Skyla opened her mouth to say something to me, but then the waitress arrived so she left the words unspoken.
“Ready to order?”
I waited patiently while Ziggy ordered for himself and Skyla, and Cassidy ordered just about every fried item on the menu.
“Sweet tea and fried pickles, please?” I said, not looking directly at the woman. This time, I was trying to make a conscious effort not to get her attention.
“Oh! Fried pickles. I missed that,” Cassidy said. “An order of those for me too.”
The waitress chuckled. “Sure thing, though I don’t know where you’re going to put it all.”
“My boyfriend will help,” she said, nudging me playfully in the ribs.
The woman laughed, shook her head, and walked off.
“Sorry about that, earlier, I mean,” I told Cassidy.
She winked at me. “No problem.”
“So,” Ziggy began with a smile. “I bet you’re both wondering why you’re here.”
I inclined my head and waited.
Cassidy, who was sitting lotus style on the booth seat, fiddled nervously with the laces of her sneakers.
“We’ve been keeping an eye on your progress…both of you,” Skyla said, her voice sounding a little annoyed. “And the lack thereof. Cassidy, a prom date might seem like a small thing, but I have seen that it will have ripple effects on Twyla’s life. You need to get a move on.”
Cassidy nodded. “I totally agree. It’s just the boys around her are just that…boys. I don’t want her to spend all night trying to pry someone’s hands off her butt. I can’t seem to find—”
“I’ve seen someone…near the studio. In another wing in the same business complex. There’s someone there,” Skyla said, referring to the dance and yoga studio where Cassidy worked.
“The new fencing school, I’d bet. I’ll start there. Thanks, Skyla.”
She nodded.
“Rayne, we’ve seen your bees. Busy, busy, busy,” Ziggy said.
I nodded. “I cast a strong enchantment this morning, and the bees think they are on to something. Someone is coming. I know it. I’m getting there.”
Ziggy smiled. “We like Alice. Someone has been with that girl since she was just a mite. Hard nut to crack. She resists her fate at every turn. Stay on her.”
“And don’t get distracted,” Skyla said, lifting her little mirror.
“Well, at least not until the work is done,” Ziggy said, setting his hand on his wife’s arm. “Right?”
The gesture seemed to soften her a bit. Skyla looked at me, smiling sympathetically. “I have seen your struggle,” she said, looking from the small mirror to me once more. “All things have their season. Just see your work through. Remember your job. Your duty comes before any personal interests.”
“And when you’ve got Alice all settled, we can see what to do with you next,” Ziggy added.
“I hoped to stay in Chancellor.”
Ziggy smiled. “You wouldn’t be the first to stay there. Wasn’t there a faerie who got mixed up with the Chancellor coven back in the sixties?”
Skyla nodded. “What a mess.”
“Oh, that witch got him, but I don’t think he minded much.”
“Speaking of,” Skyla said then, looking at me once more. “That friend of yours, Miss Dayton, is very observant. Be careful what you eat around her. She’s got mischief in her mind. She’s got a good heart, and the best intentions, just bad timing.”
I grinned. Skyla was referring to Julie Dayton, the town’s new baker, and Horatio Hunter’s girlfriend. Her new shop, and especially her baked goods, were taking Chancellor by storm. What most of Chancellor’s residents didn’t know, however, was that her baking always had an extra special—even magical—ingredient. And I had already sensed that Julie had me in her sights. “You’re right about that,” I told Skyla. “Duly noted.”
The faerie woman softened. “We know your work is challenging. Our assignments, however, need us. Some people come by their fates naturally, some need extra help. The young ladies in your care need you. If they didn’t, you’d never be assigned to them in the first place. Do your best.”
“Like I said,” Ziggy added, turning back to his wife. “We rarely have issues in Chancellor. They’ll sort it out. Right, kids?”
Cassidy relaxed. “Of course.”
I nodded.
“Here we go,” the waitress said, returning once more with a heaping tray, most of which she set down in front of Cassidy.
Skyla smiled. “I didn’t think yoga teachers were supposed to eat so much fried food,” she told Cassidy.
Cassidy grinned as she lifted an onion ring large enough to wear as a bracelet. “What? I eat when I’m stressed.”
“Not a good way to cope,” Skyla said. “Macrobiotic will clear out the stress faster.”
“Or brownies,” Ziggy added with a wink that made Cassidy laugh.
I smiled and sipped my drink. No distractions. They were right. Until I got Alice where she needed to be, I had to set Viola out of my mind.
Easier said than done.
Chapter 6: Viola
“Night, Miss Hunter,” John, one of the dishwashers, called as he left for the evening. “All finished in the back. Billy will take care of the last load.”
From my position perched at the end of the bar, I waved to him. “Goodnight. Thanks for keeping us rolling at rush hour. Great job.”
John smiled abashedly. “Thanks,” he said then headed out.
I glanced at my phone. An hour left until closing. For a week night, Falling Waters had been busy. It was spring. Were the tourists on the move already?
I took one final bite of my lobster ravioli in brown butter sauce, scooping up the last langoustine on my plate. Perfection. One great thing about living near a college with a culinary arts programs was that we were never at a loss for amazing chefs. The dish had looked as pretty as it had tasted. Artfully arranged green and white asparagus, hand-made ravioli, sweet langoustines with lemon garlic butter, and a vibrant purple orchid, I wished I’d snapped a picture to post online, but I’d been too hungry. It had almost looked too pretty to eat. Almost.
“Sure you don’t want a drink?” Rick, the bartender, asked me, and not for the first time.
I glanced up at him. With his wavy black hair, brown eyes, and a chiseled jawline that made Tatem Channing look like Jack Black, I’d be stupid if I missed the obvious signals he’d been sending me for the last month. But there were two problems. First, he was an employee. And second, he wasn’t…what I wanted right now.
I shifted on the stool and slid my chemistry book in front of me once more. “I’m already so bleary-eyed that I can barely read. How about some coffee instead?”
“You’re going to work yourself to death. Don’t you ever take a night off?”
I smiled but cringed inside. It was coming. I knew it. “I’ll take time off when the semester is over.”
Rick nodded. “Then maybe when the semester is over, you’ll come down to the marina and check out my boat?”
If I said yes, he’d think I was interested. If I said no, he wasn’t going to let me study. I smiled. “Yeah, let’s see how things go. I might take summer classes.” Dodge. Avoid. I’d come up with another excuse later.
Rick smiled optimistically. “Okay, well, hope you can stop by. Let me put some coffee on for you.”