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Matt’s mouth dropped open then quickly shut. He closed his eyes and whispered, “Oh shit.”
“Knock knock!” Hollie said as she slipped into my office holding a basket.
I stood and quickly made my way over to her. After kissing her on the lips, I bent over to kiss the baby. “How are you both feeling today?”
“Good. I thought the time difference would mess me up, but I’m actually okay. How’s your first day back at work?”
“Interesting,” I said as I walked around my desk, signed out of my laptop, and put it in sleep mode. “You ready for our picnic?”
A wide grin appeared on Hollie’s face. “I am! Sorry I’m late. I stopped by my mom’s, and Sarah and Lucy were there.”
“Not at the store?”
“No, they wanted to take the day off since I was back in town. When they found out I was planning on having lunch with you, Sarah decided to head to the store and open it for a half day. Mom and Lucy are enjoying a sister’s afternoon together.”
“That’s nice,” I said, putting my hand on Hollie’s back and guiding her out of the office.
Hollie flashed me a smile and asked, “Did you have a place in mind for the picnic?”
“How about Forest River Park?”
“Perfect!”
As soon as we got the basket in the car and started to head to the park, I cleared my throat. “An old friend of mine is back living in Salem after being in Maine for the last few years. He was a city planner there.”
“Really?” Hollie asked, trying to sound surprised and failing.
“His mother got sick, but she’s okay now. His parent’s decided to retire here in Salem, and he said it felt like it was calling him to return home.”
Hollie jerked her head to look at me. “Is that right?”
I nodded, and when I came to a stoplight, I looked directly at her.
“Hollie, you already know who I’m talking about.”
“Do I?”
Sighing, I said, “Matt Merlin. I’m not sure if you remember him from when we were little. He lived across the street from me. Shawn and I were good friends with him.”
“I remember him. Sarah said every time she sees him now, he glowers at her. She has no idea why he dislikes her so much other than the fact that she’s practicing witchcraft.”
When the light turned green, I made a U-turn.
“What are you doing?”
“We need to go talk to Sarah at the store. I think I can clear up why Matt has an issue with Sarah.”
“Is it only Sarah? The way she and Lucy made it sound, he has a problem with anything magick.”
With a shake of my head, I reached for her hand. “I think it goes deeper than that. I’ll explain once we get to the store.”
Hollie looked out the window then back in my direction. I could feel her eyes on me. “Sarah liked him when she was younger.”
“Did she?” I asked, surprised.
“Yes. She’ll deny it, but I’m pretty sure I remember her talking about him. I don’t remember him going to school with us, though.”
“He never went to school with us. He went to a private school.”
