Chapter 16
WAVERLY
From the minute we walked in, the Hex & Hearth felt familiar. Not familiar as in I’d been there before. Familiar as in I’d dreamed of it. Which was impossible, of course—I always write down my dream locations, and I had no notes from any tavern.
I paused just inside the doorway as Aldric walked past me.
Warmth wrapped around me immediately. Not hot—not like that. Not the sort produced by fireplaces or radiators. This was more like an oversized sweatshirt or a fuzzy blanket. Whatever it was, I felt welcome.
The tavern smelled like cedar smoke, cinnamon, sea salt, old books, and orange peel, and I quickly pulled Gerald out of my pocket and made a note to have this scent made into a candle.
The room glowed with amber light. Laughter drifted through the tavern. Somewhere a fiddle played softly. The place felt alive in a way I couldn’t explain. Not haunted—more like the building knew I’d arrived.
The woman behind the bar looked up and smiled. And I nearly walked into a chair.
Good grief, what was in the water in Driftwood Pointe? I glanced around at the people in the bar. They were all stunning. Was there a fountain of beauty somewhere I’d missed? Because I wanted to bathe in it.
I was honestly beginning to suspect the town had unrealistic beauty standards.
This woman—dark hair streaked with silver framing sharp, intelligent eyes—made me feel both welcomed and assessed the moment she looked at me. Like she’d already seen into me, formed an opinion, and was simply waiting to see if I’d prove her right. It felt like the tavern orbited around her.
She wasn’t beautiful. Well, she was—but that wasn’t the thing that drew me to her. It was her presence. I felt like this woman could walk into a hurricane and, with a single word, calm it down and discuss why it was so angry.
“Damn,” I said.
Aldric spun around, looking alarmed. “What happened?”
I gestured with my head toward the bar. “The woman behind the bar.”
Her eyebrows rose as if she’d heard me, though my common sense said there was no way she could have.
Aldric took my arm and guided me toward the bar.
“Honestly,” I whispered on the way, “if you look in the dictionary under stunning, there’s a picture of her.”
The woman laughed. “Oh dear,” she said. “You’re one of those.”
“One of what?” Aldric asked, holding out a stool for me before taking the one beside it.
“A delightful person who says exactly what she’s thinking.”
“That’s me. No filter.”
She laughed an infectious laugh, then looked at Aldric. “Aren’t you going to introduce us?”
“Forgive me. Elara, this is Waverly Anderson, the author I’ve been showing around town. Waverly, this is Elara—the Hex & Hearth is hers.”
“Welcome.” Elara placed her hand over mine.
I liked her immediately. Which probably should have worried me, but I felt like every muscle in my body had finally received permission to relax.
Before I could say anything, Elara set two glasses on the bar.
One appeared to be scotch or something like it.
The other looked like a spectacularly fun drink.
The liquid at the bottom was a deep sapphire blue.
Above it floated darker shades of purple.
The ice sparkled inside the glass. A single blackberry sat perched on top.
“Oh!”
Elara smiled.
“I thought you might like one of my custom drinks. This is called the Truth Teller—after a few of these, people tend to spill their secrets.” She set the pretty drink in front of me.
“Aldric gets the boring one.” She slid his glass across to him.
“Now, Waverly—this is what makes the drink come alive.”
As I watched, she topped the liquid with ginger beer, and the most amazing transformation happened instantly. The blue swirled into violet, then the purple folded through to indigo. The colors danced together before settling into a rich, luminous amethyst.
I gasped. “That is the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Drink it,” Aldric said.
Both Elara and I looked at him.
“Can’t I admire her work first?”
Aldric looked embarrassed, glancing from Elara to me. “Yes, of course.” He rubbed a hand across his face.
I saw Elara give him an irritated look. As she should. I took my first sip and the flavor exploded across my tongue—first, bright lemon mixed with ginger, then blackberry, followed by a taste I couldn’t quite place.
“This is delicious,” I cooed to Elara. “And probably dangerous.”
“What do you mean by that?” Aldric looked wound up, like he was on a countdown to being launched to the moon.
“What’s going on with you?” I took another sip, then a third. “I can see why you named it what you did. These go down way too smooth.”
Elara smiled. “I know.”
“I’m going to need another one of these.” I smiled.
“Coming up.” Elara stepped away.
I made eye contact with Aldric. “You’re not drinking yours. Want to try mine?”
“No!” Aldric took a swift swig of his own drink. “Thank you. No.”
I swiveled on my stool. “We can go somewhere else if you want—you seem uncomfortable here.” Before he could answer, I spun the stool all the way around. “Wee. Goodness, that drink was strong.”
A movement on the back bar caught my eye.
