by January Bain
“Okay, but minus the movie walk-on.”
The relief on his face made me smile, despite his weaselly-ness.
The café door opened abruptly and in strode a young man dressed in expensive dark-wash jeans and a tight black T-shirt clothing a wiry, thin body, his face a study in annoyance. “Howard, I need to speak with you right now. Don’t think you can just get up and walk out on me, mister.” His hand on his hip pressed his case.
Howard’s face darkened to a dull red. “Chace, this is not the time or the place. Go. I’ll catch up with you later.”
The man looked as though he was going to object before he about-faced and left. His one-finger salute, reflected in the front window before he pranced away, was not in the best taste. Hmm. Good thing Granny wasn’t around to cut him down to size. In the nicest, politest way of course—she could make the worst villain tippy-toe around her. Probably ask him if he needs the finger for anything other than being rude.
“Please excuse my friend. He’s not himself today.”
“Oh, who is he then?”
Howard gave me a blank stare.
Baby Ling Ling sauntered in, grabbing my attention as she always announced her arrival with a loud greeting, or warning, depending on how her day was going. Our spectacular white Himalayan with her adorable squished-in face and apricot-colored ears, fluffy tail raised high, proceeded to choose her steps with the utmost care across the tiled floor of the café. I’d guess it was in case we’d had the bad manners to add a trap door since yesterday’s saunter. She deigned to notice the new visitor, striding over and giving him a quick sniff. She jumped a couple of feet in the air with a loud howl, her fluffy white fur standing straight on end as though she’d placed her paw on an electrical charge.
“Hiss.” She made herself as big as a tiny eight-pound cat could make herself, arched her back and continued the hissing.
“Nice cat,” Howard deadpanned.
“Careful what you say to her. Ling Ling’s officially multi-lingual since our librarian, Miriam, added Portuguese to her weekly slate of free language lessons.” I just couldn’t resist, not liking his look of disdain. Or his cheapness that was certain to affect our bottom line.
His look of confusion was quite satisfying. He gave Ling Ling a wide berth and headed for the door.
“Okay, then, we’ll expect you tomorrow? You’ll get paid once a week, just come by my office and I’ll cut you a check. Oh, and the camp’s out by Spirit Springs.” He paused, his hand on the doorknob, obviously needing confirmation.
“Yes, I know where the camp is, and the food will be there. You can count on the McCall family. We never go back on our word.” I gave him a level look that he declined to return. A nervous twitch of his nose and he hopped out of the café.
“That guy has a blackish aura with streaks of gray,” Tulip said, pursing her lips.
“Yeah, no surprise—he’s working under a brain cloud.” I didn’t want to say the words embezzling cocaine addict out loud and sink the project before it started. “And since when did you start seeing auras?” And what was I going to do with the unwanted knowledge that the guy was stealing company funds? A moral dilemma. I shouldn’t think that was business as normal, even for the movie industry.
She gave me a smug look. “You’re not the only one discovering gifts since we turned twenty-one on July first.”
“Nice. Hey, what color’s mine?”
“Depends.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s usually light with a halo of pink, silver or gold, but right now it’s tinged with green. Never seen that color on you before. Interesting.”
Movement across the street drew my attention, and out of Snowy Lake Hardware popped Ace and his fancy friend. Hmm. She was swinging that ponytail so much it was in peril of getting caught in something. Not that that would be a bad thing. I envisioned it catching in the closing door and…
“Who’s that with Ace?” Tulip joined me at the window. “By the way, your aura’s getting greener. Maybe you’re jealous, eh?” She poked me with a sharp elbow.
“Ow! I’m not jealous. That’s Jennifer Morgan, an old family friend of Ace’s. Graduate student here on geology exploration,” I said through clenched teeth. What else was going on? She lightly swatted Ace’s arm in feigned anger play, making me wince. A flirt to boot.
They crossed the street and strolled merrily toward the café. I ducked out of the window and hurried to continue dusting the shelves. Tulip dallied.
“Move away from there, they’ll see you spying on them,” I hissed at her.
