Shanna Swendson - Don't Hex with Texas

It had been months since Id needed rescuing from anythingno dragons, hideous monsters from hell, evil wizards, not even a really bad blind date. That was one small benefit Id gained in moving away from New York City. No matter what else I might say about my hometown of Cobb, Texas (population 2,500), I definitely had fewer threats to my life here than Id faced recently in Manhattan.

On the other hand, these days I seem to be doing a lot more of the rescuing, myself.

Katie! a voice screeched from the other side of the office door. I took a deep breath and counted to ten as I waited for the inevitable. As I expected, a badly bleached head appeared in my office doorway. It was my sister-in-law, Sherri, otherwise known as The Evil Bitch Queen of the Universe.

(And the fact that it was my other sister-in-law, Beth, the one who loves all mankind, who dubbed her that says a lot about Sherri.)

Luckily, Id dealt with worse than Sherri during my time in New York. When youve fended off not only harpies but also my ex-boss Mimi, Sherri is in the minor leagues of evil. What is it, Sherri? I asked with exaggerated patience.

Youd better go rescue a customer from your brother. I noticed his eyes were starting to glaze.

I wasnt sure what special skill I had that enabled me to take care of this when she couldnt.

Considering the way she was dresseda blouse dipping dangerously low and a pair of jeans that would probably cut her in two if she tried to do something crazy like sit down or bend overshe was well equipped to create a good diversion so the customer could escape. But that might almost be work, so Sherri had to delegate it to me.

With a deep sigh, I got out of my desk chair and headed out into the store. Ill take care of it. I didnt have to ask which brother it was, even though I had three of them. Frank, the eldest, didnt usually string together words in groups larger than five, which meant he couldnt trap a customer for long, and Dean, Sherris husband, was as allergic to work as his wife was, so him tending to customers was highly unlikely.

That left Teddy, the youngest of the boys. Teddy took the feed and seed business very, very seriously.

He was always conducting experiments to determine the absolute best fertilizer for each soil type or crop or to figure out which seed got the best results in various conditions. The problem was that he loved to share his knowledge in excruciating detail with anyone who had the bad luck to ask even the slightest question.

Sure enough, he had an elderly man cornered, and the poor man was most definitely in need of rescue from a classic Teddy dissertation on plant nutrition. Teddy! I called out as I approached them. I smiled as I took my brothers arm. Sorry to interrupt, but have you got the network connection up and running again?

Teddy blinked at me. Oh, I guess I got sidetracked. He turned back as though to excuse himself from his victim, but the customer had already grabbed some plant food and was headed to the checkout and a put-upon-looking Sherri. I had a feeling shed soon have to take a half-hour break to recover from the strain of serving a customer.

That was the kind of rescue work Id been doing lately. Instead of spotting magical threats so my wizard friends could deal with them, I was rescuing customers from my overeager brother, rescuing the cash drawer from my evil sister-in-law, rescuing my brothers from my mother, rescuing my mother from her mother, and generally keeping things relatively sane at home and at our family farm-and-ranch supply store. A few months back here in Texas had made me realize why Id been so good at juggling all the magical wackiness in my old job: it was downright calm compared to what I had to deal with back home.

I should have this connection back up and running in no time, Teddy announced as he slid under my desk.

Great. I have to do orders this afternoon, so Ill need Internet access. That was true, but what I was really desperate for was the lifeline to the world Id left behind. I got antsy when I had to go too long without news from my friends in New York, especially news about a certain person in New York.

He was the main reason Id come back home. Not because hed broken my heart or jilted me or any of the other things that usually send women running for the comfort of home and hearth. No, Owen Palmer had proved his devotion to me to an extent that most men never have the chance to. Hed had to choose between stopping the bad guys and saving me, and hed chosen me.

While Im totally in favor of not being burned by magical flames, him choosing me was not a great move for our cause. Not only did it mean that the bad guys got away, but it also meant that they knew for sure what his greatest weakness was. Me. Being the heros greatest weakness might sound wonderful in a romance novel, but in real life its not nearly as much fun. For one thing, it tends to make you a target. For another, it means that you cant help but feel responsible for everything the bad guy does, since its because of you that the bad guy is still on the loose.

So, Id done what any noble heroine with her eyes on the big picture would do. Id removed myself from the equation, leaving him free to fight the renegade dark wizard and his cronies without having to worry about me. As a result, Id broken his heart by walking away. At least, I thought I might have.

Not that Id heard from him. I didnt really see him as the type to beg me to come back, and even if he was, I had a feeling he was under very strict orders from his boss not to go after me, but that didnt stop me from jumping whenever the phone rang or daydreaming about him walking into the store.

The phone rang, and as always my heart started racing, even though I knew there were thousands of other reasons for the stores phone to ringand ring. Sherri had apparently taken that break Id predicted, so I picked up the call from my desk. Chandler Agricultural Supply, I said briskly. How may I help you?

Katie, is that you?

Marcia! Marcia was one of my New York roommates, and hearing her voice nearly brought tears to my eyes. Is it possible to be homesick when youre in the place where you grew up, surrounded by family? Whats going on?

I tried e-mailing you a couple of times this morning, but it keeps bouncing.

Yeah, theres something wrong with our server or network, or something.

Itll be fixed soon, came Teddys muffled remark from under my desk.

It should be fixed soon, I relayed to Marcia. Is there something going on?

I had dinner with Rod last night, and Ive got a little news. Rod Gwaltney was Owens lifelong best friend, and hed started dating Marcia at the start of the year. Considering that his previous relationships could be measured in hours, that meant that this was looking very serious, indeed.

Oh, do tell. The kind of news that involves jewelry?

What? No! God, no. Were still not even calling each other boyfriend or girlfriend. Talking about rings would really send him running.

Wow, you do have him figured out.

Owens been coaching me some.

My heart started pounding again, and I got a funny feeling in my stomach. So youve seen him?

How is he?

My, but someone sounds eager. Ill tell you if you stop asking questions.

Sorry! Go on. I wont say another word.

So, as I was saying, I had dinner with Rod last night, and I have a status report for you. I was dying to ask questions, but I bit my tongue because I knew Id get the answers quicker if I kept my mouth shut. Theres been no news on the bad guy front, to the point that it almost looks like theyve gone underground. Owen thinks something bigs about to happen, and the bad guys are changing gears.

Yeah, thats usually how it goes. Do they have any idea what might be coming?

Not yet, but Rods getting worried about Owen. Hes working really hard. Hes not getting enough sleep, and while were all trying to make sure he eats, I think hes losing weight, and you know he wasnt a huge guy to begin with.