Chapter Nine
The café was weirdly busy on Tuesday. Blair would like to think the increased volume of customers was one hundred per cent because of her little facelift on the weekend and the new drink syrups and scent spell, but the likely reason was that everyone had decided to leave the house today since the last few days had been so rainy.
Now the sun was shining bright in the perfect blue sky, and Blair had needed a light jacket over her sweater this morning, which was delightful.
The few changes Blair had made to her café were popular, though.
Several had mentioned the new wall colour, and the new artwork was a hit, too.
Many said the paintings looked like they’d been made specifically for the Harvest Moon Café.
And the new drinks on the menu were beyond successful.
In fact, in the first hour of the day Blair sold almost as many apple cinnamon lattes as her famous pumpkin spice lattes.
Blair took a moment to gaze out the café window after the morning rush, and seeing all the bright leaves on the maple and oak trees brightened Blair after a difficult night.
But despite it being an absolutely lovely morning in the café, the mishaps in Moonbeam Hollow weren’t far from the front of Blair’s mind.
She hadn’t seen any cats today, other than Kass who had breakfasted with Blair in the kitchen before she walked to the café.
Her sign, and the n at the end of the word moon, were both where they were supposed to be when she arrived.
And she couldn’t see anything else amiss on Main Street, either.
But just because no calamities were in front of her, that didn’t mean that everything in Moonbeam Hollow was the way it should be.
The mayor’s memory issues last night proved that the situation had escalated.
Blair was still determined to solve this mystery alone, though. She couldn’t put her sisters in harm’s way. The answer had to be in Belinda’s prophecy. Blair had written down everything her sister had said at three a.m., so she stared at the words now.
The festival is theirs. The three sisters. Witches. They want to destroy it. They want revenge on those who took their lives and legacy. It is justified. Trust must be earned again. Go to he who makes tall buildings. He is the key.
She had to go to Luke. The prophecy said he was the key to stopping the destruction of the festival.
And Blair knew he was hiding something from her about his true reason for being back.
But Blair was afraid of talking to Luke again.
Mostly because she was afraid that if she asked to speak to him, he would assume it was because she wanted to finish what they’d started when they’d had that angry, but hot-as-hell kiss at the farmers’ market.
Finishing what they’d started wasn’t what Blair wanted.
Or, rather, it was kind of what Blair wanted, but she wasn’t going to let it happen because she had self-control and getting involved with Luke Caldwell was an even worse idea now than it had been when they were teenagers.
But if Blair wasn’t going to get physical with him (which she absolutely wasn’t), how was she going to get information out of him?
They’d argued every time they’d seen each other since his return.
They’d even managed to argue with both her sisters between them at the town meeting last night.
And arguing with Luke, with tensions flaring and adrenaline surging, felt as dangerous to Blair as kissing the man.
That’s all they’d ever been – rivals or lovers.
Neither option was something Blair could handle right now.
Not when she was so worried about the festival.
And worried that Bianca wouldn’t settle down and get a real job instead of playing with her plants, and worried that Belinda’s loyalty to Gladys and Wolf Willow Bookstore would stop her from finding her own path in life.
Not when Blair was worried about needing a new roof, and a new fence in the yard, and most of all, worried that the Briarwoods’ identity would be discovered.
No. Blair needed to ensure her emotions wouldn’t get out of hand again.
She needed to somehow keep her own distance from Luke Caldwell, while at the same time encouraging him to get close enough to her that he revealed whatever secrets he was keeping so she could find out how he was the key to stopping the destruction to the festival.
Blair knew the answer. She was a witch. It was time to use magic on Luke Caldwell.
This wasn’t just about saving her café anymore, it was about saving the festival and all of Moonbeam Hollow.
If Blair wasn’t able to get to the bottom of these strange occurrences, the entire festival would be ruined, and the Fall Harvest Festival was what made Moonbeam Hollow special. Blair needed to find the perfect spell.
Blair ended up too busy in the afternoon to brainstorm spells.
It was Stitch Witches’ night, and the group seemed thirstier than normal.
Agatha was back at the counter only half an hour after Blair had made her first drink.
‘How was the apple cinnamon latte?’ Blair asked.
When she’d made it, Blair had tapped into Agatha’s early memories, learning that her father used to sprinkle cinnamon on her vanilla ice cream.
So, Blair made sure that Agatha’s latte had cinnamon and vanilla flavours in the forefront.
‘So soothing!’ Agatha said. ‘I would love another!’ She was wearing a hand-knit cardigan in shades of blue, orange and purple over a floral skirt.
Agatha’s signature purple eyeglass frames perfectly matched her short nails.
‘This is why I will always be loyal to you, my dear. Your drinks are simply magic!’
Blair beamed. Even after doing this for so long, she still felt warm and satisfied when one of her drinks made someone happy. ‘I’m glad you enjoyed it.’ Blair took the bottle of syrup down from the shelf.
