by Amy Boyles
“Thanks,” I murmured.
“But nobody cares about Ratchet. I’m just some trash that was found in an alley. I shouldn’t even be here. Isn’t that right, Pepper?”
His words stung me. I took a deep gulp. “No, that’s wrong. You’re supposed to be here. You’re supposed to be exactly where you are.”
“But I’m not,” he said. “You’re only thinking about me now because I’ve forced you to. The Pepper Dunn I know isn’t perfect. At times she only thinks about herself and no, she never cared about her shop but she always cared about me. Always gave a rat’s behind. No, her choices haven’t been perfect. She made a dirty deal with the council so that Magnolia Cove could be saved. She’s marrying a man that she—”
“Loves,” I finished.
Cordelia gasped. “Oh no. The ceremony.”
I nodded. “It is the magic of the ceremony, but I’m not ashamed of it. I’m not angry and I’m not unhappy. I am unhappy that Betty is trying to ruin my happiness.” I pointed a finger at her. “I’ve got something special and you’re trying to throw a monkey wrench in it and Idie Claire is going to ruin me, too.”
“But it’s fake,” Cordelia said quietly. “What you’re feeling, it isn’t real.”
“It feels real,” I argued.
Cordelia shot Betty a dark look. “What should we do?”
Betty tapped the wooden spoon on the side of the cauldron and hung it on a hook. “What can we do? This is Pepper’s life and her choices. If her love for Axel is strong enough, then I don’t think that even all the unity ceremonies in the world will change that.
“I understand your concern, Ratchet,” Betty continued. “I don’t know what place this is. Are we real? I feel real. Has everyone been rewritten because in this life Pepper made different choices, as did Cordelia and Amelia? Hard to say. Hard to know. All we can do for now is to move with the current.”
She pinned her glittering eyes on me. “I told Axel because I felt that was the right decision to make. He still loves you. You’re with him in another life. Does that mean you should be here, too? I think so. I think there are many paths we can take, but who we are on the inside remains the same no matter what dimension you are in.”
She crossed to me and tapped my chest with her fingers. “You are a caring person who wants to do what’s right. I know that. I feel it. Doing right to you means all the world.”
My grandmother cupped my face in her hand. I sighed into her warm skin, relishing the comfort she offered.
“You want to do what’s right, then do it. The world is just waiting for you to do what you’re supposed to.”
I grasped her hand gently. “Thank you.” I pulled her away and smiled. “I know what I’m supposed to do.”
“Thank goodness,” Cordelia said. “I don’t know if it’ll get us out of here, but I know I miss the old Pepper.”
I smiled sadly at her. “You didn’t let me finish. I know what’s right, and I’m going to do it. Which means that for the next few days—”
I thought about Idie Claire and her ruining things. I thought about Axel and how it felt to press my lips against his, to feel the fire that burned in me. I considered Rufus and the love I held deep in my heart for him.
“For the next few days,” I repeated, “I’m going to do what I feel is best. If I’m here when the wedding takes place, I will marry Rufus Mayes. Just so that all of you know. I’m not going to change my mind.”
Betty and Cordelia stared at me with sadness in their eyes. I gritted my teeth.
“Come on, Ratchet. Let’s go get me ready for tonight’s ceremony.”
Chapter 17
“If Sherman doesn’t kiss me soon, I don’t know what I’ll do.”
Amelia and I stood outside. The third ceremony had just been completed. I was a jumble of nerves. An absolute mess.
I hadn’t had a chance to talk to Rufus about my kiss with Axel, but I knew I needed to as soon as possible; otherwise things could go sour quickly. After all, there was no telling when Idie Claire would make her move.
“I’m sure Sherman will kiss you soon,” I murmured.
Amelia shot me a questioning look. “Are you okay? You don’t seem normal.”
I quirked a shoulder. “I’m fine. Really.”
She pointed to Cordelia and Betty, who stood on the other side of the clearing. It looked like they were trying to stay as far away from me as possible.
“Is that why Betty and Cordelia are treating you like you have the plague?”
I frowned. “I don’t have the plague.”
“Right.” Amelia spotted Sherman striding up to us. She squeezed my shoulder. “Wish me luck.”
Great. Now I was alone. I glanced around, looking for Rufus, but he hadn’t come out of his tent yet. I also looked around for Idie Claire, but I didn’t see her, either.
I did, however, see Axel talking to Betty. He’d snuck up, apparently. I had only just noticed him.
Our gazes locked, and he gave me a slight nod. I shivered.
Time to find Rufus.
“So are you going to tell him?” Ratchet said, catching up to me as I crossed the lawn. “About what happened?”
“What choice do I have?”
“Oh, you have choices. It just depends on what outcome you want. Whether you want this thing to turn ugly or keep it civil.”
I stopped, pivoting to face him. “What do you mean?”
“What do you think Rufus is going to do if he discovers what happened?”
My stomach knotted. “I don’t know. Think that it was all a big misunderstanding?”
Ratchet folded his arms. “Do you really believe that?”
“No,” I squeaked.
