“Beckett. He started feeding a stray cat that was hanging around the kitchen door. The cat ended up making a home here in my garden. He was a friendly little thing, and I took a liking to him. He was cautious at first, but after a while came closer.”
She smiled down at Thoreau. “As soon as he let me pet him, I knew he was no ordinary cat, but that he’d been enchanted. I cast a spell to free him, only to discover my stray friend was this beast. Although he was a much younger tiger then and not nearly so large.”
“How does that even happen?”
Amelia shrugged. “That’s Shadowvale. It draws the cursed to it. Chances are someone turned him into a house cat to hide what he really was, but Thoreau took the opportunity his smaller size presented to escape his captor’s clutches. And then he found his way here.”
“So why not send him off to a big-cat rescue or sanctuary where he can hang out with his own kind?”
A little sadness filled Amelia’s eyes. “I wish I could, but there’s more magic stuck to him. Magic I haven’t yet managed to remove. I’m not sure this is his final form. When I can completely free him, then I’ll know what to do with him. But until then, he stays here. With me. Protected.”
And yet, Em thought, her aunt wanted to send her away. The thought caused a wave of bitterness to wash through her. It was so strong and sudden, it spilled out in words. “So the tiger gets to stay, but I don’t?”
“Emeranth, you don’t understand—”
“You’re right. I don’t. But I’m happy to listen.”
Amelia’s mouth firmed into a hard, unhappy line. She opened her mouth to speak, but Beckett’s voice interrupted her.
“Amelia, phone call.”
Amelia sighed. “Coming.” She shook her head. “We’ll talk later, I promise.”
Em didn’t say anything. Just watched her aunt go.
And realized Thoreau still sat between her and the house.
“Oh boy.” She smiled at the tiger, then stopped, thinking maybe you weren’t supposed to show your teeth to a big cat. Would that be a sign of aggression? She did not want him to think she was challenging him. “Good kitty. Nice Thoreau. I’m just going inside, okay?”
Thoreau sighed, put his head down, and closed his eyes.
She stood there for a second. Was he really sleeping? Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, she held her breath as she snuck past him, tiptoeing like her life depended on it. Which maybe it did.
When she reached the patio, she slipped inside and shut the door, taking a much-needed deep breath. Beckett was going to hear about this. How had he not mentioned a tiger lived here? Wasn’t that kind of an important detail?
But that talk could wait. She had work to do. And a job to find.
She jogged upstairs and got herself presentable. Her wardrobe was limited, but she had a decent pair of black pants and a simple silk blouse her mother had given her (probably stolen) as a Christmas gift a few years back. A little jewelry, some fresh makeup, and she was out the door, keys in hand.
Downtown wasn’t hard to find, and neither was parking. There were no meters either, which was nice.
She parked as close to Black Horse Bakery as she could, making that her first stop.
Nasha was behind the counter when she went in. “Back for more?”
“Not exactly. That cupcake and the extra goodies were delicious, but I don’t want to take advantage of the free stuff. That wouldn’t be fair to everyone else.”
Nasha shrugged. “Eh. It’s first come, first served. You want another one, then have another one. That’s how it works. Everybody knows that.”
“I’ll remember that. But that’s still not why I came back. I was wondering…are you hiring, by any chance?”
Nasha shook her head. “I have enough employees at the moment.”
Em had a hard time hiding her disappointment. “Oh. Do you know of anyone who might be looking for some extra help?”
Nasha squinted like she was thinking extra hard. “You might try Deja Brew, the coffee shop down the street.” She pointed left. “But that’s just a guess. I’m not sure. Sorry. There’s not a lot of turnover in this town, so the job market can be a little stagnant.”
Deja Brew would be perfect for Em if they were hiring. She nodded. “Yeah, Deacon said you don’t get much in the way of tourists.”
Nasha snorted. “No, we don’t. There’s a decent influx of new people, folks who find their way here one way or another, but Shadowvale isn’t exactly a boomtown.”