‘Have you heard anything about how the mayor is doing?’ Blair asked. If anyone knew, it would be Agatha.
‘I’m afraid there’s no good news there,’ Agatha said.
‘She’s lost more memories – Dr. Fairwood said Hazel doesn’t even remember Moonbeam Hollow at all anymore!
They are trying to get her in to see a neurologist in the city.
I almost wonder if the whole business is related to the festival sabotage, but I can’t see how. ’
‘Do you really think the festival issues are sabotage?’
Agatha nodded. ‘Definitely. Pine Falls Landing is getting desperate. They know no one will come to their festival when the established, superior Moonbeam Hollow Fall Harvest Festival is only an hour away. There’s going to be another town council meeting on Monday – to finish the items on the agenda that weren’t covered before the mayor’s illness.
Hopefully, the council will find some money for us to get cameras. You should come.’
‘I might just do that.’ Blair steamed the milk for Agatha’s latte. ‘All of these things started happening when construction began on Shirley’s Sugar Mountain. Do you think they have something to do with it?’
Agatha looked confused, shaking her head. ‘I don’t see how.’ She paused, thinking. ‘Actually, maybe. Were you aware that the new patisserie is owned by Calista Caldwell and her son? Calista used to work at the Moonbeam Market years ago.’
‘Yeah, I know. Luke’s building it for his mother.’
‘I didn’t trust Calista when she lived here. She made no attempt to fit in. But I can’t see how Calista could be causing these issues. Her son maybe.’ Agatha paused again, thinking. ‘You dated him in high school, didn’t you?’
Blair exhaled, nodding. She’d hoped the town had forgotten about her history with Luke.
‘He really grew into a handsome man.’ Agatha made a sour face. ‘I don’t trust handsome men.’
Blair swallowed. Yes, Luke was handsome. And yes, he couldn’t be trusted. She squeezed caramel sauce over the whipped cream on Agatha’s latte, then sprinkled it with cinnamon sugar. She handed the mug to Agatha.
Agatha inhaled deeply. ‘You’re a sorceress, my dear. I am positive that you could convince anyone to do anything with your enchanted lattes.’
Oh. There was an idea. Blair had used potion magic on all her syrups to invoke cozy and nostalgic feelings, but maybe she could add a few more emotions to the mix?
After Agatha returned to the Stitch Witches, Blair poured some of her famous pumpkin spice syrup into a little metal bowl, then cleared her mind of all emotions.
Finally, she focused on sympathy and agreeableness, imagining herself feeling empathy for everyone.
And she added a dash of lowered inhibitions.
With the small chant of a spell and a wave of her hand, Blair had her potion.
This was why Blair would always win a café against café battle.
Blair had the secret weapon to beat all secret weapons. Potions magic.
Blair was soon able to test her new syrup.
When Melody, who occasionally joined the Stitch Witches when she needed help with a crochet project, ordered a pumpkin spice latte, Blair used the syrup she’d added a few extra emotions to.
Blair knew that Kass would have many words, or meows, about what she was doing – using an untested potion on an innocent person, but Blair’s potions weren’t really that strong.
And what harm could come from an agreeableness potion?
Blair pushed forward cardamom and nutmeg when making the drink, because Melody enjoyed those flavours.
She slid the mug across the counter to Melody. ‘Enjoy it!’
Melody immediately inhaled the latte, then smiled widely. ‘I absolutely will. You’re always so kind, Blair. Working so hard!’
Blair beamed. The potion was already working. ‘Aw, that’s sweet. Thank you, Melody! I have a bit of a headache this evening. Would you mind ensuring the Stitch Witches keep their voices low?’
Melody’s head tilted with sympathy. ‘Of course. I’m happy to. Is there anything else I can do? Pop over to the pharmacy for painkillers? Let me brew you some tea. You do so much for this town; allow us to give back.’
Okay, maybe this potion was working a little too well? Blair’s lattes didn’t usually have this strong an effect. Maybe she’d compounded the syrup with too many emotions?
But the effects of Blair’s lattes only lasted as long as the person was drinking, or smelling the beverage, so Blair decided it was fine.
She could dilute the syrup a little with her regular pumpkin spice syrup and she wouldn’t use it on anyone but Luke.
And using magic to get Luke to do what she wanted wasn’t unethical, because the festival was at stake.
She would make sure not to ask anything else of Melody until she had finished her latte, though.
Blair shook her head. ‘No, I’m fine. Go join the Stitch Witches!’
Even if Blair was a little unsettled at how well her potion succeeded, she had to admit it was wonderful to have a quieter than normal Tuesday night in the Harvest Moon Café.
When she saw Melody shushing Aarushi who was counting stitches loudly, Blair smiled to herself.
This was fine. She was using magic for good.