“Thank you,” Mandaline said. She’d thought she was doing okay, but now she felt an energy crash drawing close. She did need some alone time, and fast, to recharge her emotional batteries.
He addressed his next comment to Grover. “I’m guessing you’re handling this all the way through?”
“It’s officially going through Pete Boyle’s office. He agreed to rubber-stamp everything for me, pro bono, for Mandaline. I’m doing all the prep. But yes, I’m the one walking it all the way through.”
He nodded, then signed the several copies of the order. “Then let’s get this recorded for her so she can get on with what she needs to do.” He handed Grover the paperwork. “I wish all the lawyers made my job this easy, Grover.” He shook hands with him before offering another smile to Mandaline. “Again, I’m sorry for your loss. I know you were very close to her.”
“Thank you, your honor.”
She followed Grover as he handled the filing process at the clerk’s office and got certified copies of the order for her. Then he walked her back across the street to the store.
“You have my number,” he said. “Call me if you need anything before the next hearing, all right?” He laughed. “Hell, you know where to find me five mornings a week.” He pointed at Libbie’s bakery. “Come on over.”
She hugged him. “I can’t thank you enough for everything.”
“No worries.” He grinned, flashing teeth. “Just keep your daily orders coming and keep Libbie busy.”
“I will, don’t worry.”
Inside the store, she found six people queued up and waiting to place orders at the counter while Sachi, Paige, and Mina scrambled around handling other orders. There were at least twenty people in the store, some already having been served, some browsing. Mandaline quickly left the papers on the desk in the office and grabbed an apron to help out. By the time they got caught up, and Sachi was in back doing a private reading for a customer, it was nearly two o’clock and Paige had a chakras class starting in ten minutes.
Mina wiped down the counter. “You came back just in time. We were starting to panic a little.”
“I can’t believe it’s still this busy on a weekday.”
“That was nothing. You should have seen it while you were gone. It’s like everyone and their brother is coming in today. I’ve seen Saturdays that weren’t a fraction this busy.”
“Oh, no! I’ve got to walk poor Pers!” She found the little dog waiting at the bottom of the steps when she opened the door to the stairwell. She scooped him up and raced toward the back door. “I’m so sorry, puppy.” She grabbed his leash from its hook by the back door and snapped it onto his collar. He nearly dragged her to his favorite strip of grass behind the store where he spent a minute relieving himself.
Something else she needed to get used to. She was now a dog guardian, as well as being owned by a cat.
She knelt down and waited for him to finish. “Sorry, Pers. I promise I’ll get better at this.”
When he finished, he walked over to her and put his tiny paws up on her knee, stretching his body to lick her nose. Apparently all was forgiven on his end.
“Thanks.” She spent a moment loving up on him, letting him sniff along the strip of grass behind the store. The employees all parked behind the building, where a large alley separated it from the block of buildings to the west of them. Those buildings also had rear parking areas, leaving plenty of open area between the buildings.
Mandaline stared at the empty parking space behind their building where Julie’s Honda Element would usually be parked. A purple and green sign on the building marked the space and read, Witches Only—All Others Will be Toad.
She scooped Pers up and fought the urge to burst into tears again. The mechanic where Julie’s SUV had been towed had called two days earlier to say that it was fixed and ready to pick up. Steven Corey had disabled the vehicle, as well as the two of his own, on that afternoon to prevent their escape.
Correction, George Simpson had made him do it.
She looked at her twenty-year-old Chevy. Part of her didn’t want to drive Julie’s SUV. It felt wrong somehow.
But she knew Julie would gently chide her for those feelings. Especially since she now owned it.
She felt the crash, which she’d pushed back upon seeing the packed store, creeping up again with a vengeance.
“Let’s take a nap, Pers. What do you say?”
He licked her on the nose again.
She returned inside, leaving his leash on the hook by the door. She had almost made it to the stairwell doorway when she remembered she couldn’t leave Mina alone to watch the counter when they were that busy.
“Rain check on the nap, sweetie,” she said. She set him down and shooed him up the stairs, closing the door behind him. Then she walked around to the counter. “Okay, I’m back. Sorry about that. How are we doing?”
“Pers isn’t the only one in need of a bathroom break,” Mina joked as she removed her apron and hurried down the hall.
I need to take them all out to dinner when we get through this.
As she took the order of a couple who came in shortly after Mina headed back, Mandaline noticed for the first time the burgeoning pile of envelopes stuffed into a small plastic crate tucked under the counter where the register sat. She quickly averted her eyes from it and focused on not screwing up the customers’ orders.
Cards. She’d have to handle those sooner or later. Maybe ask Sachi to stay late and help…
No. I can’t do that. She came in so early. I’ll have to suck it up and do it.
Mina returned and had started to ask Mandaline something about creating a replenishment order for the coffee and drink supplies when the front-door bell tinkled again.
Goddess! Mandaline turned, a practiced smile ready, to see Bradley Sawyer walk in. He looked around hesitantly before spying her and heading her way with a sweet smile on his face.
Beside her, Mina let out a soft whistle. “He is a cutie, isn’t he?”
Mandaline didn’t answer. She stepped around the corner and extended her hand. “Hi, Brad. Nice to see you again.”
When his hand connected with hers, it felt like she’d grabbed hold of a live electric wire. White heat pinballed throughout her body, centering squarely between her legs. She felt herself falling into his sweet brown eyes.
“Can we talk?” he softly asked.
She wordlessly nodded and led him to her office, where she closed the door.
She turned and looked up at him. His body felt so warm, so strong pressed against hers. She found her arms draping around his neck. He pulled her close and backed her up against the desk, grabbing her hips and effortlessly lifting her onto it. His lips slanted over hers and he tasted like sweet chocolate, his breath buzzing through her. She wrapped her legs around him, which hiked her long skirt up past her thighs. Then she was rubbing herself against the large bulge that had grown in the front of his faded denim jeans.
She softly mewed when his tongue breached the seam of her lips, flicking against hers even as his hips took up a rhythm matching hers. So close, she felt so close—
The tinkle of the doorbell made her blink. She still stood there next to the counter, her hand engulfed by Brad’s.
His eyes had grown wide. “I really think we need to talk,” he whispered. “Alone.”
She nodded as she reluctantly pulled her hand from his. “I’ll be right back,” she said to Mina in a shaky voice.
“Are you okay?” Mina asked.
“Yeah.”
She’d started to head for the office, then veered down the hallway to the back door.
Public. Need to stay public. Her legs felt shaky. She could still taste the chocolate on her tongue from his kiss.