Chapter 3
Mattie frowned as she held her phone to her ear. “You’re sure he’s not there?”
“Delaney told me to keep an eye on him before she left, and when I went back to make sure he was all right, he wasn’t there. We looked everywhere. He’s not in the shop,” Lexi said.
Lexi was a new witch in town and a recent hire at Delaney’s, but she also had a little side business making soaps. She’d bought honey from Mattie more than once and had given Mattie a few samples of the soaps she’d made with it. The soaps were great. Mattie liked her a lot.
Mattie sighed. “You know he can become invisible, right?”
“Delaney mentioned that.”
“This isn’t like him not to come home. However, if he’s pulling some kind of big prank, that is very much like him.”
“Delaney said you said he knows his way home, so don’t you think he’ll eventually show up?”
“Probably. I hope.” Except even the bees were giving off worried vibes. Was that because she was worried? Or just because they sensed Blue was gone? They were sensitive to such things. Mattie tried not to panic. “What time do you guys close up?”
“Nine, so another hour. I’ll look again. And I swear if he turns up, I will call you first thing.”
“Thanks. He’ll probably be here in a few minutes. I might go walk the garden again and have another look.”
“I’m sorry he’s giving you such a fit.”
Mattie laughed, but there was no real humor in the sound. “The truth is, he might be doing this on purpose. Probably mad at me for leaving him behind.” She rolled her eyes. “That would be exactly something he’d do. Thanks again.”
She hung up and exhaled. This was just like something Blueberry would do. He was such a brat sometimes. She was already in her pajamas because she’d been watching her show and eating dinner, about ready to have her dessert.
But Blueberry’s failure to return had put her night on hold. Honestly, she’d thought he’d be home in an hour after she left Delaney’s. Two at the most.
It was double that now, and her concern for him was starting to turn into fear. She took a breath and reminded herself that before the winter elf, Jayne Frost, had set him free, he’d survived an unknown number of years trapped in a box.
He’d be fine a few hours on his own.
She hoped.
She’d even called Undrea Seeley, one of her best friends, to see if Blue had gone to her place instead. He did love to watch the fish in her big aquarium. But Undrea hadn’t seen him.
Mattie grabbed a flashlight and went out to the garden. He could very well be hiding out there, the little stinker. She hoped that was exactly what he was doing. Hiding to scare her, maybe. Or to make her miss him.
Well, she did miss him. He could be naughty at times, but he could also be very sweet. She missed him sitting on her shoulder when they watched TV, the way he’d fall asleep against her neck, the soft whistle of his little snores, the silliness of him laughing in his sleep, which he did so often.
If something bad had befallen him because she’d left him behind, she would carry that for the rest of her life.
She waved the flashlight beam through her garden. There were no telltale shimmers of green or sparks of iridescence. Nothing to indicate he was hiding among the trees or bushes or flowers. She gave the butterfly bush a closer inspection, as that was one of his favorite spots.
She did the same thing with a few of the birdhouses and then looked higher into the branches of the fruit trees. No sign of him.
Her property bordered the vineyards of the local winery. She turned the light in that direction, watching as it cut through the deepening twilight. “Blueberry? Are you out there?”
She listened closely, thinking he might laugh at his own perceived cleverness. Not a sound.
She tried to think where he could be. There was no way he’d be in one of the hives. The bees would have told her. Even so, she went straight to them next, taking the flagstone-paved path that led to the hives on her property.
The bees had gone into night mode now, not sleeping the way humans did but definitely in a resting state.
That meant they were all in their hives and very still.
Their body temperatures would drop slightly, and even their antennae stopped moving.
There were still a few active workers, tending to the brood and keeping the hive temp from dipping too low.
But the bulk of them would spend the evening hours conserving energy and preparing for the next day of work.
She reached the first hive and put her hand on one of the wooden walls. It was warm to the touch. She closed her eyes, her magic immediately picking up on the life force within. It vibrated into her hand.
She knew her bees very well. Enough to know that what she was feeling from them carried notes of concern and worry. They knew Blueberry wasn’t around, and they knew she was upset, which upset them in return.
This wasn’t good. Not only would such bad vibes affect the honey, but the bees might stop producing altogether.
