I waited until Antonio and Trina were out of earshot on yet another trip downstairs to the cellar. I turned to Aunt Pearl. “We only bottled a fraction of this. Where did the rest of the wine come from?”
Aunt Pearl shrugged. “Who cares? Antonio’s problems are solved for the moment, as long as he can sell it.”
“You conjured it up,” I said.
“We had an impossible deadline, so I speeded things up a little. Nobody’s going to know. Antonio and Trina have had other things on their minds, and you won’t say anything.”
“It’s cheating, Aunt Pearl. I don’t want any part of it. You accuse Desiree of cheating, but you do exactly the same thing.”
“No, Cen. Unlike Desiree, I don’t use other people’s wine and relabel it as my own.”
I wagged my finger at her. “You’re worse because you make fake wine.”
“I didn’t see you complaining when you were drinking it,” she said.
“Undo the spell, Aunt Pearl.”
“The spell on Antonio’s wine or the one on Ruby’s wine?”
“You didn’t.”
“I’m afraid I did. I’m getting too old to keep track of all the active spells I’ve got going on right now.”
“Isn’t there a way to tell?” I wondered if she had one on me. If she did, I wasn’t sure how to tell, and there was no point in asking because I’d never get a straight answer.
Aunt Pearl shook her head. “Not in this case. I’ve got spells layered on top of other spells on top of other spells. Now things are too complicated even for me. I can’t remember how I left off.”
“Your memory is fine, Aunt Pearl. Stop making excuses and undo your spells. Antonio won’t want to win by cheating.”
“He doesn’t know what’s good for him, Cen. Cheating is the only way Lombard Wines will survive. Everybody else does it. I’ve got to at least level the playing field against that cheater Desiree. No one can deny that Antonio’s wine is the winner. In fact, it’s so good that it’s even better than Ruby’s wine.”
“Is that what this is all about? You’re trying to beat Mom because you’re jealous of her winemaking skills?”
“Of course not,” Aunt Pearl said. “Ruby’s Witching Hour Red Merlot is absolutely exquisite. But this—this is beyond exquisite. It is to die for.”
“If you won’t undo your spell, then I will,” I warned.
“You can’t undo another witch’s spell, Cen. Even if you could, that would count as cheating too.”
“Watch me.” I was just about to cast a reversal spell when Antonio returned from the cellar with a flushed and breathless Trina close behind.
I didn’t believe for a moment that my reversal of a misguided spell was cheating. I was putting things right.
My spell would simply undo Aunt Pearl’s mischief and put Antonio and his wine back where they had started. But putting everything back to the way it was also meant that Antonio wouldn’t be ready for the wine show, nor would he have even the remotest chance of saving Lombard Wines.
Was that really what I wanted to do?
Reversing Aunt Pearl’s spell meant eliminating hope.
I followed rules but I wasn’t heartless.
What kind of world would we live in if we didn’t have hope?
Chapter 9
A light drizzle fell from the skies when Tyler arrived to pick me up for the wine festival shortly before 9 a.m.
I wanted to ask him about yesterday and our canceled plans but decided against it. He was quiet and subdued, like he had something on his mind.
He didn’t seem like himself.
He caught me looking at him and glanced over at me. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I said. “You seem kind of…quiet.”
“Just tired, Cen. Sorry about last night. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”
I smiled, feeling a little better. Spending the whole day with Tyler at the wine festival was fine with me, though I couldn’t stop wondering about his surprise. Judging by his mood, I had the feeling it would be postponed today, too. I pushed it out of my mind. If I expected too much, I was bound to be disappointed.
The wine festival didn’t officially start for another hour, but our early arrival allowed me to view each winery’s booth and chat with the exhibitors before the venue became crowded with tipsy wine tasters. I still had a few last-minute details to add to my event day feature wine festival story. It was almost complete, except for the names of the winning wines in each category and any happenings during the day. But most of all, I wanted to make sure that Antonio’s booth was up and running. Given his current mental state, I wasn’t confident that he could pull everything together, even with Trina’s help.
Tyler had barely turned into the school parking lot when he had to steer around Aunt Pearl’s massive RV.
Pearl’s Palace was parked haphazardly across two spots, partially blocking the entrance. Tables were set up outside the RV, taking up additional parking space.
She had almost certainly done it on purpose to stir up trouble and see what she could get away with. She probably hoped to provoke a confrontation with Tyler just for the fun of it. He was now the second-longest serving sheriff, and she hadn’t run him out of town yet. I had no doubt that she would die trying.
Her antics mostly amused Tyler, though I wondered how he’d feel about the attraction spell she had placed on Antonio and Trina. Not to mention the enhancement spell she had placed on Antonio’s wine, and probably, Mom’s wine too.
There were some things I simply couldn’t tell Tyler. While he knew we were witches, I saw no point in revealing things that he could do nothing about. It would only frustrate him.
Aunt Pearl had her wand in everything.
What if she actually had placed an attraction spell on Tyler? His affection for
