by Nova Nelson
He blinked rapidly, pinching his eyebrows together, and staring at me like I’d lost my mind. “Yes?”
I leaned close to him, resting a gentle hand on his firm bicep and whispering, “She invited you into the shower, didn’t she?”
“That’s thirty-eight silvers and seven coppers,” Kayleigh said before he could reply.
Ruby reached in her pocket and pulled out a handful of coins, counting them out one-by-one. She took her sweet time, too. I knew she was quicker than that. She was stalling. She was buying me more time with Tanner.
But why?
I stared down at his haul, and he caught me looking. “Oh, that’s just for Monster. She’s been coughing up hairballs the shape of specific runes. I spent the morning worrying that she was sending me a message from some other plane. But nope. Just gibberish—I checked. I think she got into something either in my potions closet or the trash outside.” He nodded down at his items. “This should get her right as rain, though. Then, maybe, she’ll stop terrorizing me.” The corners of his mouth ticked down. “No, probably not.”
Kayleigh laughed lightly, which brought a smile to Tanner’s face. When she was done moving Ruby’s things into a fabric bag, she held the handles of it out to me, and I took it, lugging it off the counter.
Then Tanner pulled a wand from his pocket, waved it at his supplies for Monster, and they all shifted over in front of Kayleigh.
Holy smokes.
I shouldn’t have been shocked, but I was. I’d never seen Tanner use a wand before. Why? Because he never used one at Medium Rare.
And outside of the one visit to Ruby’s, where he’d had no occasion to use a wand, I’d only ever seen Tanner at work.
The reason was obvious, and it was one I’d done my best to stow away in the back of my mind lately.
Tanner was my work crush. And perhaps I was his, but that wasn’t the same thing as being a regular crush.
Everyone had a work crush, and the more time one spent at work, the more intense the crush.
My stomach felt like it was full of rocks, and all from seeing Tanner’s wand.
I could make a dirty joke here, but the truth unsettled me too much. I wasn’t feeling particularly humorous.
Grim helped himself, though. “Don’t worry, it’s not the size of the wand that counts.”
“Shut up.”
“You probably haven’t seen a lot of wands before, but I have, and I can tell you his doesn’t quite measure up.”
“I said shut it.”
“At least he’s not trying to compensate for something with wand length. Lots of men do.”
I wanted to kick my familiar—not hard, just enough to make a point—but I decided that wouldn’t come off well to the rest of the people who didn’t hear Grim giving me grief.
The silver lining was the clarity on where I stood with Tanner. I wasn’t thrilled about it, but at least I was seeing it for what it was now.
Kayleigh was his regular crush, and I was his work crush.
And without realizing what he was doing, Tanner drove the last nail in the coffin as Ruby, Grim, Clifford, and I made for the door. “Hey, you up for meeting after our shift tomorrow to talk business?”
“Yep,” I said, swallowing down the bile rising in my throat. “Looking forward to it.”
Epilogue
“I think it’s off to a good start,” I said, looking over the division of labor and contract outline Tanner and I had spent the last hour piecing together.
He scanned it one more time as he sipped his coffee in the manager’s office of Medium Rare. It’d been a week since Heather’s death, and three days since Frankie was hauled to jail, and according to an owl from Sheriff Bloom, they had all the evidence they needed to send the nix to Ironhelm Penitentiary for a long time.
The emotions of it still felt like a wet blanket thrown over my shoulders, and I suspected it showed and that was why Tanner had called Jane and Greta to come in early today, even if he said it was because he and I had to meet. We could’ve met after our full shift. But hey, I was exhausted, and my mind still reeled at random intervals with images of being trapped in that spa as the water rose up my legs. I wasn’t going to put up a fight; I’d take the shorter shift.
“I guess we’re good to send it along to Quinn Shaw, then?” he asked.
“Sure. Any word on when the Parchment Catacombs will release Bruce’s actual will to confirm you’re the sole beneficiary?”
