Yo Ho Ho and Buttered Rum Sundae

By Karen Michelle Nutt

(Enjoy another Grimm Nitch tale with Sirena and Jack.)

Yo Ho Ho and Buttered Rum Shortbread, a delectable summer short story, where the recipe for mayhem will stir up all kinds of trouble for Jack and Sirena in Grimm Nitch.

Sirena's mother returns home after abandoning her family fifteen years prior, with a Merrow Prince, expecting Sirena to leave her home to live with him beneath the sea.

Meeting another Merrow is surreal but swimming away to live happily ever after in an ocean world is not as sweetly tempting as Sirena once dreamed. Where the mer-prince goes, Jack cannot follow. Giving up the life she has with Jack is like giving up sweets—forever.

At the Buccaneer Bash, the prince will reveal what he's cooked up for Sirena, but he's about to underestimate Jack's skills, who has no trouble preparing a plan of his own.

• Language: Unknown
• Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
• Release date: Jul 25, 2022
• ISBN: 9781509243044

Karen Michelle Nutt

My name is Karen Michelle Nutt and I’m an author of paranormal tales, writing for The Wild Rose Press, Highland Press, Prairie Rose Publications, and Twin Star Books.Time Travels have been a passion of mine. I have always been intrigued with the possibility of being able to reach back in time and change the past. Common sense says influencing the past isn’t impossible, but I can’t help but wonder: What if I can?Fallen Angels, vampires and shape shifters embrace my darker side where their worlds intertwine with ours.Whether your reading fancy is paranormal, historical or time travel, all my stories capture the rich array of emotions that accompany the most fabulous human phenomena—falling in love.

Book preview

Why are we going down here, Mother? Sirena demanded and halted her steps midway. I already went for a swim this morning. I have no plans for another. Especially with you, she wanted to add but refrained.

You’ll see in a moment, Maori said without turning to see if she would continue to follow.

Sirena did follow, but once she reached the bottom step, she opened her mouth to demand answers, only her words sputtered to a halt. Her gaze landed on a tall, golden-haired man standing near the opening of the cave. He wore dark cargo pants and nothing more as the water splashed onto the rocked floor and pooled around his bare feet. Her gaze traveled up his body, and for a moment, she couldn’t look away from his broad shoulders and tapered waist. Beautiful, she thought, then cursed and focused on his face, which didn’t seem to help matters. His full lips curved as if he knew what a picture of masculine beauty he represented.

He isn’t human, she realized. Chiseled jaw, sea-green eyes, and in plain sight, the red cap of their kind shimmering with Merrow enchantment. She would have demanded who he was and why he stood in her cave as if he’d been invited, but before she could find her voice, her mother did the honors.

Sirena, my love, this is Prince Calder.

Praise for Karen Michelle Nutt

Magic of the Loch ~~Ms. Nutt has created a sweet romance spun from a legend and delivered a suspenseful story as well. ~Catherine Bybee, New York Times bestselling author

InD’Tale RONE Award and RonCon Finalist for Best Fantasy/Paranormal

Yo Ho Ho and Buttered Rum Sundae

by

Karen Michelle Nutt

One Scoop or Two Series

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

Yo Ho Ho and Buttered Rum Sundae

COPYRIGHT © 2022 by Karen Michelle Nutt

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author or The Wild Rose Press, Inc. except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Contact Information: [e-mail]

Cover Art by The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

PO Box 708

Adams Basin, NY 14410-0708

Visit us at www.thewildrosepress.com

Publishing History

First Edition, 2022

Digital ISBN 978-1-5092-4304-4

One Scoop or Two Series

Published in the United States of America

Dedication

To all readers who enjoy a good yarn. Enjoy!

Other Stories by Karen Michelle Nutt

Moon Shifter

Magic of the Loch

Mermaid Cove and Seaside Sundaes

The Gryphon and His Thief (soon to be released)

Chapter One

Sirena Seafair, will you marry me?

The man wanted to marry her. Jack was on bended knee, proposing to her with a ring and all. Sirena’s heart wanted to say ‘yes,’ but her more logical side told her to wait, not because she didn’t want to be with him, but because of her bloodline.

Jack O’Casey, you do know my mother left my father and me, she reminded him. The sea called her home, and I fear it will call for me, too. As much as I want to be with you, I must be sure before I give you my answer.

