His day was getting better and better.
She caught her bottom lip between her teeth. “You don’t mind me joining you, do you? I mean, if you’re meeting someone—”
“Nope.” He couldn’t stop smiling. People were going to wonder what was wrong with him. Or maybe they’d assume it was someone’s curse making him addlebrained. “I already ordered, but we can grab the server.”
He stuck his hand up and waved at Lola, the woman who’d taken his order, to let her know they needed her.
She gave him a thumbs-up. “Be right over, Deacon.”
Another server dropped off a menu on his way by.
“Great.” Em slid it toward her and had a look. “What did you get?”
“Two eggs over easy with pancakes and bacon.”
“Oooh, pancakes sound awesome. But if I eat that many carbs, I’m liable to go back to sleep.” She perused the menu a little more. “Okay, that’s me right there. Roast beef hash with a poached egg.”
“I’ve had that. It’s good.”
She closed the menu and set it down. “Also, I need coffee. Lots of coffee.”
“Didn’t you make yourself a cup while you were at the bakery?”
Her mouth rounded into a little O. “Believe it or not, I didn’t. It kind of slipped my mind.” She laughed. “I was so focused on getting Nasha’s right that I just forgot. I really should have made one for myself. Especially since I’ll be selling it tomorrow. It’s my first official day of work.”
“I’ll have to come by and try one, then. What did Nasha think of the one you made?”
“She loved it.” Something dampened Em’s happy expression. “You don’t think she was just saying that, do you?”
“Nasha? Not a chance. She’s not the type to hold anything like that back.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Hey!” All of a sudden, she reached out and grabbed his hand. “How are you after being covered in flames? I meant to ask you that sooner, but I got distracted. Plus, you look okay, but were there any side effects?”
Her hand on his made it hard for him to concentrate, but he managed. Mostly. “No, I, uh, I’m good. The curses don’t affect me.”
“I know you said that, but it’s so hard to believe. I’m glad, though.” She let go of his hand. “Now back to our original topic.”
He had no idea what that had been, but he’d talk to her all day if she wanted.
She laced her fingers together on top of the table. “You have to give me some ideas for Gracie. I want to get her something, even if it’s just a little thing. Which is all I can afford until my first paycheck.”
“Okay.” He thought some. Mostly about how he wanted to hold Em’s hand again. “She loves dogs, obviously, so anything dog-related would probably be a hit.”
“What else does she like? Does she have any hobbies?”
Mostly, she took care of him and his brothers. Not because she had to, but because she seemed to want to. That was the only reason he and Bishop hadn’t moved out. And why Shepherd still came back most nights for dinner. “She likes to cook. She’s really good at it. And she likes to read.”
But what else did Gracie do? She worked. And took care of them. And other than the occasional lunch out, she stayed home and away from people. All because of her curse.
“Cooking, reading, and dogs? Okay, I can work with that.” Em tipped her head. “You okay? You look…sad all of a sudden.”
“It’s nothing.” He made himself smile again. “Just worried that everything goes okay for Gracie’s party.”
“I’m sure it will.”
He nodded. Then Lola came over to bring Em coffee and take her order, leaving him to his thoughts for a moment.
This party was a bad idea. There would be people everywhere, inside and out. And a crowd meant a lot of opportunities for someone to accidentally touch Gracie. He and his brothers never should have given in to her.
But he knew how desperate she was for social interaction. And she’d known they’d be unable to refuse her on her birthday.
Now a sense of foreboding was starting to come over him. And in a place like Shadowvale, you didn’t just brush off a feeling like that.
Maybe they could talk her into wearing gloves.
Lola put her hand on the table in front of him. “You need anything else, Deacon? Refill on your coffee? Your food should be right up.”
He blinked at Lola’s question, trying to think about what she’d said. “A refill would be great. Can you hold my food until Em’s is ready?”
Lola smiled knowingly. “I can do that, and I’ll be right back with your coffee.” Then she was off to the kitchen.
Deacon rubbed his forehead. “What did you order? The hash? I was a little lost in thought there.”
“Yes.” She nodded. “Are you sure there isn’t anything I can do to help you get ready for tonight?”
“No, not really. Around two, Shepherd’s going to make up an excuse that he needs Gracie’s help with the firehouse books, or something like that. Then once she’s out of the house, Bishop and I are going to decorate.”
Em gave him a stern look. “Um, I can help decorate, you know. Many hands make light work.”
The corner of his mouth hitched up. “Yeah, I guess you could. But won’t you want to go home to get ready?”
“I can bring everything with me. No big deal. Then we can still go get the cake together.”
“Okay, that would be great.”
“What about food? Besides cake, I mean.”
He scratched at the stubble on his chin. “We were just going to put out some chips. Pretzels. That kind of thing. You know, plus the cake.”
“Are you kidding me?” Em rolled her eyes. “You guys need more help than you realize.”
“All right, then, help us. What else do we need?”
“More than chips. How about Bishop decorates while we go to the store? You do have a grocery store here, don’t you?”
“Yes. The Green Grocer. It’s also open twenty-four hours.”