He shook his head. “Probably another twenty-four years. But this will do in the meantime.” He set down his pen and leaned back, stretching his arms as the front two legs of his chair left the ground. Then he rubbed a palm down his face and said, “Well, now that that’s done, I think it’s about time you tell me just a little bit more about your job experience. Looking at this list, I’d say you were hot stuff.”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I said, avoiding his eyes.
He leaned forward and placed a hand on my knee. “Nora, come on. I’m sure you’ve heard all about my life. Eastwind’s gossip circles love a sob story. It’s only fair if you share a little of yours.”
I actually hadn’t heard much about Tanner’s early life. Not specifics anyway. I knew he was an orphan, like me, but that was about the extent of it. I stayed away from the gossip as much as I could.
Then it clicked. Tanner might understand.
That was a novel idea. But it was true. Plenty about our lives ran parallel to one another until mine broke off from its path (thanks to my death), and ran me straight into Tanner. He was my first point of contact. Now our lives overlapped. We owned a business together. Or at least we would once the papers were finalized.
“It was a nice restaurant,” I said. “I started it from the ground up. It was in the middle of downtown. Rent was astronomic but also insignificant compared to what I was pulling in.”
“You were wealthy?”
I looked up from my hands to meet his eyes. “Oh yeah. It took a while, but I got there. On my own.”
“What about your family? Are they still— were they still— when you left—”
“Dead,” I said. “I was an only child. My mom tried to have more, but after the third miscarriage, she gave up. Guess she couldn’t take the disappointment anymore.” I sighed. “Probably for the best anyway. They died when I was eleven.”
Sometimes when people go through the same difficulties you’ve been through, they may say they’re sorry, but what they mean is, Yeah, me too. Am I supposed to feel sorry for you? We all have our issues. Thinking about your struggles just reminds them of their own, and they don’t want to talk about it. Or they don’t have any sorrow to spare.
But when Tanner said, “I’m so sorry, Nora,” I could tell he meant it.
“Actually, that’s not true. Not completely, at least. They didn’t just die. They were killed. I was in the house when the break-in happened, but I hid.”
He stayed silent, and that was the best response I could have asked for. He just listened. I hadn’t told anyone else about this, not since I’d gone over it with the cops. Then he reached forward and grabbed my hands in his. “That sounds awful.”
“It was. But it was a long time ago. I made something of myself anyway.”
He nodded, a sad but understanding smile resting on his smooth lips. “Can I ask you something personal?”
More personal than all the garbage that had spilled from me already? Sure, why not?
I nodded.
“Were you … with someone?”
“When?”
“I just mean, um, like, a husband.”
I accidentally laughed. Of course he couldn’t have known it was such a laughable question. But it lightened my mood nonetheless. “I was so far from having a husband, it’s ridiculous. I’ve only ever dated rich jerks.”
He nodded thoughtfully, his head cocked slightly as his hazel eyes bored into me. He scooted to the edge of his seat, our knees now interlocked.
Then he said,
“Would you ever consider dating a nice guy? One who cares about you? One who wants to take care of you?”
My heart hitched as I felt his hand squeeze mine tighter. “That sounds nice,” I said.
Keeping my hands in one of his, he lifted the other up toward my face, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. Then he placed a warm, rough palm on my cheek, cradling my face.
No, no, no … this couldn’t keep going in the direction it was going. We’d just written up a contract, for fang’s sake! We absolutely, positively could not start anything even remotely romantic at this point in time. It would be stupid. It would jeopardize both of our jobs. It would—
He leaned forward quickly, and I was already meeting him halfway.
Yes, yes, yes!
Our lips found each other’s, and as the old Nora shouted, Stop it! Cut it out! This is stupid! He’ll only break your heart and tear your life to shreds! the new Nora, the one I’d met the day I stumbled out of the Deadwoods and into Medium Rare, she simply said, Finally.
* * *
End of Book 2
Third Knock the Charm (Book 3)
Chapter One
“This would be illegal a year ago,” Tanner Culpepper said as our small group entered Ezra’s Magical Outfitters.
