Chapter 7 Jack #3
“So they either talk about what I’m selling, which I’m comfortable talking about, or they keep to themselves. I can talk about dragons and card games and value of figurines or trading cards for days. But small talk? Not my thing.”
“I never noticed,” she says, and when I look at her, I expect to see the sarcasm on her face, but I’m a bit confused when I don’t.
“Because I never talk to you?”
“No, because you never seemed uncomfortable around me.” I’m a bit stunned by that, since Rosie always makes me feel out of sorts, but then a smile spreads on her lips.
“I think you’re always too busy getting all cute and mad at me.
” I stare at her and feel a blush burning on my cheeks without my permission, and she laughs before popping the last bite of her muffin into her mouth, checking and sliding off the counter.
“Okay, Jack Attack. Time to get this thing going.” Then she whispers something, and bags close and crumbs are swept away. I’m so distracted by her and her magic, I don’t even remember to tell her it’s just Jack.
We spend the next forty minutes together, walking to the same field as the day before, and she makes her magic visible again so I can see it move along the grass in the same breathtaking way.
I use the opportunity to ask her as many questions as I can, and she answers each one with kindness and patience I’m still unused to.
Today, I learned that each witch receives their magic when they’re around eight, and each witch has their own specialty, which tends to reveal itself when they’re thirteen or fourteen.
It shouldn’t surprise me that romance is her specialty, something she fulfils with her romance bookstore, helping customers find their true loves by choosing a book for them.
After we get the second day’s dew, she answers more questions before we reach our street.
I feel the need to walk her to her door as if this is something other than a quest to break a curse.
Maybe it’s the manners my parents drilled into me or the fact that the little witch is growing on me and I want to make sure she’s safe, but I stay until she closes the door behind her, flips on the lights for her store, and waves at me through the window.
I return it, fighting the smile that’s pulling at my lips before stepping back.
But when something moves in the window above her shop, I glance up to see a ghostly form move quickly out of sight, as if he’d been watching.
I move my eyes down the street, ensuring no one else is around to see it, before looking at the window again.
As I do, my grandfather floats up, a sheepish look on his face that makes me smile.
I wave before heading to my place, already looking forward to the next day.
Day three, my front door is unlocked, already anticipating my morning visit from Rosie.
She walks right in like she owns the place, a wide smile on her face that I have to force myself not to mirror.
Something tells me that if I give Rosie Mayfield an inch, she’ll take a mile.
If she gets a whiff that I enjoy her antics, she might keep going.
The most terrifying part of that, though, isn’t that I wouldn’t like it: it’s the confusing realization that I might.
This morning, I get a pumpkin spice latte and a cinnamon roll, plus a pumpkin-shaped sugar cookie that I set aside to enjoy later.
I have a big shipment coming in later today, and I’ll need a pick-me-up to endure unpacking those boxes.
After her normal breakfast, she asks me a dozen questions that have stopped being about the shop and turned into an inquisition of me.
We’re off on our mission, walking toward the same spot we’ve gone the past two mornings, when I start my own question asking.
“So, your magic.” I start with the question that’s been spinning around in my mind since yesterday. I keep my voice low even though no one is around. “It doesn’t work on you?” She shakes her head, strawberry blond curls swaying as she does.
“Nope. And trust me, I’ve tried.” I smile, thinking about a stubborn Rosie trying to outsmart her own magic and getting annoyed when it falls short.
“What about your sisters?” I ask, because from what I know, both of her sisters are single as well.
I know she said the curse affects her entire family, and while I’m not as in tune to the town gossip as Rosie is, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of her sisters even dating. Rosie sighs deeply with the question.
“My magic works on other supernaturals, but I’m not sure if it would work on my sisters.
Unfortunately for me, they aren’t interested in finding love for their own reasons.
Don’t ask me why, because love is the most magical thing on this earth.
My magic only works on people who are ready and willing to find love.
” So it abides by free will, I suppose. Interesting.
“Though, I suppose it could be the curse getting in the way.”