magical cures 06.5 - a charming christmas (7 page)

BOOK: magical cures 06.5 - a charming christmas
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I tried to put the phone conversation with Oscar behind me. It was not going to help my intuition and others; which my future relied on as well as the economy of Whispering Falls.

I plucked a couple bottles of dried Marigold from the shelf and threw them in the pot with the economy in my heart and mind. Calendula officinalis, Marigold for short, was really good to heal wounds of any kind. My intuition told me it was a good ingredient to use to help heal the wounds of the economy. With a pinch of cinnamon, mint, and bay added to the frothy mixture, I was well on my way to finishing the potion. The thin elixir turned sapphire with obsidian flecks, letting me know it was ready for the final ingredient. A couple of drips of wax from a green candle.

I grabbed one of the green candles out from underneath the counter and lit it. Carefully I held the candle over the cauldron and watched as the two drops of melted wax bubbled the tonic to a crimson, shutting off the cauldron automatically; letting me know it was finished brewing. If I would’ve known the state of the economy, I would have made up this potion a long time ago and let it simmer under the sky until the new full moon.

“Perfect,” I said, brushing my hands off over top the cauldron making sure I got all the herbs off my hands. There was no need to waste any part of a good potion.

Madame Torres lit up, causing me to look over at her. Oscar filled the globe. He was dressed in old dirty clothes. His neat brown hair was greasy and pasted down on his head. His steel blue eyes were dull and intense. The whiskers on his face were thicker than I had ever seen them.

I grabbed my crystal ball and rushed back to the storage room. I sat her on the small table in front of the sofa and sat on the edge, trying to get a good look at where he was. He acted as though he didn’t know who he was.

“Pull out,” I ordered her to show the entire scene.

Oscar was standing in the middle of the Locust Grove Piggly Wiggly. He had his hand out, taking money from people passing by. He needed me. It wasn’t too long ago he had denounced his heritage in order to save me, erasing from his mind his spiritualist gifts. Was he having residual effects of that? Was he sick?

“I’ve got to go.” I grabbed Madame Torres and rushed out of the storage room. I dug deep in my bag and snatched my phone from the bottom. “Faith,” I called Faith Mortimer. She worked for me in the shop from time-to-time. “Can you please come work the day here? I have an emergency.”

True to her word, she was down the street and behind the counter in no time.

“Are you okay?” Her thin, pale face grew still and serious.

“I’m fine.” I didn’t have time to confide in anyone else. I had to go rescue the man I loved. “I’m not sure if I will be back before closing, but I’ll be back for the ceremony.”

I grabbed my bag with Madame Torres rolling around in the bottom, Mr. Prince Charming at my feet. I had to get to Oscar as quick as I could. Faith would be able to take care of Tiffany and anyone else in the shop.

“Oh!” I snapped my fingers and twirled around on my toes. “Constance should be in here to get the mojo bag on the counter with her name on it. Give her Patience’s antlers too, please.”

“Aye, aye, Captain.” Faith saluted me.

“June!” Ophelia rushed in on my way out. The bell over the door rapidly dinged back and forth. “I need your help,” she cried. There was a look of despair on her face.

“I’m in a bit of a hurry.” I shoved past her.

“But I need you!” Ophelia grabbed my arm. Her tears stung the edges of her eyes. “The Whispering Falls Grinch stole all my holly, wreath, and garland along with the song books and Santa’s kettle! Santa quit and so did the carolers. What am I going to do?”

“Ophelia,” I pulled her out onto the steps of the shop and out of the way of incoming customers. I smiled and nodded at them politely as they passed. “I have to get somewhere really fast. So I’m going to have to talk about this with you later.”

“But, June,” she stammered, “you said you’d help me whenever I needed you.”

“I will.” I gripped my bag, wishing I had grabbed my cape, but there was no time. “I have someone else who needs me a little bit more right now.”

I bolted down the steps, throwing my bag across my body, and around the shop, up the hill to my cottage where the Green Machine, my ’88 two-toned green El Camino, was buried under the snow.

I used my whole arm and ran it down the hood, side and windshield of the car to brush off the snow, not caring if I got frostbite. Oscar was in trouble. Madame Torres showed me that and if I didn’t get to the Piggly Wiggly in time, he might wander off.

