Bewitching Fire

by Sheritta Bitikofer

  He led her to the front door and opened it, letting the warm, herb-infused air out to greet them. Soft violin music played over the hidden speakers, nearly drowned out by the low roar of conversation coming from the couples and families already seated.

  A young lady, probably fresh out of high school with big blue eyes and pinned up blonde hair, came to them and picked up the menus and silverware packets from the hostess desk.

  “Hey, Krystal!” she greeted with a grin. “How are you?”

  The hostess came forward and gave his date a quick, but sincere hug.

  “I’m great, Tammi. How’s that thesis paper coming?”

  The girl, Tammi, pulled a face. “Well, it’s coming. Just working on getting my sources right. If only the professor would allow Wikipedia as a valid reference.”

  Krystal laughed. “I know, I hated that too. I’m sure you’ll get it figured out.”

  “Thanks.” It was then Tammi finally acknowledged Devin. “Table for two, then?”

  “Yes, please,” he replied with a nod. He already spotted a booth near the corner and hoped they would be seated there.

  No such luck. Tammi led them to a little table near the middle of the dining hall. He hadn’t been in the restaurant for more than two minutes and he had already picked out the nearest exits, the hall that led to the bathroom, and the swinging doors into the kitchen.

  No matter which side of the table he sat at, he couldn’t keep an eye on every door. That inconvenient habit from his early training days at the police academy couldn’t be shaken, no matter if he worked in a bustling city like Boston or a sleepy town like Goldcrest Cove.

  So, he picked the lesser of two evils and tossed his jacket over the back of the chair that faced the front door. Tammi placed their menus, informed them that their waitress would be over shortly, and left to seat another family of four that just came in.

  Krystal was about to sit down, but Devin moved too quickly.

  “May I?” he said, gesturing to her coat. He had seen the way she appraised him after he shed his own jacket and it was unfair that he hadn’t gotten to see what was under her coat too.

  She nodded, and he gently took the collar between his hands to slip it off. Suddenly, he felt severely underdressed. He had looked up the restaurant online and thought it was casual enough for a blue button-down shirt tucked into a pair of dark jeans.

  The black dress she wore with the long, off-shoulder sleeves was far more formal, but he absolutely loved the way the fabric clung to her skin and showed off that thin, but curvy figure. Now, he was sure that no matter what she wore, she’d be a knockout.

  As he helped shed her coat, he noticed the black tattoo on her shoulder. The symbol was completely foreign to him. The center looked to be an upside V with one line crossing over it from the top left to the bottom right. Each end of this dividing line had a curved end and a circle toward the concave side of that curve. It was like nothing he had ever seen before, and even tilting his head, he couldn’t figure out it’s meaning.

  Devin hung the coat over the back of her chair and pulled it out for her to sit. “Quite the gentleman, you are,” she teased with a simpering grin.

  “I try. Nice tattoo.”

  She glanced over her right shoulder where it was just barely visible above the lacy edge of the dress. “Oh, thanks.”

  “Does it mean anything?” he asked as he sat down next to her.

  Krystal shrugged. “It’s just an inside thing between some of the girls in town.”

  He smiled. “Like a secret handshake between friends?”

  “Something like that.”

  Devin had to fight back his cop instincts to probe further and find out what exactly it was. If Krystal wasn’t the only girl in the town to have one, was it some secret club or gang? Looking at her, and knowing what kind of business she ran, it was unlikely. He had to remind himself that she didn’t fit the profile of a gang member. It was just a silly tattoo between friends. There was nothing sinister in this town.

  He saw out of his peripheral as Tammi gave the family of four the booth setup he had coveted when they walked in. It would have served as an excellent vantage point to watch the room. If only he could stop being a cop for just a few minutes, so he could enjoy this date.

  A couple of seconds of looking over the menu in silence, a young man, probably closer to their age compared to the waitress, came over wearing the typical uniform of the wait staff.