“Understood. Thanks.”
“Hang on.” Nasha fiddled with something behind the counter, then handed over a small bag. “Have that second cupcake. You might need it.”
“Thanks.” Em took the bag, feeling glum. She’d had such high hopes, not really thinking what the economy might be like here.
“Anytime.”
An older man came in. Em gave Nasha a smile and slipped out. She put the cupcake in her car, then glanced both ways on Main Street. There were a good number of people walking around, so the shops weren’t empty, but Em hadn’t thought about how the lack of visitors might affect things.
Well, she needed to snap out of her mood and get cracking. She lifted her chin and headed in the direction of the coffee shop Nasha had suggested. All it would take was one place with one opening.
No job was too small.
She paused as she walked by Bewitched Broomsticks. She knew nothing about broomsticks. Especially if they were for riding.
But now was not the time to be picky. And hey, she knew how to sweep. Maybe that would count?
Chapter Fifteen
Deacon was in no mood to talk to Amelia, but it had to be done. He at least had to tell her how the day had gone. He extricated his cell phone from his back pocket, thankful the hard case had prevented damage from the spines, and dialed her number.
“Hello?”
“It’s Deacon.” The wicker glider creaked as he shifted forward to rest his elbows on his knees, then creaked again as he realized the spines weren’t going to let that happen.
“Ah, yes. How did Emeranth respond? I saw her, but haven’t had a chance to talk to her yet.”
No point in delaying the inevitable. “Not great. The things I thought would bother her didn’t seem to at all. Or at least not enough to turn her off this place.”
A heavy sigh was her first response. “Is that why she was home so early?”
“No. Frieda needed some curse relief, and once I took that on, it was best I not be around anyone.”
“Frieda. Poisonous spines, if I recall. I can see why you’d call it a day. How did Emeranth respond to all of that?”
“It was one of the few things that seemed to really make an impact. I’d go so far as to say it scared her a little.” That was his best guess anyway, judging from how she’d kept her distance. But then, he’d told her to keep her distance. He shook his head. He wasn’t going to explain all that to Amelia. Better to go with Em being scared.
“Then perhaps she needs to see more of that. More of why people come to this town.”
“I can’t make people’s curses activate.”
“No, but maybe you’ll get lucky and get called in on another one.”
“Yeah, that would be lucky.”
“No, I don’t suppose it would be. Well then take her to see some of the more egregious cases in town. Some of the more…famous. Either way, I’m sure I could persuade her to do another tour tomorrow.”
“You won’t have to. It’s already arranged.” He left out the part about having a lunch date with Gracie. That didn’t seem remotely like the kind of thing that would cause Em to dislike Shadowvale. And Amelia wouldn’t be happy about that.
“Good. You’re the peacekeeper, Deacon. I expect you to find a remedy. I don’t want my niece to suffer because of this town.”
“I understand, Amelia.” Except he didn’t. Not exactly. If Em really wanted to live here, what was the big deal? Just because he wasn’t happy here didn’t me
an most others weren’t. Em might really like it here. And she was a grown woman. Shouldn’t she be able to decide for herself? Granted, it was Amelia’s right to say who lived in her house. But Em could live anywhere.
“Then we’ll see you for breakfast again.”
“I guess so.” Amelia hung up, but his thought process kept going.
If Em decided to stay, and Amelia wasn’t on board, the elder witch could make life here pretty hard for her niece. He wasn’t sure Amelia would do that—Em was family, after all—but Amelia pulled a lot of weight here.
So did the Evermores, to some extent. But not like Amelia. Not like the woman who’d brought Shadowvale to life.
Deacon realized the phone was still in his hand. He laid it down next to him on the glider as Amelia’s suggestion for the next tour swirled in his head.
Taking Em to see some of the most-cursed residents in town wasn’t exactly an easy thing to do. Most of them had zero interest in being gawked at. They’d come here to be left alone.
