Chapter 1 #2
“I’d love to!” Don’t look desperate. “When you invited me to your house earlier this year, I kept thinking how amazing it would look with custom windows. They add character and make a house stand apart from everyone else’s.”
“You don’t have to sell it to me. I’ve seen your work. Everyone notices that window at Dragonfly’s.”
And yet no one was hiring me for any big jobs.
Even though the club was underground, the owner had wanted a custom dragonfly art piece for one of his topside windows.
Atticus commissioned the window for a generous price, and I’d hoped it would lead to more business.
It wasn’t a large window, but I was proud of the elaborate design.
He even installed track lights on the inside to grab the attention of everyone who drove up at night.
Maybe people couldn’t imagine one in their own home or didn’t see a point, so the thought of a prominent Packmaster showing interest excited me more than presents on Christmas morning.
“That’s not even my best work,” I added. “I’d love to work with you. Just let me know when you’re available, and we can talk through ideas. Then I’ll take measurements and create a few designs.”
Tak knelt, his long braid sliding forward.
Violet’s wolf pup spotted the alpha and wagged her little tail so fast it looked like it might fly right off.
Then she barreled toward him at breakneck speed, slipping awkwardly until she finally reached her Packmaster.
When he held out his hands to pick her up, she chomped down on his braid and tugged with all her puppy might.
He lifted her into his arms and stood. “Brave little wolf. You need to respect your alpha,” he said, clearly amused.
She licked his chin without a single understanding of what he’d said, but she loved him.
Tak sighed at Joy. “She just peed on me.”
Joy scooped up her baby wolf. “You should be used to that by now with your own little one.”
Tak peeled off his shirt and pinched it between two fingers.
He had a thick torso and looked strong, which made me wonder about the impressive claw marks on his right shoulder.
They must have come from a lion or a bear, and I could only presume he won that fight if he chose to seal the wounds with liquid fire.
I feigned disinterest even though I was insanely curious about the story behind them.
“How’s your foot?” he asked.
“My foot?” I glanced down, wondering what in the world he was talking about.
Then I smacked my forehead when I remembered stepping on glass at their peace party.
“Oh, it’s totally healed. Sorry I bled all over your deck.
And screamed. And then fainted. And I’m real sorry about knocking over the table. That wasn’t my finest hour.”
He rubbed his mouth as if attempting to shield his grin, but I’d felt his blistering judgment about my erratic behavior during what was an important event.
After their healer had pulled the glass out, which was wedged deep inside, I screamed and fainted.
When I came to, I was so bewildered that I padded across the deck and tried to sit on the edge of a table.
It tipped and sent expensive liquor bottles rolling onto the ground.
“It was a swell party,” I added.
Archer barked out a laugh from the aisle.
Tak inclined his head. “I’ll be in touch.”
I played with my silver locket, which hung from a long chain around my neck. “My calendar’s free at the moment. It’s better if I view the space before we talk about design ideas. That way I can see the windows, the size, what you had in mind, how much direct light you get, the energy.”
His brow furrowed. “Energy?”
“The vibes! Every space has energy. When you walk into this store, the energy is very Zen. But that bar up the street?” I snorted. “As soon as you walk in, you’re wired up. It has nothing to do with expectations but the energy in the room. Those vibes influence my creative vision.”
He nodded his head with a tight grin. “You’d get along with my mate.” Tak suddenly squinted and bent down to look at my face. “You have strange eyes.”
Joy cleared her throat.
“I don’t mean to insult you,” he blurted before standing erect. “I’ve never seen that before.”
My eyes were an unusual shade of green, both pale and vibrant, like colored glass held up to the sunlight. But it wasn’t until people looked closer that they noticed the fiery orange ring around the pupil.
He rubbed his chin. “My people have stories about those with strange eyes.”
I rocked on my heels. “If it’s a scary story, I’m not sure I wanna know.”
“The elders say unnatural eyes allow you to see impossible things. Then again, they also say a rattlesnake crossing your path in winter will bring misfortune.” He shook his head. “I guess we’ll find out.”
Joy froze. “What? Where?”
Archer joined the group and put his hand in his pocket. “What’s the big deal? We have snakes all over the property.”