  “Hey, Krystal!” he said, placing his hand on the back of her chair. “How are you this evening?”

  Something in the way he looked at her, though friendly enough, set off red flags. Is this waiter just an old friend or something more? He mentally shook it off. He had no reason to be jealous. Not yet, anyway. This was only their first date.

  “I’m doing fine, Mark. How’s Kathy and the baby?”

  Devin breathed a little easier as he glanced down to the back of the menu for the drink selections, knowing Mark would be asking about those soon.

  “They’re doing great. The doctor had some good things to report during our last appointment, so we think we’re in the clear now.”

  “I’m so glad to hear it,” Krystal said, and he could nearly taste the compassion in her words.

  “What can I get you two to drink?” the waiter finally asked. “Wine, beer, soda?”

  Devin looked up to Krystal and opened his mouth to ask if she’d mind sharing a bottle of wine, but she was already telling Mark that she just wanted a glass of water.

  “And for you, sir?”

  It was a strange feeling, to be the one that no one knew. It was as if Krystal was the rock star of the town and he was just another guy, no one important or worth getting a name from. For the moment, he pushed his ego aside and ordered water as well.

  Mark nodded and hurried away to get their drinks.

  “You seem to know a lot of people in this town,” he remarked.

  Krystal nodded as she looked over the menu. “Yeah, it’s kind of hard not to get to know people when all of them have passed through the coffee shop at least twice. I’m sure you’ll get to know everyone too, after a while.”

  He was fairly confident of that, but how long would it take before waiters and hostesses knew his name by heart? “Have you lived in Goldcrest Cove for long?”

  “All my life,” she said with pride. “My ancestors were some of the founding members of the town.”

  “Not many people can say that.”

  She shrugged, as if it wasn’t anything special. To him, it was a big deal. He wanted to know everything about her, from her childhood memories to her fears and everything in between. Why did he care so much? This went way beyond sexual attraction and skyrocketed him straight into obsession, but it just seemed so right to feel this way about her. Being next to her was like returning to something he had lost. Like coming home, almost. But home had never been a great place for him. Krystal was better than home.

  “What about you?” she asked, breaking through his stupor. He had been watching her for the better part of a few minutes instead of picking out what he wanted to eat for dinner. “Were you born and raised in Boston?”

  Mark came to the table and dropped off their drinks before Devin could answer. As soon as they were alone again, he replied, “I was born in Worchester, but my dad moved us to Boston for his job when I was a kid.”

  “And you lived there ever since?” she asked before taking a sip of her water. Devin unconsciously copied her and took a swig himself.

  “Up until a couple of weeks ago when I moved here.”

  “So, Boston’s been the only home you’ve ever really known.” There wasn’t necessarily a question there, but Devin felt he needed to correct her.

  “I never tried to attach myself to the idea of ‘home’. Boston was great, don’t get me wrong, but it was just a place I lived for a long time.”

  Krystal frowned. “Sounds like something a military kid would say, not a cop.”

  De
vin had to admit that it did. It sounded insanely cynical, but she didn’t know the kind of “home” he grew up in. Without understanding why, he decided to tell her just what he meant. “When I was growing up, home wasn’t exactly home. It wasn’t a great place to be. My mom died when I was too young to really remember her, and my dad didn’t win any parenting awards.”

  A few beats of silence passed between them and Krystal cast her gaze down to the table. “I’m sorry to hear that.” She looked back up to him. “You still turned out to be a pretty decent guy from what I can tell. I mean, you’re a cop, so something must have gone right.”

  It did. Devin’s father showed him that someone needed to defend the underdog, the powerless, the weak. He knew from a young age that he wanted to be that defender. He wanted to be there for the ones who had no voice, who might have felt that they didn’t have any choices in life. He had been there. He knew what it was like.

