Chapter 7
Bash locked his SUV and walked across the almost-empty parking lot. It was like a ghost town compared to the summer when cars would circle the lot like vultures waiting impatiently for another car to back out. Bash wondered how much tourism impacted the businesses surrounding Tumble Falls. He knew Marketplace Main, the one where Penny and Maggie lived and worked, had three retail stores on the bottom—Get Lost, Brewster’s, and Woodstock Gifts and Papercrafting—professionals had their offices on the second floor, and the third floor was apartments. He assumed the other two buildings surrounding the parking lot mirrored it.
He hoped the mixed-use property was successful because it was the same setup he’d convinced his father to do. VV Pub was in its final stages of relocating to a less-expensive section of Manhattan. They’d bought a building with retail on the bottom—a salon, a deli, a daycare, and a dry cleaner tailor combination—a gym on the second floor, professional offices on the next few, and VV Pub would take the upper five floors. The top floor had Bash’s almost completed penthouse with a rooftop garden, a small suite for visitors if they didn’t want to stay in a hotel, and a large conference room for staff meetings. On paper, the plan looked successful and would save them money in the future, but just like in football, Bash knew business plans were sometimes intercepted. A poor economy, a new competitor, or a disruptive technology could make them fumble the ball. But unlike football, there was no replay option in business.
“Bash, how nice to see you,” Elspeth greeted him as he pulled open the door to Get Lost. Given that she stumbled on the word nice, Bash doubted it. A colorful display featuring fall cookbooks and activities sat at the front of the store. The designer had incorporated colorful cookware and yarn, which made it even more interesting. He wondered if that was Penny’s or Elspeth’s handiwork.
“And you. I’m here for the book club.”
“The nine to twelve-year-olds?” she asked, peering up at him.
“Yes.”
“Is Penny expecting you?”
“No.”
“Well, this should be interesting.” She didn’t hide her amusement. “Follow me.” Bash did as he was told, but it wasn’t a painful task. Elspeth was a beautiful woman. Tall and willowy like Penny, but her hair was a richer, darker red compared to Penny’s strawberry blond. Elspeth moved like a dancer, graceful and controlled. The same way Penny had swayed when she’d walked away from him at the baking competition. If Penny aged as well as her aunt had, some man would be very lucky. The idea unsettled him. He knew better than to objectify someone. He’d battled it for a good portion of his life and he hated it.
After several aisles and turns, Elspeth stepped aside and nudged him forward. “Have fun everyone.” It sounded more like a warning than an entreaty. Penny stood motionless, shooting daggers at Elspeth’s back as she walked away.
There were six kids at the table, four boys and two girls, and five of them elbowed each other and spoke in frantic whispers. He felt a bit like a rare zoo animal on display. The one who wasn’t awe-struck was a teammate’s son who he’d met at Coach Mack’s welcome picnic in July. He stood, and they fist-bumped before breaking into a complicated team handshake. “Hey, Javal good to see you again.”
“You too, Mr. Vetter.”
“It’s Bash when we’re at book club.” He pulled out a chair next to a girl, and she practically wilted in front of him. “I’m sorry I’m late. I got held up at the hospital.” He looked at everyone as he apologized. Penny looked ready to spit nails. He hadn’t warned her. It was a classic case of better to ask forgiveness than permission, but from the look on her face, he’d get neither.
“Brain surgery ran long, eh?” Penny asked, causing a few boys to laugh.
“Something like that.” Their eyes held, but he didn’t budge. He needed to be here first-hand to witness a book club, especially one for youths.
They were future readers in their infancy, and he wanted to know how to hook them for life. Start them young and keep them forever. If he could find that alchemy, VV Pub would sit on a solid foundation for the future. “So, what did you think of the book?” He looked around the table, eager to discuss the climax.
“We’re at the halfway point,” Penny said. “But we’ll be discussing the ending at next week’s meeting. Maybe that would work better for you?”
