Page 25 of Demon and the Raven

She cleared her throat. “I guess,” she granted belligerently.

“And we left not too long ago,” he explained as they reached me. “I was hoping to take the cemetery tour with you this evening—I saw Oliver earlier today, and he said you were covering for him—but I understand it was canceled.”

“That was a while ago now, but yeah. Whenever the carnival’s in town, a trip through the graveyard can’t hold a candle to that.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” he said, looking me up and down. “I think it would depend on the company one has, don’t you?”

That was another aspect I wasn’t crazy about—the flirting. And not only with me. He flirted with everyone. He wasn’t picky.

“The cemetery tour is actually quite interesting,” Malachi Gant chimed in from behind me. “And Xander does spin a fairly good tale.”

Turning, I smiled at him, pleased to see another of our newer transplants. Unlike Pace, Gant worked for a living. He’d opened a nursery, and Natalie Bauer, who had been our only local florist, had been thrilled. Because while her shop had flowers and created the arrangements for everything from weddings to funerals, graduations to new babies, his nursery carried every exotic bush, plant, and tree known to man. His greenhouse was like an enchanted world. He had a butterfly house, a bamboo forest that could be rented for meetings, and a Japanese garden complete with a koi pond, a beautiful footbridge, and cherry-blossom trees. Just walking under the archway of his nursery, aptly named Sanctuary, was for many, myself included, instantly calming. Something about the way the breeze meandered through the trees, the birdsong, and the scents of flowers from places most of us would never see, all blending together, was intoxicating. I told Lorne I could have easily lived there.

“Fairly good?” I baited him.

Mal smirked as he stepped up beside me. “Fine. It’s very good, though all that stuff about the founders of Osprey is a bit of a snore.”

I squinted at him.

“Oh, come on, Amanda agrees.”

Of course they were friends. Amanda liked people who shared her love of sarcasm. “Amanda being in agreement should not be something you hang your hat on.”

It was his turn to squint. “Hang my hat on? How old are you?”

I shook my head at him, and he waggled his eyebrows back. I turned to Diana. “I was sorry to hear about your bees. I hope you’ll be able to rebuild your colony.”

“There’s nothing to rebuild from. I would need⁠—”

Sirens interrupted her. Lights and the blaring sound rendered us mute, and we stared as three police utility vehicles, an ambulance, and a fire truck, all flew down Main Street.

“I have lived here all my life and never seen that,” Diana said once they passed us.

It was the same for me.

“Did I see you conversing with an orange tabby?” Mal asked me with a chuckle.

I wondered where in the world Lorne was going, and that was all I could think about, pushing aside even what Thero had told me.

“Xander?” Pace prodded me.

“He’s so rude,” Diana sniped, irritated that quickly. “Always has been, and he was probably talking to a cat, Mal. He’s a witch, you know.”

Mal grunted. “I don’t know about that. The only witch I know in this town is Cordelia Wormwood who owns Witch and Wild over on Union Street.”

“Cordelia,” she scoffed. “Her name was Kathy Hayes when she went to school with me and Xander.”

Interesting how suddenly it was “me and Xander.”

“Is that right?”

“Yeah. She’s no more a witch than I am.”

“And Aurora Moon?”

“You mean Lynette Fornell who owns the Cupcake Coven? Are you listening to yourself?” She sounded really shrill, which was a change, even for her.

“No? Not a witch either?” He was chuckling.