Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Florence, Now
Florence was not lonely. At least, that’s what she told herself. That her sister and Angela had said it loud enough for her niece to hear, that her niece felt compelled to cast a spell in response, was at once deeply mortifying and unexpectedly heartwarming.
But it didn’t change the fact that Clara had done magic inside Ink & Pages.
The moment Florence smelled the smoke, she knew.
Seeing the spent candle had only made matters worse.
She’d given up so much to keep her shop safe, afraid her family’s curse would somehow extend inside its walls if any of them practiced magic there.
Though she hoped one candle lit by a child wouldn’t be enough to undo her sacrifices, the spell itself had been beyond anything Florence had ever done.
She couldn’t quite fathom her niece’s ability to conjure a living being to her shop.
Neither Florence nor her sister had ever had that strength with their magic.
Well, that wasn’t fully true. When they were children, before their father died, her sister had managed to summon a hummingbird who took up residence in the tree outside her window.
Their mother had been against pets, because she thought her daughters and the house got up to enough mischief on their own.
The last thing she wanted was some strong-minded creature knocking over her candles.
Later, when they were older and realized they could hide a pet from their mother with the house’s help, Evie had tried to do the same with a cat, but to no avail.
The kitten freed himself from Florence’s hold and climbed up her sweater once more until he nestled his feather-soft head against her neck and purred loudly, right into her ear. Florence knew the magic was a danger, but she hoped desperately no one came looking for the kitten.
“Ink,” she tried out the name. He purred louder, and beside Florence, her niece beamed.
Florence scratched the kitten’s ears and gently lifted him from her shoulder. “We’re going to have to do something about this digging your claws into my favorite sweater business,” she said. “Do you want to hold him?”
Clara stared longingly at the kitten. She started to reach out, then she shook her head. “The universe sent him for you.”
“Right, of course,” Florence said. “But I need to see if I can give him oat milk, and I would hate for him to get lost in the stacks. Maybe you can watch him for a minute?”
“We definitely don’t want him to get lost.” Clara held out her arms and Florence gently deposited the kitten into them. Though he rubbed his head against her niece’s hand, his yellow eyes never left Florence.
She started a search on her phone as they made their way to the break room, and she discovered she could give Ink a small amount of oat milk, which was good because that was all she had.
“Want to do the honors?” Florence asked.
Clara set the saucer on the ground and poured just enough that it only splashed over the edge once. After he’d had his fill, Ink shot through the break room door and into the shop.
“Wait!” Clara called as she chased after him.
Florence followed quickly behind her, but it seemed the kitten had already disappeared. She felt a pang in her chest at the thought that he might be gone for good.
Clara turned in a circle then planted her hands on her hips. “He’ll be back. When he gets hungry. You’re going to have to buy some cat food.”
Florence laughed. “Am I now?”
“You’re going to take care of him, aren’t you?” Clara took Florence’s hand as they made their way back to the front of the shop so they could keep an eye on the door should Ink try to escape.
“Of course,” Florence said. “It’s not every day your niece summons you a kitten. Even if she knows you have a very strict ‘no magic in the shop’ rule.”
Clara pointed at the rose quartz and monsteras decorating the romance section.
“Crystals and plants don’t count,” Florence said.
“Then I think you should change the rule,” Clara said. “No spells in the shop.”
“And definitely no candles,” Florence added.
When they reached the front, they found Angela at the register with Ink on the counter in front of her. He sat, licking one paw. She stood, staring at him.
“You found him!” Clara ran to the kitten. She gave him a quick pat on the head, then turned back to Florence. “He wanted to introduce himself to Angela.”
“You got us a shop cat?” Angela asked.
Florence shook her head and pointed to Clara. “It wasn’t my doing.”
“His name’s Ink,” Clara said.
“Appropriate,” Angela said. “And where did you find him? I know he wasn’t here when I brought you in.”
The kitten did a long stretch at the mention of his name, then wriggled his back legs as he prepared to pounce in Florence’s direction. Before he could, she picked him up under the soft spot of his belly and set him on her shoulder. She was rewarded with more purring.
“I never took you for a cat person,” Angela said.
Florence would’ve shrugged, but she didn’t want to send Ink tumbling, so instead she said, “I guess we learn new things about ourselves every day.”
She turned her head and pressed her nose to Ink’s.
