“Mike. Please help the man out of your trunk.”
Mike’s mouth fell open in shock. “But he might fly away.”
Another sigh and her cute little teeth sank into her bottom lip before she took another deep breath. “Mike. If you don’t get that guy out of your car, I’m going to call the cops and the only flying anyone will do is you through the legal system and straight into the loony bin!”
Looked like Jenna had reached her breaking point. Not that Andy could blame her. He’d get frustrated if he had to deal with this yahoo.
Mike blinked up at her, frozen like a deer in headlights. An angry Jenna definitely was a sight to behold. Her eyes blazed with heat, her cheeks flushed a pretty pink. When she put her hands on her hips, her breasts jutted out and nearly made his tongue fall out of his mouth.
Fry chose that moment to regain consciousness. He yawned, tried to stretch before he realized he didn’t have enough room then sat up with a jaw-cracking yawn.
He had Jenna’s and Mike’s full attention as Fry threw his legs over the end of the car and rubbed at his eyes…with the ends of his wings.
Andy heard Jenna gasp. And Mike said, “See? I told you he was a fairy.”
Then Mike turned to Andy, his head cocked to the side. Andy had seen that expression before.
It was the look true believers got when first confronted with proof that there were little green men. Only they didn’t come from Mars. More like Ireland.
Crossing his arms over his chest, Andy just stared back.
Then, since he couldn’t resist, he flipped the switch. For five seconds, with Jenna’s attention solely on Fry and Andy completely out of her sightlines, he shifted into his Yeti form.
His body grew taller and broader, his form closer to a bear. His shaggy white fur gleamed in the sunlight and Andy bared a mouthful of sharp teeth in a shit-eating grin.
Five seconds was usually all it took for the yokels to realize what had happened. Unless they were dumber than the average yokel.
Apparently Mike was average. His mouth dropped open as his eyes widened. He literally froze, like a kid playing statue. Andy wanted to laugh but knew he’d give himself away with his growl.
Then Andy flipped the switch again and Mike gave a high-pitched squeal worthy of a tween girl who’d just found out her parents still had sex.
Jenna didn’t appear to hear him or, if she had, she totally ignored him.
Moving to her side, Andy knew it was time for the reckoning. Because Jenna was not your average yokel. She might be the smartest person he’d ever met. Her brain never stopped working.
Except for right now when she looked like Eymorgs had stolen her brain, just waiting for someone to press a button and turn her on again.
“Hey, Andy.” Fry grinned up at him from the car, his eyes bleary and his grin lopsided. “What the hell happened to you last night, buddy? You disappeared and I had to take care of those tengu all by myself.”
Jenna blinked again then looked between him and Fry. Between that blink and the next, Jenna’s brain began to compute.
And what she came up with equaled a hell of a lot more than four.
“Why does this man have wings?”
“Jenna…”
Mike tried to break into the conversation at that point but Jenna held up one hand and Mike closed up like a clam when she turned her sharp gaze on him.
“How did you know to look for me in Andy’s cottage? Joss called this morning to tell me to go home. After he practically begged me to come up here and check out…this town.”
Andy caught her slight hesitation and knew exactly what she’d been going to say. Joss had somehow found out about the Mystyk and sent Jenna to investigate. She’d been blissfully unaware of what she’d been about to stumble onto and now she was going to be either pissed off or scarred for life.
There was no way out of this situation without a little heartache for either of them. He just hoped Jenna didn’t freak. He hated when women he really liked freaked out because they’d slept with him.
He’d been hoping he could see her again.
Damn it, he really didn’t want this to be the end of their relationship. He liked Jenna. They had a connection that went beyond a geek’s love of Star Trek.
But first he had to deal with Mike, because ole Mikey was hiding something.
And he wasn’t doing a very good job of it if the flush covering his face was anything to go by.
“Joss was worried about me. Why was that, Mike?”
Seems Jenna had come to the same conclusion Andy had. That the only trouble Jenna was in was from Mike.
Which proved to be only too true when Mike pulled a gun. The hand holding the gun shook so much, Andy didn’t think the guy would be able to hit the broad side of a barn. But at this close distance, he wouldn’t even have to aim. A wild shot could hit any of them.
“Joss was worried I’d find the truth about the Mystyk before you did. And he was right. Now I’m going to be the one who gets the TV and book deals. I’m going to be famous. Everyone will talk about me when I show them a real, live fairy.”
“I do prefer fae,” Fry pointed out from the back of the Gremlin, where he continued to sit. “Fairy has such a distasteful connotation these days. Of course—”
“Fry.” Andy kept his voice in a pleasant, everything’s just fine tone. “Could we discuss this after the nice man has put the gun away?”
Fry hiccupped then covered his mouth with his hand to cover a burp. “Of course. But why does the nice man have a gun? That doesn’t seem very nice to me.”
Mike waved the gun in Andy’s direction as if he was going to twirl it baton-style. “I have a gun because I’ll shoot you with it if you don’t do what I say.”
Andy would do anything as long as the guy didn’t point the gun in Jenna’s direction again. He held up his hands in classic “Dude, don’t shoot me” position.
But Jenna… Jenna wasn’t taking any shit.
Before he realized what she was about to do, Jenna pulled back her arm and cold-cocked Mike.
In a scene worthy of an 80s Power Rangers episode, the gun flew out of Mike’s hand and landed in Fry’s lap, who brushed it onto the ground and under the car. Mike went down in a heap.
And Jenna began to curse like a sailor as she shook out her hand before she turned to him.
“I want to know what’s going on right now.” Without glancing away from Andy, she put her hand out toward Mike, who’d made a slight motion toward getting up. “You move and I will make sure you sing soprano for life.”
Andy sighed. “You know all those things you’re brother believes in? They’re true.”
Then he flicked the switch again.
Jenna didn’t think her mouth could open any wider than it was right now.
I so owe Joss an apology.
It was the only thing she could think as the creature that had once been Andy raised a shaggy paw and waved at her.
Like Chewbacca. Damn, he looked like a freaking Wookie.
A white wookie, actually. And strangely…cute. Shaggy white fur that didn’t look straggly at all. Actually it looked as if it’d been recently brushed. Like a show dog before judging.
Behind her, she heard something fall to the ground. And the fairy—sorry, the fae, began to laugh. “Well, that’s one way to shut the guy up.”
“I…I…”
Her brain kept trying to tell her that that…creature…was Andy.
Andy was the Abominable Snowman. No, wait…what did Joss call them? Yetis.
Yeah. Sure. Andy was a Yeti. Made perfect sense.
Bumbles bounce.