Read Don't Hex with Texas Online
Authors: Shanna Swendson
Don't Hex with Texas (27 page)
“I don’t do anything.”
“Yes, you do. You’re the glue, the backbone, the stuff that holds everything together. I could see it during that fight. I was really impressed. My baby sister is all grown up.”
“Stop it, please, before I hurl. I don’t know how to deal with my brothers taking me seriously.” He reached over and ruffled my hair, I whined in protest, and all was right with the world.
Once the plane landed at LaGuardia, time really seemed to slow to a standstill as all the people ahead of me took their own sweet time getting their carry-on bags out of the overhead bins and then inching down the aisle. The corridor to the baggage claim stretched out miles ahead of me, and then I was finally there. I searched the baggage claim area for Gemma and Marcia, whom I’d let know I was coming, but they were nowhere in sight.
Then I saw a familiar face. Make that two familiar and very odd faces belonging to a pair of goofy gargoyles. A skinny, bug-eyed one stood on the shoulders of a heftier, squatter one. I knew the rest of the people in baggage claim saw an odd-looking chauffeur. The one on top held a sign reading “Katie Chandler.”
I made my way over to them. “Hey, Rocky and Rollo,” I said.
“Greetings!” Rocky said. He jumped off Rollo’s shoulders and added, “Go find your bags and Rolls here will carry them for you.” I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what ordinary people would see when the two of them split like that. I pulled my bags off the carousel, then Rollo levitated them over to Rocky, who led the way outside.
As I stepped out into the busy, noisy area full of honking cabs, town cars, and shuttle vans, I caught a glimpse of something bright red.
I focused on it and noticed that it was a red shoe. A red high-heeled stiletto. And holding it was one of the most handsome men I’d ever seen, dark-haired and blue-eyed, with a shy smile that could melt your heart. He stood leaning against a silver town car.
“Maybe you could help me with something,” he said. “I’m looking for the lady who fits this shoe.”
“Funny, I have a shoe just like that.” I was rather proud of how calm and cool I sounded, even though my heart was pounding and I was afraid I’d either faint or cry.
I’m not sure who moved first, but soon we were in each other’s arms, kissing like we’d been separated for months instead of only a day. In a way, I suppose we had been apart for months, our recent adventures aside.
“I’m glad you came back,” he said when we finally pulled apart.
“I am, too.”
Rocky and Rollo finished loading the trunk with my bags. “Okay, ready to head out, boss?” Rocky asked Owen.
Owen opened the back door. “After you,” he said.
I got in the backseat, buckled my seat belt, and held on for the wild ride I knew was ahead of me in the crazy life I’d chosen.
S
HANNA
S
WENDSON
is the author of
Enchanted, Inc., Once Upon Stilettos,
and
Damsel Under Stress.
She’s also contributed essays to books on such pop-culture topics as
Pride and Prejudice, Firefly,
and
Battlestar Galactica.
When she’s not writing or watching television and movies so she can write about them, she enjoys cooking, traveling, singing, and looking for new hobbies to make her author bio longer and more interesting. She lives in Texas, but loves to play Southern belle in New York as often as possible. For more information on Shanna and her books, visit her website at
www.shannaswendson.com
.
A
LSO BY
S
HANNA
S
WENDSON
Enchanted, Inc.
Once Upon Stilettos
Damsel Under Stress
Praise for Shanna Swendson
Damsel Under Stress
“It’s not easy falling in love with a wizard who keeps putting romance on hold to save the world. But it’s fun reading about it.”
—The Dallas Morning News
“Swendson’s unique take on the paranormal genre is a standout….
Damsel
is full of romantic and magical twists and turns.”
—Parkersburg
News and Sentinel
“Trying to start a romance with the world hanging in the balance is not optimal, but it sure is funny…. This is mayhem at its most enchanting!”
—Romantic Times
“Shanna Swendson has returned with a third delightful book…. Readers will eagerly await Katie Chandler’s next adventures. Fans of both chick-lit and Harry Potter should not miss out on this series.”
Once Upon Stilettos
[A] modern-day fairy tale.”
—K
NIGHT
R
IDDER
/
Tribune
News Service
The winning follow-up to
Enchanted, Inc.
…[This] smart, snappy novel will delight fans that loved the first installment and win over new readers, too.”
—Booklist
“Once again Swendson offers a fresh spin on a genre in this exceptional Manhattan fairy tale, 41/2 stars.”
—Romantic Times
“Shanna Swendson takes chick-lit to new heights!
Once Upon Stilettos
is not to be missed if you’re in the mood for a fast and funny read where chick-lit meets urban fantasy.”
—M
ARY
J
O
P
UTNEY
, author of
A Kiss of Fate
“What more could a girl ask for?
Once Upon Stilettos
is a delightful urban fairy tale.”
—P
ATRICIA
R
ICE
Enchanted, Inc.
“With its clever premise and utterly engaging heroine, Shanna Swendson has penned a real treat!
Enchanted, Inc.
is loads of fun!”
—J
ULIE
K
ENNER
, author of
Carpe Demon
“A totally captivating, hilarious and clever look on the magical kingdom of Manhattan, where kissing frogs has never been this fun.”
—M
ELISSA
D
ELA
C
RUZ
,
author of
The Au Pairs
and
The Fashionista Files
“Light and breezy, but not without substance…a bit of the sense of a screwball comedy, only updated for these times that we live in…with a hint of
Sex and the City
and maybe a dash of Bridget Jones.”
—C
HARLES
D
ELINT
, Fantasy & Science Fiction
Lively…a pure and innocent fantasy…a cotton candy read.”
—Publishers Weekly
Swendson offers a quirky twist on supernatural powers, suggesting that not having any can actually be an asset. This appealing novel offers a charming cast of characters and a clever premise, and readers will hope that Katie’s skills will be needed in New York City again soon.”
—Booklist
Don’t Hex with Texas
is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
A Ballantine Books Trade Paperback Original
Copyright © 2008 by Shanna Swendson
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Ballantine Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
B
ALLANTINE
and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Swendson, Shanna.
Don’t hex with Texas / Shanna Swendson.
p. cm.
1. Chandler, Katie (Fictitious character)—Fiction. 2. Family-owned business enterprises—Fiction. 3. Magic—Fiction. 4. Wizards—Fiction. 5. Texas—Fiction. I. Title
PS3619.W445D66 2008
813'.6—dc22
2007043426
eISBN: 978-0-345-50760-0
v3.0
