by Deanna Chase
Miss Maple climbed back to her feet. “No more than a few days. As soon as I sat at the table, I felt the magic. It was faint but noticeable.”
Shannon chewed on her bottom lip. It bothered her that she hadn’t noticed the problem, though she readily acknowledged that Miss Maple’s magic was far more powerful than her own. It wasn’t a surprise that the older witch had felt it when she hadn’t. “I’m sorry. I should make an effort to check the tables for stuff like that.”
Miss Maple waved a hand. “You couldn’t have known. It was subtle. Now go. Get ready for your date and don’t worry about anything here. I’ve got it covered.”
Shannon hesitated, not sure she should leave just yet, but when Miss Maple gave her a pointed stare and then gestured to the door, Shannon chuckled and did as she was told. She loved her boss and didn’t want to insult her by not taking her up on her generous offer.
“See you tomorrow!” Shannon waved as she headed toward the door.
“Don’t worry about being on time. I’ll open,” Miss Maple called back. “You just enjoy that date, no matter how long it lasts.”
Shannon suppressed a groan and muttered, “This Cinderella turns into a pumpkin at midnight. Count on it.”
Chapter Four
Shannon steered her little red Mustang down the tree-lined street, humming to herself. No matter what she’d told Miss Maple or Hope, she had to admit to herself that she was looking forward to whatever date Brian had planned. Even if she was determined to not fall for him, that didn’t mean she didn’t enjoy his company. She did. Very much so. If she didn’t, she never would’ve agreed to the bet they’d made for six dates in six weeks. He made her laugh and feel good about herself. Pseudo-dating him wasn’t exactly going to be a hardship. She just needed to figure out how to keep her heart out of the equation.
She whipped her car into the driveway and whistled to herself as she made her way up the flower lined path to the front door.
“Shan?” a familiar voice called from somewhere near her porch.
“Silas?” She whipped her head up and scanned the area, searching for her little brother. “Is that you?”
“It is.” He stepped out of the shadows and held his arms open wide, waiting for her to reach him.
“Oh. Em. Gee! What are you doing here?” She ran to him and hugged him tightly. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”
He hugged her tighter and spun her around before he said, “Where’s the fun in that?”
Shannon knew he was trying for a flippant, teasing tone, but his voice came out choked and full of something that sounded a lot like pain. “Silas?” She pulled back and took a good look at him. There were dark circles under his eyes and a worry line in his forehead. He was only a teenager. He shouldn’t have to deal with worry lines for years to come. She pressed her thumb to the line above his brows and said, “What’s got you worked up, little brother? You’re only seventeen. Life can’t be that rough, can it?”
Silas let out a humorless laugh. “Right. You do remember our parents, don’t you?”
There was a hard edge in his tone she hadn’t heard before that made her heart sink. She knew exactly what he was talking about, but she’d always hoped her parents had reserved their selfish demands for her and not Silas. He was, after all, the very reason those two had a career at all anymore. “Unfortunately.” She gave him a sympathetic smile as she used her key to unlock her door. “Come on in and tell big sis all about it.”
He followed her inside and straight to the back of the house to her sunny kitchen.
She pulled out a pitcher of iced tea and poured them both something to drink. “What is it? What did they do this time?”
Silas stared at his tea glass with one eyebrow raised. “Don’t you have anything stronger?”
Shannon took in her brother’s messy brown curls and weary dark eyes. He looked tired. Not just physically tired, but emotionally tired. “You know damned well I’m not going to serve you alcohol. I don’t care what goes on down in Hollywood, you’re still underage, and I—”
“Whoa there, Miss Goody-Two-Shoes,” he said, rolling his eyes. “I meant something more like ginger beer or soda. You know, something with some flavor? Tea has never been my drink of choice.”
“Yeah, okay. Nice save.” Shannon retreated to the refrigerator, grabbed a ginger beer, and plunked it down in front of him. “This is one from the Townsend brewery.”
“What? No cookies?” he asked as he sat down at the bar that separated the kitchen from the family room.
“You’re pushing it, kid.” Shannon knew he was stalling. Whatever was going on down in Hollywood, it had rattled her brother enough to send him all the way to Keating Hollow. She’d just have to let him tell her what was going on in his own time.
“Are you telling me there seriously aren’t any cookies in your jar?” he asked.
She chuckled. “No. That’s not what I’m saying. How do you feel about peanut butter cookies?”
“Lay them on me.” He took a deep pull of his ginger beer but didn’t take his eyes off her as she retrieved a handful of cookies from her A Spoonful of Magic cookie jar.
Once she placed them on a napkin in front of him, she got her own ginger beer and joined him. “It’s damn good to see you, Silas. How long are you staying?”
“As long as you’ll let me.” He hunched forward, looking defeated as he stared down at his hands.
“Um, doesn’t filming for your show start back up sometime in the fall?” she asked gently. “Or are you thinking of leaving?” Silas was a series regular on a popular ensemble drama that revolved around a boarding school for paranormal beings. During the last few years, his star had risen, and Silas Ansell had practically become a household name.
“My contract isn’t up until next year,” he said and dropped his head to the counter.
