Bewitching You
Katana Collins
Copyright © 2019 by Katana Collins
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Cover Design by: Katana Collins
Edited by: Erin Marenghi
Created with Vellum
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Epilogue
Want to see more of Maple Grove?
Chapter One
1
Kandi
With a name like Kandi Cornne, you have two obvious career choices: stripper or candy store owner… I chose the latter. (And before you ask, yes… that’s my real name.)
Apparently, I’d been conceived on Halloween night nearly twenty-six years ago. That, combined with our surname… I suppose my eccentric parents just couldn’t resist, God love them. My entire childhood, when I was being mocked mercilessly, they told me that someday I’d thank them. Well, I was now twenty-five years old… and still not about to write out any thank you cards for that name choice, but I did love owning my candy store.
It was two days before Halloween, my busiest season ever. Plenty of other holidays loved candy, too, but Halloween? It was all about candy. Thanksgiving focused on togetherness (and turkey and the fixings), and Christmas was the holiday of toys. Even Valentine's Day, I had to share with the flower industry. But Halloween was all mine.
My store sat in the center of Maple Grove, a beautiful New England lake town, nestled in between a nail salon and a flower shop. This was one of those rare years when Halloween fell on the weekend. A Sunday, to be exact. And tomorrow I was hosting my third annual pumpkin decorating contest. We not only raised money for underprivileged children, but we also gave them free pumpkins and a fun activity that would at least keep them out of trouble for a day. It was my favorite day of the year.
Friday morning, I sipped my hot coffee, stepping briefly out onto my balcony to inhale the crisp October air. It was brisk. I hugged my cardigan tighter around my body, closing my eyes as a sharp gust of wind sliced across my face. I sighed into it, enjoying one more moment before I went downstairs and unlocked the door.
The blaring sound of a honking horn disrupted the silence. I jumped, sending hot coffee splattering down the front of my shirt and cardigan. Below me, on the street, was Ford Kane. He stood outside of his truck, but reached in through the front window, his hand leaning on his horn.
I set my now half-empty mug of coffee down on the table beside me and leaned over the railing. The corner edge of the wood pressed sharply against my stomach. "What the hell are you doing? You're going to wake up the whole neighborhood."
He stopped honking and stepped back from his truck, glaring up at me. His hands against his hips held such a viselike grip that I could see his white knuckles from up on the second-floor balcony. "It's nine in the morning, Princess. Everyone in Maple Grove is already awake, except for you."
“Don’t call me Princess,” I snapped. God, he was infuriating. He’d been best friends with my ex-boyfriend, Ben, for over a decade. Even when Ben and I were dating, Ford and I never got along. I narrowed my gaze at him and gestured up and down my body. "Does it look like I'm asleep?" I was clearly awake. Dressed. And showered.
"Well, it doesn't look like you’re downstairs answering your doorbell. I rang it three times."
My gaze slowly trailed over the back of his truck bed, which was filled with boxes and boxes of small to medium pumpkins. Carefully, I folded my arms back over my chest and quirked a brow. "Our delivery was scheduled for nine-thirty. It’s only five past nine."
His expression soured. "Look, Kandi. It's great for you that you have a business that doesn't have to open until nine-thirty. But this is my busiest day of the year, and I have eight more deliveries to make before five o’clock today. Three of those require a trip back to the farm to reload the truck. So, forgive me for not wanting to sit here calmly while you sip your coffee like a princess on her high horse.”
A princess on her high horse? What an asshole. I worked my ass off for this candy store. I might not have been out there harvesting pumpkins in the dirt, but that didn’t mean I worked any less than he did.
Some women might be into assholes like him, but not me. I’d been down that road once before, without even realizing it at first… but before I knew it, I was two years in on a relationship with a man who always put his own selfish needs first and really didn’t care about my needs at all. And while I hate to lump all men into the same group… Ford was Ben’s friend. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was exactly the same way.
I glared at him. “You have my phone number. There are other, more civilized ways to ask me to meet you earlier, you know? Rather than standing outside my window, honking your horn.”
“I called you four times,” he growled. “Once last night and three times this morning.”
Uh-oh. I had a new policy of turning my phone to airplane mode and only taking calls on the house phone after eight in the evening. Sure, it was a weird rule in this age of technology… the fact that I even had a house phone was something most people scoffed at. But that was precisely the reason I implemented the rule. I needed to stop staring at a screen every night. Among the many reasons Ben and I broke up, one of them was that, after work, he would just stare at his phone, playing games and texting. He barely spoke to me. Barely asked me how my day was. He only put that thing down at the prospect of food or sex. Hence, my new no screen rule, even if it was just me at home. The only exception to this rule was my iPad for reading. And the only reason it worked was because I had my landline for emergencies—my close friends and family had that number if they needed to get in touch with me.
But obviously, Ford was not close friends or family. I cringed, turned my phone off airplane mode, and immediately saw four missed calls from Ford’s number. Well, crap. I hated being wrong.
