Chapter 26
LEO’S NOTES
Place: Beane Isle Inn kitchen
Favorite recipe: JANE’S CHEESY HAND PIES
Leo wanted to examine the manuscript. Dames, he hungered to examine the manuscript. His working life was devoted to rare books and his personal life to the faerie-kin community. Of course he wanted to study a fae manuscript.
“We need sustenance,” Pan said, giving him a wide-eyed, pleading look. “We need fortification!”
So apparently he wanted to share a meal with Pan even more than he wanted to inspect a priceless, one-of-a-kind ancient tome. “Sure, baby. If you need fortifying we’ll fortify.”
“Did you just call me baby?”
“No?”
“I didn’t think so.”
Leo flinched. “Of course not. Don’t be silly. After one night of meaningless sex?”
“Exactly. Ooh! Except say it in front of Deja and Shrig. They’ll hate it!”
“You really like to torture them, don’t you?”
“It’s part of my charm.”
“How about this?” He laid an arm around her shoulder. “Are we ready for this?”
She leaned into him. “Yes, baby.”
He laughed as they crossed the street to the bakery, which had escaped the vandalism, and joined the long line outside the door.
They exchanged a long-suffering glance over the tourists, though they both knew the bakery couldn’t survive without them.
Ten minutes later they were inside the shop with its periwinkle blue walls and wooden shelves full of artisanal loaves of bread and rustic pastries.
“Oooh, they have cheesy hand pies!” Pan’s excitement dimmed. “At summer prices.”
First he’d put off examining the manuscript and now he found the phrase “cheesy hand pies” utterly irresistible.
He was so screwed. He couldn’t wait to get her back to Boston, to see what living with her was like.
Except he couldn’t rush her. He didn’t want her to freak out, like she had when they were kids.
Pan had always been more of a cat than a dog.
He needed to wait for her to come to him, despite wanting to jump her like a golden retriever and lick her all over.
Still, he was willing to pay tourist prices for baked goods.
“It’s fine. Order what you want.”
She listened to him for once, ordering a dozen hand pies, a sleeve of chocolate sable cookies, and four lemonades. Then she considered, and bought two chocolate-chip cookies, too. Which seemed a bit excessive until she led him across the street and into Deja’s shop.
“We come bearing gifts,” Pan announced as the bell jingled overhead.
As Leo unpacked the bakery bags, Pan and the twins discussed the vandalism, the repairs, and the aftermath. Deja said she’d been in touch with the insurance company and she’d lose a day of sales, but Wednesdays were never strong anyway.
“What happened with that kid you used to babysit?” Deja asked.
“He wasn’t even on the island,” Pan said, dabbing cheese from her mouth with a napkin.
“So who’s next on the suspect list?” Shrig asked.
“The manuscript,” Leo said.
“The one that helped Pandora awaken her powers?” Deja asked. “How’s it involved with all this?”
“That’s a good question.” Pan shot Leo a pointed look. “How is it involved, Leo?”
“When is our heritage not involved?” he asked them.
“The only problem is that every time we interact with the manuscript,” Pan told the twins, “one of us ends up passing out.”
“Not the only problem,” Leo pointed out. “We also don’t recognize the language.”
“Fortunately, I know a guy.” Pan pointed the last bite of her pastry at Shrig. “Interested in trying to decipher a strange, ancient language?”
“Very much so,” Shrig told her.
Deja wiped her lips with a paper napkin. “I’ll come too. I’ll even bring smelling salts in case you pass out. Well, they’re peppermint and eucalyptus but they work.”
“Great,” Pan told them. “But let’s finish the cookies first.”
“Baby needs fortifizing,” Leo said.
“Fortifying,” Shrig corrected, then frowned. “Oh, not you too!”
“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear you call her baby,” Deja bellowed.
Pandora’s smile hit him like sunlight.