Tak’s eyebrows arched. “In December they sleep. This one was angry. It crossed my path when I was out running this morning.”
Archer tilted his head to the side. “You didn’t kill it with your big knife?”
“I don’t jog with my knife. That’s how fools are made. Don’t let your guard down.”
“On that note, I need to get going,” I said, heading for the door. “I look forward to hearing from you!”
Everyone waved as I exited the bookstore.
My brown cargo pants were nice and warm.
They were also covered in paint spatters since they were my work pants.
I dealt with paint and glass, and because I didn’t want excessive fabric picking up debris, I usually wore tank tops or halter tops with my pants.
As a glazier who worked on stained glass, I was always designing, cutting, painting, and drawing.
The bigger projects earned me the most money, but right now I was between jobs, so to make ends meet, I sold smaller pieces.
The idea of taking on a large project with a prominent figure in town excited me, and I walked with an extra skip in my step, hoping this might kick off my career.
It took two hours to walk to the general store, and the first thing I did was grab an orange soda from the cooler and guzzle it to the bottom.
“Well, if it isn’t Quinn, our resident soda thief.” The store owner cackled at me. Justin had a pleasant drawl, a round belly, and a faithful smile. He was like Santa Claus without the red suit.
I wasn’t certain about his Breed since it was generally impolite to ask, but I often speculated he might be Relic or Shifter.
It would be unusual for a Mage to have turned an older man like him, and he didn’t have the physical characteristics of a Chitah or a Vampire.
Sensors often wore gloves in public, and because he was around people all day, handling money and items that were covered in emotional imprints, it was unlikely that was his Breed.
“Hi, Justin.” I flashed a guilty grin while blowing on the rim of the bottle. “You know I’d never shoplift,” I assured him while stuffing the empty bottle in my black insulated tote, which was designed especially for groceries.
He tucked his thumbs beneath his blue suspenders. “Is that so? I seem to recall a couple years back a gal who fits your description stuffing beef jerky into her pants.”
“Huh. I guess all us redheads look alike.”
He let out a deep belly laugh before patting a wooden shelf filled with food. “Holler if you need somethin’.”
The general store had a little of everything.
Most of Justin’s money came from the bar and outside patio, where local singers and bands performed three days a week.
People who lived outside of towns and communities came here to relax, drink, and listen to music.
The structure was built from wood and steel siding, and the cover over the seating area outside protected customers from the rain and hot sun.
One lady sold homemade hot sauce there, and the sauces were so popular that Justin had given her an entire shelf for her products.
The heavy lumber shelves were stocked with food, and household goods and tools hung on a pegboard in the back.
During the summer, I often sat at the picnic tables in an open area and cooled off with an orange-flavored snow cone.
Justin fired up the grill on weekends and made hamburgers, but I missed those.
Since the cookouts started in the early evening, that would mean walking home in the dark.
“When are you gonna get yourself a car?” he called out from the front.
I added a loaf of bread to my bag. “Can’t afford it. Besides, my legs are cheaper than gas.”
He laughed heartily. “Ain’t that the truth?”
At the end of the aisle, I studied all the candy on the wire stand.
The top shelf had a giant bucket tilted forward and filled with various sweets.
I tossed a bag of jelly beans into my tote, which was easy to carry home so long as I didn’t overload it with too many heavy items. Sometimes I was lucky enough to catch a ride back to Storybook, but not always.
When I arrived at the art section, I mentally counted how many of my stained glass pieces were still on the display.
There were too many shelves and stands blocking the windows, so instead of hanging them, I laid them flat with all the price tags hidden beneath.
Perhaps if customers had to pick them up to see the price, they would fall in love with one when it caught the light. “Any sales?”
“Two yesterday,” he answered. “You want to apply that money to your grocery bill?”
“Yes! Please!”
Justin was awesome. He supported local artists and entrepreneurs by giving them a place to sell.
It was a low-cost way for him to stock inventory and make money.
He claimed a percentage of each sale, but for me it wasn’t about money.
I didn’t have to leave a business card or put my name on the items since we lived in a small community, and I made sure everyone knew they were mine.