Chapter 7 #3
Sylvia shakes her head. “I wouldn’t mind them raiding my shop if they were actually putting on clothing instead of just making a huge mess for me to clean up.
I’m related to half of these fools. I’ll get things sorted with them once they’re back in their right minds and it’ll be fine.
Their public nudity is the bigger issue if it continues, especially with the upcoming Harvest Festival. ”
Baxter’s mouth sets in a grim line. “We can’t have them flaunting their bits and bobs all over town, not when there will be children around.”
“Agreed,” Hal chimes in. “If we want to nip this in the bud, it sounds like we need to do some investigating down by the campground at the lake where they’re all staying.”
Baxter nods his head. “You’re right. Enough’s enough. Are you free later tonight? With all your foraging knowledge, I could really use your help, Hal.”
“Sure thing,” he agrees readily.
“I’ll come too,” I blurt out before I can think better of it.
There’s no way I’m letting Hal and Baxter search out there. Alone. Together. In the dark.
Hal smiles like I just made his fucking day.
That makes the butterflies in my stomach do a full-on freestyle dance number.
“Sure. You haven’t had a chance to see the farther reaches of Mystic Hollow yet.” Hal gets that fucking adorable bashful look on his face as he gazes at me. “It’ll be nice to have you tag along.”
Baxter grunts in agreement.
A gnome with a padded bra strapped to his head like a helmet jumps up onto the front counter.
“Brothers—”
“And sisters!” a female gnome interjects.
“Don’t forget non-binaries,” another chimes in.
“Ahem.” Bra-helmet clears his throat. “Kindred spirits, we ride at dawn!”
“But it’s already noon,” one of them points out with a giggle.
Bra-helmet looks briefly confused and then rallies. “We ride at sunset! No longer will we suffer under the tyranny of the multi-bladed overlords cutting down our grassy friends with impunity!”
“Death to all lawnmowers” is once again the responding chant.
Bra-helmet continues. “A pox on these mechanical monsters!”
Another gnome, who has a sequined thong slung over her shoulder like a sash, brandishes what appears to be a battered old Nerf gun in the air. “We will make them rue the day they were made!”
“You work that sequin thong, girl,” Max calls out like a supportive cheerleader.
“Don’t encourage them,” Baxter growls.
Another gnome starts racing in circles around a rack of clothes. “Mwahahaha! Behold my ceremonial war cloak!”
Max cups one hand around his mouth and calls out, “Honey, that’s a kid’s Frozen blanket. See Elsa’s face on the front?”
The gnome comes to a screeching halt and pulls off the small blanket. They stare at it dazedly and then declare, “The ice queen has blessed me! We shall be victorious!”
“Hip-hip-hoorah!” the other gnomes shout back in unison.
“Let’s ride!” Bra-helmet shouts, and in a wave of tiny, mostly naked bodies, nearly a dozen gnomes all make a beeline for the door.
One nearly takes me out at the knees, and I clutch onto Hal’s arm to steady myself.
I watch through the front window as they exit the shop and double up on several tricycles. The gnome on the seat of each tricycle begins peddling madly down the street while those standing on the rear step hold up various stolen toys and shout, “Onward ho!”
To go battle lawnmowers.
An awkward silence descends over the shop.
“Not gonna lie, friends, that was the most fun I’ve had shopping on a weekday in ages.” Max chortles, and his small dog yips in agreement.
Baxter radios the station to let his staff know where the gnomes are headed and make sure people will keep an eye on them.
Hal notices my look of confusion and smiles. “Our police take a fairly hands-off approach in situations like this. If no one is causing any real danger or harm to themselves or others, there’s no need for more serious measures. They try to use peaceful tactics instead.”
“But we’ll need to come up with a backup plan for the festival if there’s any risk of them causing trouble,” Baxter adds.
Hal nods. “If we can figure out what has been causing these recent shenanigans, we can probably fix the whole situation. Win-win.”
“Agreed. I’ll see you guys later this evening,” Baxter says as he heads for the door.
“Text me when and where, and we’ll be there,” Hal replies.
