I heaved a sigh. “I sent him a text. No response.”
“You want to take the day off?”
I forced a laugh. “No. I’ll have plenty of time to hang around my empty house next week.” I patted her shoulder and went through my morning routine checking the inventory. No need to restock. What we had wasn’t moving. I checked the sales ledger, hoping to find a miscalculated total. The bottom line was still red.
Shortly before closing time, I shook myself out of my funk to ask Cassandra if Lucas had made his grand gesture and proposed yet. Her face lit up.
“Not yet. I think he’s waiting for my birthday in a couple of weeks. He suggested a fancy restaurant in Winnsboro.”
I shook a finger at her. “I’m going to want details.”
“You’ll be my first call.”
I laughed, and immediately felt better. “Your first call should probably be to your mother.”
“Okay, my second call,” she said. “You want to get dinner after work?”
I did, but I also didn’t want to be anyone’s pity project, even Cassandra’s. “No. I don’t need to disrupt your routine. I’ll be fine. See? Working today helped to get my mind off things.”
“You will be fine. You know that, right?”
“And so will you.”
We closed the store, hugged one more time and I headed home. I did my usual check in the workroom. Still no open grimoires. I’d have to find a job, and soon. With no product to make, I did something I rarely took the time to do and turned on the television while I ate my dinner. The news ended with a breaking story they promised to report more on at ten o’clock about a drug raid.
I shot a glance out the window, across the street. If the spell that had transferred to Kyle was realized, he’d be facing charges by this time next week, but he’d made it clear he didn’t want my help—as if I could help. Whatever had halted my magic hadn’t resolved. One more thing I’d failed at. Would my magic return next week, after the spell was completed?
I huffed, struggling not to fall into my pit of despair, and turned my attention to the mindless distraction of television.
The Wednesday night slate of sitcoms helped to lighten my mood. I turned the television off before the late news started and checked the workroom one more time. Still no special orders. Resigned, I walked up the staircase, and sat on my bed. I glanced at the music box I’d bought at the Hillendale rummage sale years ago, picked it up and wound the key. Blackbird, the lullaby my mother had sung to me when I was little, provided the comfort I needed to fall asleep.
On Thursday morning, I sat at the dining table checking job listings when my phone chimed with a text. My heart leapt, hoping Ian had decided to respond, but when I checked, the text was from Kyle.
Kyle: Did you see the news?
Brynn: No.
Kyle: I’m free to tell you about Daria now. Do you have a minute?
I stared at my phone, anxious to know how he might have fixed what I couldn’t, and yet I was still angry with him.
Brynn: I’m scrambling to get ready for work. You can stop into the shop when it opens.
Kyle: See you then.
Okay, so I wasn’t scrambling, but I didn’t want to be alone when I saw him this time. I didn’t trust what I might say to him, and having Cassandra there to provide balance ensured I would remain civil.
I went about my morning routine, and when I arrived at the shop at ten, Cassandra bubbled with excitement.
She clutched my arm, her eyes wide. “A customer who was in the store over the weekend left a message. She said she noticed we were going out of business and asked where I would be taking my designs. When I told her I hadn’t made a final decision yet—” Cassandra rolled her eyes. We both knew she didn’t have a place to take them “—She asked if I wanted floor space at her shop in Milwaukee.” She bounced on her toes.
“Congratulations,” I said. “You should get much better exposure there.”
“Right?”
The bell over the door rang, and Yvonne hurried in, glancing nervously from one to the other of us. “Have you seen the news?”
“You mean about Kyle?” Cassandra asked.
Yvonne wore a big smile. “Roxanne said the county has offered him a job as a deputy. Now the two of you can go ahead and get married.”
“I think we’ve passed that bridge,” I said. “But I’m happy for Kyle.”
“Well, this is what he was waiting for, isn’t it?” Yvonne asked, clearly confused.
Rhoda Christenson was next. “Did you hear?” She addressed Yvonne. “Jude will have to find someone else to help with the renovations now, of course, but we’re all so happy for Kyle.”
I looked at Cassandra. “What did I miss?”
Kyle appeared outside the shop window, stopped, and then walked in.
“We’re so happy for you,” Yvonne told him.
Rhoda smiled, and the two women walked out together.
Cassandra eyed Kyle, then turned to me. “I think I’ll give the two of you a minute to chat,” she said.
Chapter 32
“The drug charges against Perry Stephens have been dropped,” Kyle said. “Seems their star witness has dirty hands.”
“Perry Stephens? Madeleine’s brother?” I asked.
He waved me to a seat on the stool beside the sales counter. “While I was staking Daria out, I noticed suspicious activity in and out of her apartment. I mentioned it to Roxanne, and she suggested I bring in Deputy Becker since it was out of her jurisdiction.”
I waited, while he apparently felt he deserved affirmation. “Go on,” I said.
“Daria was the one selling drugs. I figured the only way to take the air out of what you predicted could happen was to get ahead of it and call other people in. See? I took care of the problem. You don’t have anything more to worry about.”
I nodded slowly. “Good for
