Chapter Five
Finley
Monday morning, Finley stopped by the bakery to see Sorcha, who'd told him the day before that she worked Monday through Thursday at the bakery. He was like a junkie who needed his next fix when it came to her.
“Good morning, Sweetheart,” he said after he walked in.
“Good morning, Sexy,” she replied and moved around the counter to give him a kiss since they were alone.
“I could get used to that,” he told her and squeezed her ass. “You look good enough to eat,” he added with a smirk.
Sorcha laughed. “You're incorrigible,” she told him.
“When it comes to you, you're damn right,” he told her. “I just wanted to see you before I went to work.”
“I'm glad you came by. How about a pastry to give you a little rush?” she said, motioning to the glass cases.
“How about a cannoli?” he replied.
“You just want to taste my goods,” she teased.
“I've already tasted your goods, and they're delicious,” he growled.
He chuckled when she blushed. “You're cute when you blush,” he told her.
“Says you,” she countered and boxed up a cannoli for him.
He paid and gave her another quick kiss. “Because it's true,” he said. “See you tomorrow, Sweetheart. I'll talk to you later,” he added and headed to work.
He ate the cannoli on the drive and hummed a tune as he headed into the office.
“Someone's in a good mood,” Bob said.
“I had a great weekend, and a great morning, so far,” he replied.
“Did you hear?” Susan said. “Ferguson is in the hospital. His son is taking over running things until he's out. Funny thing is, the doctors can't figure out what's going on. His heart went haywire, but there's no explanation as to why.”
“How do you know that?” Finley asked, dread filling him. He had a very bad feeling he knew what was going on.
“His son announced it to those of us who were already here,” Mary put in. “You two would have known too if you came in early like us. But you like your beauty sleep,” she teased.
He forced a laugh. “Yeah, well, I don't mind being here until five,” he said. “We should get to work, the job's not going to do itself,” he added and went to his desk.
The day dragged out and when five o'clock finally hit, he logged off his computer, packed up his briefcase, and headed out the door. Once he got to his SUV, he sent a quick text.
Me: Hey, Sweetheart, are you at your shop? I need to talk to you. It's important
Sweetheart: Yes, I am, Sexy. Come on by
Me: See you in a few
He climbed in, turned on the engine, and headed to The Wicked Owl. When he arrived, he parked and headed inside.
“Hey, Sexy. What's going on?” Sorcha asked.
“Hey, Sweetheart. I think the spell I got from you has gone wrong.”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“My boss is in the hospital, with heart issues, but the doctors can't figure out the cause.”
“Shit. Okay, all my spell ingredients are at the bakery. Let me see if Acadia can come to watch the shop so we can go make a counterspell.”
He waited while she texted back and forth with her employee. He was anxious to get going.
“Okay, Acadia will be here in fifteen minutes,” Sorcha said once she stopped texting. “Just relax. I'll whip up the counterspell, you'll give it to your boss, and he'll be fine,” she told him.
“I hope so,” he said, and he paced the shop. “Tell me something, Sweetheart. How'd you end up with a snowy owl as a pet?” The owl hooted as if it knew he was asking about it.
“I volunteered at a bird rescue. Zen was a hatchling. He has a deformed wing and can't fly. They were going to put him down, but I offered to take him. As you can tell, he's not really his namesake,” she said as he kept hooting. “He was when he was a hatchling though.”
“They were going to put him down because he couldn't fly? Why?”
“Because he wouldn't be able to hunt, and would have starved,” she replied.
“Well, he's lucky to have you,” Finley told her.
“I think we're both lucky,” she countered, petting him.
Acadia walked in a few minutes later. “I have arrived. Go do what you need to, girl. I've got the shop,” she said.
“Thanks, Acadia. I really appreciate you coming in. I wouldn't have asked if it wasn't important.”
“No problem,” Acadia replied.
“Let me put Zen in his cage and I'll be ready to go,” Sorcha said and picked up the owl to presumably carry him upstairs.
When Sorcha returned, he held the door for her. “I'll drive,” he said and escorted her to his SUV. Once they were both in, he drove the two blocks to the bakery and parked.
“Hey, Deimos, this is Finley. Finley, Deimos. A spell I gave him has gone haywire, so I'm going to make him a counterspell,” she told the other witch.
“Nice to meet you,” Deimos said. “That sucks. I hope you get it sorted.”
?“Thanks. Come on,” she said and dragged Finley to the back with her.
Sorcha
Sorcha wracked her brain to try to figure out what could have gone wrong with the spell. She'd never had a spell go haywire before. “Hey, Finley, what happened when you gave your boss the cannoli?” she asked as she gathered ingredients.
“He wasn't in his office so I put it on his desk and left. A couple of my fellow coworkers asked about it and all said a variation of ‘I hope it works’. Why?”
Sorcha snapped her fingers. “That's why it went haywire! Intent. The others voicing their intent increased the potency of the spell. Now I know what to do to counter it.”
She had all but the last ingredient and swore. “Fuck! Not good.”
“What's wrong?” Finley asked.
“I'm missing an important ingredient,” she told him.
“Can't you just buy some more?”
“I can, but it'll take a week to get it,” she replied.
“Shit. I don't think he can wait that long.”
“No, I don't think so either. Looks like I'm going to Glasgow,” she replied.
“Glasgow? As in Scotland?” he asked.
“Yep. That's where Coven of the Crescent, the coven I get the Rogue's Wormwood from, is located. It only grows in Scotland.”
“Then I'm coming with you,” he told her.
“You don't have to do that,” she replied.
“I want to,” he said.
“I'll have to let Zaine know. I was supposed to go to the club after work, but now I've got a trip to plan.” She pulled out her phone and sent a text.
