Chapter 20
Gideon strolled toward his shop, eager to get started on the music box. Unfortunately, he’d given himself a paper cut this morning opening the light bulb box. It was slightly more than an average paper cut and had required a Band-Aid.
No surprise there. His curse rarely did things by half measures.
The bandage reduced his dexterity, but he didn’t want to risk getting blood on the mechanics. Living in Shadowvale had taught him a few things about the supernatural. One of them being that magical objects and blood were rarely a good combination.
The music box might not technically be a magic object, but he wasn’t about to take the risk and do something he’d spend the rest of his life regretting.
As he took out his key, he wondered if that was how the sprite had ended up in the music box. There was little chance Blaise Bontems had put him in there. Gideon had never heard anything about the Bontems automatons being magical in any way, other than in the most pedestrian definition of the word.
He let himself in, made a pot of coffee, ordered his breakfast, and stared at the wall that separated his shop from Sabrina’s. Was she still in bed? Or getting ready to come to work? Probably not that. She didn’t arrive until ten.
Maybe she was having a leisurely breakfast. Or doing chores around the house. Or walking her cat. He frowned. People didn’t generally walk cats, did they?
The coffee finished percolating. He poured himself a cup, switched on his task lamp, and took out the music box motor and the segmented container that held the parts he’d already removed.
Keeping them in a segmented organizer made it much easier to keep track of so many tiny pieces.
He also snapped photos as he went, documenting each section.
Occasionally, when he really wanted to study something, he’d draw the schematic.
Nothing secured the order of the pieces like drawing them out.
The chance to work on this Bontems had already been an education. It truly was a piece of art.
Because breakfast was on its way, he didn’t do anything more than get things ready.
Then he took his coffee out to the retail side of the shop.
He set the cup beside the register and went to work.
He cleaned the glass on the display cases, although there were barely any fingerprints.
He swept the hardwood floors, emptied the small amount of trash, then took a polishing cloth and went over some of the watches in the case.
He wound the clocks on the wall and in the shelving unit that needed winding. Then they all got dusted. A few had the glass polished. He was just about done when his breakfast arrived.
He paid the delivery man, including a good tip, then took his food and his coffee into the back to eat. He’d taken two bites when a customer came in.
Frowning at the disruption, he wiped his mouth and went to greet them. He stopped in his tracks. It was Sabrina, the last person he’d expected to see.
“Gideon, hi, I wasn’t sure you were here. I mean, the door was unlocked and the sign said OPEN, but I didn’t see you.” Sabrina shook her head, seemingly flustered. “Obviously you’re here. I need to run something by you. And I want your honest opinion.”
That explained why she was here so early. He nodded, relieved that last night didn’t seem to be an issue. Or if it was, she’d decided to pretend like it had never happened.
He was fine with that. “All right, what is it? Wait. Do you mind if I get my coffee? I’d be happy to get you a cup, too.”
“That would be great.”
“Just a moment.” He returned to the back room, only realizing as he turned that she’d followed him.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m interrupting your breakfast.”
“No, it’s fine.” He closed the lid on the takeout container. He meant it, too. He’d much rather talk to her. He got her a mug and poured her a cup. “Cream and sugar?”
“Yes, thank you.”
He got the cream out of the small fridge and placed it by her cup with the sugar bowl. While she fixed hers, he topped his off.
He stood waiting, marveling that all his angst over that kiss had been for nothing. For a moment, he wondered if he’d imagined it. But there was no way something that had seared itself into his brain was invented.
She turned to face him, cup in her hands. She took a sip. “Hey, this is good. Better than what I drink, which is just the grocery store brand.”
“I buy Colombian beans. Grind them as needed.” Which he’d have to do shortly if he was going to make another pot. “So what’s on your mind?”
“It’s about Korrin.”
Gideon rolled his eyes. “What’s he done now?”
“Nothing bad. He’s actually pretty good at fixing things. Better than me, actually. He uses his magic and does it so seamlessly it’s like the thing was never broken. I’m good at fixing stuff, but my abilities are all self-taught. He literally uses magic.”
“I see.” He still didn’t know what she wanted his input on.
She took a deep breath. “The whole thing in a nutshell is … I’d like to keep him.”
Gideon furrowed his brow in confusion. “You want to keep the sprite?”
“I do. He’d be a great help at the shop. Granted, I haven’t talked to him about this yet, so I don’t even know if he’d be interested, and then there’s the whole other thing where he’s supposed to be in the music box, but that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”
“I’m listening.”
“Do you genuinely think Amelia knows he’s in the music box? What are the chances that she has no idea he was in there?”
“Didn’t she tell you not to touch the magic in it?”
“Yes, but what if she meant that in a general sort of way? Like about the little singing bird? In other words, don’t do anything to keep the little bird from singing or don’t change his song? Not so much meaning the actual magic.”
Gideon took a long drink of his coffee. “I understand what you’re asking me. But I don’t think there’s any chance a witch of Amelia Marchand’s power had a music box in her possession and didn’t realize it contained another magical creature.”
Sabrina visibly deflated. “Okay. That’s what I was afraid of.” She sighed. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. I’ve come to like him. Yes, he’s a little uncontrolled and slightly nuts, but maybe we’d be that way too if we’d been stuck in a music box for eighty-five years.”
“It’s admirable that you want to help him, but you know the risks. If she doesn’t get what she wants, or at least get back what she gave you, you could end up losing everything.”
“I know.” She stared into her cup. “I can’t let that happen. My shop and my house are really all I have.” She shook her head. “It was a dumb idea.”
“No, it wasn’t. Helping someone, magical or not, is never a dumb idea.”
“Thanks for that. And for listening.” She lifted her cup. “Mind if I take this next door and finish it? I hate to let coffee this good go to waste. I’ll bring the cup back.”
“Be my guest.”
She left, still looking dejected.
He stood there a moment, wondering how he could help. But the answer was, he couldn’t. He’d already said he didn’t want his name associated with this project.
He couldn’t very well talk to Amelia about the music box without telling her exactly what was going on. Not that he’d know what to say to her or how to approach her anyway. There was no doubt in his mind that the woman knew exactly what she’d purchased when she’d bought that box.
Who was Gideon to tell her the sprite was no longer inside and would she consider letting it stay with Sabrina? No one, that’s who.
He needed to stay off her radar. His curse was enough to deal with without worrying if he was going to be exiled from town.
He glanced at the dividing wall again. Although unlike Sabrina, he had the resources to go somewhere new and start over.
He wanted to help her. He really did. He liked her, and despite doing his best to keep her at arm’s length, she’d gotten to him. She was sweet and wonderful and deserved the help.
A soft snort escaped him. “The first woman you meet in years gives you the tiniest kiss and suddenly you’re wondering how to move mountains for her.”
No doubt just his curse at work again, setting him up to take what might be the biggest fall of his life.