Mr. O'Grady's Magic Box

by

Karen Michelle Nutt

Smashwords Edition

Presented by Publishing by Rebecca J.
Vickery

Digital ISBN: 978-1-4659-0894-0

Copyright © 2011 Karen Michelle Nutt

Cover Art Copyright © 2011 Karen Michelle
Nutt

Produced by Rebecca J. Vickery

Design Consultation by Laura Shinn

Smashwords Licensing Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal
enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to
other people. If you would like to share this book with another
person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If
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purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com
and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work
of this author.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters,
places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or
are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any
resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons,
living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

This book is also available in print at most
online retailers.

Discover other titles by Karen Michelle
Nutt

Eli: Warriors for the
Light
(Fallen Angels, Book 1)

At the Stroke of
Midnight

Autumn Moon

Lucca: Warriors for the Light (Fallen Angels,
Book 2)

The Curse of Tempest Gate (An Unbelievable
Finds, Book 2)

Wanted

Love's Eternal Embrace

Dedication

Dedicated to my soul mate, Greg: who
continues to answer my endless computer questions and brings home
lattes as needed. To Kendra, Katrina, and Vincent: for their
patience, while the mother's imagination takes flight. To my mom:
who thinks all my books should be made into movies. To the
Colemans, the Kenleys, the Mosiers, the Whites, the Ellis, and the
Nutts: Thanks for sharing in my dream.

To Cathy and Stephanie: for their constant
support and inspiration. I couldn't ask for dearer friends. And to
all those who need a little magic in their life— this is for
you.

**A special dedication with love goes to
James Coleman, who always had a smile and a hug for everyone. He
loved stories with a wee bit of magic. We all miss you, Dad.**

Aubrey Jules, a reporter from
Unbelievable
Finds
is sent to investigate a box, which is reputably older
than time and crafted by the wee folks.

Mr. O’Grady, owner of the bed and breakfast
in Dana Point, California, convinces Aubrey to wish for a soul
mate.

When Ian Quinn, who abandoned Aubrey ten
years ago, walks in she’s convinced the faeries have a wicked sense
of humor.

Chapter One

Aubrey Jules sat behind her desk at
Unbelievable Finds
, writing her latest article on her laptop
about a clan of Irish werewolves named the Mac Tíre. Her source,
Jim Thompson, claimed he dated one of the women from the wolf pack.
"They don't like to be called werewolves,"
Thompson told
her.
"They call themselves moon shifters."

It proved unfortunate the
moon
shifter
couldn't be found for the interview. Lack of proof
didn't always hamper her ability to write an interesting piece. The
small-time magazine's readers demanded legends and otherworldly
gossip. Evidence would be a bonus, but not expected.

Her window blinds were open but Seattle's
pelting rain kept the office dark and damp. The pipes rattled and
groaned, telling her the heater would warm the place in about an
hour. She rubbed her hands together then held them close to her
mouth and blew. Her breath blasted a moment of warmth onto her
frozen appendages. Shaking them out, she continued writing, her
fingertips flying over the keyboard.

An occasional laugh and resumed conversation
alerted Aubrey that Loretta Sinclair, her partner, was on the phone
in the other room, but the words were unclear since the door to her
office stood closed.

Unbelievable Finds'
office space was
small, an old building on the second floor not too far from the
Space Needle. Posters of werewolves, vampires, and other magical
creatures, which Loretta had bought at a flea market, adorned the
tan painted walls. The hardwood floors in both rooms needed
refinishing, but the flower throw rugs made a world of difference
in brightening up the place.

Loretta had piles of newspapers, magazines,
and faxed information about otherworldly finds littering her oak
desk. Her antique black dial phone from the fifties wasn't
high-tech, but she had a fax machine stationed on the gaudy
lime-green file-cabinet that stood next to the water cooler.
Loretta insisted on having the eyesore, said it added color. Bless
her, but Loretta proved a distraction at times.

This is why Aubrey chose the back office.
The magazine would never have an article for publication if she
couldn't concentrate. She also preferred her desk cleared of
clutter and had a file cabinet placed in her office, too. Her
boyfriend bought her a bookshelf last year to match her mahogany
furniture. All her reference books about myths, legends, and
haunted places around the world were there, along with her
Guide
to Being a Ghost Hunter
and
How to Stake a Vampire
. Her
worn copy of
A to Z Supernatural Creatures
, which contained
descriptions and origin of every preternatural being ever sighted,
stood on the first shelf, number one in the alphabetical line
up.

"Yippee!" Loretta shouted moments before she
burst into the room. She wore her favorite '
got ghost?'
sweatshirt over her blue jeans. Her pair of black-leather belted
boots made
clippity-clop
noises as her thoroughbred legs
made their way over to her. She rested her hip on the side of
Aubrey's desk and slid her dark rimmed glasses back onto the bridge
of her nose, her lips curving into a broad smile.

Aubrey sat back in the leather chair,
regarding her with raised brows. "You look mighty pleased with
yourself."

"We have another story." Her voice a draft
of excitement matched her smile.

"It must be good."

"Oh yeah." She twisted her long red hair
behind her head before leaning over to grab two pencils from the
gargoyle pencil holder on the desk. Her nimble fingers stabbed each
pencil through the bun, holding her tresses in place.

