Page 5 of Herbs & Hex-breaking

Going forward, I would now have Taylor working with me on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and half days on Friday. On Saturday she would continue to float between my shop and Circe’s. Toni was now scheduled to work three afternoons a week, as soon as her classes were finished for the day. On Sundays, she would be with Circe at the candle shop all day.

A week later, I wondered how we’d ever gotten by without the two sisters. Halloween was only a few days away, and as predicted, our sales had been strong. That day especially had extremely heavy foot traffic. While I swept the floor, Taylor was beginning to run the closing reports for the day. She had a small pad of paper at her elbow and was working her way down the checklist I’d made for her.

“And hit ‘run report’…” she muttered to herself as she pressed the touch screen.

I waited for her to glance up before I spoke. “You’re doing great.”

“Thanks.” She grinned. “I know you prefer to do the paperwork yourself...”

I shrugged. “At first I did, but now that the store’s more established, I need to—”

“Stop being so obsessive and learn to unclench?” Circe finished for me as she strolled over.

I rotated the broom and swatted my cousin across the butt with the bristles, making her yelp and jump back.

“Sassy!” Circe grinned at me.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“I came over to tell you,” she replied, “after checking today’s sales numbers, that I’ve broken all my sales records so far. Even black Friday from last year!” Circe held up a hand to me, waiting for a high five.

“That’s great!” I smacked my palm against hers in celebration.

Taylor waved me over. “Kate, take a look at the preliminary sales report. I think you’re going to be pretty happy.”

I went over to see the screen and did a double take when I saw the sales total. “Holy cats!” I exclaimed.

“Did you break your sales record too?” Circe wanted to know.

“I’ll have to double check to be sure, but I’m damn close,” I told her.

Behind me there was a polite knock on my glass front door. Turning to look, I spotted Hattie Broussard standing out on the sidewalk holding a garment bag. I waved and she flashed me a nervous smile.

For the past few days I’d kept an eye out for her, and she’d finally made it in. I went straight to the door to unlock it. “Hey, Hattie.”

“I came after close,” she said. “Didn’t want to interrupt during business hours.”

“Come in, come in.” I held the door open for her. As soon as she cleared the threshold, I relocked the door. “Taylor,” I said, glancing over. “If you could finish up the reports, Hattie and I are going to have a chat.”

“Sure thing,” Taylor said, returning her eyes to the screen.

I ushered Hattie to the back of the sales floor, where we could have a bit of privacy.

“Your text was pretty mysterious,” I said. “What’s up?”

Hattie Broussard was pretty, in a fresh-out-of-college sort of way. Her brown hair swung loosely down her back, and she wore jeans, sneakers and a green Broussard Family Nursery polo shirt.

“I need your help,” she said, keeping her voice low. “It was my Granny who suggested that I come and speak to you. She told me that she knew your Mama’s people and said that they all have power.”

“Yes, they do,” I said.

“Granny thought you could help me...and honestly, I didn’t know who else I could talk to about this.” Hattie blew out a long breath. “So, I came to see you today—as a friend,” she said, swallowing nervously. “To find out whether or not my wedding gown has been cursed.”

I kept my facial expression neutral, even as my mind whirled with the possibilities.

Occasionally I would run across folks who came into my shoppe with wild tales and claims of being the victim of dark magick. Typically, they wanted attention or had worked themselves into a tizzy because they were new to magick and worried they’d somehow accidentally hexed themselves.

But this was different. Hattie, her mother, and grandmother had all been faithful customers of mine since I had opened. I was well acquainted with the Broussard family. Not only did I buy my plants to sell from them, but I was also a frequent customer of theirs. Their nursery was successful and the mundane standing in front of me was as nice and normal as they came.