The Ranger Courts the Celtic Witch (Nocturne Falls #18)

Chapter 1

Mattie Sharpe parked as close as she could to Delaney’s Delectables and opened the door of her truck. Before getting out, she looked over at Blueberry, her imp companion, who had fallen asleep on the front seat.

She thought about leaving him, but if he didn’t get to go into Delaney’s shop and have at least one piece of chocolate, he’d make Mattie pay. And she did not want all of her books magically translated into Hindi. Again.

She’d come to love Blueberry, but his pranks? Not so much.

She poked him gently. “Hey. We’re at Delaney’s. You coming in?”

His eyes blinked open, and he stretched his little emerald-green body, his iridescent wings fluttering awake with the rest of him. He scratched his belly and gazed up at her. “What?”

“I said, we’re at Delaney’s. Are you coming in?”

That got him up. “Heck yes.” He launched into the air and flew straight to her shoulder, nestling in against her neck. He sat down, holding on to a hank of her hair.

She glanced in the rearview mirror. “I can still see you.”

He rolled his eyes and went invisible.

“Thanks, Blue.”

She got out of the truck and walked around to the bed. Delaney’s was her last stop, then she was going home, eating the moussaka she’d picked up from Apollo’s, the new Greek deli in town, and bingeing the new season of Time Traveling Accountant.

She opened the truck bed, slid the last crate of honey out, and hoisted it against her hip for balance while she shut the tailgate. The invoice for the honey was in an envelope tucked in between the jars. Mattie knew there were more modern ways of doing things, but modern wasn’t really her style.

“You’re supposed to lift with your legs.”

She sighed out a soft laugh. “Yes, Blue.” When he’d become an expert in proper lifting techniques, she had no idea, but he liked to chime in about the most random things. Sometimes, it felt like he was narrating her life.

As she approached the door to the sweets shop, a customer was coming out. The woman held the door for Mattie. A delicious waft of sugary air rolled over her.

“Thanks,” Mattie said.

Blueberry began to purr in her ear, his little body vibrating with anticipation. Mattie grinned but also said a silent prayer that he’d be on his best behavior. There was little chance of that, but a girl could dream.

The place was bustling, and the staff were busy filling orders for customers. Delaney was putting a new tray of chocolates out. She caught sight of Mattie. “Oh, there’s my favorite honey dealer! Do you want help?”

“Thanks, Delaney, but I’ve got it,” Mattie called back. A dozen quart jars of honey were no feather pillow, but she could manage. Even if her magic could have helped, she wouldn’t have used it in town.

Nocturne Falls wasn’t anti-magic, not remotely.

In fact, it was the most supernatural-friendly town she knew of.

But using magic openly in front of tourists, which Delaney’s shop was always full of, would be frowned upon.

Sure, the town was protected because the water was spelled to keep tourists in the dark about the truth, but blatant displays were just better off kept on the down-low.

“Come on back,” Delaney said. “I can’t wait to show you what I’ve been working on. I really want your opinion, too.”

Mattie dodged shoppers and followed her into the kitchen area of the shop, where the sweets were made. She placed the crate on the first open spot of counter she found, letting out a soft oof as she set it down. “A dozen quarts, as requested.”

Delaney rubbed her hands together. “I’m going to use every last drop of that honey. Let me show you the new things I’ve been working on.”

“I can’t wait to see. By the way, I promised Blueberry a chocolate, so whatever he eats, put it on my bill.”

Blueberry reappeared as he launched himself off her shoulder. He hovered in the air between them. “I love chocolate.”

Delaney laughed. “I know you do, and since I knew you were coming, I gathered a little selection just for my favorite imp.” She pointed to one of the worktables behind her, where a small pile of chocolates awaited on a tray. “All for you.”

“Wow, thanks!” Blueberry’s eyes widened, and he flew straight at them.

Delaney leaned in and lowered her voice. “No charge. None of them are perfect enough to be sold.”

That was a lot of chocolate, but Mattie smiled at Delaney’s generosity.

“Thank you.” Blueberry wouldn’t care and probably wouldn’t notice.

He’d be too busy stuffing them in his mouth.

She glanced past Delaney. He already looked like a chipmunk preparing for winter, his cheeks bulging.

“Um, Blueberry? Don’t forget to breathe. ”

He mumbled something through his current mouthful of nougat that she couldn’t understand.

“All right,” Delaney said. “Now for the good stuff.”

She went to one of the racks, pulled out a tray covered with a variety of chocolates, and brought it over, setting it on top of the crate Mattie had brought in.

“I want your opinion on all of these.” She pointed as she spoke.

“These are dark chocolate honey bombs. We freeze the honey, then coat it with the chocolate. When you bite into it, the honey should be soft and luscious.”