Three tiny people stood near a stack of barrels.
Tiny—as in six inches tall, tiny. Elara was helping another customer and had her back to them—and to my half-made drink.
One of the tiny men picked up a small bottle.
I squinted, then rubbed my eyes. Another one climbed onto an upside-down glass.
The other two hoisted the bottle up to him, and he emptied the contents into my drink.
“Ah, excuse me.”
No response.
“Excuse me.”
Still nothing.
I pointed. “Excuse me. Mr. Tiny man—men—what are you doing?” The men disappeared behind the glasses.
Aldric placed his hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry, I can’t hear you.”
“Them.” I swirled back to face him. “Those little guys just poured something into my drink.” I held my hand at their height. “Those guys—they did it.”
“Who did?” Aldric looked where I was pointing. “I don’t see anyone.”
I took a sip of my original drink and looked back at Aldric. “How is it that you’re so good-looking? Is it something in the water? Because honestly, your face should require a permit.”
Aldric smiled a large, toothy smile.
“See, see!” I slapped his arm. “So hot. Hoooot.”
Elara set my second drink down, which I took a large gulp of, drinking nearly the whole glass. “Yep, those little guys are excellent bartenders.”
“Who?” Elara’s expression shifted to concern. She reached across and took my hand in hers. “What little men?”
“Did you know Aldric is a handsome man?” I held up my other hand, palm out. “See—hand-some.”
Elara wrinkled her brow and looked at Adric, then down the counter to the other patrons.
“That’s it!” she said, causing me to jump. “You, Brownies! I told you that if you messed with one more drink, it was the garden for you. Out, now. Don’t whine about it—you only have yourselves to blame. Go.” She made a move toward them, and the three tiny men sprinted away.
“Bye!” I called after them. “They’re cute—like they came out of the dryer.”
“Is she going to be all right?” Aldric asked.
“Who?” I inquired, licking the edge of my glass.
“Yes, she’s just going to feel a little tipsy, so we’d better ask questions now—that high a dose will wear off fast.”
Elara pulled a stool from behind the bar and sat down.
“Waverly.” She touched my arm.
“That’s me.” I patted my chest. “I’m Waverly.”
“Good. Now tell me—what do you do for a living?”
“Oh, I know that one. I’m a writer.”
“And what do you write?”
I held up my hand and spread my fingers. “Paranormal.” One finger down. “Mysteries.” Another finger. “And horror.” Another finger. “But don’t tell Aldric that one—he doesn’t think women should write horror.”
Elara blinked and looked at Aldric. “Is that true?”
“No. I was simply shocked that she—” he motioned toward me, “—that she writes horror.”
“I do. I doooo.” I nodded enthusiastically.
“I don’t know why people are always surprised by that.
Maybe it’s because I’m short. I’m not little-man short, but compared to the giant over here, I’m short.
” I pointed at Elara. “Did I tell you I have a small ladder in my kitchen so I can reach the cupboards? Did you know that?”
“Seems very practical to me,” Elara said, smiling.
“You want to know something else? I have ninety-nine books out. Put that in your pipe and fly it up the flagpole, Mr. She-Can’t-Be-A-Horror-Author.” I saluted Aldric.
Elara leaned forward.
“Waverly, you saw the small men, didn’t you?”
“Yes.” I nodded energetically. “I saw the dryer dudes.”
“Do you always see strange things?”
“Always. When I was little, I thought everyone did.” I shook my head rapidly. “But they didn’t.”
“What sort of things did you see?”
“Oh, you know—ghosts, things moving and appearing. All the odd stuff.” I paused. “I’ve never said that out loud before and had people not laugh.”
Elara and Aldric exchanged a look.
“No one ever believed you?” Elara asked.
“No.” I laughed. “My mother told me I had an overactive imagination.”
“Did you?”
“No.” I frowned. “It’s really annoying.”
“What is?”
“When people don’t believe me. It makes me feel like something’s wrong with me.”
Aldric placed his hand on my arm. I pointed at him.
“There you go again.”
“Excuse me?”
“What is it with you people? Tomorrow you are absolutely taking me to the beauty pool. I mean it—because damn, the things I want to do with you.” I blew out a breath. “Geez, give a girl a chance.”
I looked from him to Elara. She was pressing her lips together.
“Wait—oh. OH. Are you two—did I—ohhhh, I’m sorry.
” I clapped a hand over my mouth. “I had no idea.” I placed both hands flat on the bar.
“I really am sorry, Elara. I would never say that about a man who was in a relationship. I promise.” I crossed my heart.
I took money from my purse and set it on the counter.
“I’ll go now.” I spun to get up, but Aldric stopped me.