necessities like food and clothing. If he was also bankrolling the odd purchase of voodoo paraphernalia or other items, Mike preferred not to know about it.
“Get in the car. I’ll drive you back to the house,” he said to his father. He didn’t look at Amber, afraid to see the horror in her gaze.
For some reason he didn’t want to own up to yet, he cared what she thought of his father.
Edward opened the backdoor and climbed into the seat.
“He’s descented, huh?” Amber asked.
“Who’s she?” Edward asked Mike.
“I’m Amber. Does he bite?” she asked.
Mike shrugged. “Last time I checked, no. But he didn’t have a skunk last time I was here, either.”
Amber laughed, the light tinkling sound that had enchanted him in Vegas did so again now. “I meant the skunk, not your father. Does Stinky Pete bite?”
Knowing his father wouldn’t talk to her, Mike glanced in his rearview mirror. “Dad, does the rodent bite?”
“No.”
Against all common sense, at least to Mike’s way of thinking, Amber turned around in her seat and faced Edward. “Can I hold him?” she asked.
Any sane woman would have run screaming by now. Any rational human would have insisted they leave immediately.
Amber took the skunk from his father’s hands.
And Edward let her.
Then he did the unimaginable. He invited her inside the house.
Nothing inside the old cape-style structure had changed since Mike’s mother had moved out except the clutter. Mike was used to it.
Amber excused herself to use the bathroom and Mike jumped on the opportunity to discuss the reason for his visit. “Dad, Derek called and asked me to talk to you. He and Gabrielle appreciate your concern for them, but they’d really like for you to stop…” How did he put it politely? “Stringing crap up over their door and sprinkling fairy dust on their walkway.”
“Someone’s got to ward off evil spirits. They’re tempting fate. So who is she?” Edward waved a hand toward the doorway Amber had gone through.
Mike didn’t pretend to misunderstand. “Her name is Amber Rose. I met her in Vegas.”
“I thought what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas?” his father said, cracking a joke for the first time in…well, longer than Mike could remember. “Yet you brought her home with you?” Edward’s gaze narrowed.
Mike knew there was no way around the truth. Besides, who was he going to tell? “We got married,” he muttered.
“Married!” Edward shouted. “Are you out of your mind? The curse is going to get you yet. Unless…You don’t love her, do you?”
Mike shook his head. “I don’t even know her.”
“Well, praise be, there’s hope for you yet.” Edward raised his hands in the air, then ran to the nearest cabinet and returned with a jar of red dust.
“Don’t come near me with that stuff,” Mike ordered in his sternest voice.
Edward frowned and placed the jar on a table. “You aren’t in love with her, you barely know her, and you just met her this weekend so you wouldn’t know if she was knocked up. That means you married her because she’s hot. Sexy hot.” Edward nodded, seemingly talking to himself and satisfied with his own answers. “That makes sense at least. No love, no curse. Then again, remember your cousin Derek’s first marriage? The curse kicked in there anyway.”
Mike rolled his eyes. “Derek was a workaholic and he wasn’t in love with his wife. That’s a recipe for disaster any way you look at it. There was no curse needed. But back to Derek. Will you promise me you’ll leave Derek and Gabrielle alone? Quit trying to protect them from the damn curse.”
“What curse are you talking about?”
Mike glanced up to see Amber standing in the entrance to the den, watching them, but staring at Mike intently.
“You didn’t tell her about the curse?” Edward’s expression turned to one of horror.
“No, and neither will you. Just like you’ll mind your own business with Derek and Gabrielle. They choose not to believe in the curse and that’s that. Understood?”
“What curse?” Amber asked again.
Mike grabbed her beneath the elbow. “Later,” he said to Amber under his breath. “Dad, we’ve got to go.”
“But we’ll check on you again tomorrow!”
“No, we won’t,” Mike said. “I work the day shift,” he reminded Edward, in case his father thought Amber had any kind of say in his life.
Because she didn’t.
And he had no time to visit his father tomorrow.
“Then can one of you call me tomorrow?” he said to them both. “I want to know more about my daughter-in- law and this quickie marriage.”
“We will!” Amber waved goodbye as she let Mike guide her to the door.
Mike scowled at her. She and his father would not be bonding anytime soon.
“Hey, I just want to know more about the curse,” Amber said, eyes twinkling.
Mike shut his eyes for a brief second and wondered what rabbit hole he’d fallen into when he’d married Amber Rose. And how he was going to climb out when she seemed intent on burrowing in.
AMBER ALLOWED MIKE the solitude of his thoughts again on the ride home.
More than he probably realized, she understood how he felt when he looked at his father and didn’t get the response he desired. Although it wasn’t Alzheimer’s Mike was dealing with, it was probably mental illness or severe eccentricity. In any case, the resulting frustration was the same that she experienced.
But she’d liked Mike’s father. And since he wasn’t her parent and the expectations weren’t there, she could simply enjoy his company. After all, he was more of a presence than she’d ever have again from her own father. Maybe that was something she could teach Mike. A small gift, a way for him to appreciate what he did have in his parent.
For now, she settled for imparting empathy and understanding. As they pulled out of the driveway, she reached over and put her hand over Mike’s.
He glanced at her in surprise. He said nothing, but he didn’t pull away, something she took as a positive sign. Not that she believed she’d overcome any real hurdles, but she was glad she could be there for him anyway.
MIKE WAS EXHAUSTED, but his night wasn’t over yet. His biggest challenge sat in his favorite recliner, making herself at home in his apartment.
If he didn’t have to work tomorrow morning, he’d pour himself a drink.
“I’ve never held a skunk before,” Amber said.
“I bet not.”
“Your father’s an interesting character.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Character’s an interesting way to put it.”
“So tell me more about the curse that seems to drive everything he says and does.”
Mike groaned. “How about you tell me how you plan to pay me back all that money first.” He wasn’t mercenary. The money itself meant less to him than the fact that she’d left him and now he couldn’t trust her.
She pursed her lips, cocked her head to one side and sighed. “Okay, but you first. What curse?”
He tried not to roll his eyes at something his father, uncles and an entire town took too damn seriously. “Legend says that an ancient witch by the name of Mary Perkins cursed the males in my family. Apparently one of my relatives ran off with a woman who was already engaged to another man, William Perkins. William’s mother, Mary, was a witch-keep in mind, this was during the Salem witch trial era-and she cursed the males in the Corwin family line as a way of getting revenge.”
Amber leaned forward in her seat, revealing the ample cleavage he’d held in his hand. Tasted in his mouth.
Mike broke into a heated sweat.