“No. Now’s good.” He smiled, leaning forward. The kids looked back and forth between the adults, clearly confused on who was in charge.
“So, Jemma, are you enjoying the book?” Penny asked the girl across from Bash.
“I thought there would be dragons.”
“Fantasies don’t always have dragons,” Penny explained, taking a seat at the head of the large rectangular table.
“But they should,” Jemma argued and one boy nodded his head. “And this book is longer than the others.”
“And, there’s no pictures,” another boy complained. What a bunch of whiners. “And we’re getting more homework.”
Bash didn’t know what homework had to do with the book. A few other kids chimed in and complained about some history report they were working on, and the conversation deteriorated into which middle school was harder. Bash pulled the list of questions he’d prepared from his pocket before he pulled out his hair. This book club was a disaster.
“Do you think the author’s use of low fantasy works with the hero’s story, or should he have used high fantasy?” Bash asked, certain his simple question would get them back on task.
“The who and the what now?” the dragon-loving girl asked, while the rest of the kids looked around the room, obviously unsure how to answer the question. Penny cleared her throat, and everyone turned to her.
“Low fantasy books are set on earth and high fantasy books are set in another world. And the hero is who the story is about,” Penny explained. “So, in this book Ricky is our hero and it’s low fantasy since it starts on earth before he stumbles back in time to ancient Greece.”
“I bet if he’d fallen into a different time, there would have been dragons,” Jemma mumbled.
“Or knights. That would have been cool.” Two boys jumped up and pretended to wield swords in a duel. The other children laughed and cheered them on until Penny stepped between them, wielding her own invisible swords, and slayed them both. After prolonged and dramatic deaths, she stepped over their prone bodies, and the laughter in her eyes irritated Bash. This book club was a glorified playdate and a total waste of their time. Of his time. These children were clearly intelligent and if Penny was more organized, she could mold their intellect and not their theatrics.
“Dragons and knights would have been cool, but that’s not the time period Ricky landed in. Why do you think the author chose ancient Greece and not another universe?” Bash asked, ignoring his set questions, and hoping that going with the flow might get them into a meaningful discussion.
“’Cause he’s trying to teach us history?”
“Yeah, like the Magic Treehouse books,” another boy said, launching them into a heated debate about which story in that series was the best. Penny leaned back and listened as they shared their opinions and argued about why others were wrong. It was all good-natured and respectful, but Bash scanned his list, looking for a question to get them back on task.
“But what about this book?” he growled, leaning toward them and seeing the fate of VV Pub die in front of him. If VV Pub’s success depended on these readers, it was doomed, and he didn’t know how to save it.
That’s it , Penny thought, catching the looks on the kids’ faces. A few looked frightened by his outburst and the others looked uncertain. As if they’d broken a rule but had no clue what it was.
“Why don’t you guys discuss what Ricky grabbed before falling into the time trap and if you think he should have grabbed something else instead while I talk to Bash?” She stood and pointed to her office. From there, she could chew him out and monitor the kids. She didn’t care if they overheard.
Bash stood, glaring at her before saying, “I’m not sure I would have grabbed my stuffed bunny. Would you have, dragon-girl?” he asked, before following Penny into the office. If she wasn’t so irritated with him, she would have been impressed with the way he’d kick-started the conversation when the kids ignored her.
She stepped aside as Bash entered the room, shrinking it around them. Penny tilted her head to look at him. At five foot nine, she wasn’t used to physically lifting her head to meet a man’s eyes. The anger and frustration she saw in his, took her by surprise, as did the aura surrounding him. She felt like she’d kicked a hornet’s nest.
Penny partially closed the door and looked at the children before turning toward Bash. “What the hell is your problem?” she hissed.
“That isn’t a book club. It’s a goat rodeo.” Penny didn’t know what a goat rodeo was, but she was sure it was insulting. “It’s a free for all with no structure. You’d get more discussion if you had a prepared list of questions.” He shook the paper under her nose, and she grabbed it from him, crumpling it into a ball and tossing it over her shoulder. It landed perfectly in the garbage can, exactly where it belonged.
