upload

“Oh, yes. Luna’s fine. They’re both fine. Sorry about appearing unexpectedly like this. The cats kind of lead the way, and I follow.” This was the best misdirect I’d come up with yet, because it was totally true—just not in the current context.

“That’s okay. Like I said, it’s not mine yet. But when it is, you and your cats will be welcome anytime.” Kelley then grabbed my hand and tugged me along after her. “Since you’re here, you might as well come in and see it. Can you believe it, Gracie? I just bought an entire house! Or I guess I’m about to, but still! A house!”

I laughed as we made our way toward the front door together. While it was strange that Kelley had purchased this exact house, I wasn’t the least bit surprised she was soon to be a homeowner. Her father would have been so proud.

I, however, couldn’t let her know that I’d already been inside because then I’d have to come up with lies to explain myself.

Kelley fiddled with the Realtor’s lockbox on the door and extracted a key. “You have to use your imagination a little, okay? The previous owner had terrible taste, but my agent assures me that everything will be cleared out of here well before I move in.”

I smiled and nodded as she fitted the key into the lock above the doorknob.

“That’s a lot of floral print,” I exclaimed as soon as she flicked on the lights. Of course it was a lot of floral print—this place had been inhabited by a garden witch and her familiar.

“It’s kind of sad, isn’t it? I don’t know how the previous owner died, but I know she had nobody to claim this house or any of her things. When I think of her, I picture this poor little old lady locked up in this time capsule of a house with only a cat or two to keep her company.” She glanced over at me and worried her lip. “No offense.”

Boy, had she gotten Virginia wrong.

“No offense about the cats?” I asked with a playful grin.

“About your house. I didn’t mean to imply that retro can’t be cool. It’s just—” She motioned around the room. “There’s so much floral in here.”

Well now, apparently I’d become an old lady stereotype.Fabulous.

“My house belonged to my grandma,” I explained as we both strode toward the kitchen. “I have lots of good memories that happened inside that house exactly as it is. I don’t have the heart to change it.”

Kelley’s face immediately crumpled into a frown. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize… My condolences.”

I chuckled.“Grandma Grace isn’t dead. She’s just in Florida.”

“Well, that’s good, I suppose.” She winked at me, then guided me into the small formal dining room. “Someday I’ll have you and the others from work over for a real sit-down dinner party.”

“Sounds great,” I enthused.

“Oh, it will be,” she promised, her eyes practically glazing over as if she were seeing that future scene before her.

I, however, couldn’t see past Virginia and the horrible events that occurred here.

Well, at least I knew Virginia was haunting me and would probably leave Kelley alone. Because as hard as it might be to protect myself from an angry spirit, I imagined it would be even harder to help a friend without revealing the existence of magic.

13

After showing me the master suite, Kelley walked me back out into the hall and turned to me with worry reflecting in her pale eyes.“Gracie, do you think I’m taking on too much at once? With the coffee shop and now this house? I mean, I’ve hardly been in town for a month and, well, I’m kind of in a vulnerable spot, what with meeting my dad and then losing him, and—”

I placed a hand on her shoulder.“Kelley, it’s okay. It is a lot, but you’ve got this. You’ve already made such amazing progress with the coffeehouse, and you’ll do great things with this house, too.”

She blinked up at me with glistening eyes.“Do you mean it?”

“Of course I do. I believe in you, and I’ll be with you every step of the way.” It seemed I’d accidentally become Kelley’s mentor by helping her through her father’s death. That was okay, though. I really liked her and wanted her to be happy. I also hoped she never found out that I had initially suspected her of murdering her dad. I now knew she would never do such an awful thing. She just didn’t have it in her.

Kelley sighed and offered me a tight hug.“I’m so lucky to have a friend like you. Seriously. It’s like there’s this vice around my chest. And as we move closer and closer to the grand re-opening, it tightens a little each day. It’s already getting hard to breathe now. What will it be like when the big day is finally here? I worry that I won’t have any oxygen left.”

I patted the back of her head like one would do with an upset child. In truth, Kelley was little more than a child. She had an awful lot on her plate for an eighteen-year-old. Even though I was still pretty young myself, I had nowhere near as many responsibilities thrust upon me—that is, if you chose to ignore the whole magical cat with a seemingly unending supply of enemies.