“So?” She shrugged, but thankfully moved toward her laptop again and got back to keyboarding. Good, just write the blog already and pretend nothing’s going on. And what exactly was going on?
The angel chimes sang out the new arrivals with all the enthusiasm of a Baptist congregation. I swear they know more about who’s coming into our café than I do, changing their mood with each customer they announce.
“Mornin’, Charm, Tulip. I’d like you to meet an old family friend, Jennifer Morgan,” Ace said with a respectful tilt of his impressive hat. Star had long vanished into the back recesses of the kitchen, probably to text or call everyone of the Northern Lights Coven about her shiny new job. I sighed. Shoot. I had to get to the Grab-n-go and buy supplies for tomorrow’s catering or I’d be sunk.
I gave the pair a quick greeting, unable to keep from noticing how sweet-smelling our almost-brand-new Mountie was that morning. The fragrance of soap and a special mix that was all Ace’s own rolled off him in waves, like pheromones at a picnic. If I was an ant, I’d be crawling all over him. I took a deep appreciative breath, remembering to give the new female a smile of welcome. If Granny Toogood heard that I’d lost my manners, well, suffice to say, there would be repercussions. Three things she can’t abide, that special woman who took us in at the age of eight when we arrived unannounced on her doorstep—swearing, speaking ill of the dead and sex talk. But politeness, that was a given. Ace himself was no slouch in that department either, having grown up in the southern state of Kentucky before his parents moved with their three sons to Canada.
“What are you doing in Snowy Lake, Jennifer?” I asked, though it was a useless waste of time to confirm my aunt’s information. She was always spot on. We all have our gifts in Snowy Lake. Mine is finding lost objects and a recent development I hadn’t quite worked my mind around yet—some kind of weird ability to heal the human body—while Auntie T.J.’s was always knowing the news first.
“I’m a graduate student from the University of Manitoba. We’re working with Altima Explorations, checking for alluvial gold deposits.” Her voice had a serious edge to it, mixed with a lyrical quality.
“Ah, the kind deposited through water movements. But, of course, the best indicator is the fact that substantial gold deposits were found here in the past,” I added, entirely grateful for my need to know a little something about everything, when her eyes lit up with interest.
“Charm’s a major league bookworm,” Ace said with an appreciative smile.
Great. I’d just placed myself into the boring-librarian category. Maybe it was time for dark-framed glasses. Nah, I don’t even wear contacts. I’m one of the lucky ones, so far. Never been sick one day in my life, touch wood. Annoys my sisters no end when they’re stricken by a runny nose or fever.
“She’s a lot more than that, Ace. She runs a business and still manages to look gorgeous.”
Oh no. She didn’t just say that. The. Worst. Possible. Thing. A woman who looked like she did and was super-nice to other women? My barely begun romance was dead in the water. Kaput. All Ace and I had shared was one kiss, though. I sighed. But what a kiss. A treasured memory now, since it didn’t look like any more would be forthcoming. It didn’t help that Tulip made a circle with her forefinger and thumb at me, a gesture meant to emphasize my aura getting greener, no doubt.
A horrendous sound struck my brain. Oh, jeez, not today.
“Who’s that?” Jennifer pointed out of the window, her eyes wide open.
I cringed. Auntie T.J., in full battle dress and playing bagpipes usually reserved for fending off bear attacks, marched by the café’s entrance. At least the residents would turn a blind eye, knowing my family, though my auntie didn’t make it easy wearing head-to-toe plaid.
“That’s my auntie. She’s—uh—driving away evil spirits. Just ignore her. So, what can I do for you this morning? Quiche? Coffee?” I asked brightly, pretending it was business as usual. “We make mini-breakfast quiches in pastry pockets, easy for our customers to take to go.” I pointed them out to Jennifer. “How about you, Constable?”
“Sorry, no time, today, darlin’. I’m heading out to check that new movie set, to make sure everything’s up to code,” Ace said.
Jennifer’s eyebrows rose at the casual “darlin’”, but she continued to smile like a sunny pixie. At least her lips did. Her eyeballs appeared frozen over. “And I’ve got to get to work. Ace helped me pick up some supplies.” She held up the small Snowy Lake Hardware bag she was carrying as proof of their prior engagement.