“Really?” Mattie’s brows lifted. “That’s innovative.” She picked up one of the honey bombs and popped it in her mouth. The chocolate shell gave a satisfying crack as she bit down, and sure enough, the honey oozed out across her tongue. “Mmm … that is good.”

Delaney grinned. “I thought the bitterness of the dark chocolate with the sweetness of the honey—”

“Oh, it works. It works really well. But I could see doing a version in white chocolate too. Perfect for spring, I’d think.”

Delaney nodded. “That’s a great idea, especially with a little salt on top to counterbalance the sweetness. I’m going to try that. This one”—she pointed to a white-chocolate-covered rectangle—“is classic honeycomb, but ours is actually made with your honey. And a little twist.”

“Nice,” Mattie said. “I’m sure you know most honeycomb candy is made with plain old sugar.”

Delaney made a face. “That stuff shouldn’t be allowed to be called honeycomb.”

“Agreed.” Mattie bit off half of the honeycomb piece. Immediately, the twist hit her. She wasn’t sure what it was at first, then her eyes widened. “Is that chili?”

Delaney laughed. “It’s our take on hot honey. What do you think?”

“It’s good. Not for the fainthearted though.” Mattie didn’t love spicy, but she knew a lot of people did.

“Don’t worry, it’ll be marked appropriately. Now this one is a salted, milk chocolate honey caramel.”

“The caramel’s made with honey? I love that idea.” Mattie took a bite. Instantly, the sweetness of the honey and the sharpness of the salt made her sigh. “That is a winner. I could eat an entire box of those.”

“I’ll make sure you get some when they go into production. Lastly, we’ve got this honey cream.” Delaney gestured at a bonbon. “It’s classic milk chocolate with a whipped honey cream center and a touch of chopped pistachio.”

Mattie put the entire thing in her mouth.

It was small. And utterly delicious. The pistachios added such a good crunch.

She nodded right away. “That reminds me of baklava in the best possible way. It’s sweet, but the pistachios are perfect in it.

I love all of these. No wonder you need so much honey. ”

Delaney stood a little taller. “I’m really glad you like them. We’re also doing a new vanilla bourbon cake with a honey buttercream frosting.”

“I love the sound of that. Have you considered doing the same thing with a chocolate cake? Chocolate and bourbon seem like they would work well together.”

A little spark lit Delaney’s eyes. “As a matter of fact, we’re trying that as a cupcake. We just brought them out two days ago. You want one to go?”

“Do you really need to ask me that?”

As they laughed, Mattie leaned past Delaney again to check on Blueberry. More than half of the chocolates were gone, and he was still eating. “Blueberry, don’t choke. Remember what I said about breathing, please, will you?”

He cut his eyes at her while he stuffed another bite into his mouth.

Delaney put the tray back on the rack. “Come out to the retail floor and pick out the cupcake you want, and I’ll get it boxed up for you. In fact, I’ll send you home with a slice of that vanilla bourbon cake too. You really should try it.”

“You don’t have to twist my arm.” Mattie followed her back to the front of the shop, and Delaney pulled a packaged slice of the cake from one of the glass-front refrigerators. Mattie picked out a chocolate bourbon cupcake, and Delaney put that in a small box for her. “I can’t wait to try these.”

Delaney handed her a little shopping bag with both containers inside. “Please let me know what you think of them. Now let me get you paid.”

They returned to the back room and Delaney’s office. Blueberry was now sprawled out next to a few chocolate crumbs, snoring, one hand resting on his very full belly.

“Oh boy. He’s sugar-drunk,” Mattie said with a shake of her head. “I had a feeling that might happen.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Delaney asked.

“Only if you’re the one who wakes him up. You’re liable to end up with green hair. Or green mold on all of your chocolates.”

Delaney grimaced.

“Don’t worry,” Mattie said. “He wouldn’t hurt the chocolate. Probably. But you know how he can be. He reacts with magic, and it’s rarely anything good.”

“Oh, I remember. So how do we keep that from happening?”

Mattie shrugged. “He needs to sleep it off. That’s really all there is to it. But he can do that at home.” She started toward him.

Delaney grabbed her arm. “Don’t. Let him sleep. I’ll make sure no one disturbs him. I can drive him home when he wakes up.”

“No need to do that. He can fly, and he knows how to get there.” Mattie gave her a look. “You sure you don’t mind him being here?”

“Not at all.” She stared at him a moment. “Do you think I could move that tray with him on it without waking him up?”

Mattie nodded. “You have kids. And you’re a vampire. I’m sure you have that level of stealth. What are you going to do?”

“Just put him up on that shelf with the shipping boxes. That way there won’t be any chance of someone bumping into him and accidentally waking him up.”

“Good idea.”

Delaney went over, carefully lifted the tray, and eased it onto the shelf.

Mattie realized she’d been holding her breath. “Good job.”

“Thanks,” Delaney said with a smile. She pointed at her office. “Now let me get you that check.”