“We don’t do formal questions. It’s a collaborative effort and I guide them based on their mood.”
“No shit,” he said, sounding disillusioned and disappointed, which was fine by her. She felt better knowing he wouldn’t be back, but she didn’t want him thinking poorly about the kids. They were a great group, and she’d known most of them since they were toddlers, coming to weekly story time. “Normally, we discuss the book and their opinions, but your showing up unannounced threw them for a loop.”
“Opinions.” He snorted. “Everyone has one, and most of them are wrong. What about their observations of the book? What they’re learning? Without making them dig deeper, you’re wasting their time.”
“Enjoying a book on its surface level isn’t a waste of time and neither is discussing it with other people. But since we’re wasting your time, leave.” She jerked the door open and heard a small thud as it bounced off his boot. Probably custom made in New York City, she thought, sitting down at the table, and taking a deep breath before exhaling quickly as Bash returned to his seat. Dammit.
Penny forced a smile on her face. She didn’t want Bash to ruin the book club for them. “So, what’s the verdict? Was Ricky right in grabbing his stuffed bunny, or should he have grabbed his backpack with his school supplies?” It didn’t surprise her they all agreed that he should have taken the backpack, but once they got further into the story, they saw that the backpack, filled with modern tools, wouldn’t have helped him and may have put him in more danger.
“What do you think, Bash? Bunny or backpack?” Ava asked quietly, taking Penny by surprise. Ava was the sponge in this group, soaking everything up and rarely sharing or asking a direct question. Bash rubbed his jaw, and his blue eyes locked on hers before he smiled slowly and leaned toward Ava as if he was going to share a secret. “For the book, I’m team bunny, but with the TV show”—he shook his head—“man, I’d love that backpack. Which do you think is better, the books or the show?”
Ava admitted she liked the book, but Jemma took offense because the actor was so cute and then the discussion devolved into tween silliness. Penny kept the smile frozen on her face as she glared at Bash. He’d derailed them on purpose because she’d told him to butt out and mind his own business. Bash laughed at something Javal said and then they were all talking about the book again, jumping from one scene to another. As Penny tuned into the conversation, it became apparent that Bash had read, or most likely listened to, the story, and his ridiculous list of pretentious questions was his, not something he’d found on the internet. Penny didn’t know what to make of his effort.
“Book four is even better. But there are no dragons,” he said, as Jemma opened her mouth.
She shrugged. “They can’t all be winners. Are you coming back next week to talk about the ending with us? Maybe give us a clue on the next book? Penny hasn’t said what we’re reading next, but maybe we could stick with the series?” Jemma asked. Seven pairs of eyes stared at Penny, six curious and one smug.
“I’d love to come back, and I think book four would be great, too.” Bash said, sounding like the antithesis of a cool, professional athlete.
“I’ll keep book four in mind, and we’ll be pleasantly surprised if you come back.” Penny thought she deserved an Oscar for pretending that she’d welcome Bash’s intrusion whenever it suited him, but his eyebrows drew together in what she considered his disapproving look. She’d let him off the hook. He should be grateful, not upset.
Javal’s mom waved at her from the corner where the other parents waited. “Okay, everyone, finish the book this week and next time we’ll discuss the ending. And, as you read it, ask yourself if you would have handled the scene in the barn differently than Ricky did.”
Bash stood as the children grabbed their coats and backpacks. He fist-bumped the kids as they left and did a complicated hand shake with Javal as Frederick watched. “Can you teach me?” he asked.
“Nah, it’s just for players,” Javal said, brushing him off.
“I don’t know, Javal,” Bash said. “I always thought it was for players and their families, and if families are people who support us, shouldn’t that include the fans?”
“I s’pose,” Javal said, shrugging.
“I’m a fan,” Frederick said. Penny gathered her book and notebook. She had better things to do than watch this.
