m., and it was getting chilly. Still, the big moon was bright, and she was too wound up to sleep. So she got her ratty old bathrobe from one of her boxes and went back to work.
Just as she was getting back into the swing again, she heard a howl echo through the mountain air. Dracula’s answering bark was followed by a whimper, as he curled up near her chair.
She shook her head in amusement. “It’s okay, it’s just a dog, like you. Maybe even a potential girlfriend.” The howling came again, and she shrugged. “Or maybe a wolf. Like me.”
Another howl echoed through the trees, and Kia felt the hair on her neck stand up.
Dracula edged closer and whimpered again.
****
I need my head examined.
Garrett pulled his pickup into Kia Wolfe’s driveway the next morning. Kia was a big girl. If she wanted to live in a haunted house in the middle of nowhere, it was none of his concern.
And yet, there he was pulling up to that monstrosity of a house. As hard as he tried not to care, he was worried about her.
“I don’t know who’s crazier, me or her,” he grumbled, as he walked up the porch steps. Inside the house, he heard Dracula barking.
The door was thrown open and Kia looked up at him through half-closed eyes. “What are you doing here so early?”
He grinned. She was adorable with that crazy black, curly hair falling in intriguing tendrils over that cute little face. Her jeans and T-shirt were wrinkled, as if she’d slept in them, and there was a little red mark down her cheek, as if she’d lain against a fold in her pillow case. “I was on my way to work and just thought I’d check on you.”
She looked at him for a moment, as if she was trying to bring his face into focus, and then stepped away from the door. She motioned for him to follow her as she went toward the kitchen muttering, “Coffee. Need coffee.”
He chuckled as he followed her. Dracula poked his nose at Garrett’s fingers, and he gave the dog the requested head scratch. “She isn’t a morning person, is she?”
Dracula whined softly, and Garrett had to laugh. “I feel for you, buddy.”
In the kitchen, he found Kia putting water in the coffeemaker. “I have got to remember to get this thing ready before I go to bed.”
“I’m sorry,” Garrett lied. “I didn’t realize you were one of those people who slept until noon.”
She glared, her pretty gray eyes turning dark. “I’m an artist. I keep weird hours. So sue me.” She turned to inspect the bubbling, sputtering machine. “Besides, some stupid dog had Dracula all upset last night. It’s hard to sleep with the canine neighborhood all charged up and howling.”
He concentrated on keeping his face unexpressive. “A full moon has a strange effect on animals.”
She turned, a frown pulling at her adorable face. Big eyes that odd gray color, sharp little chin, full lips. “If you say so.”
He wanted to pull her into his arms, to hold her, to kiss her, to protect her. He forced a smile. “Well, that’s the theory, anyway.”
She leaned her head to the side as she studied him. “Makes sense, I guess.”
“Listen, I’m sorry I woke you. I’ll just go and—”
“Don’t even think about it, cowboy. I’m up, I made coffee. You might as well stay and have a cup with me.”
“I’d like that,” he admitted.
She handed him a mug and took one of her own. “Sugar? Cream?”
“Black’s fine.”
“So, that howling mutt thing, it happens every full moon?”
He forced himself to keep his expression impassive as he looked her straight in the eye. “Yeah, it does.”
She shrugged. “I guess I’ll get used to it.”
He nodded as he took another sip of coffee. “If you stay here.”
“Garrett, I’ll be okay.” She smiled sheepishly. “The real reason I didn’t get to bed at a decent hour was that I was drawing. I get caught up and forget how late it’s getting. My parents and my ex-fiancé were always giving me hell for being lazy and sleeping in so much.”
“Ex-fiancé, huh? Did he break your heart?” Why did that thought make him want to hunt the guy down and beat him to a pulp?
“No. It just didn’t work out.”
He covered her hand with his own. Hers was soft, delicate, and warm. The feel of her had his heart kicking into a higher gear.
“I’d better be getting to work.” He set his empty mug on the counter, gave her a smile, and headed toward the front door. Dracula intercepted him en route, and Garrett took time for a head scratching and to tell the dog how good he was.
What he really wanted to do was grab the dog’s owner and hold her close, but he did the right thing and went out the door.
After a quick trip by his house, Garrett drove down the mountain, still wondering why he’d felt the need to go by Kia’s house. Granted, checking on her wasn’t a bad idea, but he knew it was more than that. He was attracted to her. She intrigued him, and he’d better get the hell over it.
Giving himself a mental shake, he pulled out his cell and hit the speed dial. “I’m running a little late, Dad. Things went fine last night. I just got a slow start.”
He closed the phone and concentrated on the curvy road.