by Amy Boyles
“That’s the plan.” He scratched his head. “And why aren’t you doing this wherever you’re from?”
I shrugged. “Because Axel and I will be mated. That will be all the bond we’ll need.”
Ratchet rolled his eyes. “Right.”
Amelia brushed crumbs off her hands. “Well, since apparently I’ve got to go catch stinky skinks before Betty has a heart attack that I’m not with her, I guess I’d better get going.”
My gaze landed on Cordelia. “I’m following you to the shop.”
She nodded. “Come on.”
“Ratchet, you coming with us?”
Ratchet nodded. “I’ll come. You might need my expertise to guide you through the town. There’s no telling what all’s different for you.”
I wasn’t sure if he was being sarcastic or not, but I took his words sincerely.
“All right. Come on.” I gestured to my neck. “Do you ride on me or anything? Piggyback?”
“Lady, I don’t do piggyback on anyone.”
Okay, then.
We opened the door and stepped onto the porch. Garrick Young stood at the other end, a slow smile spreading across his face.
I glanced at Cordelia. Was Garrick here for her? That wasn’t possible, was it? Cordelia was dating Axel. Why was Garrick here?
“Everything okay?” I said.
He tipped his hat. “Pepper, Cordelia.” But his eyes remained on Amelia.
Amelia, unconcerned, waved. “Hey, Garrick.”
Then before I had a chance to blink, Garrick strode over, wrapped Amelia in his arms, swung her around and planted a huge kiss on her mouth.
“Baby, are you a sight for sore eyes.”
Amelia, shocked, stared at Garrick, her fingers on her lips. Cordelia’s mouth dropped to the wooden planks that covered the porch, while I stood wondering what other screwy thing this world could throw at us. I mean, we’d already seen quite a lot.
“You ready for our date?” Garrick said.
Amelia wiggled from his arms. “Um. No. Wait. Date?”
“Yeah,” Ratchet said, “the two of you have a date, remember? Why is it the raccoon has to keep up with everyone’s social calendar? I don’t have time for this. I’ve got my own life to work on. But no, nobody knows what’s going on here and everyone needs me to help.”
“Oh, Garrick.” Amelia stepped back. “So great to see you,” she said nervously, “but I’ve got to go help Betty with some…”
“Stinky skinks,” Ratchet offered.
She snapped her fingers. “Stinky skinks. That’s right. Pesky little creatures. Apparently I’ve got to…” She searched Ratchet for an answer.
He complied. “Get rid of them by shooting anti-skink pellets into the bushes around the ceremony.”
“Right.” She pointed at the raccoon. “That. I’ve got to do that.”
Garrick ran his fingers down her arms. “You sure you don’t have time for me? Your love bug?”
“Give me a break,” Cordelia whispered. “Who is that guy? Did he get hit on the head?”
“Yeah, by love,” Ratchet said. “That’s what happened after you broke up with him.”
She rolled her eyes. I knew Cordelia was fuming inside. Like, seriously fuming about Garrick and Amelia. Part of me wanted to laugh, and not in a way that suggested all of this was humorous. More in a maniacal, I-can’t-believe-this sort of way.
My laugh would sound like the sort you hear a person in an insane asylum emit. Yes, I stood on a cliff and was about to plummet right on over.
Amelia kindly told Garrick she had other things to do. His face dropped into a sad-puppy-dog expression. “I’ll miss you, love bug, but I’ll see you at dinner. Save me a seat.”
He went in for one more kiss, and Amelia dodged it. She placed her hands on his arms and said loudly, “Not in public. You know how I feel about public displays of affection.”
Garrick pouted. “You usually love them.”
Amelia looked at an invisible watch on her wrist. “Oh, look at the time. Gotta go.”
She raced around him and scampered down the stairs, leaving Garrick standing on the porch, a confused expression gracing his face.
I waved goodbye to Garrick and we joined Amelia on the sidewalk.
“Dear Lord, that was crazy,” Amelia muttered.