Downstairs, Ford held out both hands in silent exasperation.
“Well?” he prodded… this time, not so silently exasperated.
“Sorry,” I said. “My phone was off. I’ll be right down.”
Eating crow was bad enough. Eating crow from your ex-boyfriend’s best friend? Even worse.
Ford
Kandi Cornne was Maple Grove’s bohemian princess. Sure, she might have wanted everyone to believe she was all peace, love, and crunchy granola shit… but she came from one of the wealthiest families our town had ever seen. Word on the street was that ‘Daddy’ bought her the building she ran her store out of and had loaned her the rest of the money she needed to get her business started. And from what Ben had told me while they were dating, she wasn’t exactly in a hurry to pay off that loan.
Not that Ben was a reliable source. He’d grown up just as spoiled, if not more. And at least Kandi found ways to give back to the community… unlike Ben. In the last few years, our friendship had been growing apart slowly. But after I sa
w how he treated Kandi when they broke up? It disintegrated. Kandi wasn’t my favorite person. Spoiled, yes… but she didn’t deserve to be treated that way. Not by Ben. Not by anyone.
My gaze raked her body standing there on her balcony—her long, lean legs in skin tight pants, and her tight t-shirt hugging her svelte curves—and I inwardly cursed myself as I tore my eyes away. She was gorgeous, spoiled or not—absofuckinglutely gorgeous.
Jesus. I needed to pull myself together. This was Ben’s ex-girlfriend. Even if Ben and I weren’t friends anymore, she was still off limits.
Was she, though? said the Devil on my shoulder.
Ben wasn’t a good guy. In fact, he was a terrible person. There was a time I thought he was decent, but misguided. I had defended the way he would leer at women, get their numbers while we were out, even though he and Kandi were together. He claimed it was just to prove to himself that he still had game. But then, people started seeing him out with these other women.
That was the beginning of the end of our friendship.
Fine by me. My farm kept me damn busy enough. I’d barely had time for friends as it was, and I wasn’t about to waste what little free time I did have on someone who didn’t deserve it. Unlike Ben and Kandi, who had everything in their lives handed to them on a silver platter, I had earned my farm. I worked on my dad’s dairy for years as a boy in Vermont. When I turned eighteen and it was time for me to venture out on my own, I researched land and farms and settled on this charming little lakes region town. Land was affordable and there were lots of farms to work on while I saved money.
I worked on the existing farm for three years and saved every penny until I could afford the down payment on the land before taking over operations entirely. And this summer, I expanded, buying the pumpkin patch land from Mr. Wilson next door. He was getting older, looking to unload some of his work, and I was happy to take it on. Business was booming. I’d diversified my crops, making sure I had sections ready for every season to maximize both local business and tourist business. In September, I had the orchard open for apple picking. October was pumpkin season. In the summers, I offered peach, strawberry, and blueberry picking. In December, Christmas trees were available. And of course, I started Maple Grove’s first ever farmshare coop, which was a huge hit with the locals.
Yep. Things were great. If only I could make this damn pumpkin delivery to Kandi and be on my way.
The front door clicked and I heard several locks on the other side sliding before the white door swung open.
My mouth went dry at the sight of Kandi standing there before me. She had looked incredible from two stories up… but now, right here in front of me? Wow. Tight green corduroys clung to her muscled thighs, and her knee-high brown boots would look fucking incredible over my shoulders. A tight black t-shirt clung to her curves and flat stomach, while an orange cardigan draped over her full breasts. Her nipples pebbled as a crisp breeze blew in through the open window.
She shivered and, unfortunately for me, hugged her cardigan closed around her.
I cleared my throat, dragging my eyes away from her. As frustrated as Kandi could make me, no one could deny what a gorgeous woman she was.
She gave me an apologetic smile, waving her phone around. “I’m sorry. I’ve been doing this thing at night where I limit my screen time and turn my phone off. Ever since Ben…” Her words faded, a blush creeping up her neck to her face. She blew out a breath and tucked her phone into her pack pocket. “Anyway, why isn’t important.”
I lifted my brows. Well, this wasn’t the Kandi I was used to hearing about from Ben. He’d always said what a shrew she was. How she could never admit when she was in the wrong and how she clung to her arguments in a fight no matter what. “You turn your phone off at night?”
She blew a piece of hair that was in her eyes off her forehead. “Yeah. It’s silly, I know, but I’m just feeling annoyed at technology these days. It’s failed me more times than I can count.”
Ah, yes. The pregnancy mix-up. Kandi had thought she was pregnant, but as it turns out, it was an error with the test. While that wasn’t exactly a technology issue, I guess I could understand her recent frustrations.
“Apology accepted,” I said with a nod of my head.