The police chief nods and disappears outside.
Hal turns to me with a shy smile that makes my heart do funny things in my chest. Again.
“W-would you like to join me for lunch?” He hastily adds, “Only if you have time, of course.”
There’s no fucking way I’m missing an opportunity to have an almost-date with Hal.
“Sounds good to me.”
Yeah, that sounded cool and casual.
Hal’s smile goes supernova bright, and I’m momentarily stunned by just how fucking beautiful he is.
And I don’t think he has the faintest clue.
Once we stop grinning at each other like fools, we say our goodbyes to Sylvia and head to the diner a few blocks away. In short order, we’re seated across from each other in a booth, and for the millionth time today, my mind wanders back to Hal carrying me to bed.
Fuck, do I want all of that again. I know I’m probably reading way too much into what happened. After all, Hal’s one of the kindest guys I’ve ever met, and I know he’d have done the same for anyone. But in that instant, I felt fucking cherished.
That’s never happened to me before with anyone.
My thoughts turn back to the present when we have to order our food. After the server leaves, I notice lines of worry marring Hal’s forehead.
“What is it?” I ask.
He lowers his voice and leans closer. “You know how I got called out to the orchard this morning?”
I nod and frown. “Were things really bad?”
I hope not. Hal’s been devoting so much time to making the Harvest Festival the event of the year in Mystic Hollow. He’s even managed to get me excited about it, and that’s a true accomplishment. I normally don’t enjoy that kind of stuff.
Hal looks around to make sure no one’s listening in on us and quietly fills me in on the absolutely bonkers situation. As the story goes on, I can’t help but stare open-mouthed at him.
“I kinda wanna pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming,” I mutter in a daze when he finishes his account.
“I’m afraid it’s no dream,” Hal whispers, his eyes clouding with worry.
A sinking sensation settles in my gut. Great. The town’s magic source is going all nuclear reactor on us and could blow at any time.
Right when I’m getting ready to open my first salon.
Fuck. My. Life.
Hal reaches out and gently takes hold of my now clammy hand. “I know what you’re thinking, Skylar, but this isn’t an omen of impending doom, I promise. For now, Astraea thinks the worst we’re likely to experience is some strange anomalies around town.”
“Like musically inclined apples,” I offer dryly.
Hal lets out an endearing little snort of laughter and that somehow cuts the tension a little.
I cross my arms and lean back against the booth back. I may need it to keep me upright as I wrap my head around all this.
“Not to be a pessimist, but you don’t actually know what might occur here, right?”
Hal wrinkles his nose, and damn if I don’t find that cute as hell too.
“No, I don’t, but the magic was designed to be protective in nature. I’m confident it won’t do anything to harm the town or its residents. That’s not to say we’re sitting around doing nothing. Astraea’s redoubling her efforts to track down her son and bring him here ASAP.”
I try not to panic over all the worst-case scenarios that are flashing through my brain. Easier said than done, I guess.
Swallowing down a desire to scream in frustration, I ask, “So what now?”
Hal gives me an encouraging smile. “Baxter’s called a Community Gathering tomorrow evening.
Once we see how everyone responds to the news, we can start planning what we’ll do going forward.
In the meantime, it’s business as usual.
We’ll keep gearing up for the Harvest Festival, and you should continue getting the salon up and running.
” His big, warm hand squeezes mine gently.
“I believe in this town and the magic protecting us. We’re going to come out of this just fine.
” He winks at me. “We’ll even have some funny stories to reminisce about years from now, I’m sure. ”
I don’t know if it’s his touch or his words—or both—but something inside me calms. There isn’t much in life I’m certain about, but my gut is telling me to trust Hal on this one.
Our food arrives and we dig into our lunch while Hal tells me all about where we’re headed tonight. I’m looking forward to visiting a part of Mystic Hollow I haven’t seen before, even if we might be inundated with a bunch of naked gnomes baring all.
But what I’m most looking forward to is spending time with Hal.
Somehow, some way, I’m gonna tell him how I feel before this day is done.