“Perfect. Do they have a deli?”
“Yes.”
“Even better. Call them and order some platters. Sandwiches, deviled eggs, veggies and dip, stuff like that. You have to feed people.”
“Hmm. I suppose you’re right.”
Lola came back with a carafe to top off both their coffees, and behind her was another server with their food.
Plates in front of them, they dug in, pausing occasionally to finish sorting out the party menu.
He was infinitely happy that Em had saved them from starving everyone, so when she gave him a coy look, he stopped a forkful of pancakes halfway to his mouth. “What’s up?”
“I have some news to share.”
“Do tell.” He ate the pancakes, just catching a drip of syrup before it left the fork.
“I’m a real witch now. I went through the initiation last night.”
“Oh?” For some reason, he found that very appealing. But then, he liked women who were ambitious. “That’s really cool. Congratulations.”
She looked very pleased. “Thanks. I don’t really know much more about being a witch than I did yesterday, but I’m on my way to learning.”
“What’s your first big spell going to be?”
She blinked a few times. “I have no idea. I guess I should think about that.”
He laughed. “I’m not sure you have to have a first big spell, but then, I’m not a witch, so what do I know?”
“Speaking of…” Her eyes narrowed. “What are you? The not-knowing is killing me.”
There was no point in not telling her. She was staying. And she’d find out sooner or later. Everyone in town knew. He was kind of surprised no one had told her. “I’m a raven shifter. My whole family is. Except…Gracie. I mean, she is one, but she’s never been able to shift.”
“Oh. I’m so sorry to hear that. Does it bother her?”
“It does, although she’d never let on that it does, but I k
now it’s something she thinks about.”
“I’m sure.”
The look in Em’s eyes was the same curious one he was getting used to. The one that said she had more questions. And since she was staying, he was happy to answer them. Some of them. “What else do you want to know?”
She pushed the hash around on her plate. “Your family has been here a long time, huh?”
“We have. Your aunt knew my grandmother and invited her to Shadowvale as soon as the town was established. My grandfather was one of the first to arrive at the gates. One of the called, as we say.”
“The called?”
“Those who feel summoned here. Or those who somehow find their way here.”
“Am I one of those?”
He thought about that. “Not really. You were trying to find this place. That doesn’t happen as often.”
“But the gates let me in.”
He nodded. “True.”
“So where do I fit?”
“I’m not sure.” He stabbed another bite of pancake.
Lola came by and warmed up their coffees again. Neither spoke until she left, then Em had another question.
“Why tell me now about what you really are when you wouldn’t tell me before?”
“Because before now I was convinced you’d be leaving. But since you’re staying, not telling you makes no sense. It’s not a secret. You could have asked just about anyone, and they could have told you.”
She snorted. “I never thought about doing that. Except I did ask Beckett and my aunt, and both said it was up to you to tell me, which made me think it was a secret.”
He smiled. “Beckett’s good people.”
“He is.” She stirred sugar into her cup. “So what else didn’t you tell me because you thought I was leaving?”
He picked up a strip of bacon, bit off the end of it, and gave her question some thought. He gestured with the remaining piece of bacon. “I might not have mentioned some of the more famous people that live here.”
She leaned in. “You showed me Dr. Jekyll. He seems pretty famous. Who else is here?”
He paused a second. “You’ll find out eventually, so I guess there’s no point in holding back.”
“Nope. None. Spill.”
“Well, for one…Bianca Wynters.”
Em made a face. “I have no idea who that is.”
“She used to go by another name.” He paused for dramatic effect. “Snow White.”
Em’s jaw dropped open. “Shut up. She’s not real.”
“Pretty sure she’d argue that with you.” He grinned. “She runs the Red Apple Bed and Breakfast. Although it’s really more of a boarding house.”
“No way.” Em was almost vibrating with interest. “How many rooms?”
He took another dramatic pause. “Seven.”
“For real?”
He nodded, then leaned in for more impact. “And she only rents them to the miners. Who also happen to be—”
“If you say dwarfs, I’m going to lose it.”
He shrugged. “I won’t say it, then.”
Her voice came out in a hushed tone, like she was trying to hold herself back from yelling. “Are you telling me the Seven Dwarfs work in the gem mines?”
“Yes. Of course, there are others. But this particular group is quite loyal to Bianca.”
Em shook her head, eyes wide. “This place.”
“She almost didn’t move here, what with the Brothers Grimm living in the Dark Acres and them having history, but there’s really no better place for a vampire, so she relented.”
Em’s mouth opened again. “Snow White is a vampire?”
Deacon chuckled. “Why else do you think an evil queen wanted her heart? Or how she gained such beauty? Or inspired such devotion from a troop of dwarfs, who could have been plying their trade as mercenaries anywhere else? Oh, she’s something, all right.”
Em went quiet for a moment. “Will she be at Gracie’s party?”
Deacon almost choked on his food. “Uh, no. She rarely leaves the Red Apple. Trust me, it’s for the best. The dwarfs would come with her, and they party like frat boys with nothing to lose.”
