Chapter 30
The morning of the Graves Glen Gathering was gray and gloomy, the first real chill of autumn sweeping through the valley.
It was, in other words, completely perfect.
Or it would have been if Gwyn wasn’t still worried about her magic.
After dinner two nights before, she and Wells had dug back into their research, coming up with a spell for a charmed crystal that was supposed to “restore what is lost,” but the only effect it had had was that Gwyn finally found a pair of green Converse sneakers she’d thought were gone forever.
A win, but not exactly what she’d been hoping for.
Wells had assured her they would keep trying, and she clung to that even as she knew it was finally time to let Vivi and Elaine know what was going on with her.
But first, she needed to get Wells through his first big Graves Glen holiday.
She’d tried to warn him the night before that the Holiday Formerly Known as Founder’s Day was huge, kicking off the Halloween season and sending the first big influx of tourists into the town.
He’d smiled that infuriatingly smug Esquire Smile and said something like, “Prithee, Gwynnevere, do not fret for I am well prepared for any abundant onslaught of various and sundry travelers to our fair town.”
Okay, that was maybe a slight exaggeration, but that’s what she’d heard.
Now, as she situated herself behind the counter of Something Wicked, she saw a line already gathering outside Penhallow’s and smiled to herself.
Hope you brewed a lot of tea, Esquire.
The next few hours passed quickly, customers pouring into the store, Gwyn nearly run ragged getting extra boxes from the back, ringing people up, answering questions about crystals, and by ten, she was frowning at the clock.
Sam would be at the Coffee Cauldron today, but where the heck were Parker and Cait? It wasn’t like them to miss work, although there was so much going on during the Gathering that maybe they’d gotten distracted.
Gwyn didn’t have time to worry about it, though, because there were more people coming in the door, and then a kid bumped into her display of plastic pumpkins, sending them crashing to the ground.
Around noon, she was finally able to take a little break, throwing up a sign saying she’d be back in fifteen minutes.
The streets were full, the air scented with popcorn and caramel and apple, and Gwyn snagged a popcorn ball before making her way into Penhallow’s.
“Yes, welcome to—oh, thank the Goddess, it’s you.”
Gwyn had seen Wells irritated and she’d seen him worried and she’d seen him amused and she’d seen him consumed with lust, but this was the first time she’d ever seen him look harried, and it was, she had to admit, kind of great.
“I warned you,” she said, sauntering up behind the counter where he had several teacups lined up in saucers, teapot in hand as he filled each one. Next to him, there was a stack of crystals waiting to be wrapped as well as boxes of tea.
“Yes, yes, everyone loves a round of I Told You So,” Wells snapped, and Gwyn smirked, peeling off a part of the popcorn ball and popping it into his mouth.
He made a pleased sound as he chewed, and then, glancing around, ducked his head to press the briefest of kisses behind her ear before resuming his Tea Duties. “If you’ll wrap those crystals up for me, I will make it well worth your while later.”
“Oooh, erotic bribery, my favorite.”
Finishing the popcorn ball, Gwyn dusted her hands off and did as he asked, ringing up several customers afterward, then making sure he had enough bags near the register.
“Above and beyond,” Wells commented, taking in her handiwork before quirking an eyebrow at her, and she patted his shoulder, winking.
“I’d hydrate if I were you,” she said, and he huffed with amusement, sending her on her way with a look that promised he would more than fulfill his part of their bargain.
Stepping back out onto the street, Gwyn thought what it might be like, having this every day. Not the Gathering—her bank account would love that, her sanity would not—but working with Wells. The two of them dropping into each other’s store, helping out.
A team.
The thought warmed her more than she’d expected, and she was so high on that feeling she almost didn’t see the Baby Witches, huddled by her locked door.
“Where have you two been?” she demanded of Cait and Parker. “And Sam, why aren’t you at the Coffee Cauldron?”
Looking more closely at them, Gwyn wrinkled her nose. “Are y’all okay? You look—”
“We’ve been awake for twenty hours and we’ve each had way more Red Bull than any doctor would think wise,” Sam said. “But we think we’re onto something, Glinda. With your magic.”
Blinking, Gwyn unlocked the door, and they hurried into the store. They all had bags, she saw now, bulging with what looked like heavy books, and they were jittery with excitement and caffeine. “What exactly have you found?” she asked, even as people began drifting into the store again.
Sam shook her head. “We don’t want to say just yet, but we’re close. Really close. Can we use your storage room?”
Looking around, Gwyn sighed. She needed help in the store, but these three were clearly in no shape to provide it, so she nodded, flicking a hand toward the curtain. “Go on. But no fire!”
They hurried across the store, disappearing into the back, and Gwyn steeled herself for the onslaught.
Roughly twenty thousand plastic pumpkins later, Something Wicked was officially closed for the day, and Gwyn was pretty sure she’d never been so tired in all her life. Usually she had Vivi helping out, and she’d also done the odd tea charm to keep her going throughout such a long day. No help and no magic really wore a girl out.
When she heard the raven over the door, she wished her magic were working if only to send whoever that was spinning back out onto the street.
But it was only Wells, looking as beat as she felt, and she walked over to him, practically collapsing against him with an exhausted moan.
His arms came around her even as he pretended to sag to the ground, and Gwyn laughed, holding on tighter.
“Remember how I said I enjoyed being a shopkeeper?” he asked. “That was a different me. A foolish me. Ever so much younger then.”
“Welcome to life in a tourist town during tourist season,” she replied, and he kissed her temple, beard tickling.
“I can see I have much to learn.”
“At least you have a week to prepare for Fall Festival,” Gwyn reminded him, and Wells groaned, looking up at the ceiling.
“St. Bugi’s balls, how many festivals can one town have? That’s the one with the booths, right? Where we sell our wares in a field?”
“Mmm-hmm. And the caramel apple pies, which make it worth it, I promise. Plus we get to wear costumes.”
Wells tilted his head back down, eyes narrowing. “Is that a trick? Are you going to show up in normal clothes while I look like a git in sorcerer’s robes?”
“I bet you look very nice in sorcerer’s robes,” Gwyn countered, lifting her face to ghost a kiss over his jawline, which had his hands tightening on her hips.
“I bet you look very nice out of sorcerer’s robes,” he said, and she smiled at him, reaching up to twine her arms around his neck.
“That is the cheesiest thing you’ve ever said, especially given that you are very familiar with what I look like underneath all kinds of clothes.”
He grinned at her. “Still turned you on, didn’t it?”
“Little bit,” she admitted, and his own smile widened as he ducked his head to kiss her.
Before he could, there was a sudden whiff of air from behind the curtain leading to the storage room, the scent of smoke curling through the store.
Turning away from Wells, Gwyn sighed, tugging at his hand as she pulled him across the store.
“I told you guys no fire,” she said, opening the curtain, Wells beside her as they stepped into the dim space.
Sam, Cait, and Parker were all sitting in a circle, runes drawn on the floor in front of them in chalk, candles guttering, and as she and Wells walked in, they all turned, almost as one, and glared at her.
Gwyn made a surprised sound. “What—” she started, but then she realized they weren’t looking at her like that.
They were looking at Wells.