I laughed. “Right back at you, Kevin.”
10
We may as well have walked to the baking competition tent in V formation with sexy music playing in the background. The Power Puffs did not mess around. From their gorgeous hair to their steam-pressed pink clothes—everything about them screamed perfection. The mere act of standing near them stressed me out. I hoped Marley got off the fence soon about their kids because I wasn’t sure I was cut out for this life.
“Make sure to grab the table closest to the judges’ table,” B’linda ordered.
“I’ll take care of it,” Colette said.
“Colette is an expert at getting what she wants,” Ivy whispered. “She’s a master manipulator.”
“As long as she uses that power for good over evil,” I replied softly. From what I’d seen so far, the jury was still out.
I spotted Holly across the tent, setting up the table with the other Bakewell Tarts. I decided to take the high road and say hello.
“Where are you going?” Sasha asked.
“To say hi to Holly,” I said. “She’s my boss’s girlfriend.”
Sasha stared at me. “You can’t fraternize with the competition.”
“A simple hello is fraternization?” I queried.
“It’s disloyal,” B’linda said. “You don’t want to be disloyal to a team you’ve just joined, do you?”
“How about I help Colette with that table?” I suggested, and slipped away.
By the time I reached the fairy, she’d snagged the best table and was already shooing away the team that had originally claimed it.
“We need to hand out as many samples as we can,” Colette advised. “Drum up interest in our entry. The more paranormals hear everyone talking about it, the more it increases our chances of winning.”
“Perception is reality,” B’linda said, strutting over. “Sasha is the best at encouraging visitors to take a sample.”
“Use your magic to draw visitors away from the other tables,” Colette said in a low voice.
“Isn’t that cheating?” I asked.
“Magic is permissible,” Colette replied.
“For the recipe,” I said.
“Magic is permissible,” Colette said, more firmly. “There are no terms or conditions that say we can’t.”
“Isn’t there an ethical line in your head that tells you that?” I asked.
Colette’s eyes flashed with anger. She stalked away, leaving me with a tray of donuts. I began offering one to anyone who passed by. I left magic out of it, of course.
“There’s a familiar face.” Aster appeared in the competition tent, along with the rest of her family. I was thrilled to see Sterling spending quality time with Aster and the twins.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” I said.
“Yes, the boys begged Sterling to take a little time out of his work day to come to the carnival.” She glanced over her shoulder where Sterling and the boys were busy tasting the donuts from Colette’s tray. “I think it was a good idea.”
I offered her a donut and she popped a small one into her mouth.
“Delicious,” she said. “Then again, the Power Puffs always whip up something amazing.”
“Have you tasted any of the other entries?” I asked.
“I had the tart, the muffin, and now this. They’ve all been excellent.”
Bentley approached us, wearing his Vox Populi hat. It wouldn’t have surprised me to see a pencil tucked behind his ear. He was really trying to look the part.
“Here for your story, Bentley?” I asked.
“One of many puff pieces.” He laughed at his own joke. “Where’s Holly? I need to make sure to get a photo.”
I pointed across the tent to where she was chatting with her teammates. They didn’t seem nearly as tense as the Power Puffs. In fact, a couple of them were even smiling. Lucky.
“Ember, we need you!” B’linda called. The vampire actually clapped her hands to summon me.
Aster’s eyes widened. “What is going on?”
“They put the ‘a’ in ass…Type A,” I said.
Aster offered a sympathetic look. “Do your best, Ember. You’ll get through it.”
Sasha came over to stand in front of me. “We need your magic to warm the donuts. They’re room temperature and that is unacceptable.” She walked off in a huff.
Bentley arched an eyebrow. “Unacceptable, Ember. You can’t have room temperature donuts.”
Aster patted me on the shoulder. “I’m going to catch up with Sterling and the boys. I think they were headed to the petting zoo next.”
“Have a great time,” I called.
“I should say the same to you,” Bentley said. “You look like someone disabled ’80’s music from your car radio.”
