So did Jimmy. My conscience pricked. “Anyone up for dinner? My treat, of course.” With $20,000 coming my way, my money worries had ended, at least for a while.
“Great, and it’s on me, or rather, the firm. Company expense,” Louisa said.
“In that case, I won’t say no.” Jimmy chuckled.
We went to a local steak house, which combined rustic chic with deceptively simple cooking. Everything on the menu was locally produced, which meant the menu changed with the seasons and the harvest bounty.
Jimmy feasted on meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and a stewed vegetable medley. He scanned my steak with a wry grin. “Enjoy it while you can. Chewing is a darn sight harder with a dental plate. Your aunt had a great set of teeth. If you take after her, you’re lucky.”
Louisa speared a bite of flame-grilled chicken. “I’m glad she brought you back home.”
“That’s lovely to hear.” I was touched.
“We can do with fresh blood for the Badger Belles.” She gave me a once-over. “Do you still bowl?”
“Not since our High School days. And I’ll probably be much too busy, learning how to run the library.”
“Nonsense.” I remembered that determined expression in Louisa’s face. She’d honed her math skills by calculating statistical odds at the bowling alley. Other people were proud to remember what a badgerin bowling was. Louisa laughed about such simple things. At the drop of a hat or throw of a ball, she’d tell you how often a badger had been registered, who’d thrown it and when, and what kind of a badger it had been. Uninitiated folks thought of striped woodland creatures when they heard of the Badger Belles. Instead, the team took its name from the rare feat of getting at least four strikes in a row.
I shook my head at myself. How did I remember this stuff and yet I’d stocked up on table salt so often, I’d be able to supply half the neighborhood, because I couldn’t recollect if I’d bought a new canister or not?
We left without running into more of my old acquaintances. Good, I felt fit to drop. It had been an unusual day, and an exhausting one. Which is why I only gave Harper a quick wave at my return and headed towards my bed and oblivion.
Cosmo agreed when I told him I was too tired for a chat. “You need to rest as much as you can.”
“I do. It’s been a shock.”
“True. Which is why I’m happy to let you sleep before we begin your training. Do you need me to wake you an hour before sunrise?”
Chapter six
Being bossed around by a cat, with the last of the silvery moonlight filtering through my window had not been on my bingo card. But then, none of the last few days had.
“Why do I have to stand on one leg and stare at the moon?” I’d wobbled so much during the first tries, my shin resembled one giant bruise because I’d collided with the sofa on which my taskmaster reclined.
“So that you master the art of concentration.” He smoothed his whiskers with an elegant movement.
I glared at him. I was tired and my leg hurt. “Are there many cats of your kind out there or are the rest of the felines in Willowmere ordinary cats, the kind who appreciate what their humans do for them?”
Did he roll his green eyes at me? “There are no ordinary cats, and even if there were, I wouldn’t be one of them.”
I tried to make sense of that answer. “How many witches and familiars am I dealing with here? Can you give me at least a ballpark figure? A small coven or should I book a large marquee for the reunion?”
“You’re grouchy.”
“It’s still the night for me. I haven’t had breakfast, and I’m really struggling to cope with all this.” I made a sweeping gesture and promptly lost my footing. Again.
My feline master pushed himself half upright. “Concentrate.”
“On what? Balancing? I can do that during normal hours.”
“It’s the moon that matters.”
“Great. Then can we please continue this tonight? And can you maybe also throw in a little bit of information? Pretend I am totally clueless.” In all fairness, that was an accurate description of my current state of being, which included being bossed around by a black cat with a ridiculous last name. So much for the new, independent me.
Still, I was fulfilling Aunt Violet’s wishes. At least I hoped so. I wish she’d let me into the family secret while she was alive or at least had left a letter with Louisa’s firm.“Dear whoever the cat has picked, you’re destined to become my follower in the arcane arts and shall henceforth be taking your instructions from said feline who is your familiar. He might tell you it’s the other way around. Humor him. He’s got sharp claws. Yours, Aunt Violet”
Cosmo growled. “You’re not paying attention.”
