The Yellow-Bellied Scaredy Cat Read online

  The Yellow-Bellied Scaredy Cat

  Lost Southern Magic Book Two

  Amy Boyles

  Ladybugbooks llc

  Contents

  1. Pepper

  2. Charming

  3. Charming

  4. Charming

  5. Charming

  6. Charming

  7. Samson

  8. Arnold

  9. Pepper

  10. Charming

  11. Charming

  12. Pepper

  13. Charming

  14. Axel

  15. Charming

  16. Charming

  17. Charming

  18. Pepper

  19. Charming

  20. Samson

  21. Charming

  22. Charming

  23. Charming

  24. Pepper

  25. Charming

  26. Betty

  27. Charming

  28. Pepper

  29. Charming

  30. Charming

  31. Charming

  32. Pepper

  Extra Stuff

  Also by Amy Boyles

  About the Author

  Pepper

  One piece. We had one piece of the heart fire and only three more to go.

  My family had joined forces with Blissful Breneaux, a ghost hunter, and had managed to hunt down one chunk of the missing heart, and now I was back in Magnolia Cove.

  “Are you sure it’s safe?” I asked Betty Craple, my grandmother.

  She pointed to the sky. “Trust me, kid, Blake Calhoun will have no idea where to find that piece of heart. I put it someplace where he can’t go. And now we need to focus on locating the next piece.”

  Let me catch you up if you’re just joining us.

  In my town of Magnolia Cove, there is—was—literally a burning fire that made my town magical. Yes, I’m a witch, and I live in a town full of power.

  At least I did until a certain vampire named Blake Calhoun appeared and decided he wanted to steal the heart fire for himself. Blake attacked us, and the heart was ripped into four pieces that were scattered.

  Now we’re on the hunt for them. We found the first piece tucked in a small town, Haunted Hollow, Alabama. It took a whole slew of people to keep it from Blake’s clutches.

  Now we have to act fast. We must get the three remaining bits before Blake does, and mend the magical heart. Otherwise my town will become nothing but a crumbling monument.

  “What about the town’s shields?” I asked.

  Betty stoked the fire in her hearth. “They haven’t been repaired properly. But on the upside, we’re the one place where Blake doesn’t need to look. No pieces of the heart are here.”

  I grimaced. “I guess that’s as good as it’s going to get—at least until we have the heart mended.”

  We had all been pretty banged up from our last encounter with Blake’s team of bloodsuckers. I didn’t want them showing up for a surprise visit in the middle of the night and attacking us.

  I looked around the small cottage. It seemed tiny, and I felt the walls closing in on me. I suddenly needed air, space. “I’ll be back.”

  Outside, the boards on the front porch sagged beneath my feet. That was what the lack of magic brought. Porches sagged, roofs drooped, wood crumbled. We had to fix it.

  I inhaled several deep gulps of air as I dug my fingernails into the railing.

  “Well, isn’t this all a sight?” Axel’s voice tickled my ears. The gruff masculine bass eased some of the tension in my shoulders. “It’s strange being here, isn’t it?”

  I exhaled long and slow before seeing my husband striding up the sidewalk. He was man and beast combined. Axel’s dark hair lay just above his shoulders, slicing across his jawline. It was the sort of hair that I wanted to wind around my fingers. His strong shoulders popped from under his T-shirt, looking wide enough to carry a boulder. Needless to say, my heartstrings thrummed with happiness at the sight of him.

  His ocean-blue eyes studied me with apprehension. “Are you okay?”

  A wobbly smile tugged at my lips. “We’ve won one piece of the heart, but we’ve still got three more to go.” A cool wind sliced up my shirt and I shivered. “Blake will become more aggressive. His attacks will be worse.”

  Axel took the steps two at a time as he strode up to me. The floorboards creaked under his weight as if to complain. I wanted to tell them to hush, that was my husband they were yammering about.

  He opened his arms, and I slid into them. Axel smelled of musk and earth. I dug my nose into his shirt and drank up the scents. I had to stop myself there because what I really wanted to do was curl my fingers into his chest and get lost in the aroma of him.

  “We will win this,” Axel murmured. “There is no way I’m going to let that vampire take this from you, your family—from the people of this town.”

  I glanced down the street. “They will start to leave,” I said. “They won’t stay if Magnolia Cove doesn’t offer the magic they’re used to. Axel,” my voice trembled, “I’m worried.”

  His grip on me tightened. “We’ll get through this just as we’ve gotten through everything else. We have to stay on track and find the next piece of the heart. That’s what we have to do.”

  I pulled away and tipped my head up at him. “You make it sound so easy.”

  He smirked. “I don’t think it’s easy, but it’s doable. We’re ahead, remember. Let’s keep it that way.”

  Axel leaned down and kissed my lips. It will be fine, Pepper. You have to believe me. You have to have faith in us, in your family and in yourself.

  I reached up and wound a strand of his hair around my finger. “I love hearing you inside my head.”

  “You don’t think it’s creepy?”

  “Hmm, well, maybe a little.”

  Axel chuckled at my joke. “I’m creepy for you, Pepper Reign.”

