Bite the Big Heartache (Monstrana Paranormal Romance 2)

“Just a little spring cleaning.” He rested his hip casually on the door frame. “You know how it is.”

“I also know when someone’s lying to me,” she snapped, yanking the screen door open. “Don’t make me turn you into a frog, boy. Frogs are only good for potions and fried eating.”

He stepped aside as she hobbled into his house. She went directly to his couch, plopped herself onto one of the cushions, and rested her shoes up on his stained coffee table.

r /> “Madge, I don’t really have the time for this,” he said, rubbing the spot in his temple that had begun to throb. “I want to be out of here in the next few hours.”

“You running away to something important?” She pursed her lips and gave him a stare that could curdle dairy. “I’d say you have all the time in the world right now. And you’re going to give Madge the respect she’s due and sit down right here and listen.”

He resisted rolling his eyes and went to sit on the other end of the couch. Madge had always been a friendly neighbor. Very strange and slightly demanding, but friendly. This commandeering side of her was making him nervous. He didn’t want to spend the rest of his life as a frog. Life was hard enough already.

“Tell me, Madge,” he spoke through gritted teeth. “What can I do for you?”

“What happened to you?” she asked, splaying her crooked fingers.

This witch really was losing her mind. He sighed and spoke extra slowly. “There was a fire last night, Madge. Remember? You helped put it out.”

“Don’t speak to me like I’m demented,” she snapped. “Of course I remember.

Billy grimaced and held up his hands in surrender. “Well, then, you’ll also remember that my career plans were tied up in that garage. Now that it’s gone, I’m heading out to find something new.”

“Bull.” Madge leaned forward, her beady eyes flashing with anger. “I call bull. You’re running away again. Just like you did in Alaska.”

Fury filled Billy’s head. He leapt from the couch and clenched his fists. “You have no right...”

“I call it like I see it, boy,” she said with a cackle. “Your mother and father didn’t raise no quitter. They’re turning over in their graves right now, watching you waste your life.”

He turned away from the wrinkled old witch and bit down hard on his tongue until he tasted blood. She didn’t know anything. The last thing he needed to do was take life advice from a woman who would feel at home in an insane asylum.

“I’d suggest you head back to your home,” he said in a controlled voice. “I have a lot more work to get done tonight.”

The empty cardboard boxes were calling his name.

“Aren’t you listening to a thing I say?” Spittle shot from her lips and spotted the coffee table. Her eyebrows had nearly disappeared in her thinning hairline. “You have love in the palm of your hands and you’re throwing it all away.”

“What did you say?” He whipped around and gave her an incredulous look.

Nobody except for him and Stasia knew about his secret confession of love. And he doubted very much that Stasia was going around town gabbing. She wasn’t that kind of person. She was loyal and bold and intelligent. Gossips didn’t turn her ear. She was everything wonderful, except for in love with him.

“That woman,” she said, patting her large stomach with a satisfied grin. “The one with the crazy hair and the doe-eyes? The princess? You love her and you’re throwing it all away. Don’t think I can’t see it.”

Billy shook his head and muttered under his breath. He’d had it with Madge’s matchmaking hobbies. It didn’t matter that she was an old friend of his mother’s. This interference had to stop.

“I’m going to finish packing,” he growled. “You’re welcome to stay on that couch until I load it into the back of my truck. But I’m done with this conversation.”

He reached for a cardboard box and it disappeared in a cloud of white smoke just as his fingers brushed the lid.

“No, we are not done.” Madge snapped her fingers again and the rest of the boxes disappeared. “I’m no fool. The stars and my magics all confirm that you two were meant to be. Why aren’t you running after that girl?”

Blood rushed through Billy’s ears and his face burned hot. He glared at her, feeling the wolf inside getting closer to the surface. At any moment, he could sprout fur and vicious canine teeth.

“Stasia and I have a lot of history, it’s true,” he said, his voice trembling with rage. “But that’s in the past. I’ve shown her how I feel. I’ve told her that my heart hasn’t been able to love anyone else. It doesn’t matter. She doesn’t care about me.”

“I very much doubt that. Are you sure you were clear?”

He huffed. “Crystal clear.”

Madge waved her hand dismissively. “I know she’s a princess and all, but that doesn’t make her a mind-reader. If you care about a woman, you have to be very up front about it. I’m sure this is all just a big misunderstanding.”