Chapter 12 #2
“Only while he’s at college? I can’t imagine Rowan will want to return to the tea shop once he becomes a sorcerer. In fact, I doubt he’ll return to Moss Hollow at all. You’re close, aren’t you? What will you do if he doesn’t come back?”
I have no answer for that, so I offer him a shrug and a smile, hoping Miralynn hurries with my order.
“Have you thought about my offer?” he presses.
“There really isn’t anything to think about,” I say, preparing myself for his irritation. “I’m sorry, but I’m not interested in selling the tea shop. It’s a family business, and it’s going to stay in the family.” I clear my throat. “Thank you, though. It was…kind of you.”
The leprechaun narrows his eyes, displeased with my response. “For your sake, I hope you’re able to weather the consequences of your hasty decision. Business ownership is not for the faint of heart.”
“Perry just finished up your order, Kit.” Miralynn returns with a bag, thankfully interrupting the conversation. “Hi, Mr. Eastwilden. Your usual table?”
I thank the young hostess, offer the leprechaun a nod goodbye, and then hurry outside, yet again making a hasty getaway.
“What a day,” I mutter to myself, proud that I at least stood my ground against Mr. Eastwilden, even if I ran away from Keira like a coward.
The tea shop is moderately busy when I return, with several tables occupied and a short line of customers at the counter.
“Ryder called to ask if you’re okay,” Rowan says when he finishes up with his customer, allowing Nadine to help the next.
He directs me into the back hall, and I shift the takeout bag in my hands.
“He called?” I ask, feeling ridiculous.
“He did, and he told me what Keira said.”
Feeling a little defeated, I sigh. “I’m fine.”
I wasn’t planning on telling Rowan about seeing Keira at the bakery, nor the humiliating way I ran away.
“I don’t know why she’s still here,” he says, frustrated. “I’m not sure how to make myself any clearer that we’re not getting back together.”
“Where is she staying?”
“When we talked, she said she leased a vacation rental house while looking for a home to purchase.”
“How long is her lease?”
“Through the end of the month.”
“She hasn’t put an offer on anything, has she? So one more week, and then she’ll go home?”
“Unless she books another month.”
“Maybe she’ll run out of money?” I ask hopefully.
Rowan laughs darkly. “Not likely.”
“We’ll never get rid of her.”
“She’ll give up eventually,” he says, but even he sounds unsure.
My phone rings, ending the conversation. I feel Rowan watching as I decline the call, and I tell him, “Another unknown number. Probably Russell again.”
Rowan doesn’t like it, but if I voice too much displeasure, I know he’ll do something illegal.
Before he can suggest it, I lift the takeout bag. “Are you hungry?”
He doesn’t look like he wants to change the subject, but he finally nods toward the stairs. “Why don’t you and Nadine eat first? I’ll watch the shop.”
“That reminds me. I ran into Mr. Eastwilden at the cafe. I think I made him mad.”
“How?”
“I refused to sell him the tea shop again.”
“That man is as persistent as Keira,” Rowan says heavily. “It’s unfortunate he set his sights on your shop.”
“I would prefer it if you’d said something like, ‘Don’t worry about him, Kit. It’ll be okay.’”
“Don’t worry about him, Kit.” He smiles, his eyes laughing. “It’ll be okay.”
“Better, thank you.”
And it will be okay. I know it. Sometimes life just gets worse before it can get better.
“Rowan says we should eat first,” I say to Nadine when we join her at the counter. “Let’s head upstairs.”
Rowan steps up to help the next customer, and Nadine follows me into the back.
“Guess what,” she says as we climb the stairs.
“What?”
“Hudson stopped by just before you got back. He told me I could meet his horses after work.”
Like all autumn pixies, Nadine shares a deep connection with animals. She cannot speak with them directly but has a natural way with them.
It doesn’t surprise me that she asked to visit the horses in the livery stable.
“We’ll never see you once you make all those horse friends. I’ll have to bring you meals so you don’t starve.”
“At least you’ll think of me,” she laughs, shuffling through the takeout bag when I set it on the desk. “By the way, do you know all of Hudson’s drivers?”
“I’ve only met a few. He employs several.”
“What about the pixie?” she asks casually. “Blond hair. Nice smile. Usually wears a brown newsboy cap. I’m pretty sure he’s an autumn.”
“I’ve seen him, but I haven’t met him.” I give her a suspicious look. “Why?”
She smiles to herself. “No reason. I just wondered if he might be at the stable tonight.”
“Visit the horses, my foot,” I laugh. “You have ulterior motives.”