Maybe the sea will claim you, and maybe it won’t, Jack said. Life is too short to worry about how much time we might have together. It’s best we grab what we can before time’s greedy hands snatch it all away.

She shook her head, ready to argue more, but Jack spoke first.

Don’t fret, sweet lass. I know you well. You think on it, and when you’re ready, I’ll ask you again. He slipped the ring back inside his pocket. 

She frowned and couldn’t help commenting, You took my response in stride, I might say.

His lips twitched as he shrugged those big shoulders of his. You didn’t say ‘no’. 

She hadn’t. Jack was right. She hadn’t given him an answer at all, but sure as the sun would rise, he’d expect one soon enough. 

****

Sirena donned a black bikini, then slipped on her blue jeans and a long-sleeved shirt with yellow and white flowers. Next, she gathered her long curls to the nape of her neck and grabbed the ponytail holder on the dresser, wrapping the strands within its folds.

Once done, she glanced into the mirror with a nod of approval then jogged down the stairs from her two-bedroom flat to her store below. The clock on the wall behind the counter drew her attention. 5:20 a.m. There was plenty of time for her planned morning activities. Diving and then baking shortbread at Jack’s restaurant before heading back to open Smuggler’s Den at ten.

I have time. It’ll be fine, she told herself. Her novelty trinkets and ice cream shop didn’t get many customers until closer to eleven when they usually wandered in for a sweet or, if the weather seemed significantly colder than usual, a cup of hot tea.

It had been two weeks since Jack proposed, but this morning marked almost a full year since the man invited her to join him for a life-changing dinner. That night she’d revealed her secret, exposing her true self to him. She told him about her Merrow bloodline. When he’d seen her webbed hands and feet, she expected the worse, but he made it clear he still found her beautiful.

I want you to be my sweetheart, Jack had told her all those months ago. A whirlwind affair never felt so romantic. Only a handful of people knew of her ability to shift into a mermaid and back again. Jack was one of them.

Sirena glanced out the window, looking for the familiar patch of dark hair coming up her path to fetch her. Her lips still curved into a smile when she anticipated seeing Jack.

She peeked out the window and this time laughed when she spotted McDuff trotting down the lane. Jack’s mangy mutt resembled a rug more than a dog, but seeing the dog never failed to put a smile on her face. It usually meant Jack wasn’t far behind. She let the curtain fall to grab her purse and towel from the counter. He would be arriving soon for their morning dive, a ritual they entertained daily.

By the time she locked up, he had come into view and approached. Tall and sure of himself, and as patient as they come, it would seem. His blue-eyed gaze landed on her, and his whole face lit up with his grin, and just like that, her stomach fluttered to life in response.

Aren’t you the early bird? Anxious to be on your way? Jack asked with good cheer.

I am at that. The breeze from the Grimm Nitch’s waterfront drifted over her with a cold-fingered caress, but she welcomed the sensation it offered.

They took to the sea, weather permitting, at the entrance of smuggler’s cave. The perfect location beneath Sirena’s store had been there since rum smugglers of old docked to unload their goods. The cave’s entrance proved tricky even when there were calm waters, but perilous when turbulent. During stormier weather, she and Jack opted to take out his boat. The ocean’s temperament didn’t hamper her in the least, being a half-mermaid with the bloodline from the Merrow clan of Ireland, but it could prove treacherous for Jack, who was human.

Ireland’s waters proved to be on average cold. Not that she minded, but most people tended to bundle up with sweaters and scarves when rain threatened. Bikinis and swim trunk season had been already long forgotten. The wind had a bite to it this morning, and by the look of the dark clouds overhead, she’d bet they’d have more than spitting rain by this afternoon, even though the sun did its best to breakthrough. 

She strolled next to Jack, his hand reaching for hers as they made their way down the path toward the beach. June to the end of August, droves of tourists arrived as if the Goddess Danu embraced the people in her magical mist and brought them to Grimm Nitch to enjoy the festivities. The Buccaneer Days, which included the Buccaneer Bash aboard the Jolly B, a pirate ship replica and museum/hotel permanently docked near the waterfront, was the highlight of all parties. It represented the beginning of summer fun and festivals.

The Jolly B hired Jack’s restaurant, Mermaid Cove, to cater, and he’d been preparing his fabulous dishes and mouthwatering desserts all week. Smuggler’s Den had been commissioned to decorate the bash. She and Judy Euge, her best friend and business partner,