‘No, but I need to go home and change, and I don’t have my car.’
Claudia smiled. A siren smile. ‘If I drive you home, will that give you enough time for some mind-blowing sex first?’
After he’d showered – if you could call it that, in Claudia’s tiny cubicle – Jason glanced at his watch. At home, he’d have time to change, but a shave was five minutes he didn’t have. Designer stubble, maybe?
Claudia grabbed her keys and they clattered down the steps from her flat. She was already heading to her car when Jason looked back to see a dog walker staring at Healing Waves. Jason moved nearer to see why.
‘Claudia. Come back here.’
They stood side by side, gazing in dismay at the crudely spray-painted black symbols on the shop’s white walls.
Pulling out his mobile, Jason phoned work to say he’d be late, claiming his car had a flat battery. He didn’t feel like explaining that his new lover had evil symbols painted all over her property.
‘What are they?’ he asked when he’d ended the call.
Blinking back tears, Claudia pointed to each. ‘That five-pointed star in a circle is a pentacle. It symbolises the four elements and spirit. The triple moon, you know from my necklace. That one over there is an Eye of Horus. It’s for protection.’ Claudia sighed. ‘They’re all associated with witchcraft.’
‘For crying out loud!’ Jason’s dismay at the graffiti was overtaken by the thought that in two days’ time, his daughter would be working within these walls. He hated the idea of Millie getting caught up in this stupid feud.
‘None of these symbols are harmful,’ Claudia told him, understanding his need for reassurance. ‘So why paint them on my walls?’
‘Oh, come on, Claudia. This has to be the work of those two from Hester’s Cauldron.’
‘I’m not sure about that.’ Claudia drummed her fingers against her thigh, studying the wall. ‘For a start, these symbols aren’t remotely artistic, are they? The Hester’s crew have an eye for presentation. These are rough and ready.’
‘Covering their tracks.’
‘And the symbols they’ve chosen are benign – nothing that screams “black magic”, which you’d think would be the effect they’d want if they’re out to damage my reputation.’
‘We all know they don’t know their subject very well.’
‘But what do they stand to gain?’
‘Making your life miserable? Casting you in a poor light?’
Claudia threw out her arms in frustration. ‘But that doesn’t work, does it? Think about it. They tout all things witchy over at Hester’s Cauldron, while they’ve put me down as a sour, outdated New Ager. So why would they want to suggest I’m a witch?’
‘Ollie Barton brought up those old rumours. Perhaps they’re taking advantage.’
‘But wouldn’t that work against them? Make people intrigued about me again? Direct attention away from Hester’s?’
Jason didn’t have an answer to that. But if he couldn’t deal with the theory, he could at least be practical. He took out his phone again.
‘What are you doing?’ she asked.
‘Photographing the evidence. Phoning the police.’
‘The police? Oh, Jason, no…’
He looked at her, incredulous. ‘Claudia, you have malicious graffiti painted across your property. That’s criminal damage! And your insurance company will expect you to report it.’
Claudia shook her head, fire-and-flame curls bouncing madly around her face. ‘I’m leaving the insurance company out of this. After the storm damage, my premiums will already be sky-high. I can fix this myself.’
‘That’s your choice. But the police will have be told. You can’t ignore this.’ Seeing her pale face, he softened his tone. ‘Do you have white paint that’ll cover it?’
‘Maybe.’
‘Go and find it. We’ll get to work as soon as the police have been.’
But by the time the police had attended, so had everyone in Porthsteren… along with local press photographers.
Jason knew Claudia didn’t relish the attention. He wasn’t too keen himself. Would people put two and two together and work out that he was there because he’d spent the night? He could have been out on an early walk and seen the damage and alerted her to it. Or she could have seen it first and phoned him for support. He hated the idea of asking her to cook up a plausible story with him. She was distraught enough already. And he didn’t want her to be offended that he was so keen to cover up their… whatever it was.