“Maybe a croissant or a cheese scone?” For some reason I couldn’t let it go. She looked a tad narrow in the hips.
“Oh, do you make cheese scones?” she squealed. “My grandmother always did when we visited the farm each summer vacation. I love them!”
I inwardly groaned. Great, now I’ve made the elder woman category. “Yes, it’s an old family recipe of Granny Toogood.”
“Granny Toogood?” she inquired, turning to check out our glass display of bakery goods with a keen interest.
“You’ll meet her soon. She’s the matriarch of our family.”
“I do believe I must try them.” She pointed at a peanut butter cookie tray lined up with all the other array of choices. “And one of those as well.”
“Ace?” I asked, giving him a wee nudge, making sure to use his first name this time.
“Nothing for me, thanks.” Well, that was a first. What was the deal? Suddenly watching your weight, big guy? No need for that, no sir, not with that lean six-pack, quarterback shoulders and thighs like a lumberjack who’s been cutting down trees all day. Oh my…
“Don’t worry. We haven’t laced anything with cyanide this week,” I teased, filling the silence. “Besides, champagne works best.” He’d get the tribute to Agatha Christie’s Sparkling Cyanide and our last case where the murderess had placed the poison in our apricot jam. The nerve of the banker’s wife, making our wares suspect.
“That’s good to know,” Ace deadpanned, though he gave me a wink. Nice.
Jennifer opened the blue and white starred bakery bag I handed her with its Tea & Tarot moniker designed by Tulip, diving into the cheddar cheese scone. “Oh, this is wonderful. So moist. Ace, you must try a bite.” She didn’t wait for an answer, but force-fed him. He accepted the morsel from her fingers, swallowing it. She turned to give me a sly victory grin.
My heart sank.
Chapter Two
“It was lovely to meet you, Charm,” she said. Yeah, right.
I held out my hand for a shake, making her swallow the last of the scone in a hurry to reciprocate. I held on to her fingers for a few extra seconds, hoping to pick up vibrations or an image. Oh yeah, not so nice at all.
She narrowed her eyes at me, tugging her hand away. “What do I owe you?”
“Think of it as a ‘welcome to our town’ present. No need to pay.” I brushed her off.
“I don’t remember getting any treats for free,” Ace said with a pretend frown.
“No?” I asked with a smug smile. “Have you forgotten the special one we shared in back?”
His lips pursed and he tipped his hat. “No, I could never forget that.”
My peripheral vison caught a glimpse of Jennifer looking from Ace to me while he and I continued to lock glances. My knees began to weaken under the scrutiny of his hot gaze, making me forget we had an audience. Ace had a way of making time stand still and every other activity become a blur around us.
“Well, we should be going,” she ventured, tugging at his arm, drawing my fuzzy attention. Ace has the most amazing, expressive eyes. A woman could get lost in them if she wasn’t careful. “I promised my prof I’d be back soon as possible.”
Ace leaned down to speak close in my ear to avoid being overheard, ignoring his guest. His breath flowed against the side of my neck, eliciting a caress of warm tingles and shivers down my body. “Don’t be mentioning that amazing kiss if you don’t expect me to be back for seconds. I’ll see you later, darlin’.”
I swallowed, nodding my head. “Yes, later, please.”
“You can count on it. Oh, and I wanted to drop off a book I just finished reading, Real Magic by Dean Radin, PhD. I think you’ll enjoy it. He discusses the secret power of the universe. One particular section on blessing food, specifically chocolate, where he talks about belief becoming biology should interest you.”
“Thanks, I do have a thing about food being best when blessed, rhyming intended.” I grinned. “And I’ve got one for you too. E-squared by Pam Grout. You’ll like it. It’s about how thoughts create reality. I know how much you love control, Constable.” I gave him my best smile.
He nodded, tipping his awesome hat with an effortless flick of his fingers.
“Oh, and, Jennifer…” I had a sudden inspiration for a parting zinger. “There’s been eluvial gold deposits found hereabouts on occasion. You know, just in case that helps your team in some small way.” I added an innocent grin.