Shannon placed a soft hand on his back. “What happened? Why do you want to leave?”
He heaved a heavy sigh. “It’s not that I necessarily want to leave the show. I just don’t want to be controlled by the parentals anymore.” He raised his head and looked his sister straight in the eye. “They are trying to force me to do a reality show. One that follows me around and exposes my life to the entire world.”
“What? You can’t be serious.” Shannon’s eyes were wide, and she felt that familiar ache in her gut return. It was the one reserved just for their parents when they were being particularly heinous.
“Completely serious.” He tightened his grip around the ginger beer bottle until his knuckles turned white. “They keep saying something about it coming with an endorsement deal that will triple my net worth and how this is going to turn me into the hottest star on the planet. But holy hell, Shan. There is no way I want cameras following me around. You know how private I am.”
“Almost as private as me,” she confirmed.
“Almost?” He let out a bark of laughter. “You’re so private, you gave up Hollywood and the chance at an acting career to come back here and sell chocolate. I’d say you’re ten times more private than I am.”
“You might have a point.” Shannon had run from Hollywood when she was only twenty-one years old, right when her budding career had started to take off. She placed a soft hand over his. “Tell me what they did. What ultimatums did they give you?” If there was one thing she knew about her manipulative parents, it was that they’d do just about anything to get what they wanted. And if a reality show was going to triple Silas’s net worth, that was a hell of a commission for her parents’ management company.
He closed his eyes and squeezed them tight. His expression was so pained, and all she wanted to do was wrap him in her arms and keep him safe from the vultures until his eighteenth birthday. “Mom said if I didn’t do it she’d tank all of the rest of my incoming offers and focus on Landon Perry instead. Apparently I’m ungrateful, and she won’t waste her efforts on a spoiled-rotten kid who doesn’t understand how to repay those who helped him get to
the top.”
“Ugh!” Shannon pressed her face into her hands and swallowed the primal scream threatening to break free. Their mother was the driving force behind the management company while their father golfed a lot and let her handle it all. There was a possibility he didn’t even know what was going on with Silas. “And your money? Is she threatening to withhold that, too?”
“Of course she is. But that’s nothing new. She threatens that at least once a day when I invariably do something she doesn’t like. For instance, yesterday Mom was pissed I hung my towel up on the back of the bathroom door rather than the designated rack she’d had installed a month ago. And it wasn’t even her bathroom. The woman is psycho.”
“No argument there,” Shannon said. Her mother had some really strange quirks. Some she could overlook, like her obsessive need to have everything in its perfect place. But the one that needed total control over her child’s career despite his wishes? Nope. Not even close. “You should look into getting emancipated. You know that, right?”
“I know. I should have done it last year when she turned down the role in that independent film I wanted so much. She didn’t even consult me before she had her assistant call and tell them thanks but no thanks. That script has stayed with me for months, Shan. Who wouldn’t want to play a brilliant dancer who time travels to save his partner’s life?”
“Mommy dearest? She’d only do it if the payday was at least six figures,” Shannon said.
Silas snorted. “Please. She needs the offer to be high six figures, otherwise her cut isn’t enough to bother with.”
Shannon reached over and squeezed her brother’s hand. “I’m so sorry, Si. I wish there was something more I could do.”
“Letting me stay here is enough. LA was killing me. All I want to do is sleep and hike and pretend millions of people don’t know my face.”
“You got it, baby bro. How about a beach day later this week? Wednesday is my day off. We can get lost hiking in the redwoods for a while first.”
Silas nodded. “Sounds perfect. But right now, I could use a shower. It was a long-ass drive to get here.”
Shannon raised one eyebrow. “Where’s your car? I didn’t see it when I drove up.”
He chuckled. “In the garage. It’s a little too fancy for the folks around here. I didn’t want to raise any suspicions.”
“Too fancy? Did you trade in the starburst?” she asked, using his nickname for his lime green Toyota Prius.
“Mom did.” He ground his teeth before adding, “She said it was better for my image if I had a sports car.”
Closing her eyes, Shannon shook her head. It was hard to believe they were related to the shallow woman who’d tried to live vicariously through both of them the last fourteen years. “That’s ridiculous. I’m sorry, Silas. What did you end up with?”
“A Porsche. What else?”
“Only the best for Silas Ansell,” Shannon mused, having trouble seeing her little brother whipping around in the high-performance car. The Prius had been perfect for him. If he’d wanted something fancier, a Tesla might be his speed. But a Porsche? Nope.
“That’s right.” He stood from his stool, waved a hand to unleash his air magic, and sent his ginger beer bottle to the sink. As he took off for the stairs, he asked, “I assume your guest room is free?”
“For you, always.”
“Thanks, sis.”
Shannon watched him disappear up the stairs, and while she was overjoyed that he’d come to stay with her, a ball of anger had taken up residence in her gut. She wondered what her dad had to say about the conflict between Silas and their mother. Likely nothing. The man was happy to sit back and let her steamroll both of their children just as long as his exclusive golf club memberships were paid and there was never any trouble getting a table at the fanciest restaurants. He didn’t have the killer instinct that his wife did, but he very much enjoyed living the high life.
