Any Witch Way She Can by Christine Warren Read Free Book Online Page A

tight and she yanked down her top with unnecessary force. “Fine.” She pushed herself away from Michael and rolled off the end of the bed to stand on legs that hadn’t caught back on to the whole muscle-control thing yet. She locked her knees to stop the quivering. “I’ll just leave you two kids to chat and see myself out. No, no. Don’t anyone bother themselves about me. I’ll be fine. I’ll call. Really, I will. Toodles.”
    Michael caught her wrist before she’d taken so much as a step. “That’s not necessary.” His tone stayed mild, but his eyes glittered a warning. “You should hear this.”
    â€œOh, trust me, sweetie, I’ve heard it all before.”
    Adele drew herself up and gave him her Queen of the Universe stare. “I am sure that’s not necessary, Michael.”
    â€œYeah, Michael.” Randy tugged at her wrist. “Not necessary at all.”
    â€œOh, but I beg to differ.” Rising himself, Michael tugged Randy to the small sitting area near the fireplace and urged her onto the love seat. When that didn’t work, he gave her a little push. Her butt hit the cushions and bounced twice, but at least she had the satisfaction of landing with her eyes on a level with his crotch and seeing that he was no happier with Adele’s interruption than she’d been.
    He turned away from her and waved Adele to the armchair opposite while he settled down beside Randy. “Adele, I think it’s time you told your family what’s been going on. That is why you invited them, after all.”
    â€œMine must have gotten lost in the mail.”
    Adele scowled at her granddaughter’s comment. “I invited Cassidy and Sullivan.”
    â€œSee, that’s just one of my many talents,” Randy said, moving to rise. “Not only do I always know when I’m not wanted, but I also know when I want to be somewhere—anywhere—else. So, if you’ll excuse me?”
    Michael pressed her down with a hand on her shoulder, but his words were directed at Adele. “True, but Cassidy and her husband were unable to join you, while Randy is sitting right here.”
    â€œUnder duress,” she muttered.
    â€œI may be old,” Adele snapped, “but I am neither a fool nor blind. I can see my granddaughter clearly. What I do not see is how you think she can assist in a problem among the Others. Perhaps you have forgotten, but she is only human.”
    And she’s got a mean right hook , Randy thought, but she kept that to herself. Both the thought and the hook. You’d think that after all these years, she’d be used to hearing her grandmother condemn her with words to that effect.
    You’d think.
    â€œHuman, maybe,” Michael said and laid his hand on Randy’s knee. She suppressed a shiver. “Ordinary, I think not.”
    Adele looked skeptical. “Isn’t that what being human means?”
    â€œSeriously,” Randy rounded on Michael with a roll of her eyes. “Do I need to sit here and listen to this?”
    â€œI think you both need to sit and listen.” Exasperation finally broke through his façade of calm. “For two incredibly capable, intelligent women, I have to say you’re acting like idiots.”
    Adele opened her mouth to protest, but Michael cut her off. “You,” he said, jabbing a finger at her, “are holding so tightly to your preconceived notions and your old-school prejudices that you refuse to acknowledge what’s right in front of you. You keep calling Randy ‘human’ like it’s a fatal weakness. Did you happen to miss the fact that no matter what you call her, she not only managed to perform magic, but actually put a wrinkle in the fabric of time? I know ninety-year-old elders on the Witches’ Council who have never managed to pull that off! Say what you like about her parents or her species, but your