“Ugh! Enough!” I snapped.
Iwasn’tusedto wallowing. I hated it. It made my skin itch.
Besides, the gold-painted sign for my grandfather’s shop glinted in the late-afternoon sunlight half a block away, so itwasalmost time to dive into the next chapter of my life. A gorgeous raven with a purple sheen to its dark feathers cawed overhead as if agreeing with me. Joshthe Jerk wasin my past. Itwastime to move on.
It’d been almost ten years sinceI’dbeen to the small town of Ravenstone, but now that Iwashere, I wondered whyI’dwaitedso long. But when my parentsinsistedon hosting holiday gatherings at their place, that’s whereIwent. Elwoodhadtoo, so itwasn’tlike Ihadn’tseenhim. Coming to Ravenstone now as an adult felt different. Itwasalmost as if my skin tingled and champagne bubbles popped in my chest.
Jesus. That didn’t sound promising, did it? I hoped Joshhadn’tpassedalong some weird disease or infection from one of his hookups. Because whenI’dthoughtabout our lackluster love life over the last several years, Iwouldn’t be surprised ifhe’dhadmore than one stray-cation.
Nope. Quit thinking about him!
I mean, why would I keep thinking about him here, in one of the most beautiful small mountain towns? And thatwasn’tjust my opinion. Almost every tourism list ever created agreed. Ravenstone was magical.
Unlike most other mountain villages, the streets appeared more fantastical than real. When Iwaslittle, my grandfatherspun enchanting tales of how powerful witches created it with magic. But of course, my father later explained the beauty of human ingenuity and craftsmanship, and thatwasalmost as magical to me. To think that people created such beautiful things with their hands and a few toolswasmiraculous.
Ravenstonewascaptivating. While the bowed shop windows with their beautifully carved trim and enchanting displayscould’ve beenmistaken for a façade created for some whimsical television series, they were original, dating back to the town’s beginning. The town council even refused to issue permits to film crews, and my father speculated that the decision was made to preserve the authenticity. Although I always wondered if there was more to their decision than what was advertised. As if nodding in agreement, the hanging signs over each shop door swayed gently in the slight breeze.
However, the rusty old dumpster sitting outside the shop beside my grandfather’s wasn’t magical.
The last time we spoke, Elwood mentioned someone purchased the neighboring business, but Ihadn’trealizedtheywererenovating it too. The door to the old gift shop stood open, and a cloud of dust billowed out, making one of the happy couples and their happy familywho’dbeen walking by cough and sputter.
A moment later, a balding man in a sweater vest and his hands clenched in fists, jaywalked across the road and stormed into the empty shop. I couldn’t make out the words spoken, but the tone told me it wasn’t a friendly visit. I barely smothered the impulse to tiptoe to the open door to listen.
Hadmy neighbors done the same thing this morning whenI’dstormedout of the apartment?
Despite the temptation to get the scoop on the argument, I kept walking. The sweater-vest guy didn’t concern me. Ihadenough things going on in my own life that I didn’t needto borrow problems from other people. Besides, Elwood always said my nosinesswasone of my least endearing traits. I’d been trying to curb the habit ever since.
Although ifI’dbeen a little nosier with Josh, I wouldn’t have stayed with the big fat cheater so long. I’d always known he wasn’t the love of my life, but it’d been okay.Comfortable. Sometimes it was just easier to pretend everything was fine than to go through all the upheaval of leaving and starting over, right? So maybe some part of me suspected he was cheating all along, and that’s why I hadn’t snooped.
Nope, I’m not thinking about him. Remember?
With a purposefully lighter step—because damn it, Iwasin charge of my life, and everythingwasgoing to be amazing from now on—I covered the last few steps to my destination and swung open the door to The Mystic Menagerie.
“Hi, I’m here!”I announced and waved my hand through the air, not unlike a magician’s flourish.
At first, Iwasn’tsure Elwoodheardme over the banging coming from next door. It gave me a minute to study him while he was unaware. Whenever we talked, he assured me he was doing fine, but I was happy to confirm it was true.
My grandfather appeared the same as always. Gray hair flowed around his tanned face and tangled with his unruly beard. Charms hung from his neck on thick black cords. The sleeves of his pastel blue linen shirtwererolledup. And even without seeing them, I knew his cream-colored linen pants would be rolled up at his ankles, too.He’dbeen a hippie in the seventies, and his style remained unchanged. And, of course, a little mouse peeked out from his shirt pocket, wiggled its whiskers at me, then dropped out of sight again. Elwood’s love of rodents mortified my mother, particularly when he always insisted on bringing a mouse to all our family functions.
“Declan!”A wide smile lit up his face when his blue-gray eyes met mine.“What a wonderful surprise!”
He hurried around the corner of his desk, through the cluttered displays, and straight into my arms. The hug that followedwaseverything I could’ve wanted after the dayI’dendured. Elwood’s ready welcome and acceptance soothed my raw edges. When he finally stepped back, he held me by the shoulders and studied me.
A knowing gleam filled his eyes. “So, it’s happened,hasit?”
“What do you mean?”I squirmed out of his grip to pull my suitcases through the door.
“You’ve had a revelation…”
I snorted.“Well, if you consider finding Josh in bed with another man a revelation…”
“So, you didn’t…” Elwood’s forehead wrinkled as his words trailed off. He sighed. “I guess your father was right. I’d had such hopes…”
I frowned.“You mean Mom and Dad knew about Josh? Why wouldn’t they have said something?”
“No. Of course not. Nothing like that.”Elwood shook his head and pulled me into another quick hug.
When he stepped away, the mouse scurried up his shirt to perch on his shoulder, where it studied me with its beady eyes. Then it stretched up its hind legs to Elwood’s ear, as if to whisper in it.
