Day 1 is here. Day 2 is here. Day 3 is here.

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So, today’s achievements include: Chapter 2! Obviously during re-write, chapter breaks will have to be investigated! 🙂 Erm, sometime during today’s writing, I remembered that this is supposed to be a paranormal romantic comedy so I will have to find my funnybone because it’s currently AWOL. (I hope I don’t have to hit it to find it.) Again, if you want to suggest anything, please do. You may also send me a tutorial regarding how to write “bad boys” because I don’t think I know how to write them. May not be in my DNA.

With that: Welcome to Day 4.

Current Word Count: 6745

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Chapter Two

Phoebe sat on Aunt Philo’s deck that looked out over the ocean. Despite the fact that it was late October, the temperature was still warm, almost too warm. She sipped the concoction of herbal tea that Aunt Caroline made, its rich ginger flavor warming, the scent lingering.

The evening with Kaden Roarke had been interesting, to say the least. When he spoke he became so animated and exuded such charisma that in a way she could understand why women tossed bras and panties onto the stage. She liked how his eyes crinkled and how he seemed to lose himself in whatever topic he was discussing and forget that he was even a rock star.

A rock star. When she had a chance, she was going to have to listen to some of his music to see if it gave any indication as to what made him tick. She was probably the only woman in the world who had never listened to Kaden Roarke.

Aunt Philo sat on the Adirondack chair next to Phoebe, extended her legs and sighed. “What a gorgeous evening. I can’t believe it’s almost Samhain and the temperatures are like summer.”

Philomena was the youngest of the Eddisford siblings and just ten years older than Phoebe. She almost always introduced herself as her parents’ afterthought. With her long blonde hair and peaches and cream complexion, she also didn’t resemble her siblings. Her ability to read auras and predict possible futures, however, proved that she was a real Eddisford and not a changeling.

“It will almost feel too warm for the bonfire,” Phoebe commented.

Philo laughed. “Nothing’s too warm for the bonfire.”

“Kaden noticed your constant touching him. I told him that’s just something you do.”

Philo grinned and took a sip of her Gewürztraminer. “That’s not a lie. That’s guy’s got muscles. Did you touch his arm? I would have just kept running my fingers all over those biceps if I’d had a chance.”

“I think you did pretty well as it was,” Phoebe said with a laugh. “So, what did you find out? Or was it all just to feel up his biceps?”

“You were right with what you saw. Someone cursed him before Serena. There’s only a residual footprint so I think he’s been cursed for several years,” Philo said.

Phoebe shook her head. “Without a footprint is there anything we can do?”

Philo leaned back and raised her arms above her head and sighed. “Where’s he from originally?”

“Near New Orleans.”

Philo glanced from Phoebe back out toward the ocean. “I was afraid you’d say that.”

“Why?”

“Oh, ever heard of a little something called voodoo?”

Phoebe winced, felt a chill run over her skin, and then immediately hugged her arms around her body. “Really?”

Phoebe didn’t know much about voodoo, except whispers she had heard from the Aunts. Voodoo stuck in her mind as serious business. Much darker than even Serena was capable of.

Philo reached out and patted Phoebe on the arm and smiled reassuringly. “I don’t know that that’s what we’re dealing with. Does he have siblings?”

“No idea. He mentioned a grandmother and an Uncle. Why?”

“If he’s the last in his line, it could have been a spell to make sure he remained the last in his line.”

Phoebe frowned. “But he supposedly has lots of sex. He thinks about sex all the time.”

“But no real relationships.”

“I still don’t see why that’s pertinent. One accident with a condom and ‘hello, baby,’” Phoebe said.

The sliding door opened with a hiss and Aunt Caroline stepped out, glass of pinot noir in hand. She glanced at her younger sister and niece and frowned.

“What’s going on? Is it that blue-eyed hunk a hunk of burning love?” she asked.

Philo nodded. “He was cursed before Serena, but I couldn’t detect a footprint.”

“So it was probably ten or more years ago, yeah?” Caroline asked. “Who’d curse a teenager?”

“That’s what we were talking about.”

Phoebe revisited the discussion that she and Philo had before Caroline’s arrival. Caroline nodded, interjecting thoughts at intervals. She sat on a flowery cushioned wicker chaise and laid back, looking upward at the milky way.

