The Reluctant Goddess (The Montgomery Chronicles Book 2) by Karen Ranney Read Free Book Online Page B

of her.  
    "Good dog," she said.
    I suddenly wanted to remind my grandmother about all those times we’d spent together. Her favorite movies had become mine, goofy things that were impossible to find nowadays. The Private Eyes, Blazing Saddles, Murder by Death were all movies we loved and watched repeatedly.  
    She disliked Monopoly, loved the game of Life, and was a Wheel of Fortune fanatic. I knew so many unimportant things about her that, until the last couple of weeks, I would have bet any amount of money that I knew Nonnie well.
    Now I wasn't so sure.
    I finished my tea, thanked her with the politeness with which I'd been reared, and left. Before I opened the front door, however, I turned to Nonnie, bent down and placed a kiss on her papery cheek.
    "I love you, Nonnie,” I said.  
    Whatever I was hadn’t taken that away from me. I still had the capacity to love.  
    She reached up and patted my cheek with cold fingers.
    That was all.  
    She didn't say, “That's nice, dear." Nor did she respond in kind. "I love you, too, Marcie."
    Nothing but that pat. Still, I treasured it for what it was, more affection than I’d gotten from my one other relative.

C HAPTER S EVEN

    In her defense, she’d been trying to kill me

    All the way back to the castle, I talked to Charlie.  
    “Do you think there’s something I’m missing, Charlie? Something Nonnie’s not saying?”  
    I glanced over at him. “No fair being prejudiced because she gave you bacon treats.”  
    He only smiled at me.  
    “I suspect my grandmother is a bit more in tune with the paranormal community than most people. I also think she’s a very powerful witch. She’d have to be, to have kept me alive when other people were opting for doing me in.”  
    It gave me a spooky feeling to know that, even as a defenseless child, people had wanted me dead.  
    I looked over at Charlie again, but he had his nose out the window.  
    “If she doesn’t know what I am, who do I go to next?”  
    Two thoughts occurred to me: Eagle Lady and Hermonious Brown.  
    Eagle Lady, Miss Renfrew - and if that name wasn’t a pseudonym, I didn’t know what was - had already betrayed me to Maddock, so she was one of those last resort options, but Hermonious Brown might be able to help.  
    Once back inside the parking garage, I waved to Mike and got no response. Not that I’d expected any. I made my way to the first intercom and asked directions to the kennel. A maid immediately appeared, almost by magic, and offered to take Charlie.  
    “Could you show me where it is?” I asked, feeling a curious reluctance to surrender Charlie.  
    We wound our way through one corridor after another. I had the vague thought that we were heading toward the back of the castle, but since we’d started not far from there, that couldn’t be right.  
    The kennels were as plush as the rest of Arthur’s Folly. I didn’t remember how many dogs Dan said were at the castle, but it seemed as if each of them had their own home, an air conditioned space with a bed suspended above the floor and an opening to the outside.  
    My initial reaction was lots of stainless steel, noise, and doggy smells. My second impression was that Charlie had already made friends. Dogs barked at him and he wiggled a response.  
    I finally gave him up to a young man with a bright smile who looked about sixteen.  
    “We’ll feed him, shall we?” he asked in a British accent.  
    “Please.”  
    I bent down, gave Charlie a hug and a quick rub, then managed to make my way back to the main part of the castle. Okay, I got lost twice, but I finally got to my room.  
    Once there, I started making lists again, writing down everything I knew about my condition.  
    At six thirty, just as I was going down to dinner, my new phone rang.  
    I stared down at the number, not recognizing it. I didn’t want to answer. It could be Maddock. I didn’t want to see him or talk to him. But I’d already decided to put on