He grinned. “Hey, you got to give a guy a break. I can barely think straight right now. You’re lucky I’m speaking English.”
Sue stroked his hair away from his forehead. “I have to say I’m thrilled you’re not my landlord yet.”
“If this was your way of negotiating a discount on rent, consider the building free.” Jameson chuckled and cupped her face. “Where did you come from, Susan Sue?”
“St. Louis.”
“Are you sure you’re not an angel?” Jameson laughed and shook his head. “Sorry, that sounds like a bad line now that I’ve said it.”
“It was kinda, yeah,” Sue teased.
He kissed her softly. “How did I get so lucky? The odds of me stopping to get gas that late at night, at a station I never go to, at the exact same time your bus breaks down, have to be astronomical. Then for you to stay down the block and happen to be walking on the rare night I’m here late doing inventory. It feels like something bigger has a hand in this.”
“What if I told you magic is real?”
“I’ll believe anything you tell me.” His expression changed, and he turned serious. “You said something earlier about being scared.”
“Did I?” She averted her gaze.
“You said you needed to feel something good, but the way you said it was like you hadn’t had much good. Then you said you spent too much time being hesitant and scared.”
Sue stroked his cheek. “You listened when I said that.”
Jameson ran his thumb over her lips. “Of course I did. I listen to everything you say.”
“No, I mean, you really listened to me.”
“Sue, I don’t know if you realize this, but regardless of the length of time I’ve known you, I’m really into you. It’s not because we had sex. I wasn’t expecting that to happen, at least not without buying you several dinners first. Not that I’m complaining. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since the gas station. You looked so tired and sad and even a little terrified. I wanted to hug you. Then last night, just hanging out here counting inventory, I’ve not enjoyed myself like that in a long time.”
“I feel the same. I enjoy being with you, too.”
Jameson’s eyes implored her. “What’s been scaring you? Talk to me. Are you hiding from someone? Is that why you looked frightened at the gas station? If you’re in trouble, I’ll help you.”
At that, she kissed him on the corner of his mouth. “There’s nothing you can do but thank you for caring.”
“Are you scared now?”
She shook her head. “No. Here with you, I’m not scared.”
“Talk to me, Sue. What’s going on?”
Sue took a deep breath and stepped away from him. She pushed strands of loose hair back from her face. Maybe it was like pulling off a bandage. She just needed to tell him. “I turned forty four months ago.”
“I don’t care about age,” he said.
“On my birthday, my husband decided I was too old and that he didn’t want to be married anymore.” Sue looked at the floor and took a steadying breath.
“So you’re married? Separated? Divorced?” Jameson asked. “I can’t imagine any man letting you go. If you need time, just say the word and we can take this as slow as you—”
Sue held up her hand to quiet him. She knew he wanted to understand her, but it took her a moment to form the words. “He hit me. Often. And never where anyone could see the damage.”
Jameson stiffened, his expression darkening.
“On my birthday, he hit me with a hammer, wrapped me in plastic sheeting, and stuffed me in the trunk of our car.” Her hands began to shake. “By all rights, I should be dead, but Hank crashed into a semi on the way to dump my body. I was thrown out of the trunk. Hank was killed. I woke up in a hospital. They told me he was drunk driving. A detective suspected that something was off, but she had no proof. Hank went down as a tragic accident, and no one knows what happened in our marriage but me. And no one in St. Louis who knew us would believe me if I told them. He was a lawyer, which I guess naturally made him a great liar. He once told me that when it comes down to brass tacks all that matters is who can make the most persuasive argument, not the truth. Hank was compelling. The secret shame of our marriage died with him.”
“Sue…” Jameson offered his hand to her.
Sue didn’t take it. If he held her, she wouldn’t be able to finish telling him. “The worst part is when it happened, I wasn’t even surprised. There was a part of me that knew it would end that way.”
“Sue.” His tone became more insistent.