They loved Blueberry. For whatever reason, he was never anything but sweet and kind to them. Maybe because they produced honey, which was one of his favorite things. Maybe he felt a kinship with the tiny flying creatures? Or maybe he was afraid they’d retaliate by stinging him.
She went hive to hive, placing her hand on each one to see if she could sense anything amiss. Anything that might indicate Blueberry had snuck into one without the bees knowing.
She’d told him a long time ago that the hives were off-limits to him, that they were the bees’ homes and he had to respect that. He’d given her his solemn promise.
It seemed he’d kept it. There was nothing to make her believe otherwise. Could he be at one of her satellite hives in the surrounding area? It was possible, but she felt like even those bees would have come to let her know.
She started back to the house. Headlights on the stretch of road that went past her house caught her attention. She lived some distance from town, and while there were folks who lived out this way, it was unusual to see a car on the road at this time.
Had someone found Blueberry? A little spark of hope lit within her. As the vehicle got closer, she went back into her cottage. She put the flashlight back in its drawer and went to the front door. She turned on the porch light, then stepped outside.
A very large man was getting out of a big pickup truck.
With what looked like a box of chocolates from Delaney’s Delectables.
He was in jeans and a flannel shirt and had the kind of rugged good looks that made parts of her go weak, but she’d learned her lesson about men with Aaron Rigby, a water dragon shifter she thought she’d been in love with.
He’d moved to Florida a few months ago after getting hired on at some private resort on a lake and broken her heart. She was taking a long break from men. Especially men who were also shifters.
The side of the truck in her driveway bore the forest ranger insignia, but she didn’t know him.
She stayed close to the door. “Can I help you?”
He opened the box partway, which still had chocolates in it, and said, “Are you the caretaker of a small, green imp?”
Despite the man’s growly voice and obvious unhappiness, she exhaled in relief. Blueberry had that effect on people. “Yes! Did you find Blueberry? That’s his name.”
“I know.” The man stopped just shy of her porch. She had to look up to make eye contact. He frowned at her. Actually, he’d been frowning since he got out of the truck. “He was in my box of chocolates.”
She nodded. “We were at Delaney’s shop earlier. It’s a long story, which I’m sure you don’t care about, but thank you so much for bringing him home.” She tipped her head, trying to see Blueberry. “Is he in there?”
“He’d better be.” The man lifted the lid the rest of the way.
Blueberry was sitting amidst a group of empty chocolate papers, licking something off his fingers. As soon as he saw her, he grinned. “Hiya, Mattie. I made a new friend. He’s big.”
“I see that,” Mattie said.
“We’re not friends,” the man growled.
Mattie shot him a look. “Aren’t you a ray of sunshine?” She quickly stuck out her hand. “Come on, Blue. Let’s get you inside.”
Blueberry shook his head. “No can do.”
“What?” the man and Mattie said simultaneously. Then they looked at each other, then back at Blueberry.
She tried again. “It’s been a long day, Blue. Please come inside.” She quickly added, “I have cake.”
Blueberry was focused on the nearest chocolate. “I can’t. I’m stuck with Paul Bunyan here until he makes the three wishes I granted him for freeing me.”
Mattie rubbed her forehead. This was why she never put Blue in anything. If he considered himself trapped, letting him out engaged the three wishes rule. She’d learned that the hard way.
“I don’t want wishes,” the man replied, his voice full of growly frustration.
Mattie put her hands on her hips, realized she was braless in her pajama top and quickly crossed her arms over her chest. “You’ll have to come up with something. There’s nothing he can do. He’s a chaos imp. He’s bound by the laws of jinn magic.”
And now he was bound to this man, at least until the wishes were granted. She was about to explain that to the man when he stepped onto her porch.
His proximity brought with it the scents of pine, earth, something vaguely musky, and the undeniable smell of … pizza. He put the lid back on the box of chocolates and pushed the box toward her. “Not interested.”
She grabbed the box before it fell. He’d already turned around and headed for his truck. “I don’t think you understand how—”
“Don’t want to and don’t care.” He opened the door of his truck.
“When an imp is freed, he’s bound to—”
He shut the door and started backing out of her driveway.
She took the lid off the box, already knowing what she was going to find. Or rather, not going to find.
She looked up to see the man’s truck headed back down the road.
Blueberry waved at her through the rear window.