June 5th!
Maura has a way of ignoring the open doors in her life, like the door to the spirit world in her guest room and the opportunity to be with Jared. But he plans to change all that. As a mystic, he recognizes what is in her house and is determined to take care of it, with hopes of winning her heart in the process.
But the person who opened the portal has other plans.
�Oh, come on. It�s one night a week when we get to unwind. Don�t make me drink by myself. Please.� Netta did the puppy dog face.
�Fine. I�ll drink with you but I don�t want to get drunk.�
�That�s fine. Let�s go see if there are any cute guys on TV, preferably not wearing shirts. I think we can manage that, don�t you? Oh, hey, those are great. � She pointed to the new cabinet doors in Maura�s kitchen. �I didn�t know you were redoing your kitchen.� The plain, white doors were being replaced by more ornate ones sporting the wood�s natural warm tones. Also, the section of counter right next to the stove was becoming a large cutting board.
�I told you about it last weekend.�
Netta waved a dismissive hand. �Oh, you know I don�t pay attention to things like that, but these are beautiful.�
�Aren�t they? Jared does great work.�
Netta gave her a wicked look. �Ooh, Mr. Big and Stern Jared with the nice ass? I may need some work done in my kitchen.� Netta laughed at herself and took a sip of wine. �I am such a slut sometimes.�
Maura just shook her head. �He�s going to bring over this cabinet he made that he thinks would look good in the spare room. I�m excited to see it. Remember when we drove by his house and I showed you the chainsaw carvings in his front yard?�
�Oh, yeah. Nice ass and good with his hands. My, my�� Netta smiled and shook her head then grabbed the bag of chips and headed to the living room. �Come on; let�s see what�s on TV.�
Maura was used to her friend�s abrupt subject changes. So she just went along with her. As usual, they spent the night drinking and laughing while Netta made snide comments about Sam, her boyfriend. Somehow, Maura managed to pass out, also like usual, even though she didn�t remember having that much to drink.
* * *
�So, you want to tell me why you needed a charm like that?� Adam asked as he drove them to Jared�s house.
�What type of charm was it?� Adam was training to be a mystic. That was the reason he was staying with Jared for a time. Jared was the only other mystic in the family right now. So he was constantly testing Adam�s knowledge. The boy did pretty well most of the time.
�It was a drawing charm.� Adam grinned. �Just admit it. You finally decided to use magic to get a date with Maura. You can tell me.�
�It was a drawing charm, but that�s the only thing you�re right about. You should pay more attention. It�s also protective and time-sensitive.�
�Time-sensitive. Wow. I had no idea you could do that.�
�You can do it, too, once you figure it out.�
�Oh, it�s one of those things. Great.� Jared smiled at Adam�s lack of enthusiasm. One of the more frustrating things about being a mystic was that some things couldn�t be taught. Adam would just have to puzzle it out on his own. �Why was it protective, then?�
�There�s an open portal in Maura�s spare bedroom. I mean wide open. And she has no idea it�s there.�
�Why would someone open a portal in someone else�s house?�
�So they can have the benefits of a completely open portal without the consequences. Maura would be dealing with all the bad crap that happened while the other person could stroll in at his or her own convenience and take advantage of the excess energy. Never mind that the energy may or may not be good. It�s a mercenary and risky way to gain power, but easy. So many people are drawn to it. It makes me wonder if Maura had a bad breakup with a guy that dabbled in the occult. It�s mostly dabblers that do things like this. Anyone that knew what they were doing wouldn�t be that stupid.�
�That�s awful. What are you gonna do about it?�
Jared gave him an arch look. �I�ve done what I can for now. For tonight, she�s protected. Tomorrow night she�ll come to the club. The charm will see to that. I�ll get her to invite me to her home, and while she�s asleep, I�ll try to close the portal.�
�Try? You�re not sure you can do it?�
�I can do it, but I may need more than one night. It depends on who opened it. It�s possible that this person practices dark magicks seriously. A dabbler�s portal could be closed comparatively easily but if this person knows their business it could take some time to shut it down. You should know that no portal is easy to close, in case you have to deal with one at some point. It can be like trying to shut the door in a windstorm. If you ever do come across one I want you to call me.�
�Yes, Mama,� Adam said.
As they drove along Jared found himself frowning, not at Adam but himself. Even though he was trying to concentrate on the problem at hand he kept imagining Maura�s shapely legs. He was glad he went back to leave the charm in her spare room. He probably never would have seen her that way otherwise. He smiled to himself. She would look really good in one of his shirts. A button-up shirt would be best so she could leave it open in the front.
�Don�t think I don�t see what you�re doing,� Adam added when he caught Jared�s faraway expression. �You just want an excuse to spend a night over there. Not that I blame you, of course. I have a thing for redheads myself. Especially when they�re shaped like that.�
�I�m a grown man. I don�t need an excuse to spend the night at a beautiful woman�s house.� He shifted in the truck seat. �And mind your own business.� Adam snickered and kept driving. Nosy kid.