“The short of the relationship is, he drank, he hit me, I tried to leave and he always found me. I had nowhere to go, no money of my own, and being a lawyer, he had friends in the police department. I didn’t love him, not after the first year of marriage. I prayed for an out.” Sue gave a tiny shake of her entire body as if that could make the feelings go away. “So there you have it.”
“That’s not right,” Jameson said. “No one deserves to be treated like that.”
“I know.” Sue held her hand out for him to take. “But I’m not living in the past. I’m here, now, with you.”
Sue couldn’t bring herself to say she was being haunted. Dumping one baggage bomb on him was enough.
“Besides.” She drew him closer. “Why would I want to think about that when I have magic in front of me?”
Jameson wanted to say more. She saw the emotions in his eyes. Instead, he cupped her face and kissed her. “Yes, magic.”
Sue wanted the lightness back in their conversation. The ring on her hand tingled its magic up her arm. She felt the connection between them building. His nearness steadied her and made her feel safe.
“You are the most amazing woman I’ve ever met,” he said. “I wish I could explain what I feel. It’s like…”
“What if I told you I think you feel magic? Real magic?” She took a deep breath. “That I was drawn to Freewild Cove by that same magic.”
“I’ll believe anything you tell me.” He said it, but clearly, he didn’t understand what she was telling him.
“Promise not to freak out.” Sue concentrated on the papers scattered on the floor.
Jameson turned to follow her gaze. “What is it?”
Her hand tingled as she willed the papers back onto the desk. They began to flutter. Suddenly, the papers swept up from the floor and landed on the desk in a neat pile.
Jameson stared at the desk, then at her, and then back again. “How…?”
Sue instantly regretted the impulsive decision. Maybe it was too much, too soon.
No. She didn’t want a life with secrets and lies, not anymore. She was who she was. He would have to decide for himself if he wanted a ticket on her crazy train.
“Did you…?” He stepped away from her.
“Now you know all my secrets, Jameson.” Sue picked her purse up from the floor and reached for the doorknob. “I hope it hasn’t scared you away, but if you don’t come tonight for our date, I’ll understand. Please excuse me. Lorna, Vivien, and Heather are waiting for me to bring back vanilla lattes.”
“Eight o’clock,” he said after her as she stepped out of the office.
Sue smiled at the door as it closed between them.
Chapter Twelve
“Where the hell did you go for coffee? The Amazon jungle?” Vivien demanded, moving to take the lattes from Sue when she stepped into the theater lobby. Without waiting for an answer, she yelled, “Lattes are here!”
“Where are the others?” Sue held a bag of muffins clutched in a fist.
“Lorna is in the office returning calls, and Heather is upstairs taking a shower.” Vivien still wore her pajamas shorts. She suppressed a yawn and carried the lattes toward the office.
Lorna glanced up when Vivien entered. Her eyes rounded, and she instantly reached for a latte. Into the phone, she said, “Yes, Mrs. McDowell. There are one hundred and four seats so you can sell that many tickets for your event.”
> Sue held up the bag to show them. “I brought chocolate muffins too. Stu told me you all liked them.”
“Oh, yes, Stu, you sweet, sweet crack dealer!” Vivien exclaimed.
Lorna made a small noise and threw a pencil at Vivien to get her attention.
“What?” Vivien asked, pretending to be offended as she rubbed her arm.
“I’m sure your church group will have a fantastic evening,” Lorna said loudly into the phone, her eyes wide as she stared at Vivien.
“Oops,” Vivien mumbled, slowly backing out of the office with the remaining lattes. She turned to go upstairs.
“No, I haven’t seen that particular film. I’ll have to hope you only sell one hundred and three tickets so I can sneak in the back to watch.” Lorna pointed at the bag with a hopeful look on her face.
Sue pulled out a muffin and handed it to her.
Lorna grinned and mouthed, “Thank you.”
Sue nodded and moved to follow Vivien to the apartment. Vivien had put the latte container on the kitchen island and lounged on a chair near the window.
Heather came from the bathroom in a flannel shirt and jeans. Her wet hair was wound into a bun at her neck.