Grinning, she sits in the chair across the desk and unwraps her sandwich. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
It’s almost time to close, and the shop has finally cleared out. A few patrons chat at a walkway table out front, but the tearoom is empty. Rowan is upstairs checking inventory, and Nadine just left for the livery stable.
I’m in the middle of refilling the large glass jar of sugar cubes when Hazel walks into the shop.
The pretty fox shifter sets a small box of jam jars on the counter and sighs when she slides onto a stool. “One dozen half-pints of strawberry jam and another dozen of marmalade, as ordered.”
She’s in her mid-thirties, pretty, with caramel-brown hair and a youthful face. She and her husband run the meat and cheese store down the street.
“Thank you for bringing them by,” I say. “Let me write you a check.”
“Take your time.” She rubs her rounded stomach. “Jasper is watching the kids, so I’m in no hurry.”
I smile. “Do they get bored at the shop?”
“They do all right. We have a playroom for them, and we walk to the park often so they can get some energy out. They’re up and down the stairs all day long, but they mostly behave themselves around customers.
Jasper’s parents watch them a few days a week in the summer, and they’ll pick them up on other days if they’re too squirrelly. ”
I smile to myself at the idea of a fox acting like a squirrel.
“We have to keep an eye on my brother, though,” she adds. “He sneaks them ice cream.”
“Uncle Arlo must be their favorite.” I write out the check, thankful my next inheritance payment will arrive in a few days.
“He is,” she laughs.
“Your parents live in Arizona, right?”
“Yes, my dad and my stepmom, along with my youngest brother. But my dad and I are from here. We moved to Arizona after my mom passed away. Jasper and I stayed in touch through school, and then I came back.”
She looks around as if making sure no one will overhear whatever she’s about to say. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.” I slide her the check. “Would you like some tea? I have both decaf and pregnancy-safe herbals if you’re watching caffeine.”
“A nice cup of black decaf would be very welcome.”
“Hot or iced?”
“Iced,” she says with a sigh.
“It’s my first summer away from the cool Washington coast,” I tell her. “It’s going to take some getting used to.”
“After Arizona, Vermont felt like a green reprieve. But now I’m pregnant, and I think Alaska would be too warm.”
I laugh. “When are you due?”
“September 28th. I still have three months.”
“May they go quickly.” I pour the cold tea over a glass of ice. “What did you want to ask me?”
“Forgive me, but I’m just hoping you would indulge my curiosity. There’s a rumor going around town that Ansel accidentally bonded your magic to Rowan’s. Is it true?”
I laugh, always amazed at how fast news travels around Moss Hollow. “Yes, it is.”
“But you’re not shifters. How could you possibly have accomplished that?”
“No one knows. Rowan and Ansel are trying to figure out how to reverse it.”
She takes an innocent sip of her tea. “Do you want to reverse it?”
“Not really, but I think we should.”
“If it’s truly acting like a shifter bond, you might not be able to. Not even mages have figured out how to break those, and believe me, the eastern coast dragons have tried.”
“The dragons?” I ask, intrigued.
“I probably shouldn’t gossip about Dorian’s family,” she says, obviously about to gossip.
“But back in the early 2000s, his uncle bonded with a woman from another clan—Romeo and Juliet style. The families were livid. His grandfather threw an absolute fortune at several sorcerers’ guilds in Philadelphia and New York in hopes that someone could figure out how to break the bond, but it was to no avail. ”
“What happened?” I whisper.
“The couple was in a car accident. Dorian’s uncle died at the scene, and his wife passed away a few hours later in a human hospital.” Hazel frowns. “It was tragic.”
“Was it an accident?” I ask, careful to keep my voice low.
“The rumor is that Dorian’s grandfather hired an assassin to run his daughter-in-law off the road, not realizing his son was going to be in the car with her.”
“That’s awful,” I whisper.
“No one knows how much truth there is to it, but Dorian completely cut ties with his family. He doesn’t visit them, and they don’t come here.” She sighs. “Anyway, if the people his high and mighty clan hired weren’t able to break the bond, I’m not sure Rowan and Ansel stand much of a chance.”
Knowing sorcerers as I do, that’s a challenge, not a deterrent.
“How are you managing the bond?” she asks. “Is it difficult?”
“Oh, it’s okay.” I feel weird talking about it, but I want to confide in someone who understands. And as a bonded shifter, Hazel gets it. “I keep getting jealous.”
“That gets better with time. I imagine Keira coming back didn’t help.”
I groan a little, just the woman’s name making me uneasy. “I keep worrying that I’m standing in their way.”
She frowns. “Was Rowan hoping to get back together with her? You know, before you found out about the bond?”
“No. But it just keeps running through my head.”