“Why’s that?” I asked, passing Tanner as he held open the door. Ruby True, the only other Fifth Wind witch in Eastwind, outside of myself, had come along to offer advice, and took her time entering behind me. Our familiars brought up the rear—Clifford, Grim, and, riding on Grim’s back, Tanner’s familiar, Monster. As a munchkin cat, she spent her days in Eastwind in a nervous state, what with all the werewolves and shapeshifters running around. The only way we could get her to go anywhere outside of the house was if she rode on Grim.
“The Council had strict laws for a long time,” Tanner explained, finally able to let go of the door once our veritable parade had entered. “Witches weren’t allowed to get our wands until after we’d graduated from Mancer Academy and joined the Coven. Seems the Council wasn’t big on a bunch of untrained witches running around with wands, so they outlawed it.”
Ruby leaned toward me as we paused in the entrance of the brightly lit shop. “Didn’t stop me from getting one,” she said.
“You never went through the formal schooling?” I asked.
“What do those idiots have to teach a Fifth Wind witch? There wasn’t a single one like me when I came to town. I can read books well enough to teach myself the basic spells. The rest was just a matter of listening to my Insight.”
I decided not to point out that when I’d suggested learning on my own, Ruby had snuffed out that possibility as soon as it’d left my mouth. Do as I say, not as I do was Ruby’s go-to. But she did insist that she would be a good enough teacher for me, and that the Coven had nothing particularly useful to teach me. So, I hadn’t bothered applying for Mancer Academy.
Ezra Ares, the young and friendly owner of Ezra’s Magical Outfitters who always had a twinkle in his eyes and a furtive grin resting on his lips, waved at us as we entered. As Ruby shuffled over to speak with him where he stood behind a glass U-shaped display case, Tanner took my hand and led me farther into the store to browse the selection.
Instinctively, though, I scanned the store to make sure no one we knew was nearby and saw us together. Tanner taking my hand was innocuous enough—he could just be getting my attention—except I knew it wasn’t.
Because Tanner and I had been secretly dating for two weeks now.
Well, it seemed like dating. We hadn’t labeled it anything. But after the kiss we shared in the office of Medium Rare, just after we’d made it official with co-owning the diner, there was little gray area about what was happening between us.
It felt like a happily ever after. But don’t worry, I hate myself just the right amount for being so cheesy.
We hadn’t, however, let anyone else know about our budding romance. Grim knew, since he and I could speak telepathically, and I wasn’t always the best at keeping my personal thoughts from spilling over into my communication with him. And because Grim knew, so did Ruby. The two couldn’t communicate directly, but Grim and Ruby’s familiar, Clifford, could, and the two grumpy canines spent most of their waking hours—which were, admittedly, few—gossiping like teenagers. It hadn’t taken long before Clifford passed along the intel to Ruby, who later claimed she already knew.
She did, after all, have the gift of Insight, like all Fifth Wind witches. Although, it didn’t take a magical ability to guess what was going on when Tanner looked at me through those gorgeous hazel eyes. Clearly, no one had ever told him about playing hard to get, keeping his cards close to the vest.
And that was one of the many things I liked about him.
“You’ll want to start with the crystals,” he said, leading me past one glass case after another, toward the back of the store. The place looked more like a high-end jewelry store than what I’d expected for a wand shop. It was clean, bright, with each model on a delicate stand under thick (and I assumed enchanted) glass.
Brooms floated in midair around the edge of the showroom, bobbing gently like buoys, each one a slight variation of color, shape, and bristle from the next. Could I ride a broom? I was still so unclear on what was and wasn’t within my witchy abilities. But more importantly, did I want to ride a broom?
I was leaning toward no. I’d seen witches flying around town on those, and it looked so uncomfortable. Some rode sidesaddle, which looked silly and antiquated, while others straddled the broom, which, um, ouch. Seemed like a quick way to get a UTI.