  A zinger of nerves shot down my spine at the mention of my new name. Axel and I had barely been married a couple of weeks before we’d been thrown into this situation.

  I smiled at him and nodded toward town. “How’s the rest of it look?”

  Axel’s expression darkened, and my stomach tightened. I did not like the look on his face.

  “It’s not good. You’re right. People will leave if the town continues to crumble. There will be no other choice. They’ll worry that their own magic will be affected. Who could blame them?”

  I cringed. “They must hate me for letting Blake get the heart.”

  After all, it had been during a ceremony when Betty was handing the heart over to me that Blake attacked us and the damage was done.

  Axel took me by the shoulders and glared at me hard enough to make me want to vanish. “No one blames you, Pepper. Let’s get that straight right now. No one thinks this was your fault because it wasn’t. If people leave, it’s that they need to. It’s not because of you or me or anyone else. We’re the ones on the front lines trying to bring back the heart, remember?”

  My nose started dripping moisture. I wiped my sleeve across my nostrils to dry it. “I know; it’s just that I feel guilty.”

  “Stop it right now. That’s not going to do anyone any good. We have to stand up, fight and reclaim the heart. And we need to start by searching for it again. The first piece ended up in a town that wasn’t quite magical, but different. It’s possible the second piece will wind up in a place similar to the first.”

  Hope bubbled in my chest. “Do you think so?”

  Axel swiped the pad of his thumb over my cheek. The callous on his finger felt like fine-grit sandpaper. I took his wrist and glanced earnestly into his eyes. “Do you?” I repeated. “Do you really think we would get so lucky as to fi
nd the heart in another semi-magical place?”

  He nodded. “Yes, I do.” He threaded his fingers through mine and kissed the back of my hand. “Now all we have to do is wait for the piece to surface.”

  My stomach fluttered. Waiting was the hardest part. But our research before had paid off. It was time to go back to poring over strange magical news articles to see if we could locate the second piece—to beat Blake to the wedge of the heart once again.

  I steeled myself and looked Axel squarely in the eyes. “Okay. Let’s start looking. We’ve got a vampire to triumph over.”

  Axel smiled as he led me back inside, back to our quest.

  Charming

  “Charming! Oh Charming! I need you over here.”

  I groaned low so that the mayor wouldn’t hear me. Mayor Winnifred Dixon was nothing if not absolutely pushy.

  And I meant that in the nicest way possible. Someone could be pushy and you’d call them a nudge, which was somewhat endearing. Or they could be pushy and you’d call them, well, pushy.

  The mayor was like a fly that I couldn’t get rid of, which made sense seeing as how I was under contract with her and the entire town of Witch’s Forge.

  Mayor Winnifred waddled up the street toward me. She was a round woman who loved red dress suits, pearls and red lipstick—today was no exception. Trailing her was the mayor’s ever-present and rather mousy assistant, India.

  “Charming, the carnival is arriving today. The ringmaster has asked if you would see if he has a soul mate. Can you match him to someone today?”

  It wasn’t as if I didn’t have other things to do. There was a wizard in Fire Town that I thought would be perfect for a really drippy witch in Water Town. When I say drippy, that’s what I mean because she often had water dripping from her hair.

  But instead of telling the mayor all of that, I smiled. “I can try.”

  “Oh you must do better than that,” Winnifred huffed, as was her nature. “You must match him. Absolutely.” The mayor flicked her hand. “I don’t care if you match him to someone in Witch’s Forge or in Antarctica, but you have to at least attempt to find him a soul mate. Remember,” she said, her voice all singsongy, “you have a contract to bring love into Witch’s Forge, one couple at a time.”

  I groaned. I loved my job, truly. After all, how many witches could say that they were gifted with the ability to find someone’s soul mate?

  Very few.

  But on the other hand, how many of those existing matchmakers would be stupid enough to indenture themselves to a mayor always looking for the next gimmick to bring in new tourists?

  The answer to that was one—me.

  “Mayor, is this going to be like last time, when you wanted me to match the archaeologist and he wound up dead?”

  The mayor bristled. “Charming, how can you suggest such a thing? Professor Breshears was murdered for other reasons; you know that as well as I do.”

  I did. The professor had been murdered because he had stood between one of his assistants and a mummy’s treasure. Matching the professor was one thing, but carnies…?

  Ugh. Worms filled my stomach just thinking about it.

  “Is there going to be a bearded lady?” I said.

  The mayor’s eyes widened with glee. “Do you think we could be so lucky?” Her gaze fell on India. “India, can you please find out if there’s going to be a bearded lady?”

  India jotted the note on her pad. “Bearded lady. Got it. Will ask.”

  The mayor splayed her fingers wide. “Can you imagine it, Charming? Witch’s Forge will be known for finding love for anyone—even the man who runs the carnival. We’ll be famous from coast to coast.”

  She dropped her voice and leaned in to whisper, “I mean, if you can match a carnie, you can match anyone.”

  I wasn’t sure if I should be insulted by that or if the carnival people should be insulted.