Lost in her thoughts about her parents, Shannon pulled her glitter-covered turquoise wand out of her purse and pointed it at her kitchen. Ingredients, along with a pot and baking pan, flew out of the cabinets as her magic went to work on making one of Silas’s favorite meals. One she was certain he hadn’t had since the last time he visited. Mac and cheese were not something television stars were allowed to indulge in. Not under the Ansell roof anyway.
Confident her magic would get the job done, she moved toward the living room at the front of her cottage and peered out just in time to see Levi start up the mower and get to work on her neglected yard.
“I feel so productive,” she said, chuckling to herself. Between her magic and her delegation skills, she was downright domestic. Pleased with herself, she sat in her oversized armchair and took a well-deserved break.
She must have dozed off a bit, because what seemed like only a few moments later, she heard Silas say, “Who’s the hottie mowing your yard?”
Shannon blinked her eyes open to find her brother standing in front of her picture window in clean jeans and a lavender button-down shirt. His hair was perfectly styled, and his skin glowed. He was beautiful and always had been. “Levi. He’s Hope’s half-brother. Just moved here a couple months ago.”
“Hope?” he asked.
“Right. I haven’t filled you in. She used to go by Luna. She’s my new friend who works at the spa,” Shannon said.
“Spa.” A dreamy smile crossed his lips as he let out a sigh. “When’s the soonest we can get an appointment?”
She laughed. “I’ll call in the morning.”
He turned and winked at her. “You’re my number-one sister.”
“I’m your only sister,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Do me a favor?”
“What’s that?” He was staring out the window again, forgoing any sort of subtlety as he watched Levi move across the yard.
“Get Levi something to drink while I finish up dinner.” She hauled herself out of the chair and led the way to the kitchen.
“Dude. I’m totally on it.” Silas strode past her into the kitchen and let out a gasp of surprise. “You’re cooking mac and cheese?”
“Of course.”
He turned around, threw his arms around her and said, “I love you.”
“I know. Now get out of here so I can finish up.”
Silas grabbed a couple more bottles of ginger beer from the fridge and disappeared out the front door while Shannon hummed to herself and set the table. Nothing made her heart fuller than having her brother back in town.
Chapter Five
Brian pulled his black SUV to a stop across the street from Shannon’s small white cottage. Bright flowers lined her walkway and hung from the overhang on her porch. Her home was more welcoming and sweeter than he’d have imagined. She so often put on a hardened outer persona that she no doubt used to shield herself from the rest of the world. It made his insides warm to imagine being invited into the softer side of her life.
He slipped out of the vehicle and glanced over at the young man mowing her yard. He squinted, recognizing Levi Kelley, Hope Scott’s brother. He was a good kid. Brian had gotten to know him a little since he’d been spending time at Chad Garber’s music shop, teaching a few drumming lessons, so he wasn’t surprised when Levi suddenly jerked his head up and stared right at him. The kid had spirit magic, which meant he could sense people who were in his vicinity without actually laying eyes on them.
Brian raised his hand to greet Levi. Levi smiled and waved back. A second later, Levi turned around abruptly when another kid strode out of the house carrying a couple of bottles. He moved across the porch and gestured for Levi to join him. Levi hesitated, but then he turned the mower off and moved toward the newcomer.
The dark-haired teenager looked vaguely familiar, but Brian couldn’t place him. As far as he knew, Shannon didn’t have any family in Keating Hollow. Was he a friend of Levi’s? Whoever he was he had to be from out of town. Keating Hollow just wasn’t big enough for everyone to not know everyone else.
“Hey, kid. How’s the lawn care business going?” Brian asked.
“Excellent so far. Shannon is my first client.” He turned to the other teenager, who was leaning against the railing. “This is Silas. Silas, meet Brian.”
Brian held his hand out to the teenager. “Nice to meet you, Silas.”
“You, too,” the dark-haired kid said, shaking his hand. “Are you here for my sister?”
The front door flew open, and Shannon grimaced as she stammered, “Brian. Oh, man. I’m so sorry. I…” She glanced at Silas. “My brother surprised me. He’s here from LA, and I should’ve called, but I don’t think tonight is the best night. Can we reschedule?”
Disappointment weighed heavily on Brian’s chest, but he nodded. What else was he going to do? Argue? Hardly. “Sure. It’s—”
“Reschedule what?” Silas asked, his gaze shifting from Shannon to Brian.
“Nothing,” Shannon said quickly. “It’s not important.”
“Ouch.” Brian pressed a hand over his heart as if he’d been wounded. “That hurts, Ansell. Not important? Kick a guy while he’s down, why don’t you.”
“It’s not nothing,” Levi said helpfully. “Brian was supposed to take Shannon out on their first date.”
Shannon raised her hand in a stop motion. “Wait just a—”
“A date?” Silas asked, gaping at his sister. “Why didn’t you say something? You’re not ready yet.” Before she could say another word, he looped his arm through hers and tugged her toward the door. “Give us fifteen minutes, Brian. I’ll have her whipped into shape.”
“Silas!” Shannon hissed. “Stop. I’m a grown woman. I can deal with this myself.”