Love’s Misbehaving Magic E-Book

Heather Silvio

• Herausgeber: Panther Books
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Serie: Wildcrest Witches Romance
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 136

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

Patty Newsome’s only plan for her last summer break of grad school is to have fun. And maybe convince hunky Noah to join her. Then an unexpected job offer with the coven’s business is hers for the taking, but the personal cost may be too high.       

Noah Wright uses his healing magic as a town doctor. So when something seems wrong with his mother, he’ll do anything to help. Including letting brash Patty step in when his own magic fails. If only having her around didn’t make his heart race.

Can free-spirited Patty find the magical answer to winning the job, saving Noah’s mom, AND getting true love, or will she sacrifice her own happiness for someone else’s?

Read the story of their journey to happily ever after in the third book in the small town, sweet paranormal romance series, Wildcrest Witches.

Leseprobe

Love’s Misbehaving Magic

Wildcrest Witches

Book 3

Heather Silvio

Panther Books

Contents

About This Book

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Epilogue

Thank you!

About the Author

Books By Heather Silvio

About This Book

An early-career witch must choose between a job offer with the coven and the family-first doctor capturing her heart.

This is the third book in the sweet paranormal romance series, Wildcrest Witches, from the author of the Paranormal Talent Agency.

ChapterOne

Patty

Patricia Newsome hoped that once she walked through the teal double doors before her, she would find her personal, magical path. That lofty expectation explained the butterflies swarming inside her. Time for action. She raised her hand to rap on the door with her knuckles. Except the door swung open, and a body came barreling out.

“Oof, excuse me,” Patricia mumbled into the shoulder of the person who had just crashed into her. The tall, well-built someone who smelled amazing, with a clean, bright herbal scent. “I was about to knock,” she explained as she lifted her gaze and saw longish brown hair framing dark brown eyes. “Noah! What are you doing here?”

The skin around Noah Wright’s eyes crinkled with a smile. “Hi Patty, sorry about that. I didn’t see you there.”

She laughed and lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “Wouldn’t be the first time, given that I’m, ahem, height-challenged.” Unlike Noah, who was the very definition of a tall drink of water.

Noah stepped through the front door of his parents’ home and held it open for her. “I was just leaving. Are you here to see my mother or my father?”

“Your father, if he’s available.”

“I believe he’s out back. Do you want me to get him for you?”

“Nah, that’s not necessary. I’ll head around the side.” She stepped away from the open door, and Noah followed. Curious. And a bit intriguing.

“How’s school?” he asked, shifting his green backpack from one shoulder to the other.

“Great. I can’t believe I’m graduating with my master’s degree in only one more semester.” She shook her head.

“In Theology, right?”

“You remembered.”

Noah winked. “My excellent tutoring clearly helped you get there.”

“No doubt, my improved algebra skills made all the difference when studying alternative religions,” Patty responded deadpan.

“No doubt,” he agreed with a solemn nod.

They stood in silence for a beat, and she wondered if she was imagining the spark she felt between them. Patty had always found him attractive. Especially in high school, when he was her older tutor – high school senior to her freshman. But she hadn’t seen him until this summer when she’d made her discovery about his mother.

“How’s your mother?” she asked, and his face grew troubled. All the witches in Wildcrest, Nevada had a magical inclination, and Noah’s was healing abilities. He might look like the stereotype of a cowboy in his flannel shirts, jeans, and brown boots. But, no, he was Wildcrest’s only family doctor who made house calls.

He ran a hand through his longish brown hair. “The same,” he answered in a lowered voice. “Ben tried to read her, to find what might be wrong with her. He couldn’t tell, so I tried a general healing spell. It didn’t seem to do anything.”

“Have you spoken to Esther about it?”

Noah flushed.

“That would be a no, then,” she teased.

“We’ve seen the impact of whatever is going on with Mom,” Noah said. “But since you’re the only one who has actually seen something wrong with her, we’re not sure how to approach it. My brothers and your sister have said we need to meet to discuss what to do, but we don’t.”

“Avoiding?”

Noah nodded.

“Is that a good idea?” Patty scanned his face, took in the worry lines and troubled expression marring the chiseled cheekbones. She knew she’d upended the family during their last Wiccan celebration when she had been shocked to witness Esther Wright’s magical aura.

All witches had magical energy radiating from them like an aura. Patty’s gift was to see and interpret those magical auras. Except that for as long as she had known Esther Wright, though the woman might be a brilliant and beautiful person, she was not a witch. Esther never had a magical aura. Only apparently, now she did and therefore she was a witch. There was no other explanation for why Esther would have a magical aura. And her developing magic was interfering with other witches’ magic. It was a bizarre scenario none of them had encountered before. Patty had researched it when she returned to school after the celebration, but found no recorded instances of a person developing magical abilities outside of puberty.

“How do you tell your mother she’s not only a witch, but possibly a broken one?” Noah crossed and uncrossed his arms. “Have you seen anything else?”