Em blinked a few times. “What have I gotten myself into?”
Chapter Twenty-eight
Em’s breakfast with Deacon had done nothing to dampen her enthusiasm for her new hometown. If anything, she’d decided that living in Shadowvale was never going to be dull. She’d kind of thought she wanted dull, but to her that meant a life without drama.
The kind her mother constantly produced. The kind that wore a person down and had them constantly looking over their shoulder, constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Shadowvale drama was altogether different. For one thing, it didn’t involve her. For another, it was all pretty interesting. And while some of the residents and their curses could be dangerous, she never felt like she was in danger.
Except maybe when facing down Thoreau in her aunt’s garden, a situation she didn’t intend to repeat.
No, breakfast with Deacon had only increased her sense of joy. Partly because getting to see him was an unexpected surprise. He’d been so open, too. Telling her about being a raven shifter.
How cool was that? He could fly.
Fly!
At that very moment, she was passing Bewitched Broomsticks, which halted her forward movement. She stared at the model in the window. The handle was a sleek metallic blue with scrolling silver pinstriping, and at the end, its silver-white bristles were bound with silver thread.
As brooms went, it was gorgeous. And clearly not made for sweeping.
But she was far too new a witch to invest in such a thing. At a minimum, she’d have to talk to her aunt about the subject. Em didn’t even know if all witches could ride broomsticks. She’d certainly never seen her aunt on one. Maybe it was a skill only a few could master.
Although if that was the case, why would there be a shop selling them?
She wanted to go in and look around, but there’d be time for that later.
Right now, she had a present to buy for Gracie, a thank-you gift for Aunt Amelia, and a trip to the thrift store for a possible party outfit.
And all before she had to be at Deacon’s.
First stop was the thrift store, Stella’s Bargain Bin. From the outside, it looked more like a boutique than a secondhand shop.
A little bell jangled when she went in. The older woman behind the counter, with blazing-red hair and black cat-eye glasses, waved at her over the game of solitaire she had spread out before her. “Hi there, honey. Welcome to the Bin. I’m Stella Kittridge. You need help finding something?”
“Just looking around at the moment, thank you.”
Stella nodded and went back to her game. “Just holler if you do.”
“Okay.”
A few racks in and Em realized that most of what was in the shop was designer goods. It was like poking around in a rich woman’s closet.
Naturally, Em very quickly found a little black dress that called to her. It draped off one shoulder and had a spray of jet crystals across the front, making it sparkle with every movement. It seemed to be in pristine condition. She couldn’t find a price tag on it, but she figured there was no point in asking if it didn’t fit. She took it to the dressing room, fingers crossed that it worked.
It did. She slipped out to look at herself in the big full-length mirror.
“Oh, you look marvelous in that, darling.” Stella came over. Her leopard-print pants and fuzzy pink sweater made for quite a combination, but Em couldn’t help but like the woman.
Hard not to like someone who clearly didn’t care what anyone else thought.
Em turned to see herself from another angle. She’d never had something this nice in her life. “It is really pretty.”
“It was made for you.”
“Thanks.” As Em turned, she saw a little white tag dangling from a string near the side seam. Funny, she could have sworn that was
n’t there before. She crossed her fingers again that the price was made for her budget. She checked the tag. And swallowed. Fifty dollars. So much for bargains.
Stella waved a hand, her pink rhinestone nails throwing rainbow sparks in the light. “I forgot to tell you when you came in. All black clothes are seventy-five percent off today.”
Em looked at the tag again and did the calculation. “So this dress would be twelve fifty?”
“I’d have to check my calculator.” She laughed. “Math was my late husband’s job. Say, I don’t think I’ve seen you before. Are you new around here? We don’t get a lot of new people.”
“Yes, I’m Amelia’s niece. I’ve just moved here.”
“Oh, honey, then today is your lucky day. First-time customers get a twenty-dollar gift card. You’d better do some more shopping, or I’m going to owe you money.”
Em wasn’t sure what to say. “Really?”
“You betcha.”
“Thank you. I’m definitely getting this dress.”
“You’d better. No one’s ever looked that good in it, I assure you.” Stella went back to her cards.
Em changed out of the dress, then took it up to the counter. The glass display case held a variety of items, including an antique-looking tiger brooch.
She pointed at it. “Could I look at that pin?”
“Sure thing.” Stella got it out and put it on a little black velvet pad. “You know, your aunt would love this. I keep meaning to call her and tell her about it.”
Em checked the price. Ten dollars. “I’ll take it. I’ve been looking for a gift for her, and this would be perfect.”
“I’ll put it in a little velvet pouch for you. Would that be good?”
“That would be great.” Em glanced around. There was so much she hadn’t looked at yet, but she lived here now, so she could come back anytime she liked. “I love your shop. It’s really something. I have a feeling I’m going to become a regular.”
Stella grinned, crinkling her gold-dusted eyelids. “Always love to hear that.”
“I’m Emeranth, by the way. But I go by Em most of the time.”
The Trouble With Witches Page 19