Magic, New Mexico Boxset books 1-3

Chapter 5-2

“Lacey, what the hell do you want me to do with a rabbit?” Theo asked in exasperation as he studied the slumbering bunny. “Make a stew out of it?”

Lacey sighed. She didn’t know what to do. Technically, the rabbit, aka male intruder, hadn’t been the one to threaten her. In fact, it was as if he was trying to protect her, which was totally ridiculous as she could protect herself from most things not that the man would have known that.

She bit her lip as she thought of the other creature in her house this morning. She hadn’t brought him in. He was still sealed in the plastic container in her Jeep outside. She debated whether to bring him in as well, but thought twice about it.

She decided that this was a much more serious situation when she realized that the creature was not Larry, but something far, far different if his karma was anything to go by. She felt like a fool for thinking it could have been Joseph’s pet lizard in the first place with all the negative energy it was putting out. She blamed her irrational thinking on not getting enough sleep last night.

She decided in the end it would be best to separate the two males until she could figure out what the hell was going on. Since she didn’t want to take a chance on Theo getting hurt, she decided to keep the one putting off the bad mojo where she could see him. Maybe if she got some rest, she could figure out why they were at her house.

“He isn’t really a rabbit,” Lacey said again. “I just turned him into one… he’ll change back in a few hours. I just need you to keep him here until he does, then you can release him.”

Theo leaned back against the lone desk in the small office that contained two jail cells, one filing cabinet, the desk and a bathroom. Magic didn’t get a lot of criminal activity. Those that broke the law were almost always strangers to the town.

The only local resident that had spent any time in the jail lately, was Jerry Jenkins. Jerry liked to run through town once a month in the buff when one of his distant ancestors came to visit him. Jerry ignored the fact that no one else could see the ghostly figure but him. Theo had finally quit arresting Jerry after his ancestor unlocked the door in front of him. Now, everyone in town just got the unpleasant pleasure of seeing a bare-assed Jerry if they happened to be in town on the third Thursday of each month around noon.

“Should I even bother asking why you turned him into a rabbit in the first place?” Theo asked as he glared at the sleeping rabbit nestled in Lacey’s arms. “If he was bothering you or trespassing, you should have called me, Lacey. You know I would have come out immediately.”

Lacey smiled at the concerned tone in Theo’s voice. Theo had been the one to come out to Touch of Magic after Sean’s accident. He had just moved to town a few weeks before. He had held her as she wept uncontrollably as her aunt and sisters repaired the damage she had wrought in her grief. It was the one and only time that Lacey had used her magic to destroy anything. Fortunately, none of the animals, Theo or her aunt and siblings had been injured.

“I know, Theo,” Lacey replied quietly. “I… I had a bad night, and well…”

Theo watched as Lacey ducked her head until her hair fell forward to shield her face. He heard the whispered hesitancy in her voice. She was holding something back. He could hear it in her voice. She was telling him the truth about having a bad night, though. That was one of the things he discovered about himself since he moved to Magic and took the position as their sheriff.

For years, hell, his whole life he had always known when someone was lying to him. He thought it was because he was such a damn good detective, but since he moved to Magic he knew it was more than that. He had never known his birth parents, but he suspected they would have fit in with the other residents of Magic.

This town was the craziest place on the planet, but for the first time in his life he felt like he was where he was meant to be; Streakers, ghosts, witches, fairies, trolls, shape-shifters, and all. Magic, New Mexico had everything and more.

“I’ll take him,” Theo said gruffly. “When he turns back, I’ll take him to his vehicle and make sure he leaves town.”

Lacey raised her head, her fingers brushing in a gentle, soothing rhythm through the brilliant white hair of the rabbit nestled against her chest. For a moment, her fingers stilled as a wave of loss and loneliness washed through her as she remembered the vivid, icy blue eyes of the man. With a long sigh, she carefully handed the sleeping form over to Theo, who had straightened and held out his arms.

“Thank you, Theo,” Lacey whispered. “I couldn’t understand him, so he isn’t from around here.”

“Don’t fret about it, Lacey,” Theo said as he held the fluffy white creature away from his uniform. “There are some gestures that are universally understood and a badge and the tone behind ‘Get out’ is one of them.”

A hint of a smile danced around the corner of Lacey’s mouth at the exasperation in Theo’s tone. She could sense the questions burning a hole through him. Some questions were better not asked. She didn’t know why, but she knew deep down that she needed to put as much distance as possible between herself and the blue-eyed stranger. Hopefully, Theo would be able to convince the man that everything that had happened had just been a delusion.

“Oh, I didn’t wipe his memory,” Lacey added as she opened the door to the office.

“Don’t worry about it,” Theo commented as he dropped the sleeping form on the bed in one of the cells. “I’ll convince him that it was the result of too much liquor.”

“Thanks again, Theo,” Lacey called out as she stepped outside and into the mid-morning sun.

“No problem, Lacey,” Theo muttered as he locked the cell door with a shake of his head. “It isn’t like this is the first time this has happened.”

He glanced up and watched as Lacey climbed into the dark blue Jeep Wrangler parked out front. He ran his hand over the back of his neck.

Something was going on. That little itch at the back of his neck always started when something big was about to happen. He wondered what in the hell it was going to be this time. He hoped it wasn’t any more ghosts. Those were one thing he was more than happy to do without.

“Hell, I’d rather fight with a pile of aliens, than with one vengeful apparition,” he muttered turning away from the window. “Thank God that isn’t likely to happen in my lifetime.”