The folder exchange came back to mind, so she turned to Taylor. "The chief seems to know one of them."
"Oh yeah?" He bit into an apple, and his face took on a confused look as all eyes bore into him. After he swallowed, he said, "What? I don't know much about him. The man is mysterious. It's not like we go to the graveyard and do seancestogether and then pray to the sun goddess for blessings while animals flock to us because of our magical aura as we eat cake straight out of the cake pan."
All the women tilted their heads.
"I've seen you do it. Just dig in with forks like raccoons. No offense," he nodded to Lady Macbeth, who stole his apple and jumped off the island.
"You jealous, honey?" Eloise asked sweetly, teasing him.
"Yeah, I am a little. Girl friendships are cool. We have," he threw a hand in the air, "football and an opinion of every Rocky movie that feels foundational for some reason."
Jenson entered the kitchen with Ursula behind him.
"You," Taylor pointed to a caught-off-guard Jenson. "You have never once invited me to eat an entire cake straight out of the pan."
Jenson took that in and nodded solemnly. "I can work that."
"Thank you," he smiled, and Eloise laughed, pressing her side into him, turning to Tilly.
"Have either of you ever made a cake?" Kelsea asked. Both men shook their heads.
"But tell us about your sister." The concern was etched deep. And Tilly wasn't ready to get into it; that feeling radiating from her friends was strong and protective. It was beautiful, really, but it was heady.
"Later," she sidestepped the conversation and the emotions.
"How do you accidentally make plans?" Bess was looking at her with confusion bright in her youthful eyes.
"Well," she said, taking a seat at one of the stools, "you start out as an anxious people pleaser, measuring all of your decisions by the comfort and joy of others. And then you grow into a woman who starts learning boundaries. And then you backslide when it comes to a guy who strings you along, treating you like you're something special, even though he is saying with hiswords he wants nothing serious. And then all of a sudden," her hands make large gestures, "he's leaving just as he's made you believe that you and he were the real deal, breaking your heart and leaving you behind to pick up the pieces, but he doesn't need to feel bad because he was upfront and honest about not wanting anything and you, like the silly romantic that you are, believed his actions which did not match his words." She squeezed her hands together, and they all watched silently. "And then he moves back into town after a year and wants to get dinner. Catch up," she said with mock excitement. "And he's pushy, and you revert to that woman who doesn't remember what a bloody boundary is."
She looked up at five pairs of eyes staring at her across the island in various states of concern or awe as the kitchen filled with deep silence. Casper made a whining sound from where he leaned against the back door, and Sulphur was on the counter with head tilted and cat tail flicking.
"You need some tea?" Bess asked.
"You need some bourbon in that tea?" Eloise amended.
"You need me to arrest him?"
"I'll help him," Jenson offered.
"You have to be some kind of asshat to hurt Tilly," Taylor added.
"Oh, is it that guy that made Jen get her real mad face the other night at the graveyard?" Bess asked with wide eyes.
Tilly gave her a look.
Bess shrugged. "We might have heard snippets of your conversation."
"Please don't tell me you hexed anyone," Jenson said.
"Please," Taylor added. "The police reports get real weird when hexes are involved."
Ursula waved him off and looked at Tilly, concerned. "Are you okay? What did he do?"
"I vote we hex him," Bess interjected. Ursula and Taylor gave her a look.
"Honestly, nothing," Tilly answered Ursula's question. "He just asked me to dinner and I didn't know how to say no."
"Didn't you guys have an entire class dedicated tojust say no?"
