Elvis Gets His Groove Back (Moonchuckle Bay Romantic Comedy #5 Page 10
Charlie saw the police come in, but she took another swipe at Virginia before they could reach her. If she couldn’t sing to her, she’d at least get another solid kick in.
The wolf lunged at her and Charlie used her siren speed to spin out of the way. She slammed her fist into the wolf’s head.
The wolf went down, and the cops grabbed her. A moment later, they held a woman in their hands.
Virginia looked up at Charlie, astounded. “Who are you?”
“I’m the siren who took you down thirty-five years ago.” There were gasps in the room, and somebody said, “Oh, crap, we’d better order some beeswax,” but Charlie ignored them and continued. “Surely you remember me.”
Now Virginia gasped. “You’re the siren who stole him from me?”
Charlie smiled. “I’m the siren who stole him away from you both times.”
The police activated a spell on Virginia, and then produced magical handcuffs.
Charlie was breathing hard, but she felt good. Bruised, but good.
Especially when Elvis circled his arms around her and pulled her close. “You’re amazing.”
Charlie turned to face him. “Aren’t you afraid of being with a siren?”
He shook his head. “No. I’m afraid of being without a siren.”
Elvis helped a bruised Charlie into the passenger seat of her Jeep and touched her arm as he stood next to the open door. The look of concern on his face touched her heart. “You’re hurt.”
She looked down at her arm, surprised to see a cut on her forearm that was bleeding, and shrugged. “Nothing that won’t heal quickly. It was worth it.”
“I’m sorry I got you into this.”
She smiled at him. “Are you?”
He nodded and leaned in closer, until they touched foreheads. “You wouldn’t have been in danger if it hadn’t been for me.”
“I wouldn’t have been in danger if it hadn’t been for me messing up in Vegas with my Siren Song,” she said.
Gene tapped him on the shoulder. “Mind if I cut in?”
As Elvis pulled away, Charlie smiled at the alpha. “Hello, Gene. All the tourists got out safely, right?”
His alpha frowned at his girl. “You don’t obey orders very well, do you?”
“We all have flaws.”
“Well, thanks to your flaw, we captured Virginia without any harm to the tourists or to Elvis. They’ll remember having a great time in Moonchuckle Bay, but the witches made sure they won’t remember being hostages or seeing a woman transform into a wolf. We’ve also bespelled the tourists outside of Fangs.”
“Good,” Elvis said.
“I have some good news for you,” Gene told Charlie.
“Oh? I hope it comes with chocolate. I can use some.”
Gene took her hand. “The man in the Las Vegas hospital has been released. He’s going to be okay.”
Charlie sagged a little and blew out a shaky breath. “That is wonderful news. Thank you.”
“So your record as black sheep of the family still stands.” Gene said, confusing Elvis, if the look on his face was any indication. “Glad you’re okay.”
Charlie said, “Thanks. Me, too.”
“I got to hear Elvis sing and help rescue him, all in one day. I love this town.” Gene waved to them and walked off, whistling “Falling in Love.”
Charlie sighed. “I love this town, too.”
Elvis took her hand again. “I love you.”
“You do?”
He nodded. “When I thought Virginia was going to hurt you, I went crazy.”
She squeezed his hand and looked into his beautiful green-flecked blue eyes. “I love you, too.”
“Would you be interested in living here permanently?”
“I don’t really have a place to stay,” she said, teasing him.
“After we’re married, you can come stay with me, you and your parrot.”
“Marriage, huh?” She paused, and his heart dropped. Then she nodded. “I accept.”
“Good. We already have quite the history together. You saved me years ago, and then again today as we faced down a villainess together. We’ve laughed and cried together.”
“We took an epic road trip, too,” Charlie said. “From Vegas to here.”
“And we went job hunting.”
“Yes,” Charlie said, reaching out and pulling on his sleeve until he stepped closer. “And we learned to trust again.”
“Yes.”
“I want to see your wolf.”
He nodded. “I’ll shift for you as soon as we have some privacy. Gene says my wolf is a tawny brown.”
“Kiss me.”
So he did.
The Siren Song
A FEW WEEKS LATER, CHARLIE waited for Elvis.
Since the night of the confrontation, she’d seen Elvis’s wolf twice — once that night and again when he went running with the pack for the new moon. His pelt fell on the the reddish-brown end of the tawny spectrum, and she’d fallen in love with his wolf self, too.
Amber and Samuel had generously allowed her to stay with them for the two weeks before the wedding.
When the white Cadillac pulled up outside, Charlie smiled. He’d bought a new one this time.
“Now the party can really begin,” Amber said. “Remember, you’re going to sing to us tonight. No backing out!”
“I remember.”
“So you can enthrall us supernaturals, but not kill us, is that how it works?”
“Yes.”