“You know me so well,” I said. “Do me a favor. Don’t give my team any press. They’re….”
“Ember!” Colette snapped. “Warmth, stat!”
I pulled out my wand and twirled the end in the air. “The One True Witch is rolling in her grave. This is what her magic has been reduced to.”
“Don’t set anything on fire,” Bentley teased.
I laughed, but I shouldn’t have.
Because I set the donuts on fire.
I don’t know what went wrong. One second I was warming the donuts on the table and feeling like a pro. The next second, sparks flew and the donuts were ablaze before I could react. I tried to focus my will and cast a spell that doused the flames, but I was too thrown off guard to concentrate. I could’ve really used Raoul and his transference of calm right now. Some paranormals screamed and raced out the tent. Not me. I stood there as the emergency sprinklers unloaded gallons of water over the Power Puffs’ table, destroying all the donuts and leaving the team drenched.
B’linda hurried over to me, her hair matted to her pale face. “What have you done?”
“I’m sorry,” I said, wiping the water from my eyes. “I was trying to warm the donuts.”
Colette bolted toward me, splashing in a puddle on the way. It took all my self-control not to laugh. We all looked ridiculous.
“What is wrong with you?” she seethed. “Don’t you know basic magic?”
“I told you I’m still learning,” I argued.
To my great relief, the sprinklers finally turned off. Most of the tent’s interior appeared unaffected—except ours, of course.
“We’ll never win now,” Sasha cried. “We win every year.”
“This is an outrage,” Ivy said. “You let the team down.”
“No,” B’linda said, her fangs glinting in the artificial light. “Not a team. Not anymore.”
“Change the color of your shirt, Ember Rose, if you can manage it without immolating yourself,” Sasha said. “You don’t deserve to wear pink.”
“Are you sure you don’t want any press?” Bentley asked, snapping photos of the donut disaster. “Because this can totally make the front page.”
“Yes, run the column right next to mine about Madame Bovary’s murder,” I said sarcastically. “That will definitely paint the carnival in a positive light.”
I glanced over at the table, where the judges had come to investigate the remains of our entry. I watched in surprise as one of the judges ate a soggy donut. Gross.
“I don’t know how you ladies do it,” the judge said. “This donut is still the best thing I’ve tasted all day.”
B’linda beamed with pride.
“No way,” I breathed.
Another judge followed suit, sampling a waterlogged donut. “Look how the sparkles have held up,” she said. “They still look impressive.”
I caught sight of the other teams, observing the judges with interest. There was no way these squishy donuts tasted better than Holly’s tarts, was there?
I was gobsmacked when the Power Puffs were declared the baking competition winners. I noticed the disappointed expressions on the other teams’ faces. They probably thought they finally had a chance
, thanks to my incompetence. But no. I felt like apologizing to everyone, even the Power Puffs. Baking competitions just weren’t my thing. I hoped Marley understood when I broke the news. There’d be no more sitting on the fence for her because I’d been booted.
11
Sunday dinner brought an air of excitement to the day because Linnea’s boyfriend, Rick, was permitted to join us. For a normal family, this inclusion might not raise any eyebrows, but for the Rose-Muldoon clan, it was practically a ticker-tape parade.
“Should I wear a dress?” Marley asked, popping into my bedroom where I was getting changed.
“For Rick or for Aunt Hyacinth?” I knew which one cared more about Marley’s attire.
“It seems like a special occasion,” Marley said.
“You’re probably right,” I said. “I’ll wear a dress, too.” No point in drawing my aunt’s ire by dressing like the poor relation that I actually was.
“No pink,” Marley said with a cheeky smile.
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I said. She seemed to be taking my banishment from the Power Puffs in stride. I apologized profusely anyway because I didn’t want her to suffer any blowback at school on Monday.
“Wear the blue one,” Marley said.
I pulled the simple pale blue dress from my closet. “You’re so bossy.”
“Takes one to know one. Too bad Alec isn’t coming tonight,” Marley said. “He would love that dress on you.”