One day she'd have to learn how she did
that. Her blonde strands would never cooperate.

"How'd you like to take a trip to sunny
California?" Loretta slapped her hands on her knees with the
Cheshire grin still in place.

Aubrey pulled her hunter green sweater
closer around her. "Warmth and sunshine? No rain? When do I
leave?"

"Don't you want to know what the story is?"
Her chuckle ended with a snort.

One glance at her computer and the half
written article, she prayed it wouldn't be another shapeshifter
story. "The suspense is killing me. What am I investigating?"

"A magic box that grants your heart's
desire. I'm talking soul mates. Can you imagine? It happens once a
year around Spring Equinox, the time of new beginnings. One lucky
person is granted his or her wish." Loretta sighed and placed a
hand over her heart. "Isn't it utterly romantic?"

Aubrey tried not to smile. "Will I have the
opportunity to interview someone who found their soul mate?"

Loretta rolled her eyes. "Of course, but not
only one person but five."

This had her attention. "Five?"

"Yes, well two couples agreed to take a
phone interview and Mr. O'Grady who owns the magic box agreed to
give us an exclusive interview. How lucky can we get?"

"Lucky." Her lips pursed together. Articles
about finding one's soul mate didn't register as a high demand in
the high-tech world of the Internet. Dating sites and online chat
rooms could constitute as soul mate finders, but if the exclusive
interview took her to some place warmer, she wouldn't bother
pointing out the fact.

"I already booked a room at the
Seaside
Bed and Breakfast
in Dana Point. Mr. O'Grady owns the place,
been in his family for generations."

Aubrey nodded. "I could give a back story
about the inn, too." She enjoyed the historical aspect of her job
the most. It brought the legends alive when she could back them
with where and how they first originated.

"This could be a good story for the
magazine." Loretta's enthusiasm was always contagious.

"Let's have a look at Mr. O'Grady's inn,
shall we?" Aubrey pulled the laptop closer to Google
Seaside Bed
and Breakfast Inn
. Loretta jumped off her desk, peering over
her shoulder to view the Victorian home with whitewash trim. "Looks
dreamy." Aubrey scrolled down the screen where a few photos of the
rooms were displayed. Elegant queen size bed and antique
furnishings only added to the enchantment. "I wonder if Nelson
could take a few days off from work."

Loretta snorted.

Aubrey raised one eyebrow at her. "What was
that for?"

"Nothing." Her tone spoke the opposite. "Go
on. Call Mr. Carr and see if he can come out and play. I'll bet the
stick-in-the-mud
boyfriend of yours can't."

She shook her head with a sigh. "I really
wish you'd try to like Nelson."

"Why?"

"Because he's my boyfriend."

Loretta waved her hand in dismissal. "Only
until you find the right man for you."

"He is the right man. He's smart, cute, and
best of all,
dependable
."

"You just described my Chihuahua-Yorkie mix,
Jack-o-Lantern, but my baby knows how to greet a lady when she
walks in the door."

"What? Jump on you and lick you?"

Loretta's smile grew wider. "You need a good
jumping, if you ask me and, honey, don't knock a good slobbery kiss
until you've had one. Don't settle for the mundane when you can
have someone who'll kiss you like you're the best thing since lemon
pie."

"Are we still talking about your dog?"
Aubrey teased.

"Real cute. I'm talking about a man who
knows how to kiss." The amusement dancing in Loretta's eyes put her
on the defensive.

"Nelson knows how to kiss."

"I'm surprised. Is there a
Kissing for
Dummies
at the bookstore?"

"I'll have you know Nelson is a very good
kisser."

"Uh huh. I'll have to take your word on
that. Tell me one thing. How did you two ever hook up? He's all
about facts, logic, and would never look outside his little box to
view the world with imagination."

"What can I say," her shoulders lifted in a
shrug, "opposites attract? I like how stable and level-headed he
is. Keeps me grounded."

"Like a lead weight," Loretta muttered
before her grin slid away. "Is that why you chose Nelson—because
he's the opposite of Ian?"

Aubrey spurted a denial with a harrumph. "I
don't know what you mean." She should have never told Loretta about
Ian Quinn.
Damn the girls' night out and too much
tequila.

"The hell you don't. You were in love with
Ian...what was that young man of yours last name? Hmm?"

"Quinn, and he's not my young man."

"You said his kisses ignited a bone-melting
fire that spread through your blood."

"I didn't say any such thing and even if I
did, I was drunk." Though the words rang true. She'd been nineteen,
taking a break from college to travel. She ended up in Ireland,
hiking where the blue sky and the green rolling hills stretched out
as far as the eyes could see. She explored the old ruins drenched
with history and whispers of ghosts lurking in the shadows. She'd
met a man, a boy really. Now older and wiser, she knew the
difference.
Ian Quinn.
The memories of him drifted through
her thoughts. His wild long hair with dark shades of brown and
naturally highlighted with gold and bronze had attracted her first.
Then her gaze locked onto his gorgeous eyes—a mistake but too late
to correct. His lazy shade of blue held a mischievous glint as he
stared at her and the corner of his sensual mouth lifted in a
lopsided grin. Her heart skipped then raced and she knew nothing on
earth would keep her from kissing those lips.