She nodded, satisfied, and dropped several coins onto the counter before turning on her heel and quickly exiting the shop, her red curls bouncing. I waited till the door to the apothecary shut before rolling my eyes.
“You’re welcome,” I muttered.
The sound of heavy footsteps bounding through the back door reached my ears, followed by something slamming into wood. I held in a chuckle.Typical Beau.
Lurching beneath the counter, I shoved the box of foxglove out of sight and rearranged the other tins to cover it.
“Was that Madeline I heard?” my cousin Beau asked, his voice breathless as it broke on the girl’s name.
“Yes,” I replied, wiping my hands on my apron.
He came into view, his mop of brown hair disheveled as if he’d hurriedly tried to flatten it. His gray eyes darted toward the door and he craned his long, gangly neck, trying to catch a peek of the girl retreating. “Did—did she ask about me?”
I pinched the bridge of my nose, holding back a sigh. “Beau, honestly, after what she did to you, youstillwant to talk to her?”
A week ago, I’d found my sixteen-year-old cousin trudging through the dark streets of Feywood during a thunderstorm. He was soaked to the bone and his skin was ice cold, chills racking his entire body, but he didn’t seem to care. His eyes were dull and distant. An alarm had swept through me like a tidal wave at the sight.
He was supposed to be with Madeline, the girl he’d been seeing for quite some time, yet he looked like he’d been wandering forhours.
When I’d found out what had happened, I almost ran through the streets to her house in a blind rage. Beau had stumbled uponhis girlfriend in bed with another man—an older boy from town. Instead of showing guilt at being caught in the act, Madeline hadlaughed. She’d thanked Beau for putting on a good show, but now that she was eighteen, she didn’t need him as a cover for her relationship with the older man.
Three days later, she’d publicly announced her engagement.
Beau had been a wreck ever since.
Today, he’d appeared slightly more like his normal self—chipper and easily distracted—until now, with the familiar red curls of his first heartbreak growing distant in the shop window. She hadn’t been able to get out of the apothecary fast enough, more than likely to avoid an awkward encounter with Beau, but I knew that wasn’t the only reason.
My cousin’s face drooped. “I know, I know. I guess I just…I miss her.” His dejection made me all the more pissed at the girl. “What did she come in for, anyway?” he asked.
“A sleeping tonic.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Then why are your fingers purple?”
I looked down to see the slight colored tinge the foxglove had left on my fingers.Fates.
Beau groaned. “Rose, what did you do this time?”
Irritation boiled inside me, hot and acidic. “She cheated on you and used you for months, then broke your heart to run off and get married. This is theleastof what she deserves.”
“Thanks for the reminder.” Beau ran his hand along his chin and the thin patch of scruff that had recently begun to grow in. “Is thatfoxglove? How much did you give her?”
I shrugged. “Enough to make her have an uncomfortable couple of nights. She’ll be fine.”
Beau wagged his head disappointedly. In that moment, he looked so much older, so much like my uncle, that it softened my anger. Sometimes I forgot he wasn’t my annoying little cousin anymore, running between my legs and following me everywhere I went. He was becoming a man who could take care of himself. Hedidn’t need me to play the coddling sister figure, as much as I wished I could always protect him from the Madelines of the world.
Rubbing the fabric of my apron between my fingers, I took a deep breath. “I just wanted to look out for you. I’m sorry, Beau.”
Beau’s gray eyes—so bright they appeared silver—pierced into me, and he gave a little snort. “No, you’re not, but I guess you did it for a good reason.”
A small smirk played at the corner of my mouth. I edged closer to him. “So, you’re saying?—”
“No, I’m not saying it’s okay for you to poison people.”
“But…you still love me?” I finished with a grin as I lunged to ruffle the top of his shaggy, light brown hair—several shades lighter than my own raven locks. He batted me away with a laugh, his long arms able to keep me away, unlike when he was younger.
“Yes, I still love you,” he agreed, dodging my attacks. “Maybe next time, love me a little less, yeah? I don’t know, put a potion in her soap that makes her skin turn green or something.Don’ttry to kill her.”
I stopped in my tracks. The soap idea wasn’t half bad. “I wasn’t trying to kill her,” I said, giving him a quick pat on the head before grabbing a rag to wipe down the counter. I motioned to the drawer next to Beau that contained the store’s money bag. “Since you're here, mind counting down for me? I’m about ready to close.”
