Page 33 of Herbs & Hex-breaking

Dex held up his hands in surrender. “I’ve spoken to Kate. I’ve apologized, and we’re going to work it out.”

“Oh, is that right?” She sneered, getting right up in his face. “I don’t give a fuck who your people are, or how much influence the Poindexters have. Nobody treats my family badly and walks away from it easy. You hear me?”

Dex looked over to where I stood in the connecting doorway. “Yes,” he said. “I understand.”

With that, Circe tossed her head. “Lorna,” she said politely to Lorna, who’d appeared from out of the stacks about the same time that Circe had punched Dex.

“Circe,” Lorna returned with a straight face.

My cousin nodded at them both. “Excuse us,” she said. Taking me by the elbow, Circe led me out, firmly shut the connecting door between the apothecary and the bookstore. Then she flipped the locks.

“Wow,” I said. “You have such style, cousin.”

“My advice?” Circe said, steering me back to my front counter. “Stay away from him for a few days. Try and rebuild your psychic shields. Let’s see how he handles himself and how he treats you going forward.”

“I’ve thought the very same,” I confided to her.

“Good.” She nodded.

“I really love you,” I said. “And that picture of you punching him in the gut is going to help me get through the rest of my day.”

“He let me,” Circe confided. “I saw it in his eyes. He knew I was going to punch him, and he didn’t try and counter it in any way.”

Before I could say anything else, the alarm on my phone chimed. It was time to open the doors.

“Let’s get to work,” I said to Circe. “Thanksgiving is coming up fast, and I expect to be very busy this weekend with culinary herb sales.”

She nodded. “Taylor and Toni are coming in at eleven. If things get crazy over here, I’ll send Toni over to help.”

“I appreciate that,” I said, as two customers walked up to the front door, waiting for me to open.

“You built a hell of a business here, Kate,” Circe said as I pulled my keys from my pant pocket. “That’s something to take pride in.”

“Thanks, Circe,” I said.

“I got your back,” she reminded me as I unlocked the shop’s door. “You need anything else, you let me know.”

“Good morning!” I said to the women who stood smiling on the sidewalk. I held the door open wide for them. “Welcome to The Apothecary Shoppe.”

One of the women had a vest-wearing golden retriever with her. “Are service dogs welcome?” she asked.

“Absolutely,” I said.

The ladies and the leashed dog entered and began to shop. The dog was alert and ‘working’ as he walked alongside his mistress.

While the ladies browsed, I walked across the shop with my feather duster to work on one of the apothecary chest displays. I was surprised to find spider webs all over one section. Slipping in the back, I got out my peppermint oil spray and coated a dust rag with it. One by one, I lifted the decorative bottles to dust them off and wipe off any webs.

Going up on tiptoe, I searched to see if there were any spiders in the cubby where the bottles had been. I didn’t see any but sprayed the cubby anyway and wiped it out. I was finishing up rearranging the bottles when I felt a canine nose press against my legs.

Glancing down, I saw that the service dog had gone to the end of its leash and was sitting beside me, looking up and smiling.

“You’re supposed to be working,” I whispered.

The dog’s tail began to wag.

I checked the owner and she had a surprised expression on her face. “Goldie, heel.”

Goldie swung her head from me to the owner, and then back to me. But instead of returning to her owner’s side, she sat and lifted a paw for me to shake.