Chapter 43
Nervous, happy, and wired was not how Sabrina had anticipated greeting the morning, and yet here she was, feeling exactly those things as she stood beneath the shower’s spray.
Not because of last night. Last night had been like something out of a dream. Chinese food, accompanied by a Jackie Chan movie that had Korrie rethinking his love of Westerns, and Gideon’s decidedly good mood had made for the best night she’d had in a long time.
Better even than ice cream with him or going to the lake with him or breakfast with him. Things between them just kept getting better now that they seemed to be past the crazy idea of him moving away.
But today they faced the Enchanted Forest, and some worries were creeping in, making her nervous about what lay ahead of them.
Gideon wasn’t wrong that things could get hairy in the blink of an eye. And not just because of his curse. The Enchanted Forest, according to Julia, was the kind of place where you had to keep your head on a swivel.
Sabrina was not a head on a swivel kind of person. She was easily distracted and prone to daydreaming. What if she was the reason something bad happened? To any of them?
She got out of the shower and dried herself off, quickly dressing in jeans and a T-shirt, over which she planned to wear a comfy sweatshirt and a light jacket. She’d also planned on a knit beanie. Something about having her head covered while out there just made her feel better.
She walked out to the smell of bacon. That shouldn’t have been strange, but she hadn’t had any bacon in her fridge.
She peeked into the kitchen and saw Gideon at the stove, frying bacon.
A carton of eggs and a loaf of crusty white bread sat on the counter, along with butter and a pot of fancy jam.
Despite the chill in the air, he was in gym shorts and a long-sleeved T-shirt, both of which did nothing to hide his athletic physique.
To stop herself from staring, she focused on Trip, who was eating the breakfast she’d put out for him before getting in the shower. Korrie hung in the air near Gideon and seemed to be watching how the cooking was going.
“That smells great,” she said. “Bathroom’s free.”
Gideon glanced over. “Morning. I’ll get a shower after breakfast.”
“You weren’t here when I first got up. I wasn’t sure what happened to you.”
“I went for a run.”
That explained the outfit but not the groceries. Smiling, she asked, “Did you run to the Green Grocer?”
He smiled. “No, but I did order a delivery from them.” His smile faltered. “You don’t mind that I’m cooking, do you? I just never get to do it at home and—”
“No, it’s fine.” She pointed at the pan. “But I think the bacon’s about to burn.”
“What?” He moved the pan off the burner. “Sorry. I don’t have a lot of practice in this. But I want to get better at it.”
“You’re doing fine.” She meant it, too. For someone who never cooked, he was a natural.
No doubt tackling it in his usual no-nonsense way.
He was already flipping the bacon. “How about I take over and do the eggs and toast? That way you can shower and when you’re done, breakfast will be ready.
So long as you don’t take a super long shower. ”
“I can be quick. You don’t mind?”
“Cooking the bacon is my least favorite part, so no, I don’t mind. Scrambled okay?”
“Scrambled is great.” He handed her the tongs he’d been using. “Thank you. We make a good team. Don’t you think?”
She nodded, loving the sound of that. “Yeah, we do.” He started for the bathroom. Still smiling, she added, “Towels are in the linen cabinet.”
“Thanks,” he called back.
She got a bowl down for the eggs and started another pan, adding some butter to melt.
Korrie winged over to her, grinning madly.
She gestured at him with the butter knife as she heard the shower turn on. “Don’t even start.”
He started flying around the kitchen and whistling something.
As she was cracking eggs into a bowl, she recognized the tune.
It was the theme song from The Love Boat.
She shook her head at his lack of subtlety.
“I know what you’re doing. Just quit it.
You can’t make a relationship happen. It has to happen naturally. Because it’s meant to be.”
He flitted to her side. “Don’t you think it’s meant to be?”
“No one knows that kind of stuff.” Except she sort of did think she and Gideon were meant to be, but saying that was like asking for his curse to take notice of them and do something awful. “Why don’t you plug the toaster in and make the toast?”
He let out a little squeal. “Really?”
“Yes. Just take two slices of bread out, put them in the slots, then push that lever down.”
“Okay.” He went to work, now humming the Rawhide song to himself.
The sprite definitely needed to be kept busy.
When Gideon emerged, they all sat down at the table and ate breakfast. He complimented the eggs and the toast, which made Korrie happy and gave him a chance to announce that he’d made it.
But the mood turned sober as they approached the time to leave.
“We’re picking up Julia?” Gideon asked.
“No, she’s meeting us there. I just have to text her, which I should probably do now.” Sabrina set her fork down. “I’m pretty much ready to go. Just need to put my shoes, hat, and jacket on. And grab my fanny pack.”
“Same,” Gideon said. “Minus the fanny pack.” He stood. “I’ll clean up.”
As she still had to load the fanny pack with snacks, bug spray, and a few other items, she was fine with him doing the cleanup. “Okay, thanks.”
They left ten minutes later, an almost solemn air filling the car. Even Korrie was quieter than usual, but he was also a little miffed Sabrina hadn’t brought Trip.
There was no way that was happening. The worst-case scenarios forming in her head were enough to make her shiver.
“You okay?” Gideon asked.
“I’m fine.” She glanced in the rearview mirror at Korrie, who was sitting with his arms crossed, pouting. “Just thinking about how awful it would be to accidentally lose Trip out here.”
“I said I would watch him,” Korrie fussed.
Gideon leaned into the back seat. “You would have done a great job of that, too. But Trip has a mind of his own. If he’d gotten away from you and run off, imagine how that would make you feel. How Sabrina would feel.”
Korrie sighed. “I know.”
Gideon straightened and gave her a quick smile. “You nervous?”
She nodded. No point in lying. “You?”
“Very much so.” He exhaled. “Not too late to turn back.”
“Yeah, it is. We have to do this.”
“Yeah.” The word came out almost a whisper.
She understood. Neither of them wanted to do this, but for Gideon, it had to be done. It was his only chance. Once again, she looked into the rearview mirror. “Korrie?” She used her kindest, sweetest voice.
“Huh?”
Clearly still unhappy about Trip staying home.
A grumpy sprite wasn’t who they needed in the forest. They needed Korrin to be as eager to find this book as they were.
She had to change his mood. “I was thinking that if we’re successful and we find the book so that Gideon can get rid of his curse, we should celebrate with ice cream. What do you think?”
He flew up to the front seats, wings perky. “I definitely want to do that. I know we’ll find it. I’m going to do everything I can. I already have a plan.”
“You do?” Gideon asked. “What is it?”
“You’ll see,” Korrie said slyly.
And they’d see soon. Sabrina turned onto the road indicated by the sign for the Enchanted Forest. The trees on either side seemed taller and straighter, their branches reaching over the road so that light filtered through them had a green glow.
Not too far up ahead, Julia’s Mini Cooper was parked on the side of the road, pulled off onto a little layby.
Sabrina parked behind her. “Okay, gang. We’re here.”
They got out as Julia did the same. Her smile was bright, but her eyes held some trepidation. “Morning, all.”
“Morning!” Korrie was obviously eager to get started.
Julia inhaled. “Wow, you can smell the magic, can’t you?”
Sabrina took a whiff and shook her head. “I smell that kind of ozoney, after-the-rain sort of smell. Is that magic?”
“Sometimes,” Julia said. She stared into the forest. “Everyone ready?”
Sabrina looked at Korrie. “You want to share that plan now?”
He flitted back and forth like he had more energy than he knew what to do with, all the while rubbing his hands together. “Just need a minute.”
“Okay. Do you need us to do—”
Faster than she’d realized he was capable of moving, he sprang into the air, disappearing like a shot into the overhanging trees.