Page 41 of Clearly Charmed

Clo and Ms Ruthie were perched in the row in front of me, swapping quiet whispers about the real reason we were all gathered here. The town’s Veggie Fest was in peril due to a recent downpour that had flooded many of the town’s dry fields, wreaking havoc on some of the monster-sized vegetables the locals grew for the summertime festival that happened in two weeks. The event had to be a success as it brought in almost twenty percent of the town’s tourism revenue for the year.

Lia took the empty spot beside me, her muddy boots leaving a trail of brownish-red footprints in her wake. ‘Where’s Ast?’ She used her bandana to wipe the sweat from her forehead. She had to be boiling in those khaki pants and steel-toed boots.

‘Preparing for the Desiray wedding. Apparently, they sent Stargazer lilies instead of white for the table arrangements. When Marley’s mother found out, her head practically spun around like that kid in The Exorcist.’

Lia gave me an amused look.

‘Aster’s words, not mine.’

Marley Desiray was a big deal in Harvest Moon. She’d done a lot of local theater and had a small part in a critically acclaimed independent film, which practically made her a celebrity in this two-stoplight town. Marley happened to be in Aster’s high school graduating class, so she felt pressure to make sure the wedding flowers were extra special. It was also the first time in a while she hadn’t made the match. She’d confided in me that it was a relief to be able to focus on her one job for this wedding: making the bouquets and table settings perfect.

Ms Ruthie patted Flora on the head before giving a friendly wave to Lia. ‘How are the trails looking today?’

‘Messy. We’ve had mudslides on at least four of them. When we have drought conditions, and then get a bunch of rain, things get dicey real quick. Chief Malbrough decided to rope off a few paths leading up to the ridge because I told him we were going to get more storms in the next few days. Not good when we have so many tourists here, many of whom ignore the closed trail signs.’

Elena hustled down the steps of the amphitheater toward us. I scooched across the cement bench to make room for her.

‘Sorry I’m late. The milk frother is clogged on the espresso machine again. What did I miss?’

‘Not much, except for Eric and Judge Greene running around like their asses are on fire,’ Lia offered.

Elena pulled in a heavy breath, and I slung an arm around her shoulder. ‘You okay?’

‘Yeah, a little tired is all. I forget how chaotic the summer months can be. The tourists always wring me out. Every year they throw some new odd coffee order at me, and I have to scour the internet to figure out what the hell they’re talking about.’

‘What is it this year? Can’t be any worse than that cold brew concoction with coconut mango whip,’ I said.

She rolled her eyes over last summer’s regular request. ‘It’s worse this time. They’re all asking for a lavender peppercorn latte.’

Lia made a gagging sound, and I patted Elena’s hand. ‘Only a few more weeks. Once that first cold snap hits us, they’ll hightail it back to their big cities.’

Elena and I continued to whisper about work when Ms Ruthie’s inquisitive gaze found me. She leaned in and whispered, ‘Did you take something from the archives? You know that’s against the rules.’

I froze in my spot, praying Clo did not hear the question. Unfortunately, my grandmother had hearing like she was part bat.

‘You were in the archives?’

The heat in Clo’s voice made Flora whine. ‘I, uh… had to do some research.’ I shot Ms Ruthie a scalding look.

‘Research on what?’ Clo pressed.

‘She was with that young man.’

Ms Ruthie was not helping. I made the move like I was holding handlebars, reminding her of the Vespa conversation, and her mouth snapped shut.

Clo narrowed her gaze. ‘What young man?’

‘Yeah, Dani. What young man?’ Lia was still stewing over my helping Bryce.

‘It was the guy who showed up the night of Aster’s birthday. The one with the sick dog. He’s here to write an article about the town, which I’m sure you’ve heard about.’

Clo’s lips thinned into an unhappy line.

‘I decided it was better for me to be involved. Steer the direction of the article in a certain way,’ I said. ‘Make it more about the town and its history rather than the crap about magic.’

Lia rolled her eyes. ‘And you think this seasoned journalist with numerous writing accolades is going to let you lead him around by the nose?’

Guess she’d done her research after we’d talked the other night.