Chapter Five
Suspicious of Outsiders
Nobody believed the online reviews about Drip! Drip! Hooray!
I pushed through the creaky glass door and headed past the shelves crammed with ibuprofen, allergy medications and various drugstore shampoos.
Fred Ellery, our longtime pharmacist, and winner of the town’s pie-eating contest for five years straight, talked to a tourist at the register.
As I passed, he smiled and gave me a casual wave.
At the back of the store sat a horseshoe-style counter with gleaming steel-curved edges. My best friend, Elena, scurried around, balancing two small plates and a carafe of freshly brewed coffee, a warm nutty scent filling the air.
Lia sat at the white Formica counter reading the newspaper. Her dark curly hair drooped over her forehead in a big poof.
I slid onto the red vinyl stool beside her. ‘Aster’s not here yet?’
Lia glanced at the oversized watch on her wrist that had belonged to Grandpa Beau.
When we’d lost him seventeen years ago, there was no doubt it would be hers.
She’d always admired the way the old timepiece sat against his brown, weathered skin.
How it made its own clicks and whirs that fascinated her.
She’d been the closest to our grandfather, who could coax a smile out of her when no one else could. Even though Lia kept her emotions tightly in check, there were moments when I’d watched her solid walls tremble. Like she was still grieving his death, and other things she would never speak about.
‘When is our little sister ever on time?’ She kept her eyes on the paper but added, ‘How’s the dog from last night?’
‘Doing well. I released him to his owner early this morning.’
I’d forgotten we’d decided not to open the clinic until one o’clock today, so my receptionist and vet tech were getting a well-deserved morning off.
When Bryce appeared at the door first thing, eager to see his dog, I abruptly shoved his bill at him, advised that Indy should be on a bland diet for the next few days and ushered him straight out of the clinic.
‘You’re usually firm about not taking on emergency cases unless it’s someone local. What was different about last night?’
There was a small, irritated twitch in her jaw you’d never notice unless you knew her well. Out of the three of us, she was the most suspicious of outsiders, especially when they’d been influenced by the tales around town about our supposed ‘powers’.
‘I’d actually seen the dog earlier in the day on the trail. Met the owner.’ I tugged on my ponytail and lowered my voice. ‘I’d sensed there was something wrong with the dog, so it wasn’t like I could turn the guy away.’
She gave me a hesitant look. ‘I get it, but still…’
‘Don’t worry, Lee Lee. He’s from LA. He’ll tire of this place and go back to where he belongs soon enough.
’ I hoped I was right because any future interaction with him was going to be all kinds of awkward, especially since my brain kept flashing back to that hot kiss, and the jarring way he’d pulled away.
‘You sure about that? Even though he was freaked out about his dog, he still looked at you like you were Vega, Lyra’s bright star, appearing right after sunset.’
I tried not to roll my eyes at Lia’s dramatics, but I had to admit I’d seen that look too as he pressed his hands against my cheeks. Searched my eyes for permission to brush his mouth over mine.
‘Who’s the brightest star?’ Elena set down a perfect London Fog in front of me, the sweet scent of vanilla syrup filling my nose.
Lia cocked her head in my direction.
‘Oh, okay, now I need details.’ Elena brushed back her curtain of long, shiny black hair, and set her elbows on the counter.
‘It’s no big deal. I met a guy out on one of the trails yesterday. Told him his dog was sick. Of course, he ignored me. A few hours later, he showed up at Clo’s while we were waiting to celebrate Aster’s birthday. He was freaked out because his dog was not eating and very lethargic.’
‘He showed up thanks to Mo’s big mouth,’ Lia added.
The warm brown lines around Elena’s mouth pinched. Like Lia, she was fiercely protective of me. We’d met on the first day of seventh grade when she’d marched straight up to me, her pigtails swinging across her shoulders, and announced she was new to the school and wanted to be my friend.
I loved that she was brave and outspoken.
When one of the local boys started chanting ‘witch’ at me, she kicked a soccer ball straight at his gut, sending him tumbling to the ground.
Ever since that day, she’d protected me like a lioness, even though she knew after twenty years of friendship I could fight my own battles.
‘And this guy’s a stranger?’ Elena said.
‘Yeah, his uncle owned a place over near Greer’s Bluff, but he died recently and left it to him,’ I said.
Elena propped a hand on her hip. ‘So he does have ties here?’