  I patted her shoulder. “Tell you what, Mayor. When they arrive, let me know and I’ll see what I can do.”

  “Great! They’ll be here later tonight.” She squeezed my hand as her eyes filled with appreciation. “I’ll call you when they arrive.”

  I thanked the mayor, and she went on her way, spouting off a to-do list to India, who scurried to jot down the mayor’s instructions.

  “Getting more work?”

  The fine hairs on the back of my neck soldiered to attention at the sound of Thorne Blackwood’s voice behind me.

  I slowly turned to see Thorne, all six-foot-plus of him, staring down at me. Amusement filled his silvery eyes as the vampire stroked his chin. He had a look about him that suggested he was pretending not to be curious about what the mayor and I had been talking about.

  Come on. With his vampire hearing, no doubt Thorne already knew.

  I folded my arms. “You think this is funny, don’t you?”

  “Now why would I think it amusing that you would be finding a match for the bearded lady?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Because a bearded lady isn’t exactly the sort of person we have in Witch’s Forge. But let me tell you something, Thorne.” I jabbed his rock-hard chest, forgetting how solid he was. “Ouch.” I shook the pain from my hand. “You should really do something about how hard you are.”

  He cocked a brow suggestively.

  “Never mind,” I said. “Anyway, for your information, everyone deserves love, especially a bearded lady.” I tipped my chin up to look at him. My hair cascaded down my back as I arched my neck practically to the sky.

  Even a mean old vampire deserves love, I almost said.

  He sighed and rubbed his brow, gazing onto the street. “You’re thinking that even I deserve love.”

  “No, I’m not,” I lied. He shot me a scorching glance, but I did not wither. “You can act as rough and tumble as you like, but I know that underneath all that vampire venom is a big softy.”

  He scoffed. “If you were ever going to keep a secret about me, that would be it.” Thorne leaned down and smiled. “Keep it quiet, will you?”

  “You mean, don’t tell anyone that you have a heart?”

  His lips curled into a seductive smile. “That’s right.”

  I felt myself falling toward the vampire. I could imagine my lips brushing against his, my fingers curling into his shirt.

  I snapped myself out of it. There was other business at hand. “So, what have you discovered about Blake Calhoun?”

  Thorne’s face darkened. “Why don’t we talk about something lighter?”

  “No, we can’t talk about anything lighter. I need to know about Blake, about what happened to him. I want to know where he is.”

  Blake Calhoun could possibly be responsible for the death of my father. If Blake Calhoun had answers, I wanted them, which meant that I had to meet this vampire face-to-face, find out if he held any responsibility in my father’s death.

  My father had died when I was young. He perished saving my life from another vampire. I still had the scar that the vampire left, two puncture marks on my throat. I had lived because my father killed the vampire, but in the attack Daddy lost a lot of blood. He died soon after.

  If the attack had been planned, I wanted to know. I deserved to know.

  Thorne shook his head. “There have been rumors.”

  My heart leaped. “What sort of rumors? The kind where we could easily track Blake down and bring him in?”

  One could only hope.

  “Charming,” Thorne growled. “Don’t get ahead of yourself. There have been rumors that Blake was last seen in a town called Magnolia Cove. That he’s after something they have, something of power.”

  My pulse fluttered in my throat. “Is he still there?”

  Thorne shook his head. “No, I don’t think so.”

  I was ready to go, eager to find Blake and question him. “But those people may know something. They may be able to help us track him down. How far away is Magnolia Cove? Is it close?”

  “It’s in Alabama.”

 
Hope zipped through me. “Right next door. We could be there in a few hours. Think, Thorne. We could get a lead on him and find out what happened. If Blake did something bad in that town, we could go to your father and let him know. He could tell all the other vampire lords, and then we would all be working together to bring Blake in.”

  Thorne closed his eyes. “It’s not that easy, Charming. My father will help you however he can, but Blake has strong connections. A lot of the lords are behind him.”

  “But what if he did something bad in Magnolia Cove? Can’t we go see?”

  Thorne’s lips tightened to a line. “Let me think about it.”

  I scoffed. “Thinking about it is not doing anything. You promised, Thorne. You promised that you would help me find Blake.”

  Thorne cursed. “I know I did. I want to, but I also want to keep you safe.”

  “You’re not keeping me safe by protecting me.”

  Thorne curled an eyebrow. “That makes no sense. I am keeping you safe by protecting you.”

  I fisted my hands and placed them on my hips. “You know what I mean. My words get all twisted around you. You want to protect me. I get that. But you can’t protect me from this. With or without you, I will search him out. I will find out what Blake Calhoun knows, and if he’s responsible for my father’s death…then he will pay.”

  I stared at Thorne. A breeze ticked up, lifting the hairs at the nape of my neck. I shivered. Thorne’s tresses rose as well. The ends of his hair curled, and his expression darkened.

  “I’m only trying to protect you,” he murmured.

  I pressed my palm to his cheek, running my skin against the grit of his five-o’clock shadow. “I know, and I’m thankful for everything you do. But in this, I want your blessing and your help. I don’t want to sneak behind your back. I want us in this thing together. What do you say?”