Read The Haunting of Josie for Free Online

coffee maker.
    “We each have our little talents,” she reminded him in a consoling tone of voice.
    “I guess. But it isn’t logical, you know. I watched you make this, and you did
exactly
what I do.”
    “Ah—but you didn’t hear me murmur the magic spell.”
    Marc peered into his cup with a frown. “You didn’t sprinkle a little eye of newt or toe of bat while I wasn’t looking, did you?”
    “Of course not. Today’s magic spells are much more sophisticated. I used dragon’s teeth.”
    “Which you just happened to find lying by the side of the road, I suppose?”
    “Don’t be ridiculous. Everyone knows dragons shed their teeth every leap year and pass them out only to redheaded witches with purple eyes and black cats.”
    After a moment’s thought Marc said judiciously, “Your eyes are violet, not purple.”
    Josie had been enjoying the nonsense, but she felt her pulse give another of those peculiar little leaps when he looked at her with a faint smile and an intent gaze. His eyes were like very slightly tarnished silver, she thought, and with his dramatic black hair, widow’s peak, and flying brows, he would have made an excellent warlock.
    More nonsense.
    Making her voice light, she said, “Well, you can’t deny that my hair is red. Very red. And I do have a black cat, even if it’s only temporarily.”
    “True.” With a faint smile still playing about his mouth, he said, “You also have walls about a foot thick.”
    The observation startled her, and she knew he saw it. “We just met yesterday, in case you’ve forgotten.”
    Marc shook his head. “That isn’t it, Josie. We’ve been fairly casual with each other, and talked all through dinner, but every time I asked a question about you—especially about your background—you were evasive and guarded.”
    Josie leaned forward to set her cup on the coffee table. She was trying to give herself time to think, but it was difficult when her awareness of him was so strong and when he was so close. There was no more than a foot of space between them, and that was too little for her peace of mind.
    “You’re imagining things,” she managed finally. She leaned back, half turned toward him as before, and met his gaze, trying to keep her own calm and unexpressive.
    “I don’t think so.”
    She smiled. “I think you’ve been so bored that you’re looking for any excuse to sharpen your lawyerly skills. But I’m not on the witness stand, counselor.”
    “I never thought you were.”
    “Funny. That’s what it sounded like to me.” Josie knew she sounded too defensive, but she couldn’t help herself. She had spent too many years
feeling
defensive about who she was to be able to let go of that. Not now, at least. Not yet.
    “I’m just curious,” he told her in a neutral voice that was belied by his very sharp gaze. “The normal curiosity of a man who wants to get to know a lovely woman. Do you realize that all I know about your background is that you’re a teacher and that you lived and worked in D.C. before you moved out here?”
    “There’s nothing else to know.”
    He lifted an eyebrow, which made him look even more like a warlock.
    Josie debated briefly, then shrugged. And when she spoke, it was calmly but rapidly, offering him no opportunity to ask questions. “All right. I was an only child, born to parents who’d given up on having children until I surprised them. My father died ten years ago. My mother left fifteen years ago. I may have a few cousins scattered about, but for all intents and purposes I have no family.
    “I like music, the theater, and movies—particularly old ones, and if most of my books weren’t in storage, I’m sure you’d be impressed by the size and variety of my library. I love cats, which you know, and am also fond of horses and dogs, in that order. Like you, I can cook and sew on a button, and I could even knit you a sweater if I felt so inclined. I can’t overhaul an engine, but I can change a tire