“Just restocking my booth,” I said, glancing down at the jars of honey, candles, and bottles of body lotions. The Curiosity Curio was, in fact, a co-op of curiosities. While most of the booths in the shop offered antiques, there was also a section for local goods like jams, fishing flies, and the local beekeeper’s wares.
Tess smiled, the small gesture making her petite face, framed by a mop of dark hair, light up. “Almost out of the honey-carrot body butter.”
“Brought some. Back in a few,” I said then went toward the back. I set out my goods, restocking the shelves. My honeys were selling well, and tourist season in Chancellor would kick into full swing soon. No sooner did the students leave than the antiquers and other connoisseurs of quaintness would start coming into town. But at the moment, the upcoming Cherry Blossom Ball would draw many visitors to Chancellor. The ball, which was the highlight of the sister city event, would bring dozens of well-to-do families to Chancellor, all of whom loved to purchase curious things.
After I’d unloaded my wares, I stopped by Pat’s chocolate booth and picked up a box of sea-salt caramel dark chocolates shaped like mermaids then walked to the front where Tess was waiting.
The girl smiled then set a box on the counter. “Finally got your box lot from the auction packaged up. The hive tools you wanted are on the top. There were some other interesting items in there as well. Go through them when you have a chance,” she said, sliding a cardboard box toward me.
The week previous I’d spotted some antique honey making tools at an auction but had to buy a whole box of knickknacks to get them. “Thanks, Tess,” I said, then set the box on the floor. “Grabbed some chocolates,” I said, setting them on the counter. “Do you want cash or—”
“I can take it out of your commissions, if you like.”
I nodded. “Thanks.”
“Of course,” she said then motioned to the box once more. “Don’t forget to look through the box. Never know what you’ll find.”
This time, I raised an eyebrow at her. Tess was different. There was an unusual aura about her, and she seemed almost immune to the faerie twinkle in my eyes. Today, something more was going on, but I wasn’t sure what.
She cocked a funny smile at me. “See you later,” she said, then turned from the counter and went back to sorting vintage pins.
I grinned. Whatever her mystery was, I wasn’t going to get it out of her today. “See ya,” I replied, lifting the box, then headed back outside. I exited the little alley and went back to Main Street. It was past the lunch hour now and downtown was quieting. I stopped by the truck, leaving the box of knickknacks—mindful that I should look through them when I had a chance—then walked to Alice’s deli, Whole Lot ‘o Bagels.
The bell over the door rang when I entered. All at once, I was treated to the heavenly scents of freshly baked bagels and french onion soup. I could even catch the perfume of the daffodils with which Alice had decorated the small café tables. But more than that, I also heard the sad and lonely sounds of breakup music wafting through the deli’s speakers. The remaining diners didn’t seem to notice, but the woman behind the counter was working furiously to clean every last corner of her deli, a tell-tale sign all was not well.
“Sea-salt dark chocolate caramels,” I said, setting the box on the counter as I pulled out a stool.
“Finally,” Alice said, tossing her cleaning rag into the sink. She stopped to wash her hands then came around from behind the counter, pulling off her green apron. She set it aside as she redid her ponytail, pulling her dark hair back into messy bun. Her freckled face had lost its cheery glow, her dark blue eyes looking sad and haunted. She sighed then shook her head. “Dumped by text, can you believe that?”
That was pretty low, even for Tom. From the moment I met him, I knew Tom was not for Alice. But Alice always had a way of sneaking off and finding exactly the wrong guy when I wasn’t looking. Her last fairy godmother had worked with the elders to bring her a good match a few years earlier, an archeology professor visiting Chancellor College, but the professor’s fate had got in the way. He’d made an unexpected archeological find on an island in Lake Erie which turned his attention away from a potential life mate to his passion. That flop had displeased the elders, and not long after, I took over the job looking after Alice. Alice, however, was proving more difficult to help than any of my other assignments. And my personal distractions—mainly in the form of Viola Hunter—weren’t helping much. But these days, all the signs seemed to point to something big on the horizon. The bees saw omens everywhere, and this morning’s powerful enchantment was even more proof.