As she breathed in his soft kitten smell, the bell above the door rang.
She glanced over the top of Ink’s head to find Owen on the other side with a rather large piece of tourmaline in his hands.
Ink turned on her shoulder to face him, tiny claws clinging to Florence’s sweater.
“Twice in one day?” Florence said. “Do you have another lesson?”
Owen held up the crystal with two hands. “My reading broke yours.”
Angela stepped out from behind the register. “Where did you get such a big piece so fast?”
He ducked his head with a little laugh and said, “I bought it online a week ago after the crystal encyclopedia fell off the shelf in front of me.” His eyes flitted toward Florence.
“The shop knew,” Clara said, sagely.
“That I’d pull the tower card and crack all your aunt’s tourmaline?” Owen asked.
“That she’d need more protection,” Clara said. “And that she’s lone—”
Before Clara could finish the sentence, Florence interrupted her by lifting Ink and holding him out toward Owen. “Clara got me a kitten.”
Owen set the tourmaline on the counter and smiled so broadly that Florence had to force herself to look away.
“His name’s Ink!” Clara said.
Owen accepted the kitten, cradling him in his arms. Ink bristled a little at first, arching his back and narrowing his eyes. When he started to sink his teeth into the pad of Owen’s hand, Owen rubbed gently between his ears. Ink looked up at him and gave a soft, surprised meow.
“Nice to meet you, too,” Owen said. Then to Clara, “Where did you find him?”
Clara looked up at Florence, the question clear in her eyes.
Magic wasn’t a secret in Burdock Creek—especially not with the way her sister used the history of the curse as a part of her branding—but to tourists, that’s where it ended.
A cursed family, a haunted house, and a candle for prosperity.
The extent of the Caldwells’ magic wasn’t something they shared with outsiders.
“That’s a little complicated,” Florence said.
“Like books falling at my feet whenever I browse the shelves is complicated?” he asked with a gleam in his eye.
Florence laughed. “Something like that.”
“Maybe I can buy you coffee and you can tell me about it.”
A small smile spread across Florence’s face, and for the first time in a long time, she found herself thinking about life outside of Ink & Pages. Owen didn’t live in Burdock Creek, she reasoned, so how much could she come to care about him in a few days’ time?
“Thank you for the tourmaline,” she said, dodging the invite all the same. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I know you don’t like tarot,” he said. “Now I know why. Does something dangerous happen every time you look at the cards?”
“Let’s put this in the same category of complicated as the cat and the books,” Florence said.
“Another topic for discussion over coffee, then.”
“Perhaps,” Florence said.
This conversation would be much easier if Owen wasn’t staying at Honeysuckle House.
Ink wriggled against Owen’s hold then leapt from his arms, landing neatly on all four feet before he started for the front corner, where Florence had tucked a lemon after that morning’s incident.
When he reached it, he looked up at her, sat back on his haunches, and licked his paw in a way that seemed to say, “Come and see.”
Florence crouched down beside him to find the entire lemon covered in mold like it had been sitting out for weeks. The fruit was meant to absorb negative energy, yes, but she’d never seen it happen so quickly.
“That doesn’t look good,” Owen said. She glanced up to find both he and Clara had followed her.
“The lemon?” Angela called from the register, where she’d just finished ringing up a customer.
Florence nodded as she stood. “I’m going to need another, but we’re fresh out.”
“I was heading to the store after this to grab a few things,” Owen said. “I can get you a bag.”
Florence stared at him for a moment, afraid to let him in too much, too soon, especially after what had happened that morning and the cards he’d pulled.
“That would be great!” Angela said. “We’ll be here.”
But Owen’s eyes were on Florence. She forced a smile and said, “One should do it.”
“Grab at least two,” Angela said.
Florence rolled her eyes but smiled, this time for real, and said, “Thanks again for the tourmaline.”
Ink abandoned the lemon and started winding his way between Owen’s legs.
“Do you need any food for this little guy?” Owen asked.
“Oh!” Florence said. “Yes, please. If you don’t mind.”
“Not at all.” Owen bent down to scratch Ink between the ears. When he straightened, he caught Florence watching him. She flushed as he rubbed at the back of his neck. “See you in a bit.”
Florence waved, lost for words.
As he stepped out onto the street, Evie’s voice came through the open door.