In the end, Jason didn’t have the heart to bring it up. Claudia would know not to say anything. She’d told him to trust her discretion once before, and he should do so now. Not that he had any opportunity to catch her alone as she did her best to run Healing Waves while juggling the police and the press and the casual bystanders.
Knowing it wasn’t what Claudia wanted, Jason stopped short of voicing his opinion about the culprits to the police. Even though he itched to say something, she was right about there being no proof.
The police confirmed what Jason already suspected – the chances of catching anyone were minimal-to-none. There were no CCTV cameras at this end of the village, only at the harbour to protect the boats. Porthsteren rarely had trouble like this. Unless a kindly witness came forward…
Still, Jason was glad he’d called them. Such things should be reported. Something else might happen, and he didn’t like that thought at all.
Sarah and Evelyn were in and out of the Page Turner all morning, bringing cups of tea as required, upset on Claudia’s behalf.
‘Good job you were here for her, Jason,’ Sarah stated matter-of-factly when Claudia was out of earshot. He could have sworn he saw a glint of curiosity in her eyes, but if she had her suspicions, she was discreet enough not to say anything. ‘Claudia never believed in gossip. And the one time… well. Now look.’
‘But it wasn’t gossip, was it?’ Evelyn objected. ‘She was chatting with friends, and it was overheard.’
Sarah sighed. ‘The end result’s the same, though, isn’t it?’ She turned to Jason. ‘Claudia isn’t into everything that Tanya is, but she does believe in “harming none”. She doesn’t like to hurt anyone’s feelings. She worries about karmic retribution.’ She pointed at the graffiti. ‘And here it is.’
‘What the hell are you talking about?’ Jason asked her, lost.
‘Claudia believes that if you voice something negative, you’re sending negative energy out with it.’ Sarah smiled. ‘You know her – she tries to turn anything into a positive. Haven’t you noticed that whenever she talked about Hester’s, she countered everything negative with “I hope they do well” or whatever?’
‘Well, whoever’s in the karmic retribution office today has come down a bit hard on her, if you ask me,’ Jason grumbled.
Claudia only managed to persuade him to go once he’d applied the first coat of paint, pointing out that it had to dry before the next coat, which she could do herself. As he left, he had to settle for giving her a supportive peck on the cheek. Too many onlookers. She mustered a weak smile, and he knew she understood. He could only hope that nobody noticed he was walking home to fetch his car.
As he drove to work, his stomach growling loudly at its lack of breakfast and no sight of lunch, Jason forced himself not to think about the morning’s events… or about what had happened last night between him and Claudia. The roads were narrow and winding – dangerous, if you didn’t keep your mind on the task. And once he’d reached the office and swallowed down a stale doughnut lurking in the mini-kitchen, he had to corral his mind so he didn’t come across as a sleep-deprived idiot.
But by the end of the day, his brain was screaming at him to process things. And so, before the long drive to fetch Millie from the halfway point he’d agreed with Harry and Jennifer, he took a short stroll in a nearby park, barely registering his surroundings.
Claudia Rose. How that name suited her, suggesting mystique, a promise of somethin
g – someone – unusual. She was kind and generous. She could be infuriating. She was thoughtful. She had a fiery temper, on the rare occasion she unleashed it. She was vibrant and yet serene.
And she was beautiful.
Last night had been magical, if he was feeling lyrical about it. Any misgivings had disappeared as he was surrounded by her – her scent, her warmth. Claudia had given herself to him without any sense that she had given away any part of herself she didn’t want to. Knowing what he did about her, that was touching, emotional… and it made their lovemaking meaningful.
Why should that worry him? He wasn’t after a one-night stand or a short-lived fling. Something like that wouldn’t be wise with a local, someone he couldn’t avoid afterwards, someone so close to his daughter.
And there it was. Millie.
A one-night-stand his daughter didn’t know about couldn’t hurt her. A complicated relationship with someone she cared for could. Millie was in a difficult enough phase already. The idea of threatening their delicate status quo was unthinkable. Millie welcomed Jason and Claudia getting along, but how would she feel if she knew they had become involved? She might turn cartwheels. She might throw something at him. She might not speak to him, so he wouldn’t know how she felt. What if he and Claudia became serious about each other?