I gave Alice a hug, squeezing her tight. “He wasn’t right for you anyway,” I said, then let her go.
“Yeah, I know,” she said. “I just couldn’t get into his Monday night football scene. I mean, I don’t mind football, but the appetizers at those parties. Ugh,” Alice said with a mock-shiver.
Typical Alice, trying to make light of her own misery. I opened the box of chocolates and slid it toward her. “The right guy is coming. I can feel it. I think it’s time, don’t you? I’m going to find you someone great.”
“Don’t you mean we? We are going to find her someone great?” a female voice asked coming up from behind us.
I turned to find Viola standing there. A million smart replies wanted to fly out of my mouth, but all I could do was smile stupidly at her. How amazingly perfect she looked in her dark jeans, black sweater, black boots, and a designer bag turned school book bag hanging off her shoulder. Her long, chocolate-colored hair glimmered under the slim rays of sunlight that shimmered into the room. Her sky-blue eyes, the same color as Horatio’s—her brother and my best friend—searched my face.
“No smart comeback?” she asked.
“Sorry, I was just struck dumb by your beauty.”
“Oh my god, shut up,” she said, punching me playfully on the shoulder, but her eyes flicked toward me for a moment thereafter, shooting me a warm glance that set my heart on fire. “Sorry, Alice,” she said then, turning to her friend as she settled onto a stool next to me.
“Yeah, what can you do? My prince will show up one day.”
“I hope he has a brother,” Viola said.
The bell rang once more as the door opened. I looked toward the back of the deli where I spotted Amanda, a regular patron at Alice’s, and a group of her friends come in.
Amanda smiled at me. “Hi, Rayne,” she called in a soft voice then she and her friends sat down.
I waved then turned back to Alice and Viola. While Alice might have had her problems finding a man, the faerie glamour under my skin had no problem attracting women. Sure, I was handsome enough, but it was the faerie twinkle in my eyes that caught most women’s attention…save Tess’. When I was feeling playful, it was fun to let the twinkle do its work. I’d found myself the attention of many beautiful girls along the way. When on assignment, however, we weren’t supposed to be distracted by dalliances…human or faerie. And for the most part, I’d done well keeping myself to myself. I’d been a fairy godfather for almost ten years and had a good track record. Patching two hearts together had always come easy. And when the job was done, I always moved on to the next assignment. Chancellor, however, was the first place that had ever felt like home. I loved my little farm. I loved Chancellor, where the unusual seemed to live on every corner. I, myself, being unusual by human standards, fit right in. But there was nothing unusual about my kind. The faerie had been living among humans since the time of legend. We just didn’t “out” ourselves. While there weren’t any rules preventing us from sharing our lives with humans, most faeries found it easier to stick with our own kind, as my parents had and theirs before them. Our kind had their own work to do. Looking after Alice just happened to be my job. After my work was done, I was going to ask to stay in Chancellor. It was time for me to do something different. It shouldn’t be too much of an issue. After all, I wasn’t the only faerie in Chancellor.
Interrupting
my thoughts, Alice said, in a low, jesting voice, “Wish I had Rayne’s twinkle.”
“Seriously, tone it down, Rudolph,” Viola said, mock-shielding her eyes. “You’re going to end up with half the women in Chancellor in love with you.”
“They aren’t already?” Alice replied.
“It only takes one,” I said. “The right one.” I looked at Viola who, I was pleased to see, had cast a passing glance at me. Not for the first time did I wonder how she felt about me.
“Isn’t that the truth,” Alice said with a smile, then rose. “Well, better see what the girls want to eat.”
Viola also stood. “I need to get home and change before I head over to Falling Waters. I just wanted to stop in and make sure you’re okay,” she said then turned to me. “You’re going to be here for a while? Don’t want Alice to be alone.”
“Of course. Alice offered to make me lunch.”