She stepped to the side, gesturing for me to enter with her. “Ideally, I’d love to set the event up out back,” she said, leading me through her pristinely decorated candy shop. I’d only ever been in her shop once when she and Ben started dating. He’d wanted me to meet her. And the moment I laid eyes on her, I knew she and I couldn’t be friends. No… scratch that. I knew she and I shouldn’t be friends. Because, with one look, I wanted her so damn badly that my body had been physically aching by the time I got home.
The store was glossy and white on the inside with jeweled accents in various colors. Currently, it was decorated in oranges and blacks with all sorts of Halloween décor surrounding the displays. She led me all the way to the back of the store where she opened up a door to a courtyard.
Out on the back patio, rows of tables and chairs were set up with various boxes of art supplies. My brows shot up. Yes, there was a lot of furniture and big items set up, but for an event the size she was throwing? There was a lot left to do.
As though reading my mind, she waved a hand at the large patio, dismissing my unspoken concerns. “I know, I know. It seems like a lot is left, but I have a party planner coming to help today.”
Ah. There it was. When you had that much money in the bank, you could pay someone to do the dirty work for you. And yet again, I was reminded of why, even though my body ached for Kandi Cornne, we shouldn’t be together. “Okay,” I mumbled. “So where do you want the pumpkins?”
She gestured at one large table against a wall. “Here is perfect. If you could unpack and arrange them from smallest to largest, that would be great.”
I snorted and folded my arms. “Excuse me?”
She blinked, her dark lips puckering in confusion. “Do I really need to repeat myself, or was that a rhetorical question?”
“My job is deliver pumpkins. Not set them up. Not decorate them. You have four large crates coming in… I will bring them inside and drop them right here.” I pointed to my feet, where I was standing. “I’ll come back to pick up the empty crates in the evening, by seven, at the latest.”
Her jaw dropped. “You don’t unload them from the crates?”
I shook my head. “That would take me at least another hour.”
“But… Mr. Wilson always did.”
I snorted. “Yeah, Mr. Wilson was kind of a dirty old man who’d do just about anything for a smile from a pretty young thing like you.”
Her jaw dropped, and that blush I had seen creeping up her neck earlier was now a bright scarlet color raging at her cheeks. “This is unacceptable! You better believe I’ll be leaving you a one-star review on Yelp!”
I shrugged. Hell, I wasn’t even sure I had a Yelp page. If people didn’t like the way I delivered their goods, then fine. They could order their pumpkins elsewhere. “You go right ahead.” I hitched a thumb over my shoulder. “I’m going to start bringing these crates in.”
I ignored her huffing sigh and grunts as I turned around and crossed back through her store. As I walked by the register, I saw three books on the counter. Famous New England Hauntings, When in Doubt Sage it Out, and the real zinger, Spirits, Demons, & Poltergeists: How to Know When Your Home is Haunted.
Her light footsteps pounded behind me, and then I heard the tapping of her toe against the marble floor. “For a guy who claims to be in such a hurry, you sure aren’t rushing.”
“Shhhh,” I held up my hand and peered around the corners of the room, peering at her from over my shoulder.
Her spine went stiff, shoulders tightening by her ears. “Did you just shush me?”
“Did you hear that?” I said, lowering my voice.
This time, she did actually go silent. “I don’t hear anything.”
“I coul
d have sworn I heard something. I thought maybe…” I cleared my throat and shook my head. “No, no. That’s ridiculous.”
“What? You thought maybe what?”
“Well… you’re not from around here originally, are you?”
She shook her head. “Not from Maple Grove specifically. I grew up in Concord, but my parents and I would summer here. I moved to Maple Grove after college because I loved it so much.”
I nearly scoffed at her, but swallowed the urge. She was the kind of girl who used summer as a verb. “So, you never heard about the history of this building?” She shook her head.
I stepped back, waving my hands in front of me. “I don’t want to be the one to tell you, then.”
“No!” She stopped me, grabbing my elbow gently, and turned me to face her. “I mean, um, tell me.” She cleared her throat and added, “It might be fun to tell the kids tomorrow at the pumpkin decorating event.”
I shook my head. “Oh, you won’t want to tell them this story.” I was barely keeping a straight face, about to laugh, and took a deep breath to compose myself, hoping that she didn’t notice the trembling corners of my mouth. “Back in the thirties, this was a confections store, too.”
“I-I know. That’s why I wanted this location specifically. The historical relevance.”
I ignored the impulse to roll my eyes at that. I’d seen on public record how much she paid to buy this place and it was way over market value. “The rumor goes that she opened up a candy store to deal with the sudden loss of her son who was only a couple of years old. She wanted to see and experience children in any way possible. And on Halloween, every year until she died, she would put out a big bowl of candy and sit up there on that balcony and stare at the children as they trick-or-treated. People say that on Halloween, they’ll see her up there, still watching the kids gathering candy. Some people claim to hear her son crying and playing out in the courtyard out back.”
Bewitching You: A Maple Grove Halloween Novella Page 1