Jason wasn’t sure he was ready for serious. Serious led to commitment. Commitment was something he’d felt saddled with for years, from the moment his marriage began to fail to the death of his wife to the aftermath of becoming a single parent to a traumatised teenager.
He knew that Claudia would never stifle him, not knowingly – and being with her made him feel lighter, not heavier. Jason didn’t want to regret his night with her. But his doubts and fears meant that, to some extent, he already did.
Chapter Twenty
When the ping of the doorbell heralded Tanya’s arrival, Claudia was relieved. After the rubbish day she’d had – after its very promising start of early morning sex with Jason – her best friend’s arrival was perfectly timed.
‘You wanted to see me?’ Tanya asked with a quirk of her lips.
‘Did your crystal ball tell you that?’
‘No. My intuition. And social media. Why didn’t you call?’
When she folded Claudia in her arms, Claudia allowed the tears to fall. ‘Because I knew you’d charge over here,’ she mumbled.
‘I would have.’ Tanya pulled away. ‘Will wine help?’
‘Maybe. Here’s my key. I’ll just finish up here.’
‘Fine. Gives me time with my favourite furry friend.’
When Claudia entered her flat soon after, two glasses of wine were already poured. Tanya and Pudding were lying together on the rug, gazing into each other’s eyes, Tanya stroking his belly and Pudding making no attempt to stop her, his purr as loud as an engine.
Claudia shook her head. ‘Why don’t you get your own cat?’
‘I’m a witch. A cat would be too obvious, don’t you think?’ Tanya moved to the sofa, much to Pudding’s annoyance, picked up her wine and said, ‘Tell me about Jason first. I was going to phone you tonight anyway, to find out what happened.’
‘Oh. Ah.’ Was that less than twenty-four hours ago?
Claudia told her. Not the intimate details, but the gist. When she’d finished, she asked anxiously, ‘Do you think I made a mistake?’
‘Not at all. We said to listen to your intuition, and you did.’ Tanya smiled. ‘Sounds like it paid off.’
Claudia’s own smile was coy. ‘It did. It was… different than with Lee.’
‘I should hope so!’
‘What I mean is…’ Claudia grasped for the right words. ‘I could tell Jason wanted me. Lee wanted my body, I think, not all of me. And even then, there were all the stipulations – preferring my body a certain way. It didn’t feel like that with Jason.’
‘So, not only great sex, but sex that meant something to you.’ Tanya let out a dramatic sigh. ‘I’m jealous.’
‘Don’t be. Just because I thought it meant something doesn’t mean that Jason did. His life’s more complicated than mine. He’s fetching Millie back this evening.’
‘You and Millie get on well. Surely that won’t be a problem?’
‘What I see as a problem and what Mr Volatile sees as a problem can be two different things.’
Tanya patted her hand. ‘Well, I’m pleased you found someone you wanted to move forward with. You were right to take a break after Lee, but I’d’ve hated it go on too long. You should be with someone special.’ Her green eyes turned dangerously cool. ‘I hope Jason knows that.’
‘I wouldn’t know, would I? The morning’s events scuppered any meaningful discussions, not that we’d’ve had a chance. We were already pushed for time, after…’ She blushed, then sighed. ‘Jason insisted on calling the police about the graffiti.’
‘Quite right.’
‘He also wanted to tell them he suspects Hester’s Cauldron, but I wouldn’t let him.’
‘You don’t suspect them?’
Claudia explained her theories, just as she had with Jason that morning.
Tanya mulled it over. ‘I’m with you. Yes, they have something to gain by making your life difficult. But the symbols were ill-chosen – too benign. And they were crudely drawn by an amateur. Their shop displays prove they’re not amateurs – artistically, anyway. And all this does is draw attention to you; get people speculating about you being a witch again.’
‘Which is the last thing Jason wants, with Millie working at Healing Waves,’ Claudia grumbled.
