Chapter Seventeen
T ired, but still jazzed after her paintball success, Ivy decided to pop into the tea shop on her way home. She adored the building with its quaint style, cheerful, striped awning, and how peaceful it was when she was there by herself. She could ponder her afternoon, and maybe make sense of the sizzling chemistry between her and Jaxon. Just after sunset, dusky blue encroached on the bright orange and mauve streaks high over the square. She stepped into her shop and froze.
She wasn’t alone.
Her heart rate picked up. Her breath grew short as her fingers grappled for the light switch. She released her breath in a whoosh as she recognized Holly seated at the back table, still in her pink smock.
“Good lord, you scared me. What are you doing so late in my shop?” Ivy pressed a hand to her chest and took a couple of breaths to steady herself. She let the door swing closed and stepped inside to plop her purse and jacket on the counter by the register. It was unusual for Holly to work past three in the afternoon, since she rose well before dawn to begin the day’s baking. Holly, alone, in the dark could not be good. It meant Holly was in a mood. And, Holly in a mood meant…
Her sister spoke, and her voice had that grating edge Ivy hated. Here it comes , she thought, and deflated in anticipation of total negativity. Really, it had been such a fabulous day, and now her sister would ruin it. Ivy tensed, prepared for the customary tirade. Of course, Holly would be angry about Ivy stealing her customers, even if it hadn’t been on purpose. It was always a contest. If Ivy succeeded, Holly must not be. Ivy was tired of the tightrope walk between success and pleasing her sister. Success didn’t need to be an either-or proposition. Shoulders hunched in preparation of Holly’s verbal attack, she missed Holly’s initial words and paused as what her sister had said sunk in.
“I’m sorry. Can you repeat that?”
“You need to be more careful.”
Okay, not totally negative, but it might be interpreted as a threat. Not her sister’s usual style, but…
“All these dates,” Holly continued, waving a hand in the air. “I heard about the brawling in the square. It’s all over town.”
Who would have shared that? She certainly hadn’t, and she couldn’t imagine Jaxon telling anyone. Kyle and Pedro definitely wouldn’t want it to get out. Fighting was bad for business.
“Dina,” Ivy said aloud.
“Cece cut my hair while Dina was getting a perm.”
Of course. That juicy bit of gossip would’ve been too good to not pass on. Dina was not known for restraint. If she hadn’t already made the rounds to all the businesses on the square, sharing it at Cece’s Salon would do the trick. Soon the whole town would know men were fighting over Ivy.
“You could’ve been hurt.” It came out on a wail, as if the idea of Ivy being hurt was painful to Holly.
“I wasn’t the one brawling.” Ivy hung up her jacket, put her bag under the counter, and put water on for tea. She chose a pink, floral teapot, perfect for two, and filled it with hot water to sit until the kettle boiled. She set about creating her special tea blend planned for the fundraiser. By reflex, she glanced at the shelf where her magic cookies waited in the clear glass cookie jar with its pretty etched design until the moment she would gift them. She hadn’t decided how to package them for Jaxon, or even if she should.
“Wait!” The etched cookie jar was gone. She knew she’d placed it smack dab in the middle of the shelf. She’d tied a pretty green and pink ribbon on the rim.
Ivy glanced around. She reached up and hurriedly began to shift items on the shelf. She was certain she hadn’t moved it, and it was too big to be hidden from sight. She stepped closer to extend her reach and felt a tiny crunch under her foot. She stepped back and felt another. She focused her gaze at the floor and spotted a glass shard. Then another in the kick space under the counter.
Had it broken? “My etched jar!” It had been a gift on her last birthday. Aunt Lydia had had the cookie press design etched into the jar.
“Sorry. It fell.”
Ivy blinked at her sister.
“Well, flew off, more like. It was the weirdest thing. I was in the back, just there in our shared space, minding my own business, totaling up my own receipts when I glanced up. That shelf—” she waved a hand at it in her way “—was right in my line of sight and the moment my eyes landed on the cookie jar it leaped off, sailed right through the air. No one was anywhere near it. It just committed hari kari and flung itself off the shelf. I swear. I cleaned up the mess. Most of the cookies fell on the counter, above where the jar crashed into smithereens on the floor. But the cookies were all broken and crumbly. It isn’t like you could serve them to customers.”
Ivy’s gut churned. She wasn’t sure if she was more upset about the jar breaking or the cookie disaster. She should be more upset about the jar, but somehow the loss of the cookies made her sad, like her hopes had been dashed. “Did you throw them away?” All that work gone to waste—an omen she should have left well enough alone. Just like every single member of the Hazard Historical Society had cautioned her. It wasn’t meant to be.
She and Jaxon were not meant to be.
Except today, they’d had such fun making sure Alden came out on top. Sacrificing themselves so Alden had the best birthday ever. It was so them. She smiled, remembering their shared moment. As soon as their eyes met, they’d known what the other was thinking. It had been perfect.
Something Holly said made her pause. It isn’t like you could serve them to customers.
Well, no, of course not. She had never meant them to be for customers, but had Holly really thrown them away? Ivy focused in on her sister at the table. Directly in front of Holly was a gallon jug of milk, a glass half full and a pretty little rose-patterned china plate covered in crumbs.
Oh no.
Holly’s mouth curved in a sheepish smile. She shrugged one shoulder. “I ate ’em. Such a shame to let them go to waste. They smelled amazing. I swear, it’s like the jar jumped off the counter to get to me. Only me. Like these amazing cookies were meant for me all this time. I bet if we sold these, business would go through the roof. But you won’t share, will you? Well, it doesn’t matter. I know your secret. Your cookies had all my favorite flavors. Cinnamon, nutmeg—really a lot of nutmeg, which is surprising. Don’t pout at me like that. I already know you won’t share the magic recipe with me.”