“How do I decide which crystal to get in my wand?” I asked.
“You can get a pretty good sense based on what kind of witch you are. Then from there, it’s mostly feeling it out. Sometimes you have to take a few for a test drive. Ezra can also help. He’s been doing this for years.”
I glanced back toward the counter where he stood chatting with Ruby. “Couldn’t be that long. He doesn’t look a day older than I am.”
“Uh, I think he’s in his seventies. But he might be older.”
“Come again?” I said. “I thought he was a witch. Don’t witches age?” If Ruby were any indication, they did.
When I glanced at Tanner, a momentary panic swept over me. He was a witch and he looked in his late twenties, a few years younger than me, but what if he was three hundred? What if I aged and he didn’t?
He did me the favor of squashing that fear, though. “Most do. I’m not entirely sure why Ezra doesn’t.” Tanner leaned close, a conspiratorial half-grin drawing my attention to those soft lips framed by his day-old dirty-blond stubble. “My guess is that he either performed some dark spell to keep him young, or being surrounded by so many powerful objects all the time has slowed the aging process.”
“I hope it’s the first,” I said. “That’s a way better story.”
Something ignited in Tanner’s eyes, and I knew what was about to happen. But not right here where anyone could see us, right?
He already had a solution in mind, though, and yanked me after him, behind a wall leading toward the back that cut off the visibility from the counter and the front door. Then he pulled me into him, my body pressed against his, my hands on his warm, firm chest, and he kissed me.
“Oh, for fang’s sake.”
My body tensed, and I cracked open my eyes, already certain of the judgment waiting for me in the form of a giant, black hound with a small munchkin cat on his back.
“Grim,” I said, not bothering with telepathy. “Stop being a creep. If you don’t like it, you and Monster can go entertain yourselves elsewhere.”
“Monster!” Tanner said sharply. His familiar must’ve been making similar comments to Grim’s that I couldn’t hear. “You know better.”
We shoo-ed away our familiars, but the moment was somewhat lost. “I guess we should get back to shopping,” he said.
“It is why we’re here.” I sighed and dropped my hands from his body. “I hate
shopping.” And I hated it even more when it interfered with the small bits of time outside of work that I could sneak with this beautiful West Wind witch.
We approached Ruby and Ezra, who, if I didn’t know any better, were flirting with each other.
Ruby was giggling, color in her face as her fingertips glided back and forth over her collarbone where it peaked out from her dark, loose robes. Ezra winked at her before turning to face Tanner and me, still wearing a contagiously goofy grin. “Ruby tells me you’re looking for a necromancer’s wand.”
I nodded. “You’re going to have to walk me through it step-by-step, though, because I don’t even know where to start.”
“I can do that,” he said, “especially for a promising and beautiful young witch such as yourself.”
Tanner bristled beside me, but there was no need. Ezra was attractive, with cocoa skin and a troublemaker’s grin, but I wasn’t a man-hopper.
Sure, I used to be, but that was because the caliber of men I was dealing with was so much lower than Tanner. No, Tanner was his own breed. He had the resilience and strength of a man, and the gentle innocence of a boy. Life had thrown Tanner about as much misfortune as it had me, but he’d managed to keep an openness to him rather than becoming bitter and shut off like, eh-hem, some people.
But I was getting better, and being with Tanner was a step in the right direction. I wouldn’t just ditch him for the next handsome man who called me beautiful.
“Follow me,” said Ezra, coming around the counter. “You’ll want to start with crystals.”
“I already told her that,” Tanner said assertively.
Ezra paused, turned toward us, his eyes flickering between Tanner and me, then he bit his lips and said, “Ah. Right. Good thinking, Tanner.”
We followed him to a glass cabinet mounted on the wall, where crystals of all shapes, opacities, and colors gleamed. “You’re going to want a protective crystal,” he said, “assuming your day-to-day is anything like Ms. True’s.” He grinned mischievously at Ruby, who giggled again.