Donna nodded. “Let this unfold.”
The sheriff finally approached the platform, apparently willing to risk the curse, and cleared his throat. “All right, everybody, just take a step back. Why don’t you two come to the station with me, and we’ll figure this out.”
Nana looked down from the dais at me. “Yoo-hoo, Anna. Hi, dear. Looks like I need a lawyer.”
My stomach dropped. Of course I would help my Nana, but this was ridiculous.
Before anyone could react, a small explosion shook the air. The sound snapped through the square, sharp and angry, echoing off the buildings. Smoke spiraled into the sky.
I hated that sound. Small or not, an explosion was an explosion, and I’d been around a few in my life.
We all froze, the crowd going silent. The smell of burnt sugar from the pie table mixed with smoke on the breeze. Then came the murmur with low, nervous gossip rippling through the people.
Nana O’Shea gasped, one hand to her chest. “Good heavens, was that my shop?”
Chapter 2
Nana took off, and I followed, sprinting with the sheriff and my sisters down the block toward the corner. The afternoon sun glared off the windows, and the familiar painted sign, Celtic Moons Herbals, came into view. Smoke coiled from the back of the building, a dirty gray thread unraveling into the pale blue sky.
“My shop,” Gloria called out. “Oh no.”
She had a health and supplement store in the optometrist’s office, right next to Nana’s building.
When we rounded the corner and ran to the rear of Nana’s shop, I stopped cold. The back door was gone. Obliterated. Flames clawed at the frame, orange tongues snapping at the splintered wood.
“Ah, crap,” the sheriff muttered, scanning the scene. “Everyone get the hell back.”
Sirens wailed in the distance, growing louder by the second. The fire crew must have already been notified, because the truck swung into view a moment later. My cousins Quint and Knox jumped off the truck, hoses already uncoiling as they hit the ground running. They’d both volunteered with the department since high school, whenever they were in town, and now they looked grimly focused as they doused the flames.
I looked down to see Nana beside me, her face pale beneath her curls. I wrapped an arm around her shoulders, trying to anchor her.
“Why would anyone—” she began.
“Just hold it,” Sheriff Franco said, his tone calm but sharp enough to cut through the panic.
Another voice joined in. “He’s right. Just hold it.”
I turned and found my man, Aiden Devlin, striding toward us. My breath caught before I could stop it. He’d been helping with parade logistics earlier, and now here he was, all tall and Irish-sexy with dark hair, blue eyes, and that slow, capable confidence that gave me the tingles.
He worked for the ATF, which meant explosions were part of his job. And right now, he looked every bit the man who knew what he was doing, even wearing faded jeans and a dark T-shirt, looking casual.
Aiden was very rarely casual.
“Let me check this out.” He followed the sheriff through the wrecked doorway and disappeared into the smoke.
A few tense moments passed. The firefighters were stamping out the last of the flames when Aiden reemerged, his expression grim. “Everyone get back,” he said, motioning with his hands. “Now.”
The sheriff emerged and stood at his side, his eyes fierce. “We have more dynamite in there. Everyone move back to the stage area, or I’m arresting you. Now.”
The crowd instantly scrambled away.
Nana O’Shea looked like she wanted to argue, but the thought scattered across her face before it took root. She was still rattled from the explosion and, maybe, still thrown by Nonna defending her earlier. The two women shared a long look, something cautious passing between them. I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted them to be united. That force scared the crap out of everyone I knew.
We remained in place.
The air smelled of burned wood and something metallic. Ash drifted down like gray snowflakes, settling on the green banners and shamrock balloons still bobbing around in the wind.
Nonna squinted toward the smoke. “Aiden? Do you need Three Hens on this?”