“Welcome to Crazy Town,” Ratchet said. “A place made of your own wishes.”
“Don’t remind us,” Amelia said. “Here’s the thing. I didn’t wish to date Garrick.”
“Happened after Cordelia broke up with him,” Ratchet explained. “The poor guy was heartbroken. Amelia was there for him.”
“What about Sherman?” she said.
“Sherman Oaks?” Ratchet asked. “The wizard from the Head Witch Order?”
“That’s the one.”
He shook his head. “Nothing happened.”
We passed the park alongside Bubbling Cauldron. A bush shook and trembled.
I threw out my hand, ready to attack whatever lay inside, but a moment later a head of curly hair popped out.
Betty jumped from the bushes. She wore camouflage from head to toe. She’d smeared black shoe polish on her cheeks and had crowned her head in twigs and leaves.
I nearly died laughing.
“Don’t you make fun of me,” she snapped. “It’s because of you I’m going after those skinks.” Her gaze landed on Amelia. “And I thought you were coming to help already dressed.”
“Considering I don’t even know what to do, I’d say I’m doing good just showing up.”
Betty cocked a hand behind her ear. “Huh? I couldn’t hear you.”
Amelia shook her head. “Never mind. What do you need me to do?”
“First, put on camouflage and then jump in these bushes with me.”
“And I really wanted this more than a job at the Vault?” she asked the heavens. “How is that even possible?”
“The Vault?” Betty cackled. “You got fired from the Vault, remember? No one will hire you except for me.”
Amelia’s chin dropped to her chest. “Of course they won’t.” She sighed. “Okay. Show me what I need to do.”
I waved at Amelia. “We’ll catch up with you later.”
I followed Cordelia and Ratchet down the street. I wondered why Cordelia and Amelia had been so reluctant to share with me what they’d learned.
That idea sprinkled my thoughts when an awfully familiar Land Rover came to halt beside us. My heart drummed against my ribs. Sweat flooded my brow, and I could practically hear the blood rushing in my ears.
The vehicle stopped, and the door opened. Out stepped Axel, looking every bit as handsome as he was when I saw him only two days ago.
He wore a collared, short-sleeved cotton shirt that hugged his biceps and blue jeans that accentuated his thighs. He’d shorn his hair. It was longer on top and clipped on the sides. His piercing blue eyes stole my breath.
And he stole my heart when he strode right past me and embraced Cordelia.
She returned the hug awkwardly, as she should have. But that didn’t stop Axel from planting a kiss on her forehead.
“Oh, here we go,” Ratchet murmured.
I rolled my eyes. “Hey, Axel.”
I mean, I wasn’t going to stand by and let my real fiancé not talk to me. I couldn’t have that.
His blue eyes darted to mine. Behind them I saw hesitation and a thick, hard wall. “Hey,” he said coolly.
Which meant he was still hurt. As much as I hated to think it, I was relieved. If Axel had completely moved on, I would’ve been crushed. Seriously crushed. Like to the point where I would question our entire relationship. It would kill me to think that Axel had moved right on along to be with my cousin.
Which was basically exactly what I had done to him.
Yes, I realized that. But it wasn’t as if I’d lived through it. I sat on the tail end of this storm and was doing the best I could to hold on tight.
“Big night tonight,” Axel
said.
I nodded. “Yep. Sure is.”
We stared at each other before he dragged his gaze to Cordelia and kissed the top of her head. “Can’t wait. I’ll pick you up at seven, okay?”
“Okay,” she murmured.
And before she had a chance to say anything else, he pulled her into a kiss. A deep, hot kiss that made my blood turn to fire, my toes curl and my hands fist to stones.
I nearly shot a stream of magic at Axel and hurled him out of Magnolia Cove.
He strode away, climbed into his SUV and motored down the road.
“Well, that’s the way to make an entrance,” Ratchet murmured.
I glared at him. “One more word and I’ll put a mute spell on you.”
The raccoon raised his hands. “Don’t mind me. Come on. Let’s get to the store.”