“Excellent. You’re in school together, right?” she heard Bash ask as she walked toward the office. She planned to check her emails and see if any web orders came in before going upstairs to change for her hot date.
It was picture day at the animal rescue center, and Penny oversaw baths. By the time she was done, she’d be a hot, wet mess, but it was worth it. Since they’d started the grooming project a year ago, dogs found their forever homes much quicker. “Perfect. Javal can teach you, and we’ll do it the next time I’m here, okay?”
Penny shook her head, disappointed in Bash but not surprised. Frederick was a scrawny, geeky kid and it would have meant the world for him to have one-on-one time with Bash. And it would have helped at school, too. Frederick’s mom had wanted to pull him out of book club, because she thought it was contributing to him being bullied at school, but Penny pointed out that he’d made friends at book club, including Javal, who had the swagger of a popular kid.
“Great. You two work on it. I need to go talk to Penny.” Her heart sank. She turned away from the computer and watched him walk toward her. His gait was loose and unhurried, as if he didn’t have a care in the world, but the scowl on his face told a different story.
He stepped into the room, quietly closed the door, and leaned against it. No doubt thinking that he’d trapped her. Silly man, I could move you with the flick of a wrist or heat your feet so you’ll move. Or make the room smell like skunk, Penny frowned. Bad witch, you’d smell it, too.
“Why did you say that and make me look like a flake? Like I won’t follow through?”
Penny realized giving him a graceful out had also hit a nerve. “I don’t want to see them disappointed. Some of these kids have been through a lot, are dealing with a lot, and I don’t want books to disappoint them, too. Get Lost is a safe space for them, and I’ve worked really hard to build it up. I don’t want you blowing it up with fake promises.”
“I don’t make promises I can’t keep, and I don’t appreciate you speaking for me. It beats my other alternatives, so I’d like to come back, but only if I’m welcomed. I don’t want to ruin this for anyone.”
Penny closed her eyes. His aura spoke of sincerity, like it always did. From what she’d seen so far, Bash moved through the world from a place of sincerity. Anxious and nervous, but he meant what he said.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you look like a flake.”
“Am I welcome to come back?”
“The kids would love to have you.”
“Fine,” he ripped open the door.
“Wait”—she stepped toward him—“can I buy you an apology coffee?” She didn’t want him storming out in a huff. It would be bad for business, and for her conscience. The Buchanan girls were known for their sunny dispositions and likability, but she’d done nothing but insult him every chance she had. She knew her rudeness pierced his thick skin. He didn’t show it, but she knew it. She was better than this.
“Maybe another time,” he said, letting them both off the hook. He looked over his shoulder at her, and Penny didn’t know what he saw, but he fully turned toward her and leaned against the doorjamb, as if settling in for a talk. “How’s Maggie?”
Asking about Maggie was the last question she’d expected from him. “She’s fine.”
“Really? Because she looked devastated after the competition and Lucas can’t get a hold of her. We didn’t intend to win. We only wanted the team’s pool for the Food Shelf and the public library. We’d even picked tamales thinking they’d be on the fringe.”
“Cal told us it was for the Food Shelf.” Next to the shelter, the library was her other favorite place to support. She used to volunteer in the children’s section, but she’d had to stop. It confused too many kids. When they came to Get Lost, they thought the books were free, like the library, causing a lot of meltdowns when parents explained they had to choose one.
“It’s for both.”
Penny stared at him, wondering what it meant that this handsome man cared about something dear to her heart? The air around them warmed. I wonder if we could get a do-over? He’s really not that bad. After all, he’d rather be here than at the hospital. She cocked her head mid-debate. And, I’d rather be with the accountant than the lawyer, but I don’t want to be with either. She crossed her arms and frowned.
While he preferred to be here, that didn’t mean he wanted to be or that he’d enjoyed himself. Penny felt used. She didn’t know why he felt the urge to slum with the little people, but she didn’t need him or the conflicting feelings he stirred in her.