Me: Hey. Sorry, but I'm not going to make it tonight
Hotstuff: What's wrong?
Me: A spell I did for Finley has gone wrong and I'm out of an important ingredient. I have to fly to Scotland to get it, so I'll be gone for a couple of days
Hotstuff: Scotland? Count me in! I could use a mini-vacay
Me: It's not really a vacation
Hotstuff: Two days off from the club is a mini-vacay for me
Sorcha laughed and shook her head.
“What?” Finley asked.
“Zaine wants to come with. He's calling it a mini-vacay because he'll get away from the club for two days.”
“Ahh. Tell him the more, the merrier. I'll cover the tickets,” Finley said.
“Okay,” she replied.
Me: Finley says the more the merrier. He's covering the tickets. I'll let you know when the flight leaves
Hotstuff: Thanks, Angel. And tell Finley thanks
“Zaine says thank you,” Sorcha told him. Then she pulled up flights to Scotland. “There's a flight leaving at 2 am. We can get three seats together, should I book it?”
“Absolutely. Here's my credit card,” he told her and handed it over.
“We have to be there by midnight so we can get checked in,” Sorcha told him once she was done.
“I'll pick you and Zaine both up, so we only have one vehicle in long-term parking.”
“Pick me up by ten,” she told him, “since it's an hour to the airport. That way we know we'll get there in time. We'll get into London at noon, and we have a six-hour layover before our flight to Scotland.”
“Damn, that's a long layover,” Finley said.
“Yeah. We can spend a couple of hours touring London, maybe get lunch, before our short flight to Glasgow.”
“Okay. I'll drop you off at your place. You let Zaine know we'll be at his place tonight after I pick you up.”
“Sure thing,” she replied.
Me: Flight leaves at 2, we'll be at your place by 10:30 to pick you up. Be ready
Hotstuff: See you then, Angel
When they got back to her shop he went around and helped her out. “See you in a few hours, Sweetheart,” he said and kissed her.
“Mm. See you in a few hours,” she replied.
Sorcha went into the shop and watched him leave. “Hey, Acadia, can I get you to feed Zen for the next couple of days? I have to go out of town for a few days.”
“Sure thing, boss lady. I'll take care of Zen for you,” Acadia replied.
“Thanks. I owe you,” Sorcha said and sent Acadia on her way with a key to her apartment.
At closing time, she locked up, went upstairs, fed Zen, and then packed an overnight bag. Then she waited for Finley to arrive.
Finley
At ten sharp, Finley pulled up in front of The Wicked Owl. He pulled out his phone and sent a quick text.
Me: I'm here, Sweetheart
Sweetheart: I'll be down in just a minute
He got out and went around to the passenger side. When she reached him, he gave her a quick kiss and then opened the door for her.
“Such a gentleman,” she murmured.
“When I need to be,” he replied before closing her door, going around, and getting in. Then he drove them to Zaine's.
“I'll call to let him know we're almost there, so he'll be waiting,” Sorcha said and pulled out her phone.
“Hey, Zaine, we'll be there in just a few minutes, so get your tight butt outside,” she said into the phone.
He could hear Zaine's laugh from the driver's seat. When they pulled into Zaine's driveway, he was waiting outside with his own overnight bag.
“Excited for our little trip?” Finley asked when Zaine slid into the backseat.
“Hell yeah, I am. Don't get me wrong, I love my club, but I've been told by the manager that I spend too damn much time there and need some time for myself,” Zaine replied.
“Tom is right, you do,” Sorcha said. “You're there seven days a week,” she pointed out.
“Okay, maybe I need to learn how to balance my personal and professional lives,” Zaine said.
“I'll help,” Sorcha told him.
“So will I,” Finley said. “After all, we have our girl now, you can't spend time with her if you're working all the time.”
“Good point,” Zaine said.
“Since we have a six-hour layover in London, I want to try Evelyn's Table for lunch. They serve modern Euro dishes in an old beer cellar,” Sorcha told them.
“Sounds good, Angel,” Zaine replied.
“I'd also like to go see Big Ben,” she put in.
“We could definitely do that,” Finley said as he drove.
“Then we can wander the streets until we have to get back to the airport for check-in,” she said excitedly.
“Sounds like a plan to me, Sweetheart,” Finley told her.
Once they reached the airport, he parked in long-term parking, they all grabbed their bags and headed inside to check-in. They got their paper tickets, made it through security, and headed to their gate.
“Have you guys flown before?” Finley asked.
“I have twice,” Zaine replied.
“I've flown three times,” Sorcha said.
“This will be my first flight. I admit I'm equal parts excited and apprehensive.”
“As long as we don't hit turbulence, we should have a smooth flight. Don't worry, I'll hold your hand,” Sorcha told him.
“Thanks, Sweetheart,” he said and leaned over and kissed her gently.
When their flight was called, they got in line and soon were taking their seats. Finley took the window seat and gave Sorcha the aisle so she could be close to Zaine in the other aisle seat. He gripped Sorcha's hand as they taxied down the runway and soon they were airborne.
“Breathe, Sexy,” Sorcha said and he released the breath he didn't realize he was holding.
“We've got a long flight, we might as well settle in,” she told him.
“Yeah. Almost ten hours,” he replied.
“It's late, we should try to sleep some,” Zaine said from where he sat.
“Yeah, that way we'll be wide awake when we arrive,” Sorcha agreed.
“Okay.” Finley opened the pillow and blanket he was given, leaned his seat back, and draped the blanket over himself and Sorcha. “Sweet dreams,” he said and Zaine chuckled.
“Sweet dreams,” Sorcha and Zaine both replied.
He let his eyes close and tried to forget the fact he was 30,000 feet in the air.