Chapter 7
I was still steaming when we entered Southern Wishes. I sucked in a breath as soon as we entered.
“Whoa, this place is different.”
The antiques and prisms had been replaced with large vases full of flowers, potted plants and scrolling-iron backed chairs. The place smelled of sandalwood and citrus. The scents made me want to curl into a ball and take a nap.
“It looks like you’re about to have a tea party,” I said.
“Apparently this is my touch,” Cordelia said. “We sit with clients and discuss their wishes with them. Let me see if my dad is here. Have a seat.”
I sat in the chair while Ratchet paced. “You going to sit?”
“No thanks,” he said tersely. “I don’t like all this froufrou stuff. I’m good right where I am.”
I’d been waiting a few minutes when Cordelia and her father, Morgan, entered.
Morgan, tall and fit, smiled widely. Lines molded into his forehead, and his cheeks were hollow underneath. This Morgan was thinner than his counterpart in our world. But even though his face was gaunt, his eyes glittered with intelligence.
He motioned for Cordelia to sit, and he pulled up another chair. Morgan unfolded the cloth from the engraved sandstone.
“You’ll have to forgive my daughter for not telling you exactly what is going on,” Morgan started.
I frowned, confused. “What do you mean?”
“I asked her and Amelia to bring you here. It is a complicated issue to explain, so I thought it best to tell you myself.”
I started to feel as if there was some secret mission going on behind my back. Cordelia telling me her dad needed to do research and now Morgan saying that he’d asked Cordelia to bring me here made my hackles rise.
As if the entire charade wasn’t confusing enough, time to add on one more element, I thought bitterly.
Morgan patted my hand. “There is a lot here, a lot that has to be explained gently.”
And what was I? A three-year-old who couldn’t understand simple American? I could understand, thank you very much.
I scowled. “Then start explaining. It doesn’t have to be gently, not to me, but I have to know what’s going on. What exactly we have to do to return to our…world, for lack of a better way of putting it.”
Morgan nodded in understanding. He magicked up an iced tea service and poured a glass for each of us.
Ugh. I really wished right about now that I had jelly beans. I mean seriously. I wanted jelly beans more than anything.
Why the heck would I have been foolish enough to give up sugar before my wedding? That was when I needed sugar the most, obviously.
Morgan handed me my tea. “Yours is unsweetened, right?”
What? Did the entire town know my business? This Magnolia Cove was way too close for my comfort.
“No, I’ll take it with sugar, thank you.”
He nodded and tapped the glass, which I assumed meant he’d added a healthy dose of sweetener to it. I sipped my tea, which was barely sweet enough, and settled the glass down.
What I wouldn’t give for jelly beans.
“Now”—I hooked my hands around one knee—“tell me the finer details of this wish.”
Morgan cleared his throat. His gaze darted to the stone in unease.
That was not a good sign, y’all. Not at all.
He picked up the stone and suspended it between two fingers. “The magical wishing stone you have, as you’ve guessed, listened to your wishes and placed you here, in this reality. Which, from what your cousins have told me, is completely different from your own.”
My foot bobbed up and down. Yes. We’ve gone over this part. Can we just get to the good stuff? “Yes, this place is completely different. We’re all dating different people, have different jobs—I have a completely different familiar.”
“One that’s better,” Ratchet said.
My gaze cut to him, and the raccoon winked at me. I directed the conversation back to Morgan. “How do we get back?”
“That depends,” he said slowly.
Not the answer I was looking for. “On what?”
“On you.”
I studied him. “If it depends on me, then I want to go back now. To my life.”
Morgan’s head slowly ticked to one side. “It’s not that simple.”
“Of course it isn’t,” I grumbled.
“You got that right,” Ratchet added.
My uncle smiled kindly. “The stone granted your wish, and now you get a chance to experience your desire. From the stone’s perspective, it gave you what you wanted, and in return, it expects certain things.”
I almost didn’t even want to ask. “What sort of things?”