‘Hopefully, he won’t take it too seriously.’ Tanya winced. ‘And I can’t believe I’m defending that narrow mind of his.’
‘It’ll only get narrower, because he doesn’t know yet how much in awe his daughter is of the fact that I’m friends with a real witch.’ Claudia huffed out a breath. ‘Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned that in the radio interview.’
‘You had a right to defend yourself, and that was as good a way as any.’
‘Jason also doesn’t yet know that Millie and her friends are saving up for supplies so they can try out spells from a book they bought at Hester’s.’
‘Ah.’
‘Do you think I should tell him?’
‘Did Millie ask you not to?’
‘Yes.’
‘Then you can’t, can you?’
‘I slept with him, Tanya. That changes things.’
‘It changes a lot of things, but…’ Tanya looked at her empty wine glass. ‘I could do with another of those. Can I stay over?’
‘Of course! You don’t have to ask.’
‘I do if Jason might come looking for a repeat performance.’
‘He won’t. Millie’s back, remember?’
‘Ah, yes. Millie.’ Tanya refilled her glass. ‘She has a right to experiment, Claudia. All you can do is gently guide her. I don’t mind talking to her, if you think it might help.’
‘I’m sure her father would love that!’
‘Yes, well, he might have to choose, mightn’t he? Unfettered experimentation versus structured guidance.’
‘I’m not sure he even realises it’s a problem, let alone that he’s stuck between two choices he’d prefer not to have to make. Millie thinks he spotted the spell book, but he hasn’t said anything to her or me. That makes me think he doesn’t imagine they might actually use it.’
‘Then it’s down to you and me,’ Tanya said firmly.
‘Go behind his back, you mean?’
‘Only until we find out how serious Millie is. I know that goes against the grain for you, Claudia, but Millie has you over a barrel. Besides, if this is only a brief whim, Jason need never know. Why cause unnecessary upset?’
Put like that, Claudia found it hard to argue. Millie would never forgive her if she blabbed. And Jason’s blood pressure was probably already at a dangerous level.
‘As for this evening…’ Tanya delved into her copious bag. ‘How about a protec
tion spell? Then pizza.’
‘Do they go together?’
‘Well, they’re not mutually exclusive.’
Jason and Claudia weren’t the only ones upset about the graffiti. Millie had already found out about it by the time Jason fetched her the previous evening. Social media could be a pain sometimes – there was no escaping anything or protecting her.
‘Are you worried about working there on Saturday?’ he’d asked her on the drive home.
‘No. Why would I be?’
If Millie hadn’t figured it out for herself, Jason didn’t want to be the one to point out that her situation was awkward – a customer at one establishment and an employee at the other. Perhaps she hadn’t associated the damage with Amber and Raven. And since Claudia didn’t agree with him and wouldn’t want him to say anything, he had to keep his mouth shut on that score.
This morning, Millie insisted that they drive to Claudia’s to help with the painting.
‘She needs to concentrate on the shop,’ Millie said. Jason couldn’t argue with that, and since his daughter had got up unusually early for a teenager on school holidays to do it – and there was the other small matter of checking on how the woman he’d recently slept with was holding up – he agreed.
Claudia was already on her knees outside, beginning to slap on the second coat of paint.
Jason’s stomach flipped when she turned and smiled, a streak of white paint highlighting a red curl. The graffiti, work and Millie’s return had all snatched away any chance to discuss what had happened between them.
A text hadn’t seemed adequate. Thanks for the life-changing sex but I’m not sure a relationship is a good idea right now? Hardly.
Looking at Claudia now, her cropped jeans and T-shirt clinging as she stood, her hair escaping its makeshift restraints, he wondered why on earth he wouldn’t want a relationship with her.
‘Did you have a good time in Devon?’ she asked Millie.
‘It was okay, thanks. We’ve come to paint. Then we have to do a supermarket shop. Then we’ll come back late afternoon and do another coat.’
The Little Shop in Cornwall: A heartwarming and feel good beach read Page 26