I froze. “Marley, you need to stop. I know you adore Alec, but he’s with Holly now. We…You need to accept it.”
Marley twirled a strand of hair around her finger. “And you’re with Sheriff Nash?”
I heaved a sigh. “Sort of. Maybe.” I dropped onto the edge of the bed. “I don’t know.”
Marley gave me a sympathetic look. “Do you like the sheriff?”
“Of course I do. What’s not to like?” Granger Nash was smart, sexy, confident…The list of his good qualities was long and impressive.
“But you like Alec, too,” Marley said.
“Of course I do,” I said, with a weak laugh. “What’s not to like?” It didn’t matter how I felt, though. If Alec chose another path, I had to accept his decision.
“What’s the problem then?” Marley asked.
I slipped into the bathroom to change into the dress. “I am not talking about this with you. As awesome as you are, you’re my adolescent daughter, not my friend.”
“Fine,” Marley called through the door. “But you should talk to someone about it because it’s obviously weighing on you.”
I pulled open the door. “It is?”
Marley’s head bobbed. “Sure. The sheriff is basically begging to be your boyfriend and you clearly like each other, but you’re still dithering. If Alec weren’t an issue, there’d be no dithering.”
I gaped at my wise ten year old. “When did you turn into such a little Buddha?”
“Hurry up,” Marley said. “We don’t want to be late and risk Aunt Hyacinth’s wrath.”
Again with the astute statements. “I’m coming. Go put on your dress and I’ll walk PP3.” I finished in the bathroom and hurried downstairs to find Raoul on the couch, holding the television remote.
I think you need new batteries, he said. It’s not working.
“Do you even have opposable thumbs?”
My raccoon familiar scowled. Always so critical. You must take after your aunt.
I held up a finger. “Watch it, trash panda. I can easily start locking the cottage windows.”
How uncouth, he scolded. What would Marley say?
“It’s my index finger, not the middle one,” I said, wiggling my finger.
Details, details. He hopped off the couch. What does a familiar need to do to get a free meal around here?
“You know perfectly well we go to Thornhold for Sunday dinner.” I hooked the lead on PP3’s collar and walked him to the front door.
Where I assume your aunt’s familiar is fed to her stomach’s content, Raoul said bitterly.
“Because she lives there,” I said. “My cousins don’t bring their familiars.”
Are you sure about that? the raccoon asked. I saw your cousin arrive with hers. What kind of witch has a minotaur as a familiar anyway? And I thought a raccoon was weird.
“Rick is her date, not her familiar.”
Really? Huh. Who knew? Raoul followed me to the front yard, where PP3 immediately fertilized a rosebush.
“How about I ask Simon to pack a doggy bag for you?” I suggested, feeling magnanimous.
Why would I want that? I’m a raccoon.
“Doggy bag means that I’d pack food from dinner and take it home to you,” I explained.
Oh. Raoul lit up. In that case, yes. I’d like to place an order for delivery.
“I’m not a pizza joint.”
Raoul blew out a breath. One of my many regrets.
Marley appeared outside. “Ready! Hi, Raoul.”
I see she gets to attend dinner, Raoul complained.
I fixed him with a hard stare. “That’s because she’s my daughter, Raoul.”
Pfft. Whatever.
I ran PP3 back into the cottage and closed the door behind me. “See you later, Raoul. I’ll see what I can do about your hunger needs.”
Marley gave him an exasperated look. “You’re begging for food again? How on earth did you survive before you met my mother?”
I sensed the tension growing and moved to intercede. “Okay, that’s enough, you two. Raoul is living a more civilized life now. His days of dumpster diving are over.”
Marley folded her arms. “Are they, though?”
I grabbed my daughter’s hand. “Let’s go.”
Marley stopped short. “What about the hostess gift?”
Noooo. I’d forgotten. I pulled my wand from my waistband and waved it in front of the roses. “Secare.” The flower stems broke off and I wrapped the fabric of my dress around them to avoid the thorns.