  “I became a cop, because I wanted to help people,” Devin said as he lightly gripped the water glass, letting the cool condensation wet his fingertips. “I know it sounds pretty corny, but I knew I wanted to be a cop since the day the chief of police came into my third grade class. He talked about his job and what the department does to keep the city safe. My life kind of revolved around that goal. I went to police academy and jumped straight onto the force when I graduated.”

  Krystal leaned her elbows on the table and he watched the way the light from the votive candle centerpiece flickered across the smooth skin of her shoulders and neck. “I don’t think that’s corny at all. It’s an admirable dream and I’d say you’ve achieved it.”

  He smiled through the hurtful memories that had resurfaced and nodded. “Thank you. What about you? Did you always want to own a coffee shop?” If they could avoid talking too much about him this evening, this date might actually go well.

  Krystal leaned back and giggled. “No, not always.” Her eyes flitted to something behind him and he knew Mark must have been making his way back to the table.

  “Have you two decided?” the waiter asked as he pulled out the notepad from his apron pocket.

  Krystal’s gaze shifted between Devin and the menu, and it was clear she hadn’t been thinking about food either. “Oh, uh… Just a plate of spaghetti with meat sauce.”

  Devin quickly looked down to his menu and randomly picked one. “I’ll have the lasagna.”

  “Excellent choices.” Mark took the menus away and they were alone again.

  “The lasagna is really good,” Krystal said. “Mrs. Pazzini has this special recipe for the sauce that I can never figure out. You’ll like it.”

  Devin leaned forward and crossed his arms over the table. “I’m sure I will. Now, back to my question.”

  Krystal blinked. “What question?”

  Was she just trying to dance around him, or did she really forget? Criminals did something similar when they were brought into questioning. “The coffee shop?”

  “Oh, that. It was just something I thought of in high school. I told my friends about it and they were game, so we just worked hard at making it a reality.”

  Devin’s eyes narrowed. “Right, but what started it? I mean, what was your motive? Do you love coffee that much?”

  Krystal pursed her lips in thought. Such beautiful lips. “We all loved coffee and we saw a need in the community. I remember there was a coffee shop near the grocery store, but it didn’t do so well and closed down when I was a freshman in high school.”

  “So, you just saw a need and decided to do something about it?” he asked, taking another gulp of cool water.

  She nodded. “Pretty much.”

  “How did your family feel about you starting your own business like that?”

  Devin could recall the very day he told his dad that he was planning on entering the police academy. He laughed and said he’d never make ends meet. Cops didn’t get paid nearly enough for the kind of hell they were put through. He had been right, but Devin wasn’t about to let him win. If anything, his rebuke propelled him forward to do even better, to earn high commendations, and prove him wrong. In the end, just one accident had validated so much of what his father said.

  A sort of wistful look twinkled in Krystal’s eyes at the mention of her family. “My parents have been really supportive. They probably would have wanted me to go into the family business, but my sister followed my lead and she’s got her own salon on Johnson Avenue too. My mom says she brags about us to their friends in New York, but we don’t get to talk to dad that much. He’s always busy with his work.”

  “And what’s that?”

  There was a hesitance in Krystal, just like when he tried to revert the conversation back to her. “What’s what?”

  She did it again. Devin smiled, and he could see the faint color rising to her cheeks. He loved it when she blushed. “What does your dad do for work?” he asked slowly.

  “Oh,” she breathed. “He’s… sort of like a people manager for a big company. He took over when my grandfather passed away. That’s the family business. It’s this nationwide conglomerate, I guess. It’s hard to explain.”

  Devin stared, studying the way she anxiously fingered her drinking glass the way he had just a moment ago. There was something she wasn’t telling him, and he could feel his guts twist. It wasn’t a lie. He knew the exact moment when he was being lied to, but what she spoke were half-truths.

  Maybe there was something about her father’s work that she didn’t want him to know? Krystal understood that he appreciated honesty above all else. She knew that since the moment he ordered black coffee that morning.

