by Amy Boyles
I glanced from one shining face to the other until dawn cracked in my brain. “You want me to get you some?”
Mint’s face broke into a beaming smile. “Would you?”
I nodded happily. “Sure. Whatever you need. Y’all are family, after all. I know everyone says y’all are full of mischief, but I haven’t seen it.”
Licky squeezed my arm. “Most of the time it’s a big misunderstanding. Just happens that way. After all, Mint and I are simple organizational witches.”
The door to Familiar Place opened. The bell tinkled overhead. A woman and her young daughter entered.
I glanced at Licky. “I’ve never heard of organizational witches.”
Mint headed toward the door. “We love organization. We collect and put things together by size, shape, whatever—that’s what we do best.”
I smiled. “So you’ll be perfect for the festival.”
“Yep,” Licky said. “Listen, we see you’re getting busy, so we’ll leave.”
They left, and I turned my attention to the woman and her daughter. “Welcome to Familiar Place. How can I help you?”
I finished up my day at three and headed to the house for a late lunch. After feeding the animals and tucking them in for the night, my stomach was growling something fierce. I passed Castin’ Iron, where several large iron skillets zoomed about outside. These skillets weren’t for cooking; they were for riding.
That’s right. In Magnolia Cove, witches didn’t ride brooms. Instead, we rode broom-length cast iron skillets.
It was awesome.
Theodora and Harry, the shop owners, waved as I passed.
“How’s your skillet doing?” Harry called.
I gave him a thumb’s up. “Great.”
“Glad I could sell it to you,” he said.
Theodora glared at him. “You know good and well I found the skillet that she rides. Stop taking all the credit, old man.”
“Woman, you will be the death of me,” Harry said.
I laughed as I headed home. The small picket fence screeched as I entered. The guard-vine flowing across the porch dipped and gave me a good sniff. I patted the red bud.
“Hi there, Jennie. It’s just me.”
Jennie recoiled back across the ceiling and let me enter. “I’m home,” I called out.
Betty, Amelia and Cordelia sat at the table, finishing up what looked like a light lunch of chicken salad and crackers.
No one said anything when I entered. I dropped my purse on the chair. “Why’s everyone so quiet?”
Amelia and Cordelia shot Betty a look.
“Word around town is that Melbalean’s bird is laying real gold eggs,” Betty said.
I plopped at the table and picked up a plate. “I don’t believe it. I’m sure that’s not true.”
Betty’s eyes shifted from my cousins to me. “These two won’t help me.”
Cordelia pushed her long hair from her face. “She wants us to steal one of the eggs and see.”
Amelia bit into a cracker. “Yeah. In front of everyone, our grandmother wants us to snatch an egg. We’ll be thrown out of the festival.”
I scooped up a dollop of salad and plated it, pushing the grapes out. Why did people make chicken salad with grapes? Not my favorite combination.
“You could always get Licky and Mint to do it. I’m sure they’d be up for it.”
Betty shook her head. “Those two would screw up boiling water. We’ll be lucky if half the town isn’t burned down before the festival is over.”
Amelia shrugged. “Well, I’m not stealing an egg. I’m not getting arrested for a harebrained scheme.”
Betty glared at her. She snapped her fingers and a Rolodex flared to life.
Amelia rolled her eyes. Cordelia stifled a laugh behind her hand. According to Betty, the Rolodex was chock full of eligible bachelors all suitable for Amelia’s attention.
Images of profiles and a blur of pictures flitted in the air above us. The shuffling finally stopped on an image of a young man with a shock of black hair brushed into a pompadour. He smiled so brightly you could see a diamond of light sparkling on his teeth. He stood in front of a mountain and wore a thick parka.
“Who’s that?” Amelia said.
Betty glared at her. “Lane Longmire. He’s an adventure hunter. Been searching the Himalayas for the Abominable Snowman.”
“I think you mean yeti,” Cordelia said. “They live in the Himalayas.”
Betty snapped her fingers and Cordelia’s plate vanished. “That’s what you get for back talking.”