“Let me tell you what he’s going to do. As soon as you tell him, he will sic every last wizard on Axel. What do you think will happen then?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Axel will run?”
“Wrong! You really aren’t very good at this game. Axel will be attacked and probably killed.”
My eyelids flared in shock. “For—doing what he did?” I didn’t want to say kissing out loud.
“Yep. For doing that.”
I laughed. “You’re joking, right? That’s not going to happen.”
Ratchet shook his head. “I’m not kidding. You spoke to Argus. Do you think that man is joking about anything?”
I cringed. “No. I guess not.”
“What Axel did was wrong. You tell Rufus and you’ll be putting him in danger.”
Frustration peaked inside me. “Then what am I supposed to do?”
Ratchet studied me. “Do I really have to spoon-feed you everything?”
“Yes.”
“First, you don’t tell him. Second, you strike a deal with Idie.”
“What sort of deal?”
“The sort that makes both of you happy. How’s that sound?”
“Desperate.”
“Let me tell you something, kid.” Ratchet pointed to the tent. “You go in there and do what you’re about to do and you’ll bring a lot of misery to a lot of people. You don’t do it and instead pay off the only other person who knows, and you’ve got a better situation. Now. Which will it be?”
“Neither one sounds perfect,” I said.
“Sometimes you gotta take what you’re given,” he said.
“And what would you do in this situation?”
Ratchet rubbed the back of his neck. He glanced at the ground, and then he lifted his gaze to mine. “I’ve always believed keeping a low profile is in the best interest of everyone.”
“You used to steal doughnuts and eat them in alleys.”
“See? Low profile.”
I cocked my head and shot him a guilty look. “Come on. I know that I don’t really know you and you don’t really know me, but I could use some help.”
“You just think you don’t know me, but I’m betting somewhere you do. Listen, Pepper, if you hadn’t saved me, I’d be an overweight raccoon who ended up out
of breath at every turn. I’d be eating a doughnut with every meal. Truth is, I used to look in the windows of Familiar Place ’cause all I wanted was to be loved. Corny, huh?”
I patted his head. “No, it’s not corny. Everyone wants to be loved.”
“Well, I used to want that more than anything. I’d steal some food and go watch the animals. I would’ve given the world to switch places with one of them, even for a night.”
He dropped his hands to his thighs. “Now look at me. I’ve got a great witch who I’m a familiar to, but I don’t know what the future holds. I might vanish without a trace, or I might just keep right on plodding along.”
He laughed bitterly. “I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.”
Without thinking, I scooped Ratchet into my arms, which really wasn’t as easy as it seemed because he was solid. It was like trying to pick up a stone statue.
Not that Ratchet resisted, but I got the feeling hugs weren’t his thing.
“Whatever happens, I’ll find you. I’ll get you to a witch or wizard who needs a raccoon just like you. I promise.”
“If you say so,” he muttered in disbelief.
“I’m not lying. I’ll do whatever I can. Whatever it takes to help. Understand?”
He nodded. “Now let me down before anyone sees us.”
I laughed and placed him gently on the ground. I brushed my hands and glanced around at the crowd. “Okay. Well, I guess you helped me make up my mind on this one.”
“Oh? How’s that?”
I fisted my hands to my hips and said sternly, “I don’t want anyone to be hurt. So.”
Ratchet smiled mischievously. “So. We’re going to find Idie?”
I clicked my tongue. “We sure are.”
“Okay, Idie, you’ve won. I’ve come to offer whatever you want.”
I stood in the middle of Idie Claire’s hair salon. The place looked normal enough except for the animated shears that zipped around the room snipping at things.
Seriously. A pair of silver scissors seemed intent on taking the world by storm, one haircut at a time.
Are they what cut my hair? If that was the case, no wonder I complained to my cousins that I’d received a bad haircut. Those shears looked pretty manic, as if they would slice up anything just to have something to do.
I shuddered.
Idie dusted off a chair. She plumped her hair, which was teased practically to the ceiling, and blew a pink bubble from the gum cracking in her mouth.
“Oh? You’ve seen things my way? What makes you think I want anything other than to ruin you?”
I slowly stepped across the tile floor. My heels clacked on the stone. Idie’s gaze zipped to my feet and then back to me.
“Well,” I slowly started, as if I’d really been thinking about it, “if you’d wanted to ruin me, you would’ve been at the ceremony tonight.”
She sniffed. “I had a client.”
“You could’ve put them off, done their hair another day.”
“I’m booked solid. Someone’s big wedding is screwing up everything in this town. I’m busy all week up until an hour before the ceremony.”
I nodded. “So even though I ruined you, you’re still busy.”
Idie stumbled over her words. “Yes. You destroyed my reputation.”
I glanced around the salon, which was neatly decorated with over-the-top velvet drapes and cushions. Lots of rich jewel tones and dark wood made the place look more like the inside of a mansion than a salon.
“Looks like business has been good.”
“Well it hasn’t,” she snapped. “And that’s why I’m still going to ruin you. First chance I get.”
“Tell you what, Idie. Why don’t we forget all about what happened and settle on some sort of agreement. I would like that. Would you?”
