“The muscles are nice, but there’s more to him than that.”
Sam glared at me. “Did you not hear what I just said? I do not want to hear things like that!”
Laughter bubbled out. “I was talking about his personality, not anything unfit for your delicate sensibilities.”
“My sensibilities are not delicate. But you are like a sister to me, Mina.”
I smiled. “I feel the same way. But wait until you meet Noel. He’d discuss such things without hesitation. If my brother can handle it, then you can handle this. Especially since I’m not discussing anything salacious. Now, will you do it?”
“Fine. But you still haven’t said why you want to sneak Alan out without Powell noticing.”
I considered how much I could say. Sam had drawn his own conclusions about Alan, but I wasn’t sure how far they went. It gave me hope that he hadn’t objected to me spending time with Alan, only to hearing about it. Then again, if the charm was in fact broken, it shouldn’t hurt to speak more directly now. There’d be no backlash from the magic taking hold once more.
I doubted a conversation with Sam would be enough for me to determine if the charm was broken once and for all, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t test the waters. “When you saw my new belt knife, you realized something was going on, right?”
Sam slowly nodded. “After watching Powell make my daggers, it was obvious he hadn’t made that knife. Which left Alan. There was also clearly something going on between you two.” Sam made a pained face. “And while I didn’t want to think too closely about that, it made me question some of my assumptions about Alan. I still don’t understand, but I know you well enough to trust your judgment.”
I gave Sam a quick hug. “Powell’s been using a charm to make everyone look down on Alan. We think we broke it last night, but want to test that assumption.”
“And you don’t want Powell to notice anything out of the ordinary in case you are wrong.”
“Exactly.”
“Fine, I’ll get Powell out of the smithy for an hour this afternoon. But then I want to hear everything, Mina.”
“Deal.”
???
I waited aroundthe corner of the smithy while Sam talked to Powell. When they both left the shop, walking toward the village hall, I darted around to the back door of the forge. Alan looked up the moment I stepped inside, his initial smile morphing into worry as his attention shifted to the shop door.
“Powell isn’t there. Sam promised to keep him busy for an hour. We need to go talk to Kayla now.”
“I still think there must be a better way to test if the charm is broken,” Alan said, setting down his tools and crossing over to me. He brushed a loose bit of brown hair off his forehead, leaving a smudge behind.
“More pleasant, maybe, but not better. Certainly not faster.”
Alan removed his leather apron and wiped off his hands. I took the rag from where he tossed it on a bench and cleaned off his forehead, then grabbed his hand and started walking the opposite direction from the village square. Kayla expected me at a strawberry patch just outside the village, the perfect location to ensure Alan and I didn’t cross paths with Powell. “I do think the charm is broken, but Kayla’s reactions to you will be a simple confirmation.”
“Why do you think it is broken?”
“Because Sam didn’t argue when I told him Powell had used magic against you. Even if he was already figuring out the inconsistencies caused by the charm, I would have expected him to argue.” I knew exactly what Alan was about to say and spoke faster before he could protest. “But since Sam has been working himself free of the charm’s power, we still need confirmation.”
Alan sighed. “I know you think Kayla’s opinions are changeable enough that the effects of the charm shouldn’t linger with her, buthow do you expect to tell if her opinion is based on magic or not? Her opinion of me will be scathing either way.”
“If she is still under the charm’s influence, her opinion of you will be negative, and she’ll tease me about being with you. Otherwise, she’ll flirt with you.”
Alan shuddered.
I rolled my eyes. “Having a pretty woman flirt with you is not an ordeal, Alan.”
His thumb rubbed back and forth over the back of my hand. “Depends on the woman. I watched Jeff work himself into knots over Kayla for years. Her flirting is a weapon.”
I didn’t disagree. It was a weapon she wielded with great skill against men and women both. The upcoming encounter wouldn’t go much better for me than Alan, but it might shift Kayla’s attention away from Hannah and Phillip. It wasn’t the reason I had insisted that Alan meet with Kayla, but it was a side-effect I hoped for. I probably should have explained that to Alan.
I didn’t want him to think I was using him. Plus, he might be more inclined to cooperate if he knew it served more than one purpose.
But it was too late now. We were nearly at the strawberry patch, and Kayla looked up and spotted us. She shaded her eyes with a hand. “Mina and... Alan?”
