“After this, I’ll be making some dessert for the meeting. We aren’t needed until later, so I figured I’d bake,” Aurelia adds.
“Delightful. We’ll dine on cupcakes while we talk about getting the drop on those weaselly little warlocks,” Cyrinda snorts.
“I’ll get the drop on you, if you don’t watch your mouth,” Aurelia warns her, pinching her arm playfully. Cyrinda smirks back at her.
“This seems unimportant in light of everything, but did any of you give me that gift basket that was downstairs last night?” I wonder, eyeing everyone sitting around the kitchen table.
No one knows anything about it. When I narrow my eyes at Norrell, he shrugs and blinks up at me completely unruffled.
“You don’t know who sent it?” Niven’s eyebrows raise in question.
“Not yet,” I answer, still dubious that no one claims responsibility.
An hour later, I stand inside the homey little gift shop, hands on my hips. Unsurprisingly, I spot a few of the gift basket items sitting on neat white shelves. The tinkling piano music playing on the speakers grates my nerves during this frustrating interaction.
“What do you mean you were asked not to tell anyone?” I say a little indignantly to the cashier at the gift shop. With no leads on the mysterious gift giver, I arrived as soon as it opened.
“We know our customers like to surprise their loved ones, so we abide by their wishes,” she answers primly like that explains anything.
I fight the reflex to roll my eyes. I don’t want to have to play this card, but I am fit to be tied, and she leaves me no choice. “As you may have heard, I was attacked recently by a fae. Mysterious gift giving is not exactly welcome right now. I recommend you tell me who it was or I’ll have to take this matter to the constabulary.”
It’s such a waspish threat, but Mother Earth needs to grant this female some common sense.
She blanches, finally understanding her blunder. “Of course. I’m not sure about his name, but he was tall with light blue skin and white hair with a voice as deep as the ocean.”
She says that last part a little too appreciatively.
I grumble out loud in frustration. Apparently, I wasn’t clear enough with that pompous jerk yesterday and he lied to me to boot. Just shows I still can’t trust him as far as I can throw him.
“Much appreciated,” I reply curtly before marching out of the store.
The gift basket with all its contents sits obnoxiously in the passenger seat of my Wagoneer. I brought it with me after some doubt about it sprung up in my mind this morning. Now I want it out of my sight. Cara could make use of it. She will enjoy these items meant for relaxation. That ship has now sailed for me. After I drive to her place and drop it on her front porch, I send her a quick text letting her know the details about it. She’ll be more than happy to take it off my hands.
I’ve felt achy and exhausted since I woke up this morning. Nights of poor sleep are catching up with me. More caffeine is a must, so my next stop is Midnight Mystic for a monster-sized coffee, pun intended. The large twenty-four-hour café is an unofficial social center. Tables fitting every size of Whispered Folk fill the space. Artwork on its walls changes regularly to showcase local artists. When I step inside, my friend Thea waves me over to her table with Zinnia, another good friend from the coven, and Selene, a shifter in the local wolf pack.
“I just happened to come in here during my break and ran into these two. And now you’re here? What a treat! Come sit down!” she exclaims.
“Absolutely! I’ll be over after I order my coffee,” I respond, unable to delay my caffeine fix any longer.
When I have a very tall paper cup of coffee in hand, I sit with my friends, chatting about nothing serious. It feels blissfully normal. When Thea announces she’s needed back at the clinic, I let them know I’m heading to my shop. We say our goodbyes and Thea and I walk outside together.
Her gaze narrows at me, making me a little self-conscious. “How are you feeling? Not to sound like a cliched healer, but you look a little peaked today,” she observes.
I sigh. “I’m just worn down. Not much of an appetite. I’m ready to have my house back to myself, and it’s only been a couple days.”
She gives me the side-eye. “Kick that undeserving male out from under your roof. Healer’s orders. I’ll even write you a note.”
“Maybe there’s a potion I can take to repel exes?” I joke.
“If I could make that, I’d have a vacation home in every continent,” she chuckles.
She walks me the rest of the way to my shop, then continues toward the clinic. During my shift, I spend the day alternating between helping customers and ordering inventory from our suppliers, mostly Whispered Folk, but some human as well. A few customers were uncomfortably nosy about my situation. Before I even had a chance to clap back with abless your heart, Sunny was on hand to nip that in the bud right quick, calling me back to the workshop area for some urgent reason or another she made up on the spot. Luckily, it worked like a charm.
After work, I drive back to Ben and Cara’s. They invited me and Clancy over for dinner. It’s a welcome reprieve from hanging around the house. As I step out of my automobile, the clopping of heavy hooves announces Clancy’s presence just as he rounds the corner. He waves enthusiastically and trots a little faster.
“Stars above, it’s good to see a friendly face,” he greets me while leaning his torso forward to give me a hug. “I’ve been fending off every variation of ‘where are the warlocks?’ and ‘isthat fae going to break out of its cell or get sprung by its fae buddies?’ all day long. I know people are upset, but it’s exhausting fielding questions all day that I don’t have answers to. It’ll be quiet for a day and then someone gets riled up and the cycle starts over.”
“Niven won’t keep the fae around longer than necessary,” I empathize.