“I was finished anyway.”
Amelia’s eyes gleamed at the picture.
Betty smiled like a copperhead about to kill a field mouse. “He’s handsome, isn’t he?” she said.
Amelia wiped a line of drool from her bottom lip. She glanced furtively at Betty. “He’s okay.”
Betty smacked her lips. “Don’t be such a phony. He’s hot and you know it. He’s handsome, loves adventure and is probably built like a stallion beneath those clothes.”
“Oh dear Lord,” I said.
An old woman talking about a man as if he was a piece of meat was not my idea of a good time.
“What’s your point?” Amelia said. “I mean, he’s good-looking, but I don’t know if I’m interested in a guy who’s on your dating Rolodex.”
Betty leaned over and said, “What if I told you he was on his way here to meet you?”
Amelia threw up her hands. “What?”
Betty laughed. “Laney boy’s left the mountains and is trekking across the globe to meet you, Amelia.” She glanced at her watch. “He should be here any minute.”
Amelia clapped her hands and a mirror shot up in front of her. “I’ve got to touch up my makeup and get ready.”
Betty glanced guiltily from side to side. Amelia caught it and glared at her. “What is it? What aren’t you telling me?”
“You might have to do more than freshen up your makeup.”
“Why?”
“Because this is the picture I sent him.”
An image in a frame flared to life. Cordelia took one look at it and burst into laughter.
“What is it?” I said.
I leaned over until I could get a good look at the picture. The photo that Betty had sent Lane Longmire was nothing short of a Farrah Fawcett lookalike.
“What is this, the seventies?” Cordelia said. “Couldn’t you have picked a celebrity that’s at least still alive for Amelia to impersonate?”
Betty crossed her arms. “I didn’t want to make it too obvious. I figured with some extensions and a little highlighter, Amelia would look like her.”
I held in a laugh as Amelia shook her head. “No way. No way am I going to magic myself to look differently for some guy.”
The doorbell rang.
Betty smiled brightly. “Oops. Looks like he’s here. And now for the million dollar question—” she raised her hands and an orb of white light blossomed in her palm, “to change or not to change?”
All eyes fell on Amelia. She fisted her hands in front of her face and said, “This is against everything I stand for.”
“You should be standing for a hot guy,” Betty said.
I laughed.
“Not helping,” Amelia said.
The bell rang again.
“What’ll it be?” Betty said.
Amelia glanced at Lane’s picture one more time before saying, “Do it. Change me.”
FOUR
With a snap of Betty’s fingers, Amelia went from a pixie cut and pixie-faced to long, luxurious caramel colored hair and more contouring makeup than even Kim Kardashian did on a normal day.
“Wow,” I said, “you might need a makeup class to keep this up.”
Amelia dragged her gaze to Betty. “Don’t die anytime soon. I’m going to need your magic to keep this up.”
Betty waddled to the door and opened it. On the other side stood Lane Longmire. No joke. I thought maybe it might not
be him, but sure enough, it was the mountaineer himself.
“Hey there,” he said in a long Southern drawl—the kind that either sent a girl running for the hills like her hair was on fire or turned her to a puddle at his feet.
I was the sort of Southern gal who liked men to have a smooth accent and Lane’s was to die for.
His gaze immediately swept to Amelia. “You must be Amelia,” he said. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Same here,” she said.
Betty boobed her way between them. “I’m Betty Craple and these are my other granddaughters, Cordelia and Pepper.”
He dipped his head. “Nice to meet y’all.”
Betty grinned at him. “Lane, why don’t you come in and have a nice glass of tea? Sit a while.”
I excused myself to my room so I could get ready for my date—sorry, not a date. So I could get ready for dinner and a stroll around the fair with Axel.
Mattie stretched in the window seat when I entered. “Sugar, what’s all that there commotion downstairs?”
I shucked off my shoes. “Betty wants me to steal an egg from Melbalean and she’s found Amelia a new boyfriend. He chases magical creatures for a living.”
