Page 107 of Clearly Charmed

I held back my next thought. If Bryce’s article claimed what I thought it would, Dalton’s new restaurant would be packed, but that also meant Aster’s business and my practice would likely be flooded with a load of new weirdos.

Even knowing this, anticipating it, I’d decided that no matter what the article said, we had to stay. This was our home. Our life was here. My conversation with Ruthie had reminded me that my family tree had been shaken many times by accusations of magic but never been knocked down.

Magic. Even thinking the word gave me heartburn. I hadn’t let myself accept the thought that the connection I had with animals could be supernatural. I understood them. They understood me. In the end, that was all that mattered.

Elena and Aster continued to chat about the new plans for Dalton’s place. I swirled my spoon around in my drink. Images of the day Bryce first appeared here filled my mind. He’d hidden who he was, but he’d also reminded me that what I did was important. That it had an impact on the community. I just hoped everyone in Harvest Moon would remember that once the article was published.

‘Thinking about Bryce?’ Aster asked in between nibbles of her croissant.

‘Yeah,’ I confessed.

She took another bite, a smudge of chocolate taking up residence on the upper lip next to the deflated foam. God, she was a mess, but I loved her so much.

‘I stand by what I said. He is your match. Your soulmate.’

‘He’s not coming back, Ast, even if you’re right this time. His life, his career, is in LA.’

‘Whatever this is.’ She lowered her voice. ‘Intuition. Synesthesia. Magic.’ She wrinkled her nose. ‘The link between the two of you is strong. Mark my words, he’s not done with Harvest Moon yet.’

There was so much faith in her eyes that I didn’t want to argue. Too many other things were on shaky ground, and I wanted her to believe in this one concrete part of her life.

‘Heard from Lia?’ she asked.

‘She went on a three-day hike. Said she needed to clear her head. Would call when she got back.’

I’d seen Lia for exactly ten minutes since the moment she’d left our grandmother’s house the night of the fire. She still wouldn’t reconsider leaving Harvest Moon and was serious about staying away from Belladonna and Clo. I’d decided to give her the space she needed, but she couldn’t run from the truth forever.

Elena came back with new drinks for us, leaned her elbows on the counter and said, ‘What’s Lia told you about that hot blond guy who’s been hanging around town?’

‘You mean Aiden?’ Aster said, her eyes quickly flashing with amusement before she sobered. She’d seen something about him the day of Mara’s rescue but was keeping quiet about it.

‘Yeah. I saw him and Lia talking, well, more like arguing, outside the station last week.’

‘Arguing? About what?’ I said.

Elena shrugged. ‘Not sure, but it looked pretty intense.’

Crap. Lia didn’t need another worry in her life.

Aster continued to wolf down the rest of her croissant and eyed mine.

‘Here.’ I pushed the plate in her direction.

Elena went back to wiping down the counter. She was mid-scrub when she stopped and narrowed her gaze. ‘Uh, your sister’s back.’

The thud of heavy boot stomps made their way toward us. Lia appeared a second later, a chaos of dust, dirt and tangled brown curls. What was tucked underneath her arm made my blood go cold. ‘Is that what I think it is?’

Her eyes softened, and I hated how her chin trembled as she nodded at me.

She laid the glossy magazine on the counter. The four of us stared at it like it was a venomous insect we were all too afraid to touch.

‘Did you read it yet?’ I asked breathlessly.

‘No. I wanted to do it with you two.’ She deflated onto a stool next to Aster. ‘I’m sorry I ran away the night of the fire. We’ve always tackled the difficulties of our life together, but this time I left you hanging.’ Her lower lip trembled and Aster squeezed her hand. ‘I hope you can forgive me and accept that I will never walk away from you guys again. That as long as you’re in Harvest Moon, I will be too.’

Ruthie’s words about the strength of Ambrosia and Sylvia played in my head. No matter what happened next, I was sure the three of us would be okay, because we had our bond, our love, our sisterhood, to see us through.

Elena dabbed at her eyes with the corner of her apron. ‘Every time you guys make up after a fight, it makes me wish I had a sister.’