And some could be downright dangerous.
He’d have to do some more thinking. Make a plan. Maybe a few phone calls. If Amelia really wanted Em to see the underbelly of Shadowvale, he supposed he could make that happen.
So long as he was there to protect her.
But some of those curses were hard-core. If he had to take them on to keep her safe, he would. He just hoped that wouldn’t cause him to become a danger to her as well.
He shook his head. Was getting out of here really worth all this?
A long, difficult moment passed. The freedom to leave Shadowvale was worth it. Especially if he could take Gracie with him.
He was going to have to up his game if he really wanted to turn Em off this place.
* * *
The broomstick store, which actually sold broomsticks for witches to ride, wasn’t hiring. Neither was the curiosity shop, the café, the bistro, the gift shop, the crafter’s corner, the apothecary, the dentist’s office, the kitchen store, the deli, the health and beauty boutique, the chemist, or any of the other number of stores she’d gone into.
She walked through the door of Deja Brew with her hopes of employment fading, even though it was a business she was familiar with. She’d ask, of course, but maybe she’d get a coffee, sit down for a few minutes, and fortify herself to fill out yet another application.
The job hunt wasn’t going the way she’d planned.
Not even remotely.
Fortunately, there were only a handful of people in the place to see what a sad case she was. She went to the counter, ordered an indulgent caramel latte she couldn’t afford, then went to wait at the end of the counter for her order to be ready.
While she inhaled the comforting smell of java, she checked out the narrow glass display case and its sampling of treats. Biscotti, cookies, muffins. All probably delicious, but nothing on the level of what Nasha was offering. Probably why the selection here was so small.
If you really wanted something good, you got your coffee here, then went to Black Horse for the real indulgence to go with it.
She watched Joaquin, the barista who’d taken her order, make her drink. Em had worked at two coffee shops in her life. One for a brief six months in Bend, Oregon, then the last one for three years in Bethany, Oklahoma. She’d even made third key manager in Bethany.
She’d lost that job only because her mother had used that key to get a little more familiar with the store after hours. Em sighed. The manager had been kind but foolish not to press charges. Of course, Em had been the one who’d paid for that, with the loss of her job.
Then she’d gotten a part-time shift at the DIY Depot and promptly lost that eight days later when her mother had been arrested for another con gone wrong.
Em shook her head. She didn’t want to think about all that now. She needed to focus on the future.
Making coffee was a job she could easily do. But what was the possibility that this place was hiring? She almost didn’t want to ask.
But when the barista came with her latte, she did anyway. “Thanks. Any chance that you guys are hiring? I’m new in town and looking for work, and I have experience as a barista.”
He slid her drink toward her. “Not right now, but you could fill out an application if you want. We keep them on file, so…” He shrugged.
She made herself keep smiling. “Okay, thanks. That would be great.”
Actually, it sucked. But it was the best thing she had going right now.
He found an application and handed it over. She took it and her latte to a small table near the window and got to work filling it out. The latte was good and went down fast.
With a sigh, she filled in her aunt’s address as her own. She had no reassurances she’d be in Shadowvale after Friday, but it was all she had at the moment.
The latte was half gone, but it would have been better with a Chocolate Reaper cupcake. Too bad hers was in the car.
Her pen stopped moving, and her head came up. She looked at the people coming in. And those already seated around her.
More than a few had bags from Black Horse.
“Holy smokes,” she whispered as the thread of an idea began to unfurl in her mind.
She got to her feet, almost knocking her latte over, grabbed her drink and the application, and headed for the door.
Once on the sidewalk, she stuffed the application into her purse, then downed the last of her latte and tossed the cup into a trash can.
She didn’t exactly jog toward her destination, but she passed all the slower walkers. As she traveled, she pleaded with the universe to let her have this one thing. Please let this happen. Please please please.
