CHAPTER2
Hostility. Prejudice. Loathing.Negative energy flashed an unpleasant tingle across Trulie’s senses. She didn’t bother turning from the shelves of multicolored bottles, beeswax candles, and neatly labeled paper bundles of herbs and soaps. Dark emotions so strongly transmitted before the shop door even opened could only belong to one person: the hateful Mrs. Hagerty.
A low-pitched growl rumbled from the enormous black dog standing beside Trulie. The warning confirmed her suspicion. Karma, her faithful guardian, liked Mrs. Hagerty even less than she did.
The tiny brass bell hanging atop the shop door jingled out a cheery alarm that Mrs. Hagerty had invaded the fragrant confines of Trulie’s homeopathic store. The sour-faced woman slammed the door hard and glared around the brightly lit shop. Her nose lifted slightly, as did her dark, painted brows. She short-stepped forward with angry, clicking steps to ensure all in the room properly noticed her arrival.
“Good morning, Mrs. Hagerty. How are you today?” Trulie pasted a welcoming smile on her face and braced herself. The woman looked more unpleasant than usual.
“I do not have time for your fake attitude, Miss Sinclair.” Mrs. Hagerty curled her heavily painted lips into a sneer that revealed her large teeth were smeared with the same crimson. Any time the woman spoke, she looked as though she smelled a stink. “Where is your grandmother? I demand to see her this very instant. I have a bone to pick with that vile woman.”
Trulie’s cheeks ached with the polite smile. She would be damned straight to hell before she gave Mrs. Hagerty the satisfaction of a reaction. “My grandmother isn’t in the shop today. Is there something I could help you with? A soothing tea for your nerves, perhaps? Some lavender oil to help you relax?”
Mrs. Hagerty stomped closer to the counter. She slapped a plump hand down on top of the glass. “How dare you mock me.” She slowly swayed back and forth like an overfed cobra about to strike. “I know about your family.” The woman paused long enough to rake a gaze of disgust from the tips of Trulie’s brightly painted toenails to the top of her ponytailed head.” I know what the lot of you really are, and I will not rest until I cleanse this town of you and your trash.”
Hackles raised, Karma edged closer to Trulie and sounded a guttural warning growl.
“You better keep that beast away from me!” Mrs. Hagerty jabbed a gaudy painted nail toward the dog’s shining black nose.
“Karma is harmless,” Trulie replied. She rested a staying hand on Karma’s broad head. He really didn’t need to bite the woman. The old cow was probably poisonous.
Mrs. Hagerty pressed her round body tighter against the counter and struggled to peer over it at the growling dog. “Is that one of those pit bulls? Or a Rottweiler? You know I convinced the council to pass an ordinance against those monstrosities. I don’t think you should keep him in a place of business. I think I shall have animal control come over immediately and check his papers. That will put an end to his nonsense.” She excitedly drummed the tip of one manicured nail on the glass case and smirked at Karma. “One shot in your wicked heart and you will never growl again, mutt.”
Enough. It was bad enough the woman hated Granny, but nobody threatened sweet, lovable Karma. Trulie pulled the dog closer, leaning against his reassuring weight as she returned Mrs. Hagerty’s hateful glare. “Animals are not born evil or mean. Humans torture them into that disposition. And if you don’t have any business here other than insulting my grandmother or threatening my dog, I suggest you relieve us of your unwanted company.”
Mrs. Hagerty’s eyes widened behind the rhinestone spectacles perched on the end of her hooked nose. “I have never been so insulted in all my life. I don’t have to stand here and listen to such.”
“You’re right. You don’t.” An effortless, wicked smile felt quite pleasant as Trulie nodded toward the exit. “Don’t let the doorknob hit you where the good Lord split you.”
The few customers perusing the shelves tittered and snorted behind their hands. Mrs. Hagerty puffed up even further, stomped back across the room and slammed the door so hard upon her exit that everything on the shelves rattled and swayed.
“Bitch,” Trulie muttered.
“Trulie! Such language.” Granny playfully shook a finger as she emerged from the back room. Kismet trotted in beside her, greeting everyone with a trilling, happypprrtt.