The Green Machine rattled from the cold, but started right up. I pushed the heat all the way to the right and cranked the old style knob. Mr. Prince Charming jumped up on the dash and curled up near the heating duct, though it was still blowing cold. It would heat up pretty quickly.

“Are we ready?” I rubbed the dash for luck and looked at Mr. Prince Charming. He looked back at me without lifting his head.

I pulled the gearshift down into drive. The snow groaned as the tires rolled over it. I prayed I wouldn’t get stuck in the snow. Surely the sunshine had melted enough to get me into Locust Grove.

The Green Machine took the curves and hugged the road all the way to Locust Grove. I passed our childhood homes, aching for the long ago days of no stress when it was just my little homeopathic booth at the local flea market and Oscar was a Locust Grove police officer.

The Piggly Wiggly was on the other side of town. It seemed like it took forever to get through town because everyone and their brother seemed to be out, happy to not be snowed in anymore.

From a distance I could see Oscar still on the sidewalk of the Piggly Wiggly.

Adeline, my friend who owned the Piggly Wiggly came out of the store. She whispered something into his ear. His hand rested on the small of her back.

My eyes widened, my jaw dropped, but the oncoming car beeping at me to get back in my lane caused me to swerve off the road and into the ditch right in front of the Piggly Wiggly.

“Mr. Prince Charming!” I screamed when I realized what had happened. He was on top of the dash right in front of me. Eye-to-eye. His claws dug into the dashboard. His tail straight as a stick. My fingers felt like they were super-glued to the steering wheel.

My chest heaved up and down. He drew in his claws, and batted at my charm bracelet on my wrist.

“Oh,” I sobbed and grabbed him, closed my eyes and cuddled him close to me. The cold air whipped around me when someone flung the driver’s side door open.

“June?” Oscar bent down, looking into the car. “Are you okay?”

Relief swept over me and opened the floodgate of tears. He scooted into the inches of vacant seat next to me and wrapped Mr. Prince Charming and me in his arms.

 

 

Chapter Eight

 

“No, sir.” Oscar was talking on his phone while I was resting in the employee room in the back of the Piggly Wiggly on the ratty old couch Adeline had in there for employee breaks. “I didn’t get to see him pull up. There was a car wreck and I felt like it was my duty to help them.” He conveniently left out the fact it was me he was referring to, his fiancée.

“Here you go.” Adeline tiptoed back into the employee room with an ice water for me, and a small bowl of milk for Mr. Prince Charming. She handed me a sack. “I know you love June’s Gems.” Her brows lifted and she sat down next to me.

Adeline had begun to sell Wicked Good Bakery goods in the grocery store. Faith drove the little Wicked Good car back and forth, making the weekly deliveries for her sister.

Oscar hung up the phone and Adeline left the room.

“June, what are you doing here? Who is running the store?” He sat next to me and rubbed his hand over my hair, playing with a strand around his finger.

“What are you doing here? The roads are fine.” I wasn’t going to answer any of his questions. Seeing him here made me mad. Made me forget how upset and heartbroken I was.

“I was going to tell you tonight.” He stood up. An inexplicable look of withdrawal came over his face.

“Don’t.” I put my hand up in front of me. I didn’t want to hear the words of how he wasn’t in love with me any longer and wanted to break off the engagement. I would rather just take off my mother’s ring and give him a clean out.

I stood up in front of him and slipped the ring off my finger. “No explanation necessary.”

“What?” Oscar clasped his hands around mine. “What are you saying?” His eyes searched my face.

“I’m saying you don’t have to break it off. I understand. I mean,” My eyes slid up and down his body, taking in his disheveled appearance, though he was still handsome.

“This?” He dropped his hands and looked down his body. “No,” he shook his head. “You have it all wrong.” He grabbed my hand again, taking out the ring, and pushing back on my finger. “I love you, June Heal. You and I are getting married.”

An audible groan escaped from Mr. Prince Charming, who was now on the arm of the couch trying to get a good seat to see what was going on.

“But,” I swallowed. “What about the candlelit dinner at your house?”

“You stopped by the house?” he asked.

“Let’s say I knew you weren’t alone the other night.” I didn’t deny his question but I wasn’t going to lie and say I didn’t have Madame Torres spy on him.

