good taste.” And I’ll bet you taste good too. Oy!
He grinned, and I grinned back. Mentally I was kicking myself for being so nice to him. I was flirting with the enemy. Literally. Crap!
I leaned back in the chair and forced my face into an expressionless mask, or at least that’s the look I was going for. “So, Maddie’s mother works for you.”
“Yes, she does, and I’m incredibly lucky to have her. Margaret’s an amazing woman.”
“And she’s Maddie’s mother.”
His eyes clouded, just before he looked away. “Yes.”
“And you don’t feel guilty about that?”
Dark anger flared in his eyes when he looked dead into mine. “I have no reason, at all, to feel the tiniest bit guilty.”
I held his gaze, and he didn’t flinch. For a long, searing moment, I felt what seemed to be pent up rage. Then he looked away.
“What happened?” I could barely hear my own voice.
His gaze met mine again, but his expression was more guarded this time. “Didn’t she tell you?”
“Maddie rarely talks about what happened when her father died.” I put a little extra emphasis on the last two words, and I saw him flinch. He didn’t look away though.
“It was hard for me too,” he whispered, then turned and moved to the far end of the counter. He poked through papers and moved things around a moment before he finally looked my way. “You’ll have to ask her why she did what she did. I’ve tried to figure it out for ten years, and I keep coming up blank.”
I stood and put my cup on the counter. “I need to go. I’m meeting Maddie.”
“See you around.” He didn’t meet my gaze.
I headed out, more confused than before. And wondering what the heck I was going to do for the next two hours.
I wandered the streets for a while, getting a handle on the layout of the town. The thing is, the downtowns of most small Southern towns look alike. The same sort of buildings, the same narrow streets, the same sidewalks. But I had to admit, Ugly Creek had a different kind of feel to it, sort of a tingle. Or maybe the heat’s cooking my brain. Maybe I should find some cool before I fry something I need.
I saw the sign, and I just had to check it out. Who could resist a place called the Arcane Restaurant and Magical Supply Shop?
Instead of the normal bell announcing my arrival, the opening door greeted me with the sound of tinkling wind chimes.
“Welcome,” a male voice said, holding out his hand. “I’m Roy, I recognize you from the reunion. You’re a friend of Madison’s aren’t you?”
“I’m Stephie. Wow, you have a good memory.” And a nice, strong handshake.
“To be honest, I might not have remembered if you hadn’t been with Madison. She’s kinda the unofficial star of our shindig this year.”
“Because of her dad.” Emotion filled my throat, and I had to swallow. “So you know Maddie?”
“Kind of.” Roy looked at his shoes. “Back in high school, I didn’t exactly run in the same crowd she did.”
“Cheerleaders weren’t exactly the kind of kids I ran with either.”
He looked at me, and we shared a not-a-popular-kid bonding moment.
“We have some really great fried chicken today. And we have a special on incense, if you’d prefer to shop.”
And once again I was in a store I wasn’t planning on buying anything in. At this rate, I’ll probably be reincarnated as a cheerleader. “I’m actually just looking around town, sightseeing basically.”
“You aren’t the first Yankee to poke around our little town. You’re welcome to look around, and of course you must get your free Tarot reading from Connie.”
“Oh, I didn’t bring my nametag.” How’s that for a quick excuse?
“You don’t need that. I saw you there.” He took a couple of steps toward the counter in what was apparently the mystical supply section of the place. “Connie, got a minute?”
“Absolutely.” The young woman came toward us, her brilliant red hair brushing her shoulders as she
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