‘Yes, but I don’t think that matters. By the non-existent tread on his hiking boots, and the way he stumbled through the woods, there’s no way he’ll stay long.’
She grabbed a rag from under the counter and casually said, ‘I don’t suppose either one of you has heard about some reporter from Metropolitan Lifestyle Network that’s in town?’
Lia gripped the edges of her paper. ‘Who told you about that?’
Elena stuffed the rag into the front pocket of her red-and-white-checked apron.
‘Judge Greene and Mo were chatting about it at the tavern last night. They said he’s already sent emails to half the town.
A lot of the questions were about the town’s history.
’ Her gaze darted to the ground. ‘And the founding families, specifically yours.’
‘Well, shit,’ Lia hissed. ‘That’s not good.’
‘It’s okay. Nothing says we have to talk to him,’ I said, trying to reassure her.
‘Doesn’t matter. I’ve read enough about some of our wildfires to know that writers can play fast and loose with the facts. If this guy wants to build up some crazy story about this town, he’ll do it. Hell, Mo and the other shop owners will help him, because it’ll be good for business.’
‘We can’t jump to any conclusions. Maybe he’ll figure out how boring we are and leave,’ I said.
Lia quirked a thick, dark brow at me. ‘Right, and a bear doesn’t shit in the woods.’
‘What do bears do in the woods?’
Aster was at my elbow and I jumped. ‘Where the heck did you come from?’
‘Through the front door, silly.’
Maybe it was her slight frame, or just her tiny feet, but Aster had a knack for making zero noise when she entered a room.
When we were kids, Lia and I tried to talk secretly about the whereabouts of Belladonna, because any mention of our mother always made Aster weepy.
But just when we thought we were alone, Aster would appear like she’d sensed our fears.
Knew we were hiding our emotions. Looking back at it now, it was the first signs she was showing of her connection to people, we just didn’t know it yet.
She set her big leather bag on the counter and took the stool next to me. I tried not to smile at this month’s choice of hair color – a vibrant shade of lavender.
‘What were you all talking about?’
Lia and I loved to tease her so we both gave her an empty stare.
‘Fine. Be that way.’ She snatched her purse off the counter. ‘Guess I’ll go open the shop, considering no one has said, “Sorry your birthday dinner got messed up last night.”’
Before she could get more than a few steps, I called for her to come back. Lia quickly echoed the same sentiment.
Aster stilled and mumbled, ‘Give me one reason why I should?’
‘You’ll be leaving your present behind,’ I teased.
That’d definitely do the trick, because Aster loved surprises just as much as she loved using her gift to find people their perfect love match.
Aster’s shoulders continued to droop like a well-loved rag doll until Lia sang out the first line of a song, and I followed.
In terrible harmony, we belted out Blink 182’s ‘What’s My Age Again?
’ It had become our tradition since Belladonna ruined the birthday song for us years ago by stating it was ‘too commercial’ and made us ‘conform like robots’.
Yeah, our mother was a real ray of sunshine.
Not really. But Aster, she was a burst of golden light after forty days of cloud cover and deserved to be serenaded in a loud and very off-key way.
While we sang, Aster did a little dance. When we came to the final line of the song, she did an extra shimmy before throwing herself into our arms. We held on to the hug for a few extra beats like we always did before Lia broke away. Five seconds was her limit for human touch.
Elena gave us all a clap and then winked at Aster. ‘Saved a chocolate croissant for you. Should I put a candle in it?’
‘Yes, please.’ Aster beamed.
Once Elena left, Aster focused on me. ‘I forgive you for leaving last night before I got there, but I do need the details on what happened. Grandmother Clo said something about a handsome guy and an injured dog?’
Lia snickered at the ‘handsome guy’ comment.
As I told Aster about the pot brownie incident, she tapped her long nails, painted a shade of eggplant, against the counter. Tilted her head at me if she was seeing something none of the rest of us could. She huffed out a breath, swapped a hesitant look with Lia I did not like.
God, I hope she didn’t sense the stench of regret from my encounter with Bryce this morning. Or even worse, the heat I’d felt when he’d kissed me last night, or the ache that stirred in my chest when he’d pulled away.
‘Dani, you do need to talk to Mo again,’ Aster started, and I sagged in relief. ‘Sending a stranger to our grandmother’s house without any warning is all kinds of wrong.’
I gave Lia the side-eye.