  Instead of interrogating her like he would a suspect, he let it drop for now. “Fair enough. I hope one day, you’ll be able to tell me all about it.”

  Krystal nodded. “I’m sure I will.”

  Chapter Four

  The evening got off to a rocky start.

  First, there was the question about her tattoo. Donning the dress, she had completely forgotten about it. The scalloped collar didn’t quite cover up the moon glyph as her other clothes did.

  It represented balance, something she prided herself in. The other witches in town had their own glyphs, including Alexa, Valerie, and her sister. It wasn’t quite a global or cultural thing among witches. Sierra had started it with Amber and Taylor when they were friends in school, and the younger trio thought it was a neat idea. They all chose the moon glyph they felt best represented them and their goals as witches. But she wasn’t about to tell Devin any of that.

  Then, she narrowly skirted around some awkward conversation about her family. He seemed to accept that she didn’t want to talk about them tonight. Imagine how utterly confusing it would have been if she tried to explain that her father was the head warlock of the witch council in Albany, New York, who personally oversaw the entire north-eastern part of the country. There was no way to explain his laundry list of duties and responsibilities, including managing the Warlock Enforcer Units that were in charge of policing out of control witches, and settling minor disputes between covens.

  Her mother’s job would have been a lot easier to explain after that. She was his partner in the council, as was her maternal grandmother before her. That’s when they had to move away from Goldcrest Cove, leaving Sierra and Krystal behind to start their own lives. Their parents met through their connections in the council and that’s how they envisioned their daughters to meet their future husbands. They wanted her to marry a nice, influential warlock, whether he be on the council or maybe a son of a council member. Their greatest hope was that someone on the council would be the Twin Flame for one of their daughters, but neither were holding their breath.

  Krystal had other plans. She had told her parents that she wasn’t ready for marriage. She had to break the news to them after her mom tried to match her up with that boring warlock from Springfield years back. Since then, they had eased off. If they found out she was on a date with a non-magic, they would have some choice words
for her.

  After they avoided that conversation disaster, the evening went surprisingly well. Though Devin did mention a bit of a troubled childhood, nothing about his adult life seemed out of the ordinary. He was just an ordinary cop, dedicated to his job. There was some apprehension on his part when she asked why he decided to leave Boston and work in a tiny town like Goldcrest Cove, but his answer seemed justifiable.

  “I just wanted a change of pace,” he answered. “Boston is such a big city and there’s a lot of crime. I needed a break from it.”

  To Krystal, it made perfect sense to want a slower pace. She had never personally been to Boston, but she could only imagine the kind of stress a cop would have been under. However, his reason didn’t make sense with his motives for joining the force in the first place.

  If he wanted to protect the innocence and uphold justice, he wouldn’t get that kind of action in Goldcrest Cove. She couldn’t remember the last time they had a major crime. Traffic stops and fender benders were going to be his bread and butter here. She was sure there hadn’t even been a home invasion incident in years.

  Just like she was hiding the truth about her family, Devin wasn’t telling her the truth about his decision to move to Goldcrest Cove. She hoped that, in time, they would both be able to come clean.

  The thought of telling Devin her secret made her palms sweat, but whenever he gave her that million-dollar smile, she was jelly again. After a while, she could feel his foot tap against hers under the table while they talked. But, he didn’t withdraw or apologize. In fact, as their conversation turned to funny anecdotes about their jobs, she found the tip of her boots trailing up and down his calf.

  The smoldering look in his eyes told her that he was enjoying it just as much as she was. From the moment he took off his jacket, she could feel that familiar heat spread from the crown of her head to the tops of her toes. He got her more hot and bothered than any man ever could and she loved it.

  She adored everything about him, from the way his blue eyes appeared even brighter by candlelight to how his shirt accentuated those muscles he must have built up during his time at the police academy. He had to work out on a regular basis. There was no other way he could maintain such a body.