Chapter Twenty-Three
Daisy
“My favorite part is the fine print,” I say with a shake of my head, leaning back on the couch.
“The bit about not being held liable? Yeah,” Rhett huffs. “Ridiculous.”
Gus takes the contract from my hand and reads, “Cursed will still have the option to shift after the curse is lifted. Naomi Westwitch cannot be held responsible for success of trigger words during or after the curse.”
“She sounds like a peach,” I say.
“Where did Agnes find someone like this?” Rhett asks, picking up his bottle of water from the end table.
“Salem,” comes the deep voice belonging to Charlie.
“Hey, Charlie,” I say with a smile.
“Hiya, Miss Daisy. How are you doing?”
“Good. Hope you’re getting enough rest and drinking enough water.”
“Sure am,” he says. “I’m heading into town, and I was wondering if you wanted to come with me.”
I raise a brow, looking at the guys.
“You two go. I’ll stay with Wade,” Gus suggests.
“Uh,” Charlie says, scratching his head. “He’s gotta stay, right?” He points at Rhett.
“Actually, no. He can leave the property.”
“Huh?” Charlie says.
“We’re working on breaking the curse.” I offer him the contract. “Cracked Grannie’s safe and got the info we needed.”
“Holy moly,” he says with a whistle, handing it back. “All right, then, Rhett. Let’s take you into town.”
“Before you go,” Gus says. Charlie stops. “Salem?”
Charlie nods. “She took a trip out there for that purpose. Came back happier than a pig in shit.”
“How did she do it?” Rhett asks. “Without the witch here?”
“Got some vials. Put it in your grandpa’s drinks.” He gives a small smile, then heads out to the truck.
I kiss Gus before I go, Rhett holding my hand all the way out to the truck.
Charlie’s red pick-up truck is older than me, with only one bench seat and a ton of tools in the bed. I squish in the middle, letting Rhett have the window. He stares out of it in awe, looking at the world he hasn’t seen in six years. Six whole years. Can you imagine? I surely can’t.
Although after being here for so long, going back to my apartment will feel like a whole new world, so maybe I can, just a little, understand the way he’s seeing this town.
“Gonna stop at the hardware store first,” Charlie says as he makes a right at the stop sign.
“We can walk to the grocer,” I suggest.
“All right, then. I’ll meet you there.”
He parks in an open spot on the street in front of the hardware store, since there are no parking lots here, not like in the city.
I don’t think all the cars in this town could fill up the spots on the road on the square.
At least, not the road-vehicles. Farming equipment could fill this square ten-fold.
Rhett’s eyes wander from building to building as he steps out, taking it all in.
I try to remember how much of this has changed, but I can’t quite recall what it looked like all those years ago.
I was too caught up in myself, not really paying attention to what was going on around here, especially because I was already ready to get out of here at the time.
I love Grannie, but this small-town life was never for me.
I love the animals, obviously, but it’s the area.
Feeling stuck and alone all the time. This place still doesn’t feel right, not when I venture into it and see this small square and the same people day in and day out.
But when I’m on the farm… that’s different.
That feels like home. But how can I stay there without having to come here?
My goal was to go to school. Become a vet.
Work with animals. I could do that here if I chose to focus on larger animals, but…
I’m not so sure that’s what I want to do.
It’s certainly not what I wanted to do before I came here a few weeks ago.
And where even is the closest school? I never looked because I wanted to get away.
I didn’t want to stay here, but… it could be worth a search.
Rhett’s hand finds mine, and I smile up at him.
“You doing okay?” I ask.
“Everything looks exactly the same.”
“Is that disappointing?”
It is for me. Boring.
“Not really. It’s… comforting. Feels like we didn’t miss out on much.”
I squeeze his hand. “I’m glad.”
We make our way to the grocer. I wave to Devin, who is behind the register, helping—
“Ugh,” I groan quietly.
“Ellen Mathews,” Rhett says, equally as quietly.
I pull him toward the back of the store where the coolers are.
Rhett is mesmerized by the drink options, looking at the different types of pop and juices, and coffee drinks.
“One thing this town has in common is their addiction to caffeine,” I mutter.
“Excuse me,” comes a snooty voice.
We both look behind us to see Ellen Mathews looking down her nose at us. We part, giving her room, and she pulls open the cooler door, grabbing a small container of cream from the bottom shelf.
I raise a brow as I watch her clutch it to her chest like it may run away as she hurries to the counter.
“Something wrong with her cows?” Rhett asks.
“Maybe.”
Rhett shrugs and pulls out a bottle of Coke.
“Though, if I was her cow, I wouldn’t want to do what she asked either,” he says.
I laugh, reaching for a ginger ale.
“Should we get something for Gus and Wade?”
Rhett’s brows furrow. “Yes.”
He pulls another bottle of Coke and then, surprisingly, a bottle of grape pop—the last bottle.
“That must be for Gus,” I say, noting the purple pop.
“Actually, it’s for Wade.”
“Wade?” I say, shocked.
“He was obsessed with it when we were younger. Always had a bottle with him. His father would order cases of it from out of town just to keep stock.
“Wow… I never would have guessed.”
“He’s a bit of a mystery, but… he’s a good guy.”
“I know that.”
We grab armfuls of snacks and drop it all to the counter to pay, making small talk with Devin until Charlie shows up and gets what he needs.
Rhett holds my hand the whole ride back.