“Are we doing something about the first curse?” Caroline asked.

“I think Phoebe should talk to him and try to get some background. The last thing we want to do is just start blindly throwing spells around and make things worse.”

Caroline nodded. “Honestly, fooling with any dark magic scares the bejeezus out of me. I tried to talk to Bea about Serena, but she thinks Serena can do no wrong.”

“Serena’s just sowing oats, right?” Philo said, knowing that their older sister Beatrice was not quite in touch with reality.

Beatrice had fallen in love with an Irish oceanographer who had been doing research in Pleasant Point Cove and returned with him to Dublin, rarely returning to the States to visit her family. She ran a little gift shop with a side herbal business.

“Why don’t you talk to Kaden, Philo? It would give you a chance to play with his biceps,” Phoebe said, lifting her eyebrows at Philo.

“Ah, no you don’t.”

“No she doesn’t, what?” Caroline asked glancing over at them. “What have I missed?”

Philo shook her head, grinning. “Phoebe is frightened of Kaden Roarke.”

“That’s not true.”

“You think he’s going to seduce you.”

“No. Again, not true.”

“He takes you out of your comfort zone.”

Phoebe sighed on that one. “That’s true. But I’m not frightened of him.”

“Maybe it’s you, you’re frightened of,” Caroline suggested with a knowing look.

Phoebe knew better than to argue with her Aunts. Both Philomena and Caroline were insightful and frequently their insights went beyond what was humanly possible. Call it instinct or intuition or whatever, they possessed it. One suggestion from them was enough to make her start soul-searching. And she appreciated it. Without them, she would never have been able to handle her parents seeming abandonment of the family or, mostly, of her and her sisters.

—

Kaden left his room at the Pleasant Point Cove motel and started jogging toward the beach access a few yards away. His running shoes echoed on the gray wooden boardwalk that cut a straight line over the dunes.

Pink hues clung to the horizon as the sun began its ascent. He rarely got to see the sunrise over the ocean. He tried to compose words in his head. Running first thing in the morning used to be a great time to compose songs. The ocean air cleared out his mind. Remnants of dreams sometimes curled into stories that wove themselves into his songs. But since Serena, he had lost that. He hadn’t realized how important, how cathartic composing was until it wasn’t there anymore. It was like someone had cut off his supply of oxygen.

He cursed Serena. Unfortunately, his words didn’t hold the kind of influence that hers did. They were ineffectual while hers had landed a severe blow.

A lone seagull laughed at him as he approached and then it rose and flew a few feet up the beach.

Ahead of him, another runner approached with a fast purposeful stride, evidently finishing off their run with a sprint. As he drew closer, he realized that it was Phoebe and he felt himself smile. She intrigued him. Sure, she was a great looking woman, not his usual type, though. He liked women who were not afraid to show off their bodies in skimpy clothes. His one thought regarding women’s fashion was better off than on.

Today Phoebe was wearing a ragged t-shirt and running shorts. Her legs were tanned and fit, runner’s legs, he thought, approving. Instantly he imagined them wrapping around his waist.

When she noticed him, she slowed her pace and half-waved. She smiled shyly.

“You really are a runner,” he said.

She raised an eyebrow at him. “Why would I lie about something like that?”

He shrugged. “You’d be surprised by the things women lie to me about. Suddenly they get hobbies because they think that would make me interested in them.”

“Huh. That sounds kind of stupid,” she said.

He nodded. “Have you heard back from Chloe?”

She shook her head. “She’ll probably call later this afternoon. She’s not exactly a morning person and then throw in the time difference. Don’t worry. We will get you sorted out. Oh, and I need to talk to you this morning if you have the time.”

Kaden saw a worried expression cross Phoebe’s face and he frowned. “What is it?”

“I just need to talk to you about your past. We can have breakfast at Pete’s Pancakes, if you want.”

“Is that a witch place?”

“No, silly, it’s a pancake place. That’s why it’s called Pete’s Pancakes. He does other things if you don’t like pancakes. Meet me there at 8?” she said.

He waved and resumed his run, all of his thoughts on the mysterious dark-haired, hazel eyed Phoebe Morgan and her taut legs.

 

end of Day 4

S. Darlington