“Sounds like a typical Saturday.”
I showered and dressed, killing time until the sun started to sink into the horizon. By the time I padded downstairs, Betty was waiting for me with the chicken in the box.
“I see she settled down,” I said.
She shook her head. “Not really. I had to put a sleeping spell on it. Hopefully, I didn’t overdo it and kill the hen.”
“Let’s hope not,” I said.
“Come on. You gotta help me set up for the competition.”
I frowned. “Isn’t it hours away?”
Betty shrugged. “Never hurts to get an edge on. Melbalean’s already there.”
“Good point. Where’s everybody else?”
Betty waddled toward the door. “Amelia and her new boyfriend went to look around town. Cordelia’s already gone to the fair. So it’s you and me. We gotta steal one of Melbalean’s eggs. You coming?”
I glanced at my watch.
“Don’t worry,” she said, “I already told your boyfriend to meet us at the fair.”
I shook my head. “I don’t have a boyfriend.”
“Not officially.” She opened the door and walked through. “Come on. I’m not getting any younger.”
When we reached the festival, the celebration was in high swing. It looked like half the town had swooped on it. There were competition booths of all sorts set up on one side, and magical rides and games set up on the other.
My gaze dragged over a bucking cast iron skillet. The sign read that if you stayed on a full sixty seconds, you won the skillet.
Slap me upside the head and call me stupid, but the last thing I wanted was a bucking skillet. Heck, I had my own and didn’t want to try to tame another.
But the line for the skillet wound around the ride. So clearly I was in the minority.
We wove through the people milling about. Mint and Licky sat at the ticket booth, charging folks to come in. Licky saw me and waved. I waved back.
“You should stay away from those two,” Betty said.
“They’re your daughters,” I said.
Betty nodded. “I know. So it’s expert opinion I’m giving you. Your mother was nothing like them. She was normal, sweet. Those two are something else.”
I sighed out a shot of air and followed Betty until we reached her booth. It was less than three feet from Melbalean’s.
Melbalean glanced over and smiled. “You’re back. My golden girl here has already laid half a dozen eggs today. I’m stashing them in the corner to make sure no one steals them.” Her gaze roved over Betty’s hen. “If I were you, I wouldn’t worry about hiding your eggs. Why have silver when you can have gold, I always say.”
“Because gold is a bitter, nasty metal that’s useless in a spell,” Betty snapped. “Every witch knows if you want to work a real spell you need silver.”
“Or aluminum,” I said quietly.
Her gaze darted to me and I shrugged. “Sorry.”
She tugged me to the side. “The judging isn’t until later. I’ll keep an eye out and when Melbalean’s distracted, I’ll whistle for you.”
I cocked my head. “What if I’m on the other side of the fair?”
“I’ll do it really loud, like this.” Betty crammed her fingers in her mouth and let out a shrill that nearly burst my eardrum.
I cringed. “Ow.”
“Don’t worry, only you can hear that.”
I wrung out my ear with the tip of my finger. “Good thing.” My gaze darted around the fair until I saw Axel striding toward us. His lips curled when our eyes met. My knees wobbled.
The smell of pine soap wafted off him when he reached us. His hair was damp and hung around his shoulders.
“Sorry, I’m late. I had a last minute call that tied me up,” he said.
I twisted a strand of my hair absentmindedly. “No worries. After all, Betty changed the arrangement on you. She told me.”
He raked his fingers through his locks and said, “Who am I to argue with her?”
She wagged a finger at him. “You’re darned right. If everyone in the world listened to me, the earth would be a happier place.”
“Or a crazier one,” I said.
Betty placed her fingers over her mouth. “Remember the signal.”
I smirked. “Don’t worry.”
I’d have to be deaf to forget it.
“Can we bring you anything?” Axel asked her.
Betty scratched her chin. “I’d like some of Leona’s shrimp and grits, if she brought it. If not, some peach cobbler.”
Axel agreed. “Done.”