Elvis knocked. When Charlie opened the door, he pulled her in for a kiss. “Hi, beautiful.”
“Hi, handsome.”
He took her hand and they joined Amber in the living room.
“I want to talk to you all about a business I want to start.”
“That’s funny, because I want to start one, too.” Charlie laughed. Coincidence? Or cosmic elegance?
“I can hardly wait to hear,” Amber said. She led them toward the dining room table and opened a drawer, pulling out paper and pens. She started to leave the room, but Elvis said, “I’d like you and Samuel to help us brainstorm.”
“Thanks,” Amber said, and went to get her husband.
Elvis sat at the table beside her. “I have news about Evelyn.”
“The ghost?”
He nodded. “I sang for her last night. Three songs of her choosing.”
“Really? That’s awesome. I love that you’re singing again.”
“She said her life was complete now. Her afterlife, too.”
“My life is complete now, too.”
“She went toward the light.”
“She did?” That made Charlie happy. “That’s wonderful.”
Charlie and Elvis greeted Samuel as he and Amber ambled back into the kitchen.
Once they were seated, Elvis pulled up a pad of paper. “I’m thinking of starting a diner in town.”
Charlie’s heart fluttered. They’d talked about this once, but she hadn’t thought he’d do it.
Amber said, “What kind of diner?”
“Someone suggested I could call it Elvis Sightings.”
Charlie laughed. “And he’s going to serve Elvis’s favorite foods.”
Elvis nodded. “Peanut butter and banana sandwiches, Fool’s Gold Loaf, fried pickles. You know. All the healthy stuff.”
“How are you going to pay for it?” asked the ever-practical sheriff.
“The same way I’m going to buy the house I’ve been renting from your father forever.” He grinned. “I have a secret stash of cash. I just need to retrieve it.”
“Really? Where?”
“Now if I told you that, it wouldn’t be secret, would it?”
Samuel shrugged.
Charlie said, “I’d like to open a business, too.”
They all turned to her and Elvis said, “Really?” He sounded delighted at the thought.
“I just found out yesterday that Hank left me an inheritance. It’s enough to get me started.”
“Well, don’t keep us waiting in suspense,” Amber said. “What is it?”
“I enjoyed the whole karaoke night so much the other night that I decided I want a place where Elvis and I can sing when we want to. I want to open a karaoke lounge that is only open to paranormals — and call it the Siren Song.”
“Perfect!” Elvis said.
Charlie put her hand on Elvis’s — and her heart swelled as the diamond he’d placed on her finger glittered and twinkled under the light.
She was so glad to see Elvis more playful again, too — like he’d been in life, only more seasoned. The shadows were gone from his eyes and his smile was open and happy again. He was no longer tormented by his demon. Virginia was locked in a paranormal prison and wouldn’t be getting out anytime soon, if ever.
Forcing her mind back to the conversation at hand, Charlie said, “If we work hard, we could even have them open before the upcoming Miss Paranormal Pageant.”
“Good idea,” Amber said.
“Oh, and by the way, ” Charlie told Elvis. “I have a gift for you. An early wedding present, because I can’t wait a minute longer to share it with you.”
She went upstairs to her room and grabbed it — the guitar like the one he’d been bidding on and lost. She’d convinced her Vegas friend to sell it to her.
She carried the guitar bag into the dining room.
Elvis stood. “What did you get me?”
She laid the case on the table, and he opened it. Almost reverently, he lifted out his Signature Gibson J-200 LTD Edition Natural Acoustic Guitar. He looked at her, unshed tears glistening in his eyes. “Thank you so much.”
She touched his arm. “My Vegas friend was glad to share with the real Elvis.”
He lifted it up and strummed a few chords.
“Sing us a song,” Amber said.
So he strummed and sang “Love Me Tender.”
When the last note ended, she shook her head. “You are so talented.”
After the others gushed about his performance, too, Amber and Caleb brought out some cookies they’d baked earlier in the day — sugar cookies shaped like guitars. Elvis laughed. “Thanks.”
Samuel asked, “Have you chosen where you’re going on your honeymoon?”
“The same place where my private stash is.” Elvis smiled at Charlie. “Graceland.”
“How romantic,” said Amber.
Samuel laughed. “Graceland. Of course.”
Elvis turned to Charlie. “Now sing for me.”
So she did, holding each note crystal clear and full, not afraid of hurting anyone in this room — or this werewolf subdivision.
Her heart was full.
When she finished, she opened her eyes. Everyone was leaned in toward her, enthralled, but unharmed.
“Wow,” Elvis said. “Our children are definitely going to be singers.”
~ The Happy Ending ~
Thank you!
Thank you very much for taking the time to read my book, Elvis Gets His Groove Back, the fifth book in the Moonchuckle Bay series. I love to write these light-hearted, humorous stories to allow people to curl up with a good book for an afternoon. I hope you were entertained.