“No, I haven’t. Maybe we should have a meeting with her?” Patty suggested.

Noah looked uncomfortable, though gave a curt nod.

“How’s work?” Patty asked instead, hoping it would be a safer topic, though she made a mental note to speak to his brothers.

Noah’s relieved expression reinforced Patty’s decision to change the topic. “It’s great. This morning, I healed a small femur fracture that happened when a goat tripped and fell on its owner.”

“A goat? No!” Patty exclaimed.

“Yep.”

“Is the goat okay?”

“Yes,” he responded, and they shared another smile.

A moment before the silence grew uncomfortable, a booming voice sounded from the back of the home.

“Who’s at the door, son?”

“It’s Patty,” Noah called over his shoulder to his father, his eyes never leaving Patty’s.

She grew warm under the scrutiny. “I’d like to talk to you about a job after graduation,” she hollered from the front doorway to Elijah Wright, the coven’s high priest, who likely was in the kitchen on the other end of the large home.

She couldn’t miss the bright flare of Noah’s typically muted pink aura to a brighter, richer pink, with her explanation of why she was on his parents’ doorstep. The flare threw her for a moment.

To respect other witches’ emotional privacy, she tried not to read their auras without their permission; except sometimes when their emotions sparked, their auras were unavoidable.

Noah’s bright, rich pink aura suggested attraction. She’d thought she’d seen a hint of it at the celebration earlier in the summer, and again when he opened the door. But it definitely flared brighter just now. And if he could read magical auras, hers no doubt would match.

ChapterTwo

Noah

The rush of pleasure when Patty stated her intention with his father surprised Noah. Because that meant she wanted to move back to town after graduation? That wasn’t surprising. Most witches returned to Wildcrest. After all, who wouldn’t want to live relatively openly among other supernatural beings, chiefly witches, if they had the opportunity to do so? His father’s continued speech stopped Noah’s rush of thoughts.

“A job?” Elijah hollered, his booming voice easily traveling from the kitchen to the front door where Noah and Patty still stood.

“Yes, sir,” Patty hollered back and then winked at Noah.

He caught himself before he winked back. That wasn’t an appropriate response, he didn’t think. She was staring at him, waiting for him to… oh right. “I guess you don’t need to go around the side of the house,” Noah said, stepping back through the doorway into the foyer.

“Kitchen?” she asked him, pointing as if they both didn’t know the way by heart. They’d spent hours in the kitchen together when he tutored her.

“Kitchen,” he answered, and then closed the door behind her. She wore jeans, a t-shirt, and turquoise Converse, which he swore she wore almost exclusively during high school. “Nice Chucks.”

She glanced at him over her shoulder and gave him a coquettish wave. Then she kicked up one foot, but didn’t say anything.

Noah laughed and continued to follow the tiny woman through the foyer, her shoes silent on the terracotta tile flooring, in contrast to the clacking of his boots.

He stopped in the doorway to the kitchen. Patty was embracing his parents.

“Elijah,” she said, wrapping her arms around the burly man, her head not reaching his shoulders.

“It’s great to see you,” Elijah said. “I’m sorry we didn’t get a chance to chat much at the celebration.”

Patty waved away the apology, disentangled herself from his father’s hug, and hugged his mother. “How are you doing, Esther?”

Noah understood the subtext to that question, but he doubted his parents did. And, judging from his mother’s response, she definitely didn’t pick up on anything other than a social nicety in the greeting.

“I’m great, Patty. I’ll echo my husband. It’s great to see you.” Esther sat at the white oak table, gesturing for Patty and the men to do the same. “Did I hear right? Are you here about a job?”

Patty glanced around the table at Elijah, Esther, and Noah, then bit her lower lip.

“Hadn’t planned on a whole crowd, had you?” Noah teased and she gave a bobble-headed nod. “We can leave.”

“Oh,” Esther said, “of course. You’re like family. It never even occurred to me.” She lifted her hand like she wanted to run it through her hair, but forgot she had done her French braid.

“Let’s go, Mom,” Noah said to Esther, before mouthing good luck to Patty. She mouthed thank you and visibly relaxed.

Patty and Noah stood. “I can’t wait to catch up after we’re finished,” Patty offered, as Noah led his mother back out of the kitchen and onto the deck.

The two sat on wooden deck chairs situated to overlook the Nevada desert beyond the property. It was still early afternoon, so the sun blazed in a cloudless blue sky. Its rays warmed the brown and green scrub brush surrounding the home.

Noah sank his tall frame into the chair and breathed in the fresh air.

“Do you know what job Patty’s asking your father about?” Esther whispered the words, though Noah doubted that Patty or Elijah could hear inside the house.

Nevertheless, he matched her tone and volume. He even leaned closer. “I don’t. Her degree is in theology, so it might have something to do with Dad as the high priest of the coven.” He cocked his head. “Is that Richard?”