“Well, you know what they say. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” She smiled at him sweetly, trying to ignore the shocked look on Bash’s face. He hadn’t expected her verbal blitz. Score one for the little people, she thought.
He pushed off the door and slunk toward her, only stopping when they were toe-to-toe. “Then it’s a good thing I don’t do intentions. They’re a way to look virtuous doing nothing. To paraphrase Yoda, I’m more of a There is no try,’ kind of guy. Or in this case, intention.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means every time we’re together, I sense you intend to get along with me, but you fail. And I think it’s because you took an instant dislike to me when you overheard my stupid comment about movies being better than books. While I don’t have the social lubricant that draws everyone to your family like bees to honey, I am a decent human being, and I wish you’d forgive me and stop treating me like something you found on the bottom of your shoe.” She stared at his Adam’s apple, unable to meet his eyes. Sadness mixed with his usual nervousness, and Penny wished she could recall her words. She owed him another apology, and she needed to get her feelings in order.
“I’m so—”
“Save your apology. Actions speak louder than words,” he bit before storming out as if the hounds of hell nipped at his heels. Penny trailed behind him. As much as the insufferable man irked her, he was right. She needed to forgive him so she could forget his rudeness and treat him like everyone else. If he thought he deserved more, he was in for a rude awakening. You’re not that special Bash Vetter, she thought as Elspeth joined her at the window, making an appreciative hum.
“Who’d have thought a professional sports team could make Cascade City even prettier?” Penny sighed. Years of watching Elspeth in action had taught her to keep her comment to herself. It would only add fuel to the fire. “From the way he moves, I bet he could be a fun time.” Elspeth nudged her conspiratorially, and Penny cringed. Elspeth usually dated in her peer group, but she wasn’t averse to younger men.
“Only if he kept his mouth shut.”
“But there’s no fun in that.” She winked, and Penny rolled her eyes.
“You’re impossible.”
“And insatiable.”
“Bash is hot, but he can be a jerk,” Penny said, unsure if she was warning her aunt away or justifying her own behavior.
“You want hot and nice?”
“Don’t you?”
“I don’t keep them long enough for them to need to be nice, and I didn’t think you did either.” Penny didn’t appreciate her aunt’s judgy tone. Neither of them dated seriously, and Elspeth wore her independence as a badge of pride.
“I don’t, you know that. I have yet to find a man more interesting than a good book. But, yes, I guess I like them to be nice. It’s hard not to when I’ve grown up surrounded by good men,” Penny said.
“Your grandad and dad have set the bar pretty high. But they have their faults, too.” Elspeth wrapped her arm around Penny’s shoulder and pulled her near as they watched Bash’s SUV approach the exit. “It’s for the best. We’ve got a busy fall ahead of us, and the last thing you need is a distraction like him.” Elspeth relaxed against her, and Penny realized Elspeth had tuned into her residual anger.
“I know.” Penny stepped away. If Elspeth knew Penny was upset with herself, she’d worry. And pry. And even though the witches weren’t supposed to dive into the thoughts and feelings of those they were close to, there was always a risk that with enough motivation, someone would. It was safer for Elspeth to think she didn’t like Bash. And she didn’t. Not like that. But as a human. A handsome human who lived and worked with her brother and lived next door to her sister.
Besides, she wanted someone light and fun. Not someone who was quiet and brooding. Penny flashed back to the way Bash had interacted with her kids in the book club once he’d gotten out of his ego’s way. Low fantasy versus high fantasy. She snorted. The kids had looked at him like he was an alien species. And really, other than book snobs, no one cared as long as they enjoyed the story.
And she wanted someone supportive. Not someone who called out her bad behavior. Irritating man, she thought as she watched him pull up to the intersection. She flicked her wrist, and the light turned red when he approached it. She didn’t have the time to stand there and change the next two traffic lights, but she could hex this one to feel like forever.