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Happy tales, Heather Horrocks
www.BooksByHeatherHorrocks.com
Author’s Note
In mythology, sirens were half-bird/half-woman creatures, but I wrote about a Swan Maiden in the last book, so this time, I made my sirens a little different.
My fictional Monster Temps is, of course, not affiliated with the very real Monster.com job website — but it really couldn’t be titled anything else for this series, don’t you think?
And where do I even start with Elvis Presley? I did a lot of research and I worked in tidbits of it, but didn’t want to weigh down this story with all of it. His hair was apparently anywhere from blonde to reddish brown, but he dyed his hair black so he could be edgier (I left his hair black, naturally).
I didn’t want to address or intrude on his real-life relationships, so I kept that as vague as I could, just giving him a desire to make up for mistakes he’d made — and we certainly all have that desire.
Book Club Questions
1
Have you ever gone to a concert to see a favorite band or performer? I had a girlfriend who went to see Elvis twice — the first time she was single and screamed with abandon while the second she went with her new husband and was much more sedate. Which did you do?
2
What color do you remember Elvis’s hair and eyes being? (Look below question #10 to see the answer.)
3
Do you remember where you were on the day Elvis died? If you’re too young to remember, how old were you when you first heard one of his songs?
4
Could you identify with Charlie as she tried to do something right even though her entire family wanted her to do something wrong? Have you ever felt pressured into doing something you knew was wrong?
5
What is your favorite Elvis song? Movie? Which one gets your toes tapping?
6
Did your impression of ghost Evelyn change during the course of the story? She was an echo of Virginia, as they were both fans of Elvis and his singing. But Evelyn was trapped just as Elvis had been.
7
What’s your biggest strength? If you could not use that strength, what else could you rely on to get yourself out of a sticky situation?
8
Did you know Elvis had earned an 8th degree Black Belt in karate? Most of us don’t know karate like Elvis and Charlie (though I remember my two years fondly as I worked toward attaining my brown belt).
9
Did you like that Evelyn sang Elvis songs to Elvis — off-key?
10
Have you ever had a parrot? Or been around one? What’s the funniest thing it said? (My parrot, also named Lorito, would bark like a dog, say his name, and say, “Hello!” when the phone rang, along with lots of other English and Spanish words.)
[Answer to #2: Elvis’s eyes were blue with flecks of green, and he dyed his blond-to-reddish-brown hair black so he’d look more edgy.]
About the Author
Heather Horrocks is the USA Today bestselling author of numerous books (Moonchuckle Bay paranormal romances, Chick Flick Clique and Christmas Street romantic comedies, a novel in the American Mail-Order Bride series, Who-Dun-Him Inn and Bad Mothers Club cozy mysteries, and Women Who Knew inspirational books) plus an upcoming series for writer
s, sharing her unique character interview and amazing book-in-a-day system developed by plotting over eighty books with Diane Darcy, each in one day. She is also the founder of Word Garden Press, a niche publisher of PG-rated fiction and non-fiction. She’s currently working with a talented screenwriter/producer on the first book in her Christmas Street series, Bah, Humbug!
Raised overseas for her first seventeen years, she hid under the bed with her mother during a South American coup, waterskied through an oil slick in the Persian Gulf, partied with a Kuwaiti princess classmate, flew in and out of the blacked-out Cairo airport mere moments before it was bombed during the Six Day War, rode a camel (and ate a camel steak), crossed the finish line first at Utah's Miller Motorsports Park — and walked on hot coals (without getting burned!) at a firewalk workshop!
She loves anyone who can make her laugh, which explains why she adores her witty husband, her funny friends and sisters, Anne George mysteries and Molly Harper romances, and her cute little dog Gus. She loves to cook for friends, siblings, and especially her children and their families. She and her husband reside in Utah. You can find her online at www.BooksByHeatherHorrocks.com.
Books by Heather Horrocks
MOONCHUCKLE BAY Paranormal Romances:
Jingle Belle (free here), The Artist Cries Wolf, The Bridesmaid Earns Her Wings, The Director Gets a Grip, The Fireman Finds His Flame, Elvis Gets His Groove Back, The Hacker Bakes LycanBerry “Pi” (April 30, 2017)
CHRISTMAS STREET Romantic Comedies:
Bah, Humbug!, Kissing Santa, The Naughty List, Love on Christmas Street (#1, 2, & 3), Deck the Malls
CHICK FLICK CLIQUE Romantic Comedies:
Pride and Precipitation, A Hound Dog Named Elvis, Regally Blonde, A Pink Dog Named Fluffy (formerly titled Puppy Love), My Spare Lady, Movie Night at Candy’s Cafe (#1, 2, & 3), A Bulldog Named Desire, Fifty Shades of Greystoke, While You Were Stranded, Romancing the Clone (2016), Davidson and Goliath