I raise my eyebrows in surprise. “Why would a vampire crime inspector be interested in me?”
"Everyone is interested in you. Plus, he might think you're responsible somehow since your magic is karma-based. I just—" he pauses and lets out a breath. "I want you to avoid him, avoid anyone you saw today, if possible, okay?"
"Okay. I'll do my best to stay out of his way. Promise."
"And try and keep the karma stuff to a minimum until this is taken care of."
"You know I can't always control it," I hissed, embarrassed by the way I was still learning my powers.
He sighed this time before pulling me into a hug. I wrap my arms around his waist, reveling in the warmth coming off him, along with his scent. "I know. I can't help but worry though. I don't think I could take it if something happened to you."
Daniel's words melted my heart, and I couldn’t stop the feeling of overwhelming joy that we finally connected after all this time. That my ex was officially out of my life, and I was moving on and actually being happy with what I was doing.
I wasn’t the workhorse anymore. I was me. And my friends and Daniel care for me as such. I just hope that I don't attract the wrong kind of attention by being myself, even if this karmic witch was a newer version of me.
FOUR
Carol
“Kiss me, la-la-la, under the…”I broke off and hummed as I swirled my hands around the blue thread. As if on its own, the perfect shade of country blue floated off of the shelves and over to the sewing machine to finish the repairs on one of my customer’s quilts.
The new stitches would last longer than any normal sewing means. This thing would last forever if my magic had anything to say about it.
The antique Singer sewing machine, which had been my grandmother’s and her mother's before her, hummed happily, the little wheel on the end spinning quickly along. I’d learned to sew on that machine, as had my mom, though Mom didn’t have the same gifts. Her talents lay elsewhere.
Dancing around, I gave the knitting needles a little boost of magic. They clacked along above my rocking chair in the corner, ready to drop to the chair, still and silent, if the front door opened.
Likewise, the sewing machine would stop moving and the crochet hooks behind the counter, currently making a swaddling set out of the world’s softest yarn, would settle neatly on the shelf.
As I climbed onto my little step-stool to reach another bundle of that baby-soft yarn, I thought about the times I’d almost been caught with my knitting needles exposed, so to speak. The outer door opened, causing the warning bell to tinkle gently. When I’d remodeled, I’d added the double-door set up so that the ringing bell from the outer door would give me time to stop any spell work.
Whoever it was came through so swiftly I didn’t have time to turn and look. I just knew, with a surety, that they were already inside the room a half-second after hearing the bell.
Twisting to see who had come in on me so quickly, I lost my footing. With a squeal, I tried to correct myself and keep from landing on my butt in the middle of the floor, but as fast as it was happening, I knew I was going to end up with a bruised tailbone. As I fell, I was already picking out the cushion I was going to use that would prevent me from putting weight directly on it for a while.
But then I didn’t hit the floor. Strong arms caught me, turned me, and set me gently on my feet beside the toppled step ladder.
My heart raced, my senses realizing who it was before I looked up into his rich, chocolate eyes. “Bryan,” I breathed. I sounded like a teenage girl swooning over a boyband member. Not the look I was going for at my age.
His deep voice rumbled through his chest. “Hello, Carol.”
Oh, geez. Hearing my name come out of his mouth did something to me, deep inside. I pulled back and looked up, trying not to be all demure and flustered, but also trying not to be the teenage girl either. Couldn't I just be the normal me? Probably not. Bryan always made me feel like the most special person in the room, which, at this point in my life, threw me off a bit. “What are you doing here?” I asked.
As he stood me back up long-buried feelings rose to the surface. I wanted him to say that he was in town to come and see me, to stay for good. But that would be too good to be true, so I pushed the thoughts away. I tried to prepare myself for the worst like he was in town to invite me to his wedding or something like that, but I couldn't quite imagine that either.
I was overthinking it, but that was one of my specialties. I didn't talk about it much, but there were times when I thought my brain was going to spark and light on fire because it wouldn't shut up. It was partially why I had so many projects going at the same time, all the time. It always distracted me and helped keep me focused, even if I appeared ditzy and spacey to everyone else.
“I was in town and I couldn’t stand not coming to see you,” he explained. “I hope that’s all right.”
I stepped away from him, but one of his arms was still solidly around me, warm, almost hot against my skin. It felt like he didn't want to let me go, like catching me had been the excuse he needed to touch me again, but I knew that couldn't be right. “No,” I stammered. “I mean yes. It’s okay.”
If I spent one more second in his embrace, my magic was going to go haywire. I stepped to the side, feeling cold now that he wasn't touching me, ironic since he was a vampire and all, and bent to pick up the stool. “Why are you in town?”
He rubbed the back of his neck and shifted from foot to foot. “I can tell you about that…” I raised my eyebrows at him when he didn’t answer. But then he cut me with that smile of his, the one that spread crookedly across his face and lit up his eyes. “I can tell you about it over dinner? If you'd want to go to dinner with me, that is?”
“Yes,” I blurted. The thought of spending any time considering the ramifications of going with him on a date or not didn’t even cross my mind. All I knew was how happy I was to see him after all this time. “I’d love to have dinner with you.”
That crooked smile got even wider and had my heart pounding as he watched me. “I have to admit,” he said. “I was nervous you’d refuse me.”