Magic? The kettle began to shrill. Ivy jumped, grabbed a hot pad, and jerked it off the burner. What did Holly know?
“I’m sure they are very special . Probably one of the recipes Mom gave you instead of me.” The edge in her voice was back.
“You got everything else.” The words were out before Ivy could pull them back. But instead of it leading to an argument with Holly denying she was the favored daughter, her sister just rolled her eyes. “Anyway, I was careful not to eat glass. I’m not stupid. I tossed the ones that fell on the floor. I swept up all the mess from your flying cookie jar. Well, most of it. Once I tasted a cookie, I was through cleaning.” Holly smacked her lips. “But I did analyze the flavors.” She grinned. “I think I’ve got it figured. I might even give you a run for your money.” She smirked, “Cardamom, right?”
“Right.” Ivy agreed absently. “Um, you really ate them?”
“Don’t get all huffy. They weren’t any good for anyone else.”
Ivy set about brewing a pot of tea, dumping off the hot water to warm the pot. Giving up on her special tea blend for now, she mixed white tea with hibiscus because she needed to de-stress. She added the loose tea leaves to the pot, pouring boiling water over them. Something about her sister’s statement rang true.
What did it mean, that the cookies were no good for anyone else? She had been thinking about Holly and singing the blessing while she baked them. Did that make them for her sister? What had Ivy been thinking about the first time she baked the cookies? Jaxon, for sure, but also about improving her business.
Just how magic was the magic of Hazard?
It might bear more research to find out. Maybe she needed to control her thoughts when she was baking. Making another batch of cookies could be a science experiment. Kind of like how she blended her teas. She had loved science in school. It had been her favorite. Chemistry class especially, with its trial and error and testing, not to mention the occasional explosion. Really, blending tea took a lot of mixing and taste-testing, and baking could be an experiment. Well, the way she baked. Not the way Holly baked. Holly followed recipes and rules.
Ivy set the teapot on the tablecloth in front of her sister. She gathered rose-patterned cups and saucers to match and sat across from Holly.
Holly reached over the table and clasped her hands before she could pour. “You need to be more careful. Really, please let me know when you’re going on a date. I need to know you get home safely. I waited up the other night until I heard you.”
“I saw your light.”
Holly nodded. “Dating is risky. The world’s a precarious place. I’ll watch out for you.” Holly squeezed her hands before she let go.
“We’re in Hazard. Nothing ever happens in Hazard.” Ivy poured the tea and took a sip of her own. Yes, now calmer, she breathed out and in, that’s what she needed. A spot of tea to calm down.
Holly shoved her cup away. “Obviously, it does. Now there’s brawling in the street. Dina said she’d never seen Pedro so jacked up, and you know how he gets. I mean, he’s pretty hyped all the time, so for Dina to think it was over the top, it really must’ve been crazy.”
Ivy’s head was swimming, so she tuned out her sister. Holly had never been concerned about her before, not like this. Not enough to keep tabs on her for safety’s sake. No, that was a bit of a role reversal.
“I know you want to win the silly bet you talked me into, but is it worth dating crazy people? What were you thinking? Pedro and Kyle?”
“We went to school with Pedro and Kyle. I’ve known them for years.” They’d never been interested in Ivy before. They’d been jocks, and she’d been warming the bleachers. Hmm, she was still like that, but Jaxon actually noticed her in the bleachers. Holly was still rambling.
“It’s just the two of us, with Mom and Dad cruising ’round the world.”
“What about Aunt Lydia?”
Holly waved a dismissive hand. “She’s not focused on us. She’s all about fun and smelling the flowers, not to mention her historical society. Really, it’s just us. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
A happy dance, thought Ivy, before acknowledging that was unfair. She imagined her own life without Holly’s constant criticism. For one crystal clear instant, she enjoyed that thought, then put it aside. She adored her sister. Holly had been a stabilizing influence all her life. She loved having her around and sharing space for their similar businesses. And Holly really did love her, even if they bickered all the time. “I don’t know what I would do without you either.”
Holly nodded and picked up some crumbs off the plate and ate them. She rolled her eyes in ecstasy and sighed. “So, you’ll be careful, right? I’m sorry I was critical of you. From now on, I’ll protect you.” She tilted her head. “I’ll be your shield, little sister.” She nodded, clearly pleased by her proclamation. “Don’t go out with any more losers.”
“I wouldn’t call them losers.”
“You’re too charitable. This is Hazard, and dating is hazardous. You need to stay safe. We could hang out.”
“Hang out,” Ivy repeated stupidly. Holly wanted to hang out with her?
“I could help you with your marketing.”
Ivy leaned back to study her sister. “That would be great, but what about the bet?”
“Well, I don’t really want you to fail, do I? That would be petty.”
Petty was Holly’s middle name, or it had been. Had eating the cookies changed their relationship? “You would really lose the bet.”
Displeasure, quickly cloaked, flashed over Holly’s face. “We’ll just cancel that silly old bet,” said Holly.
“Ah.” There it was. Holly couldn’t lose, if the bet was no more.
“I’ll help you succeed instead. That’ll be better. It’ll just be us.” Again with the hand clasping. “We’ve always been devoted to each other, even as kids. We can be devoted to each other now. Have each other’s backs. What do you say?”