“Sonny Butcher stopped by the other night after I got snowed in because he wanted to talk to me more about his offer.” Oscar eased me down on the couch. He kneeled between my legs. “I didn’t want to alarm you, but the economy in Whispering Falls doesn’t warrant two sheriffs.”

“I know all about it.”

“Oh. I was trying to protect you and not alarm you.” His eyes dipped. I looked down. His finger tipped my chin up. “I love you and I want to work. Sonny and I had gone to school together. He called me when he realized I wasn’t in Locust Grove because he took over as sheriff. They have a part-time position on the force and he offered it to me.”

“Oh.” I blushed, knowing my wild mind had gone on a goose chase.

“It works out perfect. I will work part-time in Whispering Falls and part-time in Locust Grove.” His hands rubbed up and down my thighs. “Today was my first day on the job. I’m undercover as a bum because Adeline said someone’s been getting out of a fancy car, setting up a donation kettle, and posing as an illegal Santa.”

“You were undercover?” I smiled. The sexiness of the idea sent my heart soaring.

“Yes.”

I scrubbed his messy hair with my hands. Gathering me into his arms, he held me snuggly. My head buried into his neck, I breathed a kiss there. He pulled back, gazed into my eyes before his mouth moved over mine. Devouring me as though I was going somewhere.

“It’s an employee break room, not a hotel room.” Adeline shooed us to stop making out.

“He smells anyway.” I giggled, lifting my hand fanning it in front of my nose. “Boy, did I have it all wrong.” I was almost ashamed to admit I had thought he was cheating on me.

“Sonny came over to the house and had dinner with me. He brought take-out and the snow knocked the power out. I had candles and lit those plus the fire for warmth.” Oscar continued to put my mind at ease. “So.”

“Did I miss something?” Adeline picked up my sour-puss of a cat and rubbed down his fur. He wasn’t about to purr in delight.

“No.” I took Mr. Prince Charming and kissed his forehead, putting him down next to me. “What about my car?”

“The tow truck pulled it out. There looks like a little damage on the bumper, but that’s it,” Adeline gestured to the door. “I’ve got to get back to work. The Santa hasn’t showed up today. Maybe June scared him off.” She laughed before leaving the room.

“Are you ready to go home?” Oscar put his hand out and helped me up off the couch.

“Yes, but we have a problem.” I sucked in a deep breath and told him about the Whispering Falls Grinch and Arabella’s protest that was probably about to take place.

“It looks like I need to get back to Whispering Falls.” He snugged an arm around me and we walked out of the Piggly Wiggly with a disgruntled white cat at our feet.

 

 

Chapter Nine

 

I was right. When Oscar and I got back to Whispering Falls, Arabella was in full protest mode. The only other person with her was Patience Karima and she was too busy to carry a protest sign due to the ostrich she was trying to tackle and keep her candy cane away from.

We pulled into the empty parking space in front of A Charming Cure.

“You were right. Everyone has gone nuts.” Oscar slammed the driver’s side door of the Green Machine.

We had left his car in Locust Grove. Since he was going to be going back and forth, I had made a lunch date in Locust Grove with Adeline and I’d drop him off at work.

“Are you sure you are okay?” Oscar walked around, helping me out of the passenger side.

Mr. Prince Charming jumped out and darted up the street. A jingle bell fell off the tip of his tail and rolled to my foot. I bent down and picked it up, sticking it with the other jingle bells I had collected.

“I’m fine.” I took Oscar’s hand. “My shop was really pretty with the decorations.”

Even though my little mystery with Oscar and the romantic dinner that never took place was solved, my gut still felt uneasy. My intuition told me I needed to figure out who was the Whispering Falls Grinch.

“I bet it was.” He helped me up the steps of the shop and turned to me before we opened the door. “Do you mind if I go catch up with Colton about the vandalism?”

“Not at all.” I gave him a kiss on the lips. “Go save the day.” I batted my lashes. “My hero.”

He grinned a sexy smile and darted down the steps and across the crowded street. The Whispering Falls Grinch didn’t seem to have an affect on the village tourists, they only seemed to be targeting shop owners and the decorations on the outside. But who?

Instead of going inside the shop, where I knew Faith was in total control, I glanced down the street. The sun had melted the snow on the sidewalks and I wondered if there were any clues under the snow as to who could’ve done such a thing.

BOOK: magical cures 06.5 - a charming christmas
12.14Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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