“I did?”
I winked at her, causing her to roll her eyes at me.
Viola then turned and hugged Alice once more. “Don’t worry. The right guy will come along. Who knows, the ball is coming up. Never know who you’ll meet. You’re still coming, right?”
“Well, I was going to come with Tom. But, yeah, what the hell. I bought a dress already. How about you? You have a date?”
Viola shook her head. “Too busy to worry about something like that.”
“You rope Rayne in yet?”
Viola turned to me. “Horatio invite you?”
“The Cherry Blossom Ball?”
“That’s the one. You’re coming, right?”
I grinned. “Am I?”
“Yes. Who else is going to escort me? And thanks for asking,” she said with a wink. “Oh! Do you have a suit? Jeans and flannel won’t work.”
“I’m not a heathen. And yes, I’d be happy to take you.”
Viola smiled, and this time her eyes met mine. “Thanks, Rayne,” she said, lightly setting her hand on my shoulder.
“My pleasure, Miss Hunter.”
Viola smiled. “Okay,” she said, turning to Alice. “I need to go, but call me if you need me, okay?”
Alice nodded. “Gonna whip up a big batch of hazelnut chocolate cream cheese and some cinnamon bagels and carb away the sorrows. Thanks for stopping by, hun.”
Viola smiled at me once more, and with a wave, walked back out.
Alice slipped her apron back on. She was fussing with the ties, not making eye contact with me, when she said, “Well, that was interesting.”
“What was interesting?”
Alice looked up at me and raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t notice anything interesting?”
“Interesting isn’t the word I would have chosen.”
Alice shook her head. “At least someone’s making progress,” she muttered under her breath. “Decide what you want to eat. I’ll be back in a minute,” she said then went off to meet Amanda and her friends.
I looked out the window. Viola was already gone, but I imagined her walking up the street, her chocolate-colored hair glimmering in the spring sunlight. Had the woman I really wanted just asked me on a date? But was it a real date or a friend date? I wasn’t sure. But for the moment, I let myself soak in the possibility that Viola Hunter might just share my feelings…and that idea set my world on fire.
Chapter 4: Viola
I parked my Mercedes in the driveway of our house, which sat among the vines near the lakeshore. A strong wind blew off the dark blue waters. My anxiety about my upcoming chemistry exam, along with meeting Monsieur Beaumont, work that night, and just about everything else, had my mind spinning. I needed to get to the restaurant. I had become the defacto manager of my father’s new enterprise, Falling Waters, an upscale restaurant located in downtown Chancellor. This was both a good thing and a bad thing. Thankfully, I’d managed to hold Blushing Grape Vineyards and Falling Waters together until my dad could patch up the pieces of himself. While he was back at the helm, running the family company once more, I still found myself locked in. It was only on my dad’s urging over the Christmas holiday that I went back to school. I was, after all, almost done with my degree in chemistry, and my dad was always partial to my idea that Blushing Grape should branch off and dabble in perfumes. Finally, I was getting somewhere. But it wasn’t easy. School all morning. Work all night. Studying into the late night hours. I had to laugh when Alice asked if I had a date for the ball. Date? I barely had time for a shower.
I sighed as I glanced across the horizon. Vines surrounded our house on every side. Their sweet new leaves uncurled like tiny green fingers. The familiar cycle of the vines seemed to be almost part of me, having grown up around them all my life. And while I loved the grapes, my true love was flowers.
I turned and followed a path to the sprawling gardens behind the mansion. At the back of the house was a large patio area that overlooked the manicured grounds. The daffodils, tulips, and hyacinth were finally in bloom. The garden was alive with vibrant yellow, varying shades of pink, firehouse red, and deep, royal purple. I walked past the beds of spring flowers, stopping to pick just one tiny blossom off a hyacinth plant. What a sweet smell. Most hyacinth perfumes smelled too heavy. The scents of spring were for younger girls. Maybe if I mixed something citrus with the aroma, lightening the scent up with something tart and fresh, I could create something new, something surprising.