“Stu sent muffin crack.” Vivien reached for Sue’s bag, wiggling her fingers. Sue handed it over.
“One day, you’re going to call it that to the wrong person.” Heather went for the coffee cup. “And I’m not going to say a word when they cart you off to jail.”
“You’re no fun,” Vivien said. “That’s okay. Sue will bail me out, won’t you?”
“What took so long? Was there a long line today?” Heather asked, sitting by Vivien and taking her muffin from her to eat it herself.
“I know you didn’t have trouble finding it.” Vivien grinned, grabbing another muffin to replace the stolen one. “Was Jameson working this morning? Is that what happened?”
“There was a line, and I went to the bookstore.” Sue took her latte and sat down at the table with them. “So I have some news.”
Both women set their muffins down.
“I bought the bookstore today. Melba is going to stay on to show me how to run it.” Sue took a deep breath and waited for their reactions. “Am I insane for doing this?”
“Ah…” Heather tilted her head to the side.
Vivien reached to take her hand. Slowly, she smiled. “Not at all. I feel very strongly that is exactly where you need to be.”
“I think so too. It’s funny. I walked in, and it became clear that I didn’t want to leave this town.” Sue took a nervous sip of her latte. “Ever since I put on the ring, it’s like I’ve been hit with clarity. I came here. I met you all. I bought a bookstore.”
“I didn’t know Melba was finally selling,” Heather said. “It’s a great building. Quality craftsmanship. The wood floors could use some work, though. Say the word, and I’ll have my brother help me refurbish them. It’ll only take a weekend.”
“Jameson owns the building, so we’d have to ask him. I’ll only have the store,” Sue admitted. “I hope that doesn’t become awkward.”
“Dating your landlord?” Vivien waved a hand in dismissal. “Go for it. You only live once.”
Sue tried to hide her blush, but there was no hiding anything from Vivien.
“What?” Vivien demanded. “So help me if you buried the lead with that whole, I bought a bookstore story…”
“Vivien, for the record, you have a loud mouth.” Lorna appeared at the top of the stairs with her latte and a half-eaten muffin. “By the way, you just scored yourself two tickets to Mrs. McDowell slide show musical performance one-woman extravaganza.”
“Yeah, I’m not going to that,” Vivien dismissed.
“Well, she thinks you’re a crack addict now,” Lorna said. “She’s praying for your soul.”
“Shh, lecture me later,” Vivien said. “Sue was about to dish.”
“What’s up? Was something happening at the coffee shop? You were gone a long time.” Lorna asked, moving to sit on the couch. She leaned on the arm to face them.
“I bought the bookstore,” Sue said. “I’m going to move to Freewild Cove.”
Before Lorna could answer, Vivien said, “Not that. Tell us what happened with Jameson. Or do you want me to try to guess?”
Vivien started reaching for her.
Sue leaned back in her chair. “I had sex with Jameson. In his office. At the coffee shop. We locked the door. It was awesome.”
Lorna’s mouth dropped open. Heather laughed softly.
“You go you!” Vivien clapped her hand and jumped up to do a little dance, singing a made up song, “Su-san. Getting freaky. With Jameson. In the coffee shop.”
“Sit down.” Heather tugged at Vivien’s pajama shirt. “Too much action before full coffee levels are achieved.”
“Does that make me a harlot or something?” Sue moaned and dropped her head on the table. “There were customers in the main area.”
“Hell, no, that doesn’t make you a harlot. That makes you my hero. Just because a woman likes sex doesn’t mean she’s any more whorish than her male counterparts,” Vivien stated as she sat down. “Well done. Jameson’s one hot catch.”
“He’s a sweetheart.” Heather took a sip of her latte. “I was thinking about him in the shower—”
“Heather!” Vivien scolded in mock affront.
“Not like that. I was thinking about last night and I started remembering all the things I’ve heard about Jameson over the years. After what you were married to, you deserve a good man, Sue. Jameson is a good man. He’s generous without bragging about it. Mary Turner told me he paid her overdue electric bill when her husband was out of work. It was supposed to be anonymous, but a lady in billing told her. I’ve heard several stories like that.”