Esther and Noah peered at the scrub brush off to the side of the deck. A gray wolf appeared and sauntered over to them, stopping between their two deck chairs.

Noah scratched the wolf behind the ears and was rewarded with a tail thump of pleasure. “How are you doing, Richard?”

The wolf’s tongue lolled out in response and Esther chuckled. “Elijah is inside,” she said to her husband’s familiar.

Noah didn’t think the wolf fully understood his mother, but the wolf certainly understood his father’s name. Richard – a Wright warrior ancestor from several hundred years ago – settled between the chairs and rested his head on outstretched paws.

“Did I sense something between you and Patty?” Esther asked her son.

Noah’s eyebrows practically jumped off his forehead before he recovered. But not fast enough.

“I did,” she answered her own question.

“She’s like my little sister,” he blurted out in response, his face flushing. His reaction to Patty continued to not feel like family-member feelings.

“Uh-huh.” His mother leaned back in the chair, eyes closed, lifting her face to the sun.

Noah mimicked her, enjoying the gentle breeze on his skin, and wondered about his mixed reactions to Patty. He’d always thought she was cute, but in a platonic way. Like a little sister. Except, that rush of pleasure when she’d said she was asking his father about a job… that wasn’t like the pleasure of reuniting with a family member. Not at all. The thought of seeing her every day, or spending time with her… he never felt like that when he thought about seeing his brothers, that was certain.

He found himself wondering if she’d experienced something similar.

ChapterThree

Patty

Patty hadn’t realized how much the clashing auras in the kitchen upset her magical balance until Esther and Noah left the room. It hadn’t just been Noah’s aura, suggesting an interest in her. Esther’s aura continued to swirl a chaotic mix of colors, and for the first time, worry appeared in Elijah’s aura. Patty sighed in relief with their exit.

“Is that sigh about me?” Elijah teased.

Her face reddened and she sat across from him at the kitchen table. “Not at all,” she said, though that wasn’t entirely accurate.

Did he sense something with Esther, or was it unrelated? She wasn’t comfortable asking him, since he wasn’t aware his aura was flashing like this, so she cleared her throat and focused on her reason for the visit.

“As you know,” she began, her hands rubbing the smooth oak top before she caught herself, “I’m graduating with my Master of Arts in Theological Studies at the end of the upcoming semester.”

“Congratulations in advance,” he interrupted her.

“Thank you,” she accepted with a grin. “The next step in my career is to secure employment.” She breathed deeply, the scent of the Wright’s coffee calming her. “And I’d like that job to be with Wildcrest Witches International.”

“Tell me what role you’d like to fill,” Elijah said. “We don’t have any openings.”

Butterflies returned at the comment, but she wasn’t surprised. “I can appreciate that,” she said with a nod. The coven’s business was a small one, and she’d need to make the case for herself. “I have an idea for a new role, one that would combine my Wiccan knowledge with business acumen.”

“I’m listening,” he said, leaning back in the chair, his arms resting on the white oak table, brown eyes reflecting curiosity.

Patty paused before launching into a summary of her ideas. She recommended creating an online version of their coven. That would allow the company to grow beyond the local activities they currently focused on, without sacrificing their in-person activities. “We could even have retreats for witches who want to experience in-person celebrations.”

Elijah frowned.

Worry spiked that he wouldn’t accept her ideas. “It would never be at the expense of our town members, of course,” she rushed to reassure him. “But it would offer solitary practitioners in the supernatural world the support they might not otherwise get.” His nod emboldened her. “It would also allow me the opportunity to learn from you and…” She swallowed as she mentally tripped at admitting her true ambition aloud.

“And?”

“Become the high priestess myself one day.” Her eyes widened as she waited for his reaction.

Elijah tilted his head, taking her in.

She tried not to fidget under his gaze. This was a big plan for the future and he was the first person she’d shared it with. What if he hated her aspiration? Her breath caught in her throat.

“That’s intriguing,” he finally said.

She whooshed out the breath she was holding.

He chuckled. “Diversifying sources of income, growing the company without sacrificing our local witches,” he processed what she’d offered. “And become the high priestess when I retire. Intriguing indeed.”

Patty had considered her pitch a lot. She didn’t believe any of the Wright sons were interested in becoming the high priest, and although it wouldn’t be soon, Elijah would eventually step down. She believed in her heart that she would be a great coven leader. Her natural empathy for others combined with her magical inclination and the information she was learning in graduate school seemed like the perfect trifecta. At least to her.

“Let me think about it,” Elijah said, holding out his hand, which she took. “I’ll let you know.” Elijah’s magenta aura pulsed brighter, unavoidable, but the powerful color, consistent with his strong-willed originality, suggested the idea indeed intrigued him.

Patty relaxed further at the unexpected sight. “Thank you.” She stood from the chair. “I appreciate the consideration.”