“Good thinking,” Marley said, and we headed to Thornhold. “Are you sure we don’t want to ride Firefly over?”
“And where would we hitch her?” I asked. “There’s no post in front of the estate.”
“Simon would take care of her,” Marley said.
Although I was sorely tempted, we were already on the verge of being late. By the time we reached the stables, it would be time for dinner.
“Linnea’s already there, apparently,” I said. “We should just walk.” I paused. “Briskly.”
We increased our pace and arrived at the door at precisely six o’clock. Simon’s raised brow confirmed that we nearly missed the acceptable window of arrival.
“I’m afraid you’ve missed the cocktail hour, miss,” Simon said.
“Probably for the best,” I said, pinching my waist. “I don’t need the extra calories.”
“I daresay you look wonderful, miss.” Simon turned to escort us into the grand dining room where the rest of the family was gathered.
“There you are,” Aunt Hyacinth said. She staggered over to greet me and nearly tripped over her deep orange kaftan in the process. Someone must’ve attacked the cocktail hour with gusto this evening. “We were beginning to worry.” She kissed my cheek, leaving a streak of coral lipstick.
“I live in the cottage on the estate,” I said. “It’s not like much could happen between there and here.”
My aunt returned to her seat. “We have a special guest this evening. Frederick, I believe you’ve met my niece, Ember, and her daughter, Marley Rose.”
The minotaur was seated between Linnea and Aster. “Yes, I’ve had the pleasure.”
“Good to see you, Rick,” I said, planting myself in my usual seat adjacent to my aunt. Marley sat across from me, far enough away that I couldn’t discreetly remind her to eat her vegetables. Clever girl.
Aunt Hyacinth rang one of her magical silver bells and the parade of platters commenced. The sight of floating dishes never ceased to amaze me. I wonde
red how much witchcraft Rick had witnessed as a minotaur in Starry Hollow. More than me, most likely.
“Everything looks delicious,” Rick said, eyeing the meat selection. Typically, there was only one main dish, but Aunt Hyacinth must’ve decided to go the extra mile for Linnea’s new boyfriend. That had to be a good sign, not that I believed in them.
“Where’s Sterling?” Marley asked, glancing down the length of the table. Ackley and Aspen sat together at the far end, across from their mother, but their father was nowhere to be seen.
Aster tucked a blond strand behind her ear. “Working again, I’m afraid. He’s been incredibly busy lately.”
“So we keep hearing,” my aunt said tersely.
“He’s never home,” four-year-old Aspen complained. “He used to tuck me in every night.” The small wizard’s angst quickly subsided when confronted with a large piece of meat. He shoved a forkful in his mouth, puffing out his cheeks in the process.
“We went to the carnival together earlier,” Aster reminded him. “Then he had to go to the office.”
“It’s Sunday,” my aunt said with a hint of irritation.
“Our dad was never home either,” Bryn said. Linnea’s teenaged daughter sat on the other side of Florian, diagonal to her younger brother, Hudson. The separation was not a coincidence.
“That’s why they got divorced,” Hudson added.
Aspen’s blue eyes rounded and he looked on the verge of tears.
Aster jumped in quickly. “Thank you for sharing your experience. Sterling is simply working hard to provide for his family. That’s all.”
“Yes,” Bryn said. “Dad was the opposite. He was working hard to provide for himself.”
Linnea smiled awkwardly. “Bryn, your father loves you. That’s important to remember.”
Bryn shrugged. “He supposedly loved you, too. How’d that work out for you?”
Linnea cast a nervous glance at Rick. “Teenagers, right?”
“So tell us, Rick,” my aunt interjected. “How’s the garden business?”
Rick co-owned Paradise Found with a sorcerer named Adam Forrest. “Extremely good,” Rick replied. “Residents seem to get inspired whenever the carnival rolls into town. They suddenly want multi-colored fountains and space in the yard for exotic pets.” His deep laugh rumbled. “You’d be amazed by some of the requests.”
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