We left Betty as she opened the box and was doing her best to coax the chicken awake. I saw her tap its beak and the bird fluttered to life, taking its perch on a nesting bed that had been made for it.
Axel’s hand slid down my arm until he was holding my hand.
“What’re you doing?” I said.
“Touching you.” He paused. “Is that okay?”
I felt heat burn my cheeks as his gaze rested on me. “As long as it doesn’t mean anything.”
“Don’t worry,” he said. “So. What would you like to do first? Play a game? Go through a magical maze? Get ice cream?”
I clicked my tongue and remembered my promise to Licky and Mint. “What about Leona’s?”
Axel shook his head. “She won’t open for a while.”
“Okay, because I’m supposed to pick up some of her baked macaroni and cheese, too.”
Axel laughed. “Don’t worry, we’ll have plenty of time for that. You want dinner?”
I tipped my head from side to side. “I’m okay right now.”
He grinned at me. “All right. So what’ll it be first?”
I thought about it. “How about the magical maze?”
“Always a wise choice.”
We stood outside a rectangular blue building with the name Mysteries of the Universe in white painted across the top. Clapboards made up the sides and top. The pieces flipped and turned soundlessly, constantly changing the shape of the structure.
“Why’s it doing that?” I said.
Axel’s warm smile sent a jolt of energy straight to my core. “Because once inside, the walls move.”
I quirked a brow. “They do?”
“Oh yes,” he said in a mysterious voice. “This is no ordinary maze. This one is alive.”
I stifled a giggle behind my hand. “Really?”
“You still game?” he said.
I nodded. “Sure. How many opportunities will I have in my life to be inside something like this?”
“A lot if you stay in Magnolia Cove,” he said.
“How about we both pretend this is a one-shot deal?”
His hand squeezed mine as he said, “Sounds good to me.”
Fifteen mi
nutes later, I was laughing and holding madly to Axel as we wove around walls that disappeared when touched, walls that moved and walls that were invisible.
Oh, and did I mention the whole thing was timed? If you didn’t make it out within the deadline, you had to do the whole thing over.
It was like being stuck in a deranged person’s nightmare.
I stopped running and inhaled a deep shot of air. “What sort of insane person created this thing? We have to run, but if I do I’ll break my nose on a wall I can’t see.”
Axel smiled. “Don’t worry, I can see them.”
I narrowed my gaze. “How can you see them when I can’t?”
He opened his mouth, perfect teeth shining through. “I just can.”
I tipped my head toward him. “Secrets, Mr. Reign?”
He ignored me and glanced at his watch. “One minute left to escape. If not, we start over.”
I faced forward again. “Okay. Come on. Let’s get out of here.” As cool as the concept was, I didn’t want to be stuck in the maze for the rest of the day.
We dashed through the last portion and burst outside. Cool wind struck my face, sending my skin tingling. I’d worked up a sweat inside, and I wiped the hair plastered to my face away. Great. First sort of date with Axel and here I was looking like a hot mess.
“Want some ice cream?” he said.
I glanced at the little booth he was pointing to and said, “No, but I’ll take a sweet tea.”
Axel nodded toward an empty bench under a willow and said, “Rest for a second. I’ll be back.”
I watched him jog away as I took a seat. My gaze drifted over the festival goers. I noticed Betty kept a solid eye on Melbalean, who stood talking to some folks. I could almost see the glimmer of lust in Betty’s eye at the gold laying hen.
Pretty soon she’d be whistling for me. How was I going to explain that to Axel?
Hmm. Deal with it when it happened, I guess.
I also spotted Amelia, aka Farrah Fawcett with her new beau. I had to say, they made a dashing couple even if Amelia’s hair was fake. They looked good together.
Axel sat, and I scooched over, giving him more room. “Here’s your tea.”
I took the sweating paper cup. “Thanks.”
A long sip of sugary goodness made everything right in the world. I opened my purse and pulled out a bag of jelly beans that my cousin Carmen—my second cousin—made at her sweet store. I opened the lid and dropped a handful in.