She glanced around nervously. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. You even think of setting one of your council dogs on me and I’ll squeal. I promise.”
I laughed. “I’m not talking about that. I don’t want to hurt or intimidate you. That’s not what I’m after.”
Idie grabbed a broom and swept hair out from under a chair. “Then what do you want? I’m tired and I’d like to go home.”
“Fair enough.” I brushed my fingers over the glossy surface of a cutting station, letting a pregnant silence hang heavy in the room.
“Well?” Idie screeched. “What do you want?”
Her eyes bugged from her head and her grip on the broom neared strangulation mode. Idie was frazzled. She’d thought she had me. She figured I’d be a bundle of frayed nerves at this point.
Oh, how wrong she was.
The shears whizzed by me, and I plucked them from the air. I stared at their silvery surface and admired how they reflected the light.
“Is this how you cut all your heads?”
Idie nodded stiffly. “Yes. I use the magical shears. That’s how I’ve always cut hair.”
“Hmm.”
“What?”
“It just seems to me that you’re limiting yourself.”
Idie’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”
I went back over the script Ratchet and I had come up with. I couldn’t woo Idie Claire by simply walking in and demanding that she not release information about me that she desperately wanted to. She wanted to ruin me.
I had to make her want to lift me up.
The only way to do that was to give Idie what she wanted—her reputation back.
I inspected the shears. “I mean, if you’re cutting people’s hair like this instead of using your witch-given gift of hair cutting using your own two hands, then I’d say you’re limiting yourself.”
“And I suppose you have a solution?” She rolled her eyes. “Right.”
“I do.”
She shook her head in disgust. “I don’t want to hear it.”
“What if I said you could cut my hair again, but this time without using some silly magic trick. If you do, I’ll make sure everyone at the wedding knows it was you. I’ll even let you style my hair for the ceremony.”
Idie’s eye twitched. She was interested. I knew she would be.
“Imagine this.” I splayed my hands to set the scene. “You style my hair however you want, everyone there knows it—people of influence, visitors, folks who could really affect things for you. Change you. Put your store on the witch hairstyling map. Our town is already famous. Why not make it infamous?”
Idie licked her lips. I could practically see the want in her eyes. This was big for her. Idie could start charging whatever she wanted, possibly get her hairstyles in fashion magazines, be more than she ever imagined.
“All you have to do is forget about that picture. What you saw. That’s all I need.”
I sighed and dropped into a styling chair. I kicked my feet up on the station’s ledge that held styling instruments, brushes, a hand mirror. I threaded my fingers behind my head and fixed my gaze on Idie Claire.
“What do you think? Do you want it? Can you forget what you think you saw and accept your potential?” I waved my hands. “This salon’s potential? Do you want it badly enough, Idie? Or,” I said, my voice deepening, “will you let a little rift between us screw up fame and wealth beyond your wildest dreams?”
Maybe I could bring her wealth and fame beyond her wildest dreams. At least I could help launch her in the right direction. The rest would be up to Idie.
She licked her lips again. Her gaze darted to the shears, which I’d settled on the ledge.
“What will it be?” I asked.
Idie took a deep breath. She yanked a cape from a rack and flipped it out. Then she slowly crossed to me and draped the covering over my body, securing it at my neck.
She pumped the chair. “So. What would you like me to do? Figure out your style for the wedding? Or give you a trim?”
I beamed. “How about we figure out the style?”
She grabbed a brush and a spray bottle filled with w
ater. “Coming right up.”
Chapter 18
Idie and I decided on a style that not only showed off my thick tresses but also showed off her talents.
“It’s gorgeous,” I said after she finished. It was swept up, teased and sprayed in all the right places. “I love it.”
I inhaled deeply and smiled at her. “Now. Doesn’t that feel better?”
She nodded. “It does. I’m glad we were able to come to an agreement and put our bad blood to rest.”
“Me too.” Idie whipped the cape off me, and I thanked her before leaving.
I have to admit I was feeling good. Feeling awesome in this Pepper’s life. I was rockin’ this whole new Pepper thing. Heck, I’d cleaned up Familiar Place, was getting married to a man I loved and had stopped a woman from ruining my life.
Things were pretty freaking awesome.
My mind flitted to the darkness, though. To when Axel had kissed me. Emotions I didn’t want to deal with threatened to surface. I shoved them back down. Far, far away.
I met up with Ratchet down the street. He dropped from the side of an open dumpster. “How’d it go?”
“What are you doing?”
He smoothed down his fur. “Just preparing for when you leave.”
I rolled my eyes. “It went great. I wish you’d be more optimistic.”
“For your information, optimism isn’t what’s kept me alive this long. It’s cold, hard pessimism and an iron will to survive.”
“Not sure if that’s good or bad.”
“It is what it is.”
The strong scent of garbage wafted up my nose. “I know one thing for sure. You need a bath before you can enter the house.”
He grinned. “Care to do the honors?”
“What are you talking about?”
“With me.” Ratchet palmed his chest. “You know you haven’t used me as a familiar once since you’ve arrived. Don’t you want to see what it’s like? Live the Ratchet experience?”