“So, I take it you spent some time with Gideon this afternoon.” Elwood trailed after me as I headed to the kitchen.
“What was your first clue?”
“The sexual energy is so potent up here that it’s seeped into the shop.”
Could he really sense things like that, or was he teasing? I looked at him.Nope. He wasn’t just teasing. My grandfather was sensing the sexual… um…oomph—yeah, I didn’t know what to call it—that Gideon and I had generated.
“Oh, God,” I muttered and covered my face with my hands. That realization made this moment so much more awkward. My face was suddenly so hot my glasses fogged up. “Really?”
Elwood just laughed again.
I yanked open the fridge and grabbed the milk. Milk was supposed to help cool you down, right? Or was that only when you ate hot peppers?Whatever. I downed a glass of milk in one gulp because it really couldn’t make anything worse.
“Things are moving quickly between you two. Are you his mate?”
I blinked at Elwood. “His what?”
“Huh. I guess you two were too busy to talk, hey?”
I set the glass on the counter a little harder than I’d meant to. “I think it’s fair to say there’s a lot I don’t know. About my magic. About wolf shifters. About…” I waved my hand through the air. “Pretty much everything in Ravenstone.”
“It isn’t a secret. Being someone’s mate means about what you’d expect it to mean. Fated mates. Soulmates. Humans use the same types of words.” Elwood shrugged.
“Soulmates?” I bit my bottom lip. I mean, yes, I was drawn to Gideon, but soulmates was next level.
“From what I understand, shifters can sense if someone’s their mate almost instantly. Something about their…” His words trailed off, and his face turned thoughtful. He rubbed his chin. “Hmm… I wonder…”
“Wonder what? You can’t just say a bunch of half-sentences and leave it like that.”
Elwood shook his head. “Never mind about all that. It isn’t like you and Gideon don’t have time to get to know one another if you’re moving here. You don’t need to have answers to everything already.”
“Grandfather…”
Elwood scowled at me.Yeah. He hated that moniker. That’s why I used it. He knew he was annoying me, so I’d decided to annoy him, too.
“We should get downstairs before Tulip packs up all the water-related objects and nothing else,” Elwood said, turning toward the door that led to the stairs.
“Water-related…” I mumbled as I followed after him. “What does that even mean?”
“Chalices, talismans made from shells, anything blue, silver, or turquoise…” Elwood listed a dozen more things as we descended the stairs. “She’s also firmly committed to making sure every house in Ravenstone has a mermaid figurine. She forgets not everyone is as enthralled with water as she is.”
We arrived at the store to find Tulip doing exactly that.
“I made a list of things that were popular at the festival today,” Elwood said as he hurried to the counter. He scooped up a ratty-looking piece of paper and ripped it in two. He gave half to me. “You should find most of these things over there.”
I grabbed a box and moved to the section he’d indicated. Everything in this area had a more earthy feel that reminded me a bit of Gideon. Weird that I’d never noticed things like that before. Was this progress in my magical education? I hoped so.
I’d nearly filled the box when movement outside the window caught my eye. Paula, Jim’s employee, had parked a van outside Winston’s building next door.Perfect!I had so many questions for her.
“I’ll be right back.” I didn’t wait for Elwood or Tulip to answer before I rushed into the street.
Paula was fitting a key into the lock on the front door of the Nook when I reached her side. She spun toward me and put her hands on her hips.
“The police said I could be here.” She punctuated her words with a snarl.
I held up my hands. “I’m not here to stop you. I just want to ask you a few questions.”
“Well, Grady called and said he knew we’d need the equipment and that they were done processing the… the…” She swallowed hard. “The scene.”
