The Hidden Grimoire by Karla Brandenburg (pride and prejudice read TXT) 📕

Why would Narcy’s sister—okay, I knew that woman’s name—come to town looking for me? And if Narcy had been a witch, like me, wouldn’t the family trait present once in a generation, the way it did in my family? Her sister couldn’t be a witch, could she?

I hadn’t done anything to provoke what Narcy had done to me. She had no reason to want me dead other than to prove she could take what I had away from me. If the woman Cassandra had met was Narcy’s sister looking to cause trouble, I hoped Cassandra had been able to discourage her from coming back.

Time to stop borrowing trouble. I had work to do.

For the moment, my botanicals were well-stocked. The bath salts always sold, but the other oils and fragrances tended to move more slowly in the winter months.

My mind wandered to what Jason had told me. If his wife had visited the shop, why hadn’t she introduced herself? Was she Narcy’s sister? No, I couldn’t fathom such a coincidence. I’d have to pay more attention to customers I didn’t recognize. If Jason’s wife was carrying a daughter who would be born with talents, she might appreciate someone who was willing to help. As for Jason, even after the accusations he’d hurled at me, I was inclined to believe Nora’s take that he was trying to protect his family.

I straightened the racks of Cassandra’s designer clothing and pondered wearing her more urban designs—the sharp angles and bright colors—to help move her stock. Nora had her own style, with her flowy throwback clothing. My style—or lack thereof—had always been simple. Jeans and blouses or tunics.

Wearing Cassandra’s clothes would make me feel inauthentic, at best. While Windfall didn’t do a booming business, we’d made enough to pay the bills thus far. I’d leave it to Cassandra to model her line.

A few orders had filtered in on the website, but I was in no danger of being overwhelmed with work. A message waited in the special request portal.

Over the summer, my sister bought perfume from you called Lily-Pepper. She gave it to me for my birthday. I do love the smell and was hoping for a refill.

My heart skipped a beat. The only person who’d requested perfume all summer had been Narcy. I’d blended Lily-Pepper to discourage her from hitting on Kyle, and it had backfired. Either that, or Narcy had worked magic of her own. If I responded to the woman who’d written, I opened the door for more trouble, and yet I’d always faced trouble head-on.

I stared at the reply screen several moments while I composed my thoughts, and then typed a response.

Thank you for your interest in our products. The fragrance you mentioned is not a regular stock item. Please let us know if there’s something else we can help you with.

There. That was straightforward enough.

Even though I’d only made the aphrodisiac antidote once, the formula was ingrained in my memory. Narcy had gone right for it when I’d put it on the sales table, as if she knew exactly what she was looking for. The perfume had called for thistle, which didn’t have a pleasant aroma on its own, and black pepper. The unusual combination mixed with lily of the valley created a unique fragrance, one which had made Kyle sneeze when that woman had opened it for him to smell.

My computer chimed as a new message arrived in the website portal, a reply from the same customer.

My sister said it was a custom blend. Is that something you can make for me?

I closed the top of my laptop, half expecting the woman to appear in front of me.

Chapter 8

Business was slow, not unusual for this time of year. My special-order customers visited and people browsed Cassandra’s clothing line. Some bought soaps and bath salts. Every time the bell over the door announced a customer, I jumped, wondering if that woman’s sister would ambush me.

None of my customers asked for Lily-Pepper.

When Kyle came in toward the end of the day, I told him about the messages on the website portal. “What should I do?” I asked.

“Considering it’s only one customer, I wouldn’t respond to her messages,” he said.

“I already did.”

“Then tell her you can’t help her. It might be an innocent inquiry, but don’t take any chances.” He wrapped his arms around me. “And considering Cassandra won’t be here for the next couple of days, I could hang around. I’m not working tomorrow.”

“You have projects at the house to finish,” I said. “You don’t have to babysit me.”

“Bodyguarding. Not babysitting. I can have the Sheriff’s Office look into the sister Narcy was visiting in Winnsboro. Not my jurisdiction, but Deputy Becker might be willing to check.”

I sighed. “I’m not sure that’s necessary. The chance Narcy’s sister is like her are pretty slim.”

He studied me a moment, as if trying to decide what ‘like her’ meant, and must have chosen not to ask. “She still might want revenge.” He raised his gaze toward the ceiling. “What is with people who want to take their anger out on you? You didn’t do anything.”

The story of my life, starting with my aunt Theresa. “I’m an easy target.”

“Not anymore. Come on. It’s time to close up shop. I’ll walk you home.” He crossed to the door and turned the lock, then set the sign to closed. In my shop.

A frisson of irritation crept across my skin. “I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.” The temptation to turn the sign to open, just so I could be the one to close the shop was strong, but it didn’t serve any purpose other than to assert myself. The shop was closed.

“As long as I’m around, I intend to do my part to protect you. I don’t want to lose you, Brynn.”

Okay, sometimes I appreciated when he got all macho man. His posturing might be irritating, but I wasn’t in this alone.

I secured the cash