“Wait, so, you bought a bookstore and slept with Jameson?” Lorna shook her head. “And I thought I had a busy morning.”
“I think it’s cool you’re moving to town,” Heather said. “Welcome. This is clearly where you’re meant to be. Julia’s magic is never wrong. It’s insane and sideways and annoying, but never wrong.”
“Thank you.” Sue glanced around. “I know you probably didn’t plan on me being here forever. I want to talk to you about renting this apartment. I’m happy to sign a lease and make it official.”
“No,” Heather stated.
“Oh.” Sue nodded. “I understand.”
“I’m not renting it to you. You’re going to live here as long as you want,” Heather said.
“That doesn’t feel right. I need to pay you something,” Sue said.
“I tell you what.” Heather picked a chocolate chip out of the muffin and tossed it into her mouth. “How about you tap into your amazing powers and help me clean whenever I have renters move out, or construction is over? It’ll take you two minutes and save me thousands each year. That way we both win.”
“Deal.” Sue agreed.
“So, in his office,” Vivien prompted, trying to get the conversation back around to Jameson. “Was it on his desk?”
Sue covered her mouth and tried not to blush. She slowly nodded, laughing into her hand as she managed to say, “Yes.”
“You naughty, naughty librarian,” Vivien teased.
“It’s always the quiet ones,” Heather added.
“Um, I hate to be the downer,” Lorna interrupted, “but what about the other problem?”
Sue’s smile faded. “I told Jameson about Hank. He knows what happened. I didn’t tell him that he’s haunting me, though.”
“That’s probably wise,” Vivien agreed. “Trust us. The whole magic and ghosts are real conversations aren’t ones we’ve perfected yet. People tend to freak out, and you can’t blame them.”
“It’s best people don’t know. Most mean well, but they tell one person, then they tell one person, and soon it’s not a secret, and we’re back to being the local freak show,” Heather said. “Viv and I spent our childhood under that microscope. I don’t wan
t to go back there.”
Sue understood the desire to hide the truth. She’d hidden her reality from everyone for so long. There had been so much shame. She’d hidden it so well that no one ever believed her when she tried to talk about Hank. She didn’t want to live like that anymore. Telling Jameson what happened, showing him who she was, had been life altering.
But Heather, Lorna, and Vivien’s secrets were not hers to tell, and she could respect that.
Sue bit the inside of her lip and shook her head. “I’m so sorry, Heather. I don’t know what got into me. It’s like I couldn’t stop myself long enough to think logically. I just acted on impulse and did what I wanted. First the bookstore, then I slept with Jameson, and then I told him magic was real. I didn’t mention your names, though. Just me.”
“Maybe he didn’t believe you,” Lorna said.
“I used it to pick up the office after we…” Sue gave a guilty sigh. “He was there. He knows about me. I’m sorry. I never meant to make your lives more difficult.”
Heather slowly nodded and sat back in her seat. “What’s done is done. We’ll hope for the best. Thank you for not telling him directly about us.”
“I won’t. I promise,” Sue said.
“I don’t think we have to worry about Jameson,” Vivien said. “It’s like Martin and you. Martin knows about us because magic led him and his daughter to us, to you. Same with Troy and me. And well, William is a Warrick so of course he knows. Jameson is bound to learn about it sooner or later.”
“I’m inclined to agree with Viv on this one,” Lorna said. “We all know the power of the rings. If Sue felt like she needed to tell him, then she did. There is no use in fighting our destiny. It sounds like Jameson is a big part of hers.”
“It’s not the rings,” Vivien corrected. “The magic is in us. The rings are talismans, a way to focus and amplify the energy inside us.”
Thoughts of Hank began to cloud her, dampening the promise of the morning. She’d taken steps for a future, but that didn’t mean her past wasn’t still lingering, waiting to draw her back whether she wanted to go or not. She had not been able to fight him in life. How could she face him now, in death, when he had nothing to lose?
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