Warm Nights in Magnolia Bay by Babette Jongh (best fantasy books to read TXT) 📕

His brain started to spin out scenarios and plans of attack, ruining the peace of the starlit patio. At the same time, the mosquitoes found him. He slapped at a particularly noisy one that insisted on whining in his ear, then stood. “Time to go in, anyway.”

He showered and brushed his teeth, then padded quietly into the bedroom where Abby slept. The soft sound of her breathing assured him that she was sleeping, so he turned to go.

“Hey.” Her sleepy voice snagged him, made him turn back. “Where you goin’?”

“Thought I’d sleep in the other room tonight. Just checking on you first. Didn’t mean to wake you.”

She pulled the covers back, inviting. “Come to bed.”

He climbed in, and she scooted to make room. After a quick kiss, he turned his back to her, planning to sleep and to let her do the same. She spooned behind him, then snaked her arm around his waist. She caressed his chest, then trailed her fingers down his abs to the waistband of his boxers. “What’s this?” she asked. “Weren’t you planning to take advantage of my drunken state?”

He chuckled. “Nope, I wasn’t.”

“Shame, shame.” She slipped her hand lower, caressing lightly. “That’s a waste of good tequila.”

He rolled to his back, careful not to bump her cast. “What did you have in mind?”

Abby pushed the covers down and knelt over him to remove his boxers and toss them aside.

Georgia hopped down in disgust and left the room in a huff. “Sorry, Georgia,” Abby said, a laugh in her voice. “You can come back later.”

The dog door in the laundry room bumped open and shut; Georgia going outside.

Abby leaned over Quinn, her wavy hair brushing his belly as her lips closed over his erection.

Her mouth, still warm from sleep, drew him in while her soft hands cradled his balls, and Quinn forgot all about the dog.

* * *

Early the next morning, Abby heard a text come through, a soft buzz on her silenced phone. She eased out of bed, dragging the damned cast across the sheets as quietly as possible. Quinn was sleeping so well, she didn’t want to disturb him just yet. Maybe she’d wake him up later, but first she knew she needed to talk to Reva. Hopefully, Reva wouldn’t be too busy to talk this early on a Saturday morning.

Cursing the scooter’s squeaky wheels on the wooden floor, Abby wheeled as quietly as possible out of the bedroom, then eased the door closed behind her. In the kitchen, she turned on the coffeepot and viewed Reva’s message, which wasn’t a message at all, but a photo of a tiny baby skunk curled up in Reva’s palm.

While the pulsating dots on the screen showed that Reva was typing something, Abby sent Awww, sweet! And then, Do you have time to talk? I need to tell you something.

Reva’s message came through: I got to take a baby skunk into my dorm room last night! He’s so tiny! I had to give him electrolyte water every two hours because we couldn’t feed him until he was fully hydrated. Now he’s in the infirmary with a few raccoons that are about his size.

Now, Abby felt bad about bursting Reva’s balloon with a worrying phone conversation, but it was too late, because Reva texted, Calling the house phone now.

Abby bolted to grab the landline before it could ring and wake Quinn. (Not easy to bolt with a knee scooter, but she managed to grab the phone before it made more than a short chirp.)

“Hey,” Reva said, sounding breathless. “Your timing is impeccable. Someone just got off the dorm’s phone, and I snagged it before anyone else realized it was free.”

“Yay, Aunt Reva,” Abby said quietly. She held the phone between her chin and her shoulder and headed to the patio so she could talk louder.

“What’s up? Why are you whispering?”

Abby realized she hadn’t quite thought through the mechanics of her early-morning phone call with Reva. “Well…”

“Oh!” Reva laughed. “Oh my God! Did the new neighbor sleep over? Oh my God!”

“Um…” Abby closed the sliding glass door and sat on a chaise by the pool. “Well…”

“He did!” Reva tittered. “I wanted you to be neighborly, but I didn’t expect you to go quite that far.”

“Well, okay, yes. You are correct.” Abby cleared her throat. “But that’s not what I wanted to tell you.”

“Uh-oh. What else?”

Forget about the broken foot; she’d delayed telling that news long enough that it wasn’t news anymore. They were supposed to take the cast off in another week. “There was a disturbing letter in the mail that I need to tell you about.”

“Okay.” Reva took an audible, steadying breath. “Tell.”

“Apparently, someone has complained to the city about Bayside Barn. They’ve circulated a petition, and they’re going to try to rescind your permission to keep farm animals.”

“Oh.” After that one word, Reva went very quiet. Abby knew that this news hurt Reva’s feelings. Her aunt had always felt like an outsider, and this drove that feeling home like a knife through the heart. “Well, it’s not like they haven’t tried that before.”

“Edna and Quinn and I are fighting it. All the barn volunteers are, too. We’re circulating our own petition to allow Bayside Barn to stay, and I’m planning an open house to get the community even more involved.”

“I guess…” Reva sounded lost, bewildered by what certainly felt like an attack. “I guess I’ll have to come home early. Who…” Her voice broke, and she cleared her throat. “Who complained? Was it Mildred, do you think?”

“Aunt Reva, I really don’t think it was any of the neighbors. I think it’s something bigger than that. I think it’s someone who wants to develop the property behind you.”

“But…” Reva sputtered, “But Bayside Barn isn’t the only estate that’s adjacent to that land. Why… I mean—”

“I guess it’s because once Bayside Barn goes, the others will be easy to pick off, one by