Page 39 of Fiends and Familiars
“I’ll see if the sellers will agree to hire you,” Derrick vowed. “And if they don’t, I’ll have you come in after closing to make sure they actually got rid of the little buggers.”
Great. It was always nice to pick up new work, but I’d come here to make friends, and I wasn’t sure if getting rid of termites in Derrick’s real estate properties was a path to friendship. Lonnie was right, though. Hewasa good-looking guy. Awesome smile. Nice. Cute butt.
And there was zero spark between us, darn it.
I left him and Ralph and weaved through the crowd, grabbing another beer from the cooler and trying to decide how to insert myself into a conversatsion at a party where everyone seemed to know everyone besides me.
“You’re Lonnie’s friend?” a woman asked. She had a long blonde ponytail and was wearing an incredibly tight tank top with jean shorts and bright purple sneakers.
“Her sister, Adrienne.” I smiled at the woman. “You’re…?”
“Rita. I know Lonnie from the gym.”
I nodded, wondering if I should join the gym. “I just moved here from Accident. Lonnie’s been nice enough to take me around and introduce me to some of her friends.”
“Accident?” Rita wrinkled her pert nose. “That’s the little town in the valley about twenty miles east, isn’t it? I think we went there once a few years ago, but I can’t really remember.”
That would be because of the wards. Humans who came into Accident forgot about all they’d seen once they left. It kept our supernatural citizens safe from discovery. Trusted humans who’d decided to make their home with us had charms that kept their memories intact. If they ever moved, they were sworn to secrecy. Nobody wanted to get on the bad side of a town full of witches, shifters, fae, and vampires, so humans took those oaths seriously. Plus after living with us for years, or even decades, they were friends and wouldn’t betray us.
But Rita and her buddies? They would have had a good time, perhaps a little freaked out by the “costumes” or other unusual sights, then gone home to have blurred memories of a good time—nottoogood a time, though.
“Yeah, it’s where I grew up.” Nostalgia hit me hard. “It was just too far to commute for my job, so I moved.”
“What do you do?”
“Pest and wildlife control.” I waited for the “ewww” expression and was surprised to see Rita purse her lips in thought.
“That’s cool. I love it when I meet women who have jobs that have usually been thought of as careers for men. Do you really wrestle snakes?”
I laughed. “They don’t require wrestling. They’re very nice, actually. Very cooperative. We have a pleasant chat, then I carry them out to my truck and relocate them to a place where someone isn’t going to try to whack their head off with the sharp edge of a shovel.”
“You’re a better woman than I am.” She tapped my beer with her own. “Are you staying for the zombie chase through the corn maze? It’s right after we eat. I told Ralph that was a bad idea. People are going to be puking out in the cornfield, running around after eating like that.”
“Zombie chase? Through a cornfield maze?” Wow, that sounded like fun.
Rita nodded. “It’ll be pitch dark by then, so super fun and scary. About ten of us are designated as zombies, but you won’t know who until you get out there. You’ll get flags to stick in your waistband. Anyone who makes it to the end of the maze with their flag, gets a prize.”
“And the zombies are wearing costumes?” I asked.
“Hell yeah. We’ve got a few masks and some old Halloween getups that our zombies are going to throw on to make it fun.” She giggled. “I hope Derrick is one of the zombies. I wouldn’t mind it if he tackled me and grabbed my…flag.”
I laughed. “Maybe you should take charge and be the one pursuing a zombie instead.”
“I might just do that.” Her gaze drifted over to the man in question, then back to me. “You’re not interested, are you? I don’t want to step on your toes if you’re working that.”
I was so not working that. Aside from a possible business contact, that is.
“Nope. I’m getting out of a very brief relationship and am just looking for friends right now.”
She clinked her beer bottle against mine again. “Then count me in. And to commemorate our new friendship, let me introduce you to the Jell-O shot table.”
Rita and I did a few rounds of Jell-O shots, decided we were going to start taking Crossfit classes together starting a week from Monday, and made plans to meet for coffee Sunday morning. We were just selecting a third round of shots when someone whistled and announced that they were about to start the zombie run through the corn maze. Rita and I staggered over, met Lonnie at the table where two women were distributing flags, and helped each other tuck the scraps of fabric into our waistbands, all the while giggling about whether we should tie them to our underwear or not.
Sure. Why not? It wouldn’t really be cheating, especially since we’d be running the risk of a massive wedgie.
We got in line, Rita in front of me and Lonnie behind me. Ralph came by and gave us a full beer for liquid courage, and we inched our way to the entrance of the corn maze. We each got a ten second head start. I was number six in line and by the time Rita took off, I was already hearing the screams and shrieks from the corn maze. I grinned, bouncing on my feet with excitement.
“No cell phone, right?” Derrick asked as I stepped up to the entrance of the maze.