“For you to appreciate what you’ve been given, for one. For you to live as this other self for a few days, at the least.”
“So I need to be grateful that it granted me the wish.”
“Right. You said you wanted something else; now’s your chance to experience it. If you live within the wish and fully embrace it, you should be back in your own world in no time. Because you’ve given this life a chance but still, in your heart, ache for the other.”
I slowly digested what he was saying. Morgan was simply telling me to roll with it, basically. Roll with the good and bad of this reality.
“Okay,” I finally answered, “I’ve lived in this life, and I ache for my real one.” I slapped my thighs. “I’m ready to return now.”
He smiled. “You’ll be here close to a week, at my guess.”
Panic clambered up my throat. “I’m supposed to be married by then. Not in my world but in this one. I’m supposed to be married.”
I stared at the simple stone. “Does this wishing stone want me to marry someone else? To do that?”
Morgan hiked a shoulder to his ear. “I can’t answer that, but I can tell you this. The stone put you here for a reason. If at the end of your journey, your heart is still not in this place, you will be returned to your own life. But you have to at least try this one.”
I rubbed the heels of my hands into my eyes. “This is so bad. I can’t get married. That would mean I officially cheated on my fiancé back in our world.” My gaze darted to the stone. “What do you want from me? From any of us?”
Cordelia squeezed my shoulder. “It wants us to try. We asked for something else, and the stone wants us try to our fullest. To accept what we’ve been given.”
Why fight? Why throw punches if it wasn’t going to do any good? I slid my hands down my thighs. “Okay. I’ll try. I’ll embrace this life for one week. See what my life could’ve been. But I know where my heart is,” I directed at the stone. “You’re not going to change my mind about that.”
“Aren’t we forgetting something?” Ratchet said.
The three of us turned to him. “What?” I said.
He pointed to Cordelia. “This is all fine for your cousins, but you’ve got wedding ceremony stuff to deal with. A ceremony, that I might remind you, will bring you closer to your soon-to-be husband.”
Morgan winced. “That’s the other thing.”
“Oh great,” I groaned. “There’s a catch, is
n’t there? It’s not nearly as simple as I thought. It really isn’t just ‘hang out with Rufus for a week and you’ll be back in Axel’s arms in no time.’ There’s more to it than that, right?”
“I’m afraid so.”
I clapped my hands. “You might as well go ahead and tell me. I can take it.”
Morgan licked his lips like he was biding time. Beside me, Cordelia stiffened, and I started to realize that the entire situation was worse than bad.
This could be cataclysmic.
“No need to stall.”
Morgan steepled his fingers and rested them on the tip of his nose. “There is a catch with a wishing stone such as this one.”
He paused. Why was he milking this conversation? I wanted to know the bad stuff. This was like the debate between ripping off the Band-Aid and getting the pain over with or slowly peeling it back.
Rip the sucker off, I say.
“What’s the catch?” I asked.
“If you find the life you’re living is better than the one you came from, you’ll stay.”
My heart pounded against my ribs. “I’ll stay? I won’t return? I’ll end up trapped here forever?”
He nodded slightly. “That’s only if you completely accept where you are.”
I paused, considering the odds that a situation like that would ever happen. Deciding it was impossible, I waved away his concern. “I think we’re fine there, Uncle. There’s no way I’d accept this life and want to stay. I mean, I have a great setup at home. It’s awesome. Here so many things are different—and not in a good way.”
I shook my head, deciding unequivocally that at the end of the week I would be returning home.
Absolutely.
“Aren’t you forgetting something, again?” Ratchet said.
“No,” I snapped.
“The pre-wedding stuff. The thing I was trying to remind you of.”
I shook my head. “You mean the stuff that’s supposed to bring Rufus and me together?”
“Bingo! We have a winner!”
I stared at Ratchet while a world of information collided in my brain. The wave of realization crashed down, and I nearly spilled from my chair.
Cordelia grabbed my shoulders. “Hold on, Pepper. Breathe.”
“This is a lot for her,” Morgan said.