“How long have you been back there?” Trulie’s mood lightened as Kismet’s loud purring vibrated through the shop. The cat rubbed against the still-irritated dog while weaving in and out between his front legs. The bright mood faded as every customer quickly filed out without buying a thing. As the last person closed the door, the soft jingling of the bell confirmed Trulie’s assumption. Everyone feared the backlash of Mrs. Hagerty’s wrath. No one would go against the woman.
“I heard every word the old crow cawed.” Granny took an apron off the hook behind the counter and tied it around her waist. A solemn look replaced her grin as she stepped behind the counter and laid a soft hand atop Trulie’s. “You know she won’t rest until you and I are ruined and gone. Since her money has never brought her happiness, she uses it to spread misery and make everyone around her hate life as much as she does. It’s time we resettled to another time. I know in my heart if you and I left, things would be much easier here for Kenna and the girls until it’s their time to join us in the past.” Granny softly chuckled and shook her head. “For some unfathomable reason that woman steers clear of Kenna.”
“Kenna has dirt on her. She caught Hagerty’s housekeeper buying some of our blackberry elixir. The woman fessed up that Hagerty’s a closet drinker. Poor thing lost her job once Hagerty found out she had told Kenna she likes her elixir spiked with whisky.” Surely Granny wasn’t using old Hagerty as an excuse to retreat to the past. “Since when do you let somebody like Hagerty run you off? I thought you enjoyed one-upping people like her. And now you want to leave Kenna and the girls here? Alone to fight their own battles?”
“We wouldn’t be alone. Granny showed us how to use the fire portal. It’s easier to get a hold of you and Granny with that than if we use a cell phone. You don’t have to worry about a crappy signal or a dead battery with the fire portal.” A curvy brunette in tight-fitting jeans bounced out of the back room. She was followed by two auburn-haired girls still too young to have many curves, but old enough that their physiques promised beautiful things to come.
“Yeah, Trulie.” One of the green-eyed twins agreed. “Half the time your phone is dead and Granny won’t use one. She thinks they’re part of a conspiracy for the government to track down time runners and harness our powers for warmongering.”
The other twin skipped over and nudged Trulie’s shoulder with an affectionate punch. “And who do you think helps Granny with her ‘pester Hagerty’ campaign? We’re not as innocent and helpless as we look.”
Granny looped an arm around the shoulders of the oldest girl and hugged her with a shake and a wink. “See? Kenna, Lilia, and Mairi would be just fine. If they need us, they know how to reach us. All they need is a roaring fire with plenty of red-hot coals.” Granny nodded to Kenna and hugged her tighter with a gentle shake. “Actually, any source of heat will do, but coals give the best reception in the portal.”
Granny’s smile faded as she gave the four girls a meaningful look, then strode across the room. “I need to see the lot of you settled.” She pointed a finger at Trulie. “And you’re the first, young lady. You don’t belong here, and if you search your heart, you’ll see the truth of it.” Granny opened the cash register drawer and pawed through the plentiful receipts, dollars and coinage. “The shop is doing well in spite of not being endorsed by Hagerty the Horrible.” Granny paused, winked at Mairi, and nodded once toward Lilia. “Kenna’s twenty years old. Old enough to manage her sisters. All the girls will be just fine. They know every remedy and recipe for our twenty-first-century snake oil that keeps folks coming back for more.”
“Homeopathic remedies and aromatherapy oils.” Trulie struggled not to rise to Granny’s bait. Granny was wearing her down and she damn well knew it. “The recipes are yours. You know the stuff really works.”
Granny turned and gave Trulie a look she knew all too well. As she handed Kenna the oversized wad of credit card receipts, Granny added the final barb. “Your precious Dan won’t protect you against the likes of Hagerty either. I’ve seen how he fawns all over that snobby woman and her connections. When she convinces him you are nothing better than the doormat she wipes her shoes on, what do you think he will do? No granddaughter of mine would ever accept being treated like dirt.”
Kenna, Lilia, and Mairi collectively eased away to the far side of the room and pretended to dust and straighten items on the perfectly clean glass shelves.
Cowards.Trulie glared at her three sisters. She’d had enough of Granny’s nettling. It was time to clear the air. “I want the truth once and for all. What the hell is going on? You can’t be that concerned about me hooking up with Dan.”