My cellphone buzzed, interrupting my thoughts.
I pulled it out to see that my alarm was going off. No time to daydream. I needed to get ready for work.
I gently glided my hand along the flowers, feeling their silky petals. Before I turned and went inside, I cast a glance west where I could just make out the roof of Rayne’s barn. I smiled when I thought of him at the ball. He was going to look pretty hot in a tux. The more I thought about him and me going out for the night, the more I liked it. Who knew what could happen? A dance. A kiss. More? Ugh! Why did my thoughts of Rayne always go that direction? I mean, we were nothing more than friends, and I was about as far from his type as a girl could possibly be. With his good looks and that damned twinkle, he could date anyone he wanted.
But he didn’t.
Why didn’t he?
My alarm buzzed again.
“Okay, okay,” I said, turning it off.
I turned and climbed the stairs to the back patio then entered the house. My mother’s old grand piano was in the sitting room. With its amazing view of the gardens, I loved the space so much. I remembered Mom playing Tip-toe Through the Tulips every spring in an attempt to make me and Horatio laugh. It always worked.
“Is that you, Miss Hunter?” a female voice called.
“Hi, Dorothea,” I called to our housekeeper. “Just stopping in to get ready for work.”
“Want any coffee? Need anything pressed?” she asked from somewhere in the house.
“No. Thank you.”
“All right. You just shout if you change your mind.”
I smiled. Dorothea had been part of our household for as long as I could remember. She and mom had been very close, and when mom passed, Dorothea had taken to looking after the three of us with new zeal.
I headed upstairs to my room on the third floor. Slipping off my school clothes, I grabbed one of what seemed like a hundred black cocktail dresses hanging in my closet. Hurriedly brushing my hair while I juggled my phone, I called Blushing Grape’s administrative assistant.
“Hey, Judy,” I said when she picked up, shimmying into the dress at the same time.
“Good afternoon, Miss Hunter. What can I do for you?”
“There is a gentleman by the name of Luc Beaumont arriving at Sweet Water airport tomorrow morning. I’ll send you the flight details. Please call President White’s office and let him know we’ll send a driver to pick up Monsieur Beaumont. Send the limo. He’ll be staying at Lavender Fields Bed and Breakfast. Can you make sure he has a Blushing Grape executive gift basket waiting for him? Call Genevieve, the owner, and make sure he has the best ro
om. Text me when you’ve got it all arranged?”
“Sure. Need anything else, Viola?”
“Not yet, but the day is still young.”
Judy laughed. “Is it? It’s almost four.”
Dammit. I was going to be late. “Oh! Tell dad to sign the invoices I left on his desk. Let’s make sure the vendors are paid on time.”
“No problem.”
“Thanks, Judy. Have a great night.”
“You too, Viola.”
Snapping a picture of Professor Wallace’s notes, I zipped the information off to Judy then sat down at my vanity to quickly apply some eyeliner and lipstick. I shouldn’t have sat. Tiredness swept over me. I’d been up late the night before studying for my comparative religions test. I thought I’d done okay. At least, I knew a whole lot more about the Sumerians than I had a week before.
I pulled my hair it into a tight knot at the base of my neck, smoothed out my black dress, and checked my makeup. Not bad. If anyone bothered to look, I might catch someone’s eye. But even as the thought struck me, I imagined Rayne’s bemused expression every time he saw me dressed like this. He always told me I looked beautiful, but half the time I thought he was joking. That damned twinkle, however, had a lot more to say, but I wasn’t sure what. I could never quite tell if he was teasing me or not. Annoying.
Slipping on one of my favorite pair of Yoko Noir heels, I grabbed my bag and went back downstairs. I shook my head. Rayne. Why in the world did I care anyway what that hippie, and my brother’s best friend, thought about how I looked? We were just friends, right? But even as I asked myself the question, a little voice inside me whispered the same thing it always did.
The Chancellor Fairy Tales Boxed Set: Books 1-3 Page 15