She pushed through the door of the bakery and took a breath of the delicious air filling the space while putting on her best smile. Nasha was bent down, adding more cookies to a tray. “Hi again.”
Nasha stood up, but it wasn’t Nasha. “Hi.”
“You’re not Nasha.” Em’s smile faltered.
“Nope. I’m Clara.”
“Is she here?”
“Sure, she’s in the back frosting a cake. I’ll go get her.”
Em wanted to stop Clara. Interrupting Nasha might put her in a bad mood. But this was an all-or-nothing kind of moment, and if she didn’t do this now, she might lose her nerve.
Clara came back out with Nasha behind her.
The woman laughed when she saw Em. “Changed your mind about another cupcake, huh?”
Em swallowed. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something. I know you’re busy, but do you have a minute?”
“For Amelia’s niece? I do. Come on back.”
Em followed her into the heart of the bakery. Long stainless-steel tables and shelving filled most of the space. Three giant mixers sat on the floor side by side by side.
In a lonely corner, covered with plastic, was a very familiar-looking machine. A veritable sign from the universe. She hoped.
Em stopped and pointed. “Is that what I think it is? Why isn’t it out there being put to good use?”
Nasha glanced over and gave a little snort of disgust. “Because no one knows how to use that thing. It might be a transformer, for all I know. It was a gift from an ex when I opened this place. Pretty pricey, I think, but I haven’t had the heart to sell it.”
“Do you mind?”
“Be my guest.”
Em went over and lifted the clear plastic sheeting to have a better look. “Wow.”
Nasha came closer. “Wow, huh? I take it you know what it is?”
“I do.” Em pulled the plastic back even farther, revealing the sleek chrome beauty underneath. “This is a La Pavoni three-lever espresso machine. Old-school Italian coffee company. This thing is built like a tank. Probably weighs about the same, too. You could make enough drinks on this to keep the whole town up for a week straight. It’s beautiful.”
“It is pretty snazzy, I’ll give you that. But it looks so complicated.”
Em touched
one of the levers. “Not if you know what you’re doing.”
“And you do?”
Em nodded, her gaze still on the machine. “I’ve spent a lot of time working in coffee shops.” She glanced at Nasha. “Why don’t you serve coffee, by the way?”
“I always meant to. I just never got around to it. And like I said, none of us know how to use this thing. Setting up a regular old coffeepot seemed pointless with Deja Brew down the street, so I figured it was this or nothing.”
“I don’t disagree with that. Deja Brew’s coffee is pretty good.” Em grinned. “But you know most of what the people in there are eating with their coffee? Black Horse Bakery goods. I saw the bags myself.”
“Oh yeah?” Nasha’s gaze shifted from Em to the espresso machine, then back to Em. “You really know how to work this monster?”
“I know how to operate it, how to maintain it, and how to clean it.”
Nasha folded her arms, but brought her hand up to tap her bottom lip with one finger. “Are you still looking for a job?”
Em laughed, almost giddy with nervousness. “As a matter of fact, I am.”
“How’d you like to be the Black Horse Bakery’s first barista?”
Em took a breath so she wouldn’t squeal with joy. “I would love that. I will work so hard for you, I swear. Thank you. I can start immediately. Or as soon as we can get supplies.”
“Good. I have cups and all that since I was planning on selling coffee someday. Just need to order beans. Right? Beans?”
“Right. Beans.”
“Tell me what kind, and I’ll get them in. We’ll have to rearrange some things, but I think we can be selling coffee by the weekend.”
“That would be amazing. Thank you.”
“No, thank you. This thing’s been sitting here for way too long. Knowing it’s finally going to get put to work makes me happy.” She tipped her head. “Hey, what did you want to talk to me about? I forgot you came in here for something.”
Em laughed softly. “Believe it or not, I was going to see if you were interested in putting me to work selling coffee. I got the idea sitting in Deja Brew and watching all those Black Horse bags come in.”
The Trouble With Witches Page 11