With a curt nod, Jennifer finally managed to tug Ace out of the door, the angel chimes making a chorus of excited squeals when the door slammed shut behind her highness. Maybe from the high level of communication Ace and I had just shared? Or, more likely, because she didn’t enjoy it nearly as much as the two of us had.
“Jennifer seemed very sweet,” Tulip said, looking up from her laptop, her blue eyes filled with innocence. Was she being facetious? If she could see auras, she had to know something was up.
“Yeah, sure. As sweet as a gunny sack of hissing vipers,” I muttered under my breath.
Of course, Tulip hadn’t been party to what I had just glimpsed. Jennifer wasn’t just here for the dig—she was here to win Ace, and she saw me as the rival to beat. Well, no McCall backed down from a challenge, unless she was dead, a goner, deceased, no more. We hadn’t survived being unceremoniously dumped at Granny Toogood’s when we were eight to take any flack from anyone now. I ignored the doubts that bubbled to the surface, insisting that we’d been thrown away once like garbage, what was to stop it happening again?
“Oh shoot, look at the time. I gotta go.” I tore off my apron that I wore over my white T-shirt and jeans, intent on heading to the Grab-n-go. Everyone’s plagued by something from their past, right? Why should I be treated as special? “Can you hold the fort?” I asked Tulip.
“Sure.”
I raced through the café and into the kitchen. And there was Star still on her phone. She didn’t look up but continued texting. Natch.
“Our turn to host the coven tomorrow,” she said, still staring at her phone, thumbs flying. Star had better luck with cell phone service than anyone else in town. What was her secret?
I groaned. Loudly. I loved spending time with my favorite women, but time was going to be tighter than ever. “Darn, our turn so soon? I’ve just taken on a huge catering contract for the movie set. We have to hire someone else. ASAP. Any suggestions? Any of your friends need a job for a few weeks?” I could ask our scary Russian boarder, Ivana Petro, who occupied the suite upstairs across from mine, but being forced into the same confining kitchen with her for days on end? Oh boy. She’s a tad sensitive. And, did I mention, very, very scary?
“I volunteered us because Christine canceled—she’s sick.” She shrugged. “Wouldn’t say what it was. She sounded awful. And yeah, I think James Watson’s looking for work. His mother is ready to throw him ou
t of the basement. Another failure to launch.”
“A guy? I was thinking someone female.” I didn’t have anything against the guy, just the idea had never occurred to me before.
“What?” She looked up from her phone. “You think the male of the species can’t cook and bake? And you did say you’re desperate. You know, I’ll be too busy with the movie role and singing at the Boots & Lace to be of much help here.”
Well played. I groaned. “Okay, okay, call him. And ask if he can start today? I’ll be back with supplies in a jiff.”
“That reminds me, it’s not long until pot becomes legal. I think it’s time we amped up a few recipes. Maybe James can stay on and help with that after the movie finishes? Tulip and I have some wonderful ideas to make tons of money by getting into the business pronto.” She waggled her eyebrows at me, enjoying my obvious discomfort about the proposition.
Sure, I’d had a change of heart with what I knew about the substance now. I mean, Granny used it for her arthritis, but still, I had misgivings.
“And the lure would help me persuade James to take the job and help pay his salary this fall.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. And you’re in charge of snacks for tomorrow. Either that, or you need to cancel. I can’t do everything around here.”
She blessed me by making a face. “Okay, it’s on me. But don’t be such a stick in the mud. I swear to take care of it.” She stopped to make a cross over her heart, then added with a full-on grin, “Potcakes that sell like hotcakes. You have my personal guarantee for that one.”
I shook my head, but couldn’t hide a grin. Star, the incorrigible triplet.
“Just call him. And get busy on treats for the coven. Anything chocolate will do.”
“Duh.”
I exited the café, dashing into the back alley where I’d parked Thor, my faithful old Cherokee Jeep. I’d bought him off an old trapper for a free breakfast quiche every day for a year. The barter system was a thing of beauty in small town Canada where self-reliance was an essential virtue of survival.